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."

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

2009: Elephant Bar Year of the Woman



In 2009 our first female President took office, injecting a shot of much-needed œstrogen into the political discourse after eight muscular years of Bush-Cheney. Maureen Dowd praised the President's "soft-power sewing circle approach" which involves "less towel-snapping and more towel color coordinating, less steroids and more sensitivity."

Osama bin Laden, Kim Jong-Il, Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad give kudos to Obama for his more nurturing and inclusive style. After eight years of failed policies confronting these misunderstood dictators and thugs with the projection of US military power, Barack Obama changed course. Now a kinder and gentler America engages in dialogue and tries to find common ground as the basis for moving forward. How can Li'l Kim rattle his nuclear sword with Obama's song ringing in his head:

Have you never been mellow?
Have you never tried to find a comfort from inside you.
Have you never been happy just to hear your song?
Have you never let someone else be strong?”

The only problem Obama has is remembering to bow to kings and emperors and not curtsey.

2009 was also the year the Elephant Bar grew a pair...of hips. Most of the conversation was focused on a disagreement over how to spell a certain nation on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and it looked like a transcript from audio taken from a Junior High School girl's bathroom.

This year the Elephant Bar elevated yours truly to the status of proprietor, which entails the duty of posting new topics to be ignored when the old topic reaches nearly two hundred comments.

Oh yes I am wise, but it’s wisdom born of pain,
Yes, I’ve paid the price, but look how much I gained,
If I have to I can face anything,
I am strong (strong),
I am invincible (invincible),
I am woman!

Lady MLD emerged from lurkerhood and became a full-time regular of the Bar, and our curmudgeonly wheat and alfalfa farmer from Idaho, Bob, aka Bobal, aka Bobalharb fell deeply and eternally in lust for her. I was moved to give her the nickname MeLoDy and it stuck. When the normal rough-and-tumble of this place resulted in Melody being insulted, Bob protested by closing his purse and walking off with the sound of his stiletto heels echoing from the Elephant Bar walls.

desert rat: Only the women of the Bar get to resign, multiple times, they having the prerogatives due their fairer gender.

Our resident Peak Oil believer, ever ready with a forecast, identified new ways that technology can serve females of any species:

Rufus: If a Dairy Farmer can afford a robot that can identify a cow, then identify the teats, then position the tubes on the teats, and milk the cow, there's not a job on an assembly line anywhere in the world that can't be done cheaper, and more efficiently by a robot.



(Apologies to WiO for losing his two comments, there was a customer complaint with this thread the first time it was posted)

140 comments:

  1. Great post T.

    (Although I am a little offended by the robot comments. Can we get that part deleted as a customer complaint?)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Too much blogging
    Can lead to a clogging
    Of the mind

    I wish to be certain
    Fore closing my curtain
    That Melody
    Can reach me
    Even yet
    At
    rcpeterson@cableone.net

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can we get Q deleted as a customer complaint?

    ReplyDelete
  4. ...cont. from previous thread, rudely interrupted by this one:
    ---
    2 Macros, if necessary, 1 gay, 1 straight.

    ...or, we could go way back and have 3:

    Gay, Straight, and "Brown Skinned"

    extra point macro: "Gay Brown Skinned"

    ReplyDelete
  5. No, WIO, the complaint is you are a F..... JOO!

    ...it's all about YOU!

    The Palis tell me so.

    ReplyDelete
  6. No, there was no complaint. It was one big misunderstanding.

    This is what I think happened:
    I posted this link but did not have the "scroll down." Someone saw the text and thought they were being reprimanded for walking on a previous post.

    It's a "pink thing" (as in pink v blue with maybe a little pink v pink thrown in.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I move to REmove Rufus because he simply is too often WRONG.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Can anyone here hack RC's e-mail addy such that we can tune in to the al-Bob/Melody show when we so desire?

    ReplyDelete
  9. "...cont. from previous thread, rudely interrupted by this one:
    ---
    2 Macros, if necessary, 1 gay, 1 straight.

    ...or, we could go way back and have 3:

    Gay, Straight, and "Brown Skinned"

    extra point macro: "Gay Brown Skinned"



    Cute Doug.

    But not worth a re-post.


    .

    ReplyDelete
  10. WiO left a comment in this thread to the effect that he had no problem with a strong woman, his only prerequisite was that she had a vagina.

    I replied that if 2010 was fore-ordained to be a Democrat year, it might have been better to have Hillary as POTUS, because she would have had a more muscular foreign policy to compensate for the perception that women are weak leaders.

