COLLECTIVE MADNESS


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

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Nearly 61 million voters have gotten to know Obama’s mix of soaring rhetoric and bureaucratic reality, messianic claims and crushing mandates, cultish iconography and lawless actions, grand hopes and bland changes. And they have decided they want more of it. 




Beware Obama’s Big Ideas


The president and his fans say the best is yet to come. That can’t be good.

The way President Barack Obama’s acolytes are calling for bold action in his second term, you’d think he had been some kind of prudent Calvin Coolidge in his first. 
“A strategic second term would begin by identifying a list of necessary and achievable goals, and then pursuing them with the unyielding manipulative skill of a Lyndon Johnson,” Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote after Obama’s decisive victory over hapless challenger Mitt Romney in November. “Think big. Take risks. Get it done.”
“Take this second chance to get it right on housing,” wrote Tracy Van Slyke, director of something called the New Bottom Line, at The Huffington Post, “and use your mandate to help the millions of underwater homeowners across this country.” Atlantic Associate Editor Matthew O’Brien didn’t even wait for the election results to come in, calling on the president in October to unveil a bold second-term agenda that would embrace the “vision thing” by resurrecting his deep-sixed American Jobs Act. 
Given that Obama won re-election largely by not talking about his record, it’s probably not surprising that so many people don’t seem to have noticed what happened from 2009 through 2012. To recap, Obama rammed through a massive overhaul of medical care in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. ObamaCare. He piled another $830 billion or so onto the national debt with his American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a.k.a. the stimulus. He also managed to push total debt over $16 trillion. 
When the Affordable Care Act’s most radical component, the requirement that every American be forced to purchase health insurance, came up for Supreme Court review, the president’s bumbling attorneys lucked into a tortured decision in their favor, and the law was upheld by a 5-to-4 margin. Capitalizing on (though not actually solving) the financial crisis that helped him gain office, Obama in 2010 signed the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, bringing a massive new cudgel to the financial industry (which had hardly been free of Washington oversight and protection prior to that) and creating a federal “consumer” agency whose scope is still not well understood. 
Unfazed by a public rebuke in the 2010 midterm elections, Obama continued his mission through a daunting new strategy of regulatory rule making, executive orders, administration through “White House liaison officers,” and recess appointments of congressionally unpopular nominees. (These last have been carried out even when Congress was not in recess.) Such tactics are necessary to patch a weakness Obama has discovered in American government: the foundational structure of checks and balances.
“When Congress refuses to act, and as a result, hurts our economy and puts our people at risk, then I have an obligation as president to do what I can without them,” the president told a crowd in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in January 2011. “I’ve got an obligation to act on behalf of the American people. And I’m not going to stand by while a minority in the Senate puts party ideology ahead of the people that we were elected to serve. Not with so much at stake, not at this make-or-break moment for middle-class Americans. We’re not going to let that happen.”
Following that bold conviction, Obama launched a war in Libya without even the almost-constitutional fig leaf of a congressional authorization vote (thus making him even less deferential to Congress’ war-making power than George W. Bush). This “kinetic action” seemed to be a rousing success until the U.S. ambassador was killed by terrorists in September—an episode the administration has worked tirelessly to obscure. 
Obama has also claimed powers of life and death beyond Bush’s wildest ambitions, granting to himself a new presidential authority to kill citizens and noncitizens alike, both on U.S. soil and abroad, while asserting that an Oval Office discussion with advisers qualifies as constitutional due process. 
After all that, what would Obama fans consider an ambitious second-term agenda? I guess mandatory self-esteem boosts, universal health care for cats, and a global war on melancholy haven’t been tried yet. But Obama’s penchant for intervening in all aspects of American life (according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, he added 11,327 pages to the Code of Federal Regulations, a 7.4 percent increase, in his first three years) while overlooking constitutional niceties has produced a consistent pattern: As you get more regulation, you get less law. 
For some of us, this is a problem. Law is big and clear. It applies equally to the great and small. You can usually be confident that a law has passed at least some level of civic scrutiny. Regulation, by contrast, is small and stifling. It places burdens primarily on individuals and small companies that don’t have sufficient lawyerly infrastructure. 
And there’s no way to know which White House czar or career apparatchik composed any particular regulation. For example, who at Eric Holder’s Department of Justice (DOJ) decided in 2011 that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires hotels, restaurants, and airlines to accommodate “pygmy ponies” as service animals. (And should we be glad the DOJ is mandating horse fairness instead of giving more guns to Mexican drug cartels?)
“The best is yet to come,” Obama promised in his November victory speech. And the election result gave him some justification for that promise. He won a lopsided electoral victory and, rare in modern presidential races, a popular majority. This is what makes the second term such a matter of concern.
Nearly 61 million voters have gotten to know Obama’s mix of soaring rhetoric and bureaucratic reality, messianic claims and crushing mandates, cultish iconography and lawless actions, grand hopes and bland changes. And they decided they wanted more of it. 
I don’t expect that avoiding the “fiscal cliff” will be reward enough for those folks. Obama came into office with talk of reversing the tides, healing the earth, and “fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” He has hinted at delivering big things in the security of a second term. If the first act was any indication, those things are going to suck.  

149 comments:

  1. Why do we need gods, heroes and objects of worship?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://www.sellebritythemovie.com/

      $ELLEBRITY

      www.sellebritythemovie.com/

      Renown Rock & Roll photographer Kevin Mazur has pulled together an impressive team for his first feature-length documentary about the changing face of ...

      Delete
  2. I ain't sure. But my heroes have always been cowboys -

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPpIQmiKj0Q

    You can ask Bob, he's always talkin' bout heroes, birth of heroes, the hero gettin' the prize, the hero that's got a thousand faces, which is confusin' to me, maybe we can all be heroes. I just want to come in first in ropin'.

    I always did think Churchill was a hero. An Lincoln too. They aren't any round like that anymore.

    Buck

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe it's participatin', without the risk.

      Buck

      Delete
    2. Maybe it's bout overcomin', an' if you can't do it yourself, you root like hell for those that can, and get somethin' out of it, too.


      Buck

      Delete
    3. An' I ain't talkin' bout beatin' someone up.

      Buck

      Delete
    4. Bob toll me once, his hero was Huck Finn. Said Huck was willin' to throw it all away, all he had, which weren't much, an' get society solid down his back, for the sake of his friend, who he coulda turned in. Said Huck was even willin' to go to hell over it.

      Buck

      Delete
    5. Carolla says the service animal scam has already gotten out of hand on airliners.
      Once rare, he now sees dogs with their little service vests on on almost every flight.
      People just need a note from a doctor.
      He asked a woman sitting next to him why she had the dog.
      She said flying made her anxious.
      Not long after takeoff, he took a picture of her sleeping after she'd had a couple of drinks.

      Service dogs get a free ride, whereas if you ship them it's 300 bucks.

