COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Obama , man of the people. Whose?

...in case you were not sure what a dominecker is.

Oh well, slick is as slick does. It happens in most relationships. A time arrives, a moment when someone says or does something that lifts the veil. Sometimes it brings you down to earth and gives you an opportunity to rationally evaluate what you are buying, other times, it is a deal breaker. Obama did that this week.

Without having the facts, Obama revealed himself to be reactive, impulsive and tribal in siding with the elite black professor over the white working class cop. He ended the week with a shabby, ludicrous condescension of publicity, the so-called sitting down with a beer.

No fried chicken or slim jims? Who is buying that bovine turd? By the looks of the polls, fewer and fewer, especially amongst the white working (and increasingly non-working) class. The blacks will be with him till the last dominecker dies, but they did not get Obama elected. The white voter that thought Obama was somehow special did that. Well, he never was special, just slick and smooth.

Obama has done nothing for the people that voted for him. The thing that matters to ordinary Americans is having a job and preserving their wealth. On both issues Obama has been hopeless and small change.

The delusion is ending.

________________

76 comments:

  1. How's this for change?


    Tarp banks award billions in bonuses
    By Greg Farrell in New York
    Published: July 30 2009 18:18 | Last updated: July 30 2009 21:46

    Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, which lost $55bn in 2008, between them paid 1,400 employees bonuses of $1m or more each, according to a New York state report, released on Thursday, on banks propped up with taxpayer funds.

    The study, compiled by Andrew Cuomo, New York attorney-general, showed that JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, which both finished in the black last year, paid the most million-dollar bonuses - 1,626 and 953, respectively.

    However, the totals at a profitable bank such as Goldman were nearly matched by two of the year’s biggest losers on Wall Street. Citi, which suffered a $27.7bn loss, paid million-dollar bonuses to 738 employees. Merrill, which lost $27.6bn, paid 696 bonuses of $1m or more.

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  2. Burma's tightly controlled state media have warned people not to organise protests to coincide with the verdict.

    The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the authorities would "ward off subversive elements and disruptions," and called for vigilance in case "some arouse the people to take to the streets to come to power".

    Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in elections in 1990, but the country's military leaders refused to accept the result.


    Verdict Delayed

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  3. Lee Marvin.


    Viktor left out Lee Marvin.

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  4. Love the pose of Sarah leaning on the seaplane @ Paglia on Palin, Pt 4.

    How come no comments allowed there, Viktor?

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  5. God, but I do love Lee Marvin.

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  6. July 29 (Bloomberg) -- Steve Hanke, a professor at Johns
    Hopkins University and senior fellow at the Cato Institute,
    talks to Bloomberg's Tom Keene about the dollar, the U.S.
    deficit, monetary and fiscal policy, and hyper-inflation in
    Zimbabwe.


    Hanke Says Weak Dollar Will Force Fed to Raise Interest Rates:

    Hanke says the Obama budgets not including the new health care will be about 25% of GDP. Under Clinton, it was down around 18%; Bush - 21%.

    In today's news, the big story is that the $1 billion cash for clunkers program is out of money already.

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  7. Obama's popularity numbers reflect the polarized electorate. The numbers he has lost seem to be about the number of independents who put him over the top. Now, we're back to the new normal is a sharply divided country. It will be interesting to see whether the left of center 50% holds or the Obama/Pelosi/Reid overreach generates a reaction of moderates within the Democratic party.

    Moderate Democrats; is that an oxymoron?

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  8. In other news, According to the BBC Business Daily, the energy dependent Russian economy is forecast to retract about 8% this year.

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  9. Seems to me, that Obama is down to the folks that elected him, those that actually pulled the lever.

    Still enough to win, again, if there were an election, soon, which there is not.

    No one expected him to remain at 62% approval, did you? I know that I never did.

    Will he continue to lose support, down to 27% as did GW Bush, or will he hold his base?

    Doubt if any of us have a good reading, of his base. We certainly did not before the election, do not see were much has changed in that regard.

    duece relates that Obama has done a "deal breaker", I do not see that. The moving vans, they are not lining up to take Obama back to Chi-town.

