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."

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Pay As We Go



An Honest Man



An Honest Man?

51 comments:

  1. People all around the world enjoy, from time to time, sending a genuine crank, or maverick, to the "halls of power" just to watch the fireworks it seems.

    People can stand absolutely anything but Boredom.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A friend told me one time, "Rufus, you're not happy if you don't have three wheels in the ditch." He was right.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Europeans are blaming financial transactions arranged by Wall Street for bringing Greece to the brink of needing a bailout...The 2001 currency-swap deal arranged by Goldman trimmed Greece's deficit by about a 10th of a percentage point of GDP for that year....Late last year, the Greek government set in motion its current crisis by increasing its 2009 budget-deficit estimate, initially 3.7% of GDP, to nearly 13% of GDP.

    National Leaders Ignored Greece's Soaring Debt for Years

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry, Obama, but Russia and China Are Never Going to Help You on Iran


    "And there is a practical reason why Obama may never admit that the Security Council is a dead end: doing so would force him to move to a new strategy — and there is no new strategy."

    ReplyDelete
  5. I lasted 21 seconds of obama before i had to click off it....

    the only saving grace about obama is that now the country will demand actual work experience for POTUS, unlike the empty suit that now squats there.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well, if the country demands that the suit is not empty, Mrs Palin will not qualify, Mr Romney will not qualify.

    Why, neither has any Presidential experience.
    Indeed, there will only be one EXPERIENCED candidate running, in 2012.

    Better find another way to gore that ox.

    ReplyDelete
  7. iran and brazil are getting very, very cozy.

    Bilateral trade between Iran and Brazil reached a staggering $1.26 billion in 2008, which is an increase of 88 percent from 2007, according to IMF data. Brazil's primary exports to Iran are sugar and beef, which it sends via Dubai, to get around UN sanctions on trade with Iran.

    The two countries also cooperate on energy issues through state-owned companies; the National Iranian Oil Company has granted Brazil's Petrobras the rights to explore Iran's vast offshore oil reserves in the Persian Gulf and to drill in the Caspian Sea.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It was reported here, unsubstantiated or referenced, in a series of comments, that Mr Jeb Bush and family were heavily invested in Brazil.

    Ethanol production was the crux of the program, we were led to believe.

    Anyone else wonder what the Carlyle Group holdings in Brazil are? Seems that they are the inheritors of the Russell Company mantle.

    ReplyDelete
  9. "which it sends via Dubai, to get around UN sanctions on trade with Iran."

    we do a lot of business with dubai, they are like our middle east buddies. so we are persuing sanctions that we ourselves aren't keeping? all the world's a stage.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jeb Bush founded Interamerican ethanol commission on his last day in office in Florida.

    Their main job is to destroy the US ethanol industry, and promote Brazilian Ethanol.

    ReplyDelete
  11. They've got their work cut out for them. The last I saw Brazilian cane ethanol was selling (wholesale) for $3.20 gal on the coast of Brazil. Meanwhile, U.S. corn ethanol is selling in Chicago for $1.70 gal.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Countries don't have friends. Countries do what is in the best interests of their elites. Nothig more; nothing less.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Dallas, Texas (CNN) -- Bill White, the former Houston mayor, isn't just Rick Perry's Democratic opponent in the Texas governor's race.

    He's Perry's polar opposite.

    Bald, diminutive and soft-spoken, White offers a stark contrast to the swaggering, movie-star-handsome governor. If Rick Perry is a modern-day conservative cowboy, White is a practical-minded accountant, eager to chat about education funding, balancing budgets and the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

    "Maybe I'm not the most glamorous of all the candidates, but my words are my own and they are the words that I am hearing from the people of Texas," White declared during a campaign stop Monday in Dallas.

    Donning cowboy boots and occasionally glancing down at his notes, White took a jab at the current governor, calling him "blow-dried" and "scripted." Perry, he said, "changes like a chameleon from time to time depending on whether it's a primary or a general election."

    Despite his somewhat underwhelming stage presence, Democrats believe White is the best candidate they have fielded in Texas since former Gov. Ann Richards in the 1990s.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Rat: Why, neither has any Presidential experience.
    Indeed, there will only be one EXPERIENCED candidate running, in 2012.


    I didnt SAY "Presidential"... you did....

    And you are correct in stating that obama is the only running that has been president.