      He's threatening to get a service goat and insist on his rights.
      Having a Billygoat spray your legs or seat would add an odiferous touch to your flight.

      Delete
    6. Service dogs are heroes to the blind.

      Delete
    7. Don't remember if I already posted this here, know I did @ BC.
      Great Documentary about the way things used to be not all that long ago time wise, but long ago and far away compared to todays decadence and PC cowardice:


      The Vulcans were going to be scrapped 3 months later.
      I rarely watch movies anymore, almost never watch long videos...
      I watched much of this 42 minute masterpiece 3 times!

      13 Victors refueling Victors refueling the Vulcan!

      "Astonishingly, this great feat has been downplayed into near obscurity by history, but this documentary brings it back to life, providing a thrilling and uncharacteristically upbeat account from the Falklands War:
      the Dambusters for the 1980s generation."


      XM607 - Falklands' Most Daring Raid

      On 30 April 1982, the RAF launched a secret mission: to fly a Vulcan bomber to the Falkland Islands and bomb Port Stanley's runway, putting it out of action for Argentine fighter jets. The safety of the British Task Force depended on its success.

      However, the RAF could only get a single plane - a crumbling, Cold War-era Vulcan - 8000 miles south to the Falklands, because just one bomber needed an aerial fleet of 13 Victor tanker planes to refuel it throughout the 16-hour round-trip. At the time it was the longest-range bombing mission in history.

      From start to finish, the seemingly impossible mission was a comedy of errors, held together by pluck and ingenuity.

      On the brink of being scrapped, only three of the ageing nuclear bombers could be fitted out for war, one to fly the mission and two in reserve. Crucial spare parts were scavenged from museums and scrap yards - one vital component had been serving as an ashtray in the Officers' Mess.

      In just three weeks, the Vulcan crews had to learn air-to-air refuelling, which they hadn't done for 20 years, and conventional bombing, which they hadn't done for 10 years either.

      The RAF scoured the country for Second World War iron bombs, and complex refuelling calculations were done the night before on a £5 pocket calculator.

      With a plan stretched to the limit and the RAF's hopes riding on just one Vulcan, the mission was flown on a knife-edge: fraught with mechanical failures, unreliable navigation, electrical storms and lack of fuel.

      Of the 21 bombs the Vulcan dropped, only one found its target. But it was enough to change the outcome of the war.

      Delete
    8. What an idiot!

      ...it just struck me that until this moment, I was thinking that old calculator weighed 5 pounds!

      Delete
    9. Back when they had demolition derbys and stunt driving, I watched 54 Fords driving on two wheels.

      That seemed like flying on a knife's edge to me at the time.

      ...but I was young and impressionable like that Poor PM sufferer whose love for Becky went unrequited.

      Delete
  3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participation_mystique

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Is your name "Rebbeca Roth" or "Rebbeca Ruth?"

      Delete
    2. Becky Truth.

      I don't know what you are talking about.

      night-o

      Delete
    3. Looks like Roth, on closer inspection.

      Delete
    4. Your sign, moron.
      Now I'm wondering if you're Rufus under a Pseudo.

      Delete
    5. Ah.

      It does look like Rebecca Roth.

      This is what I call significant.

      But of what?

      If we called her name, would she answer?

      Delete
    6. Maybe it's Becky Broth and the place is a brothel for all I know.

      Becky Broth's Bourbon, Candy, and Brothel

      Delete
    7. www.nydailynews.com/.../stripper-fell-balcony-lap-dance-dies-article...

      6 days ago – The stripper who plunged over a balcony at Cleveland, Ohio gentleman's club while giving a lap dance has died as a result of her injuries.

      Exotic dancer Lauren Block dies after falling 15 feet during lap ...

      ---
      Lauren's folks were proud and moved by the fact that she was an organ donor.

      Don't guess the brain would be of much use, since she landed on her head.

      The receipient of the dance has probly had thots of donating his organ after that experience.

      ---

      Man dies in the middle of a lap dance at a strip club

      now.msn.com/man-dies-in-the-middle-of-a-lap-dance-at-a-strip-club

      May 18, 2012 – They say you should go out doing what you love. A 67-year-old Texas man may have taken the inspirational advice to heart Friday night when ...

      Delete
    8. He'll probly need Viagra to even experience a Participation Mystique Fantasy after that traumatic experience.

      ...think of the Guilt:
      If he just hadn't been up on the balconey...

      Delete
  4. These days, seems to me, most all we got is Idols, not heroes. Most of 'em come from Hollywood, or therebouts. People watch 'em on tv.

    I'm hittin' the bed, maybe I'll have a dream.

    Buck

    ReplyDelete
  5. "
    PARTICIPATION MYSTIQUE is a term derived from Lévy-Bruhl. It denotes a peculiar kind of psychological connection with objects, and consists in the fact that the subject cannot clearly distinguish himself from the object but is bound to it by a direct relationship which amounts to partial identity. (Jung, [1921] 1971: paragraph 781).

    Jung used the term throughout his writings after Lévy-Brühl's work was published in 1912. Jung referred to it consistently with the French terminology rather than using the English "mystical participation" until Man and His Symbols was published after his death.


    The further we go back into history, the more we see personality disappearing beneath the wrappings of collectivity. And if we go right back to primitive psychology, we find absolutely no trace of the concept of an individual. Instead of individuality we find only collective relationship or what Lévy-Bruhl calls participation mystique (Jung, [1921] 1971: par. 12).

    Jung's concept of concretism, which is the opposite of differentiating abstraction, is also closely related to participation mystique.


    I am reminded of another mental case who was neither a poet nor anything very outstanding, just a naturally quiet and rather sentimental youth. He had fallen in love with a girl and, as so often happens, had failed to ascertain whether his love was requited. His primitive participation mystique took it for granted that his agitations were plainly the agitations of the other, which on the lower levels of human psychology is naturally very often the case. Thus he built up a sentimental love-fantasy which precipitately collapsed when he discovered that the girl would have none of him (Jung, 1966: par. 231)."

    ---

    Doesn't Walter Mitty cover much of the same territory in far simpler and easier to understand terms?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Egypt: 5,000 Muslims stream out of mosques, demolish church building while chanting "Allahu akbar"

    PM at its worst.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/01/egypt-5000-muslims-stream-out-of-mosques-demolish-church-building-while-chanting-allahu-akbar.html

      Delete
    2. They do have pluck, tho.
      Maybe leftover from Churchill's days.

      Delete
  7. The uncertain marriage of PC and our Risk-Free Society:

    Airlines have become zoos onto which you can't bring peanuts.

    Can anyone spell "Big Government?"

    If not, you can certainly smell it when you see it.

    I wonder if anyone's brought a suit yet against TSA for
    doing a cavity search of their Service Poodle?

    ReplyDelete
  8. https://www.google.com/search?q=Joseph+Campbell+on+Wolfram+von+Eschenbach&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

    See:The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work - Page 105 - Google

    Oh hell read all of it.