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  10. Let me test this, yes, it appears we can comment, at viktor's

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  11. Whether Obama is 6% black is meaningless. He is the 100% President of the United States.

    That is not, meaningless.

    To be obsessed upon his race, that is to Obama's advantage.

    It is inside his area of expertise, to set him back, he has to be taken outside his comfort zone.

    The opposition has not even begun that task. Still refrains from it, instead they drop back to the failed tactics of 2008. Staying in their comfort zone, and losing.

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  12. To take Obama outside his comfort zone, he has to be painted as a reactionary, a conservative, a Republican.

    His corporate cronies at GE, CitiGroup and General Dynamics need to be exposed and celebrated.

    But that is hard work, while huffing and puffing about Kenya is so much easier.

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  13. Oh, I forgot, to tie Obama to his his financiers. That is anti-semitism.

    Racist behaviour, to tell the truth about Obama's funding sources.

    The PC police will not allow it, even here at the EB, they howl like banshees, if Lester Crown's name is mentioned. And Lester, he is just the tip of the Obama iceberg of cronies.

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  14. As rufus linked us to, months ago, Obama is a product of Saudi influences, as well.

    Developed and mentored by both Muslims and Jews, in a cooperative venture.
    In real life.

    But let's continue on, at present course and speed.
    Mr Gates and the ale de jur.

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  15. Rocky Mountain Kool-Aid.

    Coors Banquet Beer.

    Had a connection on Howard AFB, he'd manage to have cases flown down from the States. That beer was well worth the premium I had to pay.
    The 1st Sgt loved it, he a SF vet of Laos that was from San Luis, Mexico, right across the border from Yuma, AZ.

    Never asked him what side of the line he was born on, it did not really matter.

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  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  18. dr: The moving vans, they are not lining up to take Obama back to Chi-town.





    I prefer the vision of Obama being arrested. High Crimes & such, and taken to Gitmo......

    Call it a fantasy, I call it a legal, ethical end to a illegal and false career....


    BTWI'm a MODERATE Democrat.... or was up until 5 months ago.

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  19. dr: Developed and mentored by both Muslims and Jews, in a cooperative venture.
    In real life.


    Yep a few Chicago Jews have the same power and influence equal to the Saudis....

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  20. DR, 'don't worry about being labeled an antisemite if you mention Lester...

    Every subject you bring up or comment on contains the Joos... Once in a while you'll seed the pond with a token non-joos post, but in a total looking at your obsession it's the "JOOOOS"

    we get it...

    PLEASE do me a favor, if you get MY Joos secret decoder ring by mistake, send it to me, I sure do need it...

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  21. Linear:

    I double checked and comments are open to Google acc't users. I welcome all comments.

    Trish and Linear:

    Your suggestions for inclusion in a list of Men with Grit has been duly noted and updated. Thanks.

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  22. Like all Presidents, Obama will live and die by the price of gasoline.

    That means he's a "dead man walking."

    By the end of 2011 we could be looking at $10.00 gasoline, recession or not.

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  23. rufus said...

    By the end of 2011 we could be looking at $10.00 gasoline, recession or not.


    AND

    Obama will give an energy rebate to the bottom 41% of America (which will include un-documented Americans, who now vote)

    Government Gas Ration Card
    Government Medical Benefit Card
    Government Food Stamps
    Government Housing Allowance Card
    Government Education Allowance Card
    Government Telecomm Card (free cell phone w/g4 network)

    Partial List of Rights of the Masses....

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  24. Bottom line, it's this:

    Every year, the existing fields, taken overall, lose about 5% of their daily production. Up until this point, and continuing until the end of 2010, New Production is holding us about even. That is, we have about as much new coming online, as we're losing from the old fields.

    In 2011 this comes to an end. There's, virtually, NOTHING coming online in 2011. Gasoline prices are going to be a "drag" for the next year, and a half.

    Starting sometime in 2011 We Fall Off the Cliff. I'll find a link to the Megaprojects info after my morning coffee.

    BTW, I CAN'T be wrong about this. The projects just aren't there. And, to give you an idea, THUNDERHORSE just came on line a couple of months, ago. It's been in the que for 20 years.