    He now has a record, something he did not have a year ago...

    and his record sucks....

    My point stands....

    Real life work and leadership experience...

    Something Obama never had a year ago.

    And still doesnt have as we speak....

    ReplyDelete
  15. And, rufus, as Ms Rice, the spokesperson for the Federal Government on international relationships at the time, said:

    "The US has no permanent enemies", either.

    That is paraphrasing the then Sec of State, but certainly catches the essence of US foreign policies, then and now.

    ReplyDelete
  16. And so does mine, the Pubs will not beat a sitting President with a Governor that could not serve out an entire term, when the going got tough, she got out.

    Mr Romney, his real experience is thin, for a President, and his political resume is really quite liberal, for a new age Republican.

    That is the current field, for the GOP nomination. There is little time left for a "Dark Horse" to appear and ignite the base, more so than those two already do.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Republican Partisans forget one thing. Everyone hates the fucking Republicans.

    Obama's numbers are starting to suck, but not nearly as bad as the Republicans' numbers.

    The stupid fucking republicans damned near brought down the entire world financial system. That won't be forgotten by 2012.

    Obama might lose in 2012; but I wouldn't bet My money on it. The only chance the Pubs have is $5.00 gasoline; and That Might Not be enough.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Not ONE Republican has come out and offered a solution to the problem of shrinking Jobs in Manufacturing.

    ReplyDelete
  19. It IS quite possible, if not yet entirely probable, that someone will arise to split the conservative voter base in 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The popular insurrection, so gleefully anticipated by a handful of Belmonters, discovering its true purpose within conservative ranks rather than the nation as a whole.

    Which would seem to be the logic of the thing anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  21. And I searched in vain last night for an answer to my question to you, allen - still unsure which inconvenient facts it may be wiser to ignore but always open to suggestion.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Bill White WILL have his clock cleaned by Perry.
    I, Doug, personally gaurantee that.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Marco Rubio’s CPAC Home Run

    4. He is proud of who he is. That includes his mom’s years of hard work as a cashier, a stock clerk at K-Mart, and a maid.
    It includes his father’s sixteen-hour shifts as a bartender.
    It includes the stories his Cuban grandfather shared of the limitations he endured in Cuba—restrictions on his success and potential—that Marco would never have to face.
    Sometimes it takes someone who has seen the other side, who knows what things can turn into if we don’t protect what we have, to really grasp what’s at stake.
    And to be the most vigorous defender of our liberty.
    HE GETS IT.

    ReplyDelete
  24. desert rat said...
    And, rufus, as Ms Rice, the spokesperson for the Federal Government on international relationships at the time, said:

    "The US has no permanent enemies", either.

    That is paraphrasing the then Sec of State, but certainly catches the essence of US foreign policies, then and now
    ---
    Man, that is Powell class idiocy.

    Why Trish has difficulty understanding my disdain of Powell, escapes me.

    ReplyDelete
  25. "Conservative Republican" Powell supports a Marxist against his ideal candidate
    "Moderate, bipartisan"
    Johnny Mac.

    ReplyDelete
  26. i am telling you mccain was the man for the job. it was his time. he would have been mccain the president not mccain the politician.

    ReplyDelete
  27. But all Maverick ever has been, a born to it politician, in uniform and out.

    And a gigolo, to boot.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I can't help but note that the "Honest Man" shown at the beginning of this thread, while bitterly decrying the Dems for not living up to the Pay-As-You-Go rules (and making him miss his B-ball game), elected to vote against Pay-As-You-Go when the bill was passed earlier this year

    Yea, the guy is a real sweetheart.


    .

    ReplyDelete
  29. desert rat said...
    But all Maverick ever has been, a born to it politician, in uniform and out.

    And a gigolo, to boot.



    Rat obsesses about Palin and McCain... Move on...

    You are so 2010....

    ReplyDelete
  30. "The stupid fucking republicans damned near brought down the entire world financial system. That won't be forgotten by 2012."

    Yes it will.



    .

    ReplyDelete
  31. "The stupid fucking republicans damned near brought down the entire world financial system. That won't be forgotten by 2012."


    Don't forget the democrats and the community investment act, goldman sachs, the russians, george soros, the chinese, the arabs & opec, the EU to name a few...

