COLLECTIVE MADNESS


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

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Obama political ad claims Romney responsible for woman’s death. Using this standard, how many deaths is Obama responsible for?




OBAMA CELEBRATING HIS STREET CULTURE


UPDATE:


Oops? President Barack Obama's re-election campaign washed its hands Wednesday of an independent group's vicious (and misleading) ad effectively blaming Mitt Romney for the death of a laid-off steelworker's wife from cancer. Campaign officials flatly denied any knowledge of the facts in the case—but it turns out the widower told the same story on an Obama campaign conference call in mid-May. (The Obama campaign responded late in the day: See update below).
"We have nothing, no involvement, with any ads that are done by Priorities USA. We don't have any knowledge of the story of the family," Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday.
The ad features Joe Soptic, who lost his job and his health benefits after Romney's Bain Capital closed the GST Steel plant in Kansas City, Mo., in 2001. Soptic later told CNN that his wife had health insurance through her own employer from that point to 2002 or 2003, when she left that job because of an injury—a detail that undermines the ad's heartbreaking narrative.
"I don't know the facts about when Mr. Soptic's wife got sick, or the facts about his health insurance," deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter told CNN on Wednesday.
But there's a problem. As Politico first reported, Soptic told essentially the same story in a May 14, 2012, conference call hosted by the Obama campaign. Here's what he said then, according to a partial recording of the call passed along by a Republican official:
After we lost our jobs, we found out that we were going to lose our health insurance, and that our pensions hadn't been funded like Bain promised they would be. I was lucky to find another job as a custodian in a local school district. They gave me some health insurance, but I couldn't afford to buy it for my wife. A little while later she was diagnosed with lung cancer. I had to put her in a county hospital because she didn't have health care, and when the cancer took her away, all I got was an enormous bill. That put a lot of stress on me: I thought I'd be paying it off until I died myself. That probably wouldn't have happened if Bain kept its promise and I was allowed to keep our health insurance.
"It's upsetting what Mitt Romney and his partners did to us," he added.
The revelation drew an immediate rebuke from Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams, who said Obama and his campaign "are willing to say and do anything to hide the president's disappointing record."
"But they're not entitled to repeatedly mislead voters," he said.
The Obama campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But aides earlier had sought to shift the conversation away from the independent ad to the Romney campaign's misleading attack on Obama's record on welfare, essentially labeling the discussion over the Priorities ad a distraction.
White House press secretary Jay Carney, speaking to reporters alongside Psaki, blasted "the categorically false and blatantly dishonest advertisement from the Romney campaign—not a third-party group—from the Romney campaign with regards to the president's policy on welfare reform."
"While we're talking about this ad, which we all know we had no involvement in, Mitt Romney's team is running a dishonest ad, an ad that is a big, bold-faced lie that even President Clinton has said was disappointing and inaccurate," Psaki agreed.
"And that's an ad that they should be held accountable for and on the facts, because right now they're out there running it across the country as if this is a true policy when in fact it's not," she said. "So that's a conversation we feel like we should be having."
UPDATE, 5:51 pm: Reached for comment, Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt reiterated that the campaign "didn't produce" the ad and tried to shift the attention to Democratic criticisms of Romney's business record.
"Joe Soptic suffered when he lost his job in the aftermath of the GST Steel plant closing, and no one is denying that he discussed that when he appeared in a campaign advertisement and on a conference call," LaBolt said by email.
"The important point here is that Mitt Romney's campaign is based solely on his experience as a corporate buyout specialist, and while he has been quick to claim he created jobs, he refuses to accept responsibility for the jobs that were lost and workers that were impacted," the spokesman said.

MORE COVERAGE FROM YAHOO! NEWS



224 comments:

  1. Released prisoners from Guantanamo that kill again? Must be Obama’s fault. Illegal immigrants that get into the country and kill Americans? Must be Obama’s fault. How many Americans who are getting their social security checks garnished for student loans will die because of the things they cannot afford because of the government garnishment? Must be Obama’s fault.

    How many more deaths or injuries, directly or indirectly caused by government regulations, decisions and indecisions are Obama’s responsibility? According to the logic of the ad, all of them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. By this standard, future responsibility for deaths, disease and misery will accrue to Obama because of this government decision

    According to government data, compiled by the Treasury Department at the request of SmartMoney.com, the federal government is withholding money from a rapidly growing number of Social Security recipients who have fallen behind on federal student loans. From January through August 6, the government reduced the size of roughly 115,000 retirees' Social Security checks on those grounds. That’s nearly double the pace of the department’s enforcement in 2011; it’s up from around 60,000 cases in all of 2007 and just 6 cases in 2000.

    The amount that the government withholds varies widely, though it runs up to 15%. Assuming the average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker of $1,234, that could mean a monthly haircut of almost $190. “This is going to catch an awful lot of people off guard and wreak havoc on their financial lives,” says Sheryl Garrett, a financial planner in Eureka Springs, Ark.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Replies
    1. http://hotair.com/archives/2012/08/07/cnn-wife-of-steelworker-in-new-obama-super-pac-ad-still-had-job-and-health-insurance-after-he-lost-his/

      Delete
    2. I come back, see a bunch of stunning posts by Deuce, and ask myself why I left.
      Took reading 4 comments to remember:
      You disgust me Rufus.
      Socialist-loving scum.

      Delete
    3. Then take your hate-filled screeds somewhere else, Doug.

      Delete
    4. Why? Doug is intelligent and doesn't speak to just hear his voice...

      Delete
    5. Last I checked Rufus, this still is America,

      And you are not dickator in chief.

      We already have an overlord called "deuce" that censors my posts of a regular basis, aint that good enough for you

      Sorry if someone else actually calls you out for what you are..

      Truth hurts...

      Delete
    6. Nope, don't hurt a bit. Sources considered, and all.

      Delete
    7. That's your problem. The source of course.

      The TRUTH comes no matter the source.

      SO I guess you ignore the truth when it comes from people you dislike.

      How's that working for you with your "hope and change"?

      Yeah that's right if you like someone, you consider his lies "truth"?

      Delete
    8. I don't "Like" Obama; I don't even know him.

      I do prefer his "policies" over that of his republican rivals.

      Delete
  4. Whole thing is a crock of shit of an ad.

    Rufus is finally getting in touch with his inner commie, Doug, he's a goner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The ad is a lie.

      Obama is a liar.

      No news here.

      Delete
  5. :-)

    Goner is a good one from the old days.
    Very descriptive, perfect.

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

    ReplyDelete
  7. Panetta letter to McCain

    "...The impacts of these cuts would be devastating for the Department. The enclosure outlines some of the potential effects, which are summarized below.

    In FY 2013, the reduction in defense spending under maximum sequestration would amount to 23 percent if the President exercised his authority to exempt military personnel. A cut of this magnitude would be devastating in itself, but it gets worse. Under current law, that 23 percent reduction would have to be applied equally to each major investment and construction program. Such a large cut, applied in this indiscriminate manner, would render most of our ship and construction projects unexecutable -- you cannot buy three quarters of a ship or a building and seriously damage other modernization efforts. We would also be forced to separate many of our civilian personnel involuntarily and, because the reduction would be imposed so quickly, we would almost certainly have to furlough civilians in order to meet the target. These changes would break faith with those who maintain our military and seriously damage readiness.

    The situation does not get better beyond FY 2013. In this period, cuts to the DoD budget under maximum sequestration would equal about $100 billion a year compared with the FY 2012 plan. Facing such large reductions, we would have to reduce the size of the military sharply. Rough estimates suggest after ten years of these cuts, we would have the smallest ground force since 1940, the smallest number of ships since 1915, and the smallest Air Force in its history.

    We would also be forced to terminate most large procurement programs in order to accommodate modernization reductions that are likely to be required.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The sequester brings defense spending back to 2006 levels.
      2006, when we were in two shooting wars.

      The sequester is the only thing that the Tea Party can hang it's hat on. Good on them, for that.

      Panetta can go piss up a stick, taking McCain with him.

      Delete
  8. An Air Force that's flying F-22's, F-35's, and B-2's.

    Nine Nuclear Carriers instead of Eleven.

    Three Thousand M1-A2 Tanks.

    Protected by Patriot 2's.

    Have to lay off a few civilians. Gimmee a break.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Romney was Governor of Mass. When the plant was closed.
    ...and she DID get healthcare despite being uninsured, although she had insurance company after steel plant closed... just went way to late.

