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, May 19, 2010

Misspoke Again















120 comments:

  1. Carrying over from the previous thread, doug is correct, Ceasar Chavez, he was four square aganst allowing the undocumented into the United States.

    Even sent his brother to the border, to stem the flow. He did not succeed, long term.

    Been watching the talking heads, pontificate, seems that the most interesting election, that was in PA. Where the RNC could not hold the majority in a District where John "Maverick" McCain won, in 2008.

    John Murtha's District, stayed in Democrat hands, no change in the House, but a BIG change in the how the voters voted.

    The Rand Paul victory in KY, an indication that the machine politicians are well behind the curve. Mitch McConnell's Team GOP gettin' stomped, by the grass roots.

    Good thing to see Arlen Specter hit the bricks, about time that Federal found his way home. He exemplifies the core-less and clueless, in Washington DC.

    Wonder how Toomey will do, against the Admiral.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not a good night for Mr Steele and the RNC.

    That PA vote, really bad news for him. He only had one election to influence, in a District "Maverick" carried, and the GOP could not get it done.

    That is the real telling vote, one with significance for November. It was the only election, yesterday, that involved real time political power, and the GOP lost.

    Ask not for whom the bell tolls.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Toomey or the Admiral, which will Deuce endorse?

    PA is his place of US residence, so his would be the most pertinent opinion, regarding the two of them.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Here is another major MISSPOKE:

    "A fate worse than death, living under foreign occupation, in the refugee camp squalor of Gaza."




    Yep complete and utter MISSPOKE....


    Fits right in with the current administration...

    Truth? Something that doesnt matter..

    Speech is theatre....

    Rat misspeaks, Obama misspeaks...

    Or as we used to say...

    THEY LIE...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Living in Gaza, that would be a fate worse than death.

    That is no lie.

    Over 800 women and children died there, by Israeli hands.
    Just over a year ago.

    Their fate, in Gaza, was death.

    Better to die on your feet than live on your knees.

    wi"o" does not dispute that he lives on his knees.
    Mouth always open.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That wi"o" believes that a life spent under oppression is better than no life at all, explains why he never served his country.

    A physical coward, for whom nothing is worth dying for.

    Little wonder he stays in the US, where Mr Obama and the Federals keep him safe and secure.

    ReplyDelete
  8. desert rat said...
    Living in Gaza, that would be a fate worse than death.

    That is no lie



    It's an lie...

    Your a liar

    You twist and distort...

    You MISSPEAK...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rat continues:

    wi"o" does not dispute that he lives on his knees.
    Mouth always open.




    Notice the personal attack that has nothing to do with his lie about gaza ?

    ReplyDelete
  10. wi"o", like Mr Cheney, has better things to do, than to defend his country.

    In wi"o"'s case, he has better things to do, than to serve either of his countries.

    Obviously he puts to much stock in his own life's value.
    Like most self centered folk do.

    ReplyDelete
  11. desert rat said...
    That wi"o" believes that a life spent under oppression is better than no life at all, explains why he never served his country.




    More distortions and personal attacks?


    YEP....




    Rat continues" A physical coward, for whom nothing is worth dying for.





    Hmmm interesting BAITING at it's finest...




    Rat: Little wonder he stays in the US, where Mr Obama and the Federals keep him safe and secure.



    WOW, what distortions...


    Keep them coming Rat, you just continue to prove my point that you misspeak (LIE) at EVERY opportunity when it comes to Israel, Jews & Zionists..

    ReplyDelete
  12. You claim, wi"o" that living in occupied Gaza is not worth fighting or dying over.

    That is a judgment call.
    Obviously you think life is more important than liberty.
    Little wonder you are on the wrong side of history.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Never have I discussed Jews, their history or their religion.

    It is not a subject that interest me.

    That you conflate Israel with Judism, proof that your claims that Israel is not a sectarian State, a lie.
    At least in your own mind.

    ReplyDelete
  14. That you accept life on your knees, obvious from your rhetorical position on Gaza.

    That your mouth is always open.
    Easily observed.

    ReplyDelete
  15. desert rat said...
    wi"o", like Mr Cheney, has better things to do, than to defend his country.



    Wow, such judgement from a self confessed criminal...



    Rat: In wi"o"'s case, he has better things to do, than to serve either of his countries.