    ReplyDelete
  32. I despise All the worthless pricks, and prickettes. Either party, left to their own devices, will drive the country into ruin. They'll just take different roads to get there.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Apropos of Deuce's recent offer to post pictures submitted by the bloggers at the EB


    Google Vows th Address Privacy Concerns


    .

    ReplyDelete
  34. Indeed, nations have interests. It does help if the nation in question knows its interests. In the case of Iran, the only apparent interest is apologetics to the Muslim block.

    ReplyDelete
  35. "Like a scorekeeper for the world, a tiny unit within the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks globalization's winners and losers, and the results are not always pretty for the United States. Manufacturing jobs here, for example, have fallen faster since 1979 than in Canada, Germany or Japan. Compensation for those jobs dropped here in 2008 but jumped in South Korea and Australia.

    Soon, however, Americans may be spared the demoralization in these numbers: The White House wants to shutter the unit that produces them."




    Obama Budget Calls for Closure of BLS Comparison Unit


    One way to avoid embarrassing questions is to eliminate the unit that's responsible for generating them.


    .

    ReplyDelete
  36. trish,

    You made your point and I have moved on.

    FYI, the temperature here is expected to be in the 70s by Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Obama is on tv right now driving a stake in the heart of the Republicans.

    He may be everything we say he is; but, he's on the right side of history on this subject, and he's going to win it.

    ReplyDelete
  38. One thing Obama said I agree with. Let's vote on the healthcare and move on.

    I'm sick of hearing about it.




    .

    ReplyDelete
  39. I do not obsess, Maverick is a US Senator, spokesman and Standard Bearer for the Republicans.

    Mrs Palin is the most popular polling GOPster, at the moment.

    As such, they are both "News Worthy"

    To discuss them, as they relate to the future of the GOP, that is not obsessive, but drives directly to the point of politics, today.

    Plus combined both Mrs Pailin and Mr McCain represent the "Very Best" that the GOP had to offer the United States, in 2008.

    The GOP has not "moved on" even if our liberal friend from Ohio would like US to.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Circumcision ban bill
    Updated: Tuesday, 02 Mar 2010, 11:24 PM EST
    Published : Tuesday, 02 Mar 2010, 8:28 AM EST

    BOSTON (FOX25, myfoxboston) - To circumcise or not to circumcise?

    It's a question parents of baby boys have to decide but now there's a discussion on Beacon Hill that would take that choice away from parents in this state.

    State lawmakers will debate a bill today that would make it illegal for parents to circumcise boys, unless there's a medical reason.

    It would ban the procedure on any male under the age of 18 even for religious reasons.

    Under the legislation, people who disregard the ban would face a fine and possible 14-year prison sentence.

    The proposal classifies male circumcision as genital mutilation and supporters of the bill say male infants can't possible consent to the procedure.

    They testified here on Beacon Hill, calling circumcision unethical at its core.

    The Centers for Disease Control says lack of circumcision has been linked to sexually transmitted diseases, urinary tract infections and penile cancer.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Keep your EYE on the PRIZE...

    Obama, Reid, Pelosi are the targets, NOT McCain and Palin, they are cheerleaders...

    You are misdirecting the argument..

    It aint Palin or McCain....

    It's President Obama, the great....

    He is King of the shithill...

    time to FOCUS to knock him, pelosi and reid off it...

    ReplyDelete
  42. No, amigo, I do not vote against a person, I vote for policies and programs.

    Sorry that neither Party proposes policies or programs that I can support.

    Obama is no more evil than JFKerry, GW Bush or "Maverick" McCain.

    Certainly no more so than Mrs Clinton or AlGore.

    The enemy is Lester Crown, George Soros and their cohort of financial cronies, the inheritors of the Russell Company legacy. The own both Parties, have for over a hundred years.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Having cleared that account, I think we climb to the 50's, allen.

    WooHoo!

    ReplyDelete
  44. And Mr Romney, is part and parcel of that "East Coast Establishment".

    He is not going to "rock the boat".

    He wants to Federally mandate Health Care, like he accomplished in Mass.

    However he managed to accomplish that, at a Federal level, it would not be a "conservative" program. Even if Mr Romney is marketed to US, as a New Age Conservative.

    Just as Mr GW Bush's Federally funded Compassion was never "Conservative".

    Despite his saying it was.

    ReplyDelete
  45. The extent to which all of this is a disagreement among other people, pleases me no end.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igQjgBFJ4CE

    ReplyDelete