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."

Sunday, March 04, 2012

Libyan Rebels thank Nato and UK for their service.

The pitiful plight of oppressed people yearning to be free of the tyrant. Unable to accomplish the goal with their own heft (quite common in the Middle East), these potential allies, facing an existential threat from Qaddafi, pled with the US and NATO to help their cause for freedom and democracy. Democrats, one and all, they truly were.

They clamored for justice.

US politicians and the ever vigilant US media cranked up demand for Obama to do something. Obama, never quite capable of resisting the political winds caved to the call.

NATO, (read US: France and the UK) air power and US mercenaries rose to the occasion to get involved in something that they did not understand to support our natural and longtime allies, the Mujaheddin, Muslim Brotherhood, AQ, whatever.

How is that working out exactly now that the calls for US arms and money are clamoring across the lands of all those loving prophets and religions of peace?


80 comments:

  1. Those monuments to war dead, under the stone crosses and the Star of David, managed to survive unmolested under the vicious and unenlightened rule of Qaddafi.

    Those same stones have a new role, a monument to US political stupidity brought to you by the DC Siamese twins joined at the head and the heart and waiting for our vote to bless them on their ongoing mission to spread the blessings of democracy to the World.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Senator John McCain, a wholly-owned subsidary of AIPAC, never met a conflict in the Middle East that he didn't like to send US troops into.

    "Now that military operations in Libya are ending, there will be renewed focus on what practical military operations might be considered to protect civilian lives in Syria," McCain said at the World Economic Forum in Jordan. "The Assad regime should not consider that it can get away with mass murder. Qaddafi made that mistake and it cost him everything," he added, referring to ousted Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi who was captured and killed last week by fighters loyal to the new government.

    "Iran's rulers would be wise to heed similar counsel," McCain said.

    ReplyDelete
  3. John McCain never met an oilman's knob he wouldn't polish.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We have cut our Oil Consumption by almost 25% in the U.S., and still managed to eke out a little "Economic Growth."

    This is something I would have sworn was not possible.

    If we can get/keep the Republicans away from the reins of power there might be hope for us, yet.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Haaretz: Israel features in the American presidential campaign as no other foreign country does, with the candidates vying for the sobriquet of "biggest Israel-lover" to the point where it often seems to be the main issue. Rich Jews like Sheldon Adelson donate enormous war chests to candidates for the sole purpose of buying their support for Israel, while the president of the United States, who won with a message of change, was forced to fold up, at lightning speed, the flag of planting peace in the Middle East simply because Israel said "No." If last week a British member of the House of Lords was forced to resign from Parliament after daring to criticize Israel, in the United States she would never have even considered making her views known.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wholesale gasoline is selling for 48,6/% More than ethanol. ($1.07/$2.20)

    ReplyDelete
  7. $1.07 being the difference between the wholesale price of RBOB ($3.27) and the wholesale price of ethanol ($2.20)

    ReplyDelete
  8. And, we still don't have an "ethanol-optimized" car. This, even after the X-Prize Competition proved that an engine optimized for E85 is the most fuel efficient mode of transport.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Take away our over-weaning dependence on imported oil, and we wouldn't give a popcorn fart in a hurricane about anything that happens in the ME.

    ReplyDelete
  10. After accounting for DDGS we are devoting about 20 million acres to the production of ethanol (about 5% of U.S. "crop" land.)


    And, we're still paying farmers Not to Plant 30 Million acres.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Rufus: Wholesale gasoline is selling for 48,6/% More than ethanol. ($1.07/$2.20)

    Peak oil or pre-war speculation? We report, you decide.

    ReplyDelete
  12. We had some interesting auto numbers last week. Sales were way up, but the sales of low-mileage pickups, and large SUVS were way down (around 33% of total sales.)

    This is important because 10% of miles driven are cars one year old, or newer. Half of miles driven are autos 6 YO, and newer.

    ReplyDelete
  13. In 2008 Global Production of Oil (Crude + Condensate) was 73.7 Million bpd

    In 2011 it was 74.1 Million bpd.