    I am SO glad Rat you have stood on my shoulder to see all that I have and have not done for my nation through out my life. I am so relieved that a self confessed criminal like you can be the moral compass to decide my life has not had value to America NOT....


    Rat: Obviously he puts to much stock in his own life's value.
    Like most self centered folk do.



    Interesting...


    I wish we had a professional to examine rat's rants...

    He seems more and more agitated, by the post...

    ReplyDelete
  16. I do not have to have stood on your shoulders, "o".

    With you on your knees, I can stay firmly grounded, to see over you.

    ReplyDelete
  17. desert rat said...
    See through you, too.


    Sure you can, and we see a rat when we see you.


    Rat

    Rodent

    Vermin

    Yep we see you clearly...

    A Rat by any other name is still a Rat...

    ReplyDelete
  18. Those that were skewered, at the old Belmont Club, they used to count the posts and complain, too.

    They had no other adequate response.

    doug-o, I think has the record, for the most posts in a single thread, though, I do believe.

    ReplyDelete
  19. You bet I can be seen clearly, no hiding in the rain barrel, for me.

    That you disputed my claims that Israel is a "Club on the Med" for Eurotrash expats, an argument you have proven false by your post that Israel is amongst the top ten vacations spots, in all the whirled.

    That Israel is in violation of the Geneva Accords, that it still administers the occupation of Gaza, disputed by you, but proven by your factual cut and pasted posts.

    That you then call me names, typical.

    ReplyDelete
  20. How about that Toomey?
    Can he beat the Admiral?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Can Rand Paul win in KY, come November?

    I'd love to see that.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Can JD bust "Mavericks" balls?

    We can only hope.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Deuce is open minded on this one. i wil have to see if the admiral takes to the skies, let's say in a 747.

    The Admiral owes Obama and Harry Reid nothing. If he remembers that he is a Pennsylvania lad, you may recall that he will not have been the first maverick that I supported.

    ReplyDelete
  24. desert rat said...
    You bet I can be seen clearly, no hiding in the rain barrel, for me.


    You hide in a hole in AZ...

    You claim you have Money, Guns and Lawyers...

    Sounds like a rain barrel to me...

    You talk of leaving the USA for Panama..

    Sounds like HIDING to me...

    ReplyDelete
  25. desert rat said...
    Never have I discussed Jews, their history or their religion.

    It is not a subject that interest me.




    Now if that's not a river in Egypt....

    Denial BIG TIME...

    Can you actually type this crap without wetting yourself?

    Rat, you are a Jew hater, a Zionist hater and an Israel hater...

    Embrace the truth, it will set you free...

    We all see you for what you are...

    RAT, how poetic...

    ReplyDelete
  26. Rat: That you then call me names, typical.




    wow... look who's calling the kettle black....

    ReplyDelete
  27. Has Obama bowed to the President of Mexico yet?

    ReplyDelete
  28. It is more about blacks, with you, "o" than kettles.

    I called the boycotting accountants a loss to Arizona's economy.

    You brought up that they were black.

    As always, you went to the hyphenation, ignoring the American.

    Ignoring the individuals, focusing upon the 'group'.

    Not the American way, not how we became "Exceptional".

    ReplyDelete
  29. You advocate for Jim Crow, at home and abroad.

    And, amigo, that's just unAmerican.

    ReplyDelete
  30. This should not be news for anyone, but the Taliban are not going away quietly any time soon. Viet Nam anyone? :

    KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban insurgents launched a brazen but ultimately futile assault on the American base at Bagram on Wednesday morning, sparking a ferocious gun battle that left at least one American contractor dead, a dozen soldiers wounded and 10 guerrillas dead.

    Four of the insurgents wore suicide vests but were killed before they could detonate them, American officers said. Earlier in the day, a Taliban spokesman had claimed that 7 fighters had struck at Bagram’s gates and allowed 30 others to get inside.

    Americans officers said the attempt failed.

    “At no time were Bagram defenses breached,” said Col. Wayne Shanks, a spokesman for the American command. No suicide bombings succeeded, he said.

    Still, the attack represented an aggressive attempt by the Taliban to strike at one of the most important symbols of American power here. Bagram Air Base, about 50 miles north of Kabul, is one of the largest American bases in the country and the headquarters for the military campaign in the east.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Tim Burns had a choice. He could either call in the Sarahcuda to rile up the locals, or he could call in the GOP's latest RINO, Scott Brown.