    Just like two doctors managed to put off getting a biopsy for two years for my wife.
    First thing the oncologist asked was did she wonder why they waited so long?]
    Answer was:

    Not until they did it...
    prior to that it was never presented as an option despite only costing $600.

    Wasting thousands on more expensive procedures that were inconclusive
    ...and wasted two precious years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you suggesting the Doctors went for the more expensive options instead of the cheaper option because more money was involved, more, ummmm, errrr, profit?

      Delete
    2. Not at all...


      Disinterest, incompetence, a reluctance to refer to somebody who knew what they were doing after demonstrating that they obvously didn't...


      When she finally got the two Docs she asked for that a co-worker had recommended, it took them two days to figure everything out.


      One was a female Harvard Grad with a heart of Gold, and some actual compassion, the other a Brain surgeon...
      The very neurologist a physical therapist had recommended...


      Her GP sent her to a "pain center" instead who did some phony tests and were going to give her an injection in the spine.
      I stepped in and stopped them, 'cause I knew it could leave her paralysed given that she had a bleeding condition.
      It would have done NOTHING Therapeutic anyhow:


      With one CRT, the neurologist found a metastasis on her leg right where she was suffering unbearable pain.

      Head of Radiology says, yup, sometimes the problem is right there where the pain is, not the spine which the "pain center" said was the source.


      Said she could be treated with radiation and pain typically starts to subside after the first or second treatment.

      Problem is, all the pain meds they gave her for her falsely diagnosed problem had brought her GI system almost to a halt and left her almost unable to eat.


      Took the Harvard grad two visits and one test to figure that out.


      By that time she'd lost most of her energy and basically died like Michael Jackson, malnourished, exhausted, and overloaded with drugs, following minor surgery with fentanyl when they gave her some more pain meds IV.


      I should have stepped in, put off the minor surgery, kept her on a feeding tube until she had regained her strength and off the pains meds after the leg was attended to.


      The surgeon blackmailed me and said she would send her home when I asked for more than 30 minutes to decide what to do when she called me at 7am.


      Son and she wanted to go ahead, I didn't want her to be sent home to starve to death, so surgery/anaesthesia ensued.
      A fatal error, as it turned out.

      Needless to say, if she had seen the two Docs she had asked for in a timely manner, she would still be here today.

      Instead, the first time she saw the neurologist was when I took her to the Hospital after the GP had refused to give his OK.

      Too late and too rushed, as it turned out.

      Delete
  10. You're right, Ruf:
    Obama is faultless.
    Panetta, full of shit.

    ReplyDelete
  11. A 20 Bomber Air Force Fleet of B-2's!

    The program was the subject of public controversy for its cost to American taxpayers. In 1996, the General Accounting Office (GAO) disclosed that the USAF's B-2 bombers "will be, by far, the most costly bombers to operate on a per aircraft basis", costing over three times as much as the B-1B (US$9.6 million annually) and over four times as much as the B-52H ($US6.8 million annually). In September 1997, each hour of B-2 flight necessitated 119 hours of maintenance in turn. Comparable maintenance needs for the B-52 and the B-1B are 53 and 60 hours respectively for each hour of flight. A key reason for this cost is the provision of air-conditioned hangars large enough for the bomber's 172 ft (52.4 m) wingspan, which are needed to maintain the aircraft's stealthy properties, particularly its "low-observable" stealthy skins.[32][33] Maintenance costs are about $3.4 million a month for each aircraft.[34]

    The total "military construction" cost related to the program was projected to be US$553.6 million in 1997 dollars. The cost to procure each B-2 was US$737 million in 1997 dollars, based only on a fleet cost of US$15.48 billion.[3] The procurement cost per aircraft as detailed in GAO reports, which include spare parts and software support, was $929 million per aircraft in 1997 dollars.[3]

    The total program cost projected through 2004 was US$44.75 billion in 1997 dollars. This includes development, procurement, facilities, construction, and spare parts. The total program cost averaged US$2.13 billion per aircraft.[3] The B-2 may cost up to $135,000 per flight hour to operate in 2010, which is about twice that of the B-52 and B-1

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'd be inclined to follow Pannetta's lead myself, rather than Obama and the Mississippi Possum, as he is known in strategic circles.

    ReplyDelete
  13. We spend 10 Times as much on Defense as any other nation on earth. Nine Times isn't enough? Bullshit.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The Republicans made this deal on sequestration, because they thought Obama would never go along with a Hundred Billion cut to "Non-defense" spending.

    They appear to have miscalculated. In fact, it came out a year ago that Obama had already drawn up plans for a 5% "across the board" spending reduction.

    The "Party of Stupid"tm strikes again.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Rufus could be replaced by a chip:

    Regardless of the facts, the conclusion is always the same:

    Obama always right,
    GOP always stupid.

    Wouldn't quite require the 500,000 lines of code necessary to land Curiosity on Mars, where any single error or miscalculation would have been fatal.

    ReplyDelete
  16. .

    The add is typical bullshit, misrepresentation and half-truths. Obama is a dick.

    That being said, I agree with Rufus on the military. Panetta has proven himself to be a flaming hypocrite who will sacrifice his own beliefs to go along with the administration. He is butt-boy and weak sister, a puppet on a string.

    Sequestration was a product of Congress and they have only themselves to blame. If what Panetta says about the cuts hitting every program proportionally, that is easily fixed. Congress can vote to keep the overall cuts but allow DOD to decide where the cuts go.

    The waste we see in the military is one more argument against rat's position that the "Curiosity" mission was a waste of money. The $2-3 billion spent on Curiosity amounts to a month or two of cost overruns on any of DOD's larger programs. At least we gain knowledge from Curiosity. With the military, we have to write the overruns off as waste.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, Q, the military sequester verifies my position on Curiosity.

      We do not have the money for the cost overruns, so the sequester is "good".
      We do not have the money for "Rockets to Nowhere", either.

      Two wrongs, my boy, do not make a right.

      Delete
  17. .

    The F-22 is the most expensive fighter plane ever built, at $350 million per copy. Yet it has never been used in combat (not in Iraq, not in Afghanistan) and it has yet to meet basic safety requirements like reliably getting a safe supply of oxygen to the plane's pilot. The F-35 has more than doubled in price over original estimates, and it has fallen behind on some of its most basic performance requirements.


    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw a headline, somewhere, that they'd fixed the oxygen problem.

      The cost of each, additional, fighter is, I believe, a little less than two hundred mil.

      But, you're talking about a plane that routinely whups TEN F-15's at a time. So, Now what's it worth?

      Are we going to send it in to run routine ground-support missions in Iraq? Naw. That'd be crazy. But, will any "serious" enemy have to take them into consideration? You betcha. Samey-same B-2's.

      When you're talking "existential" war with the Chinese, or whoever, it's a whole 'nother calculation.

      Delete
    2. When you're talking "existential" war with the Chinese, or whoever, it's a whole 'nother calculation.


      You're right there. Everybody will be dead, especially the people on the aircraft carriers.

      Delete
    3. .

      The last I heard, they were grounded. And this is not the first time.

      Let's hope we don't have an existential threat before they get the problems worked out. How many years have both programs been around?

      And you ignore the cost overrun factor and the fact that they wouldn't have even been built if the true cost had been known.

      I have more to say on this subject but I've got an appointment to get tires put on my car.

      Later.

      .

      Delete
    4. .

      And you miss the point of my screed. I was not arguing specifically against either plane although I was glad to see the numbers were cut back. What I was arguing about was the waste and corruption built into the defense industry and the failure of DOD and Congress to maintain even a minimal level of fiduciary responsibility.

      It's a racket. Anyone who doesn't see that is a fool or a sheeple.

      .

      Delete
    5. Neither Rufus's Osprey, nor the F-22, or the F-35, have seen combat ops.

      ...just take Rufie's Word that they are all good.

      Trust the promoter of Crony Capitalism/Socialism.

      Delete
  18. That's too well thought out. Say something short and pithy like the rest of us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Something like 'they're all dicks', or 'the party of stupid'. No one wants the discussion to wander off into meaningfulness.

      Delete
    2. .

      Say something short, pithy, and monosyllabic, you know, something that can be contained within Bob's attention span.
      .

      Delete
  19. This is a first: Gallup, and Rasmussen, Both, have the race as a Tie.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Early voting starts on September 27. I suspect the gloves will REALLY come off the 2 weeks prior to that date. During those 2 weeks we will get a peek at everyone's hole cards. It should be fun.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I think I'm getting to feel sorry for Rufus... Seems like it's possible he's got some terminal illness or something and is hunkering down... Getting rigid in his beliefs; not thinking anymore.