    A difference of 1/2 of 1%.

    ReplyDelete
  14. In the meantime the growth in the Global Auto Fleet is probably in the 20% range.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I make it "peak oil," and "ever-growing demand."


    but, that's just me. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. .

    We're Idiots.



    Speak for yourself.


    .

    ReplyDelete
  17. You're right. Some are idiots, and some live in Deetroit.

    ReplyDelete
  18. My 2010 Focus gets 42MPG on the freeway, that's not idiotic.

    ReplyDelete
  19. No, Waspie; That's damned smart.

    And, a lot of INDIVIDUALS are making damned smart decisions.

    It's as a "collective," working through our ignorant, corrupt leaders that we can't get out of our own way.

    ReplyDelete
  20. And, mark my words; I will, before I die, buy a Ford Focus (or a car like it) that gets 42 mpg on E85.


    if they'll just hurry, that is :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Gas had doubled in price since Ruf's Hero Obama usurped the office and he calls it progress.

    Expect brown outs in Philly and Deetroit this summer. Coal fired plants have been closed.

    Chevy Volt production line closed.

    Quirk has it right, you're a fool, Rufus, and speak for yourself tonto, johnny come lately.

    ReplyDelete
  22. .

    I hate to start this again Rufus since I know it does little good with you; however, when you like WiO start throwing around the bullshit sometimes reasonable people have to bring a little balance to the conversation.

    You talk about the wholesale price of gasoline versus E85 yet that is meaningless to the public. All they care about is what they pay at the pump, the availibility of it, and it costs (the vehicle) to be able to run it.

    US gas prices are driven by state requirements, seasonal factors, federal and local taxes, transportation costs, as well as, raw material costs, etc.

    You talk about E85 but only about 7 million vehicles (out of 250 million in the fleet) can use it. You site experimental vehicles that can run it efficiently ignoring the fact that it will take years before we get a significant percentage of the fleet switched over (this based on design and production lead times, patent issues, incentives, etc.)

    You are constantly citing E85 prices in Iowa. How many trips have you made there to fill up? It's not just that you would expect prices to be cheaper there since so much of the economy is built on agriculture. It's also their tax structure and regulations. There are 18 different blends across the US to account for regulatory and seasonal differences.

    Federal and state taxes in Iowa are about $.40 per gallon. That's $.09 or $.10 per gallon cheaper than the national average. It's about $.27 cheaper than states like California or New York.

    You cite the differential between the E85 prices in Iowa and other states but ignore the fact that E85 is about 20% less efficient than regular gasoline for most of the fleet. If you want an apples to apples comparison try factoring in the taxes, efficiency, and availibility of supply.

    Based on locations quoting E85 prices, New York quoted a 15% price advantage for E85, California an 8% advantage; but that doesn't take into account the efficiency penalty which on a dollars per mile basis makes E85 a bad deal in both states.

    In recent comments, you said the GOP is ruining the ethanol business. Really? Isn't that a little inconsistent? You tell us what a great deal ethanol is. How cheap it is. How the wholesale price is so low. How it is only taking up a small percentage of the corn crop. The government has mandated a certain percentage of ethanol in gasoline for new cars. That amount is mandated to double in a decade or so. What could stop this juggernaut?

    And don't say price. If this stuff can be made so cheap, why aren't the producers pumping out as much as they can? They must be making money on it. How can the government screw it up?

    Then you go from the specific to the general, every minor or major short run price fluctuation is driven by 'peak oil' and only peak oil. Ridiculous.

    Long term, no one is going to argue with you over the effects of peak oil. However, when Deuce suggests Iran is playing a part in the recent run up in oil prices and you say "No, it's all just peak oil", you just look silly. Peak oil drives prices over the long term but it doesn't drive up prices almost $1 in a few short weeks (some of what I've seen here locally). To ignore Fed policy, speculation, geopolitical events, the dollar, etc. is merely burying your head in the sand.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  23. The highest gas prices we've ever paid ($4.11/gal) were in the last year of the Bush Administration.