    He called in the RINO. He Lost.

    Latest PPP poll has the Sarahcuda leading Romney, Huckabee, Gingrich, etal in Colorado.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Rand Paul endorsed the Tea Party, and was endorsed in kind. He kicked the RINO's ass.

    The Pubs still haven't caught on.

    ReplyDelete
  33. desert rat said...
    It is more about blacks, with you, "o" than kettles.

    I called the boycotting accountants a loss to Arizona's economy.

    You brought up that they were black.




    More lies and distortion...

    the post stated 3 BLACK groups were boycotting AZ...

    Keep on MISSPEAKING...

    ReplyDelete
  34. desert rat said...
    You advocate for Jim Crow, at home and abroad.

    And, amigo, that's just unAmerican.





    More lies....

    More MISSPEAKING...

    ReplyDelete
  35. Rat: Not the American way, not how we became "Exceptional".



    Well you're a self confessed criminal.

    Hardly EXCEPTIONAL

    ReplyDelete
  36. And for those in a big hurry to stop drilling for oil in the gulf, here is some something for your ponderation:

    Tar balls discovered on the Florida Keys shoreline are not connected to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard said Wednesday.

    Tests done "conclusively show" that the tar balls found on the shoreline do not match the type of oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The source of the tar balls remains unknown at this time.

    ReplyDelete
  37. desert rat said...
    You advocate for Jim Crow, at home and abroad.
    And, amigo, that's just unAmerican.



    No more lies, but you do advocate taking the law into your own hands and committing murder of rapists.

    Now that's un-American...

    But not a problem for you, one who habitually MISSPEAKS

    ReplyDelete
  38. Perhaps Chinese tar balls, or Hugo Cajones.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Deuce said...
    This should not be news for anyone, but the Taliban are not going away quietly any time soon. Viet Nam anyone? :


    Deuce, I called that months ago, it's part of Obama's plan to give us a teachable lesson...

    Change the ROE, and dont allow our forces to actually fight back...

    it will demoralize the troops and the public

    ReplyDelete
  40. Not in public, Deuce.

    Have they even met, face to face?
    May be why Mr Obama has not, as of yet.

    One has to wonder if it makes a difference, or not.
    That symbolic bow.

    GW Bush did not publicly bow to the Sauds, but they still put it up our butt, regardless.

    Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America

    Who is on top?

    The blending of the Americas continues, lead, follow or get out of the way.
    That's the Federal course.

    Defend the perimeter, erase the internal borders. That's the plan, easily seen, if one takes the time to read the agreement.

    The North American Competitiveness Council (NACC) was an official tri-national working group of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). It was created at the second summit of the SPP in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico, in March 2006. Composed of 30 corporate representatives from some of North America's largest companies, the North American Competitiveness Council has been mandated to set priorities for the SPP and to act as a stable driver of the integration process through changes in government in all three countries.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I don't remember Bush bowing to the Sauds but I do recall a lovely hand holding session.

    That being said I'm curious as to why some get their knickers in a knot if leaders engage in traditional greetings.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Perhaps Chinese tar balls, or Hugo Cajones.

    Which is why we MUST deploy the carriers, to preempt an epic ecological disaster.

    That's the main point, now.

    Our tarpon and permit are endangered, yet we sit by.

    A $60 billion dollar industry, in Florida alone, threatened, and yet we do not deploy?!?!

    And there are no calls from the usual suspects to do so. Those that demand military action, far from home, are quite quiet about the threats to our shores and our own borders.

    That those tar balls are not from the Deep Horizon, all the more chilling. A prophet of the coming doom, a cause for gloom, that is paraphrasing what the fella from Key West said, no?

    Where are the carriers?!?!

    ReplyDelete
  43. If ever there was a real need for military preemption, saving the Florida Keys is cause enough!

    ReplyDelete
  44. You perceive the wrong message, in the news that those tar balls are not from the Deep Horizon, Deuce.

    You hit upon the truth, the threat is already there, and it is foreign.

    But draw the wrong conclusions, as to the course the US should take.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Why maintain 11 carrier battle groups, if defending the Florida Keys from chemical attack, with preemptive action, is a task to far?

    Why should we not project force to protect our onshore national interests, into the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribe Sea?

    ReplyDelete
  46. The tar balls, the advance forces of Hugo's chemical attack, have already landed, in the Keys.