    Back when I was wondering why the US wasn't looking at using coal to liquids tech I thought enough of thoughts on the subject of alt energy to ask his opinion. I don't think I would now. I think he's backed snarling into a corner of his choosing.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Here're a couple of things I do know.

    First, good friend of son-in-law quit his $260/yr job ram rodding wind projects. He'd been doing this contract work off and on for five years.

    One reason he quit was to be able to settle in, take a lesser electrical contracting job in the area he wanted to live; he was tired of living out of trailers and motel rooms...

    At the party celebrating his decision he also said that the whole wind business depended on subsidies; wasn't - couldn't be, he said - self sustaining.

    And that the ones near or on saltwater have ginormous unanticipated - and under reported - maintenance problems...

    He said gettin shut of livin that lie was like taking a breath of fresh air.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds to me like he got fired.

      Delete
    2. Ruf,

      You are a sour old goat... As it happened I was there during some of the e-mail, phone exchanges between the guy and his ex boss. The guy was visiting my daughter and s-i-l while interviewing for the new job. He was a valued employee with the wind farm guy and the wind farm guy was pissed that he quit...

      Delete
    3. Sorry, Bubba, but if he thought he was "living a lie" he should have left sooner. Five Years?

      I'm not much on cocktail party conversations, Gnossos. I prefer numbers. Numbers like "cost of Wind down 30% in 3 years." Turbines going up for close to $1.50/Watt (total, installed cost.)

      Numbers like, Solar Utility projects going in for $2.50/Watt (and, knowing there's a Lot of water to be wrung out of the installation/profit side.)

      I called the Nat Gas low at $1.92 because the numbers told me that no one in the world could possibly frack shale for that price. And, I'm predicting Coal will rise right along with nat gas because Indonesia is taking 340 Million Tonnes of Coal Exports off the market in 2014, and China's increasing their world-topping coal consumption every year.

      'sides, nobody ever invites me to cocktail parties, anyway. :)

      Delete
    4. .

      I'm still looking for that predicted $20 NG price by February or even the $15 price by next July.


      .

      Delete
    5. Don't bet the farm against it, Q. It looks to me like we're about on track.

      Delete
  23. Then, maybe a week later, I'm at another gathering and I'm in a conversation with this doc candidate in architecture whose focus is solar.

    I'm asking him why we're not seeing the hoped for breakthroughs... Solar film on the windows of sky scrapers self powering the buildings for example.

    We go through the list.

    His comment on each one: Not yet economically feasible. Only work with subsidies... If you examine the deep costs they're even further from everyday use...

    Now those are two conversations, anecdotal for sure, but with folks who are in the belly of the beast. Hoping for it's success. But clear eyed enough, it appears to me, to be reporting back the truth as they see it.

    Not as they wish it.

    ReplyDelete
  24. And geez Ruf, I don't even want to begin with the travesty of corn to ethanol...

    Your unending, and to me unthinking, support of that debacle is what first caused me to consider your health...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't be concerned, gnossos. With ObamaCare coming on line, Ruf won't be with us much longer. The suffering will end.

      Delete
  25. And Ruf, speaking of health...

    Did you catch that the NIH has, maybe I caught this wrong - I overheard the comment, self congratulated themselves for having more employees than the Red Army has soldiers?

    I mean, Whoa!

    Do they understand the implications of that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't find the number of employees, but I did find this:

      In 2000, a report from a Joint Economic Committee of Congress outlined the benefits of NIH research. It noted that some econometric studies had given its research, which was funded at $16 billion a year in 2000, a rate of return of 25 to 40 percent per year. It also found that of the 21 drugs with the highest therapeutic impact on society introduced between 1965 and 1992, public funding was "instrumental" for 15.[

      Sounds like we might be getting our money's worth.


      btw, Unsubsidized Ethanol is selling for $0.40/Gal Less than RBOB. Quite the debacle. And, didn't even get to fight a Mideast War to get it.

      Delete
    2. Ruf,

      You're back in that corner again. Snarling.

      Just for starters:

      What are the food costs associated with corn based ethanol? I think you could work up a pretty compelling ad associating death and suffering with corn based ethanol.

      Probably more compelling and factual than Obama's hit on Romney and the supposed Bain caused death...

      Delete
    3. I don't "snarl;"

      I smile.

      And, then, Shoot. :)

      Look, after you allow for the DDGS, we ship as much corn to Asia (to feed beef for rich Asians) as we use for ethanol.

      Now, disregarding the studies that show ethanol is saving us a little over $1.00/Gal at the pump (remember, w/o ethanol we would have to import close to a Million more gallons of gasoline/Day - gasoline that, right now, we would have to outbid someone else for.)

      Anyway, disregarding that, there are about 2.6 pounds of corn in the T-Bone Steak you had last night. Corn is about a dime/lb more than it was b/c (before ethanol.) So, that steak cost you an extra $0.26. Little G's quarter pounder set you back about Six Cents more.

      Chicken, and Pork are similar numbers. Your corn flakes are up about a dime, and your two-liter coke a little less.

      Now, which is going to cause hardship for a poor family? An extra Six cents for a hamburger, and a dime for a box of corn flakes, or an extra $12.00/Wk at the Gas Pump?

      Delete
    4. Actually, in the case of a two-car family (working couple with kids) it would be more like $24.00/Wk.

      Delete
  26. Gnossos, I posted this comment in response to a commentor at Carpe Diem:

    Look at it this way, Jon: Basically, what we're doing now IS just a giant research and development project.

    There's an enormous disparity between what a couple of guys in white lab coats can do, and what a couple of real, live entrepreneurs trying to get rich in a real market can do.

    People have been messing around with solar for fifty years, but, only after various governments started giving out subsidies, and developing the market did the costs really start falling. And, man, they have fallen like crazy.

    We're looking at panels for approx. $0.70/Watt, today, vs over 10 times that just a couple of years ago. First Solar is projecting $0.54/Watt next year.

    Next, you'll see "installations" start to become competitive. I think they'll hit their $1.00/Watt "Sunshot" target.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here's what $1.00/Watt means:

      $1.00 / (4W x 365 x 40) = 1.7 cents/KWhr

      Of course, fifty or sixty years is just as likely as 40.

      Seems to me like a reasonably good goal to invest a few dollars into.

      Delete
    2. Ruf,

      I'm all in favor of developing solar. It's why I engaged that doc student.

      But why does it have to be gummint money "invested"?

      That's the racket. The crony capitalism...

      And what's the bureaucratic leakage on any gummint "investment"?

      Maybe 80%?

      Delete
    3. It ain't That bad. :)

      Ah, it's a nascent industry with powerful adversaries, G. The gummint Has to get involved, or its enemies would throttle it in its crib.

      Mistakes, of course, get made; and some crooks get rich. It's just the nature of the beast. But, overall, good progress has been made, and the cost, in the larger picture, hasn't been much.

      Delete
  27. Solar Costs are down mainly because of the cost of Manufacture by the Chi-Coms. Most of Obama's Crony funded scams have gone tits up.

    So if it's the Chi-Com Govt. subsidies and Labor Camp conditions you're talking about, you got a point.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Actally, the race for "low-cost" panels is between First Solar (an Arizona company,) and a German company.

    ReplyDelete
  29. What really demands examination, however, is the subsidy per amount of electricity produced, and by that measure solar is the undisputed champion. Consider the top four recipients of subsidy dollars: wind, nuclear, coal, and solar: Coal's subsidy equates to 64 cents per megawatt hour and nuclear comes in at just over $3. Wind subsidies cost a shocking $56 per megawatt hour. But even that is a tremendous bargain when compared to solar which -- and again this is only the federal subsidies -- costs taxpayers $775 per megawatt hour.

    http://spectator.org/archives/2012/04/18/a-dark-day-for-solar-power

    from American Spectator

    A true bargain.

    Didn't Spain have a poor experience with solar?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Getting back to death, I recall it was Obama'a sterling idea to put the child that survived an abortion into a 'comfort room' to let it die, forgetting, law professor that he is, that at that point the surviving baby is an American citizen, due the respect and care same as all American citizens.

    Then there is the little issue of 'death panels'.......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't forget the Pain Pills instead of a hip replacement for Granny.

      ...too old to live, don'tcha know.

      Just cause she wants to and all.

      The inner workings of the Socialist mind on display on National TV.

      Delete
  31. We really have become a culture of dependency:

    "The federal government administers nearly 80 different overlapping federal means-tested welfare programs," the Senate Budget Committee notes. However, the committee states, the figures do not include those who are only benefiting from Social Security and/or Medicare.