    Sure prices have gone up under Obama. When he took over the Pubs had us on the verge of Great Depression II.

    Q - you're just babbling about stuff of which you know squat.

    an ex: Your gas taxes in Iowa vs National Average paragraph.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Fundamentalist Islam is in a growth phase. Saddam Hussein, Muammarr Qaddafi, Hosni Mubarek and others kept it at bay, with western help, but the times they are a changing.

    People want to throw off the heavy yoke of a dictator and the fervent Muslims want to take up and impose the heavier yoke of Allah. Insha Allah.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Obama, and the IEA had to pump 60 Million Barrels into the market to keep gas prices from going over $4.00 Last Year.

    Was THAT "Iran tensions?"


    Oh, wait, no; that was "Libya problems."

    Always sumpin, ain't it Bubba?

    ReplyDelete
  26. One last thing, Q. If you are "average public" you should just scroll past my comments; they are Not aimed at you.

    ReplyDelete
  27. .

    Q - you're just babbling about stuff of which you know squat.

    an ex: Your gas taxes in Iowa vs National Average paragraph.



    Bullshit, Rufus.

    Pedal your stuff to people who don't know enough to ask questions.

    US Gasoline Prices By State


    E85 Gas Price Spreads

    .

    ReplyDelete
  28. .

    One last thing, Q. If you are "average public" you should just scroll past my comments; they are Not aimed at you.


    Oh, that's right. Your font of esoteric knowledge is designed for the enlightened ones, the illuminati.

    Too funny.

    :)

    .

    ReplyDelete
  29. Deuce you have been doing great in putting up posts showing how idiotic the moslems are, and how immune to improvement.

    Yet you can't seem to make the leap that it might not be a good idea to see nuclear weapons in the hands of idiotic people immune to improvement who say they want to kill us all.
    ....

    Tonto clearly has ethanol on the brain. It has been subsidized heavily for a long time, and voted for by Republicans and Democrats alike, and still doesn't, as Quirk points out, make much of a dent in the rise of the price of fuel.

    These fuel costs are going to defeat Obama.

    And he goes about closing coal fired plants.

    And nixing drilling, and nuclear.

    I hope Philly and Detroit and everywhere else too have brown outs or black outs right around election time.

    ....

    Tonto's comments are aimed at 'sub-average' public. They might be taken in by it all.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Deuce you have been doing great in putting up posts showing how idiotic the moslems are, and how immune to improvement.

    Yet you can't seem to make the leap that it might not be a good idea to see nuclear weapons in the hands of idiotic people immune to improvement who say they want to kill us all.
    ....

    Tonto clearly has ethanol on the brain. It has been subsidized heavily for a long time, and voted for by Republicans and Democrats alike, and still doesn't, as Quirk points out, make much of a dent in the rise of the price of fuel.

    These fuel costs are going to defeat Obama.

    And he goes about closing coal fired plants.

    And nixing drilling, and nuclear.

    I hope Philly and Detroit and everywhere else too have brown outs or black outs right around election time.

    ....

    Tonto's comments are aimed at 'sub-average' public. They might be taken in by it all.

    ReplyDelete
  31. .

    Obama, and the IEA had to pump 60 Million Barrels into the market to keep gas prices from going over $4.00 Last Year.

    Was THAT "Iran tensions?"


    Oh, wait, no; that was "Libya problems."

    Always sumpin, ain't it Bubba?




    It's always something?

    You nitwit, you make my point for me.

    My comment was about you constantly saying it is all about peak oil and only peak oil, the number 42 of the energy debate.

    Sure it was something else back then, a lot of something elses. That's the whole point. Peak oil drives prices over time but short term spikes are driven by many factors, something you don't seem to get.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  32. No, Q, you go peddle YOUR shit to those that can't read. Mn, Ia, and Ne average $0.44/gal.

    That's $0.045 (four and a half cents less than the national average, Not NINE OR TEN CENTS.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Q,

    I followed your link to E85 - $2.89/gal in Nebraska

    Vs $3.79 for Gasoline.


