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 21, 2010

Gay Day plus 2, The Predicted Purge of US Military Begins

White Anglo Saxon Protestants

President George W. Bush (right), Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Michael W. Hagee (2nd from right), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace (3rd from right), and Lt. Gen. James Amos, deputy commandant for Combat Development and Integrations, attend the official opening of the National Museum of the Marine Corps during the birthday celebration of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va., on Nov. 10, 2006. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, U.S. Air Force.

________________

That didn't take long, did it? It is barely Tuesday morning after the weekend repeal of DADT and the the gay blades are drawn looking for blood. Take down a marine commandant and that should get their attention rather promptly should it not?

We read the first paragraph of this editorial and we learn who is the face of the new enemy, "an officer who was good-looking and clearly a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant". Some with a brain and any powers of observation would also just happen to notice that officers clearly white and Anglo-Saxon Protestants make up the backbone of the US military.

Oh, that's right, this is a civil rights issue isn't it? How foolish of me not to have noticed.

No this is politics and an agenda that will never be satisfied. It has just begun.


_____________________________________

Marine Corps commandant has to go
By Richard Cohen Washington Post
Monday, December 20, 2010; 8:00 PM

I am a fan of the old World War II movies, the ones where the platoon was composed of typical Americans, Hollywood-style. There was a guy named Farmer and one called Preacher and another called Brooklyn (who was killed shortly after receiving a salami from home), no blacks and, of course, an officer who was good-looking and clearly a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant of the John Wayne variety. Now, of course, we would have to add a gay soldier. I fear for him. He'll need someone to watch his back.

The repeal of the odious "don't ask, don't tell" law has been 17 years in the making. It could have been done much sooner had it not been for the political cowardice and/or ignorance of much of Congress and some of the military. The nation as a whole was way out in front of these institutions, having learned from their own kids and society in general that gays and lesbians were not drooling perverts but human beings with a different - not better and not worse - sexuality. Most of us know this now.

There's good reason to believe, however, that this lesson has not been universally learned. In the run-up to the vote in the Senate, Gen. James Amos, the Marine Corps commandant, showed how he felt about the prospect of open homosexuals serving in the Marines. He was particularly concerned about combat situations where, he thought, gays might be "a distraction." "Mistakes and inattention or distractions cost Marines' lives," Amos said. This was not the first time the general had expressed his doubts. Earlier, he had talked about what might happen when his Marines were "laying out, sleeping alongside of one another and sharing death, fear and loss of brothers. I don't know what the effect of that will be on cohesion. I mean, that's what we're looking at. It's unit cohesion. It's combat effectiveness."

It's easy to dismiss Amos, but his concerns fall within the realm of possibility. After all, being gay is a sexual matter and young people are nothing if not sexual. This is the way it is supposed to be. This is also the problem with having women in the armed services or, if you are a radical feminist, having men. Sooner or later, a certain amount of unacceptable harassment will occur, abuses will be committed and, more innocently, plain hooking up is going to happen. We know this.

But we know also that this can be managed - contained, limited. It takes education. It takes training. It takes leadership. This is what concerns me about Amos. His views are on the record. He sees gays as somewhat out of control, possibly holding hands in combat, sneaking into one another's bunks at night, being distracted just as the enemy is coming over the hill. Not only is this silly and based on an ignorant misconception of who most gays are, but it can be dealt with.

Amos, though, is the wrong man to deal with it. His subordinates know what he thinks of gays. They know he has not an iota of sympathy for what might be their difficulties or any tolerance for their lifestyle. If I were gay, I would not want to work for the man - or serve under him. He is one step short of being a bigot.

The racial desegregation of the military in 1948 also produced much blather about unit cohesion. It is true, of course, that race is not about behavior, but it is also true that race is obvious, spotted clear across a room - or a dance hall or a noncommissioned officers club - and can produce a violent reaction. (Remember, the South was still an apartheid nation back then.) The military managed because it was commanded to comply. The leadership came from President Truman. He liked to have his orders followed.

The Marines of today know that virtually the entire Republican Party stood up for bigotry. The Corps knows that some important senators - John McCain and Jon Kyl, to name two - furiously fought to retain the status quo, always in the sainted cause of unit cohesion. (Kyl said repeal could "cost lives.") Marines know, too, that in surveys, those on the front lines are least supportive of having gays among them and they are also aware that their brass fought to keep "don't ask, don't tell." The issue for me, as for Gen. Amos, is unit cohesion. That's why he has to go.

cohenr@washpost.com

132 comments:

  1. " Gen. James Amos, the Marine Corps commandant, showed how he felt about the prospect of OPEN homosexuals serving in the Marines. "

    Not homosexuals, mind you, but "OPEN" homosexuals.

    ...and we all know what treats they are to be around.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sexual harassment charges discourage open heterosexual braggarts and bullies.

    Certainly makes no sense to treat homosexuals equally:

    Encourage and regularise "open homosexuality."

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dick Cohen?

    So, this Cohen fellow has a problem with White Anglo Saxon Protestants it seems.
    Is he a bigot, sure enough.
    But he is not a sexual bigot.

    He is just your standard race and religion bigot, concerned about the power and authority wielded by White Anglo Saxon Protestants.

    Not once does he use a sexual reference, while referring to White Anglo Saxon Protestants in the military.