    Yet many wish to ignore that reality.

    Hoping it'll go below the fold.

    ReplyDelete
  47. why?? because it is similar to using a sledge hammer to drive a small screw in a piece of wood.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Well, ash, deploying the carriers sends a message.

    That those that endanger US interests and assets will not miss. They'd have the option of turning the screw, themselves.

    Shutting down operations in those waters where a spill or blow out could be disruptive to US interests. In the name of economic and ecological security, of the entire North American and Caribbean regions, just not the US.

    We have the legal authority, found in the "Partnership for Prosperity and Security in the Caribbean" as well as the "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America".

    ReplyDelete
  49. We removed the offensive nuclear threat from Cuba, with Naval power projection, without a shot being fired.

    We ought to go back to the future,
    to save the Keys!

    ReplyDelete
  50. until very recently the meme regarding security and prosperity has been "Drill, Baby, Drill" with some, as recently has been exposed, paper thin caveats toward safety. Maybe the nation will respond as you are urging, and Friedman urged in his op/ed today, that our security and prosperity reside in more 'green' meme's. Friedman faults Obama for not making the blowout his 9/11.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/opinion/19friedman.html?hp

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  51. The Trucks are starting to roll, again. Distillate (diesel) use is up about ten percent (to 3.9 million barrels/day) from a couple of months, ago.

    Gasoline has leveled out at 9.2 mbpd.

    However, credit card use continues to fall, and M2 has fallen off the chart.

    It's going to be a rough slog, I'm afraid.

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  52. There is a viable alternative to oil, we just have to plant it.

    Do what we do best, forget the rest.

    Use our military to protect our own economic and ecological interests, our farmers to get US off the foreign oil addiction.

    A one two punch that starts the Saudi and Hugo's influence in our country on a course that leaves them down and out.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Regarding ethanol - I presume most vehicles cannot run on straight ethanol. Is that correct?

    Our truck fleet runs on diesel for the most part and ethanol cannot replace that can it?

    In short, would a complete switch over to ethanol require a new fleet of cars and trucks?

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  54. Make it a War on Oil, not Islam.

    The desired result, pretty much the same.

    The War on Oil, promoting the ethanol alternative, could be sold to the US public and the whirled.

    The other option, the US being at war with Islam, is not winnable as it is denied by US Presidents of both major political parties.

    ReplyDelete
  55. "That those tar balls are not from the Deep Horizon, all the more chilling. A prophet of the coming doom, a cause for gloom, that is paraphrasing what the fella from Key West said, no?"


    :)

    ReplyDelete
  56. ”And for those in a big hurry to stop drilling for oil in the gulf, here is some something for your ponderation:


    Tar balls discovered on the Florida Keys shoreline are not connected to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard said Wednesday…”


    :)
    :)

    .

    ReplyDelete
  57. ”Can JD bust "Mavericks" balls?

    We can only hope.”


    :)
    :)
    :)

    .

    ReplyDelete
  58. Up to a 30% blend, ash, any car can run on.

    Producing 30% of our gasoline, takes most of the Middle East oil imports, today.

    So we could gear up to that level, across the board, without a single car needing to be replaced.

    From that point, up to E85 or 85% ethanol, new vehicles would be needed. But the increased ethanol production and blend could be phased in, and the E30 would not have to be phased out. We cold produce E30 for years into the future, 15 to 20 years being the extended life of vehicles in use, today.

    So, while there could and would be a move to ever more economical and efficient vehicles, the existing fleet of 300 million vehicles would not be made obsolete.

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  59. The new engine that's coming out in the Buick Regal this fall will get within 1.5 mpg on E85 as it does on gasoline.

    The one after that with the heated injectors will get the same mileage on E85 as on gasoline.

    Look for Ford to follow suit rather quickly. 50% of Ford, and GM cars will be Flexfuel in 2012, according to the manufacturers.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Ash, currently our vehicles need 15 to 20% ethanol for "Cold" Starts.

    The Heated injectors that are coming out in the fall of 2011 put an end to that.

    Diesel is a slightly harder "work-around." Ethanol Can be used in a diesel engine, but it's not the currently accepted way to go. Vegetable oil (palm) is going to be the short-term fix. Longer term, we'll just have to see.

    ReplyDelete
  61. While this sounds promising it does seem that it would require some top down help from the government - higher ethanol percentage regulations, regulations requiring stuff from auto makers ect. While I'm personally in favor of this the political climate in the US seems somewhat ... resistant to more 'government'. Now the 'right' could very well implode as it continues its radical swing but will the 'left' push back hard or continue its drift toward the center which appears to be moving even further right?

    ReplyDelete
  62. The "Right" buys in, ash.

    It's a War.
    One which will hurt the sectarian Islamic States. That will be popular, with the "Right".

    It will produce ag jobs, on an industrial scale, popular in Middle America, the "Independents".

    It 'hurts' the oil companies, exciting the "Left".

    The War on Oil, its' a winner all around.

    ReplyDelete
  63. The Librarians buy in, energy and economic independence from foreign influences being the touchstone, for them.

    ReplyDelete
  64. What I'm seeing from the right these days is simply 'government is too big'. The only caveat being the military, and ironically, medicare (i.e Rand Paul's stance).

    Friedman's been banging this drum (not ethanol per se but rather a more free market approach aided by a tax) for a long time.

    Personally I'm sold. I think a tax on gas coupled with some good regulation could go a long way to driving the free market to ethanol and other solutions.

    ReplyDelete
  65. While those battery driven cars, that mat was advocating. The battery exchange stations and curbside chargers.

    Well, it's 2010 and they are still no where to be seen.

    How much longer until there are a million battery powered cars deployed?

    Electricity does not solve the liquid fuel challenge. It will not power the existing fleet of 300 million vehicles.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Neither political party actually supports biofuels - beyond a certain amount of lip service, anyway.

    The far left wing that Obama represents/panders to doesn't want to hear about anything but "wind-powered" electricity.

    The far right doesn't want to hear about anything but "drill baby drill."

    And, All politicians get a Large amount of money from the oil companies, as do the NYT, Fox News, NBC, Boston Globe, etc.

    The only Senators that support ethanol are the Corn State Senators, and Obama's got them all tied up in "deals."

    It's not a pretty picture.

    ReplyDelete
  67. The last thing we want is a gas tax - For a lot of reasons. Mr. Market will take care of that for us.

    Sometimes you just have to be patient.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Who on the "Right" will complain if the Navy shuts down the Chicom and Hugo's platforms.

    Who stands up for Charlie or Hugo, on the "Right"?

    Who would deplore the threat or even the use of force, to save the ecology of the Keys?

    Who stands against Energy Independence?

    Who stands against keeping our energy dollars here at home, instead of shipped to Geneva, by way of Mecca?

    ReplyDelete
  69. We all, well most of us, think we know the answers and we could solve it all if we were King. Putting a higher price on fuel would accomplish 2 things - it would help narrow the budget deficit and it would increase the incentive for other solutions. Nudging the solution toward ethanol seems to be reasonable and the government has been moving that way already.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Any that do, our enemies in the War on Oil!

    Why, you're either with US, or against US, as we save our shores from foreign ecological threats.

    ReplyDelete
  71. I agree rat that the right should adopt that rallying cry but the tea partiers don't seem to agree.

    ReplyDelete
  72. If the War on Oil became the Tea Baggers cause.

    It could become the 'cause' for the Farm Belt States.

    If the Gulf Coast States bought in, to save their shores.

    There's the ticket, to the White House. Even Mrs Palin could ride that pony to the Oval Office.

    ReplyDelete
  73. Name the enemy.

    Provide a course of action to defeat it.

    Rally popular support.

    It's all there.

    ReplyDelete
  74. alas, movements like the tea party aren't top down but bottom up. Maybe you could sell them with your platform but the current darlings of the movement don't seem to have adopted it as of yet.

    ReplyDelete
  75. A gas tax is a bad idea for two reasons, Ash. 1) It would hurt the economy, a lot. That's not something we need right now, for sure. 2) It would tend to "poison the well" of public opinion toward any solutions.

    Bush actually adopted the "best" solution. That was to "Mandate" the use of a certain amount of ethanol, and to bribe the oil companies a bit with some tax credits.

    The "Mandates" have to stay in place, but we could ease up a bit on the tax credits, now.

    ReplyDelete
  76. A course of action that is both conservative and progressive.

    A back to nature conservationism.
    A solution that can easily be marketed as "Green". Why there will be acre upon acre of greenery, hundreds of thousands of acres sucking up the carbon that the ethanol produces when burned. A carbon neutral solution, or close to it.

    Return sanity to the US balance of payments challenge, a conservative cause, if ever there was one.

    Since the oil companies and the status que elitists control the message, it'd have to be a "Grass Roots" affair, against the power status que.

    As the Rand Paul victory exemplifies as doable.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Well, ash, we'll need to beat on the "War on Oil" drum, no?

    ReplyDelete
  78. The continuing deficits are bad for the economy as well rufus and they've got to be addressed sooner or later. It seems the markets are addressing them at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  79. A real Revolution could be in the air!

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  80. Who'd have guessed, in November of 2007 that Ron Paul would be the most influential of the then GOP contenders, in May of 2010?

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  81. Has Mr. Paul ever said anything about a war on oil? Is he advocating the addition of bike lanes in urban centers? Government mandates on ethanol? The spread of wind and solar farms? All tools that can be exercised in the War on Oil.

    ReplyDelete
  82. The Deep Horizon episode opens a window of opportunity.

    We should charge through it.

    Now is the time to focus on the real goals of the United States and start the long slog to victory.

    ReplyDelete
  83. This problem will be solved by high gasoline prices. And, only by high gasoline prices. Nothing else will "motivate" the "grass roots."

    James Schlesinger (former energy Secretary) said, "The American people have Two modes, Complacency, and Panic." He was, of course, right.

    ReplyDelete
  84. I have no idea, ash, of Mr Paul's position on the "War on Oil", though I suspect there are major parts of the concept he could sign on to.

    Some he could object to, as well.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Yes rufus high prices certainly motivate behavior. The US federal government making them higher...

    ...would probably get any party in power kicked out of power in the good ole USA.

    I guess you make your own bed and have to lie in it.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Less than 1/100th of 1% of American people are even marginally interested in "bike lanes," Ash. To speak of such silliness Immediately loses the Audience.

    People are busy trying to make a buck, and raise their families. For that, they need "Affordable" transportation. You mention bike lanes to an out of work Voter/Taxpyer, and you're liable to get your throat cut. He/she doesn't have time for such nonsense.

    He/she wants to go fill up the jalopy for a $20.00 bill, and go look for a job. Or go to the store, or take the kid to his ball game, etc.

    "Bike Lanes" are what the voters are Mad about.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Sorry about the road trip, Quirk. Turns out it's A LOT more than 106 miles to Chicago. So I just wandered off to bed.




    I have a feeling this November isn't going to look like what most thought it was going to look like just a short time ago.



    Tea hee. Tea hee.

    ReplyDelete
  88. yet it is a viable tool in the war on oil rufus, in urban centers anyway. Try driving to work in Manhattan and you'll get the idea.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Ash, not one person in 10,000 in the U.S. even, in their most weirded-out moment, considers riding a bike to work. To even speak of such things, immediately, loses the support of the people that you need.

    ReplyDelete
  90. My, my. The rat appears pumped today.

    Seems a little early for the Jose Cuervo though.

    Energy Independence?

    It will come.

    Probably hard and fast. But not until we are sucking wind on oil.

    A political campaign built around energy independance?

    As the boss tells the gecko in that Geico commercial, "Good luck with that one."


    .

    ReplyDelete
  91. I'm not so sure, Q. People are a little pissed, right now. It's not hard to campaign against British Petroleum, and Expensive gasoline.

    However, the turmoil in Europe has the price of oil headed down, so we'll have to see how that plays out.

    ReplyDelete
  92. Should go back to drilling in shallow water.

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  93. Ash's bike fetish is like the liberal's train fetish, Rufus:

    Much ado and expense about projects that have negligible effect on the outcome.

    ReplyDelete
  94. ""In the navy, we are held accountable for our actions""

    Indeed!
    Sixpack was fired, forthwith, by the current Navy Chief.

    Retired with 2, not three stars.

    ReplyDelete
  95. Sixpack ran against Obamacare and four or five other ObamaPelosi madnesses.

    ReplyDelete
  96. The guy, Burns, was just another RINO. Crist ran to his "Right" on several issues.

    ReplyDelete
  97. Yon says Crystal is no Petraeus.
    He, and the troops discontented with Crystal and his ROEs.

    Says that although the Taliban is weaker, they are winning, 'cause everybody "knows" we aren't stayin.

    ReplyDelete
  98. Yon is currently in Bangkok, in reaction to being unembedded w/o cause.
    Hotel he was staying at was closed after coming under heavy fire.

    Says he does not understand the complexities of Thai politics.

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  99. Ash:

    "Now the 'right' could very well implode as it continues its radical swing but will the 'left' push back hard or continue its drift toward the center which appears to be moving even further right?"

    Ash's mental La La Land:
    JFK could never be nominated by today's socialist Dem radicals.

    Far too conservative, far too hawkish.

    Tax cuts, anyone?

    Today's RINOS are to the left of Dems in the sixties.

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  100. Murtha's district is more than 2 to 1 Democrat.

    ...but McCain beat Barry.

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  101. Sure Ruf. The world can change quickly, in a couple years or less or even overnight.

    There could be a disastrous war in the ME. Someone could find a practical solution for generating (non-solar) fusion power. December 21, 2012 is right around the corner.

    However, I'm merely stating it the way I see today.

    Could the BP spill turn into more of an environmental (and financial) disaster than we expect right now? Sure. Should BP be punished? I think so based on their past history as much as on this fiasco. Would anyone defend them? A few. Most would think they deserved what they got. Would more people say we shouldn't be drilling in the Gulf? Probably. That's easy to say when we've got the gas we need at the moment.

    However, gas prices are low right now. Storage capacity is full. The economy sucks. Would the spill change the overall debate on energy independance much? I mean in a practical sense? I don't think so.

    As a nation, we are not very good at forward thinking on major issues like this. Or at least we lack the will to act on them until forced to.

    In Econ 101, they used to say that deferred gratification was a characteristic of the middle class. On the other hand, they say the middle class is disappearing in this country.

    It's just the nature of the beast.

    My comment on the political campaign, although I do actually believe it, was more a dig at the rat. A man who implies he would like to see Hayworth defeat anyone (Dem, GOP, Libertarian, Rosicrucian. or even John McCain) has a tenuous grasp on reality.


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  102. Thanks, Trish.
    I managed to inhale a big Multivitamin pill.

    Felt and sounded like I was dying of pneumonia.
    Never got pneumonia, but still recovering from the Vitamin incident.

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  103. "Sixpack ran against Obamacare and four or five other ObamaPelosi madnesses.

    Wed May 19, 02:57:00 PM EDT"

    Correction:

    CRITZ

    Pro-life, antiObama.

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  104. "...the Vitamin incident."

    I will endeavor to avoid same.

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  105. "Yon is currently in Bangkok, in reaction to being unembedded w/o cause...

    Says he does not understand the complexities of Thai politics."



    Must be there for the booze and the bar girls.


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  106. No, quirk, you misunderstand.

    I'd like to see JD beat McCain, will even vote in the Primary to further that end. I will not, then vote for Hayworth, in the General Election.

    He being a Republican.
    I won't vote for Republicans, in General Elections.

    I'm still a conservative, small government Republican, but the Party left me, if they were ever, really, with me.

    I'll vote for whomever the Librarian is, in the General, more than likely.

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  107. There's an ADM - don't know who - who was out here last week and adamant that the focus remains killing bad guys. Adamant.

    But there are so many moving parts. I feel for those who have to make them all somehow work in concert.

    I really do.

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  108. Bangkok is good for those things, booze and broads, or so the stories go.

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  109. Sounds like the Admiral is a jerk.
    At least a fella not looking to win friends and influence amongst his subordinates.

    Which is not to say he would or could not be a capable Senator, representing the people of PA.

    Hard driving.
    Ass hole, more than likely.

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  110. Guys that went to Highschool with him called Bennett to report that he was an A-Hole then!

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  111. Toomey was too young to be in Viet Nam. I doubt he was in the military and he will be too intimidated to make an issue of Sestack's military career.

    Kurt Weldon had a medical deferment and I believe he was afraid to make Sestack's record an issue. He lost.

    Spector went after Sestack's record big time and it did him no good.

    Pennsylvania has a very high ratio of ex-military, over a million, but I guess they are not that gung ho.

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  112. "Former Navy Vice Adm. Joe Sestak, now a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania, has a reputation as a “temperamental and demanding boss,” The Hill newspaper reported Tuesday — qualities that led to his firing from a top Navy post two years ago..."

    Should fit right in in D.C.


    Unfortunately, those qualities are not grounds for firing there.


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