    Why?

    Because they've managed to cut the oil companies out of part of the loop in parts of Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota.

    Look, Q, it's not my business that you spent your adult life building, and selling, 12 mpg gas guzzlers to the American People, and telling them that the cheap gas would last, FOREVER.

    But, those days are gone. You can live in the past if you want, but the rest of us can't afford that particular luxury.

    ReplyDelete
  34. What great and surprising news...Putin elected as Russian president. He's so deserving. A great statesman who showed us his pectorals.

    ReplyDelete
  35. And, by the way, mullet, there's Nothing "short term" about the current price of oil.

    This time Last Year (before the Libyan dust-up) prices were at an all-time, seasonal high.

    And, they're up this year, YOY, about what they were Last Year, YOY.

    And, I'll betcha a million fuckin' buckaroos they'll be up about the same percentage this time Next Year.

    It's called "Peak Oil for Nitwits."

    ReplyDelete
  36. And, Bob, maybe you haven't noticed that Pa produces Nat Gas, and Nat Gas is selling for $2.47 kcuft. But, they do; and it is.

    They'll have plenty of electricity. bet on it.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Wasp said...
    Senator John McCain, a wholly-owned subsidary of AIPAC, never met a conflict in the Middle East that he didn't like to send US troops into.


    Wasp, a self confessed liar and know anti-semite expresses her opinion on A US Senator and AIPAC.

    Might I suggest that the self confessed liar keep her opinion about AIPAC to her lying self?

    You see folks, WASP? Is also known as Ms T, teresita and ZENA.

    She has proven her jew hatred with thousands of posts and was actually dumb enough to admit when caught in a lie about her serving in the military about her being a lesbian when it was actually a crime that her entire online persona was in fact a lie...

    So her opinion on any issue that concerns Israel or Jews, Zionism or Judaism? Is akin to asking David Duke his opinion on black history.

    ReplyDelete
  38. .

    Look, Q, it's not my business that you spent your adult life building, and selling, 12 mpg gas guzzlers to the American People, and telling them that the cheap gas would last, FOREVER.



    More straw men and snake oil.

    I spent most of my working life in the auto industry but never had any kind of love affair or attachments to cars. Never worried much about oil prices either. Still don't really except when it effects my investments.

    You have been talking about the wonders of E85 for a week. On more than one occasion, you have offered up that the recent price hike in gas was not due to Iran or any other factor than peak oil. I ignored it pretty much. No comments on it at all. But then you brought me into it.

    You say, "Scroll on by my comments;" yet you also say, "We're idiots", to which I responded, "Speak for yourself."

    You say I don't know sqat, just as WiO when offering some bullshit as 'historical fact' tells me to go learn some history. It's hard to take you seriously.



    .

    ReplyDelete
  39. "Deuce you have been doing great in putting up posts showing how idiotic the moslems are, and how immune to improvement.

    Yet you can't seem to make the leap that it might not be a good idea to see nuclear weapons in the hands of idiotic people immune to improvement who say they want to kill us all."

    Nice job, Bob! This is a troubling trait of his.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Okay, okay, you're a brainiac.

    And the fact that oil production hasn't, in any practical way, increased since 2005 is Not indicative of peak oil.

    It just means we enjoy paying higher prices for petroleum products, and those higher prices Do Not lead to more "exploration, and drilling."

    ReplyDelete
  41. Edit:

    We're idiots (except for Quirk, who is a Genius of the highest - way higher than Mensa - order.)



    There. Better?

    ReplyDelete
  42. .

    I followed your link to E85 - $2.89/gal in Nebraska

    Vs $3.79 for Gasoline.




    $2.89 $3.79 (24%) 3/03 Papillion, NB.

    $2.89 $3.61 (20%) 03/01 Omaha, NB.


    Why doesn't it surprise me that though there are several prices listed for E85 in NB. you took the one with the biggest spread. With the lower spread, factoring in the efficiency issue, you come out similar to what gasoline will give you on a miles per gallon basis. Not surprising since most companies will try to maximize profits to the extent that they can.

    But on 'best case' state is meaningless.

    What about

    $3.59 $3.77 (5%) 03/01 Miami, FL.


    .

    ReplyDelete
  43. .

    We're idiots (except for Quirk, who is a Genius of the highest - way higher than Mensa - order.)


    I was just about to push the button on another post, but now that I see we are all in agreement, there's no point.

    :)


    I've got to walk the dog anyway.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  44. Read much?

    State Averages:

    $2.88 for E85

    $3.74 for Gasoline

    Av. Spread 23%

    ReplyDelete
  45. $0.07 difference in Taxes, and $0.20 for Shipping to Florida

    $2.88 (Neb price) + $0.07 + $0.20 = $3.15.


    Why is E85 $0.44 Higher (after adding shipping and taxes) in Florida than in Nebraska?

    I would say the Blender (aka Oil Company) is making a very large profit, if I had to guess. At least, that's usually the story.

    As I said, in some of the upper Midwest states they have managed to cut the oil company out of part of the Distribution loop by buying directly from the refineries.

    ReplyDelete
  46. I knew Putin was a phoney when I saw him in a river 'fishing' without a shirt on.

    Nobody does that.

    There are bugs in the air out there, for goodness sakes.

    Besides, he's also a murderer.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Anonymous said...
    "Deuce you have been doing great in putting up posts showing how idiotic the moslems are, and how immune to improvement.

    Yet you can't seem to make the leap that it might not be a good idea to see nuclear weapons in the hands of idiotic people immune to improvement who say they want to kill us all."

    Nice job, Bob! This is a troubling trait of his.

    Sun Mar 04, 03:05:00 PM EST


    I do not work with wishful thinking. I spent seven years on TAC and SAC bases, over the horizon radar detection systems, BMEWS and analysis of soviet missile launches. I have also studied the use of tactical and strategic air power since the use of the Eighth Air Force in WWII. We have not used strategic weapons for defense successfully since that time and have had short term mixed results with tactical use of air power. Iraq is a perfect example. With all the resources of the US Air Force and naval air including strategic bombers we did not get Saddam until some GI pulled him out of a hole armed with a .45. Bin Laden was killed by a Navy Seal. We have US military getting shot in the back of the head in government ministries in Afghanistan. All the air power could not prevent that from happening.

    In Viet Nam, air power used in Cambodia left a dedicated enemy unscathed but resulted in the murder of 2,000,000 people that were foolish enough to believe American politicians.

    Since some here forgot these inconvenient details, I will do a post on Lon Nol who was our guy after the CIA helped waste Nordom Sihanouk.

    Iran has every existential reason to want nuclear weapons. The Israeli leader, with nuclear arms, is meeting with Barack Obama, with nuclear arms, for the sole purpose of pleading the case to attack and bomb Iran, a country already under economic siege. We are providing the motivation for Iran to get nuclear weapons as if they did not have enough after Saddam attacked Iran and killed 600,000 Iranians.

    It could amuse one to hear Republican politicians pillorying Obama for wanting to give up nuclear weapons and then criticize Iran for wanting them for the same reason that Israel and the US have them.

    Here is where you have to stop and think.

    Unless you are talking about the strategic use of US air power or nuclear weapons against Iran, you cannot stop them from acquiring their own nuclear weapons. You could make a strong case that the potential for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons will increase after a US attack. An Israeli attack will not succeed on its own. They do not have the assets.

    The only thing that will bring peace to the Middle East is the same thing that has ended hostilities in every conflict since the unconditional surrender of the axis powers to the US 66 years ago and that is negotiations and accommodation to mutual interests.

    Now you can delude yourself with anything. There is plenty of self confident delusion to go around in the Middle East, but experience and facts will go against your wishful thinking.

    I do not want Iran to have nuclear weapons. I did not want China, India, Pakistan and North Korea to have them. It is irrelevant that France and England have nuclear weapons and Germany does not. Care to guess how many Germans, French and English have been killed by any combination of the other two?

    Those countries, once implacable enemies have come to an accommodation as has the US and China and the US and Russia. Save me the rubbish that it is different this time. It is never different. It is the same old bullshit time in and time out.

    ReplyDelete
  48. .

    Yet you can't seem to make the leap that it might not be a good idea to see nuclear weapons in the hands of idiotic peopleimmune to improvement who say they want to kill us all."



    When it comes to Iran, you waste your time with some of these guys, Deuce. There are those here who whatever rationale you give them will come back with something as stupid as "you want Iran to have nuclear weapons."

    They either don't read what you write, lack the capacity to understand it, or they ignore it.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  49. China said Sunday it would boost its defense spending by 11.2% in 2012, slightly less than last year's increase but still enough to aggravate the concerns that have prompted the U.S. to refocus its defense policy on the Asian-Pacific region.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Today, in the United States, the federal government does not force insurers to provide free contraception. Yet contraception is as widely available as it is cheap.

    ...

    The poll then purports to show that the Obama administration’s method of imposing a mandate on religious institutions is popular. Voters were asked:

    As you may know, President Obama recently announced an adjustment to the administration’s health-care rule regarding religiously affiliated employers providing birth control coverage to female employees. Women will still be guaranteed coverage for birth control without any out-of-pocket cost, but will have to seek the coverage directly from their insurance companies if their employers object to birth control on religious grounds. Do you approve or disapprove of President Obama’s decision?

    Worded this way, 54 percent approved, 38 percent disapproved. But the question didn’t poll the policy, it polled Obama’s spin.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Golos, Russia's leading independent elections watchdog, said it received numerous reports of "carousel voting," in which busloads of voters are driven around to cast ballots multiple times.

    Alexei Navalny, one of the opposition's most charismatic leaders, said observers trained by his organisation also reported seeing extensive use of the practice.

    ...

    Putin has dismissed the protesters' demands, casting them as a minority of urban elites working at Western behest to weaken Russia.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Washington State fact #7:

    Washington leads the country in technology industry employment.

    ReplyDelete
  53. "you want Iran to have nuclear weapons."

    I've never said Deuce wants Iran to have nuclear weapons.

    But I don't see any realistic proposal to prevent it either.

    Just, they can be deterred, after getting them.

    That is an argument without a final answer.


    ..


    Quirk, you nitwit, you have slipped into an "everyone who disagrees with me is an idiot" mode of argumentation.

    A sure sign of frustration, moron.

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  54. .

    I've never said Deuce wants Iran to have nuclear weapons.



    So you were the jerk that signed on as anonymous, bobbo?

    You can't seem to even remember who you are. A sure sign of senility. And when you begin talking to yourself under different names in the same post, a sure sign of schizophenia. And when you...well...you get the point.

    :)

    .

    ReplyDelete
  55. "you want Iran to have nuclear weapons."

    I've never said Deuce wants Iran to have nuclear weapons.

    This is just Quirk doing what he does all too often - putting words in another's mouth.

    But I don't see any realistic proposal to prevent it either.

    Just, they can be deterred, after getting them.

    That is an argument without a final answer.


    ..


    Quirk, you nitwit, you have slipped into an "everyone who disagrees with me is an idiot" mode of argumentation.

    A sure sign of frustration, moron.

    :)



    Romney On Iran

    Our Idaho Republican caucus is Tuesday. I'm on the list to speak for the divine Sarah, most noble woman to ever leave tracks on planet earth, our favorite daughter, even though she is not running. Once she is eliminated not sure what I will do, maybe go home.

    ReplyDelete
  56. "you want Iran to have nuclear weapons."

    I've never said Deuce wants Iran to have nuclear weapons.

    This is just Quirk doing what he does all too often - putting words in another's mouth.

    But I don't see any realistic proposal to prevent it either.

    Just, they can be deterred, after getting them.

    That is an argument without a final answer.


    ..


    Quirk, you nitwit, you have slipped into an "everyone who disagrees with me is an idiot" mode of argumentation.

    A sure sign of frustration, moron.

    :)



    Romney On Iran

    Our Idaho Republican caucus is Tuesday. I'm on the list to speak for the divine Sarah, most noble woman to ever leave tracks on planet earth, our favorite daughter, even though she is not running. Once she is eliminated not sure what I will do, maybe go home.

    ReplyDelete
  57. .

    Good heavens , Bob.

    First signs of senility, then schizophrenia, now stuttering. What's next Tourettes?

    Stuttering

    Causes


    Stuttering tends to run in families. Genes that cause stuttering have been identified.

    There is also evidence that stuttering may be a result of some brain injuries, such as stroke or traumatic brain injuries.

    Stuttering may rarely be caused by emotional trauma (called psychogenic stuttering).

    Stuttering is more common in boys than girls. It also tends to persist into adulthood more often in boys than in girls.

    Stressful social situations and anxiety can make symptoms worse.
    Frustration often leads to stuttering...



    There may still be hope for you, Bob. Put your wife on. This could be serious.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  58. The globe's energy elite is gearing up for its own version of Davos—sans the skiing.

    Starting Monday, some of the world's top energy officials and executives will gather at IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates' annual CERA Week conference in Houston.

    ReplyDelete
  59. As a result, no amount of information or facts about political candidates can override the inherent inability of many voters to accurately evaluate them. On top of that, "very smart ideas are going to be hard for people to adopt, because most people don’t have the sophistication to recognize how good an idea is," Dunning told Life's Little Mysteries.

    This is the reason folks I find it so difficult to deal with Quirk and why I fear our

    Democracy Is Doomed

    The double posting is an effort to avoid having blogger swallow my posts, Quirk, as it just did now.

    If you know how to cure this, let me know. I know you would feel you are missing out.

    ReplyDelete
  60. .

    The double posting is an effort to avoid having blogger swallow my posts, Quirk, as it just did now.



    Now, you apparently are manifesting symptoms of paranoia? This is getting serious.

    So you say Blogger is out to get you, that it is 'swallowing' your 'posts'. And this is causing your uncontrollable stuttering?

    I would like to help you, Bob, but I think this is beyond my level of expertise. I've only had Psyche 102. I think you might need a real professional.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  61. .

    Actually, I meant Psych 102, although we did offer Psyche 101 and 102 at our Souls R Us 'Summer Getaway Series.

    It always sold out.

    It too was run by pros.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  62. Sure it wasn't the Porsche Summer Getaway Series 102?

    Do you have any real idea of what the hell you are talking about?

    Just wondering.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Obama twice contradicted his own request that Israel simply rely on him and thereby let the date pass when it can act militarily itself. In this speech he delivered the now customary line (one that precedes Obama): “Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.”

    But to this he added something new: “Iran’s leaders should have no doubt about the resolve of the United States just as they should not doubt Israel’s sovereign right to make its own decisions about what is required to meet its security needs.” It is true that he soon followed that with, “Now is the time to let our increased pressure sink in, and to sustain the broad international coalition we have built,” so he is clearly pressing the Israelis to wait.

    But the preceding sentence about “Israel’s sovereign right” is either meant to scare Iran into negotiating, or is letting the world know now that if Israel acts we will come in behind her. Obama told the AIPAC audience that “there should not be a shred of doubt by now—when the chips are down, I have Israel’s back.”

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  64. .

    Sure it wasn't the Porsche Summer Getaway Series 102?

    Do you have any real idea of what the hell you are talking about?



    Of course. It was part of our Metamorphoses (Apuleius' not Ovid's) Dinner Cruise. We also had an Eros 101 and 102 audiance participation luncheon as part of that serios.

    We promoted it as "Art and Interaction: Get It Up and Get It On."

    As I said, we sold out every year we offered it.

    Those were heady times at Souls-R-Us.

    .

    .

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  65. Ah, hmmmm, heady times?


    Hmmmm, Ovid, hmmmm ah I remember, owned a fancy copy too, still have it The Art of Love.

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  66. TEXAS POLICE DO CARE

    I get irritated when people come down on our police officers, saying that they don't care about or respect others. Well, here is a story that clearly shows not all cops are in that category.

    This story involves the police department in the small hill country town of Fredericksburg , TX who reported finding a man's body last Saturday in the early evening in the Pedernales River near the state highway-87 bridge. The dead man's name would not be released until his family had been notified.

    The victim apparently drowned due to excessive beer consumption while visiting "someone" in Kerrville . He was wearing black fishnet Stockings, 10 inch spiked heels, a red garter belt, a pink G-string, purple lipstick, dazzle dust on his eyelids, 2 1/2 inch false eyelashes and an Obama T-shirt.

    The police removed the Obama T-shirt to spare his family any unnecessary embarrassment.

    See there, Texas police do care.

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  67. Another Rufus paradigm shifter bites the dust.

    GM temporarily halts production of Volt

    "We needed to maintain proper inventory [ZERO] and make sure that we continued to meet market demand [ZERO?]," GM spokesman Chris Lee said in a telephone interview.

    I believe that Chris Lee is the guy in the Dilbert chronicles who speaks for the marketing department.

    Lee noted that sales of the Volt were higher in February than they were in January, and added that California recently decided to allow the electric car to qualify for High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in the state.

    "We see positive trends, but we needed to make this market adjustment," he said.


    A laugh in every paragraph. RTWT

    I just dropped in to share the mirth. Sorry if this is old news here.

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  68. I see the Google kids have fucked up a perfectly adequate and functioning comments tool.

    When will they learn to put adults in charge?

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  69. Quirk,

    Re: Your comment @ Sun Mar 04, 12:57:00 PM EST

    That's all true and well stated for as far as you took the issue. What needs to be factored in is that Rufus II is simply a sock puppet for the Obama regime. There is in reality no old part Cherokee, former Marine, ex-insurance peddler, living down in NW Mississippi. It's a team of progs feeding statistics to a robot comment composer in a rented block of rundown commercial space somewhere in Alexandria, VA.

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  70. BAGHDAD — At least 20 police officers were gunned down in western Iraq early on Monday by dozens of gunmen masquerading as black-clad SWAT teams out to make a high-level arrest, local security officials said.

    The killings occurred in the heavily Sunni Muslim city of Haditha and were the latest in a long militant campaign to infiltrate, undercut and batter Iraq’s military and police forces. They came about 10 days after suicide bombers and gunmen killed dozens of people at police checkpoints across Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq.

    Around 2 a.m. on Monday, 40 gunmen dressed in police uniforms rolled into Haditha in six trucks painted like black emergency police vehicles.

    To slip through the checkpoints on the city’s edge, the gunmen said they had arrest warrants for criminal suspects, Haditha’s police chief said. They flashed police identification cards and their vehicles even had police license plates, security officials said.

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  71. The same strategy being used by the Taliban.

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  72. LT figured it out. I been outed. :)

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  73. I wrote: There is in reality no old part Cherokee...

    I think that should read "old part-Cherokee", or maybe "old-part Cherokee".

    Apologies for lapse in grammar.

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  74. Mebbe it should be "no old fart-part Cherokee."

    Or, "no old, part-Cherokee fart."

    Or, "no part-Cherokee, old fart?"

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  75. how about mostly-old, part-Cherokee?

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  76. Your TSA. Keeping you safe from te𐑿𐑿or.


    Lihue, HI (KITV) -- A Hawaiian mom says she was humiliated when asked to prove her breast pump was real at an airport.

    The woman says she was flagged for additional screening at the Lihue Airport Wednesday because of her electric breast feeding pump.

    She claims agents told her she couldn't take the pump on the plane because the bottles in her carry-on were empty.

    "I asked him if there was a private place I could pump and he said no, you can go in the women's bathroom. I had to stand in front of the mirrors and the sinks and pump my breast in front of every tourist that walked into that bathroom. I was embarrassed and humiliated and then angry that I was treated this way.

    When the bottles were full, she was allowed back on the plane.

    The TSA is apologizing, saying the agent made a mistake.

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