    Just race, ethnicity and religion, your standard American bigot, Dick Cohen.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think Blue needs to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  5. “I am very pleased that more students will now have the opportunity to serve their country.’’

    (For the first time I am proud of my country.)


    Harvard University will welcome ROTC back to campus now that Congress has repealed a ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, university president Drew Faust said.

    The move will end a four-decade standoff between one of the nation’s most prestigious universities and its armed forces. The tension began over the Vietnam War and continued in recent years as university administrators, faculty, and students objected to what they saw as discrimination against gays and lesbians.

    Faust, the daughter of a decorated World War II veteran, said she expects to begin talking with military officials about bringing the program back to campus soon. Faust has repeatedly said that the “don’t ask, don’t tell’’ policy was the final barrier to reinstating the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.

    “I look forward to pursuing discussions with military officials and others to achieve Harvard’s full and formal recognition of ROTC,’’ she said in a written statement. “I am very pleased that more students will now have the opportunity to serve their country.’’

    ReplyDelete
  6. Did you know there was no military honor since yesterday?

    At Long Last, Military Honor
    Published: December 19, 2010

    More than 14,000 soldiers lost their jobs and their dignity over the last 17 years because they were gay, but there will be no more victims of this injustice. The nation’s military is about to send a message of tolerance and shared purpose to the world — now that political leaders, who voted for legalized bigotry in the armed forces in 1993 and kept it alive since then, have found the strength to stand up and end it.

    The Senate vote on Saturday afternoon to allow open service by gay and lesbian soldiers was one of the most important civil rights votes of our time. The ringing message of the decision to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law will carry far beyond its immediate practical implications. Saturday may be remembered as the day when sexual tolerance finally become bipartisan.

    Sadly, the vast majority of Republicans remained on the benighted side of the party line.

    Senator John McCain disgraced his distinguished military career by flailing against the vote, claiming it would be celebrated only in liberal bastions like Georgetown salons. But to the surprise even of supporters of repeal, eight Republican senators broke with party orthodoxy and voted with virtually every Democrat to end the policy. Fifteen House Republicans did the same on Wednesday. By focusing on history and decency, they took a stand of which their states can be proud.

    Perhaps a new moral momentum may even help them erase the remaining traces of prejudice in public life, including Washington’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriage.

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  7. Perhaps a new moral momentum may even help them erase the remaining traces of prejudice in public life, including Washington’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriage.

    ReplyDelete
  8. WASHINGTON — Intense political pressures and "commercial warfare" waged by the regime of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi led to last year’s release of the "unrepentant terrorist" who blew up Pam Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, according to a new report prepared by four U.S. senators.
    ...
    The report finds that senior officials under former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown quietly and repeatedly pressured Scottish authorities to release Abdel Baset Ali al-al-Megrahi, the former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the bombing.

    They did so in order to protect British business interests in Libya, including a $900 million BP oil deal that the Libyans had threatened to cut off, as well as a $165 million arms sale with a British defense firm that was signed the same month al-Megrahi was freed from prison, the report states.

    “This was a case in which commercial and economic considerations trumped the message of our global fight against terrorism,” said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., one of the four senators, who commissioned the report by a Senate investigator.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You can be quite sure that Blue has never watched a Charlie Brown anything.

    ReplyDelete
  10. We need to move on and end the national disgrace of believing a marriage is based on the quaint concept of a man and a woman.

    ReplyDelete
  11. “I am very pleased that more students will now have the opportunity to serve their country.” said Drew Faust, Harvard University president.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Government should only provide for civil unions and enforcing the contractual obligations of the various parties involved in those unions, leaving marriage to the various religious sects to administer.

    Another situation where Government has tried to administer religious rites, and failed to treat all the citizens of the country equally.

    Bringing the question of the role of government in culture and society back to the forefront of the greater debate.

    ReplyDelete
  13. While eating sugar cookies with festive sprinkles on top.

    After which, a merry troop of young carolers appears out the window.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The idea that free citizens should be required to obtain a license from the government, to marry ...

    An abomination.

    What right does any government have to approve or deny such licenses to a free people?

    ReplyDelete
  15. "You can be quite sure that Blue has never watched a Charlie Brown anything."

    Hence my suggestion.

    And I frankly don't know how you can call yourself an American having never watched it. It's a national treasure and part of the U.S. Christmas Canon, as it were.

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

    ReplyDelete
  17. So true, trish.

    Without Charlie Brown, there is no trilogy of the Holiday Season no Christmas, nor Halloween not even Thanksgiving.

    No Great Pumpkin!

    Charlie Brown, thanks to the genius of Charlie Schulz is an American icon that defines the scope of our Nation.

    Even touching upon the game of Football and the "science" of Psychiatry.

    ReplyDelete
  18. "Without Charlie Brown, there is no trilogy of the Holiday Season no Christmas, nor Halloween not even Thanksgiving."

    That's a fact.

    Ol' Bemused and Expressive (and why do I have such a hard time believing that?) needs to expand his horizons - experience the holiday season, in some tiny portion, as generations now of authentic Americans have.

    Maybe even procure a puny, forlorn tree for good measure.

    ReplyDelete
  19. That the Government then provides a series of penalties and benefits for those that are "married", another example of classic overstepping by the Nanny State.

    Another attempt at social engineering by the self-anointing "best and the brightest".

    ReplyDelete
  20. Marriage is a Tenth Amendment issue, not a Federal one.

    Equal treatment of citizens, under the Law. Matter of perspective.

    But the idea that 29 Marines in a infantry platoon, in Afghanistan, will be intimidated by an openly happy Corporal in their midst ...

    Comical.

    That a Senator said that Marines would die because of it, speaks to the true lack of respect Mr Kyl has for Marines, their abilities and intelligence.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Although Texas Republicans fortified their already strong hold on the state Legislature with landslide victories in the November election, they won’t have unchecked authority to draw the state’s congressional map.

    Under the Voting Rights Act, the state must have its congressional map cleared by the federal government to assure minority rights are protected.


    AUSTIN — Texas is poised to gain more congressional seats than any other state when the U.S. Census Bureau releases key population figures for reapportionment.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Demographers believe the official 2010 count will be 308.7 million or lower, putting U.S. growth at around 9 percent, the lowest since the 1940 census. That is the decade in which the Great Depression slashed the population growth rate by more than half, to 7.3 percent.

    The U.S. is still growing quickly relative to other developed nations. The population in France and England each increased roughly 5 percent over the past decade, while in Japan the number is largely unchanged and in Germany the population is declining. China grew at about 6 percent; Canada's growth rate is roughly 10 percent.


    Associated Press

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  23. Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan —
    The NATO force in Afghanistan denied Tuesday that the U.S. military intends to carry out ground raids inside Pakistan in pursuit of insurgent leaders hiding there.

    The sharply worded statement underscored the extreme sensitivities surrounding the subject of militant sanctuaries in Pakistan, which were identified last week in a White House assessment of the Afghan conflict as a key impediment to subduing the Taliban and other insurgent groups.
    ...
    The New York Times reported in Tuesday's editions that senior U.S. military officials believe they will soon be authorized to send American special operations forces into Pakistan's tribal areas with the aim of capturing figures from the Taliban and a virulent offshoot organization, the Haqqani network.

    U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, the deputy chief of staff for communications for the NATO force, said there was "absolutely no truth" to reports of planned ground operations by U.S. forces inside Pakistan.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I just looked up John Kyl. Saw no reference to any time in the Military.

    I really don't see it making a "hill of beans."

    ReplyDelete
  25. NATO denies having plans for raids inside Pakistan

    If we are not going into Pakistan after Doc Z and Osama, we should come home, from Afghanistan.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Mr Kyl is a Military-Industrial-Complex hawk.

    In it for the money and power.

    Keeping AZ in the Federal credits.
    Receiving more in Federal expenditures than it pays to the Federal coffers.

    That is what Mr Kyle is most concerned about. He is briefed by the same institutional staffers that briefed Mr Murtha about the Haditha incident, to the same level of accuracy.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I don't have internet access anymore, except at work on coffee breaks and lunch and whatever, and Wednesday is my last day until next year, so in advance I want to wish a Merry Christmas to the Christians here, and Happy Solstice to everyone else.

    Things haven't always been so groovy at the EB, but it's a family.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Blogger still acting up? I lost my last post.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Your Happy Holidays, back in a few weeks is there.

    Was there another?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Merry Christmas to you to Ms. T.

    If you wish, take the time to re-read the Christmas story in the God Breathed Old Book. I like the one in Luke the best.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Dick Cohen doesnt like WASPS. I am a WASP, so I guess he doesnt like me.

    Andrew Young once called us SAWBs.
    Smart Assed white boys. Same thing I guess.

    What Rat said.

    ReplyDelete
  32. High Speed Rail (bullet trains, anyway) are best for trips of approx. 500 miles. Maybe, out to 700 miles?

    Will they "work" in the U.S.?

    ReplyDelete
  33. It will be 80 degrees in North Texas today.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Forget the high speed rail.

    The average ridership for people arriving or leaving Ohio on Amtrak is less than 200,000 per year. The average car count along I95 is over 200,000 per day.

    What do you think?

    ReplyDelete
  35. That kinda highlights the extent of the addiction to oil...

    ReplyDelete
  36. OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington state will get a 10th congressional seat under the 2010 Census figures released Tuesday.

    Texas will gain four new seats, Florida will gain two, while New York and Ohio each lose two. Fourteen other states gained or lost one seat. The gainers included Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, Utah and Nevada, and the losers included Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Louisiana.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I don't know, Deuce. I've ridden Amtrac, and it was a miserable, slow experience. Av. speed about 45, or 50 mph, spent a lot of the time on the siding, waiting for freight trains to go by.

    Not the same thing as one of the new bullet trains in China, Japan, or Europe.

    ReplyDelete
  38. We can talk when gasoline is $6 per gallon.

    ReplyDelete
  39. So all this gnashing of teeth over shipping our treasure to the Sauds for oil is just hot air?

    ReplyDelete
  40. "Isn't there a difference between the responsibilities of discretion and the burden of hiding one's preference or orientation from those who have the 'Smite' button?"

    Definitely, but the majority of "activists" of any number of left-wing causes have very sensitive and energetic 'Smite' Christian buttons.

    I think both gays and Christians should continue to be able to serve.

    Activist bigots of both stripes have other ideas.

    Clearly, activists on the left have been running the field for some time.

    ReplyDelete
  41. i dont get the bigotry from the editorial like it's being portrayed here by rat, gag. wasp was mentioned once but only to show lack of diversity in the upper powers of the military. it was a liberal shot at this lack of diversity rather than a shot at white anglos. i think rat has inaccuratley portrayed events, again.

    ReplyDelete
  42. We'll probably go into recession waay before we get to $6.00/gal, Deuce.

    Of course, at "some" point it won't matter if "we" are in Recession; the ever-increasing demand from China, India, and the other emerging markets will be enough to keep driving the price of oil higher.

    You're probably right, though. With the exception of a few "niche" markets (like Las Vegas) it, most likely, wouldn't work out.

    ReplyDelete
  43. The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party
    By Scott Lively and Kevin Abrams

    From the early years, leading Nazis openly attacked Christianity. Joseph Goebbels declared that “Christianity has infused our erotic attitudes with dishonesty” (Taylor:20). It is in this campaign against Judeo- Christian morality that we find the reason for the German people’s acceptance of Nazism’s most extreme atrocities. Their religious foundations had been systematically eroded over a period of decades by powerful social forces. By the time the Nazis came to power, German culture was spiritually bankrupt. Too often, historians have largely ignored the spiritual element of Nazi history; but if we look closely at Hitler’s campaign of extermination of the Jews, it becomes clear that his ostensive racial motive obscures a deeper and more primal hatred of the Jews as the “People of God.”

    The probable reason for Hitler’s attack on Christianity was his perception that it alone had the moral authority to stop the Nazi movement. But Christians stumbled before the flood of evil. As Poliakov notes, “[W]hen moral barriers collapsed under the impact of Nazi preaching…the same anti-Semitic movement that led to the slaughter of the Jews gave scope and license to an obscene revolt against God and the moral law. An open and implacable war was declared on the Christian tradition…[which unleashed] a frenzied and unavowed hatred of Christ and the Ten Commandments” (Poliakov:300).

    There is no question that homosexuality figures prominently in the history of the Holocaust. As we have noted, the ideas for disposing of the Jews originated with Lanz von Leibenfels. The first years of terrorism against the Jews were carried out by the homosexuals of the SA. The first concentration camp, as well as the system for training its brutal guards, was the work of Ernst Roehm. The first pogrom, Kristallnacht, was orchestrated in 1938 by the homosexual Reinhard Heydrich. And it was the transvestite Goering who started the “evolution of the Final Solution…[with an] order to Heydrich (Jan. 24, 1939) concerning the solution of the Jewish question by ‘emigration’ and ‘evacuation’” (Robinson:25). Still, despite their disproportionate role, homosexuals did not cause the Holocaust. They, along with so many others who had lost their moral bearings, were merely instruments in its enactment. The Holocaust must be blamed on the one whom the Bible compares to “a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (NKJ:I Peter 5:8).

    Yet, while we cannot say that homosexuals caused the Holocaust, we must not ignore their central role in Nazism. To the myth of the “pink triangle”-the notion that all homosexuals in Nazi Germany were persecuted-we must respond with the reality of the “pink swastika.”

    ReplyDelete
  44. I don't want an officer corps that is diverse. I want one that is competent and knows how to win a war.

    So far in history the Anglo-Saxon Protestant officer corps of the US military has had no equal.

    It is like bitching there are too many African-Americans in the NBA, not too many if you want to win.

    ReplyDelete
  45. START and repeal expected to be signed tommorrow.

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  46. Man, I hate the Market right now. I'm sitting here looking at oil beginning a serious run-up, and every swinging dick, and dickette on CNBC, all morning, gushing about how "GRRREEAAaaat" the Market is going to be in 2011.

    If this market ain't primed for a sell-off there's never been a market primed for a sell-off.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Holder Recognizing Radical Islamism?

    In the last 24 months, Holder said, 126 people have been indicted on terrorist-related charges, Fifty of those people are American citizens.

    "I think that what is most alarming to me is the totality of what we see, the attorney general said. "Whether it is an attempt to bomb the New York City subway system, an attempt to bring down an airplane over Detroit, an attempt to set off a bomb in Times Square ... I think that gives us a sense of the breadth of the challenges that we face, and the kinds of things that our enemy is trying to do."

    Holder says many of these converts to al Qaeda have something in common: a link to radical cleric Anwar Al Awlaki, an American citizen himself.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Timing is everything, Rufus.
    This is a Fed fed market.

    The only certainty is your prediction of the coming oil crunch.

    When, debateable.

    ReplyDelete
  49. The market that climbed a wall of joblessness and homelessness.

    (homeownershiplessness)

    ReplyDelete
  50. New York Times -

    The New York attorney general on Tuesday sued Ernst & Young, accusing the accounting firm of helping its client Lehman Brothers “engage in a massive accounting fraud” by misleading investors about the investment bank's financial health ...

    ReplyDelete
  51. Just think of all that wealth that Team Obama has created, since the lows of the first quarter of '09.

    Huge amounts of prosperity were created, thanks to Mr Obama and his Team.
    The Markets were well stimulated by his style of governing, that much of the Change/No Change Program played through.

    Whether the Markets maintains any equilibrium through 2012, that remains to be seen.

    ReplyDelete
  52. But the dollar continues to weaken. A strong market might put more dollars in your pocket if you are playing it, but what are those dollars worth? Certainly not as much as a few years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  53. You're right, Doug. First rule is "Don't Fight the FED!"

    Well, ACTUALLY, the FIRST rule is: "Sell on the TRUMPETS."

    Ah, it don't matter: I'm a "perpetual" long (but I don't much like it.)

    Think I'll have a drink of whiskey. It's after 5:00 in Denmark, right. :)

    ReplyDelete
  54. At least three more Republicans announced they would support the treaty, including Lamar Alexander, the Senate's third-ranking Republican, and Bob Corker, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee that led the review of the pact.

    Alexander said he supported the treaty because it left the United States with "enough nuclear warheads to blow any attacker to kingdom come" while Obama has committed $85 billion over 10 years to modernize the country's nuclear arms infrastructure.

    Both Corker and Alexander represent the state of Tennessee, home of one of the nuclear facilities that will receive billions of dollars in modernization funding under an agreement worked out between lawmakers and the White House.

    ReplyDelete
  55. The transfer of wealth from main street to Wall Street, unprecedented.
    Road map supplied by W & Company.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Depends upon what you are buying, gag.

    Real Estate is certainly an area where you can buy much more, with fewer dollars, than a few years ago.

    At least here, locally.

    Horses, they used to be much more pricey and easier to sell, than they are today.

    Electronics, at Best Buy or Wal-Mart, certainly are in a get more for less money category.

    So while inflation exists in many parts of the economy, so does deflation. The yin and yang of modern market economics.

    ReplyDelete
  57. He was, for sure, the "right horse for the course," Rat.

    Whether he can adjust for the longer run, a whole 'nother question.

    ReplyDelete
  58. no doubt, Rat, but I was referring to dollars in the stock market.

    ReplyDelete
  59. We'll leave out food and energy in our formula, of course.
    Too volatile.
    And certainly not necessities.
    (for the formula)

    ReplyDelete
  60. Speaking of real estate, rat, I will be looking at some in Payson
    2nd week of Jan.

    ReplyDelete
  61. The Holocaust must be blamed on the one whom the Bible compares to “a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (NKJ:I Peter 5:8).

    Nope, they can't say the devil made 'em do it. That was human evil.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Uh, T, the dollar is about, IIRC, 10% Stronger than it was pre-Lehman, isn't it? I seem to remember it was in the $1.50 to 1 Euro range then. (today it's $1.30 to the Euro.)

    ReplyDelete
  63. The Euro?
    How about the Yen, Gold, or other measures of value?

    ReplyDelete
  64. ...I'm guessing the Euro has fallen more than most.

    ReplyDelete
  65. How much is a six foot aluminum tree with color wheel light combo worth in today's dollars?

    That is the question.

    ReplyDelete
  66. aluminum tree - heh heh...

    ...I guess there just aren't too many fresh natural little pines in Hawaii. Those little gems would need be imported I'm guessing.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Too far outta my price range, Doug. I didn't bother to price it.

    ReplyDelete
  68. hey, made in China and sold by Walmart - probably as cheap as the 'natural' tree I bought but you could use it over, and over, and over...

    ReplyDelete
  69. Nice, up there.

    Bring a coat, gloves.

    Could be cold that time of year.

    ReplyDelete
  70. .

    Selah said...
    I don't have internet access anymore, except at work on coffee breaks and lunch and whatever, and Wednesday is my last day until next year, so in advance I want to wish a Merry Christmas to the Christians here, and Happy Solstice to everyone else.

    Things haven't always been so groovy at the EB, but it's a family.


    Merry Christmas (or whatever holidays you celebrate)Selah.

    Have a safe one. Look forward to seeing you when you get back.

    From your post it doesn't sound like you will see the Bosco Awards ceremony tomarrow afternoon. (That is if there is one. Bigger job than I anticipated. I may have to pull an all nighter to get it done.)

    Anyway, your contributions will be prominantly noted. Maybe you can look at it when you get back.

    Enjoy the time off.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  71. When buying things made in China, "it might be cheaper, but it doesn't always last long, and the greenhouse gases China produces to make these goods, using coal-fired electricity, are further increased if we buy products only to throw them away soon after."

    Food was another area where we can all tighten our belts. "We throw away around one-third of all our food, I understand.

    So when you consider the land to grow it, diesel fuel for the tractors and trucks to transport it, gas and electricity to process it, the supermarket space to store it, the time taken to buy and carry it and the electricity for the stove to cook it and the fridge to store, it's all wasted when it gets thrown out."


    Hard on Environment

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  72. Reuters -

    NEW YORK, Dec 21 (Reuters) - US stocks rose on Tuesday as solid earnings and a flurry of merger activity underpinned a steady upward trend that reinforced investor optimism for the coming year.

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  73. Wall Street Journal

    NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at its highest level in more than two years on Tuesday, led by bank stocks bolstered by deal activity.

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  74. ... deal activity.

    Good to see that the bankers of the US are still productive members of society.

    Gettin' deals done.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Quirk, I'll be here tomorrow, but that's it for 2010. I just wanted to catch everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Merry Christmas, Selah, Happy Holidays. Stay warm, stay well. See you on the flip side.

    ReplyDelete
  77. mergers and consolidating acquisitions, in my youth that was cause to trim payrolls and cut the duplication of efforts.

    Increase the synergy of the combined operation.

    Merger mania, driving profits but not top line growth.

    ReplyDelete
  78. Los Angeles Times

    Teenagers are giving birth at the lowest rates noted in seven decades of record-keeping, according to statistics from the federal government released Tuesday.

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  79. The National Center for Health Statistics report shows that the teen birthrate fell to 39.1 births per 1,000 teenagers ages 15 to 19 in 2009. That's a 6% drop from 2008 and the lowest rate since 1940. In 1991, in contrast, the rate was 61.8 per 1,000.

    Birthrates fell for groups that have had the highest rates, including Hispanics, whose rate fell 10% but still stands at 70.1 births per 1,000.

    Other birth data:

    The overall birthrate for all U.S. women fell for the second straight year. The decline appears to be continuing, based on data for the first half of 2010.

    * About 41% of births were to unmarried mothers in 2009, up from 40.6% in 2008.


    * The birthrate for women in their early 20s fell 7% and now stands at the lowest rate since 1973.


    * The preterm birthrate continued its much-need improvement -- falling for the third straight year.


    * The cesearean section rate reached a new high of 32.9%. It has increased every year since 1996, when the rate was 20.7%.

    ReplyDelete
  80. Not only this, we also know that Islamic charities and Islamic organizations are intent on spreading radical Islam throughout the Balkans and Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia are breeding grounds for spreading this dangerous ideology.

    ...

    Also, will the world wake up to the de-Christianization of Kosovo and how Western governments enabled radical Islamists to enter the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts? Or will America and the United Kingdom, and others, continue with their policies of being pro-Muslim in both Bosnia and Kosovo?

    It also must be mentioned that the Serbian minority and other minorities in Kosovo must not only feel abandoned by the international community but they must be aghast by being ruled by the current leader of Kosovo and having their land taken away from them.


    Media Bias

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  81. "Things haven't always been so groovy at the EB, but it's a family."

    The mind reels.

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  82. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Selah!


    Quirk, why don't you wait until next week to put up your Betty Crocker awards. Because I ever so politely did the horoscope you asked me to do. I can put that up tonight.

    This way you don't have to rush.

    ReplyDelete
  83. It's the Season!
    fer Christ's Sake!

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  84. Steyn to host Limbaugh.
    Must still be alive.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Ash said...

    "hey, made in China and sold by Walmart - probably as cheap as the 'natural' tree I bought but you could use it over, and over, and over..."

    An Adam Corolla caller has a grandmother who leaves her inorganic tree intact and slides it into an adjacent room and closes the door until next year.

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  86. I had a dream. I hope to God none of you were in it because it involved, among other lovely touches such as an earthquake and fiery red sky...

    ...tentacles.

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  87. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  88. sam,

    Re: ...your Tue Dec 21, 06:53:00 PM EST

    1638 - Vienna

    ...same game

    On a brighter note, the losing Muslim general was strangled with a silk rope, pulled by several men on each end...ahh...nostalgia :-)

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  89. .

    Quirk, why don't you wait until next week to put up your Betty Crocker awards. Because I ever so politely did the horoscope you asked me to do. I can put that up tonight.

    Mel, you are one sweet chick. Thanks.

    An excellent idea. Appropriate that your scope should go up on the solstice anyway.

    Here is one for you.

    Tighten Up

    (The Christmas Version)

    .

    ReplyDelete
  90. The US is allied with Islam, in Kosovo, Iraq and Afpakistan.

    No news, that.

    ReplyDelete
  91. Here comes the sun, right?

    Now we leave the realm of night and return to day, right?

    God said, Let there be light! Right?





    Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease, let it be so.

    ReplyDelete
  92. .


    NOTE


    Do to unforseen circumstances, the Bosco Awards have been moved to

    January 29, 2010at 7:00 pm.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  93. "Mel, you are one sweet chick. Thanks."



    Don't let the words fool you.

    ReplyDelete
  94. Capricorn Dec 22 - Jan 19

    My photo

    "The celestial bodies are the cause of all that takes place in the sublunar world" ~Thomas Aquinas


    Duality: Feminine ~ Receptive, magnetic, self contained and strong through inner reserves.

    Triplicity: Earth ~ Practical and Stable.
    Quadruplicity: Cardinal ~ It's the sign of enterprising and outgoing. They are the initiators. Capricorns are reserved, prudent and patient. They use strategy instead of force, seeks security, is acquisitive; the most womanly woman, disciplined, determined, and quick to seize opportunity.

    Ruling Planet: Saturn ~ Roman god who presided over the sowing and reaping of grain. In ancient times, the outermost planet of the known universe. Saturn represents obstacles and limitation.

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  95. In ancient astrology Saturn was often referred to as the symbol of Father Time. This makes you excellent organizers and planners to the extent of plotting long term timetables. Most won't look past next month but you, as a Capricorn, will carefully examine your goals and separate them into all its necessary steps even if it takes years to reach. You learn to wait for what you want even if it means giving up today's temptation for tomorrow's rewards.

    Often called the Celestial Taskmaster, Saturn, symbolizes responsibility, discipline and restriction. You are in constant need to improve or perfect something. You are ambitious, practical and above all determined. Your active mind quickly grasps ideas and when taking on new tasks you complete them to the best of your ability. You fuss over details to make sure all contingencies are in order. You don't trust people to look after details. This is due to your constant need to be in control. Because of your diligence you are very rarely credited for your creativity. And you are creative.

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  96. An aura of melancholy and sternness often surrounds Capricorns. Your remoteness in spirit is often misunderstood making you a target for being described as cold passion. In certain ways, Saturn can make a Capricorn a little cold and calculating; a strict parent residing inside each one of you. Essentially, you feel you can only depend on yourself. You think of yourself as a real person in a real world. By all means you don't deserve the reputation of being sober and gloomy. In fact, one of you most striking characteristics is your sense of humor. Your wit may dry and incisive but is extremely funny and has a way of erupting when other least expect it.

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  97. Symbol: The goat ~ A surefooted animal who is able to ascend the heights by taking advantage of every foothold.

    Dominant Keyword: I use

    Polarity: Cancer ~ Capricorn is the sign governing reputation, career, standing in the community. Its natives seek honor, praise, and approval in the world at large, but tend to be emotionally reserved in personal relationships. Cancer, Cap's opposite sign, is the sign of domesticity and home life. Cancerians derive security from the love and closeness of mates and family members.

    Part Of The Body Ruled By Capricorn: The bones, joints, and knees: There is no doubt about it, Capricorn natives often have beautiful bone structure, but they are subject to stiff joints, rheumatism, and orthopedic problems.

    Lucky Day: Saturday Lucky Numbers: 2 and 8 Flowers: Carnations & Ivy

    Cities: Oxford, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Montreal. Countries: Mexico, Afghanistan, Bulgaria and India.

    Birthstone: Garnet ~ Attracts popularity, high esteem and true love.

    Colors: Dark Green and Brown: Classic, comforting colors of nature and the earth.

    ReplyDelete
  98. "we are born at a given moment, in a given place, and like vintage years of wine, we have the qualities of the year and of the season in which we are born." ~Carl Gustav Jung

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  99. Capricorns are flawless. Bwahahahahahaha

    More like a mixed bag full of good and evil. You either love them or hate them. The erratic mood swings and unexpected wit and subtly are surprising for the quiet, reserved individuals you seem to be. You also tend to ruin things with utterly irresponsible bouts of flippancy. You are greatly loyal to the few friends you do have. But you can be a bitter and powerful enemy.

    Yes, you are the most generous, kindest, decent people of the zodiac, for this people tend to take advantage of you. You are also the most reliable and when you give your word you stick to it. You are the most honest. Beneath your reserve you are sensitive and sympathetic. Anyone looking for a shoulder to lean on need not look any further than a Capricorn.

    But…at the same time you are ever so proud of the fact that you are the most opinionated self-centered sign in the zodiac. It's true. Do you want to know why? Because you are always right. Egotistical cruel Capricorn puts ambition ahead of personal relationships which can easily be jettisoned (not my word obviously but it sounded good) when needed.

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  100. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." "Don't mix business with pleasure." "If at first you don't succeed - try, try again." Money doesn't buy happiness, but I'll take it anyway."

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  101. Your desire for success, money, status, authority and even love is the motivating force for the pursuit of your destiny. That's right being an earth sign combined with a cardinal sign produces a powerful personality geared towards power and leadership. Only after being trapped, chained by circumstances early in life are you a born climber. You are not content poking around down in the valley. As long as there is a top to get to from the bottom you will persevere any obstacles that come along. The goat, being your symbol, gives you the determination and strength to climb that impassible terrain, finding the footholds where no one thought they existed. If you can't move mountains, then at least you can scale the heights. Most Capricorns tend to be successful later in life.

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  102. You are uncomfortable with uncertainty and tend to see things in black and white. To the un-evolved Capricorn there is only one right way and that is your way. Caps can be very closed minded and critical and put value only in power and success. You are usually materialistic and marry for money and prestige. You can be very spiteful to those who stand in your way. It is often said that Capricorns will live to a ripe old age just to spite people. You have a great sense of pride and will not forgive anyone who belittles or slights you in any way.

    Capricorns are considered the loner of the zodiac, but have a great need to be loved and appreciated. Unfortunately, you won't let this be known. You hide behind many masks and when one is revealed there is still yet another. It may take a long time to discover the real you. You may seem indifferent and aloof only because you are so self-contained. But the very elusiveness of your personality can be very hypnotically attractive. Like a riddle wrapped inside a sphinx. There seems to be a fascinating secret buried in your depths and anyone willing to penetrate your shell of reserve will be greatly rewarded. That's if you can get in.

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  103. "It is the soul's duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master passion." ~Rebecca West (1985)

    Whether it be a Capricorn man or a Capricorn woman both are very private and distance when it comes to relationships. Even secretive, but one wouldn't know. The least likely of all zodiacs to fall in love at first sight. Capricorns have no time to waste on silly flirtations. Love is a serious matter and if one doesn't measure up then one is out the door. Anyone looking to a Capricorn better be in for a long siege. Capricorn women are not easy to win and expect to be pursued, wooed and put into the mood. No Don Juan can leap in her bed and leap out again. If a man lets the issue of sex become a contest of wills there will be no contest. This woman could wear down a glacier. As for the Capricorn man, he may not be the most imaginative and poetic partner but he is skillful and lusty. His interest in the physical side of a relationship never wanes. As a matter of fact the older he gets the more potent. Their voracious sexual appetite is almost as intense as their greed for power. But when and if you do find the one, you're in it for the long haul.

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  104. Heaven or hell

    *Taurus ~These two earth signs can provide the security each is looking for.
    *Gemini ~A good learning experience but would never last
    *Cancer ~The differences are just too big to overcome.
    *Leo ~Trouble waits behind every door.
    *Virgo ~A good pair of complementing each others suits.
    *Libra ~Too many differences for this relationship to go anywhere.
    *Scorpio ~Irresistible personalities bring them together never wanting to leave.
    *Sagittarius ~Keep looking
    *Capricorn ~Similarities will cause boredom
    *Aquarius ~A rocky start but if the stick together great things could happen
    *Pisces ~The difference between these to signs actually make them compatible.

