I returned to the subject of the Occupy Whatever movement in the first half of the show. It’s curious to me that our President and his administration have no apparent interest in upholding the law as concerns the Occupy DC movement yet hold the Tea Parties in open contempt. I’m not happy about that, and I can’t imagine why any of you would be either. Right now, there is a clear divide between those to whom the laws of our nation applies and those to whom they don’t, and the administration has very clearly put its political foes in the latter bucket. Equal protection under the law is a bedrock principle that should never be shoved aside for cheap political gains.

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I won’t even begin to describe everything you’ll get in the whole hour, but I’ll give you two little tidbits. First, the number of working Americans who will get their health care wholly or in some significant part from the government — that is, from other working Americans — by the year 2020 is truly mind-boggling. One of the big problems conservatives have when we talk about entitlements is that the average American doesn’t believe it affects them directly. It’s not easy to draw a straight line from Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security to the average working American’s paycheck in a way that shows them just how big the problem is. I’m pretty sure Ben and I dropped a few numbers that can do that, if we spread them around a bit.

We pivoted from health care to cool, and what that actually means in a day where grown men live in their parents’ basement well into their 30s without any apparent sense of shame. I admit, I’m no examplar of what the great Frank Sinatra called “ringa-ding-ding”, but I know cool when I see it and Ben has it. I think you’ll like our musings on success, friendship, and what it means to be comfortable with both success and cool; and you can bet your bottom dollar that I’ll have Ben back on the show again soon.

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I’ve seen a lot of blog posts and news articles about the housing and credit crisis, but none that delved into the actual causes of both like two books I’ve recently read: Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon and The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. I finished both of them in about a month, then spent a few days really thinking about what I had read. Then I got angry. See, what really happened to bring about both crises boiled down to basic, garden-variety greed and not some sinister government plot to advance socialism or Wall Street plan to screw the little guy. Just greed.

The reason it’s important we know why the credit and housing markets imploded is that we will undoubtedly see other bubbles in other markets and some of the same stuff that happened in banks, investment houses, government offices, and mortgage companies may well happen again. People with a desire to make a bazillion dollars greater than their own good sense will devise elaborate schemes that won’t be illegal but will certainly be wildly reckless. And we’ll need to recognize when it happens so we can stop it before it escalates to disaster. We have to get it right so that we don’t go through it again. We really don’t want to go through this again.

As it happens, both my picks for the AFC and NFC Championship games came up wrong, though I am glad to see that they were just a little bit wrong. I pretty much came within a play in each game of being almost completely right, which doens’t count for very much, I’m afraid. That’s why I never bet on sporting events. Almost doesn’t count for much when money is on the line, right? Perhaps, if I get courageous, I’ll try to pick the Super Bowl, Just promise me you won’t actually put anything tangible on my prediction!

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I’m pretty sure I never expected to be on the opposite side of an issue from Rush Limbaugh, but all this silliness over “vulture capitalism” finally did it. Episode 129 is my defense of Newt Gingrich and my stand against the defense of capitalism simply because it’s capitalism. At some point, we conservatives must draw the line between good business and fiscal rapaciousness. After what we’ve learned happened on Wall Street in the years before the housing and credit crashes, we on the right must learn that not every business practice is worth our defense. Legal and right are not synonymous and, as much as I hate to say it, Rush smeared a good man because he was unwilling to differentiate between the two. I don’t expect many of my conservative friends will agree with me, but I’m willing to stand by myself on this one if I must.

2011 was a pretty good year for The Delivery. I went over the year-end download numbers toward the end of the show — over 13,000 downloads each month on average — and ended on a high note. I’ve said this more times than I can count, but I love making The Delivery every week. I’m proud that SMPMike and I can put something together that so many of you enjoy and we have plans for much, much more. I want to see the show’s ratings skyrocket this year and with your help, I’ve no doubt we can do it.

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Kurt Schlichter came along for the second half, in which we started talking about shows that spend too much time on feelings and too little time on plausible plots and realistic character motivations. By the end, we had pretty much planned out how we’d survive a zombie apocalypse, which may just come in handy, so be sure to take notes! Oddly enough, the segue between the two subjects was pretty smooth, if I do say so myself. You don’t get that on just any podcast.

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Wait…where was I? Oh, yes. Stephen Green.

His blog, VodkaPundit, turned ten years old today. That makes him one of the Great Veterans of the Blogosphere. He has built what began in his bedroom into a great success that includes not only his blog, but also a number of video shows for PJ Media and many celebrity appearances. He deserves every minute of his success and, if there is any justice left in the world, should have a great many more (like, say, a regular radio show which would be an immediate smash hit and may require a geeky sidekick with podcasting chops, not that I know such a person…).

Go on over and leave him a good word or two!

Welcome to the first annual Zilla Awards for Awesomeness in the Dextrosphere! Conservative Bloggers may be the Chopped Liver of the Right, but in my eyes they are the finest cuts of the very best red meat, and now it is time to recognize the bestiest of that best. Here are your winners of the Zilla Awards for Awesomeness in the Dextrosphere who kicked ass all over the interwebz in 2011:

Best at Advocating for the Hitting of Bloggers’ Tip Jars: The Other McCain, The Sundries Shack, DaTechguy, The Conservatory

Nicest Bloggers: Adrienne’s Corner, Bread Upon The Waters, DaTechguy’s Blog, The Sundries Shack, Pundit & Pundette, and, The Lonely Conservative

You read that right, folks. Two awards! Of course, this clearly makes me the nicest blogger to advocate the Hitting of the Tip Jar anywhere on the Internet.

But, wait! There’s more!

Nice Deb has her round up of 2011′s top stories at her place, and it’s not a bad place to start. Doug Ross has his top blogs and media presences of the Dextrosphere, and it’s a good list, too.

It’s just that time of year.

My thoughts have been on other things, so please excuse the shagginess of this compilation, and feel free to emend anything that you find unsuitable.

Despite Dan’s humility, his awards are thoughtful and his list comprehensive. And…I detect a theme.

Nicest Guys on the Internet: Jimmie Bise and Peter Ingemi.

Nice guys represent!

I extend my thanks to Zilla and Dan Collins for their consideration, and the time they spent to recognize me. There is a paucity of consideration among the right side of the blogosphere these days and little bits of kindness shine very brightly.

I did continue the politics into the second half. It happens sometimes that current events stack up and I can’t get through all I want in just 30 minutes. I did put a nice little bow on the whole thing about 15 minutes in and spent the rest of the time on a more pleasant subject: the pretty new Roku box I got for Christmas. I have the Roku 2 XD model (and yes, I get a small bounty if you buy one through this link) and I recommend it highly if you’re looking for something to bring the goodness of streaming video to your television. And if someone from Roku happens across this post, well, The Delivery would be a good place to sink a few of your advertising dollars! I’d make you a very good deal.

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