    Food stamps and Medicaid make up a large--and growing--chunk of the more than 100 million recipients. "Among the major means tested welfare programs, since 2000 Medicaid has increased from 34 million people to 54 million in 2011 and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) from 17 million to 45 million in 2011," says the Senate Budget Committee. "Spending on food stamps alone is projected to reach $800 billion over the next decade."

    The data comes "from the U.S. Census’s Survey of Income and Program Participation shows that nearly 110,000 million individuals received a welfare benefit in 2011. (These figures do not include other means-tested benefits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit or the health insurance premium subsidies included in the President’s health care law. CBO estimates that the premium subsidies, scheduled to begin in 2014, will cover at least 25 million individuals by the end of the decade.)"

    This is not just Americans, however. "These figures include not only citizens, but non-citizens as well," according to the committee.

    Did I read somewhere that 54% of long term immigrants are on Welfare? Move to the U.S. and you don't have to work. Those bad bad rich people (some on this blog call them crooks) will take care of you. No worries.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Did I read somewhere that 54% of long term immigrants are on Welfare? Move to the U.S. and you don't have to work. Those bad bad rich people (some on this blog call them crooks) will take care of you. No worries.



      http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/8/slow-path-to-progress-for-us-immigrants/

      43% on welfare after 20 years

      We don't need no stinkin' work.

      Delete
    2. .

      Just long term immigrants?

      I don't know all the details of how it works but I do know you can get government money in a much shorter time frame.

      There was a Chinese marketing manager on one of our teams when I was working. The guys was on the fast track and was earning some big bucks. At any rate, when his wife got pregnant, he brought his parents over from China for an extended stay to help his wife with the baby. Not sure if it was from some welfare program or social security, but within a couple months of arriving they were recieving government checks.

      .

      Delete
    3. Obama then trashes Welfare reform so things can get even worse.

      Rufus will explain why that's a brilliant, compassionate act of genius.

      Delete
    4. From a more detailed report on immigration and welfare:

      "� Consistent with previous research, this study finds that use of welfare programs does not decline significantly the longer immigrants live in the country. In 2001, households headed by immigrants who had been in the country for more than 20 years continued to use the welfare system at significantly higher rates than natives. (Figure 5)

      � The high rate of welfare use associated with immigrants is not explained by their unwillingness to work. In 2001, almost 80 percent of immigrant households using welfare had at least one person working.

      � One of the main reasons for the heavy reliance of immigrants on welfare programs is that a very large share have little education. The American economy offers very limited opportunities to such workers, and as a result many immigrants who work are still eligible for welfare because of their low incomes.

      � Use of the welfare system varies significantly by country. In 2001, immigrants from Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America had the highest use rates, while those from South Asia, Western Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Canada had the lowest. (Table 4)

      � Immigrant households make extensive use of the welfare system in almost every state and metropolitan area with a large immigrant population. The highest use rates for immigrants are found in California, New York, Texas, and Massachusetts. (Table 5)

      The overall findings of this study indicate that if the goal of welfare reform was to reduce immigrant use only of TANF and food stamps, then it has been a success. Use of these two programs has declined significantly, both in absolute terms and relative to native households. However, if the goal was to save taxpayers money and reduce dependence on government, then that goal remains unmet. "

      http://www.cis.org/articles/2003/back503.html

      Delete
    5. Just allow those immigrants land grants in rural America, then they will become productive citizens or the land will transfer to productive citizens. Get it out of the Federal's grasp and into the private capital markets.

      As advocated by Mr Lincoln, the original Republican.
      The long term value, exemplified by big "b"'s family history.
      Welfare that works.

      Delete
  32. Replies
    1. That's really lame, Ash. you deserve a week in The Fool's Chair again.

      How are things aboard the yacht? How's the golf game?

      What's the latest from Canada?

      jeepers, we want to know.

      Delete
    2. I had a good race last night. We are in the lead this year for the club championships and in last nights race we had a good head to head race with our prime competitor and won after two weather leg tacking duels. We won the duels so well that another boat slipped in and beat him but not us :)

      Golf is going ok. Shot a 45 on the front and a 38 on the back on a tough course. I wasn't too happy about the front nine but the back indicated I might be going in the right direction (golfer delusion anyway).

      Business sucks though.

      Delete
    3. .

      Hey, Ash, what's with that Canadian soccer player stomping on the American's head in that Olympics match?

      Don't you guys make her take a 'time out' or something for that; or is it Don Cherry rules?

      .

      Delete
    4. Hockey's in the blood even in Canadian women I guess. I don't remember the head stomping incident but I sure do remember the referee being the extra player on the US side!

      Delete
    5. good game with a classic goal to finish it!!

      Delete
    6. Good news about the race, and I golfing. I like to know how you are doing. Sorry you are suffering from the Obama economy like everyone else, though.

      By the way Romney doesn't drink, is monogamous, though his ancestors weren't, is devoted to Ann, and wouldn't be seen riding around in a sports car with a bimbo.

      Are you certain you were not projecting your desires there?

      Delete
  33. Ruf misinterpreted my NIH reference upstream. Sorry for my lack of precision.

    What I'd heard was that the British NIH, their bureaucratic nightmare of what some expect (hope?) Obamacare will become, has surpassed the ChiCom Red Army in the number of employees...

    I was hoping that folks would remember back in the original healthcare debate days when it was pointed out that the British NIH was the largest government employer in Europe... With all that that signified..

    Now here it is some four years later and they're crowing that they have exceeded the number of faces at the trough of the ChiCom Red Army.

    As though that was a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For a relatively tiny nation.
      The centralisation of Healthcare for a nation of 300 million is such a magnificent idea that the mere idea of the waste and corruption and death that will ensue gives Rufus an orgasm every time it's brought up.

      Pelosi, Waxman, Reid, and Obama Inc.

      We all build it, of course, cause of...
      Roads, bridges, ethanol, and bullet trains.

      Delete
    2. Oh yeah, and Algore's Internets, and the modern marvel of mechanisation:
      The ATM

      Delete
    3. Oh, the Brits. Yeah, they're not doing all that hot a job, but they spend, what, half per capita of what we do?

      And, at least they don't have 40 Million people wandering around WITHOUT ANY healthcare.

      Delete
    4. ...until they show up at the Hospital.

      Only EIGHT percent of Mass. was not ensured before Romneycare:

      A Utopia compared to the nation as a whole, and a big reason why it's not disaster of major proportions like Pelosis's brainchild which will quickly run private insurance out of business.

      Delete
    5. We have ERs. So they do not wander around. And it is not short term care. They can get anything they want and get referred to specialists that will see them pro bono. Ask any ER doctor or nurse, they will confirm.

      Delete
    6. Are you kidding? Those guys are licking their chops. This is a bonanza of Biblical proportions coming down the road.

      Delete
    7. Aww, Gag, that's bullshit. Of the highest order.

      The woods are just FUUuull of Specialists that will see them "Pro Bono?" Holy Shit!!

      Somebody's been lyin' to your ass, Bubba.

      They're blowin' that smoke up your butt with an Industrial Grade Hose.

      Delete
    8. Before we get too lost in the weeds, it might be interesting to see what Romney's and Obama's original goals were.

      As stated by Romney back then, "you will be free to choose but your choices will have consequences." Buy insurance or pay for your healthcare. Romney's goal was finite and simple: to require the few who were sapping the Massachusetts' taxpayers to ultimately pay for healthcare either by paying the state or by paying an insurance provider.
      These people who had no health insurance -- fewer than 10% in Massachusetts -- would now have to contribute if they wanted healthcare.
      That was it.

      Insurance companies were not nationalized. Massachusetts did not become the default healthcare provider in that state. It is not what I would have done, but it was seen as bold and it was the kind of "outside the box" thinking that many from both Parties admired. Newt included.

      So, back to the goals or the intentions of Obama and Romney. We know what Romney's goal was. His goal was to involve the private sector of Massachusetts in insuring a small percentage of the Massachusetts' healthcare pie.

      Obama's goal prior to signing Obamacare into law was much, much bigger.

      In 2003, he said, "I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care plan." From that speech:


      I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its gross national product on health care, cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. And that's what Jim is talking about when he says everybody in, nobody out. A single-payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. That's what I'd like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we've got to take back the White House, we've got to take back the Senate, and we've got to take back the House.

