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."

Friday, December 11, 2009

Sarah Palin, after Bush and Obama, Why Not?




bob said...
Yea

I have gone and stayed.

Lo

I have swayed out on the wildest wave alive, and yet am still.

Yea, I have gone far away, and yet remain.

Lo

I have touched the hand of a goddess
I have touched the skin of a goddess
And have not died.

I have conversed with a goddess, spoken with a goddess, such speaking is not easy.

I have shaken the hand of the luckiest man in America, a shy, soft spoken man.

I have two signed books and

Yo!

Two T-shirts too

It was worth it...

If she is preggers, she didn't show it. What a nice looking young coouple they are!

Sold out turn out in Sandpoint. Sandpoint is a lot like what Coeur d'Alene used to be.

Thu Dec 10, 11:28:00 PM EST


_______________________

December 10, 2009
The Palin Palimpsest
By Jed Gladstein American Thinker


Sarah Palin is an authentic American phenomenon. She resonates with a majority of the American people as authentic -- because she is authentic. She is a no-BS, stand-for-the-truth, take-a-licking-and-keep-on-ticking kind of gal. In other words, she is not like the ordinary, everyday, go-along-to-get-along professional politicians who control our national political parties. And it is precisely for that reason that she can now spearhead an American political renaissance.

Our nation has been buried for decades under political pabulum. The Democrats pretend to represent average Americans, but they are controlled by wealthy elitists who pay lip service to American values while propagating cultural Marxism in every corner of the land. The Republicans pretend to be the party of fiscal responsibility, but they are more comfortable outsourcing the sinews of American power than strengthening the fabric of American society.

The American people have been held in thrall for decades to the two major political parties because there isn't a viable "none-of-the-above" option on our ballots. Worse yet, people have grown cynical about the prospects of honest and honorable government because they see that the people in power, whatever their political party, seem to have more solicitude for their own power than they have for the people.

The framers of the Constitution knew that government seats would attract people willing to trade their votes to remain in power. The framers therefore crafted a Constitution to create a limited government in order to curtail the power of such people. But government of the people, by the people, and for the people requires people to be vigilant about keeping the power of government limited. Unfortunately, the people have failed to do that, and now it is time to rectify the failure.

It would be comforting if an authentic American political phenomenon like Sarah Palin could spearhead a successful third-party movement. But that is wishful thinking. Were she to attempt such a thing, it would almost certainly fragment the huge centrist American vote and result in further radical left victories in the national polls. That would compound the present disaster and tilt America inexorably toward third-world status and misery.

Better to heed the words of Shakespeare, who wrote that "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." For America, that means Sarah Palin and the Republican Party. Here's why and here's how:

  1. The Republican Party is out, and wants in. That means it needs a champion who can generate popular enthusiasm. Sarah Palin is such a champion. Put aside the blithe criticisms of the pundits and naysayers. If an election were held today, Sarah Palin would generate a popular majority greater than the one that swept Ronald Reagan into the White House.
  2. The Republican Party is chastened. Its failure under Bush to pare back the scope of federal interference in people's lives resulted in the Devil's bargain with the Democrats to expand federal involvement in mortgage lending, and that led directly to the collapse of the real estate market and then the stock market. That has taken the Republican Party down a couple of pegs, and it is now far more amenable to the common-sense values that Sarah Palin embodies.
  3. The Republican Party has an existing political infrastructure that can be used to facilitate a national campaign by Sarah Palin, whereas a third party candidacy would need to reinvent the wheel. Time is short, the issues are vital, and the 90% rule applies to the choice of political vehicle.
  4. National campaigns require huge amounts of money. Sarah Palin can raise that money directly from the American people by way of the World Wide Web, in exactly the way Obama is alleged to have done. Millions of Americans will donate $5, $10, $20 or $100 to a political renaissance spearheaded by Sarah Palin. They will be glad to do it because they trust her.
  5. The time to begin the political renaissance is now, not in 2011 or 2012. The reason is that Sarah Palin must spearhead more than a personal political campaign. She must spearhead a political renaissance, and that means taking over the Republican Party. To do that, she will need time and allies and money. She can raise the money, and the allies are ready to hand. But time is remorseless, and assuming power in the Republican Party will be time-consuming, so she must begin that task today.

A palimpsest is a manuscript written over a partly erased older manuscript in such a way that the old words can be read beneath the new. It is time for Sarah Palin to write over the American political landscape so that the words of our Founders will resonate across this land again. She can do it, because like the Founders of this nation, she is an authentic American phenomenon.



168 comments:

  1. The people were disappointed by Bush and duped by Obama, could we expect devolution from Palin?

    Anyone that could take a wrecking ball to the cabal that stole Washington and wrecked the Republic would be worthy of a try.

    ReplyDelete
  2. At sundown Chanukah begins. For some it is the celebration of a miracle at the Temple, for others it is the celebration of the military victory of freedom over tyranny. I tend toward the latter point of view, particularly given the past year and a troubling future.

    To all here, the best of the season and the reminder that, no matter how bleak, there is One who guides the fate of Man and men. Our duty lies in following His lead, whatever our station. G-d does not make junk.

    La Chaim!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My wife thinks she is a wonderful woman, which she well may be.

    She'd still take a drumming in the Electoral College, regardless.

    Give up CA, NY, IL before the game even begins. TX does not begin to balance those States.

    The half term as Governor and the five colleges, held as an example of Mrs Palin being unable to "finish" things.

    Her inability to deal with Team Maverick, that's an indication of just how ineffectual she was, as a "Rouge".

    Though she could take the savaging yet to come, many of the "swing" votes would be convinced that she is ineffectual as a leader when faced with opposition.

    ReplyDelete
  4. BBC News - Andrew Walker - ‎1 hour ago‎
    A joint venture between the UK's Shell and Malaysia's Petronas oil companies has won the right to develop Iraq's giant Majnoon oil field.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Voice of America - ‎55 minutes ago‎
    Remarks, made as Robert Gates visits Iraq, come as other Western leaders are also warning of possible sanctions. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he expects "significant" new sanctions to be imposed on Iran for its nuclear program.


    "significant"

    But ineffective, an Amero to a doughnut.

    ReplyDelete
  6. While Bibi promises growth despite the freeze, so there is no freeze, at all.

    Just spin, smoke and mirrors.

    By REUTERS JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The population of Jewish settlements in the West Bank could grow by 10000 in the coming year despite a declared "freeze" on Israeli building in the occupied territory, an Israeli cabinet minister has said.

    Just terror attacks against Arab religious shrines, as wi"o" has long advocated.

    Jewish settlers are suspected of being behind an attack on a mosque in the north of the occupied West Bank.

    Attackers set fire to a library and prayer mats, and sprayed graffiti in Hebrew at the scene.

    Palestinian residents of the village of Yasuf clashed briefly with Israeli soldiers investigating the attack.

    Attacks on Palestinians by settlers are increasing. A number of incidents have been captured on video and received wide publicity.

    sraeli human rights groups have accused the police and army of running inadequate investigations into such incidents.

    One group reported that nine out of 10 investigations into alleged attacks on Palestinians by settlers end without anyone being charged.

    Some hard-line settlers advocate a "price tag" policy under which they attack Palestinians in retaliation for any Israeli government measure they see as threatening Jewish settlements.

    One of the slogans sprayed on the wall of the mosque in Yasuf read: "Get ready to pay the price," Israeli public radio reported. Another read: "We will burn you all."


    From the BBC, the propaganda arm of the government that received the Iraqi oil concessions.

    So you can which way the wind blows.

    ReplyDelete
  7. So you can know which way the wind blows

    ReplyDelete
  8. Isrealis, unhappy with their government, attack Arabs.

    That is "significant", too.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Washington Post - Amy Goldstein - ‎10 hours ago‎
    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed a proposal Thursday that would allow people in late middle age to buy insurance through Medicare, helping to sustain an idea that sprang unexpectedly from the Senate this week.


    Late middle age?
    Guess that'd be me.

    ReplyDelete
  10. While Team Bush is not about to relinquish control of the GOP without a fight.

    Not only does Jeb still need the work "P" is going to be needing a job, too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. DR, that clownish thing you do calling them Isrealis contains its own punishment. When newcomers enter the Bar they will think you a moron.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am so happy for you, Bob. After all this time you really deserve it. I hope it was everything you had hoped it would be and more.

    ReplyDelete
  13. 2164th: The people were disappointed by Bush and duped by Obama, could we expect devolution from Palin?

    I don't think she has the chops to be POTUS. If the going gets rough and Katie Couric manhandles her during the campaign she might quit leaving the GOP twisting in the wind. I'm leaning toward the Mormon for 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  14. But, of course I am told that neither President Bush, 41 or 43 "really" represent Republicans.

    If that is the spin, forget it.

    Even with the "RINOs" Mr Bush won with a minority of the vote in 2000. If the Democrats that designed the "butterfly" ballot in Boward County FL had a lick of sense, Bush would not have won Florida, while Pat Buchanan would have received a few thousand less votes then he did.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Does not matter, to me, Ms T.


    Arabfat, Europeons and Isrealis.
    The Equivalency Campaign continues.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What's the problem if 10,000 Jews, acting independently of the state, want to move to Jerusalem?

    ReplyDelete
  17. One thing that we all should learn is that no one is perfect, no one has all the answers, everyone has flaws. Even the lovely, Sara Palin.

    The left are finding out that in a sharply divided nation effecting "hope and change" is easier said than done.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Romney is the GOPs only viable candidate, on the National level, today.

    ReplyDelete
  19. GWB = Ike
    Obama = JFK
    Palin = Goldwater

    History never repeats itself, but it rhymes.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Human foibles, faults and frailties.

    Why do we insist on creating our heroes such as Barack Obama and Tiger Woods, then watch in delight and fascination and condemnation as they're toppled from their lofty pedestals?

    Let's not do it with Sara Palin.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Same problem as moving 20 million Mexicans into California, whit.

    It's illegal and should be stopped.

    ReplyDelete
  22. MeLoDy said...

    MeLoDy said...

    "I am so happy for you, Bob. After all this time you really deserve it. I hope it was everything you had hoped it would be and more."

    I am a newbie to these last two threads, so pardon my ignorance, but did Sheik al-Bob have sex with the Governor?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Or do those Mexicans, as well as those "settlers", represent the posterity of the rightful owners?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anybody have any viable arguments to 'Rat's conclusions about Palin in CA and NY?
    I think the majority of New Yorkers would choose suicide over voting for Palin.

    She should replace Gingrich the Squish as the titular head of the booster's club, and help a viable candidate win.

    ReplyDelete
  25. There are 435 members in the US House of Representatives, 100 Senators, nine Supreme Court Justices and one President. Overlay this with the agendas of 304 million people.

    The only thing which can unite this disparate throng is an external, existential threat.

    Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  26. OTOH, 'Rat,
    What if she lost CA, NY, IL, and ran the table on the rest of the US of WE HATE OBAMA, A?

    ReplyDelete
  27. The Isreali spokesman did call the US an "Indian Nation" or words to that effect.

    An indication that he thought the US government to be illegitimate.

    As wi"o" has also advocated, echoed by the Isreali spokesman. Our in-house "Friend of Isreal" has supported the idea of la "Reconquista" of the southwest US. To include TX, NM, AZ, CO, UT, CA & NV. Not sure how he feels about FL.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Santorum hosted Bennet's show.
    Completely up to speed on the healthcare fiasco.
    Byron Dorgan got an ammendment in to allow importation of drugs from China, Bangledesh, et al.

    GOP remaining silent, to let big Pharma see what it is like to cut deals with a double-crossing Devil.

    (Pharma paying Millions FOR Obamacare ads)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Who is the "Isreali spokesman?"

    ReplyDelete
  30. I do not believe that it is illegal individuals to move into Jerusalem. The US Congress even voted in 1995 to move the US Embassy there.

    Even you can do it.

    ReplyDelete
  31. ...illegal for individuals to move...

    ReplyDelete
  32. Bernie Madoff enjoys cultlike status amongst other cons at the medium security Big House.
    ...many believing he has a hidden cash stash.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Its not that the Left doesn't like Palin, or even think she would make a credible President, even though that is their vocal position. It is they are terrified of her. Ask Ash. Alinsky teaches them to mask their fear with bashing and absurdity.

    ReplyDelete
  34. desert rat said...
    The Isreali spokesman did call the US an "Indian Nation" or words to that effect.

    An indication that he thought the US government to be illegitimate.

    As wi"o" has also advocated, echoed by the Isreali spokesman. Our in-house "Friend of Isreal" has supported the idea of la "Reconquista" of the southwest US. To include TX, NM, AZ, CO, UT, CA & NV. Not sure how he feels about FL.



    Please do not discuss Israel, Jews or Zionism with rodents, they are ignorant, they distort, they lie...

    any point that said rodent trys to make about jews, zionism or israel usually is full of rat shit...

    ReplyDelete
  35. Doug said...
    Who is the "Isreali spokesman?"

    Fri Dec 11, 08:24:00 AM EST


    No one since "isreal" doesnt exist....

    ReplyDelete
  36. SAN RAFAEL, CA, September 01, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- GLORIA NAVARRO of Redwood Shores, California won the title of Miss Cougar America at the National Single Cougars Convention, Friday, August 28, 2009 at Dinah's Garden Hotel in Palo Alto, California. Ms. Navarro, 42, is a Practice Management Consultant, specializing in dental practices, through her own company, GN Consulting.

    "I believe I won the title," says Ms. Navarro, "because I represent a confident, strong, successful, independent, woman over the age of 40 who is comfortable in her own skin, regardless of age or weight. Society has placed enough labels on women throughout the years and it's time we take charge of our own lives. If we desire a younger man for companionship, that should be okay. The cougar-cub relationship is one of mutual understanding and respect."

    Ms. Navarro won a free berth on the world's first International Cougar Cruise, December 4-7, 2009, aboard Carnival Cruise Line's Fun Ship Elation. The Cougar Cruise is sponsored by http://www.SinglesTravelCompany.com. Other prizes included a Cougar Kit from Cardeaux Cosmetics, two VIP Tickets to the 2010 Guardsmen Bachelor Auction in San Francisco, and a Cougar Kittens Shirt. Ms Navarro is available to the news media for interviews by phone or email, musiqfans@aol.com.

    The Convention, the first of its kind, attracted cougars from as far as England. Each Cub (younger man who loves older women) in attendance received one vote to cast for the cougar of his choice to win the title of Miss Cougar America. Ms. Navarro received ten votes from the hundreds of cougars in the ballroom.

    ReplyDelete
  37. whit said...
    What's the problem if 10,000 Jews, acting independently of the state, want to move to Jerusalem?

    Fri Dec 11, 08:03:00 AM EST

    It upsets the arabs, they are not satisfied at making 649/650th of the middle east jew free, they now insist that jerusalem never was a "jewish" city and that jews have no rights to live there...

    arabs give the death penalty for selling land to jews in jordan & the palestinian areas...

    and let's be honest.... obama doesnt like it...

    ReplyDelete
  38. ie,
    "the Isreali spokesman"
    is UNreal.

    ReplyDelete
  39. He did Doug, in a tiki hut, on a piano...with hydraulics.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Why don't we give 56 of the 57 states back to the Native Americans, and we can all defend our redoubt in the
    United State of New Hampshire!

    ReplyDelete
  41. You're just telling on him to make me sick with envy.
    I'd die for that!

    ReplyDelete
  42. ...and,
    I would cum out on top of the Hut,
    instead of being crushed.

    ReplyDelete
  43. The Palestinian terrorists have made it quite clear that if they do not get their way, innocent people will die.

    The whirls' reaction is:

    "Lets not make the terrorists mad. Bad Jews, Bad Jews."

    ReplyDelete
  44. "If the Democrats that designed the "butterfly" ballot in Boward County FL had a lick of sense, Bush would not have won Florida, while Pat Buchanan would have received a few thousand less votes then he did."

    Good lord, Rat. Get over it. And you complain about the "birthers"?

    :)


    .

    ReplyDelete
  45. You really want that piano, don't you?

    ReplyDelete
  46. ie,
    "Butt I would I would cum out on top of the Hut,
    instead of being crushed."
    ---
    Life is Good

    ReplyDelete
  47. I used to have a complete railroad under my mother's Piano.
    Can't recall the name of that classic right now.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Practice makes perfect. So they say, I believe it can be done on the first shot.

    ReplyDelete
  49. ...it depends on what they do to my Knabe.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Sarah and Bob's Knabe.
    We can only wish we were there.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Instead of that ugly metal sheet music holder, her's was wood.
    ---
    Enuff to give one a woodie, these days.

    ReplyDelete
  52. ...also didn't have the frills on the bottom.
    Much Classier.
    But I repeat myself.

    ReplyDelete
  53. I was there. I video taped it.

    ReplyDelete
  54. ...finally, a lusterous rubbed oil finish instead of shiny lacquer.

    ReplyDelete
  55. CRAP.
    What do I have to do to get a copy?

    ReplyDelete
  56. It doesn't matter what it looks like as long as it's big enough for, ya know, the hydraulics. The frills on the bottom usually get in the way anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Did you catch the moment his butt encountered the roof of the Hut?

    ReplyDelete
  58. ...I'd love to see the look on his face.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Israel has a right to be a nation...

    It's people have lived and settled on it's own land for in excess of 3000 years.

    It's built cities, culture and a peoplehood that has lasted longer than almost any other nation. (china is older and the aboriginal from australia are also older)

    For any weight to be given that Jews have no right to live in jerusalem in this day and age only under cuts much YOUNGER nations (including America) as to what rights they have to their own statehood...

    Most of the nations of the middle east did not even exist 100 years ago, nor did the people understand nationalism.

    In the early 1800's to the mid-1960's calling someone a "palestinian" referred to a Jew...

    A fake nationalistic agenda's have been created to continue a failed war plan by the arabs that could not defeat on the battlefield Israel, decided to try a different tract..

    "Palestine"

    A cause created by the current occupiers of egypt (arabs) and an egyptian by the name of arafat....

    So now we have come to the point in the road that people (who hate israel, jews & zionism) can now call Israel "isreal" and question it's very right to be...

    Call me crazy....

    But on this 1st night of holiday remembering how Jews threw out the pagan assyrians from the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (the one that never existed as per current arab logic) where the pagans were using our Temple to slaughter pigs and put to death Jews for being Jews...

    I say to those that question Jew's rights to live in Jerusalem?

    Go F*ck yourself...

    Never Again..

    ReplyDelete
  60. "Never Again..."

    Likewise for 9-11,
    for me,
    ...if not for many.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Doug said...
    "Never Again..."

    Likewise for 9-11,
    for me,
    ...if not for many.

    Amen

    ReplyDelete
  62. 96. Voltimand:


    No techie here: I’m a liberal arts (retired) prof and I can only write what I see.

    A suggestion to the interested: take a look at the textbook/anthologies used in (non-scientific) courses on such items as “peace studies” and other politically-articulated courses of “study” such as women’s studies, all of which have an “enviromentalist” component.

    I mention the gender thingy because academic feminists have invented something called “eco-feminism.” You can guess what they have concluded: all the evils of the environment are invented and carried out by heterosexual males, and that is because heterosexual males are predatory rapists who rape nature just as they rape women.

    The ideological environmentalists have a similar set of animosities, except that for them the marxist, anti-capitalist, and ultimately–this is my point–anti-human being bias predominates.

    In this connection I cite two textbook anthologies of essays:

    ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: WHAT REALLY MATTERS WHAT REALLY WORKS Ed. David Schmidtz and Elizabeth Willott

    and:

    ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: AN ANTHOLOGY Ed. Andrew Light and Holmes Rolston III

    My point? The science may not work when the scientists say that it does and it turns out they are wrong. Meanwhile, there’s a lot of animosity-minded people out there who want it to work because they see that they can do a lot of damage to the people they hate by getting the law enforcement coercion of the federal government on their side.

    So it just isn’t scientists’ vulnerability to mission creep that is involved, although W’s initiating comment and those that follow are the most devastating comments on the “science” behind the global warming enterprise that I’ve seen yet.

    There’s a lot of people out there who want the science “to be right” because it will give them the go ahead to start beating up on all the people they hate. Who are the people they hate? How long do you want to listen to me? I spent a quarter of a century in academe being insulted to my face on a regular basis by these people because I’m heterosexual, and male, and white.

    I have a sneaking respect for Hitler’s SS: they came to get you and they said they were coming to to get you and kill you and they came and they killed you. That’s what I call truth in advertising.

    The global warming cabal, OTOH, are fundamentally cowards: they need a bureaucracy with a lot of science behind it to do their dirty work. But–this is addressed to all you techies out there–don’t underestimate the animosities that drive the people who have sold their souls to global warming. Their mission will die hard.

    ReplyDelete
  63. I have every shot but with Bob's trust, I cannot reveal.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Can't we all just say "Happy Chanuka" and just move on for today and bring out the rapiers in the morning?

    ReplyDelete
  65. 2164th said...

    What a week! I look forward to the office party tomorrow night.
    Thu Dec 10, 05:20:00 PM EST


    We're having a party and I who have schlepped here for years, cleaning up, taking out the trash, serving, keeping drunks in line, just now find out about it. That's the thanks I get?

    ReplyDelete
  66. bob, can you give me the number for that lawyer?

    ReplyDelete
  67. Blogger Gag Reflex said...

    "Its not that the Left doesn't like Palin, or even think she would make a credible President, even though that is their vocal position. It is they are terrified of her. Ask Ash. Alinsky teaches them to mask their fear with bashing and absurdity."

    Terrified, I dunno about that. I can't speak for the 'left' but I can for myself. The only way that I am terrified of her being elected is in the sense that I was somewhat perplexed that Dubya was considered Presidential stock (mind you Gore was not inspiring) and he managed to get his ass in the top seat. His tenure also served to underscore the power of the POTUS and how bad things can go when the office is held by one not prone to sussing out the complexities of the problems faced so...

    I'm not terrified of Palin in the sense that she is a particularly astute politician that can manage to get herself elected POTUS but I am terrified of the idea of her being POTUS.

    ReplyDelete
  68. From National Review:
    Sticker Shock for Dem 'Deal' [Daniel Foster]

    Americans will face steep premiums under the government-negotiated private plans and massive expansion of Medicare at the core of Harry Reid's new “public option.” A family of four making $54,000 would pay more than $825 per month for one federally-managed plan — that even after a $10,100 government subsidy.

    A 55-year-old couple buying into the Medicare expansion could pay $15,200 per year under the Reid plan, and it remains unclear how much if any of that cost would be subsidized. The Medicare buy-in would only be available to individuals 55-and-over, not younger family members, and it would be attached to premium and financing structures separate from the rest of Medicare, with no cap on out-of-pocket expenses.

    And these, alas, are only the direct costs of the bill.

    The NYT has the full story here, and you can track the latest on Obamacare at NRO On the News.

    ReplyDelete
  69. You're in a philosophical frame of mind, whit.


    I ended up reading about five months' worth of Dennis Perrin last night. Perrin's a marvelous writer of a decidedly progressive bent and one of the things that makes him such an interesting read now is that he predicted before the election the descent into acute disillusionment of Obama's besotted supporters. He did so simply by taking Obama at his word (rather than projecting his own political beliefs and hopes onto the man) and factoring in a good deal of the recent history of the presidency itself.

    There are definite similarities between Obamamania and Palinmania.

    ReplyDelete
  70. "I was there, right in the middle of all the events of Challenger. As a lowly flight surgeon (who also had a biomedical engineering degree) I watched and listened to the debate in launch control over the effects of the weather.

    Like many others in that room I was a bit skeptical about the decision to launch, especially since we could see icicles on the SRB and we had all driven to the Cape that early morning in temperatures below 20 degrees. Most of us knew that the o-rings had not been tested at temperatures below freezing (as confirmation of this, hours after the explosion of the orbiter, there were many discussions about the o-rings and the temperature issue as being the most likely cause; so I know it was a subject on many people's minds.

    Most of us had heard about the Morton Thiokol engineers' reluctance to ok a "go" for launch; though unless you were in upper management, you were not aware of the details of this.)

    What I remember most of all was my own sense of trust:
    trust that the mission managers knew what they were doing; and a calm acceptance of their decision to launch. My own thoughts at the time are still very clear to me: this was NASA , after all. The people here were the "best and brightest" (of course I included myself in this) and our scientific credentials would insure that we would never ignore objective reality.

    Though I was young and foolish, I clearly understood that wishing and wanting something to be true did not make it so. I had faith that the system was relatively immune to psychosis (i.e., being out of touch with reality).

    Needless to say, it was an extremely painful lesson that nature taught us that day, and I have never forgotten it.
    "
    - Dr. Sanity

    ReplyDelete
  71. "keeping drunks in line,"
    ---
    Good luck on accomplishing THAT mission!

    ReplyDelete
  72. "Perrin's a marvelous writer of a decidedly progressive bent"
    ---
    Trish gets hot on "progressive" writers.
    We need not understand.

    ReplyDelete
  73. "We are what we are and what we are is an illusion.
    We love how it feels
    Putting on heels causing confusion.
    We face life though it's sometimes sweet and sometimes bitter;
    Face life, with a little guts and lots of glitter.
    Look under our frocks: Girdles and jocks,
    Proving we are what we are!

    We are what we are - Half a brassiere, half a suspender.
    Half real and half fluff,
    You'll find it tough guessing our gender.
    So Just [WHISTLE] ("Hey, Taxi!")
    If we please you that's the way to show us.
    Just [WHISTLE] (Wolf-call)
    'Cause you'll love us once you get to know us.
    Look under our glitz: Muscles and tits,
    Proving we are what we are.

    We face life though it's sometimes sweet and sometimes bitter,
    Face life, with a little guts and lots of glitter.
    Look under our frocks: Girdles and jocks,
    Proving we are what we are!
    "

    ReplyDelete
  74. Hey, Whit. After you've taken out the garbage and cleaned up a bit, could you check the EB e-mail when you get a chance.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Perrin now judges that whatever level of disillusionment the left sinks to, it will (much like the right in 04, I note) "come home" at election time. The noisier the mad-hatters on the right, the more fiercely they will cling - in spite of lost hopes and forsaken change. They will blithely disregard or even, however lukewarmly, embrace every "betrayal" at that point.

    ReplyDelete
  76. INreconcilable Truths.

    Had GWB said that,
    that would have been confirmation of his idiot status.

    For BHO to pronounce it on his acceptance of becoming
    The Prince of Peace,

    Divine!

    ReplyDelete
  77. trish said...
    Perrin now judges that whatever level of disillusionment the left sinks to, it will (much like the right in 04, I note) "come home" at election time. The noisier the mad-hatters on the right, the more fiercely they will cling - in spite of lost hopes and forsaken change. They will blithely disregard or even, however lukewarmly, embrace every "betrayal" at that point.
    ---
    EXACTLY identical to
    Rick Santorum's analysis.

    even progressives are right from time to time.

    ReplyDelete
  78. ...but there is that 60 percent of the electorate that declares themselves to be Republican or Independent.

    ReplyDelete
  79. ...all depends on how many "votes" ACORN can produce.

    ReplyDelete
  80. Steve Chapman at Reason:

    The 19th century American writer Henry Adams said the descent of American presidents from George Washington to Ulysses S. Grant was enough to discredit the theory of evolution. The same could be said of the pantheon of conservative political heroes, which in the last half-century has gone from Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan to Sarah Palin. That refutation may be agreeable to Palin, who doesn't put much stock in Darwin anyway.

    You can confirm all this by looking at what the three wrote. Goldwater, the 1964 Republican presidential nominee, made his reputation four years earlier with an eloquent and intellectually coherent volume, The Conscience of a Conservative, which laid out a blueprint for the policies he favored.

    Reagan likewise made the thinking person's case for conservatism. Between 1975 and 1979, after he had finished two terms as governor of California, he did some 1,000 radio commentaries, most of which he wrote himself. They were later collected in Reagan, In His Own Hand, which provides the texts of his handwritten manuscripts and proves that, far from being the "amiable dunce" of liberal mythology, he thought hard and clearly about the issues of his time.

    Palin? Her new memoir, Going Rogue, fills up 413 pages, but it has less policy heft than a student council speech. Where Reagan dove into the murk of arms control and Goldwater fathomed federal farm programs, Palin skims over the surface of a puddle.

    Amid all the tales of savoring the aromas at the state fair and having her wardrobe vetted by snotty campaign staffers, she sets aside space to lay out her vision of what it means to be a "Commonsense Conservative." It takes up all of 11 pages and leans heavily on prefabricated lines like "I am a conservative because I deal with the world as it is" and "If you want real job growth, cut capital gains taxes."

    But the priorities of Going Rogue are striking poses and attitudes, not making actual arguments about the proper role of government. The book is meant to create an image, or maybe a brand—folksy but shrewd, tough but feminine, noble but beset by weaklings and traitors, ever-smiling unless you awaken her inner "Mama Grizzly Bear" by scrutinizing her loved ones.

    No one could be more pleased with her than she is with herself. Reading the book is like watching Palin preen in front of a mirror for hours on end, as she tirelessly compliments herself for courage, gumption, devotion to family, and maverick independence.

    Who needs policy? In her world—and the world of legions of conservatives who revere her—the persona is the policy. Palin is beloved because she's (supposedly) just like ordinary people, which (supposedly) gives her a profound understanding of their needs.

    That attitude used to be associated with the left, which claimed to speak for the ordinary folks who get shafted by the system. Logic and evidence about policy, to many liberals, were less important than empathy and good intentions. Now it's conservatives who think we should be guided by our guts, not our brains.

    [...]




    "...the persona is the policy."

    Until, of course, it's not. As Perrin would agree.

    And as has also been pointed out at Reason, one of Palin's precursors in this department was her own running mate, Maverick, back when the persona himself was being championed by the likes of the Weekly Standard, amiably projecting its own (admittedly confused) political program onto someone who hardly had one but whose personality might convey a "revival" of the bold, confident American spirit or some such.

    ReplyDelete
  81. "Nature cannot be fooled; but human nature is predisposed to foolishness
    --
    and therefore likely to accept and tolerate all sorts of errors and fantasies for a variety of very human reasons
    --no matter what the tragic consequences might turn out to be.
    "
    - Sanity

    ReplyDelete
  82. Got your e-mail response guys. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  83. I'm willing to "wait and see" regarding Ms Palin. You've got men getting toes amputated from frostbite due to standing all night in the cold to get their books autographed by Sarah.

    Nobody is getting "frostbitten" toes to meet Mit Romney, or Pawlenty. I supported Romney, an I was bitterly disappointed when the party of stupid went with McCain; but the Mitster would have no chance carrying NY, Ca, or Il, either.

    Palin is, at present, the only politician of either party that could draw 10,000 Voters in any city/town in America at a moment's notice. She's a "Rock Star." A Phenomenon. And, she has 3 Years to "Frame the Debate" on her personal qualifications.

    I, for one, wouldn't bet against her.

    ReplyDelete
  84. 2164th said...

    "Can't we all just say "Happy Chanuka" and just move on for today and bring out the rapiers in the morning?"

    allen said...

    "To all here, the best of the season and the reminder that, no matter how bleak, there is One who guides the fate of Man and men. Our duty lies in following His lead, whatever our station. G-d does not make junk.

    La Chaim!"

    Technically, the holiday does not begin until sundown, ending at sundown tomorrow. Good luck with keeping the rapiers sheathed until then :)

    Since I will be incommunicado until Monday, I still wish ALL the best lessons of this season. Once there was a miracle, but it took good people willing to sacrifice everything to bring it about. It could happen again, G-d willing.

    For the part that you and whit have played over the years in providing this forum, my thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  85. The Human Heart is going to "Love" who it "Loves," boys, and girls. You can talk to it till the cows come home; but you might as well be trying to "talk to the wind." The "Heart" will go where it will go. And, right now, it's "Going to Sarah."

    ReplyDelete
  86. trish wrote:

    "Until, of course, it's not. As Perrin would agree."

    A fundamental tenet of Perrin's thinking appears to be:

    "and all of 'em unable to pierce the veil of illusion and see through the machinations of the corporate duopoly. "

    Republicans, Democrats - two sides of the same coin of Imperial war mongering for the good of the corporate masters.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Perrin created (before the election) the vivid image of Liberals and Progressives in their veal pens, needing nothing more than the voice (Obama) that would not disturb them or give them cause to wonder about their fate.

    Conservatives in their veal pens really only require same.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Republicans, Democrats - two sides of the same coin...

    - Ash

    Or as Ayn Rand (whom I almost hate to quote anymore because I can't stand to read her anymore) remarked: two gangs fighting for the temporary right to rule over the same patch of territory.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Ecclesiastes 1 (New International Version)
    Ecclesiastes 1
    Everything Is Meaningless
    1 The words of the Teacher, [a] son of David, king in Jerusalem: 2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!"says the Teacher."Utterly meaningless!Everything is meaningless." 3 What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes,ever returning on its course. 7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. 8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing,nor the ear its fill of hearing. 9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which one can say,"Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. 11 There is no remembrance of men of old,and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow. Wisdom Is Meaningless 12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 15 What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.16 I thought to myself, "Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge." 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

    ReplyDelete
  90. I spent a miserable winter my junior year of high school contemplating, highlighter in hand, that Book. (Oh, and Job. Let's not forget Job.)

    That is precisely the kind of searching nerd-child I was.

    And to a certain extent still am.

    Not being religious in any conventional sense (and taking The Bible As History at the time) I was new to the philosophical wonders, and consolations, of the Bible.

    ReplyDelete
  91. I ended up passing that Bible (New Catholic Bible, I think) with all of its highlighted passages and scribblings in the margins, onto my daughter for her own The Bible As History course.

    ReplyDelete
  92. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
    Another version:
    ...it is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

    Our lives are like mists and vapours. Here briefly and then gone, often without a trace or a single footnote in history.
    **************************
    Man does not remember the lessons of history for more than a generation or so. E.G.- The 2004 Christmas Tsunami which caught even the locals off guard.

    If we can't remember even the existential things, how can we remember the pitfalls of politics.

    ReplyDelete
  93. Liberals and Progressives in their veal pens,...

    Yikes! :0

    I prefer the sheep analogy.

    ReplyDelete
  94. When you spent the "miserable winter" studying Job, did you learn anything about patience and endurance?

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

    ReplyDelete
  96. ...how can we remember the pitfalls of politics.

    Fri Dec 11, 11:46:00 AM EST

    And yet, whit, to put it this way is deeply unsatisfying.

    Politics is the American passion and passions convey something more than merely pitfalls.

    ReplyDelete
  97. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem must step up and ban Tiger Woods

    Read more:

    This guy thinks Tiger should be excommunicated from the secular church of professional sports.

    ReplyDelete
  98. The passion is wonderful. Falling in the pits not so...

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

    ReplyDelete
  100. When you spent the "miserable winter" studying Job, did you learn anything about patience and endurance?

    Fri Dec 11, 11:57:00 AM EST

    : )

    No. In the end I learned that from the Army.

    And my children.

    ReplyDelete
  101. Chinese Refinery Output UP 28%, YOY in Nov.

    They'll put more cars on the road this year than we will.

    The "underreported" Story of the Year.

    ReplyDelete
  102. whit said...
    PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem must step up and ban Tiger Woods


    ha ha ha ha ha ha ha hah a hah ah a ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha hah ah aha

    Jocks BANNING a JOCK for serial babe boinking?

    Get real...

    GO watch "North Dallas 40" then tell me you're going to ban a jock for screwing around...

    ReplyDelete
  103. A wonderful Hanukkah to our Jewish friends. If I had a menorah I'd put it in my window.

    ReplyDelete
  104. Allen, I was going to mention to her about taking the issue of unemployment to 'em, but it just didn't work out. I started out by saying 'I've been able to vote for you once, I hope to be able to do so again' then she noticed I was wearing a U of Idaho shirt and says 'Rah, rah, U of I!' and asks if I went to school there, says I 'I was born there' chit chat then I'm before the husband, says I, 'You're the luckiest man in America' he says 'thanks, what you're name?' bob say I, and that was about the extent of it.

    ReplyDelete
  105. The New Socialism
    A metamorphosis from red to green.

    By Charles Krauthammer

    In the 1970s and early ’80s, having seized control of the U.N. apparatus (by power of numbers), Third World countries decided to cash in. OPEC was pulling off the greatest wealth transfer from rich to poor in history. Why not them? So in grand U.N. declarations and conferences, they began calling for a “New International Economic Order.” The NIEO’s essential demand was simple: to transfer fantastic chunks of wealth from the industrialized West to the Third World.

    On what grounds? In the name of equality — wealth redistribution via global socialism — with a dose of post-colonial reparations thrown in.

    The idea of essentially taxing hard-working citizens of the democracies in order to fill the treasuries of Third World kleptocracies went nowhere, thanks mainly to Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher (and the debt crisis of the early ’80s). They put a stake through the enterprise.


    Keep reading

    We all know this, but pass it on to the young people in your life.

    ReplyDelete
  106. bob,

    Re: Palin and un/underemployment

    Perhaps another time. I am flattered that you considered the question.

    If things continue apace, the issue will be unavoidable. Whether either party could or should do more than get out of the way is another matter entirely.

    Be well, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  107. I haven't seen anything that makes me think that Sarah Palin is anything less than an "Astute" Politician. And, I "certainly" haven't seen anything that makes me think she's any less bright than Bush, or Obama.

    You've got Obambi running around the world blathering about "Global Warming," and appointing Communists to his staff in scores, and people are doubting the intellectual rigor of the ex Governor of Alaska?

    At least, she seems to be a "better shot" than ol' "five deferment" Cheney.

    I predict that she'll be very active in the 2010 campaign. Let's see how That works out. I predict she'll continue to be the "hottest ticket in town."

    ReplyDelete
  108. I think you are certainly correct about that, rufus.

    She'll play well in the rural base.
    Not so well in the urban centers.

    If the Democrats pair Ms Clinton with Obama, as I fully expect them to the gender issue will be a wash.

    If the "far left" stays home, in disappointment with the O, it would not swing a single State that I can think of. There never have been that many "far left" voters, anywhere, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  109. Remember, probably the biggest political rally (and, earthquake) of all time was when George Wallace went to Detroit.

    ReplyDelete
  110. I think Sarah Palin has a reasonable chance of being the next President of the United States.

    ReplyDelete
  111. "And, I "certainly" haven't seen anything that makes me think she's any less bright than Bush, or Obama."

    America's curse.

    Set the bar low enough and anyone becomes a phenom.

    ReplyDelete
  112. I don't know if any Republican could have been elected in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the early thirties, but the Pubs nominated the worst candidate, possible. He not only couldn't carry Ohio; he couldn't even carry Indiana, or Iowa

    There was no human being on earth more "conflicted" than the white, Indiana "corn farmer." He, ultimately, stayed home.

    If I'd had any idea that my vote might have counted I would probably have just gone to the bar, and told people I'd voted.

    As it was, I almost retched.

    ReplyDelete
  113. A woman that can kill a moose, and put a "moose stew" on your table?

    There's something "Primal" about that, Q.

    A woman that can "fish," cook, raise your kids, and run a State? That's "Goddess Worship" time.

    And if the "elites" hate her? It just don't get no better.

    ReplyDelete
  114. This is what we have come to. Poor social choices leave us with poor leadership choices.

    This situation makes me wish I had a good biography on Margaret Thatcher, the green grocers daughter.

    Google and wiki time on the iron lady.

    ReplyDelete
  115. Moody's Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi told CNNmoney.com home prices will fall between 5 and 10 percent more in some areas like Miami where Zandi expects home prices to plummet 30 percent in 2010.

    Zandi estimated that 2.4 million homes will end up in foreclosure in 2010, according to CNN. As a result, banks will put those properties on the market aggressively in 2010 which will then result in a flood of inventory and a precipitous drop in prices.

    ReplyDelete
  116. Oh well.
    Margaret Roberts, the daughter of a grocer, was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, on 13th October, 1925. After graduating from Oxford University she worked as a research chemist. Later she studied law and eventually became a barrister.

    ReplyDelete
  117. She's using that Facebook page like a Sniper Rifle. Us old Marines know that a battle can be won by a well-placed shot from a position of advantage.

    She stopped the healthcare debate dead in its tracks for weeks with a single round of "death panel."

    Now, she's got the titular head of the Globaloney movement ducking, and dodging, and totally "preoccupied" with a couple of rounds of "Natural Variability."

    She's, obviously, a "dead shot."

    We'll see if she's a "General."

    ReplyDelete
  118. If she's effective, it's gotta be bad.

    ReplyDelete
  119. 34. Annoy Mouse:

    McWATI’S VOICE (filtered, yelling): Help him! Help him!

    YOSSARIAN (into mike, yelling):

    Help who?

    McWATI’S VOICE (filtered, yelling): Help the bombardier!

    YOSSARIAN (into mike, yelling): I’m the bombardier. I’m all right.

    McWATT’S VOICE (filtered, yelling): Then help him. Help him!

    ReplyDelete
  120. "There never have been that many "far left" voters, anywhere, anyway."
    ---
    Not counting the last election, of course.
    Barry's "secret" to success.

    ReplyDelete
  121. You see, Allen, like Obambi, Sheik al-Bob always comes first.
    National Priorities, not so much.

    ---

    I was going...
    I started...
    I've been able...
    I hope...
    I was wearing...
    U of I!...'
    I went...
    I...
    'I was born...
    I'm before the...
    says I...
    bob say I...

    Even BHO's personal teleprompter would choke on that many personal pronouns.

    I, othoh, attended the
    University of ME.

    ReplyDelete
  122. Here's the full Coeur d 'Alene Press write up on the Palin book signing--

    Sarah Palin Thrills Cd'A

    Former vice presidential candidate returns to North Idaho, signs copies of her book for everyone in line

    by Maureen Dolan, staff writer
    Coeur d'Alene

    More than a thousand people braved bitterly cold temperatures and spent hours in line outside Fred Meyer store in Coeur d'Alene on Thursday.

    All for a chance to spend a few seconds with Sarah Palin as she signed copies of her memoir, "Going Rogue".

    The consensus of those who waited: It was worth it.

    "It warmed my heart to meet an honest politician. There just aren't too many honest politicians any more. I had to do it," said Tom Howard of Athol. "I actually started cruising the parking lot at 7 in the morning yesterday."

    Howard, wearing a fur hat with ear flaps and lined overalls, was on of the first to get in line at 11pm Wednesday, the earliest Fred Meyer officials would allow a line to form.

    Lynn Denison, another one of the first in line, waited outside the retail store for nearly 24 hours.

    "We kind of tailgated it" Denison said.

    The first 700 to line up were given wristbands, guaranteeing them a signature.

    Roughly 500 people who arrived too late to get a band remained outside the store, hoping for a chance to get into the signing area.

    They weren't disappointed. Everyone who waited went home with a signed book.

    con't...

    ReplyDelete
  123. Personal note from Tom to Trish:

    ‘Intellectuals’ by Thomas Sowell

    Historian Michael Beschloss, among others, has noted that Stevenson “could go quite happily for months or years without picking up a book.” But Stevenson had the airs of an intellectual — the form, rather than the substance.

    What is more telling, form was enough to impress the intellectuals, not only then but even now, years after the facts have been revealed, though apparently not to Mr. Kristof.

    That is one of many reasons why intellectuals are not taken as seriously by others as they take themselves.

    As for reading the classics, President Harry Truman, whom no one thought of as an intellectual, was a voracious reader of heavyweight stuff like Thucydides and read Cicero in the original Latin. When Chief Justice Carl Vinson quoted in Latin, Truman was able to correct him.

    Yet intellectuals tended to think of the unpretentious and plain-spoken Truman as little more than a country bumpkin.
    ---
    History fully vindicates the late William F. Buckley’s view that he would rather be ruled by people represented by the first 100 names in the Boston phone book than by the faculty of Harvard.

    How have intellectuals managed to be so wrong, so often? By thinking that because they are knowledgeable — or even expert — within some narrow band out of the vast spectrum of human concerns, that makes them wise guides to the masses and to the rulers of the nation.

    But the ignorance of Ph.D.s is still ignorance and high-IQ groupthink is still groupthink, which is the antithesis of real thinking.

    ReplyDelete
  124. Wall Street Journal - Miriam Jordan - ‎14 minutes ago‎

    Immigration agents arrested nearly 300 foreign nationals with criminal records, most of them suspected illegal immigrants, in the largest such crackdown ever conducted by federal authorities.


    There are at least 20 million illegal aliens, the Feds round up 300, making headlines on Wall Street!

    Spin, smoke and mirrors.

    ReplyDelete
  125. con't...

    "She ended up staying late, until 3:39 and signed for everyone in line," said Melinda Merrill, public relations director for Fred Meyer corporation based in Portland. "That was sort of a special treat for the people of Coeur d'Alene because we were told she would only sign until 3."

    In the signing area, Mark Hamilton of Post Falls shook Palin's hand and told her he passed up an opportunity to go elk hunting so he could meet her and get her autograph.

    "Don't tell me that. That's too much of a sacrifice," Palin replied with a grin.

    Returning to North Idaho was a homecoming of sorts for the former
    Governor of Alaska. She was born in Sandpoint, 40 miles north of Coeur d'Alene. Her family moved to Alaska when she was an infant.

    "In Coeur d'Alene, I know a lot of people. I've probably said 'hello' to 50 people I know already." said Palin's father, Chuck Heath.

    But it was the Sandpoint signing planned for Thursday evening that Heath was really looking forward to. He grew up in Hope, just outside Sandpoint on Lake Pend Oreille, and graduated from Sandpoint High School in 1956.

    Heath later returned to Sandpoint High to teach.

    Palin's mother, Sally, said it was "incredible" to see the throngs of people turn out for her daughter.

    "It's been this way every place we've gone. This is our 36th city, and there's an overflow crowd every time," Heath said.

    con't....

    ReplyDelete
  126. Bloomberg - Bob Willis, Vincent Del Giudice - ‎2 hours ago‎

    Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Retail sales and consumer confidence in the US increased more than forecast, indicating that economic growth is picking up as the new year approaches.

    ReplyDelete
  127. They're
    "gittin rid of all the bad eggs"
    so when we have amnesty, only good eggs will be left with us.

    38. Unsk:
    It has been a long time coming, but the left has finally done it. The effectiveness of our armed services is finished. Army Ranger Michael Behenna has been convicted of murdering an Al Qaeda operative in the field after an IED attack and sent to the slammer for 25 years. And btw the prosecution withheld evidence that would exonerate him.
    In a nine part series. http://bobmccarty.com/2009/12/11/the-michael-behenna-story-part-nine/

    ReplyDelete
  128. And you're sure those SEALs are going to skate away from the light?

    It is burning all it touches.

    ReplyDelete
  129. 40. RWE:


    A story about a real leader with both guts and perspective – President Ronald Reagan – is appropriate here.

    Reagan was visiting a bakery in the midwest when he was informed a private staff meeting was needed. They went into the back of the bakery, and surrounded by pots and pans, the President was told that the terrorists who hijacked the liner Achille Lauro and killed a wheelchair bound American man, Leon Klingoffer, had been IDed as boarding an airliner. All was in place to intercept the airliner and force it down in Italy; they just needed the President to give the “Go.”

    President Reagan thought for a minute and said “Go ahead and do it.”

    His staff said “Okay sir, we will get you to a command center so you can monitor the operation.”

    The president replied. “Me? You don’t need me. I can’t command a ship or fly a plane. You have people who know how to do that. Let them do their jobs. I’m going on with the bakery tour and the speech I am to give.”

    ReplyDelete
  130. BBC News - ‎5 hours ago‎
    Politicians in the Republic of Cyprus have voiced outrage after thieves stole the corpse of former President Tassos Papadopoulos from his grave.

    ReplyDelete
  131. con't

    Cathy Kendrick of Coeur d'Alene arrived at 10am and was told she was about the 850th person in line.

    "I really appreciate her values, and I think she's got a real strong role in this country in the future," Kendrick said.

    Nancy Scofield of Spirit Lake emerged early from the store with her signed books and a big smile on her face. Scofield gave Palin's chilly fans outside some words of encouragement. "It was awesome. It's totally worth it."

    Scofield brought gifts for Palin--some handmade crocheted Bible bookmarks, and the first copy of her own self-published book "Running High".

    When Scofield got to the table, she told Palin she'd left the gifts for her.

    "She pulled me back, and she said, 'Now, tell me again Nancy, what's your whole name?" Scofield said. "She patted my hand, a two-handed shake, and she said, 'I'll be sure to get the bag and I'll read it right away.' Personable, so personable."

    Some politicians showed up to see not only Palin, but her fans.

    Debra Churchill, campaign manager for Sean Salazar, a Washington Senate candidate who hopes to upset Patty Murray in 2010, traveled from Seattle and stood in line holding Salazar campaign signs.

    "We like Sarah, but we wanted to work the crowd. He (Salazar) is going to be here in a minute to work the conservatives in the crowd. He kind of idolizes her. He has a little crush." Churchill said.

    end


    Damn slimball politician that would try to sneak in and take advantage of Sarah's crowd, is what bob says.

    ReplyDelete
  132. Judge Rules Effort to Strip ACORN of Federal Funds Unconstitutional
    FOXNews - 26 minutes ago‎

    ReplyDelete
  133. One minor politician working another political leaders' crowd, that's the American way, at its' very best.

    It is what she will have to have, in spades, to make a campaign work.

    bob begrudges that Mrs Palin has allies and admirers amongst professional politicos. She does not have a chance, if his is the "common" view.

    ReplyDelete
  134. "It's been this way every place we've gone. This is our 36th city, and there's an overflow crowd every time," Heath said.

    My "Going Rogue" t-shirts have a map of the USA with a star on each town visited, with the itinerary printed down below. Nifty t-shirt.

    Sarah and Todd done run off and eloped! according to her book.

    Scandal!

    They had to get a couple of witnesses from the old folks home, across the street from the court house. Wheeled 'em over, then wheeled 'em back again! :)

    ReplyDelete
  135. Bill O'Reilly lashes out at 'Law & Order' executive producer

    I noticed years ago that "Law and Order" was a left-wing indoctrination program masquerading as entertainment.

    ReplyDelete
  136. That's, exactly, what she wants, Bob. Exactly.

    ReplyDelete
  137. Seattle has record lows for second day in row
    For the second straight day Thursday, the temperature hit a record low in Seattle.

    For the second straight day Thursday, the temperature hit a record low in Seattle.

    National Weather Service meteorologist Dustin Guy says the low of 16 before dawn Thursday at Sea-Tac Airport broke the low of 21 set on that date in 1972. Wednesday's record low was 18.

    Burke says Western Washington temperatures should start warming up over the weekend and might get back to highs in the 40s by Tuesday. He says there's only a chance of snow during the change.

    Some other Thursday morning temperatures: Olympia 7, Bremerton 14, and Bellingham 14.