    Joseph Campbell on Wolfram von Eschenbach and the Hero

    "She was dressed for war...in a transparent nightgown."

    :)

    "Woman is a higher title than Lady."

    and etc.

    Wolf lived back around 1200 or so.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfram_von_Eschenbach

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MOYERS: Does the idea of woman as sinner appear in other mythologies?
      CAMPBELL: No, I don't know of it elsewhere. The closest thing to it would be perhaps Pandora with Pandora's box, but that's not sin, that's just trouble. The idea in the biblical tradition of the Fall is that nature as we know it is corrupt, sex in itself is corrupt, and the female as the epitome of sex is a corrupter. ...The idea of the supernatural as being something over and above the natural is a killing idea. In the Middle Ages this was the idea that finally turned that world into something like a wasteland, a land where people were living inauthentic lives, never doing a thing they truly wanted to because the supernatural laws required them to live as directed by their clergy. In a wasteland, people are fulfilling purposes that are not properly theirs but have been put upon them as inescapable laws. This is a killer. The twelfth-century troubadour poetry of courtly love was a protest against this supernaturally justified violation of life's joy in truth. So too the Tristan legend and at least one of the great versions of the legend of the Grail, that of Wolfram von Eschenbach. The spirit is really the bouquet of life. It is not something breathed into life, it comes out of life. This is one of the glorious things about the mother-goddess religions, where the world is the body of the Goddess, divine in itself, and divinity isn't something ruling over and above a fallen nature. There was something of this spirit in the medieval cult of the Virgin, out of which all the beautiful thirteenth-century French cathedrals arose.However, our story of the Fall in the Garden sees nature as corrupt; and that myth corrupts the whole world for us. Because nature is thought of as corrupt, every spontaneous act is sinful and must not be yielded to. You get a totally different civilization and a totally different way of living according to whether your myth presents nature as fallen or whether nature is in itself a manifestation of divinity, and the spirit is the revelation of the divinity that is inherent in nature.


      http://www.qcc.mass.edu/pconnell/joec.html

      Delete
    2. Give it up, Bob, nobody interested but you.

      An' maybe me, a little.

      Buck

      Delete
    3. The should have a Pandora's Box Wine.

      For now, I'm Stuck w/Vella, which still makes me a happy fella.

      www.petervella.com/

      Delete
    4. wolframalpha.com

      General Chemistry

      Course Assistant|for iPhone & iPad
      •Determine properties of elements, chemicals, and ions
      •Compute properties of gases using various gas laws
      •Perform stoichiometric conversions for solutions
      •Balance equations
      •Compute the enthalpy, equilibrium constant, and theoretical yield of a reaction
      •Perform over 45 different computations
      Video demo »

      Delete
    5. stoichiometric conversions were really Big in Chem 1A @ Beserkley.

      It was then, during a 45 day long rainy spell, that I knew I had to transfer to UC Santa Barbara.

      The rest is history.

      The Good and the Bad, which only happened recently.

      Delete
    6. Enthalpy is a measure of the total energy of a thermodynamic system. It includes the internal energy, which is the energy required to create a system, and the amount of energy required to make room for it by displacing its environment and establishing its volume and pressure.

      Enthalpy is a thermodynamic potential. It is a state function and an extensive quantity. The unit of measurement for enthalpy in the International System of Units (SI) is the joule, but other historical, conventional units are still in use, such as the British thermal unit and the calorie.

      The enthalpy is the preferred expression of system energy changes in many chemical, biological, and physical measurements, because it simplifies certain descriptions of energy transfer. This is because a change in enthalpy takes account of energy transferred to the environment through the expansion of the system under study.

      The total enthalpy, H, of a system cannot be measured directly. Thus, change in enthalpy, ΔH, is a more useful quantity than its absolute value. The change ΔH is positive in endothermic reactions, and negative in heat-releasing exothermic processes. ΔH of a system is equal to the sum of non-mechanical work done on it and the heat supplied to it.

      For processes under constant pressure, ΔH is equal to the change in the internal energy of the system, plus the work that the system has done on its surroundings.[1] This means that the change in enthalpy under such conditions is the heat absorbed (or released) by a chemical reaction.

      Enthalpies for chemical substances at constant pressure assume standard state: most commonly 1 bar pressure.

      Standard state does not, strictly speaking, specify a temperature (see standard state), but expressions for enthalpy generally reference the standard heat of formation at 25 °C.

      Delete
    7. Peter Vella Wines invite you to share in the family tradition of our uniquely crafted wines. By entering the Peter Vella Wines website, you affirm that you are of legal drinking age in the country where this site is accessed.

      I disagree, exit.

      I disagreed and was exited forthwith.
      Privacy no longer exists:

      They must have an internets-based lie detector.

      Shit.

      Delete
    8. Standard state does not, strictly speaking, specify a temperature (see standard state), but expressions for enthalpy generally reference the standard heat of formation at 25 °C.


      Hmmm....well, yes.....strictly speaking......but if you chill out a bit, become unstuck with some helpful Vella, an' let 'er rip, you can specify any damn thing you wish...

      Delete
    9. You moron:
      It's used because it's simple, drinks need not be served:

      "The enthalpy is the preferred expression of system energy changes in many chemical, biological, and physical measurements, because it simplifies certain descriptions of energy transfer."

      Delete
  9. Harlan William's talks about skinny dipping w/Jeniffer Anniston.

    Luckily, the Pepperoni's weren't there as they were when they caught him walking down the street with her.

    ...but the Lesbo Taxi Driver Star just wants her privacy.

    That's why she's in movies and "came out" at the recent non-oscar thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :)

      "Hey, leave me alone, quit asking me about my proclivities, I'm not going to talk much about it, but when I first ....."

      Delete
  10. "She was dressed for war...in a transparent nightgown."

    That is nice.

    I love the scene in "The Man w/two Brains"

    in which Steve Martin is chasing his lady around a pool table while his lady taunts him w/insults, or some such.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Warning signs -

    Germany pulls home gold from London and New York
    January 16, 2013

    As progressives openly advocate the coining of a pretend trillion dollar platinum disc and the Fed continues to balloon the world's stock of dollars, Germany is bring home a major part of its gold bullion


    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/01/germany_pulls_home_gold_from_london_and_new_york.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ash already posted that, Bourbon Boy,
      climb back on that wagon.

      Delete
  12. California: Rufus's Dream State:

    Message from the unions: Don't try cutting a cop's retirement pay.

    What is a powerful public union to do when it looks like a city's busted balance sheet is finally forcing some fiscal reform? Naturally, buy a house next door to the city manager's and launch an intimidation campaign aimed at getting him to avoid any real fixes. At least that's what the police union of Stockton, Calif., did in 2011—with great success.