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  25. china and india alone are so massive, their consumption of goods (both raw materials and produced goods) still growing as their middle classes grow..

    Today China's middle cast is larger than the entire American population....

    Consumption is increasing worldwide...

    supply and demand.

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  26. Yeah, at their present rate of growth (even during a worldwide recession) India and China will be demanding 1.5 Million Barrels/Day More oil in 2011 than, Today.

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  27. Dominecker Rabbit

    Landowner's "Chicken."

    My brother (when he was bout 3) to Landowner: "We Had Dominecker Rabbit for Dinner!!

    Honest, True Story.

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  28. I was never particularly a Mitchum fan, Gag, but I think you're right.

    Another one: Humphrey Bogart.

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  29. Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, In the Heat of the Night.

    Perfectly written dialogue and grit galore on both counts.

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  30. I double checked and comments are open to Google acc't users. I welcome all comments.

    Excuse me while I wipe the egg from my chin.

    I was rigged for silent running...java scripts disabled. An old habit.

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  31. Women with grit: Katherine Hepburn.

    Barbara Stanwyck.

    And the woman who tends bar at the Happy Bottom Riding Club. Also, Barbara Hershey as Chuck Yeager's wife.

    Oh, yes: Myrna Loy in The Best Years of our Lives.

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  32. Actually, Myrna Loy in almost anything. The very picture of wifely grit. Elegantly dressed. And you can't beat that.

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  33. C'mon, people. Get yer grit on.










    One of the perfect encapsulations to me of grit is the SEAL saying, "Easy day."

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  34. THE DOMINECKER SETTLEMENT.

    ...Typescript produced by the Federal Writers' Project of the Work Projects Administration for the State of Florida, no date [1930s].

    -----

    I never heard of a Dominecker before today.

    ...Or a Dominecker Rabbit. :-)

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  35. OT observation:

    From Blogger profiles, "Rules of Rufus":

    [There are no rules.]

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  36. Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness. Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix in Stand By Me. Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin in The Princess Bride. Bill Murray in Caddyshack. (One man's determination to kill a gopher. And we all know what that feels like.)







    And linear, because "Discipline, it's what's for dinner." : )

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  37. More grit:

    Camile Paglia and Tammy Bruce

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  38. We share similar tastes in women, Vik.

    Tammy Bruce is another well spoken womanist.

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  39. Absolutely.


    And myself, because I did finally pass Biology.

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  40. All but a couple of the ladies, just guys representing various characters.

    Movie stars.

    Clint Eastwood, of course.


    Yes, wi"o" in the life of Barack Obama the Chi-town Jews and the Saudi share common interests. In fact the Chi-town crew may have a tad more invested, in Mr Obama, than do the Sauds.

    In fact his office is staffed by the Chi-town crew. The Sauds he just visits, from time to time.

    Perhaps that is what sticks in your craw, that the cousins are cooperating, here and now. But not in the pursuit of what you think best.

    But to deny the influence of Mr Crown on Mr Obama's lfe, that is to deny reality.

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  41. The whole cast of 12 O'Clock High.

    Particularly Millard Mitchell in the role of Gen. Pritchard.

    This small role sets the gold standard for grit. IMHO.

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  42. ...The projects just aren't there.

    No question about that.

    Rig Count, 31 JUL 09: U.S. +5 in last week, -1003 YOY

    Not because the oil's not there, btw.

    See Canada +20 in last week, -251 YOY

    With roughly one quarter the base deficit, Canada is up over 4 times U.S. exploration during the last week. More to it all than just the peakers' gloomy predictions, I'd say.

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  43. I've never seen it, viktor - as often as it has run on TCM. Now I'll have to make a point of it.

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  44. viktor'd list and its' additions, is kind of short of real folk, with true grit.

    The real life people that the various characters have been based upon.

    Who had true grit, Andy Jackson @ the Battle of New Orleans or Chuck Heston who protrayed him there, later?

    So easy it is, to confuse well presented fantasies with reality.
    The actors intertwine with the real characters.

    Sam Clemens with Mark Twain.
    seperate and unequal

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  45. Spenser Tracy or Colonel Dolittle?