    WiO replied that Deborah, Esther, Golda Meir and Lady Thatcher were examples of strong female national leaders.

    Then there was a little catfight, true to the spirit of the thread, and I temporarily deleted the whole thread. Sorry WiO.

    Trish: (Elephant Bar Year of the Woman. Indeed...Year of the Mean, Autocratic Lesbian more like...)

    I was thinking that 2010 might be the Year of Rapprochement with Trish. Now it doesn't look so good.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Why did you delete a Thread?

    ReplyDelete
  12. "Cute Doug.

    But not worth a re-post
    "

    Quirk:

    Even in the emotion-driven reality show genre that sometimes drives the EB Narrative?

    ReplyDelete
  13. T, thanks for reposting the post I posted you made my points quite clear...

    Hillary is CERTAINLY a better woman than Obama, and quite frankly should be and woul dhave been better as the Democratic choice for the office of POTUS.

    Something happened on the floor of the convention shutting her down... Most likely BLACKMAIL by the gang from chi-town...

    SHe had MORE delegates and a stronger win record going into the convention and it should have been an open convention....

    But we cant cry over spilled milk in life and that is why I tell people that my democratic affiliation (since 1978) is over. I, a scoop Jackson Democrat now tells the party to kiss my ass....

    I will support anyONE that will dislodge the majority party from being dominate.

    ONLY if and when the progressives/commies/anti-semites of the democratic party are flushed will I help a democrat win anything more than a dog catcher's position...

    Screw the democrats....

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is cool:
    EB invents it's separate reality-show reality, to distract us from the the unbearable state of real reality.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Garrison Kelor? is out of the closet as an anti-semite, WIO, for what it's worth.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I object to Doug, because he's a pineapple, doo-doo head.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hang in there Bob, the base is about to shut down for Xmas/New Years' and with the extra time I'll liven things up here.

    ReplyDelete
  18. WiO: ONLY if and when the progressives/commies/anti-semites of the democratic party are flushed will I help a democrat win anything more than a dog catcher's position...

    What I think we're seeing here is the same kind of transition when southern life-long democrats went over to Nixon. All it took was a pro-Jihadi President who salutes the flag by grabbing his crotch.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Nonbelievers, please leave Christmas alone

    "Unitarians listen to the Inner Voice and so they have no creed that they all stand up and recite in unison, and that's their perfect right, but it is wrong, wrong, wrong to rewrite "Silent Night." If you don't believe Jesus was God, OK, go write your own damn "Silent Night" and leave ours alone. This is spiritual piracy and cultural elitism, and we Christians have stood for it long enough. And all those lousy holiday songs by Jewish guys that trash up the malls every year, Rudolph and the chestnuts and the rest of that dreck. Did one of our guys write "Grab your loafers, come along if you wanna, and we'll blow that shofar for Rosh Hashanah"? No, we didn't.

    Christmas is a Christian holiday - if you're not in the club, then buzz off. Celebrate Yule instead or dance around in druid robes for the solstice. Go light a big log, go wassailing and falalaing until you fall down, eat figgy pudding until you puke, but don't mess with the Messiah."

    ReplyDelete
  20. trish: I am boycotting this thread.

    In Soviet Russia, threads girlcott you.

    ReplyDelete
  21. "And all those lousy holiday songs by Jewish guys that trash up the malls every year, Rudolph and the chestnuts and the rest of that dreck. Did one of our guys write "Grab your loafers, come along if you wanna, and we'll blow that shofar for Rosh Hashanah"?

    No, we didn't
    "

    ReplyDelete
  22. rufus said...
    "I object to Doug, because he's a pineapple, doo-doo head."
    ---
    THAT does it!

    I'm outta here.

    Please take my name off this dicktard blog!

    IMMEDIATELY!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Doug said...

    I REALLY mean it!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Can we now get back to current events, or is THIS current events?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Currant Events:
    Sex with Raisins.

    ReplyDelete
  26. We're all invited to WIO's place.

    BYOB.

    ReplyDelete
  27. "Even in the emotion-driven reality show genre that sometimes drives the EB Narrative?"

    Well, if you put that way.

    (Especially, since I was unprepared for any push back. You're a tough cookie Doug. Not to mention a pineapple, doo doo head.)


    .

    ReplyDelete
  28. Does he have a desert reality set in Ohio?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Pineapple doo doo does have it's pluses.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I think everyone should email bob since he put his email address on the thread for the whole world to see.