    The police union claimed that the home purchase was meant to diversify its "investments." But at the time, Stockton City Manager Bob Deis was asking the union to come to the table and renegotiate benefits that were contributing to exploding labor costs and budget gaps exceeding $40 million as far as the eye could see. Already, Mr. Deis had tried to stave off municipal bankruptcy by cutting the city's staff 25%, furloughing employees and trimming fringe benefits.

    He warned in March 2011 that the city might have to lay off another 16% of municipal workers. Three months later the police union moved in next door. Officers then embarked on a noisy renovation. Not long after that, Mr. Deis discovered a bumper sticker affixed to his car of a boy urinating on a pair of dice (as it happens, Mr. Deis's surname is pronounced "dice").

    The union also invested in billboards welcoming visitors to "the 2nd most dangerous city in California" and warning that "due to cuts in the budget, we can no longer guarantee your safety." Mr. Deis's phone number was plastered at the bottom of the signs.

    The union's investments have paid off.

    Although unsustainable retirement costs forced the city to declare bankruptcy last summer, Mr. Deis has ruled out modifying workers' pensions. As he wrote in these pages in September, "If Stockton didn't offer an industry-standard pension plan"—that is, one that allows officers to retire at age 50 with an annuity equal to 90% of their salary—"we simply would not be able to staff an already challenged police department. . . . The city is fiercely competing for qualified individuals."

    Despite furloughs and scaled-back retirement benefits for new workers, Stockton had a record number of police recruits this year—1,300 for 17 slots.

    In lieu of reducing pensions, Mr. Deis has proposed slashing $200 million in bond debt that the city issued in 2007, most of which went to pay for workers' pensions. The bond insurers are challenging the city's attempt to scalp them while leaving pensions unshaven.

    The police union, by contrast, has repaid Mr. Deis by agreeing in its new labor contract last month to sell its house by November 2015 and to "exercise its best efforts to ensure that its tenants not interfere with the City Manager's quiet enjoyment of his home." Gee, how many other public officials receive contractual noise-guards?

    ReplyDelete
  13. ---

    Detroit's police union appears to have swiped a page from the playbook. After Mayor Dave Bing last year proposed cutting police pay by 10% and modifying retirement benefits, 400 officers blanketed Comerica Park (home of the Detroit Tigers) with fliers warning spectators to "enter Detroit at your own risk."

    Meanwhile, police officers' rich benefits may actually be endangering the public. With unions claiming that pensions are inviolable, many insolvent cities have slashed their police forces—and crime rates have soared.

    Homicides have tripled in Stockton in the past four years and risen by 60% in Flint, Mich., which has halved its police force since 2008 to pay for retirement benefits. Murders are up by about a third in Oakland since the city laid off 100 officers in 2010 to close a $30 million deficit. The police union had rejected concessions made by other unions.

    Stockton, Flint, Detroit and Oakland are among the 10 most violent cities in America—and may stay that way if police unions insist on protecting their pensions at all costs.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The Philadelphia Story

    The video above shows a Philadelphia union keeps non-union engineering contractors off the premises. He tries to sneak past them to do his job and they crush him against the fence until he passes out. Then they laugh at him. When not similarly engaged they also use tire-busters and direct threats. Maybe that’s not news. What is news is that the video was collected by the Pestronk brothers, a pair of developers, who used it and similar surveillance videos to fight back. No they didn’t go to the police. They took the videos to the public.

    Matt Pestronk is 35 years old, a former college and high-school wrestler, with close-cropped hair, a coal-stove build and a broadly outspoken demeanor. “F**k them,” he says at one point, joking about his union adversaries. “We can take any of those guys.”

    Michael is 31, also a former high-school wrestler, with a shaggy artist’s mop of hair and a slightly more politic personality. “I’d be happy to use all union guys,” he says, “but the numbers have to work.”

    “The numbers have to work”. The point the article in Philly Mag is trying to make is that justice in America is as often driven by dollars and cents as it is by high minded principle. When excessive greed runs into the necessity of getting something done, something has to give. Stuff happens until the numbers work.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Allen West joins PJMedia.

    "I enjoyed my time serving as a member of the 112th Congress. However, those who think losing a congressional race defines me and ends my service to my country fail to realize what drives my patriotism and passion for America. True leaders do not need a title, just a conviction, a cause, and the character enabling them to make a stand."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Someday I'll remember how to link
      http://pjmedia.com/blog/standing-up-for-our-future/?singlepage=true

      Delete
    2. Just paste it into Blogger's Editor in "Compose" mode, then switch to "HTML" mode.

      (assuming you have a blog, which does not have to be public)

      Delete
    3. I sucked at blogging, but still have it under wraps.
      Thanks< will try it next time.

      Delete
  16. Great quote.
    I have no idea how he lost, but could probably guess.
    Glad he'll never submit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      However, those who think losing a congressional race defines me and ends my service to my country fail to realize what drives my patriotism and passion for America. True leaders do not need a title, just a conviction, a cause, and the character enabling them to make a stand."

      Self-defines himself as a 'true leader'.

      Sounds like a pompous asshole to me.

      Politicians are all dicks, some of them just smaller dicks.

      .

      Delete
    2. Exuding confidence is a must for a leader.
      But you may be right, me not knowing the man personally.

      Delete
    3. .

      I'm a cynic, Dougman, no doubt about it, especially when it comes to politicians. However, take a look at the quote Doug put up. How many times have we seen that same quote (or one very similar) put up by politicians? It's de rigueur for the losers.

      Being confident versus exuding confidence, how closely are they tied?
      I don't know. However, I can see were exuding confidence might help on PJMedia. Say it loud enough and the sheeple will come.

      I agree with Dire Straits,

      Hell, that ain't working. That's the way you do it.
      Money for nothing and the chicks are free.

      .


      Delete
    4. "Politicians are all dicks, some of them just smaller dicks."

      Allen West is Black:

      Do you want to delete that, or do you have some comfortable way to explain your statement?

      You get points for Dire Straits, hundreds of points lost for extreme repetitious overuse of your political Dickmeter.

      Delete
    5. .

      Surely, you are kidding.

      .

      Delete
    6. .

      Since there’s no response, I will assume yours was not just an attempt at humor but that you were serious.

      First, I’ll skip past your obvious racial stereotyping and simply address the pertinent question; will I modify or delete my post?

      Naw, I don't think so.

      As for explaining myself, I will try, although I'm not really into home-schooling.

      A. Dick has more than one meaning.

      From the Urban Dictionary,

      dick pron. [dik]: n. or adj.

      1. A slang word for a penis...

      2. An adjective to describe a guy who is a jerk or does mean and stupid things.

      3. (Brit) clever dick, a person who is obnoxiously opinionated or self-satisfied; know-all


      Given the crude and prurient bent towards which your mind trends, it’s easy to see why you would assume the first definition; however, I was actually referring to definition number 2, a jerk.