    ReplyDelete
  138. Snow in Seattle is an insurance company's nightmare, I can tell you.

    Those people just aren't used to driving in snow.

    ReplyDelete
  139. AP sources: FBI questions students, eyes charges

    These young men were trying to fulfill their religious obligation to go into the "mission field" or in this case, jihad. I think this will be more and more common in this country. For years, it has certainly been popular throughout the rest of the Muslim world.

    ReplyDelete
  140. Speaking of inclimate weather, I just got back from a visit to Thomasville, Georgia's annual "Victorian Christmas." The temperature was in the low forties with intermittent rain drops.

    They block off the main street and have dozens of vendors and performers with hosts and hostesses in Victorian costume.

    Thomasville was the southern railroad terminus and winter resort during the Victorian era. A great little all-American town.

    ReplyDelete
  141. 46. Walt:


    Mullah Omar on the road
    To Pak from Kandahar
    A Predator with a full load
    Caught sight of Omar’s car
    Permission asked to fire, then
    A longish strangled pause
    As conference calls went out to men
    To see if there was cause
    To worry if collateral
    Infliction might occur
    And if there might the matter’ll
    Be deemed to be no sir
    So Mullah Omar got away
    Not knowing just how near
    He came to death that very day
    From that Hellfire spear
    And when he heard how he was spared
    He closed his eyes and wept
    So thankful that the Yankees cared
    That civil norms be kept
    He wept and bathed and went to bed
    Alive and without sin
    And thanked his God he wasn’t dead
    And knew that he would win

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  142. MarketWatch - Ronald D. Orol - ‎4 hours ago‎
    By Ronald D. Orol, marketwatch WASHINGTON (marketwatch) -- A controversial amendment to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages so homeowners can avoid foreclosure will be voted on as part of sweeping bank reform legislation under consideration by ...

    ReplyDelete
  143. Gatorade's current slogan asks

    “Is it in you?”

    Inspired by the Tiger.

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  144. No Doug, not inspired by Tiger, but the biggest reason why Gatorade dumped Tiger.

    ReplyDelete
  145. MarketWatch - Alistair Barr

    SAN FRANCISCO (marketwatch) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. scrapped cash bonuses for top executives for this year and unveiled other compensation changes Thursday after pressure from some shareholders and tough new government ...

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  146. Palin will change nothing. She is a distraction.

    The two major parties are totally corrupt and entirely dedicated to federal totalinarianism.

    She may win, but she will be made impotent by the media and gridlocked by a mixed congress or weak-kneed GOPers.

    Don't forget. Obongo and his associates (with help from the McCains and Grahams of the "party of small government") are working hard to get "comprehensive healthcare reform" passed in the dead of night.

    Once enough people are in the grasp of the fedgov for their pills and prostate exams, the game is over.

    2010 won't change anything. The GOP short on the record for rolling back federal control and federal largesse.

    Past performance the best predictor of human behavior.

    Sarah Palin is a sucker's rally.

    $2T being added to the debt ceiling soon. Continuing the Bush record. GOP faux outrage before congressional approval.

    Re-localize folks. That's the future.

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  147. New EB article if you want to move the party over there before we hit 200 posts.

    ReplyDelete
  148. "2010 won't change anything. The GOP short on the record for rolling back federal control and federal largesse."
    ----
    Bush Admin did nothing over 8 years to eliminate fed funding of ACORN, or to prosecute their many crimes.

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  149. Oh, doug, don't you know it is still a "Center-Right" country, even though more folk voted for Gore than for Bush.

    As long as that belief holds sway, amongst the Center-Right, they will continue to lose.

    It may be comforting, to believe those self-centered fantasies, but it does not win elections. Not in the US anyway.

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  150. The challenge of Israeli settlements


    By David Ignatius

    For years, the official U.S. position was that the settlements were illegal under international law because they violated the Fourth Geneva Convention on protection of civilians in time of war. That document, adopted in 1949, specifies: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”

    The application of this article to Israel was endorsed by the administrations of Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

    An emphatic statement of the U.S. view that settlements were illegal came from George H.W. Bush in 1971, when he was ambassador to the United Nations: “We regret Israel's failure to acknowledge its obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention as well as its actions which are contrary to the letter and spirit of this convention.”

    Israel's position was that the West Bank was not “occupied” but rather “administered” territory whose pre-1967 status had been unclear under international law. Jordan had ruled the West Bank from 1949 until 1967, but most nations hadn't recognized its sovereignty. To complicate matters further, the Israeli Supreme Court has described the West Bank as “under belligerent occupation.”

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  151. The Nixon Administration

    "The expropriation or confiscation of land, the construction of housing on such land, the demolition or confiscation of buildings, including those having historic or religious significance, and the application of Israeli law to occupied portions of the city are detrimental to our common interests in [Jerusalem]. The United States considers that the part of Jerusalem that came under the control of Israel in the June war, like other areas occupied by Israel, is governing the rights and obligations of an occupying Power. Among the provisions of international law which bind Israel, as they would bind any occupier, are the provisions that the occupier has no right to make changes in laws or in administration other than those which are temporarily necessitated by his security interests, and that an occupier may not confiscate or destroy private property. The pattern of behavior authorized under the Geneva Convention and international law is clear: the occupier must maintain the occupied area as intact and unaltered as possible, without interfering with the customary life of the area, and any changes must be necessitated by the immediate needs of the occupation. I regret to say that the actions of Israel in the occupied portion of Jerusalem present a different picture, one which gives rise to understandable concern that the eventual disposition of East Jerusalem may be prejudiced, and that the private rights and activities of the population are already being affected and altered.

    "My Government regrets and deplores this pattern of activity, and it has so informed the Government of Israel on numerous occasions since June 1967. We have consistently refused to recognize those measures as having anything but a provisional character and do not accept them as affecting the ultimate status of Jerusalem. . . ."
    U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Charles Yost, UN Security Council, July 1, 1969

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  152. "On the general question of constructing housing and other permanent civilian facilities in the occupied zone, including Jerusalem, our policy is to call for strict observance of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, to which Israel is a party. This Convention prohibits an occupying power from transferring parts of its own population into occupied territory. We interpret this to include undertaking construction of permanent facilities which have the intent of facilitating transfer of Israeli population into the occupied territories."
    Department of State spokesperson
    Press conference, June 9, 1971

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  153. "We regret Israel's failure to acknowledge its obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention as well as its actions which are contrary to the letter and the spirit of this convention."
    U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    George Bush, UN Security Council debate on
    Resolution 298, September 1971

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  154. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations William Scranton told the Security Council on March 23, 1976,



    "[S]ubstantial resettlement of the Israeli civilian population in occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under the convention and cannot be considered to have prejudged the outcome of future negotiations between the parties on the locations of the borders of states of the Middle East. Indeed, the presence of these settlements is seen by my government as an obstacle to the success of the negotiations for a just and final peace between Israel and its neighbors."

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  155. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in testimony before Congress on March 21, 1980:



    "U.S. policy toward the establishment of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories is unequivocal and has long been a matter of public record. We consider it to be contrary to international law and an impediment to the successful conclusion of the Middle East peace process. . . .



    "Article 49, paragraph 6, of the Fourth Geneva Convention is, in my judgment, and has been in the judgment of each of the legal advisors of the State Department for many, many years, to be . . . that [settlements] are illegal and that [the Convention] applies to the territories. . . ."



    Carter confirmed in an April 1980 interview that "our position on the settlements is very clear. We do not think they are legal."

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