    ReplyDelete
  31. uh, I was thinking a spam bot should e-mail Bob, Whit.

    Can you lock his post so he cannot delete it?

    ReplyDelete
  32. I hope Trish gets elected Proprietor of the EB too someday, so when she walks on one of Whit's topics I can complain that it was really one of my topics and then I'll girlcott it too, and really mean it too. I don't get mad, I just get even.

    ReplyDelete
  33. rcpeterson@cableone.net

    THERE,
    He cannot delete THAT.

    Until he submits to his daughter teaching him how to join us in the
    New Millenium.

    ReplyDelete
  34. "I think everyone should email bob since he put his email address on the thread for the whole world to see."

    From a library or computer cafe; otherwise we will be spammed with the complete "Odes to MeLoDy".

    Just saying.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  35. Can you imagine this bunch drinking together? In a shipping buried container?

    That would not end well.

    ReplyDelete
  36. ..buried together in a shipping container. :(

    ReplyDelete
  37. During my absence, these were posted by our resident Himmler Fan Club president.

    And the mice went skitter, skitter, skitter and "Squeak", "Squeak", "Squeak".

    …”wearisome”, really (or is that “rally”, e.g. “I rally, rally weary of the petulance of the XXXXXXX bloggers.”)…


    1) "Brownshirt Bob" wants to ban folks, when he dislikes their thinking.

    2) I will not let being called ignorant stand, not when it is "Brownshirt Boobie", calling the tune.

    3) Acknowledging the crime does not atone for it, Brownshirt.

    4) AS for allowing you to hang out, Brownshirt, of course.

    5) Brownshirt, what ever the point you wish to obtain, is fine with me.

    6) These fine Americans, Brownshirt, describe you as a danger to the United States.

    7) And, Brownshirt, even allen agreed with my take on the David story.

    8) I'm in the gold, Quirk, to Brownshirt's silver and you simply being on the Board, with no oak leaves nor colored clusters.

    9) That's Brownshirt tactics.
    Not misjudgment.

    10) Just scroll up to Brownshirt's last rambling rant.


    ...hypocritic chutzpah... :-D)

    ReplyDelete
  38. I vote for a buried Grammar School Bus.
    We would gain additional victim status points.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Single Malt Scotch REQUIRED

    Yoo-Hoo for the kiddies

    Ammo is a plus as is Beef Jerky, however 10 day dry aged prime rib is always nice...

    In my bunker we spell "Israel" Israel, so if you have an issue with that?

    Dont come a knocking...

    ReplyDelete
  40. BDS
    Brownshirt Derangement Syndrome.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Oh hell, looks like Shabbat is over.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  42. Ya see one Shabbat,
    ya seen em all.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Maybe Bob is just taking a Shabbatical.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Whit: Can you imagine this bunch drinking together? In a shipping buried container? That would not end well.

    Human flesh is not Kosher, but after a few weeks who knows what would happen?

    ReplyDelete
  45. It was inevitable Doug.

    As was pointed out earlier, the EB is like the "Hotel California". You can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave.

    They all come back.


    .

    ReplyDelete
  46. I vote we change all brownshirt references to "brown-britches."

    ReplyDelete
  47. Or, "brown-round." Or "Brown-cow." Or Braunschweiger." Or "Brown-eyes, blue."

    Or, we just shoot the next motherfucker that mentions it.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Following "Doctors orders", I have just poured the last of my Macallan's Cask Strength

    I prefer the Macallan 12.

    ReplyDelete
  49. "Or, we just shoot the next motherfucker that mentions it."

    Gosh, you missed your chance. Sorta like the oath taken by three gross malefactors, recently...what a hoot...

    ReplyDelete
  50. That Wasn't aimed at you, Allen.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Just a general observation that we should vote to reaffirm GODWIN'S LAW. To wit, the first person to use a nazi reference, Loses.

    ReplyDelete
  52. "Look beyond the rhetoric, to performance."

    Wind him up and you get another pithy catch phrase...Rally, you do!

    ReplyDelete
  53. rufus: Just a general observation that we should vote to reaffirm GODWIN'S LAW. To wit, the first person to use a nazi reference, Loses.

    That's a direct challenge to the credo that emerged from the Holocaust, "Never forgive, never forget." And it only applies on USENET, where it was born, and what it does is terminates a thread, and we only wish that would happen here.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Okay, never mind then. I wuz rong. "Naziisms" is Good. Fire away.

    ReplyDelete
  55. "I prefer the Macallan 12."

