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."
:):):):):)
ReplyDeleteEnglish comedy.
That is why we are so lucky the English won the war.
risky
Bright Side of Life
ReplyDeleteIt has been 10 years since 9/11, and all of us who write about such things for a living are writing about it. That causes me to be wary.
ReplyDelete...
The problem is that international law has simply failed to address the question of how a nation-state deals with forces that wage war through terrorism but are not part of any nation-state. Neither criminal law nor the laws of war apply.
...
But to return to the main theme, it is important here to consider not only the successes but also the failures of the war, and here Iraq comes to mind. There is a case to be made that the Iraq campaign was not irrational, but even more interesting, I think, is the fact that no war is without its disastrous misjudgments, even successful wars.
Successful War
Sumsing Turbo
ReplyDeleteAn argument, huh?
ReplyDeleteDuring Gulf One, Israel extorted Bush to the tune of $13 billion to stay out of the war (and thus keep the fragile coalition of Arab nations intact).
Three billion for "war-related costs" and ten for resettling the Russian immigrants.
Of course we saw in the 2006 war in Lebanon how much "better" Israeli pilots were than US pilots at finding Scud launchers.
You silly slut, that's what strategic allies are for.
ReplyDeleteFor the first time, fewer than half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 give the president positive marks. Young voters broke overwhelmingly for Obama in 2008, but just 47 percent of those under age 30 now approve of the way he is doing his job; just as many disapprove.
ReplyDeleteFewer than three-quarters of Democrats approve of the president; his disapproval rating among independents ties its high from a year ago at 57 percent.
One area where the president continues to score high ratings is on his handling of the threat of terrorism. Here, 62 percent of all Americans approve; 32 percent disapprove.
My Favorite: The Annoying Peasant
ReplyDeleteFrom Haaretz Daily
ReplyDeleteIn this way the Hamas government provides an alibi for Israel to mendaciously claim that it is no longer an occupier. Hamas needs a blockade to regulate from within so that the subjects of "independent Gaza" will be exposed as little as possible to different realities and will not question its policies.
Hamas needs the blockade and needs Gaza to be cut off from the rest of Palestinian society to ensure the continuation of its regime.
Hamas and Bibi/Lieberman, working hand in glove to keep tensions high, with fear the key to their political survival
ReplyDeleteThe far-reaching economic plan that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney put forward on Tuesday relies heavily on the premise that the way to revive the economy is to get the government out of the way of corporations.
ReplyDelete...
“Governor Romney repackaged the same old policies that helped create the economic crisis: boosting oil company profits and allowing Wall Street to write its own rules, more tax breaks for large corporations and more tax cuts for the wealthiest,” Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said in a statement.
...
“As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney failed to create a pro-jobs environment and failed to institute many of the reforms he now claims to support,” said Mark Miner, spokesman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
desert rat said...
ReplyDeleteHamas and Bibi/Lieberman, working hand in glove to keep tensions high, with fear the key to their political survival
What a stupid stupid asshole..
And this is comedy hour....
risky
You silly slut, that's what strategic allies are for.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Deuce, you succeeded where WiO could not. I'm off the blog.
Impeach Obama
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteYou silly slut, that's what strategic allies are for.
Ironic?
I didn't see the smiley face.
.
Goddamn, T. He wasn't trying to insult you.
ReplyDeleteHaven't you ever made a similar statement to a friend?
You're taking offense where, surely, none was meant.
"Sardonic" is the word that's popping into my head.
ReplyDeleteIt obliquely infers to your, and WIO's differences, and ricochets off of WIO's name-calling.
Goddamn, T. He wasn't trying to insult you.
ReplyDeleteHaven't you ever made a similar statement to a friend?
No, I do not insult friends nor enemies, it's all about the arguments and nothing but the arguments. It's one thing to be insulted by Bob or WiO, who are guests, but Deuce is the host. It's "official". And I don't stay where I'm not wanted.
IBM and 3M working to invent a "stacked" Chip 1,000 Times Faster
ReplyDeleteYou are wanted.
ReplyDeleterisky
T,
ReplyDeleteI should be insulted - you...Nah...hang in there, girl :-)
You're being was too "stiff-necked" about this, T. It was WIO that Deuce was making fun of; not you.
ReplyDeletewas = way :)
ReplyDeleteBesides I won some kind of vote, according to Q, and you got my "proxies".
ReplyDeleteYou stay put.
risky
Dr,
ReplyDeleteWith reference to the former post and my alleged dehumanization of zombies, your patron James the Just said, "Faith without works is dead." How about telling me what accomplishments for the good of humanity have come from your brethren in the past 600 years. James would be very disappointed in them and you.
Heartbreaker
ReplyDeleteThis is why women shouldn't be presidents.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteOn the previous thread, I commented that there was nothing the boys in OZ could do in the short term to increase jobs. Should have included the FED.
Fed considers buying more long-term Treasury bonds to lower rates
The Federal Reserve is moving toward new steps aimed at lowering interest rates on mortgages and other kinds of long-term loans, without making another massive infusion of money into the economy.
When Fed officials hold a pivotal meeting in two weeks, they will strongly consider buying more long-term Treasury bonds, which should lead to lower interest rates for those bonds and other long-term investments. This would ultimately make it cheaper for businesses to borrow money for investments and push more dollars into the stock market, in addition to reducing rates on mortgages and other consumer loans...
To pay for the bond purchases, the Fed would sell off some of the shorter-term bonds it already owns rather than printing new money...
Or should we allow interest rates to rise?
.
Does the term "busy work" resonate?
ReplyDeleteNews of the decision comes after the month of August passed without an American service personnel death in Iraq, the first time that has occurred since the US-led invasion of Iraq began in 2003. Still, July was the deadliest month in Iraq for US forces in three years, with the death toll hitting 14.