      But more recently Obama said:


      I have not said that I was a single-payer supporter because, frankly, we historically have had a employer-based system in this country with private insurers, and for us to transition to a system like that I believe would be too disruptive.

      I think he meant what he said earlier and he meant what he said later. It just depends on what the meaning of "system like that" and a value on just how disruptive is "too disruptive." I won't attempt to parse his words. The proof is in the Affordable Healthcare Act. It has disrupted and it will continue to disrupt. "That system" is exactly what we got. And "that system" will, if left unchecked, get us what he wanted in 2003 -- a system with just the right amount of "disruptive."

      The fact is, Obamacare was originally going to be single payer. It was going to be European -- as close to it as Congress would allow. But that was curbed. What they got, instead -- what we got, instead -- was the first step. Obamacare. The first step toward single-payer, universal healthcare coverage. That's a lot bigger than just under 10%, and it is a heckuva lot more disruptive.

      And that is the crucial difference. Romney never said, never touted, never promised that "we may not get [single-payer] immediately" or even a little later than immediately. Much of the criticism against Romneycare is deserved, as is the scrutiny.
      But Romneycare is not Obamacare because Obamacare is just getting started.

      One was an end in and of itself.

      The other is (still) a means to an end.


      ---

      We found that out after they passed the Bill:

      Just like Madam Pelosi said we would.

      Delete
    9. you are the one that is wrong Rufus. Go ask an ER doctor or nurse. You act like we got 40 million zombies wandering around with out any means of healhcare assistance. That's total bullshit. Quit reading the HuffPo and get the real truth.

      Delete
    10. Maybe the "ER" doors in Mississippi are a chute into the snake ladden swamp.

      Delete
    11. What we Got was "Romneycare Redux."

      Reminds me, Doug, of when you were arguing that California Wind Turbines were inefficient, bird-shredding monsters, but that the exact same turbines installed in Havahee were Hunkey Dorey, Slick-as-a-whistle, electricity-begetting wonderments.

      Delete
    12. No, I am Not the one that is wrong, Gag. I've spent a good part of my life in and around ER Medicine. They are blowing smoke dead up your ass.

      Delete
    13. He follows energy closely too, between that and the ER, not much time left to build and operate that farm and ethanol still to become self-sufficient.

      Better to invest in a Solar Water heater, Ruf.

      ...at least you'd accomplish SOMETHING with that.

      Delete
    14. There is no "crucial difference." Two guys did he exact same thing. Perhaps their motives were somewhat different. Perhaps the blessing they gave used different words. BUT, The Result Was the Same.

      If a thing is the same as another thing, Then it is the Same.

      Delete
    15. No,
      Romneycare would preserve private companys.

      Pelosi/Waxman has all kinds of requirements that inevitably will lead to single payer.

      Like telling every company and every doctor and every patient what they must do and cannot do.

      Obama has repeatedly shown he likes control, unions, far more than free enterprise.

      Watch the movie, Ruf:
      His Socialist mommy said he had to follow his Marxist daddy's (who left within months) footsteps to heaven.

      ...that Lolo Soreto guy was far too pro-American, so she ditched him.

      ...it's in his book.

      Delete
    16. 79.7% of adults surveyed in 2011 visited ERs because they had no other place to go or no othe provider. (CDC Survey 2011) These people were not turned away. Get real.

      Delete
    17. That's not what I was making fun of Gag. It's the ludicrous idea that "they'll write a referral, and the specialist will see them "Pro Bono." That's just nuts.

      Delete
    18. We all know he's a "Socialist," Doug. We also know what he "Can do," and what he "Can't do."

      Our country isn't "Laissez-Faire" Capitalist. Our system is a hybrid Capitalist/Socialist lash-up. It, usually, works pretty well. Many of us think that, right now, at This time, the Socialists have the better ideas on some of the key issues.

      Maybe, by 2016, it'll be time to ease back the other direction.

      Delete
  34. I got to your question about the profit motive hypothesis way up the line, Ash.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the reply!

      Grief is a tough thing to deal with...

      Delete
    2. No shit.
      At least her best friend gave me a book that's helped a bit.

      The tunnel vision we suffered under stress was amazing.
      I'm sure I must have known about feeding tubes, but I was stuck on my hospital experience which was just IV.

      If only they had come out with that goofy feeding tube diet a few months earlier, maybe the light bulb would have gone on.

      Never mentioned by Docs tho, until we met the Harvard Grad.

      Delete
    3. After one day of nutrition, she already had more energy, but one day was not enough.

      Delete
    4. I was searching online for a poem a friend gave me that helped me at one point when dealing with grief but I couldn't find it.

      Knowing the 7 (or so) stages of grief help, sort of, but then again maybe only in hindsight.

      Keep on truckin'

      Delete
    5. Hindsight and Time, a diminishing quantity.
      Big difference between me and the son.
      ...like I was when I was 20 something.
      I do try to encourage him not just to bury it and carry on as if unfazed.

      That never works from what I've read and experienced.

      Delete
    6. Yes, it does change you, it is permanent, but the pain does fade.

      Delete
    7. Time heals, but faster maybe when you are young, I think.

      Delete
  35. Obama campaign now scurrying away from the steelworker ad as fast as they can -

    http://hotair.com/archives/2012/08/08/video-obama-campaign-now-pretending-it-didnt-know-details-of-steelworkers-story-after-featuring-him-in-two-ads/

    'We didn't know anything about it' says they.

    I want to know why Obama didn't declare the 400K he got from Rezko as income, and why he didn't declare the 8K from the State of Illinois as income.

    AG Holden should be looking into this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One must be forced to admit - those Obama people are really dumb asses, not knowing what's in their own videos.

      But, they are saying, we didn't make the video, someone else made it for us.


      HAHAHAHAHAHHAHHHHHAAAAAAA!

      Delete
    2. ummm, dude, that is the beauty of the PAC's - they operate on their own, arm's length from the campaign.

      Delete
    3. Yup, you can go about making outrageous charges, turning the dirty work over to the PAC's to do, and claim your hands are clean, knew nothing about it, and, if the criticism gets really bad, you can even say, if only we had known we would not have allowed it.

      Delete
    4. Well, turn about is fair play.

      Mr Romney's arms length PACs slimed Newt in Ohio and some other State whose name escapes me.
      It is the way politics is done, now, thanks to the SCOTUS.

      It's in Constitution.

      So they say.

      Delete
    5. Mitt went on and on about how he had no influence with that PA sliming Newt.
      How if he tried to influence them, why, he'd be off to "The Big House".

      I recall laughing when he said it.

      Newt said Mitt was being disingenuous, but the Law is the Law.

      The Goose and Gander Standard strikes, again.

      Gary Johnson in 2012, send 'em a message.

      Delete
  36. We should have sent curiosity to the ME to study The Muslim Brotherhood Spring,
    ...part of NASAS new mission...

    ...Outreach into the future.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That might qualify as time travel to the past.

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

    ReplyDelete
  38. I was reading an article yesterday, can't find it now, should have posted it for Rufus, who needs some 'cheering up' after the beating he has taken here today.

    Had a picture of a sugar cane machine used to capture the bio-mass from the sugar harvest to turn it into fuel. Looked like a big insect/crab with big claws on the front and a kind of helicopter blade deal on top sort of like a dragonfly. Too strange looking to live, too weird to die. But it looked like it worked.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "I was reading an article yesterday, can't find it now, should have posted it for Rufus, who needs some 'cheering up' after the beating he has taken here today."

      ---

      That's what I couldn't take anymore of back in the day:
      His increasingly negative rants about everything but his hero Obama, mostly to silence except for Farmer Bob and I.

      Today's defense of Freedom here was refreshing!

      Delete
  39. I have it from an unimpeachable source -same source as Harry Reid maybe, wouldn't you like to know - that Blago gave O 25K from Rezko. I think I have that right.

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-obama-blagojevich-book-20120808,0,4938276.story

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. O never did report it on his income tax forms, for some reason.

      Delete
  40. Dreams from my Father

    Here's the Whold Goddamned Thing, evidently.

    He and Ayers are Masters of Bullshit.

    So full of shit that my Bullshittometer exploded.

    Glad Dinesh is scholar enough to plow through it all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dinesh is a good guy. He is part of a group that works together on some of the literary projects, the philosophical/Biblical/political stuff.

      Delete
  41. British politicians and bankers launched an unusual public counterattack against the New York banking supervisor that this week accused a top U.K. bank of misconduct.

    The scandal enveloping Standard Chartered PLC, the latest in a series involving British banks and U.S. regulators, drew Bank of England Governor Mervyn King and the bank's own chief, Peter Sands, into the fray as they acknowledged the gravity of the allegations but urged against a rush to judgment.

    ReplyDelete
  42. City watchdogs are collaborating with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as part of an investigation into Barclays' bailout by the Middle East, The Independent has learnt. This could lead to an investigation being launched by the fraud policing agency.

    ...

    George Osborne has questioned the approach of American regulators to allegations of sanctions busting by one of Britain's biggest banks, in a call to the US Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner. The New York Department of Financial Services published a damning indictment accusing Standard Chartered of hiding more than $250bn of transactions linked to Iran.

    Last night when approached about the call the Treasury refused to provide details of what was discussed.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Suppose you sell me a pencil. You didn’t make that.

    Still, I freely gave my dollar to you. How much right do you have to that dollar?

    That’s hard to say, but this is not: You have far more right to keep it than any third party has to take it away.


    Didn't Build That

    ReplyDelete
  44. Those who have convinced themselves that American football is incurably violent and shortens the life expectancy of those who play it -- I am thinking of George Will -- ought to read the study the American Journal of Cardiology published in March on the mortality of former NFL players.

    Men who played in the NFL for at least five years over a period of three decades, the study demonstrated, had a lower mortality rate than the general population of American males.

    ...

    The rules can and should protect high-school boys from unreasonable risk of injury. But no scholastic activity could ever replace what they learn about hard work, perseverance, teamwork and courage from playing America's greatest game.


    Argument Against Football

    ReplyDelete
  45. From what I heard about this ad, last night, was that it had not been played in any television market.

    Just on the news shows and virally.

    Lots of bang for the buck, from a disingenuous message.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Typical Obama sliming. See if they can get away with it as a trial balloon.

      Delete
  46. A company that two years ago was one of the most promising U.S. innovators in the clean-fuel auto industry was rescued from collapse Wednesday. Its buyer: A Chinese auto-parts company.

    Wanxiang Group Corp., one of China's biggest parts makers, offered a $450 million lifeline to A123 Systems Inc. a maker of advanced batteries for electric vehicles that received U.S.-government backing. The deal would put the firm's lithium-ion technology and its U.S.-funded manufacturing plant into the hands of a company that has slowly acquired a passel of auto assets across the Midwest.

    ReplyDelete
  47. On this day in 1974, President Richard Nixon announced his resignation from the White House following the Watergate scandal.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Standard Chartered chief executive Peter Sands staged a robust defence of his bank yesterday in his first public comments on the controversy over its dealings with Iran since rushing back early from his summer holiday.

    ...

    Shares in Standard Chartered yesterday clawed back some of the steep losses they had made since the money-laundering allegations surfaced from US regulator Benjamin Lawsky on Monday.

    ...

    The bank run by Peter Sands had until now dodged the worst damage of the global financial crisis. Analysts pointed out that even in the event of a massive fine and a loss of its banking licence in the US, the bank would still be a valuable takeover target for rival JPMorgan.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Islamic sect goes underground -

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/9463203/70-sect-members-found-living-underground-in-Russia.html

    20 years in the darkness. Maybe they are related to the Cimmerians mentioned by Homer, who lived out their lives underground in darkness.

    One thing about this group of muslims is they weren't causing anyone else any trouble, down in the darkness, down in the bunker.

    ReplyDelete
  50. In Stockton, residents, taxpayers, and retirees are bearing the costs of short-sighted political decisions. Stockton's general fund, meant to be for basic city services such as police and fire, has been gutted by the poor fiscal decisions, resulting in a 26-percent reduction in city police.

    ...

    Stockton officials hope bankruptcy proceedings will allow the city to opt out of some of its more stifling contracts (PDF) and to avoid repaying all of the bondholders while maintaining some money in the general fund to keep its most basic city services. Such a solution might give Stockton some breathing room but most of the hard work of rebuilding the town's economy, tax base, and creditworthiness is still ahead of it.

    This much is certain: With cities across the country locked into expensive long-term contracts, Stockton’s title as the largest U.S. city ever to go bankrupt might be short-lived.

    ReplyDelete
  51. A fifth of businesses said they employ workers who’d be eligible for coverage under the Medicaid expansion — but, after the Supreme Court ruled that the expansion is optional, it’s still up in the air as to what that will mean for those employers.

    “Because state Medicaid eligibility already varies greatly, it’s difficult to predict what states will do about expanding their programs to more individuals, and the impact of their decisions on employers,” Branch McNeal, leader of Mercer’s government consulting business, said.

    One thing’s certain: After the Supreme Court decision, the majority of businesses are ready to move forward. The survey noted only 11 percent of employers are waiting until after the November elections to prepare for the health care law’s implementation — most are gearing up to comply with the law.

    ReplyDelete
  52. I'm sending Deuce an mp3 of Bennett (soft) interview with Romney.

    If anyone knows a site I can post it for you all to download, let me know, and I'll upload it there, otherwise, maybe you can get it from him.

    Can't say he's Bush3 re: Articulate, Optimistic, Damn young looking and sounding for 65.

    ...if only I had lived a Holy Life.
    ...OTOH Wife took good care, and God still chose for her to get fucked.

    ---

    Later, a better interview with Paul Ryan, mostly about trashing of Welfare Reform, and the importance of all that.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Up the thread, I wrote:

    Neither Rufus's Osprey, nor the F-22, or the F-35, have seen combat ops.

    ...just take Rufie's Word that they are all good.

    Trust the promoter of Crony Capitalism/Socialism.

    ReplyDelete
  54. desert ratWed Aug 08, 06:42:00 PM EDT

    The sequester brings defense spending back to 2006 levels.
    2006, when we were in two shooting wars.

    The sequester is the only thing that the Tea Party can hang it's hat on. Good on them, for that.

    Panetta can go piss up a stick, taking McCain with him.

    ---

    If we could do that to the whole GD Budget, our problems would be solved,

    IMMEDIATELY

    ...but Socialist Rufie and his fellow Big Staters would have a shit fit.

    ReplyDelete
  55. I'm still with Quirk on Curiosity, however:

    A pittance for an almost miraculous accomplishment/demonstratition of what we can accomplish.

    "We" to include Chinese and hot Indian Chicks, btw.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Brilliant hot Indian Chicks...

    Maybe I could convince her she should experience tired old hicks...

    ...for variety.

    Just to satisfy her Curiosity.

    ReplyDelete
  57. News Update:

    Randy Travis busted for DUI

    ReplyDelete
  58. Butt Naked, btw,

    Threatening to kill peace officers near his ranch.

    No Weapon found.

    ...walked into a convenience store naked, asking for something...

    later apprehended in his Trans-Am, with a black-eye from running into a construction zone.

    I thought the Kid was bad...
    ...never been busted, despite hitting 187 mph on this small Island.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Wrong:

    He was busted once for racing on the same road at 19:

    Learned that Insurance is not free for racers.

    (previously covered on our - ala-Obamacare's Insurance)

    ReplyDelete
  60. "When he exited the jailhouse, he was barefoot and wearing a paper jail suit.

    It has been a rough year for the singer, who in February was busted for alleged public intoxication while parked outside a church near his home.

    Travis pleaded no contest to that charge and his representatives have no comment on the latest ones. The “Forever and Ever Amen” singer’s legal troubles come after some personal ones, namely a messy divorce in 2010 from his wife and former manager.
    "

    ---

    Rat's Jimmy Buffet was wrong:

    It wasn't his own damn fault.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He picked that girl, no one to blame but hisself

      Delete
  61. DeuceThu Aug 09, 12:51:00 AM EDT

    Typical Obama sliming. See if they can get away with it as a trial balloon.

    ---

    ...and the Romney Political Expert does her best on Hannity to prove that he CAN get away with it:

    ...by bringing up Romneycare,

    Ann Coulter is right:

    Fire her or no more contributions.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Ann Coulter torches Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul, says Romney must fire her

    Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul thrust herself into the spotlight today by making a super lame argument against Burton’s outrageous “Romney killed my wife” ad by arguing that if the wife had been in Massachusetts, she would have had Romneycare for insurance. This has enraged Ann Coulter and she rips Saul to shreds, saying that Romney donors should demand Saul is fired or they won’t give another dime.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She was telling the truth, doug.

      That woman would have been covered, if she lived in Mass. Romneycare is a blessing.

      Mr Romney's signature achievement as a politician.
      Well, that and an assault weapons ban.

      Delete
    2. He should be running on his record as a liberal Northeast politico, not running away from it, as Ms Colter advices.