    Both were:
    "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo"

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  46. Was it Marlon Brando or Emiliano Zapata that had grit?

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  47. All the characters in "The Professionals" had grit to spare.

    Burt Lancaster ... Bill Dolworth

    Lee Marvin ... Henry 'Rico' Fardan

    Robert Ryan ... Hans Ehrengard
    Woody Strode ... Jake Sharp

    Jack Palance ... Jesus Raza

    Claudia Cardinale ... Mrs. Maria Grant
    Ralph Bellamy ... Joe Grant
    Joe De Santis ... Ortega
    Rafael Bertrand ... Fierro
    Jorge Martínez de Hoyos ... Eduardo Padilla - Goatkeeper
    ...

    The Ralph Bellamy character, Joe Grant, starts gritful, but ends up pitiful.

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  48. One Rule:

    If they're talkin, they're Lyin.

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  49. Rat

    These movies are fiction: works of the imagination to be sure. But there is a difference between fiction and fantasy. Fantasy is extravagant and unrestrained. I don't believe any of the movies I've mentioned come under this category.

    Your point about real heroes is well taken, though.

    You will find that I mentioned Reagan and Patton.

    But to concentrate on the characters, real or imagined, misses the central point of the post. It is about what underpins character and not about who may or not have it.

    Trish

    You will find a couple of clips at my joint.

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  50. More grit, (related to Vik's 12 O'clock High nomination and rat at 2:46):

    Guy Dority, a distinguished old gentleman, docent (c. 1998) at the War Eagles Air Museum, just west of El Paso as you enter town on I-10 coming down from Las Cruces. I still have his name in a souvenir B-17 book I picked up that day when my son and I chanced to find the airport.

    His story: He'd applied for flight duty during training in the early days of the war. Some physical problem surfaced, and he was instead assigned to radio school and became an instructor for B-17 crews. On the morning of the initial deployment of the first squadron of 8th Air Force bombers to England, a radio operator came up with the flu. Guy saw an opportunity too good to miss, and mentioned he was available to fill in so's not to disrupt the deployment. Somehow his medical file got overlooked when they filled out the flight manifests, and away he went. His is a great story.

    I just checked the War Eagles web site, and he's still listed on their Volunteer Honor Roll 2009. As we were leaving the field that day, I made a U-turn and went back to get his autograph. One of my better impulsive moves.

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  51. BTW, Ayn Rand in her non-fiction work The Romantic Manifesto: A Philosophy of Literature has high praise for the writings of Mickey Spillane.

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  52. And he was an occasional guest of hers.

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  53. Pat Tillman

    Fri Jul 31, 04:22:00 PM EDT

    Because he was a righteous and noble soul?

    Or because he's been caught up in a conspiracy theory?

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  54. Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge

    Red Auerbach and Bill Russell

    Black Sneakers all.

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  55. And myself, because I did finally pass Biology.

    Yea for Trish. I'll buy a round on that one, barkeep.

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  56. A woman named Leslie.

    A man named Kevin.

    A guy named Manny.

    A fellow known as Sparks.





    Also: The Olympic hockey team at Lake Placid, 1980.

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  57. Why, thank you, linear.

    You have no idea the sheer hell it was.

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  58. Dennis Johnson.

    Too many reasons to try the cut/paste. One of my all time favorite Celtics.

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  59. L.L. Arnold, Consulting Engineer and Land Surveyor, Rockford, Illinois. R.I.P.

    B-17 pilot, Notre Dame alum, P.E., pool player

    Notable quote:

    "There are 23 goddamned government agencies that have power of review on my plans, linear, and none of those sons of bitches have to be licensed!"

    He played pool by "Roseville Rules" which he picked up from his dad, Louie. Similar to Rules of Rufus, I always thought.

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  60. Got things to do outside. See y'all later.

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  61. Postscript:

    Just found on p. 26 of the souvenir B-17 book, an added note by Guy:

    On 1st B-17 to England, July 1, 1942.
    Guy Dority, 4-9-98
    .

    That was why I turned around and went back to the museum. A guy who wasn't supposed to be flying was on the lead ship that landed that day, beginning the 8th Air Force's chapter of the war.

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