ReplyDeletePanetta predicted last month that the Iraqi government would request that non-combat forces remain in the country beyond the end of 2011. He said the Iraqi government has agreed to enter formal negotiations on extending the US troop presence.
Under the terms of a 2008 security agreement, all of the approximately 46,000 US troops currently in Iraq must leave by Dec. 31, unless a new agreement is reached.
James the Just, another name in the story, just another character in the history of the Levant.
ReplyDeleteMeans no more to me, personally than Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan or Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
" Teresita said...
ReplyDeleteYou silly slut, that's what strategic allies are for.
Congratulations, Deuce, you succeeded where WiO could not. I'm off the blog.
Tue Sep 06, 09:49:00 PM EDT
sam said...
Impeach Obama
Tue Sep 06, 09:51:00 PM EDT
Quirk said...
.
You silly slut, that's what strategic allies are for.
Ironic?
I didn't see the smiley face.
.
Tue Sep 06, 10:00:00 PM EDT"
Sorry, Sorry, Sorry… the title of the post is "I'd Like to Have an Argument Please."
and your comment was the perfect lead
Teresita said...
An argument, huh?
During Gulf One, Israel extorted Bush to the tune of $13 billion to stay out of the war (and thus keep the fragile coalition of Arab nations intact).
Three billion for "war-related costs" and ten for resettling the Russian immigrants.
Of course we saw in the 2006 war in Lebanon how much "better" Israeli pilots were than US pilots at finding Scud launchers.
Tue Sep 06, 09:03:00 PM EDT
Deuce said...
You silly slut, that's what strategic allies are for.
Tue Sep 06, 09:07:00 PM EDT
---------------------------
Rufus nailed it and my dear girl and friend, I would only chance such humor on a friend. Sorry, Sorry, Sorry!!!
allen said...
ReplyDeleteDr,
With reference to the former post and my alleged dehumanization of zombies, your patron James the Just said, "Faith without works is dead." How about telling me what accomplishments for the good of humanity have come from your brethren in the past 600 years. James would be very disappointed in them and you.
Tue Sep 06, 11:07:00 PM EDT
What an asshole and a slanderer.
The question should be, what accomplishments for the good of humanity have come from thee.
What a nauseating asshole Allen is.
risky
It harkened to an iconic moment in American pop humor
ReplyDeleteJane, you ignorant slut
Now you can't go T, end of argument.
ReplyDeleterisky
Deuce, you dumb shit
ReplyDeleteand to make it clear my comment to Teresita was meant within the farcical theme of the post!
Reporting from Washington—
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. Postal Service is on the verge of financial collapse and should eliminate Saturday delivery, close thousands of local post offices, restructure its health plan and lay off 120,000 workers to survive, according to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe.
Donahoe asked lawmakers to allow him to make "radical" changes to the centuries-old institution so it could avoid defaulting on its obligations. At a Senate hearing Tuesday, he said the Postal Service was all but certain to miss a $5.5-billion payment to its retiree health fund due at the end of the month. And that is only the beginning of the trouble, he said, warning that the postal system was heading toward a $10-billion net loss this fiscal year and was near its borrowing limit.
Rufus II said...
ReplyDelete"Sardonic" is the word that's popping into my head.
It obliquely infers to your, and WIO's differences, and ricochets off of WIO's name-calling.
Tue Sep 06, 10:15:00 PM EDT
The ethenol-sotted Rufus did not need a smiley face.
They don't deliver on Saturdays in Australia.
ReplyDeleteMamaaa, don't let you're daughters grow up to be presidents.
ReplyDeleteer, your
ReplyDeleteRufus II said...
ReplyDelete"Sardonic" is the word that's popping into my head.
It obliquely infers to your, and WIO's differences, and ricochets off of WIO's name-calling.
Tue Sep 06, 10:15:00 PM EDT
The ethanol-sotted Rufus did not need a smiley face.
On Wednesday, the German Federal Constitutional Court, based in Karlsruhe, is due to deliver its verdict on the legality of the country’s participation in the euro bailout fund, the aid given to bankrupt peripheral euro countries such as Greece, Portugal and Ireland.
ReplyDeleteA group of anti-euro academics and politicians have bought three lawsuits against the bailouts, arguing that by turning the single currency into a ‘transfer union’ they violate both the European Union treaties as well as Germany’s own basic law.
Whether the judges agree with that argument or not remains to be seen. The Maastricht Treaty that established the legal basis for the single currency certainly appeared to rule out fiscal transfers between member states. But European treaties have usually been fairly vague, meaning different things at different times to different people. They have seldom been applied rigidly in the past — and in the midst of a crisis within the euro, the judges may well decide this is not the time to start sticking to the letter of the law.
What is certainly true is that a decision to rule the bailouts unconstitutional would be a massive blow to the euro. Germany is the most important economy in Europe. It will be paying at least a quarter of the bailouts agreed so far, and potentially much more if other countries need to be rescued as well. If the court bans German participation, it is not exaggeration to say the game is up.
Deuce said...
ReplyDeleteDeuce, you dumb shit
and to make it clear my comment to Teresita was meant within the farcical theme of the post!
Kiss ass...
anon bob said...
ReplyDeleteWhat a nauseating asshole Allen is.
risky
Wed Sep 07, 01:36:00 AM EDT
You forgot "Jewish" :-D)))
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteFUCK YOU YOU PIECE OF JEWISH SHIT
Tue Sep 06, 08:02:00 AM EDT
Maybe the "argument" meme wasn't the best idea. :)
ReplyDeleteI was just doing a check on who had a sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteIt worked better when I was in England.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could learn to go take a nap when I start feeling "serious."
ReplyDeleteOr, Drunk :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete