COLLECTIVE MADNESS


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

Thursday, July 12, 2012

The Elephant Bar is Closed

Thanks all for your contributions. As to the future, who knows?

desert rat has left a new comment on your post "“It is what is is."": 

The Bar is closed!

A long time coming.

Good luck on any future endeavors, fellas. 

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Posted by desert rat to The Elephant Bar at Thu Jul 12, 06:54:00 PM EDT



desert rat has left a new comment on your post "“It is what is is."": 

The Bar is closed

Can't say that I'm really surprised.

Some folk never learned to be civil, let alone polite.

It has been real, it has been fun ...
... can't say it was real fun. 

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Posted by desert rat to The Elephant Bar at Thu Jul 12, 06:56:00 PM EDT



---------------------------------




Quirk has left a new comment on your post "“It is what is is."":

.

Deuce, just saw you're announcement on closing the EB. Don't know if you will see this, but if you do, the best of luck to you in the future.

You had a good run.

If I contributed to the demise, I apologize.



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Rufus II has left a new comment on your post "“It is what is is."":

Thanks for the ride, Deuce.

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Posted by Rufus II to The Elephant Bar at Thu Jul 12, 03:43:00 PM EDT





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Posted by Quirk to The Elephant Bar at Thu Jul 12, 05:30:00 PM EDT





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Ash has left a new comment on your post "“It is what is is."":

Closed!? Temporarily is my wish.

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Posted by Ash to The Elephant Bar at Thu Jul 12, 03:22:00 PM EDT







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Gag Reflex has left a new comment on your post "“It is what is is."":

What happened

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Posted by Gag Reflex to The Elephant Bar at Thu Jul 12, 02:40:00 PM EDT



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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "“It is what is is."":

Best to you Deuce, and best to everyone else. Thank you all.

b


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Posted by Anonymous to The Elephant Bar at Thu Jul 12, 09:27:00 PM EDT

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "“It is what is is."":

I wake up in the middle of the night finding myself beginning the withdrawals.
 Can anyone put up an Elephant Bar II? Rufus? Doug? Quirk? Maxine? Melody? 
Gag's on the road always. Ash, you going to invite us for a drink? 
Quirk you had a blog, did you not? What about you? Buehler? I was looking 
forward to watching things through the coming election with you all. WiO? Want to host us?

Deuce I know I speak for everyone in hoping you are simply tired of us and it is nothing more. 
It was like an unexpected lightning bolt. 
And everyone seemed so well behaved of late, at least given the low baseline here.

Well, I wish everyone well again.

bob

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-----------------------------------
Posted by Anonymous to The Elephant Bar at Fri Jul 13, 06:36:00 AM EDT


Rufus II has left a new comment on your post "“It is what is is."":

Anyone have any ideas where we might "go for a drink?"

Someplace where the jukebox ain't too loud, where you can hear yourselves talk? Someplace not too crowded?

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------------------------------


MeLoDy has left a new comment on your post "The Elephant Bar is Closed":

Wow! What a shocker. Damn the bar is closed.

Well, I'm glad to see DR is not dead.

I hope you're doing well and your hiatus was your choice and not unexpected illness. You gave me a scare when you didn't show up for our excursion.

one more for the road

I feel it suits the situation.

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Posted by MeLoDy to The Elephant Bar at Fri Jul 13, 08:53:00 PM EDT

130 comments:

  1. Agreement, however, has from time to time been in somewhat limited supply. :)

    What about you, Max? You strike me as a Bartender I'd go have a drink with.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wrote two comments about my disgust with those who throw the term "racist" around loosely in the previous thread.

    They were not posted.

    Puzzling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many of my posts were selectively deleted too....

      The Bar has run it's course...

      It is closed...

      I can live with that..

      Delete
  3. Wow! What a shocker. Damn the bar is closed.

    Well, I'm glad to see DR is not dead.

    I hope you're doing well and your hiatus was your choice and not unexpected illness. You gave me a scare when you didn't show up for our excursion.

    one more for the road

    I feel it suits the situation.

    ReplyDelete
  4. .

    I blame it on you Mel.

    You just didn't show up often enough. Your road trips were always worth looking forward to. Best of luck in the future.

    :)


    I Drink Alone


    You don't have to go home but you can't stay here.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow indeed. Why does the site have to close? Is there a health problem? It is one of the most independent sites on the net. Did I miss something? Why do we always allow a few foolish people to ruin everything? Reconsider please and all the best to you regardless of your decision. I do think a little more information would be helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You are, undoubtably, the best writer of the patrones, Q. Ever think of owning a bar . . . . . . er, blog?

    ReplyDelete
  7. You and Mel could do horoscopes, daily, and when Bob snarked you could ban his ass. :)

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  10. .

    By the way, I kinda liked 'patrones'.

    Makes me almost want to go out and puchase Setting up a Blog for Dummies.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  11. Comcast.net?

    No wonder you're so grouchy all the time. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. .

    Thanks, Rufus.

    You know I would love to continue to ride Bob's ass all day long, and even more, to give him the occasional time out; however, you also know (since you share the same impediment) that I am woefully ignorant of the intricacies of cyberspace and the portals used to get one there. Any blog I attempted would have more downtime than Congress.

    I'm still amazed that I can write something here and it shows up there.

    However, I will miss you guys, even those (or perhaps mostly those) I have argued with most.

    .

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

    ReplyDelete
  14. Actually you don't need Deuce to do anything, if he keeps the blog the way it is you should be able to put up enough links in the comment section to keep you going for years. No one really has to leave. Think about it.


    And don't worry Quirk I get blamed for everything. I'm sure I wasn't missed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Nonsense.

      You were the last of the muses.

      You always made it a little brighter here.

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      The best times here IMO were when the you, and Trish, and T were here (and T was gay).

      The three muses.

      Good times.

      .

      Delete
    3. you know how to make a girl smile.

      Peace.

      Delete
  15. So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
    Trouble no one about their religion;
    respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours.
    Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.

    Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.
    Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
    Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend,
    even a stranger, when in a lonely place.
    Show respect to all people and grovel to none.

    When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living.
    If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.

    Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools
    and robs the spirit of its vision.

    When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled
    with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep
    and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.
    Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.

    -Tecumseh

    Fair skies, EB.

    ReplyDelete
  16. All is well that ends well. I enjoyed our duels over the years. Best of luck to you Deuce.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Rufus, Quirk, you two are the guys. Maybe throw in Melody. All you got to do is call it EB II and throw some stuff up every two or three days. Seriously, think about it. Rufus, you are on the computer all day anyway. Might as well give a try. Quirk can add the 'intellectual contend' and Melody the songs. I'd miss not being banned once in a while.

    Go for it.

    b

    ReplyDelete
  18. Doug ought to get in on the act too.

    b

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks Deuce and Whit,

    Mel's right, we could just keep posting here all year long but that might get kinda old after awhile. As to who runs EB II, we should make it all democratic like and vote on it. After everybody's done votin' we count 'em up and declare a winner with the runner-up playing the role of Whit.

    I vote for DR.

    ReplyDelete
  20. DR is fine with me.

    Think we should ask DR what he thinks? :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Nah, where's the fun in that?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Once again, my comments on the previous thread magically did not appear here, so for only the second time I agree with Maxine:

    Whatever

    ReplyDelete
  23. Since they do appear here:

    Obviously, since Rumsfeld, Bolton, and Doug thought she was a shitty Sec of State, Condi Rummored to be number 1 for VP.

    We've probly almost given up the whole store, so I guess it couldn't hurt too much more.

    Pass the Vasiline.

    Please, Madam VP

    ReplyDelete
  24. I second DR for lead man.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the term "man" infers one with a character. Sorry DR is not qualified

      Delete
  25. Replies
    1. SInce my opinion has never carried any weight, I'd vote for DR to be arrested and put in prison.

      Delete
  26. DR allayed fears that he was dead or mortally wounded by asserting that his business responsibilities needed attention.

    Unless you can fashion a Draft with no religious exemptions, or, have Deuce testify that running a blog is a piece of cake, as in eating it, rather than baking it, DR will demur, hard as it is to imagine DR demuring.

    ReplyDelete
  27. We could have Rufus run it under the heading.

    Pravda Annex

    ReplyDelete
  28. "Rumsfeld, Bolton, and Cheney..."

    ...how could I have left out the Dark One?

    Freudian Slip, no doubt,
    ...who wouldn't raise one for Dick?

    (aside from the MSNBC crew here at The Bar)

    ReplyDelete
  29. The Bar is closed

    Can't say that I'm really surprised.

    Some folk never learned to be civil, let alone polite.


    Who could possibly vote for a man so self deluded as to make a statement like this?

    Perhaps only a Cardinal Richelieu, who said on his death bed, "I have no enemies."

    heh

    Place has never been so calm and rational since he left.

    Jesus, if that arse takes over, I'm outta here.

    I'd vote WiO, though he would turn it down, but perhaps such an important decision might not best be left to a vote of the people, even the casting of lots might more sense. The people elected Obama, do not forget.

    Somebody just leave the place open, and see what happens. No boss man. Some sort of triumvirate might make some sense. Or again, Quirk, Ruf, Doug, Melody.

    b

    ReplyDelete
  30. And let's face it. Deuce is a really hard act to follow.

    b

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like a strangely beautiful cloud above the hills, that forms and dissipates, never to be exactly repeated.

      b

      Delete
    2. "There it goes. One of deuce's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too strangely beautiful to live, and too rare, rancorous, tough and obnoxious to die."

      :)

      b

      Delete
    3. Good job, Bob. You made that work. I think that's how several of us feel.

      Delete
    4. .

      And let's face it. Deuce is a really hard act to follow.

      That pretty much says it all.

      Over the past few days, we have seen a Kubler-Ross experiment play itself out here. We have seen denial, anger, and bargaining; now it’s time to minimize the depression and move on to acceptance.

      With the EB, Deuce (and Whit until he tired of it) provided us a salon atmosphere (a rough and tumble one, to be sure) where pretty much anything was allowed to be brought up or said (within some very liberal bounds of common decency).

      There were few rules and the ones that existed were pretty amorphous. I would submit that any reasonable person would find them hard to argue with. There were few restrictions placed or enforced as on other blogs, and there was what appeared to be a real contempt for Google, Blogger, and the other internet powers that be. There were no rules about profanity, sticking to the subject, ad hominem attacks, and as far as I know, no one here was reported to authorities. Discussions were allowed and encouraged on political, social, economic, scientific, moral, philosophical, and pretty much any other issue anyone wanted to bring up, with even a little creative writing and astrology thrown in. Some of the best times here were when people brought up aspects of their personal lives, camping trips with Trish, road trips with Mel. Even some of the made up stuff was pretty good (thank you T). The brawls were intense at times, but most were not personal. For those who consider them so, well, they have other issues that won’t be settled in any bar.

      As for Deuce, his reasons for shutting down the bar are obviously personal. We should grant him the same courtesy he has always granted us in that respect. And while I will still occasionally check back in to see if anything has changed (haven’t quite got that acceptance thing down yet), it appears the bar is closed and I don’t want to be that alcoholic you see outside the bar at 8:00 am each day waiting for the bar to open.

      Best just to thank Deuce for the venue and the opportunity to vent; that, and all the posts, commentary, artwork, and the many hours of hard work he (and Whit) have provided over the years. Like in any good neighborhood bar, some pretty good times were had here.

      Thanks to the management.

      .

      Delete
  31. I went to blogger to see if I could figure out how to do a blog. I never got out of "nowhere."

    ReplyDelete
  32. Would it be untoward to ask him to reconsider, maybe less frequent posts and not take up so much of his time? I honestly agree with Bob and Q. Come on Blue, are you sure?

    ReplyDelete
  33. You know that you are a hopeless insomniac and regardless of where you are, you will not be wearing your smoking jacket, listening to Grieg while reading Rumpole at 2:00 AM. A blogging mind is a terrible thing to waste.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I doubt that it's the 'posting,' Jenny, but the "Policing." A man with a life just doesn't have the time for it.

    It has to be painful to pick up an intelligent, thoughtful commenter, and then have one of the "locals" rush in with a cruel, senseless, juvenile attack, and drive that person away. Deuce has been a rock, an incredibly patient host; but every man has a limit.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Is that what happened? I can guess who was the cruel, senseless juvenile. What on earth did he write?

    ReplyDelete
  36. It was so stupid I won't even repeat it.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I see where deuce deleted the comment. I hope Max steps up and I am sure none of us want to lose her input if this can be salvaged.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I agree; she was certainly wonderful at finding articles/links to opinions that were outside the normal realm of the bar.

    It beggars the mind to contemplate how anyone could hope to become enlightened inside an echo chamber.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I am that horrible guy.
      Haven't watched TV since 1970, which gave my mind a lot of time to get thoroughly warped.

      Such that you MSNBC-like clones so ready to throw around terms like "racist" stick out like sore thumbs.

      ...and re-hashes of MSM left wing bias presented as enlightened commentary sicken me.

      Sorry.

      ---

      Interesting List of Political Luminaries from the not too distant past.

      ---

      btw,
      This brilliant young lady signs off her newscast on Adam Carolla's world's most downloaded podcast with:

      "Zip it, C..."

      I guess the holier than thou crowd here should damn her to Hell as well.

      The Blasphemy Overwhelms!

      Delete
    2. Forget it, Doug. There is no excuse for your actions. Calling a woman a "fat, self-loating cunt" for no reason other than her willingness to look at two sides of an issue is reprehensible. You should be ashamed.

      Delete
    3. I'd say your version of "two sides" is reprehensible, but I'll not try to one up Pope Rufus with Pope Doug.
      Hopeless Pope a Dope.

      ...but just in case you're right and God is Green,
      I pray for your and Gaea's foregiveness.

      Amen

      Delete
    4. Clever way to introduce your answer to

      jenny Sun Jul 15, 10:50:00 AM EDT

      tho, w/o taking responsibility.

      Congrats.

      Deuce thought it was worth deleting.
      You found a way for repeating.

      Delete
    5. You're just a silly, infantile asshole, Doug, and, obviously, without decency. Your feeble attempt at minimizing the awfulness of your comments is particularly telling.

      Delete
  39. Rufus II Sun Jul 15, 10:55:00 AM EDT...

    "It was so stupid I won't even repeat it."

    Have you considered running for office?

    ReplyDelete
  40. For God's sakes don't let Maxine, Melody, Jenny or the Muslim male world see this -

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2173808/Women-overtake-men-IQ-tests-time-100-years-multitasking.html

    b

    ReplyDelete
  41. I have been a lurker for some time and have enjoyed the repartee and the libertarian view of the blog. It has never been dull or predictable even though the boss has his favorite sources. I am surprised that it survived Whit leaving. It goes without saying that it cannot survive Deuce leaving.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Your comments were right on, Quirk.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Reply from previous thread lost in cyberspace, or at least here:

    Be well, Mel.

    Piano Man

    ReplyDelete
  44. QuirkSat Jul 14, 10:22:00 AM EDT said...

    "By the way, I kinda liked 'patrones'.

    Makes me almost want to go out and puchase Setting up a Blog for Dummies.


    Whatever one says or thinks about Blogger, it was super easy to set up.

    ...was being a problem for me:

    If I ever get the time to figure out the new system, or be able to continue setting up via the old system, I'm sure I could easily show you it's simplicity, and would enjoy doing it for you ...and the result.

    ...at my present rate of putting my disheveled life back together (partially) that may not be in this lifetime.

    ---

    Maybe Deuce could make one final contribution to the Bar and answer questions about doing it.

    ReplyDelete
  45. The bar has been "set up" most all of the regulars to blog anytime they were ready. Other than Doug, no one did.

    ReplyDelete
  46. I hate to think of losing track of all you folks. I'm going on a trip with my daughter for a couple of days. She's my tech support. She could 'set it up' but I'm not running it. I may mention it to her.

    I'm still in de Nile.

    b

    ReplyDelete
  47. Where is Max (short for Maxine)? She ran off with Deuce?

    ReplyDelete
  48. I detected a little magnetism there. Just saying.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Well, wherever she is, she should be writing a blog. Don't you agree? :)

    ReplyDelete
  50. My good friend Du Xi no longer number one? Not possible. No more regulars, all unregular? Not possible. Du Xi will not outsource Bar. Maybe he on his own-hit-that ass tour. I see my good friend Charlie Shi Han on It is what it is and then EB no longer is not what it was? Not possible. It is what it is but I no believe it is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A Riddle wrapped in an Enigma.

      Hu Dat knows.

      Delete
    2. It is a mystery to me.

      How dat fishing in Mountaintana this year hu dat?

      b

      Delete
  51. Hu Dat is What Is,

    and...

    What Is, Is!

    ReplyDelete
  52. Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk?

    ReplyDelete
  53. "The bar has been "set up" for most all of the regulars to blog anytime they were ready."

    But not at present.
    Perhaps we could ask Deuce to do so for a month or two until hopefully, Quirk can be brought up to speed.

    ...with the proviso that we let him review new posts prior to publishing to avoid more unwanted, profane, nay reprehensible, Bar Fights.

    I'd like to do a paen to Adam Carolla, an entrepreneurial hero amidst the shambles of the Obama Economy.

    He's built two new studios, employed many folks, wrote a couple of books, bought one of Neuman's racecars and much more all based on free podcasts, so he can say fuck the Feds, fuck Tony Villar, fuck Hollywood, and whoever else he wants to tell to Fuck Off.

    ...and he won the Rolex Cup at Laguna Seca, and the Long Beach Celebrity Grand Prix!

    Quite a year for the highschool dropout and former Carpet Cleaner.

    ReplyDelete
  54. The son of an immigrant asks his dad, "Dad, what's democracy?"

    "Well, son, that's when whites work and we get all the benefits from it!"

    "But dad, aren't the white people unhappy about that?"

    "Sure they are son, but that's called 'racism'"

    ReplyDelete
  55. 'If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen'...
    Barack Obama

    O, I get it. And if you wrote a book, say, an autobiography perhaps, somebody else wrote the book.

    Like.....hmmmmm.....Bill Ayers!!!!

    (I never did believe Rufus ran a farm. Somebody else did it!)

    :)

    b

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can you read, goofball? I've stated several times that I left the farm when I was a teenager.

      Delete
    2. Well, ethanol brain, according to Obama, your father didn't run the farm either.

      'If you've got a business (farm), you (your father) didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen'.

      Being part Cherokee, maybe it was slave labor done it?

      :)

      b

      Delete
  56. From one of Maxine's favorite writers - Walter Russel Mead -

    http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/07/15/energy-revolution-2-a-post-post-american-post/

    We have more energy supplies than we will know what to do with if we go get it.

    b

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Edward Luce, an FT writer usually more given to tracing America’s decline than to promoting its prospects, cites estimates that as early as 2020 the US may be producing more oil than Saudi Arabia.

      So dramatic are America’s finds, analysts talk of the US turning into the world’s new Saudi Arabia by 2020, with up to 15m barrels a day of liquid energy production (against the desert kingdom’s 11m b/d this year). Most of the credit goes to private sector innovators, who took their cue from the high oil prices in the last decade to devise ways of tapping previously uneconomic underground reserves of “tight oil” and shale gas. And some of it is down to plain luck. Far from reaching its final frontier, America has discovered new ones under the ground.



      ----"Most of the credit goes to private sector innovators"-----

      We know this can't be true. If you believe that you will believe Rufus, Doug and I were once farmers. It was somebody else, but not us.

      b

      Delete
  57. If you're out there, Maxine, I apologize.

    You were here when I came back after my absence following my wife's death.
    Deuce mentions running the blog for nearly 6 years.

    Over those years my rage grew at Rufus's ever more negative, anti-GOP rants, and increasing religious fanaticism regarding Oil and "Alternative Energy"
    (which got him tossed out of 1 or two other forums, according to him) and the general lack of argument from the crowd here other than me and Bob when he would repeatedly tout the wonders to come from Pelosi/Waxman/Reid "Obamacare"

    ...as if the the thousands of pages of rules and regs they put in for it to mandate nationwide renders it no different than a plan for the small, rich state of Massachusetts which had only 8% uninsured.
    (not saying Romneycare as crafted by the Dems in control is the answer, but certainly not the monstrous disaster that will be Obamacare)

    Anyway, you were here with articles you like which are garbage to me.

    Certainly no reason for me to take out my 6 years of growing frustration at Rufus's slide into being a promo man for the left on you, so once again, I'm sorry.

    Then there was Quirk's repeated claim that they're all the same.

    When every sin on the left gets ignored, covered up, or explained away by the MSM and every GOP transgression repeated ad-infinitum?
    ...that just does not make sense.

    Everyone knows about the Koch Bros, but who talks about the left's backers?
    Soros is small potatoes.

    Horowitz just came out with a book detailing how left wing funding is orders of Magnitude greater than that for the right, from the Ford, Tide, and Macaurther foundations on down.
    ...not to mention the teachers and labor unions.

    Geeze, Louise, Quirk!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Console yourself, Doug.

      Take solace in the fact that you have a 50/50 chance of coming out November feeling justified. Regardless of the election results, I am guaranteed to be disappointed.

      Taking the test Sam posted above, "Who do you side with?", I sided most with the Libertarians, Paul and Johnson, at around 80%. I agreed with Obama and Romney pretty much evenly (with slight edge going to Romney) but only at about 50% of the time.

      Since it talked about a few specific isues, I'm not sure if it really gives you a clear picture of your political philosophy, but it does give you some insight into how your views match up with the stated views of the various candidates.

      What it told me was I am guaranteed to be disappointed this November. I am out of sync with the American people and even more so with those in Michigan. I am the fool on the hill.

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      You were right to apologize to Maxine, Doug. The comment was crude and uncalled for. However, it was not the reason the EB shut down.

      I didn't comment at the time mainly for the reasons you just listed. Best wishes to you. If I ever have need for some GOP kool-aid, I'll check out the BC.

      If Rufus is looking for Max, he can probably contact her by dropping a post at the BC, HP, or one of the other blog sights she trolls.

      .

      Delete
    3. Paul 92
      Romney 90
      Johnson 86
      Obama 25

      How you came out with Obama and Romney close, I don'teven wanna know.

      ...but I do:
      You call facts and the truth "Kool Aide"

      Delete
    4. .

      I'm a balanced kind of guy and they are both dicks, at least half the time.

      .

      Delete
    5. Yep, Socialism and Capitalism?

      IDENTICAL!

      While Romney was making businesses work, Obama was smoking weed with his "revolutionary"/terrorist buddies.

      Identical.

      Delete
  58. Wretchard's Latest

    Tells a cheery tale about a man who took his family to a place where they have free health care.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. and here is a cheery tale rising from the bestest medical place in the world:

      "Two days earlier, diving for a basketball at his school gym, Rory had cut his arm. He arrived at his pediatrician’s office the next day, Thursday, March 29, vomiting, feverish and with pain in his leg. He was sent to the emergency room at NYU Langone Medical Center. The doctors agreed: He was suffering from an upset stomach and dehydration. He was given fluids, told to take Tylenol, and sent home.

      Partially camouflaged by ordinary childhood woes, Rory’s condition was, in fact, already dire. Bacteria had gotten into his blood, probably through the cut on his arm. He was sliding into a septic crisis, an avalanche of immune responses to infection from which he would not escape. On April 1, three nights after he was sent home from the emergency room, he died in the intensive care unit. The cause was severe septic shock brought on by the infection, hospital records say."

      http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/nyregion/in-rory-stauntons-fight-for-his-life-signs-that-went-unheeded.html?pagewanted=all

      Delete
    2. I was gonna read that Ash, but didn't get around to it.

      Have no idea what healthcare is like in NY, but in Hawaii it is excellent and Insurance is unbelievably good.

      The fact that two Doctors stole years from my wife's life means everything to me, but does not reflect on the State System as a whole.

      Delete
  59. Oh, the Kochs gave the Scott Walker 43,000 bucks!

    Teachers Unions, SEIU, and other left-wing backers?
    Multi-Millions.

    Not to mention the Millions worth of labor supplied by those same unions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Your arguments are always entertaining, Doug.

      Distilled to their essence, "They started it!"

      Brings back fond memories of my children when they were very, very young.

      .

      Delete
    2. Does not connect.

      Does portray you as much more mature, tho.

      ...as usual.

      I'm refering to VAST diferences in amounts of funding and lack of reportage of same.

      How does that boil down to "They Started it?"

      Delete
  60. Throughout Obamacare is "as shall be determined by this or that director of whatever"

    Political Cronies telling Doctors and Patients what they MUST Do to comply.

    A true Utopia here on earth.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Still no comment on how two parties can be identical when the MSN polices the GOP and Promotes and gives free Reign to the Democrats.

    Simply does not compute.

    As if crime rates would be identical in two different locales if one town had cops and the other one didn't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Your first sentence does not compute. Blasting the MSN (sic?) for bias proves nothing about the actions of the two parties.

      Also, when I say the two parties are opposite sides of the same coin it does not mean they are 'identical' but it does mean they are 'equivalant'. They are all dicks; it's just that their dickiness manifests itself in different ways. Both parties view it as a zero sum game. The only difference between the parties is who get's the sugar and who gets the shaft. The only guarantee is that the people in the middle (you and me)will get it stuck to them from both ends.

      Your problem is you see everything through a red filter. That the Dems are dicks is obvious to you; yet, you fail to see all the dicks in the GOP.

      No need to try to convince you of the sins of the Dems. You are already down on them. Now, I could start listing the sins of the GOP but it would probably take this stream to the dreaded 200 post mark and not only would it likely not convince you but it would also take up space from any late arriving mourners of the EB, so I'll defer.

      .

      Delete
    2. We'll never agree about the MSM and the parties, but here's a question for you:

      With CA going bankrupt, and Wisconsin getting better, isn't the GOP "dick" preferable to the Dem "dick?"

      Isn't Capitalism preferable to Socialism?

      Delete
    3. .

      Isn't capitalism preferable to socialism?

      I would argue that the answer really depends on your definition of the two terms, in other words, what type of capitalism you are talking about and what type of socialism.

      Socialist and capitalist, liberal and conservative, American and un-American, patriot and...well, I could go on. The terms are pretty much meaningless when defined and thrown around by the toadies of the right and left, mere talking points, terms to stir up the troops, used basically in the same manner as asshole and dick by the non-politically encumbered.

      .

      Delete
    4. .

      With CA going bankrupt, and Wisconsin getting better, isn't the GOP "dick" preferable to the Dem "dick?"


      Doug, your argument is simplistic.

      You look at two unrelated cases, make some questionable assumptions, ignore issues such as correlation vs causation, and then ask a completely unrelated question.

      I know this will be a wasted effort buy I will try to get through to you one last time.

      First you set up a false dilemma in arguing that the specific cases of California and Wisconsin can be extrapolated as a comparison of Dem and the GOP economic policy as a whole.

      By simplistic, I merely mean you take one metric and fail to look any deeper. For instance, you take California which has been a basket case for decades under both GOP and Dem governors and use it as a surrogate for them damn socialist Dems. There is reason CA has been called the land of 'fruit and nuts'.

      Then you compare CA to Wisconsin. However, in comparing the two, you state that Wisconsin is 'getting better' while offering no proof of that statement. Now, I have no problem with Walker's stance on public sector unions. But looking at other ares, there are some that argue that the current surplus touted by Walker is more the result of shifting the 'debt problem' from the current account to the longer term through bonds thus creating more long-term debt.

      Also Walker claims he has increased jobs during his term. Here is what Forbes and the DOL have to say about that.

      Shifting The Goalpost, The Wisconsin Miracle

      From the article,

      Koskinen’s essential pitch is that the Establishment Payroll Survey—the Department of Labor (DOL) survey conducted each month to produce the jobs numbers—is an unfair way to go about counting jobs in Wisconsin. Why? Because the numbers look worse for Wisconsin under this method of counting than they would when the state relies upon on a different survey done each month by the DOL entitled the “Current Population Survey.”

      The problem is, whether convenient to Wisconsin or not, the Establishment Payroll Survey is the metric used by the DOL —and the system relied upon by every other state in the nation— to measure job growth...


      [The article goes on to describe the two DOL surveys.]

      IMO, Dougo, you ignore political realities. You look at only one side of an argument.

      To illustrate the point, take the state of Michigan. Under a Dem governor, the state suffered more than most after 2008, with the unemployment rate ballooning to the second worst in the country. Now, under Snyder, a GOP governor, it has made substantial progress in creating jobs and reducing unemployment, much better than the national average. A superficial view (not mentioning any names) would say, "See, that proves that the GOP are better for the economy of Michigan than the Dems."

      While the last statement may or may not be true, the party of the governor has very little to do with the reduction of unemployment in Michigan. The reason Michigan tanked after 2008 was because US auto sales went from 14 million a year to 9 million a year and its biggest industry and biggest employer by far, the auto companies and their suppliers, also tanked and began hemmorraging jobs. Likewise, the reason the jobs have come back and unemployment has dropped is because over the last couple years auto sales are up nationally, the auto companies have recovered, and they are now expanding.


      I've said it before, Doug. You need to get out more, read something besides the Weekly Standard and listen to someone other than Rush.

      .

      Delete
    5. .

      Note, in the Forbes article I linked to above, I linked to Page 2. Scroll down to the bottem and you can get back to Page 1.


      .

      Delete
  62. The FACTS about Wisconsin in the LA Times! (op ed)

    Telling Rufus's favorite Progressive, Utopian Alternative Energy State
    what it could learn to lessen it's oncoming bankruptcy.

    ...that Rufus has claimed time and time again is not imminent

    ReplyDelete
  63. No difference between Walker and Jerry Brown?

    Talk about Kool Aide!

    ReplyDelete
  64. Why Aren’t Race Riots News?

    The media ignore racially motivated violence — guaranteeing that it will get worse.

    A Censored Race War

    ReplyDelete
  65. "An armed society is a polite society"



    "A neighbourhood barbecue in east-end Toronto turned deadly after a crowd of strangers showed up, sparking an altercation leading to gunfire that killed two and left 19 injured."

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/two-dead-infant-among-19-others-injured-in-scarborough-shooting/article4421786/

    ReplyDelete
  66. See, y'all are getting along just fine without the boss. I knew you could do it.

    Romper room has just graduated to a self sufficient Pre-K classroom.

    Carry on.

    Peace and love

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Naw, Mel. Just the last hurrah. Even if others agree to contribute posts, any replacement without the boss would be a dull substitute.

      Deuce was the EB, our Renaissance man, the international man of mystery. Without him, the place doesn't have the same panache.

      :)



      This stream is heading to the dreaded 200 post mark. At that point I suspect it will be pretty much over.

      As Kurt Cobain put it, "It's better to burn out than to fade away."

      Telle est la vie.

      .

      Delete
    2. Why would you slander Romper Room

      with a comparison like that?

      Delete
  67. :)

    mips n ma the moolly moo, dadada da, the cow's in the moon away from the gloom, fa fa fa, dirty dinky let a stinky everybody behind the couchy an quirk's no quitter too


    b

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mmoo moo mo-oo tried to post it to the one above but it slipped me glove only pre-K you no you no but Mel's got it right q's just uptight with anything new

      See you at the 2,000 post mark q

      b

      Delete
    2. I'm not sure why quirk is worried about the dreaded 200 mark as the posts just keep on going but on a second page.

      It seems your man Zimmerman has even more troubles now bobbo:

      "The latest twist involves an unnamed woman who volunteered to police shortly after the shooting that Mr. Zimmerman had, she claimed, molested her for a decade, starting when she was six and he was eight.

      While the sexual activity seems to have consisted mostly of groping and may not be legally actionable, so-called Witness 9 also said that the Zimmerman family didn’t like black people.

      So, maybe, the case is about race again.

      Mr. Zimmerman’s lawyers tried to keep Witness 9’s sworn statements out of the public record, arguing they had nothing to do with the second-degree murder charge Mr. Zimmerman is facing.

      But the judge ruled Witness 9’s statement was part of the public record, as were more than 150 taped telephone calls Mr. Zimmerman made from his jail cell. It was in some of those calls to his wife that Mr. Zimmerman revealed he had far more money than he had told the judge under oath. The stash consisted of donations to a website set up to collect funds for his defence by supporters. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been pledged and Mr. Zimmerman seems to have, at least, contemplated fleeing with the money."

      http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/worldview/guns-money-sex-zimmerman-saga-mired-in-bizarre-twists/article4422173/

      Delete
    3. .

      It's a shame that after such a brilliant run, Deuce will now have this on his conscience.

      It appears the EB was Bob's last connection to reality. Now...well...

      Quelle dommage.


      :)


      .

      Delete
    4. I'm waiting for my daughter, for to leave, and it's driving me nuts, what can you expect, that and the excitement of just graduating from romper room school. I will ask her if she wants to set something up, but she will say, I have a horse to tend to, so, it's up to you Quirk and Doug and the other competents if you want fancy posts.

      Hadn't thought about that 200 mark problem.

      b

      Delete
    5. Those things about Zim don't affect the case, Ash. I never said he was a hero or role model, only that he is innocent of what he is currently charged with. What is going on is called prejudicing the jury pool, by the prosecution, a despicable practice if one is interested in pure legal justice, as I know you are.

      b

      Delete
    6. Or at least not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

      I guess we could all wander over to Ash's Place, what'sitcalled, and use that, but it seems not right somehow.

      Somebody take the bull by the horns.

      b

      Delete
  68. Sheriff Joe's long awaited new presser - new revelations on Obama coming up - you can watch too -

    https://mail.google.com/a/cableone.net/#inbox/1389674998842ff7

    b

    ReplyDelete
  69. He never figured out that link thingy you have to click to get to 201, Ash.

    (I do have to admit it breaks up the flow, tho.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Ever since the last changes to blogger, the link thingy never worked for me (and a few others here).

      Besides, even if the link thingy did work, after a few hundred posts, would it really be worth going through that series of links to get to anything said here?

      And that is just until the first blogger 'episode' occurred with no Deuce to fix it.

      .

      Delete
    2. What a positive outlook.

      It is beneath you. Optim up.

      But I was thinking about that too. No police, a ticking time bomb.

      Just have to be on best behavior.

      Look Quirk, it would be an honest job for you, real work, honorable, not making fools out of people over at SoulsRUs!

      You da man!

      b

      Delete
    3. Wow, I haven't encountered 201 in months, did new blogger screw that up too?

      mistake follows @Doug Tue Jul 17, 05:53:00 PM EDT

      ...too lazy to delete and re-quote the Dicks.

      Delete
  70. .

    Speaking of Deuce, he would have loved this one given his opinion of Benji Netanyahu.


    JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s massive coalition government shrunk back to a slim majority Tuesday as the centrist Kadima party quit amid feuding over proposals to draft religious students into the military.

    The defection ended one of the largest coalitions in Israel’s history, a little more than two months after Kadima rocked Israeli politics by joining Netanyahu’s hawkish government. That union rescued Netanyahu’s coalition, which had been on the verge of collapse over the draft issue, and Tuesday’s split revived the possibility of early elections.

    Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz, a former military chief, had pledged to push through a new military draft law that would end exemptions for ultra-Orthodox seminary students. On Tuesday, Mofaz accused Netanyahu of pandering to smaller religious factions in the coalition by blocking a solution that would sharply accelerate recruitment of the religious students. That gave Kadima “no choice” but to abandon the alliance, Mofaz said...


    After Two-Months, Capitulation to the Religious Right Collapses Grand Coalition in Israel

    .

    ReplyDelete
  71. Wow, I haven't encountered 201 in months, did new blogger screw that up too?

    ---

    Well compensated Dicks, and Laid Off Dicks:

    "In Stockton, which declared bankruptcy in June, for every dollar the city spent on salaries, it spent another dollar on employee benefits. Facing unsustainable employee costs and an intransigent police union that was demanding the city pay retired officers about $300,000 for unused sick and vacation time, Stockton cut a quarter of its public safety forces and still couldn't meet its obligations."

    ReplyDelete
  72. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered a bleak new assessment of the U.S. economy to lawmakers on Tuesday but remained guarded about what, if anything, the Fed would do about it.

    Policymakers at the central bank lowered their growth projections in June and seem to be preparing for additional moves to spur the economy in the weeks or months ahead. But officials disagree about the severity and durability of the slowdown and are worried about the costs and benefits of measures they have employed to heal the economy.

    ReplyDelete
  73. On this day in 1996, TWA Flight 800 crashed, killing all 230 passengers on board. The tragic Paris-bound flight started from JFK International Airport in New York and crashed 12 minutes after takeoff.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Hey Rufus or Deuce:

    Since I did the right thing,
    (finally)
    can we observe the same editorial policies for your post as mine and remove it?

    ReplyDelete