      I am assuming you realize that 'small' doesn't have to refer to physical size but that can also refer to many other things such as worth or value.

      In explaining myself, I am hoping it sufficient to explain that you merely misunderstood the meaning of dick as it was being used.

      As for your comment on the "extreme overuse" of the political dickmeter, I can only suggest that any points lost for repetition should be offset by points gained for being blunt and pithy.

      For instance, the alternative might be something like this:
      Most politicians are venal and corrupt ideologues; knavish, base profiteers; self-centered, pompous oafs; turgid asses; lying, mendacious prevaricators; and perverse proselytizers of the party line. [Note: This sentence could be extended along the same vein almost indefinitely.]

      After a while, the above sentence would also suffer from “extreme overuse”; thus, my point about succinctness.

      .

      Delete
  17. Sounds like a Black Carolla:

    The BIG Black Lie: How I Learned The Truth About The Democrat Party

    A rising star in political circles, Kevin Jackson has been called the black Glenn Beck. ~ A poignant yet hilarious narrative with his life as the backdrop for a black conservative's coming of age story.

    Readers are treated to an insightful journey through the eyes of a black kid who had many pressures to succumb to the "victimology" of Democrats. The product of a broken home, a deadbeat father and poverty, Jackson had all the excuses. Using rapier wit and hilarity, Kevin provides a much needed insight into the black pathology of voting Democrat, and how he escaped to become a conservative Republican.

    He explains how Democrats stole the moral high ground from Republicans, and he exposes the widely overlooked history of Democrat racism past and present. Kevin challenges Republicans to reconsider how to take the fight to Democrats and gain America back. The BIG Black Lie is a must in the collection of all conservatives. The BIG Black Lie teaches the reader how to be an unapologetic conservative, something the Republican Party does not have enough of these days.

    Readers will become empowered by The BIG Black Lie. "Kevin's book shows first hand that no one ever has a reason for being a perpetual victim. His raw, revealing, honest story about his father and upbringing only reaffirms that regardless of your circumstances, one can still find a foundation of values and virtues in their lives, that can assure them success in all walks of life. This should be a must read for all high schools and libraries."

    - Armstrong Williams, Conservative Political Pundit, Columnist, and Radio Show Host ~

    BE SURE TO VISIT KEVIN'S AWARD-WINNING BLOG, WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE GENESIS OF HIS WIT AT WWW.THEBLACKSPHERE.NET

    ReplyDelete
  18. uh oh, another job about to be outsourced - but what's the economic harm? It is just a question of who gets the 'profit'...

    "How a 'model' employee got away with outsourcing his software job to China

    Bob was his company’s best software developer, got glowing performance reviews and earned more than $250,000 a year.

    Then one day last spring, Bob’s employer thought the company’s computer system had been attacked by a virus.

    The ensuing forensic probe revealed that Bob’s software code had in fact been the handiwork of a Chinese subcontractor.

    Bob was paying a Chinese firm about $50,000 a year to do his work, then spent the day surfing the web, watching cat videos and updating his Facebook page.

    ..."

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/how-a-model-employee-got-away-with-outsourcing-his-software-job-to-china/article7409256/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Sounds like the guy was just trying to get ahead of the curve.

      Although, I'm sure his initiative won't be reflected on his performance review or, in this case, on his exit review.

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      As for 'just a matter of who gets the profit', I would suggest that the company is probably less concerned about who gets the profit and more concerned that company data is being shipped off to some black hole in China.

      .

      Delete
    3. Yeah, and his company will 'make' the 200k instead of him...

      Delete
    4. hmmm, is that concern worth 200k a year to the company?

      Delete
    5. Not a whole lot different than GMC and Chrysler taking handouts from the U.S., then promptly using that money to build plants and create jobs in China. Can you say, "duped"?

      Delete
    6. .

      hmmm, is that concern worth 200k a year to the company?

      You tell us.

      I was just responding to the piece of the article you put up. I didn't read the whole thing or open the link you provided.

      You have your own business.

      I would imagine to answer your question you start asking questions like,

      What type of business was it?
      Did it have intellectual property that might have been compromised?
      Was that property valuable?
      Who was the Chinese contractor and how much integrity can you count on?
      How did they discover this? From what I read, they thought they were hacked.
      Did the program interface with finacial files?

      (As an aside, within the last week, I saw a story on the nightly news indicating that all the major banks have been put on an alert because of the pending threat of a cyber-attack from Eastern-European hackers planned for this spring. The plan is to remove small amounts from various personal and corporate accounts so that the crimes will be hard to detect.)

      If they say it doesn't interface with those files, how do they know? Perhaps there is secret code.
      Beyond that why would anyone want some stranger moving through your business' files?

      These would be the first things that occured to me. Since you own your own business, maybe you can think of more.

      .


      Delete
    7. They never mentioned what business he was working for, but yeah, I can see how they might have security concerns. They obviously have the weigh the risk between a security threat from a local guy who costs 250k against the securtiy threat from another firm that costs 50k. If they got 10 guys doing that kind of work, or a hundred, well, then you are talking real money. Risk vs. Reward. With respect to my business - I'm not worried about the Chinese.

      Delete
  19. The narcissistic President of the U.S., supported by many here at the EB, is getting closer, day by day, to his goal of becoming Despot. Enjoy the ride.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I grow weary of the action photos of this President that are shoved down our throats everyday. Does he keep a photographer with him to capture every expression, every frown, every smile?

    We have all seen the photo of his distressed look after the Newtown massacre. Did he call in make up and lighting first? Did they try different angles before they chose the one we saw? Was there a director present to make sure he looked distressed enough? Reality TV at it's finest.

    Now I see a picture of him surrounded by kids as he announces his sweeping new gun restrictions. Are the kids there as a human shield perhaps?

    I understand these kids all wrote letters to him pleading for stronger gun control. Really? Kids don't do anything like that, unless they were told to and dictated to by their parents. At the request of the President maybe? Hey, write me a letter about gun control and I will invite you and your parents to the White House to be my human shields. Clever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suggest you forget your concern about "lighting"
      and start worrying about lightning.

      He can call it in at will, you know.

      Delete
    2. I've never watched Bill Maher before, because he makes me sick.
      But last night I watched a video of him an Dr. Drew.

      It was obviously shot before the election.
      Maher brought up the ridiculous paranoia about guns, sealing his case by pointing out that BHO had done NOTHING wrt guns.

      As BHO himself said:
      He has more "flexibility" now.

      Delete
  21. .

    Regarding today' stream subject,

    From one of the various Sheeple blogs,

    Sheeple are people that follow blindly and never question their leaders. Motto: Follow the Asshole in front of you.

    Need we say more?

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do you ever concern yourself with anything other than Dicks and Assholes wrt politicians?

      Delete
  22. .

    The Middle Class is Dying. 60 Facts that Prove it.

    The following are 60 facts that prove that the middle class in America is being wiped out...