    I prefer Glenfiddich. But like you, I prefer the 12 year old. I've tried the others right up the the 50 year that came out this year
    (haven't tried it yet). However, it seems the older the version, the sweeter the taste.

    I prefer the freshness of the cheap stuff (if anything is cheap any more).

    .

    ReplyDelete
  56. This is interesting; Oil in "Floating Storage" has been shrinking by about One Million Barrels/Day for the last couple of months.

    Floating Storage

    Oil's back to $75.00 Barrel, today.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Whit: I have a similar explanation for the endurance of my own. As a result/consequence, my advice to young marrieds is to never leave home when fighting.

    I've been with one gal for 22 years and "officially" for 20. This may not apply to Breeders, but here goes:

    1. Even if you share a single checking account, divide it effectively into two "sides" on your spreadsheet which each person controls exclusively. Work out who pays what bills. When you go shopping, and there's a big spontaneous buy, offer to shell out half. Most divorces are the result of money issues.

    2. Boom-boom once a week is plenty. Any more than that and it actually gets boring, if you can imagine such a thing. Menses being in synchronicity is a big plus (okay that last part does NOT apply to Breeders).

    3. Don't shit, shower, and shave together. Too much togetherness is not really a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  58. rufus: "That Wasn't aimed at you, Allen."

    My operating assumption is that VERY LITTLE is aimed at me; instead, the vitriol stems from what I represent. As to ad hominim comments, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but only Zyklon B will kill me."

    I made my case earlier and was dinged by the proprietor. Nothing, including my opinion, has changed since, other than the regrettable absence of bob.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Rufus: This is interesting; Oil in "Floating Storage" has been shrinking by about One Million Barrels/Day for the last couple of months.

    Meanwhile there's a huge shadow inventory of foreclosed homes in floating storage that's about to drop the hammer on the "recovery". China just spent a lot of money on stimulus banking on a V-shaped global recovery that's not happening, more like \_____

    ReplyDelete
  60. "Rep. Parker Griffith (D-Ala.) is expected to become the second member of Congress this year to switch parties, according to a report by Politico. Griffith, a freshman in a historically-Democratic yet vulnerable district, will announce his decision this afternoon in Alabama and denounce the health care reform bill as a main reason for the move."


    .

    ReplyDelete
  61. I've got a line - actually two - on venison jerky.

    Good stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  62. It appears the price for a vote on healthcare has been established at $100 million.

    Landrieu, Nelson, and now Dodd.


    Dodd's $100 Million into Healthcare Bill for Hospital

    .

    ReplyDelete
  63. Sales of Existing Homes rise to highest level in almost 3 years

    T, there IS a subset of Mortgages that are getting ready to default in the next couple of years, HOWEVER, the "Crisis" is behind us. At least, THAT Crisis is behind us.

    I still think you're underestimating China. Even if exports do fall they have a HUGE Stockpile of Cash, and an ambitious workforce. They are steadily building up a "Domestic" economy, and they have a plenty of money to devote to the process.

    The "economy" will be in a flux for decades, but it won't be "All" bad. (just mostly)

    ReplyDelete
  64. Glenmorangie 10 will do nicely.

    ReplyDelete
  65. I might bring the Ron Zacapas. If someone promises to hood and ziptie allen.

    ReplyDelete
  66. …The 67-year-old radiation oncologist…"I want to make it perfectly clear that this bill is bad for our doctors," he said Tuesday. "It's bad for our patients. It's bad for the young men and women who are considering going into the health care field."

    Ala. Dem defects to GOP over health care, policy

    ReplyDelete
  67. I imagine that bill is mostly bad for Freshmen, Democratic congressmen from Purplish Alabama districts.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Actually we don't hood anymore. Bad PR.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Is Reid violating the constitution in proposing a rule change that prevents future congresses from changing the healthcare bill?

    Bill Language Would Prevent Changes to Healthcare Boards


    .

    ReplyDelete
  70. trish,

    The hood and zip ties are okay as long as I am naked and there is a mosh pit.

    I would prefer scotch beforehand...

    ReplyDelete
  71. As I recall, 37 Democrats voted against the House healthcare "bill". There may evolve a purple gang before election day.

    ReplyDelete
  72. Libs can't make up their mind as to which green objective is more important.

    "A California senator's move Monday to put more than one million acres of the Mojave Desert off limits to development is spotlighting a clash between two prime goals of environmentalists.

    Before Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to create the Mojave Trails National Monument and other protected wilderness areas, solar-power developers had submitted nearly two dozen proposals since 2006 for projects that would make the Southern California desert the biggest solar farm on Earth."


    War in the Desert

    .

    ReplyDelete
  73. Not really, Q. ALL rules in the Senate (including the "filibuster rule") can be changed with 51% of the vote. The Supremes have already ruled that they want no part of Senate Rulemaking.

    ReplyDelete
  74. It's like dire predictions of "Soc. Sec. going broke." Soc sec can only go broke if the Congress wants it to go broke, or the United States, itself, goes broke.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Mosh pit in a conex. Mmmmmmmidunno.


    Sounds like a very tight fit to me.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Quirk: Is Reid violating the constitution in proposing a rule change that prevents future congresses from changing the healthcare bill?

    I'm certain a GOP-controlled Senate will not be constrained by any such rule.

    ReplyDelete
  77. From Q's link:

    David Myers, the executive director of Wildlands Conservancy, the chief critic of Mojave development, said the legislation is "fantastic" because it redirects activity from sensitive areas to land that already has been degraded by prior use, such as cattle grazing or alfalfa cultivation.

    Only a dipshit, humanity-hating watermelon would consider, "Degraded," desert that had been improved to the point that it could support cultivation, and food for people, and animals.

    ReplyDelete
  78. FYI - (if anyone cares)

    Rupert Murdock has been making noise lately about how everyone will pay for his news content. Okay, I understand, business is business.

    As I mentioned the other day, Hizoner, Mr. Bloomberg, is jumping on that train and effective Jan 1, two daily podcasts on business and economy, which have been free, will cost you $79 per year.

    I'll miss them but Mark Levine and John Batchelor still provide their daily shows at no charge. I suspect that in time even they will move to a subscription format and people like me who refuse to subscribe will be forced to gather all our information from the BBC, NPR and independents like (bleah) Blog Talk Radio.

    :(

    ReplyDelete
  79. trish,

    I wrote, "...as long as I am naked and there is a mosh pit."

    I am SOOOOOOOO sorry. What possessed me to write such a thing?
    OMG...a walrus among dolphins...

    ReplyDelete
  80. Mark Levin...




    Trish sits on hands.

    ReplyDelete
  81. S'okay, allen.

    We all have our fantasies.

    ReplyDelete
  82. It's like dire predictions of "Soc. Sec. going broke." Soc sec can only go broke if the Congress wants it to go broke, or the United States, itself, goes broke.

    They don't technically have to "go broke" to effectively become worthless.

    Dollar devaluation, taxation, higher eligibility ages, etc.

    A Congressman, Pete Peterson, once assured me that before the Federal Government goes broke, it will sell off its assets such as the Interstate Highway System, the National Parks, etc. That's reassuring isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  83. Trish sits on hands.

    Just don't squirm.

    Seriously, you may not like his style but he is possibly the best radio talk show host out there.

    Ask anyone...:)

    ReplyDelete
  84. Only a dipshit, humanity-hating watermelon would consider, "Degraded," desert that had been improved to the point that it could support cultivation, and food for people, and animals.

    Amen, right-on, right-on! Preach it, brother!

    ReplyDelete
  85. Whit: A Congressman, Pete Peterson, once assured me that before the Federal Government goes broke, it will sell off its assets such as the Interstate Highway System, the National Parks, etc. That's reassuring isn't it?

    Ayn Rand's dream, taking the Taggart Tollway in her Galtmobile to her private estate in gated Galt's Gulch, formerly the Midway Geyser Basin.

    ReplyDelete
  86. "Seriously, you may not like his style..."

    Words can hardly describe. I absolutely, positively loathe it.

    I switch from AM 630 to NPR when Levin is on.

    ReplyDelete
  87. trish wrote, "We all have our fantasies."

    Neither walruses nor dolphins have ever figured large in my fantasies. Shrimp scampi, now, that's something else.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Shrimp...

    Pink Gulf shirmp...

    Homer Simpson drool...

    ReplyDelete
  89. I will speak for our current boycotter. bob prefers canned shrimp.

    Don't believe I've ever seen canned shrimp.

    ReplyDelete
  90. You're really missing it, bob. I've been home sick for four days and this place has turned into a regular chat room.

    ReplyDelete
  91. When thinking about terms like, "Dollar Devaluation," keep in mind the old joke whose punch line goes like this:

    "I don't have to outrun the Bear, I just have to outrun YOU."

    Europe has been in considerably better shape than us as regards "Oil" Imports. That was instrumental in driving the Euro vs the Dollar.

    That advantage is, "slowly," coming to an end. It's not an "overnight," thing; but it's for real. Our oil imports will, over the coming years, Decrease, while their oil imports will Increase. Also, the emerging "Eurozone" rules will, slowly, eat away at their "Productivity."

    China will struggle mightily to keep the Yuan as weak as they can, and Japan is just flat "inscrutable."

    The Loony, and the Aussie Dollar should do well, but those economies are too small to have an "International" impact.

    In short, it wouldn't make sense to lose Too Much sleep over the "declining dollar."

    ReplyDelete
  92. Did anyone, other than Doug and MeLoDy see my holiday traffic warning

    ReplyDelete
  93. :) I meant to comment on that, Whit, but I got sidetracked.

    That, plus I was speechless. :)

    There's a first for everything, I suppose.

    ReplyDelete
  94. whit,

    I saw the picture.

    Is it too much to ask that permission first be sought before posting photos of regular contributors here?!

    Did that truck have a McCain - Pallin bumper sticker?

    ReplyDelete
  95. I saw that whit, but it's not the sort of picture they appreciate here at work, nor at home!

    ReplyDelete
  96. trish: "Seriously, you may not like his style..." Words can hardly describe. I absolutely, positively loathe it. I switch from AM 630 to NPR when Levin is on.

    Same thing when Tammy Bruce fills in for Laura Ingraham.

    ReplyDelete
  97. I've never listened to Laura Ingraham. A record that I plan on keeping.

    Bruce, I have.







    Thing is, I think I'm probably a liberal at heart. I can't imagine listening to any of the "howler monkeys" now and taking them seriously. Oh, but it was swell while it lasted.





    No take-backs on your invitation, What Is.

    We are so there.

    ReplyDelete
  98. “The U.S. responded sternly. ‘It is a very real deadline for the international community,’ said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.”

    “sternly”… :-D…”STERNLY” – that’s so much better…

    “P.J. Crowley said the international community was ‘united in its resolve that Iran must either answer the questions that we have about its nuclear aspirations or face additional pressure.’"

    Does the international community include China and Russia?

    Ahmadinejad dismisses US deadline for nuclear deal

    ReplyDelete
  99. You have to be an unthinking moron to think that "Either" side has it all "Right."

    The "Conservatives" will end up wrecking the economy through "Depression," and the Liberals will end up wrecking the economy through "Inflation."

    The "Middle Way" works.

    ReplyDelete
  100. When "Both" Sides are mad (as they are at the Senate, right now) there's just a "chance" that something Good got done.

    ReplyDelete
  101. "You have to be an unthinking moron..."

    You're always good for an ego boost, rufus.

    ReplyDelete
  102. Wow... I'm a breeder....

    How fuckin cool is that?

    And to TOP it off?

    I am a Joo Breeder....

    lol...

    Think I'm knock up the misses again, JUST to piss of some jihadists....

    Might even name the jr Joos...

    Sharon....

    ReplyDelete
  103. btw, I did name one of my dogs...

    PASHA

    Pasha or pacha, formerly bashaw, (Turkish: paşa [1]) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, "Pasha", in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of "Lord", and was also one of the highest titles in pre-republic Egypt.

    ReplyDelete
  104. MEXICO CITY – Assailants on Tuesday gunned down the mother, aunt and siblings of a marine killed in a raid that took out one of Mexico's most powerful cartel leaders — sending a chilling message to troops battling the drug war: You go after us, we wipe out your families.

    The brazen pre-dawn slayings came just hours after the navy honored Melquisedet Angulo as a national hero at a memorial service.

    ReplyDelete
  105. ...the country was shocked by the brutal slayings of Angulo's family at their home just hours after the fallen marine's mother, Irma Cordova, 55, attended his memorial service in Mexico City, where she received the Mexican flag covering his coffin.

    His brother, Benito Angulo, 28, his sister, Jolidabey Angulo, 22, and aunt, Josefa Angulo, 46, also were killed shortly after midnight when gunmen wielding assault rifles broke down the door of their home. His sister, Miraldeyi Angulo, 24, was reported in serious condition at a hospital.

    ReplyDelete
  106. BAGHDAD – A U.S. general in Iraq who listed pregnancy as a reason for court-martialing soldiers said Tuesday that he would never actually seek to jail someone over the offense, but wanted to underline the seriousness of the issue.

    Last month, Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo issued a policy that would allow soldiers who become pregnant and their sexual partners to be court-martialed. But he appeared to back away from the policy in a conference call with reporters, saying the policy was intended to emphasize the problems created when pregnant soldiers go home and leave behind a weaker unit.

    "I have never considered court-martial for this, I do not ever see myself putting a soldier in jail for this," said Cucolo, who oversees U.S. forces in northern Iraq. But since pregnant women automatically go home, their units are left short-staffed, he said.

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  107. "The "Middle Way" works."


    Go forth, Grasshopper, you have achieved wisdom.


    (Oh by the way, one last piece of advise. Avoid the weird sex and stay out of closets.)

    .

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  108. whit,

    ...from your 5:58 PM:

    "I have never considered court-martial for this..."

    Hmm...

    ...a genuwhine hero...Caesar speaks and the gravid legions trundle.

    Well, trish, just when the best kept secret of the Wars on Terror(ism) finally got its deserved infamy, the guy caves...makes you wonder...

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  109. Remember, allen, when we were in al Firdus Square? And an exuberant American soldier wrapped a US flag around the face of Saddam?

    That soldier got a phone call. Maybe thrice removed from its origin.








    It's always the phone call, allen. And fear of same.

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  110. "Netanyahu has given no indication he would ease the restrictions after a deal with Hamas, which has spurned Western demands to recognise Israel and renounce violence."

    Why...Why...Why...I thought Hamas had already penciled that into its charter. No? Well! I'm shocked...shocked, I tell you.

    Okay, today's question is: What is the "West"?

    Are Westerners part of the "Law of Nations"


    You can expect the Israeli hardline to last about as long as that pregnancy policy in Iraq.

    Israel won't pay 'any price'

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  111. trish,

    Re: the call

    I should hope so! You cannot just have any old body dissing a homicidal dictator and potential genocide. No, Ma'am...”respect...respect...respect” is the operative motto of America's fighting forces - fecund, gravid or nursing.

    Now...I tire of all this talk of the Levant. Indeed, I feel that I may soon succumb to ennui...O, dear me...

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  112. I vote Mitch McConell Woman of the year.

    As winner, he gets to give Harry Reid a (faux, since Reid is Dickless) Blowjob on National TV carried by ALL the networks, 24/7.

    What a Putz.

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  113. ”respect...respect...respect”
    is what McConnell gave Reid,
    immediately after Reid proved beyond all doubt that he is worthy of NONE.

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  114. See, the thing was, allen, that we were not supposed to put a final, triumphant US stamp on OIF.

    We were supposed to leave that stamp for the Iraqis.







    Anyway, if you can't do that (put your national claim on a genuine achievement) you can't do shit.











    I'm torn about the whole thing because I see it from both ends.

    But both ends there are.

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  115. From a quick perusal above,
    maybe the American Male should get woman of the year.

    GOP should have an elect women only policy for a decade so we could get some balls back in government.

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  116. I am also halfway into a bottle of wine, so if none of the preceding makes sense...Oh, well.

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  117. "I'm torn about the whole thing because I see it from both ends. "

    I vote Trish honorary Metro"man" of the year for that one!

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  118. I'd like to thank all the little people...

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  119. Bob's self banishment continues, as he desires. I see that his name is still above the bar, he can come back, as it pleases him.

    He has authority and responsibility for his actions, no one else has any responsibility for his decisions.

    Like Babs, he may find solace in not performing in public.



    After big wins in the elections in Lebanon and Iraq by those political forces sponsored or supported by US, we moved forward to Georgia and the Russian withdrawal of combat ground forces, there.

    Then, to Copenhagen, where the best interests of the United States were well served by Charlie Chi-com, after a private meeting 'tween the President of US & the Premier of Them.

    The US standing "Right of Center" on the whirled community stage, but still well to the left of Charlie.
    By design.

    Yes, Obama uses less bombastic rhetoric than Bush/Cheney, that is true enough. But he has delivered quite a bit, in a short time, without fanfare or even public acknowledgment of the successes.

    That he may have traded away an expanded US military footprint in Poland and Czech Republic, a good thing on balance.

    We should be reducing our presence in Europe, not extending it.

    As to China's future, Walmart has over 200 stores there, outside the areas where most "Western" companies operate. Walmart is betting upon an expanding domestic economy, in China.

    Who is betting against Walmart now, fellas, both here in the Americas and in China?

    Not me.