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  105. The stars in politics ~ There isn't any. Do you want to know why? The stars can't even figure it out. There is no money. There are no jobs. And the war in the White House is more appalling than I could ever imagine. We are in debt up to our ass and the nonchalant attitude I get is, keep borrowing, keep printing and keep shelling it out. Because, well, fuck we can't pay it back anyway, so what's the difference from one million to 100 million or one trillion to 300 trillion. Chinese will soon be the new language. Konichiwa…Oh, I'm sorry that's Japanese.

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  106. Let's look into Cap's future:

    ~ Start the new year being cautious with money. Oh, and be less domineering with people as they will not appreciate your bossy ways.

    ~ Lighten up the next few months. Put your strong will aside for a while this should be a time for fun and frivolity. This should also be a time to clear up any misunderstandings.

    ~ Come April things run a lot smoothly at work if you take the "i" out of team and work together. You start to move forward full steam ahead. Expect great rewards by the end of the summer.

    ~ August is a good time to travel. Contact with people far away will bring promising opportunity for the future.

    ~ The next few months are all about social gain. You attract new and interesting people. Other people's project may benefit you so stay alert for those promising opportunities. Risk taking is at you beck and call so long as you keep your head on straight and use common sense.

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  107. Monthly Special ~ Personal birth chart. With your full birthdate, exact time of birth and birth place you can get a full sense of the real you through the exact positioning of your stars. We here at souls-R-Us have full respect for the privacy and confidentiality of each one of our clients. So don't hesitate. This special will only last through January while people are adjusting to high rising costs of food and energy.

    Peace and warm wishes to all this holiday season

    Mel

    ReplyDelete
  108. trish,

    Re: tentacles and rope


    That is what I was thinking, but there was no way to say it nicely.

    By some configuration of a Mensa test question there might be some correlation/analog of those to G-d and light. I suggest turning the matter over to a committee - perhaps a Congressional one.

    If you are searching for a universe without rancor and darkness, you will have to try one of the other 253 dimensions/realities posited by some string theorists.

    While you are searching through innumerable incarnations, I'll try to hold down the fort here.

    ReplyDelete
  109. .

    Congrats, Mel.

    Another great job.

    Love the picture.

    Woof!

    (Thanks for pushing the Souls-R-Us specials. It's a tough economy out there.)

    .

    ReplyDelete
  110. And, trish, happy solstice :-)

    2-3 minutes more light each day til June...

    link to light

    ReplyDelete
  111. .

    Say, Mel.

    You didn't mean literally
    My Photo did you?

    .

    ReplyDelete
  112. rat wrote:

    "Merger mania, driving profits but not top line growth."


    yeaaaa, I'm not even so sure about the profits part. M&A is so often a function of weakness that I cringe when Wall Street et al go agagga at the wonder of it all.






    Blogger trish said...

    "Tentacles and lots of rope."




    That's soooo, ummmmm.....




    ....Japanese.

    ReplyDelete
  113. Sure did. Do you like my new tattoo.

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  114. .

    Love it.

    Although the detail was a little hard to make out in the photo.

    I could use a closer look.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  115. .

    Down Under




    Mmmmm.

    Fosters

    .

    ReplyDelete
  116. Anticipation!!!




    He grasped me firmly but gently just above my elbow and guided me into a
    room, his room. Then he quietly shut the door and we were alone.

    He approached me soundlessly, from behind, and spoke in a low, reassuring
    voice close to my ear.

    "Just relax."

    Without warning, he reached down and I felt his strong, calloused hands
    start at my ankles, gently probing, and moving upward along my calves slowly
    but steadily. My breath caught in my throat. I knew I should be afraid, but
    somehow I didn't care. His touch was so experienced, so sure.

    When his hands moved up onto my thighs, I gave a slight shudder, and partly
    closed my eyes. My pulse was pounding. I felt his knowing fingers caress my
    abdomen, my ribcage. And then, as he cupped my firm, full breasts in his
    hands, I inhaled sharply. Probing, searching, knowing what he wanted, he
    brought his hands to my shoulders, slid them down my tingling spine and into
    my panties.

    Although I knew nothing about this man, I felt oddly trusting and expectant.
    This is a man, I thought. A man used to taking charge. A man not used to
    taking `no' for an answer. A man who would tell me what he wanted. A man who
    would look into my soul and say ...

    "Okay, ma'am, all done."

    My eyes snapped open and he was standing in front of me, smiling, holding
    out my purse. "You can board your flight now."

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  117. Fosters is shit, Quirk.

    VB is the beer.

    ReplyDelete
  118. The zoom button works just as well.

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  119. .
    Fosters is shit, Quirk.

    VB is the beer.


    Don't have to be so huffy Sam.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  120. .

    The zoom button works just as well.

    I've never found it so.

    .

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  121. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  122. BTW nice picture...too bad you couldn't find any of the Krulaks, father and son...one was a Lt. General the other Commandant...ethnic Jews...the one helped develop amphibious landing warfare - BIG deal in the Pacific and at Normandy…sorry for being pedantic

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