    #1 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the middle class is taking home a smaller share of the overall income pie than has ever been recorded before.

    #2 As the middle class shrinks, more Americans than ever have been forced to become dependent on the federal government. Federal spending on welfare programs has reached nearly a trillion dollars a year, and that does not even count Social Security or Medicare. Welfare spending is now 16 times larger than when the "war on poverty" began.

    #3 Median household income in the U.S. has fallen for four consecutive years. Overall, it has declined by over $4000 during that time span.

    #4 The U.S. economy continues to trade good paying jobs for low paying jobs. 60 percent of the jobs lost during the last recession were mid-wage jobs, but 58 percent of the jobs created since then have been low wage jobs.

    #5 The number of Americans living in poverty has increased by more than 15 million since the turn of the century.

    #6 The number of Americans on food stamps has grown from 17 million in the year 2000 to more than 47 million today.

    #7 Back in the 1970s, about one out of every 50 Americans was on food stamps. Today, about one out of every 6.5 Americans is on food stamps...



    From the Daily Sheeple

    http://thetruthwins.com/archives/the-middle-class-in-america-is-being-wiped-out-here-are-60-facts-that-prove-it

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How does a class die?
      Was it ever alive?

      Delete
    2. The middle class has been re-defined by the liberals. The middle class now includes the lower class as well. Notice no one speaks of the lower class anymore. Only middle and those rich, slimy, crooks in the upper class.

      Delete
    3. Everybody dumb down now. See Biology of Transcendence. No family. Nobody got words now. not even quirkman. all he do is cut, past, cite, like he got on me for.

      hmmm guess then that it for now

      Delete
    4. soon be we all equal dummies

      Delete
    5. quirk say the following are 60 facts count 'em 7 facts 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 what he think we are dummies

      Delete
    6. .

      Yes. Try opening the URL.

      .

      Delete
    7. .

      Also, too ignorant.

      I thought you were supposed to be an English major. Your statement above seems to point to the fact that you don't understand the use of a suspension point or ellipsis.

      I am also cutting down on the use of clickable links. It seems no one here uses them anymore, from the evidently computer literate, to the buffoons, to even the Boss himself.

      .

      Delete
    8. Cut down on the Dickable Statments, maybe they'll start taking you more seriously.

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

      Delete
    10. .

      I gave you an answer on the "Dickable Statments" in response to you post at 4:42 that started out

      DougWed Jan 16, 04:42:00 PM EST

      "Politicians are all dicks, some of them just smaller dicks."

      Allen West is Black...


      .

      Delete
  23. Philadelphia Story

    33. Tim

    I work for a large national multifamily developer with projects in Florida, DC NYC and the west coast. I have reviewed hundreds of development proposals in the past few years but I can’t think of one from Phiadelphia. Its pretty much just as the brothers say “the numbers just dont work”. Using union labor will increase the cost of the project by 30% minimum.

    Recently the unions have been targeting developers nationwide with super agressive tactics and intimidation campaigns. One of their favorite tactics on the west coast is to file environmental challenges in court prior to the developer getting heir final approvals. To date this has cost my firm at least $5 million in legal fees and increased construction costs.

    The reason they do this is because they know that no matter what they do, they are immune from prosecution under this administration.

    ReplyDelete
  24. President Creosote

    French President Francois Hollande has effectively tied Barack Obama’s hands by going into Mali. That’s only fair because Obama’s actions in Libya precipitated the crisis in the Sahara to a great extent. Now, with its key interests threatened, France is committed to a campaign of vast proportions. Glenn Reynolds has a roundup of misgivings about the French involement:

    WELL, THAT’S COMFORTING: Walter Russell Mead: Mali — Dien Bien Phu All Over Again? “It’s too early to tell whether Mali will really become a quagmire; insurgents always make grand claims about their power, but only some are able to make good on it. Even so, France clearly underestimated the initial jihadist military strength in Mali, and the country is already turning to the US for logistical support.”
    Remember when the press mocked Mitt Romney for bringing up Mali in a debate?

    ReplyDelete
  25. China is losing its competitive edge as a low-cost manufacturing base, new data suggest, with makers of everything from handbags to shirts to basic electronic components relocating to cheaper locales like Southeast Asia.

    The shift—illustrated in weakened foreign investment in China—has pluses and minuses for an economy key to global growth. Beijing wants to shift to higher-value production and to see incomes rise.

    ReplyDelete
  26. The battle over the Second Amendment may get … interesting. Something new has come up. Obama banned firearms magazines of greater than 10 rounds capacity. The counter to that was tested last weekend.

    As you might have heard, there is a movement to make computer printable firearms using 3-D computer printers. They have so far made a working pistol, I believe. Today I saw this in Forbes Magazine. They have produced and tested a printed 30 round magazine for an AR-15, obviating any Federal controls. There is a link in the article to the company’s site where their files can be downloaded. 3-D printers are expensive right now. I think they cost about $50K, which is why design prototyping firms usually lease them. But the costs have come down in the last few years. They used to cost over a $million. The costs should continue to fall, and will eventually be reasonable for private individuals and groups to acquire.

    I would guess that now that the AR-15 design is out, and since that is a simple 3 piece box [not a complex design, and not under the stresses other firearms parts would be under] that designs will be released or developed for other common magazines.

    Given the inevitable future Enabling Acts by Decree, it would be a good thing if their firearms and magazine files were downloaded from various WiFi locations onto disposable devices, saved to a lot of thumb drives, and widely distributed; against the day when they may be useful.

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/01/14/gunsmiths-3d-print-high-capacity-ammo-clips-to-thwart-proposed-gun-laws/

    I don’t think that the coercive organs of the State will be able to regulate and control the supplies of plastic, spring steel, and computers nationwide.

    Subotai Bahadur

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Excellent choice of edit, Ash.

      Delete
    2. Shows you no dummie like the rest of us Smees.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan

      Smee worked for Captain Hook, you wouldn't know that, such a young buck

      Delete
    3. Smee[1]: Captain Hook's right-hand man in J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and the novel Peter and Wendy. He seems an oddly genial man for a pirate; Barrie describes him as "Irish" and "a man who stabbed without offence" – and is portrayed in the multiple pantomimes or movies of Peter Pan as a rather stupid but entertaining man interested in loot rather than Hook's more evil pleasures. Smee typically represents a humorous side to pirating

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smee#Pirates

      In today's urban environment, Ash, an equivalent to Smee would best be thought of as a genial oaf resembling our Quirk.

      Delete
    4. "a rather stupid but entertaining man interested in loot" -
      "who stabbed without offense"


      That's it alright. Nother urban pirate.

      Buck


      Delete
    5. ummm, bob, time to take your meds!

      Delete
    6. Shows you no dummie like the rest of us Smees.

      Come to think of it, you're right.

      That is a crazy statement.

      Now, if I can find my pill bottles.....

      Delete
  28. French strategy is to hold the line until a promised 3,500-strong West African force assembles. President François Hollande said he hoped his ground troops could give way to the African contingent “within days or weeks”.

    ...

    Meanwhile, the islamist raid in south-eastern Algeria confirms widespread fears that the Malian conflict could spread across the immense, porous national frontiers of the Sahara and Sahel region stretching from Mauritania to Libya.

    Algerian press reports, quoting interior ministry sources, said the raiders initially tried to hijack a bus taking Western workers to the airport. They were fought off after they killed two people, including a Briton, it was claimed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      President François Hollande said he hoped his ground troops could give way to the African contingent “within days or weeks”.

      Gee, why does that sound familiar?

      .

      Delete
    2. Perfect recipe for a success. Good for our drone sales too, which the economy desperately needs.

      Delete
    3. Well. They realized boots on the ground were required.

      They're going to be French boots, which is fiine by me. The French must have a National Interest in Mali.

      We will assist the French, as the US does have a National Interest in France. A long standing relationship dating back to 1777>

      Delete
  29. Dennis Kucinich, the former Democratic congressman from Ohio, is the Fox News Channel’s newest contributor.

    ...

    Mr. Kucinich, a two-time presidential candidate known for his staunch antiwar views, lost his bid for re-election to the House of Representatives last year. The loss (to his primary opponent, Representative Marcy Kaptur) was not a surprise, because his Congressional district was largely eliminated when Ohio lawmakers redrew the state’s electoral map in 2011.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why do I always start to miss some of these guys when they are gone, or almost gone.....Rangle, Kucinich, Ron Paul....

      Delete
  30. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, who sees the Bible as hate literature, considers the spectacle of Obama placing his hand on it “absurdist.” He should place his hand on something he truly honors, like the shoulder of one of his daughters, argues O’Donnell.

    ...

    Most revolutionaries do. Even Napoleon invited the clergy to his coronation, though he made sure to give them poor seating, as they passively watched the leader crown himself.

    Modern liberalism is a continuation of such godless self-coronations, but the need to dupe the public requires that it move more slowly than the O’Donnells like.

    ReplyDelete
  31. America Prepares to Fold in Afghanistan But Must Stay
    Jan 16, 2013 4:45 AM EST

    As America prepares to withdraw from Afghanistan after so many lives lost and billions spent, John Kael Weston urges Obama to reconsider—to keep a real presence of U.S. troops that will maintain our painful gains there.


    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/16/america-prepares-to-fold-in-afghanistan-but-must-stay.html


    Think of the women.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What should we think of them?

      Should we think they are worth US blood and treasure?

      More so than poor women in the US from whom you'd freeze out of our Heaalth Care culture?

      Think of US first, when spending borrowed money.

      Delete
    2. .

      It amazes me that Bob was all over Rufus, may the lord bless and keep him, because Obama is bankrupting the country; yet, is the first to push for US intervention around the world and for foreign aid for the countries he likes.

      .

      Delete
    3. I would gladly expend Rat's life on worthless lands but he'd have to pay his own way to get home. (meaning there)...

      But the location? Completely across the world? A land barren full of sand and rock?

      Rat's homeland ya know...

      Perfect place for a "desert rat"

      Delete
  32. 7 Americans Seized in Algeria Attack...

    Hostage Nightmare...

    One-Eyed Jihadi Leader...

    Retaliation for France intervention in Mali...

    Netanyahu hits back at Obama: I know what's best for Israel...

    Iran Navy to Deploy to Mediterranean...

    House lawmakers introduce bill to cut Biden's salary...

    drudge



    That last, about Biden, is heartening, at least.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Netanyahu hits back at Obama: I know what's best for Israel...

    Glad to see this, too.

    Netanyahu has lots of heroic qualities, like Churchill, and Lincoln.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :)

      Hero sandwich?

      You are thinking lower order, as usual.

      And by the way, heroism doesn't require military feats, though in Netanyahu's case it does include them -

      After graduating from high school in 1967, Netanyahu returned to Israel to enlist in the IDF. He trained as a combat soldier and became a team leader in an elite special forces unit of the IDF, Sayeret Matkal. He took part in numerous cross-border assault raids during the 1969–70 War of Attrition. He was involved in many other missions, including the rescue of the hijacked Sabena Flight 571 in May 1972 in which he was wounded by friendly fire.[11] wiki

      Delete
    2. There is something self sacrificing about any sandwich.

      Delete
  34. Obama uses moslem tactic of children as human shields during anti gun speech, meanwhile the workplace violence case at Fort Hood still on hold.

    Read on the net, some comment somewhere.

    ReplyDelete

  35. Article:
    Why Sandy Hook Massacre Spawned Conspiracy Theories
    Benjamin Radford, LiveScience Bad Science Columnist
    Date: 16 January 2013 Time: 11:25 AM ET

    http://www.livescience.com/26314-sandy-hook-massacre-conspiracy-theories.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      More to the point, why would we waste out time looking up Sandy Hook conspiracy theories?

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      Is this what we can expect after you've taken your meds?

      .

      Delete
    3. Blame Melody. I think she put something up about it. Not that she bought into it.

      I am blameless, as always.

      Just trying to explain the phenomena.

      Some people are naturally curious. And like to know stuff.

      Delete
  36. Don't blame me. I didn't waste anytime looking up any conspiracy theories. It was brought to my attention and I just wanted to know if anyone here really thought the government was that corrupt and manipulative as to set up such a morbid and disgusting conspiracy just to put in place some kind of gun control.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They did run those guns into Mexico and a reason often mentioned by people is to blame the violence on US guns, and use it as an argument for gun control.
      To some how send some young man into a school on a suicide/kill mission, I doubt it.

      Delete
  37. Wasn't blaming you. Just mentioned you put it up.

    It's not a bad question, why we seem to need conspiracy theories, like why do we need heroes.

    I can only think of two possible conspiracies that I might buy into - JFK, and that airliner that went down over New York harbor.

    There were so many witnesses to that last event, I can't buy the official explanation.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Barky does seem to like running guns. Into Libya, and from there to Syria. Some have washed up in Mali.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Bob Schieffer Likens Obama 'Taking on the Gun Lobby' to Hunt for Bin Laden, 'Defeating the Nazis'

    By Matthew Balan | January 16, 2013 | 13:18

    Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-balan/2013/01/16/bob-schieffer-likens-obama-taking-gun-lobby-hunt-bin-laden-defeating-#ixzz2ICUfLde3


    Lots of wonderful comments, over a thousand of them

    When you have Bob Schieffer talking guns, you don't need any Sandy Hooks.

    ReplyDelete
  40. What you will really see when you go warp speed, and why. For the naturally curious.

    http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/01/16/warp-speed-what-hyperspace-would-really-look-like/

    Click on the arrow to the right.

    ReplyDelete
  41. The NRA got Obamacare to include limits on what Doctors could ask patients.

    Now Obama acts like the opposite is true.

    Like Global Warming became Climate Change, Gun Control became all about keeping our Kids Safe.
    ...but Big Sis is off-message, still calling it what it is: GUN CONTROL!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let's face it. They are better than we at using language to their benefit.

      This could probably be corrected but would take real effort and long term commitment.

      Delete
  42. After Gun Control Speech, Obama Goes to Geithner's Good-Bye Party

    "Par-TEE!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Were the kids invited? You'd think they'd have earned something, being pulled out of indoctrination class to be used animated props as they were.

      Delete
  43. .

    Dimon in the Rough

    JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon had his bonus cut in half but has escaped harsh criticism from the bank's internal reports into its multi-billion dollar London trading fiasco.

    As the bank reported record profits, JP Morgan released two reports into last May's massive trading debacle. Dimon "could have better tested his reliance on what he was told", the reports conclude. Dimon's total compensation has been cut in the wake of the London disaster to $11.5m from $23m for the year before.

    In a conference call with analysts Dimon said the bank was "getting near the end" of unwinding the losses, which now exceed $6.2bn. "Obviously when you have a problem like the whale, you have mistakes which you should fix, which we have done. Some of these mistakes obviously scared us," said Dimon.

    The internal reviews concluded that Dimon bore "ultimate responsibility" for the losses but saved their most stinging criticism for Ina Drew, the former chief investment officer, and other executives since ousted from the bank.



    Wonder if the administration will ever admit Obama has "ultimate responsibity" for anything that goes wrong on his watch.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's a Rolex in the Rough. (that'd be Chicago)

      What could possibly go wrong?

      Delete
    2. If he had any smarts he'd never wear a watch at all, like many farmers.

      That way nothing could go wrong on his watch.

      Things would still go wrong all over hell, but he could at least say "Nothing went wrong on my watch."

      Delete
  44. Warp speed:

    Isn't that what it's supposed to look like as you're approaching heaven? The 'bright light'?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is described that way sometimes. The descriptions varying. And the destination variously described too. Sometimes light is used to describe 'God' or some other superior being, not 'heaven'.

      It's like, an analogy used by some, as if all these folks went to France, having never been there, and which for the first time they now know really exists in some form, but they visited different parts, so their descriptions can't be perfectly matched. Some describe the Alps, some the sea, some the rivers, some the Eiffel Tower. If one were a farmer one might describe the farmland in the Loire Valley, because one's background seems to influence what one sees. But, were you dead? O yes, quite quite dead. No doubt of that. Did it seem like a dream? Oooo NO! Not at all, nothing like a dream, realer than here, reality here doesn't touch it. Hard to describe as we have no words for it, they say.

      Delete
    2. heaven = light = love = God = unity

      These terms get jumbled up in the descriptions.

      Delete
    3. And then often the weeping begins. Powerful stuff, it does seem, from Doctor to doorman, and all in between.

      Delete
  45. .

    Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Wednesday that he is “confident” the United States can overcome legal obstacles to provide military help to France for its drive against al-Qaeda-linked militants in Mali.

    Of course, he is confident. He has seen firsthand than when the administration's policies conflict with the law, Obama simply ignores the law.


    “It’s no different now,” he said. “Lawyers basically have to review these issues to make sure they feel comfortable that we have the legal basis for what we’re being requested to do. And I understand the need for that.”

    Of course, we have the most accommodating lawyers money can buy.


    The United States is barred from offering direct military aid to Mali because the weak government there took power in a military coup last year.

    Now, how can we get around that. Maybe claim that al-Queda is behind the uprising? Humanitarian reasons? Hmmm.


    U.S. spy agencies have limited visibility into the crisis. American officials said the CIA does not fly surveillance drones over Mali and has a relatively small presence on the ground, based in the capital, Bamako.

    When has not knowing what the hell is going on ever stopped us?


    From the WaPo


    http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mali-asked-us-for-military-aid-last-week-state-dept-official-says/2013/01/16/09b9f808-600c-11e2-b05a-605528f6b712_story.html?hpid=z2


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No problem, our rulers and masters can get around any law at a time and place of their choosing.

      Delete
  46. .

    America is Bad for Your Health

    Anyone interested in health care ought to digest the findings of a massive new report from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine, which compared Americans’ health with that of people in other advanced countries. After spending 18 months examining statistics and studies, the panel reached a damning conclusion: The United States ranks below most advanced countries.

    However,


    The report’s most important contribution is to show that much of the U.S. “health disadvantage” doesn’t reflect an inadequate health-care system but lifestyle choices, personal behaviors and social pathologies. The gap in life expectancy is concentrated in Americans under 50. Among men, nearly 60 percent of the gap results from more homicides (often gun-related), car accidents (often alcohol-related) and other accidents (often drug-related) than in comparable nations. For children under 5, car accidents, drowning and fire are the largest causes of death.

    Teen pregnancy is another big problem. Among girls 15 to 19, the pregnancy rate is about 3.5 times the average of other advanced societies. “Adolescent motherhood affects two generations, children and mothers,” the report notes. Adolescent mothers often don’t finish high school. “Their children face a greater risk of poor child care, weak maternal attachments [and] poverty.” Similarly, the incidence of AIDS in America is nearly nine times the OECD average.

    The health-care system can’t cure these ills, which are social problems with health consequences. Those who expect the introduction of the main elements of the Affordable Care Act (”Obamacare”) in 2014 to improve Americans’ health dramatically are likely to be disappointed. The lack of insurance is a problem, but it is not the main health problem, in part because the uninsured already receive much uncompensated care...



    From WaPo

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/robert-samuelson-in-health-were-not-no-1/2013/01/16/9385b72c-602d-11e2-b05a-605528f6b712_story.html?hpid=z3

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    1. .

      Look at the social issues listed and responsible for 60% of the difference in life expectancy for men. Look at the pathologies for teenage girls.

      The health-care system can’t cure these ills, which are social problems with health consequences.

      IMO, our society is suffering more and more from the moral relativism that is growing in this country. And the answer? Forget about the pathologies, just attack the symptoms, more gun control, more contraceptives, more food stamps.

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  47. Just heard Dr. Drew say teenage pregnancies here are the lowest since 1943!

    Don't know about pregnancy (have my suspicions) but DO no that our 12 percent black population is responsible for about half the homicides.

    Black families having been decimated by the War on Poverty.
    The Second large scale attack on Symptoms after FDR.

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    Dr. Drew Podcast # 2

    Scroll down for download link.

    Drew and an ex-IV drug addict discuss Idol Worship, Envy, Greed, Agression, Schadenfreud, Celebrity Rehab, and Reality TV. (starting with a question at about 20 minutes in)

    BHO is the ultimate exploiter of celebrity, envy, schadenfreud, idol worship, and alternate reality.

    ie: Alinsky in Action.

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