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  120. SPEAKING OF GUESSES, what do you think will be the average inflation rate over the next 10 years? Interestingly, there is a simple way to determine how bond investors would answer that question. All you have to do is look at the spread between yields on 10-year Treasury notes and 10-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS). TIPS are Treasury securities that adjust the principal twice a year to reflect inflation or deflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). By comparing the yield difference between the two, you have the market's best estimate of inflation over the next 10 years.

    As of last week, the spread was 2.3%, according to Bloomberg. That means investors expect inflation to average 2.3% over the next 10 years. This is the highest expected rate in 16 months. By contrast, during the height of the financial panic late last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that the spread was actually negative, which means investors were predicting 10 years of deflation!

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  121. The US Congress passed a budget that includes a 9% increase for the various government agencies.

    At the same time in Ireland,

    "More than $4 billion in cuts coming into effect after New Year's Day will slash salaries for 400,000 government workers while making painful reductions in benefits for such groups as widows and single mothers to the blind and disabled children. A tax targeting rich Irish nationals living overseas -- dubbed the "Bono Tax" in the Irish press -- will help restock empty coffers at home. Even Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who earns about as much as President Obama, is taking a 20 percent pay cut."


    .

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  122. "...the Irish know something about the price of running up a tab you can't pay back. A mountain of debt and a failure of political will to make difficult cuts, officials here say, were major contributors to the "lost decade" of the 1980s. The time was marked by near-zero net growth, soaring interest rates and mass emigration of Irish as unemployment climbed to nearly 18 percent."

    Irish Institute Tax Increases and Budget Cuts to Fight Debt

    "Budget deficits in the world's industrialized nations have more than tripled during the financial crisis. Nations have injected huge amounts into bank bailouts and stimulus packages, even as tax collection has collapsed. With borrowing still soaring, the OECD projects that by 2011, wealthy nations could owe investors more than the value of their gross domestic product.


    "The U.S. government, like the U.K. government, the Greeks and the Irish, is going to need to draw down fiscal stimulus, pare expenditures, raise revenues and probably take a look at [cuts] in their entitlement programs" such as Social Security, said John Chambers, chairman of Standard & Poor's sovereign rating committee in New York."



    .

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  123. trish said, "We were supposed to leave that stamp for the Iraqis."

    Yes, like leaving the liberation of Paris to the Free French...

    This all leads me to the conclusion that Forrest Gump is the fault. Hollywood placed highly destructive subliminal messages into that film. I'll bet that everyone involved in all the woes of the world discussed here, today, has seen Forrest Gump.

    Personally, I had no problem with shrimp scampi until having seen the movie. Now, it's just like PTSD.

    Okay?

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  124. When does that 9% bump hit the bloodstream, Quirk?

    I know that Holmes used a 7% solution to "fire it up". Interesting that Robert Downey Jr is the new Sherlock.

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  125. The balance of the $uper $timulus of 2009, the $172 billion Jobs Legislation and a 9% overall bump in Fed agency funding.

    How much of it will hit the streets in the next 180 and 240 days?

    There may well be a whole lot of stimulatin' goin' on, come November!

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  126. Whit quoted: "I have never considered court-martial for this, I do not ever see myself putting a soldier in jail for this," said Cucolo, who oversees U.S. forces in northern Iraq. But since pregnant women automatically go home, their units are left short-staffed, he said.

    Meanwhile, they hold a locker inspection, and Sgt. Susan is found to have a purfumed love letter from Cpl. Karen and both are drummed out of the service for hurting "unit cohesion", despite the fact that neither one has a chance in hell of getting pregnant

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  127. Quirk: Even Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who earns about as much as President Obama, is taking a 20 percent pay cut."

    That's because Ireland can't print Euros like Obama can print dollars. A 9% hike for the Federal govt? Expect a 9% decline in the value of the dollar. At the same time expect a 9% rise in the cost of oil per barrel, because it is priced in dollars. Concurrent: Rufus will claim the price hike proves peak oil.

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  128. trish wrote: "L'Occitane Rose body wash, for me, MeLoDy."

    You are a dear!

    "The fragrance opens with the tops notes of Bulgarian, Moroccan and Turkish roses artfully blended with essential oils and distinctive cinnamon. At the heart of this L’Occitane perfume is violet and blackberry. Cedar, sandalwood, vanilla and musk essences are at the base of this truly captivating fragrance. For every woman and every occasion."

    The only things missing are wart of toad and testicle of snail. O well, you can't have everthing. Essential oils could come from small Irish children...

    link

    A Modest Proposal

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