      Andrea Saul was 100% right.
      Mr Romney has been left of center for his entire politico career.

      Massive use of Federal, State and Local subsidies to finance his business dealings.

      Promoting individual mandates to finance government programs, which I heard him champion in a debate with Fred Thompson, back in '08.

      He should not fire his staffers for echoing his positions.

      Delete
    3. Perhaps Ms Colter should realize she is a RINO.

      Delete
  63. .

    Islamic sect goes underground -

    20 years in the darkness. Maybe they are related to the Cimmerians mentioned by Homer, who lived out their lives underground in darkness.





    Wiki:

    Cimmerians: (n. sim-err-i-anz)

    An ancient people of Iranian origin reputed to have lived in areas of northern Russia until the 8th century B.C. Little is known of the Cimmerians although they were mentioned in Homer’s writings and the eponym Gomer used in the Bible is thought by some experts to refer to this strange people. Greek myth speaks of them as a group of people from a land of gloom and darkness at the edge of the world. Others picture them as living as troglodytes underground. The adjective Cimmerian is derived from these stories.

    Most believe they were sylvan farmers and fly-fishermen. As a people, they were constantly harassed and brutalized by neighboring tribes, wandering bands of gypsies, girl scouts troops, the occasional wolf trying to get his jollies, and squirrels which some of their members tried unsuccessfully to domesticate. They were finally driven from their ancient homeland by the Scythians.

    The majority of the Cimmerians settled for a while in Sweden where they came to be known as the Hicks or the Boobies by the indigenous population. They were noted for their large heads and lack of cunning.

    In 901 B.C., having heard miraculous tales of the Huns and the Vandals and having nothing else to do, led by a mythic leader known only as “The Royal Coachman”, they decided to attack and despoil Rome. Unfortunately, they missed their mark by a wide margin and ended up on the North American continent. After wandering aimlessly for forty years, they stumbled upon the area between the Snake River and Lake Coeurd'Alene in eventually became know as Idaho Territory. They were welcomed by the local government and given free land to settle on. The devious locals assumed at that time that the Cimmerians could be used as a buffer or, in local parlance, cannon fodder against marauding bands from the north known as the Canucks.

    The Cimmerians where not known for much other than their meatballs and casino losses, and few speak of them even to this day.

    Cimmerians: (adj. sim-err-i-anz)

    Adj. 1. Cimmerian - intensely dark and gloomy as with perpetual darkness; "the Cimmerian gloom...a darkness that could be felt"-Norman Douglas

    2. Politically obtuse, dense.

    3. Troglodytic, i.e. not knowing their ass from a hole in the ground.

    .

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  64. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  65. hardeharhar

    Yet they were a mythy people and were said to have compared this world to a cave underground, and reality to the world above, which metaphor was taken up by Plato in his famous tale. They were the first of our race to have experienced the Light of the Above. Once, with missionary zeal, and naivete, they tried to explain these deeper things to a group of savages know as The Lions from an area called Michigan, and these uncomprehending brutes ran them out of their urban decay, and they barely escaped with their lives. They have continued to live their myth to this day, often being found in a suburban setting up all the night, to sleep all the day, as a type of example, warning and yet, promise for all, an enactment in the flesh of the promise to come. They were able to communicate with the spirit world, and today, Nancy Pelosi is said to be distantly related to these marvelous people--

    http://cnsnews.com/news/article/pelosi-swears-spirit-susan-b-anthony-spoke-her-white-house

    Nancy can call the spirits from the vasty deep, and they do answer.

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  66. Iran aims to strengthen “Axis of Resistance,” fans flames of Syrian civil war


    PATRICK MARTIN

    BEIRUT — The Globe and Mail

    "



    Iran has pushed its involvement in Syria’s civil war to the highest level yet as it seeks to strengthen its “Axis of Resistance” against both its regional rivals and global opponents, such as Israel and the United States.

    ...

    As if to motivate the regime forces for just this occasion, Iran dispatched to Syria this week one of its most influential emerging leaders – Saeed Jalili, head of Iran’s National Security Council and the man responsible for the country’s nuclear file. He told Syria’s fighters (and Syria’s opponents) why this battle and this conflict are so important.

    “What is happening in Syria,” he said, “is not an internal issue but a conflict between the Axis of Resistance on one hand, and the regional and global enemies of this axis on the other.”

    As Iran sees it, a real schism has emerged, pitting the Shia axis of Iran, Syria and the militant Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah against the alliance of Sunni states – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey – along with Israel and the United States on the other.

    And this schism, Tehran believes, is the number one threat against it."

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/iran-aims-to-strengthen-axis-of-resistance-fans-flames-of-syrian-civil-war/article4470742/

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  67. Drought worsens...

    ...drives up food prices

    Livestock farmers seek pause in ethanol production...


    Seen on Drudge

    When your T-Bone steak costs $30.00, think of Rufus, and blame him.

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  68. Grotzinger said he was struck by the Martian landscape, which appeared diverse. There seemed to be harder material underneath the gravelly surface, he said.

    “It kind of makes you feel at home,” he said. “We’re looking at a place that feels really comfortable.”

    Mars, of course, is very different from Earth. It’s a frigid desert constantly bombarded by radiation. There are geological signs that it was a warmer and wetter place once upon a time. One of the mission’s goals is to figure out how Mars transformed.


    Looks like home? That's because, as Richard Hoagland insists, it was our home, until the atmosphere slowly dissipated after the volcanism ended. Then we ended up here, forgot our ancestry - except for those marvelous Cimmerians - and have been arguing about nothing of any importance ever since.

    Article and pics about and from Curiosity on Mars -

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/scientists-martian-crater-where-curiosity-rover-touched-down-looks-earth-like/2012/08/08/731f3f3c-e1b9-11e1-89f7-76e23a982d06_story.html

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    Replies
    1. Got to hand it to NASA, their lead scientist on the issue called Global Warming a threat 24 years ago, now he says that he called it right. Climate Change is upon us.

      In front of a Senate panel, he said he was "99% certain" that a recent warming trend was not a natural variation but caused by a buildup of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels.
      Now, a study released this weekend by Hansen, the dean of climate scientists, concludes that the recent heat waves and extreme summers likely were caused by climate change.
      "We can state, with a high degree of confidence, that extreme anomalies such as those in Texas and Oklahoma in 2011 and Moscow in 2010 were a consequence of global warming, because their likelihood in the absence of global warming was exceedingly small," Hansen and his NASA co-authors write in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


      NASA, the Federal agency that "Gets it Right".

      ;-)

      Delete
    2. Don't blame rufus, blame the Industrial Revolution for the high price of steak.

      Mr Romney's steel mills are to blame, if NASA is in the right, again.

      Delete
    3. Right, blame the automated feed lots.

      Delete
    4. Don't know about Arizona, but the reason we don't have cattle on these hills out this way like we used to do is the automated feed lots in the mid-west. Cost of cowboys became too much. Couldn't compete. All you are likely too see now, and very rarely any more, is an occasional Basque herding sheep. Beautiful to see, if you stumble on it.

      Delete
  69. .

    Michigan, new land of the fruits and the nuts?

    Our Rep., Thaddeus McCotter quit because, well...he's a bit of a nutjob and then there were the election fraud charges. He is now replaced on the ticket by a guy his fellow Republicans call Krazy Kerry, a wigged-out Libertarian.

    Cassis and her supporters spent two months casting Bentivolio as "Krazy Kerry" — as a kook, a crank and a subversive. By their telling, the tea party activist and volunteer Santa Claus is not fit to walk among civilized people, let alone hold political office

    It just gets better and better.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's a winged-out Libertarian doing on the Republican ticket? Shouldn't he be running on Gary Johnson's coattails?

      I always have thought, and have pointed it out too, that Michigan has a lot of 'basket cases'.

      Delete
  70. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dSy9G_4_Uk&feat

    Mitt Romney tells US he likes mandates, even on a Federal basis.

    But then many won't believe their lyin' eyes and ears.

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  71. Here he tells US that mandates like those in ObamaCare are good for US.

    He endorses the ObamaCare program on a national level before Obama did.
    Proof is there, for your eyes and ears

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M9gGwW2gCs&feature=player_embedded

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When Mitt thought Obama was going to go for the "Single Payer" model he was advocating the GOP plan for Federal individual mandates, it was such a success for him in Mass.

      Delete
  72. Look, if you plant a corn crop with Costs that require 160 bu/acre @ $5.50/bu,

    and a drought comes along and cuts your yield to 120 bu/acre, you Have To Get $7.33 bu,, or you're in trouble.

    Now, if the government comes along, and messes with "demand" to the extent that your price received drops back down into, let's say, the $5.50 range, you're toast. You have just "lost the farm."


    In short, "Droughts" require higher prices, are the farmers are headed for bankruptcie.

    All this has nothing to do with ethanol. The increased demand from ethanol was factored in when the farmers increased their "acres, planted" from 82 million acres to 96 Million Acres. (approx increase in planted acres the last 5 or 6 years.)

    BTW, if ethanol wasn't selling for less than gasoline the Blenders could Reduce their Ethanol usage by Two Billion Gallons/Yr, Tomorrow, just by utilizing the RINS that they've accumulated over the last couple of years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You mean....you mean to say......you're in favor of price supports? of a sort, and, and......in favor of the US Government helping out its farmers?.

      But, but.....you said.....oh, forget it.

      By the way, you can buy insurance (Rufus you ought to know this) to protect yourself from droughts.

      Delete
    2. Being so completely at the mercy of the weather makes farming a little different from most businesses. And, given the importance of having food to eat, and thus, having farmers, I'm mildly supportive of a certain level of crop supports. unfortunately, like anything that's exposed to the political arena, support programs do get abused (thus the need for constant revisiting, and revising.)

      But, the gist of my post was that "Droughts Must lead to Higher Prices."

      Delete
  73. Ann Colter should shut up, and learn what it really means to be a Republican in the 21st century.

    Medicare Part B and Individual Mandates are the touchstones of the GOP.

    Mr Romney goes for assault weapons bans, too.
    He is the vanguard of the Party.
    Their Standard Bearer, so follow along, children.

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  74. Mr Flip Flop, Mitt Romney.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQwrB1vu74c&feature=endscreen

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  75. Mitt's a big flip-flopper alright. No use denying it. But he is pledged to get rid of ObamaCare and start over. And he didn't spend his youth as head boy in the choom gang snorting cocaine when he could get it. And he loves America, and Obama doesn't. Romney even loves his wife too, and her horse, too! And he isn't living a total lie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, he spent "His" youth beating up little kids, and cutting their hair.

      What makes you think Romney "loves America" more than Obama does? At least Obama does his Banking here.

      Delete
    2. Both of them are out right liars, why anyone would consider either of them as candidates worthy of electoral support is beyond me.

      Wouldn't vote for either if they were the only two running, which they're not.

      Just the only two the major media will cover.

      Big b and doug buying into the rigged parlay.
      Suckers that they are.

      NASA scientist announced global warming is caused by man and is upon us, now, it must be true.

      Delete
    3. What makes you think Romney "loves America" more than Obama does? At least Obama does his Banking here.

      Because, you NUMBNUTS, he spent all that time in Wright's Hate America First Church, 20 years there, listening to God Damn America sermons, and paling around with Bill Ayers, cop killer, and his wife, cop killer, who had big plans to off 30 million people and make the USA a giant Cambodia, and had Ayers write his propaganda book.

      Delete
  76. Here's an ad by Ruf's beloved democrats that is even worse than the one we have been concentrating on --

    http://www.theblaze.com/stories/too-far-new-attack-ad-targeting-allen-west-depicts-him-beating-women/

    Allen West beating an old white woman, and stealing her money.

    This one just might 'back fire' too. Whaddaya think?

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  77. RASMUSSEN: Romney 47% Obama 43%...

    http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

    Latest Daily Tracking Poll

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here's a campaign slogan for you --

      Obama: Don't fire me, 'We've got too many jobs to create'...

      http://washingtonexaminer.com/dont-fire-me-obama-says-weve-got-too-many-jobs-to-create/article/2504477#.UCQb0KOrH4Z

      How about: Don't fire me. I've got to pay back all the money I've borrowed.

      Don't fire me. I've got to close the southern border I opened.

      Don't fire me. I've got to lower the gas prices I've raised.

      Delete
  78. U.S. cop gets pilloried by Canadians on Twitter

    A Michigan cop and his wife go for a walk in Nose Hill Park in Calgary. What follows, by his own account in a letter to the Calgary Herald, is an encounter with two men that he didn't want to have. Walt Wawra's criticism of Canadian gun laws is now a Twitter sensation - #nosehillgentlemen

    "Recently, while out for a walk in Nose Hill Park, in broad daylight on a paved trail, two young men approached my wife and me. The men stepped in front of us, then said in a very aggressive tone: 'Been to the Stampede yet?'" writes Mr. Wawra in his letter to the editor.

    The 20-year veteran of the Kalamazoo, Michigan, police department, carries an "off-duty hand-gun" when in Michigan. But while visiting Calgary with his wife he found it strange not to be able to do so. Here is the rest of the encounter:


    We ignored them. The two moved closer, repeating: "Hey, you been to the Stampede yet?"



    I quickly moved between these two and my wife, replying, "Gentle-men, I have no need to talk with you, goodbye." They looked bewildered, and we then walked past them.


    I speculate they did not have good intentions when they approached in such an aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ they did not pull a weapon of some sort, but rather concluded it was in their best interest to leave us alone.

    Would we not expect a uniformed officer to pull his or her weapon to intercede in a life-or-death encounter to protect self, or another? Why then should the expectation be lower for a citizen of Canada or a visitor? Wait, I know - it's because in Canada, only the criminals and the police carry handguns.

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/gun-loving-us-cop-draws-twitter-jeers-after-aggressive-encounter-with-canadians/article4471289/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ash, you need to get a concealed carry permit, and a .38 auto now. You're an American, you got 2nd Amendment rights. Stand up for yours God-given rights everywhere.

      "Better to be judged by twelve than buried by six"

      Delete
  79. Ah ha! Now the swine admit they knew all about the ad and the guy's story -


    Obama camp acknowledges knowing man's story

    By BYRON TAU |
    8/9/12 4:06 PM EDT

    Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki acknowledged Thursday that the campaign was no longer pleading ignorance about the story of a man who has appeared in both a super PAC ad and a campaign ad.

    "No one is denying he was in one of our campaign ads. He was on a conference call telling his story," Psaki told reporters on Air Force One.

    Missouri steelworker Joe Soptic starred in an Obama campaign ad and participated in a conference call with the campaign in May, as POLITICO reported Wednesday. He resurfaced this week in a Priorities USA Action super PAC ad, charging that his wife died of cancer after Mitt Romney's former private equity firm laid him off.

    Distancing themselves from the controversial ad, Obama campaign staffers initially denied knowledge of Soptic's story — despite the fact that he was in an Obama campaign ad.

    Adviser Robert Gibbs said didn’t know "specifics," while deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said on CNN: “I don’t know the facts about when Mr. Soptic’s wife got sick or the facts about his health insurance."

    And yesterday on Air Force One, Psaki said, "we don’t have any knowledge of the story of the family."

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  80. Replies
    1. CNN
      Reuters/Ipsos
      Democracy Corps
      Pew Research

      Pretty much can discount those.

      Wall St. Journal has Obama up 6 which is worrisome.

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Electoral College, the only electors that count.

      Ask Al Gore.

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

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  83. RealClear Politics Electoral College Count
    Obama 247
    Romney 191
    Toss Up 100

    Obama 46%
    Romney 35%
    Undecided 18%

    Obama +11

    Real Clear Politics Electoral College count - No toss ups

    Obama 332 61%
    Romney 206 39%

    Obama +22

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  84. The national polls are meaningless, it is 50 separate State elections.

    Or Al Gore would have won in 2000.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And, believe it or not, we are all aware of that. And have been since Government class in high school.

      Delete
    2. If you knew, big b, you would not be telling us of the results of Rasmussen's national polls, with such glee.

      As they are meaningless to the outcome of the election.

      Delete
    3. :) heh

      Ah crapper, I really did know, promise.


      And, where is the 'glee' in simply posting a Rasmussen Tracking Poll? I do it all the time.

      I find them interesting. Greatly so, in comparison with some of the others.

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

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  86. Anyone that would ask a conservative to vote for a man from Mass that makes JFKerry look like a rock solid war hero, well, they must be as crazy as McCain.

    Who said that Harry Reid was taking the rhetoric over the top, but...
    ... being one of the few that have seen Mitt's tax records for seven of the last 10 years did not say the Harry was lying.

    ReplyDelete
  87. That's right. Romney could tell McCain to say, "Look, I'm not going get all into Mitt's taxes, but I will say this, He did pay Income Taxes those ten years."

    ReplyDelete