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, September 05, 2012

133 comments:

  1. Yeah, he was a whiney bitch, wasn't he?

    But, you know what, per Sam's chart in the previous thread, GDP, and the S&P, both, grew more in the Carter Years than in the Bush Yrs.

    Sam's Chart

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "The best stretch of market performance since 1900 occurred in 1993-2000 under Bill Clinton, who saw the S&P 500 rally an average of 19.9% per year during his presidency, S&P said."

      ...and our kid was offered 100k/yr @ 16 in Sillycon Valley.

      The Dot Com Bubble Burst is what caused the 2000 stock market crash. ... The increase in internet trading also led to the crash of 2000.

      Dot-com Bubble Reaches Peak

      Over 1999 and early 2000, the Federal Reserve had increased interest rates six times, and the economy was beginning to lose speed. The dot-com bubble burst, numerically, on March 10, 2000...

      The good old days, all created by Bill's Govt. Microsoft was all about
      technology, nothing else.
      Then the govt really got involved when Clinton's justice Dept sued Microsoft.
      Prior to that, MS had stayed out of govt wrt lobbyists, lawyers, etc.

      After that, they Lawyered Up, and are now following IBM into oblivion.

      ---

      Later, there was that little ripple in the financial pond known as the Real Estate Bubble.
      ...in which my nephew with a HS Education made millions and was given high end Porsches as bonuses.
      ...prior to New Century Financial's collapse, Countrywide, and the rest, as they say, is history.

      ...filled with govt mandates of who should get loans and why.
      Again, backed up by DOJ intimidation of private enterprise.

      Delete
  2. It’s also not precisely clear why there is such a gap in the performance under the two parties. It may have to do with the Democrats’ tax-and-spend reputation, which may translate to a greater propensity to enact stimulus measures.

    McCain said his research shows the markets generate far stronger returns when Republican incumbents win two terms than when Democrats are re-elected.



    While administrations may be quick to take credit for GDP and stock-market growth, it’s not always clear who deserves credit or blame given the lag between policy and its impact on the economy.

    According to Stovall, every Republican president since Warren Harding (1921–1923) has experienced a recession within the first two years of office, perhaps due to the excesses of the prior administration.

    “You can stoke the economy by spending irresponsibly, but then someone else has to clean up the mess,” said Stovall.

    --
    Carter

    Despite a sluggish economy, inflation reached as high as 14.8%, and interest rates reached as high as 18% during the period 1977-1981. By 1985-1990, this contributed to the failure of Savings and Loan associations which had many bad loans, especially in real estate.

    Of course, Carter had inherited the general inflationary trend from the Nixon and Ford adminstrations, which saw the beginnings of double-digit levels. President Ford had instituted the generally-ineffective program called WIN (Whip Inflation Now) in October, 1974. However, by November of 1976 the rate had subsided to 4.9% and was 5.2% when Carter took office. Continuous rises brought it to 14.8% in March, 1980, and 11.8% when Carter left office. Since 1982, general inflation has been suppressed below 6.5% and at times has been much lower.

    Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_inflation_rate_under_Jimmy_Carter#ixzz25aSAlLoY

    ReplyDelete
  3. 40% of the value of the stock market is directly due to the injection of the Federal Reserve quantitative easing.

    It's all smoke and mirrors

    ReplyDelete
  4. .

    The FED is wandering in the wasteland like the rest of us.

    Under Bernanke, it has ascribed to a new mandate, that of supporting the stock market under the hope that it will spur hope and confidence in the populace and under the supply-side dream that a successful business community will automatically result in a trickle-down effect that will spur the economy and result in new jobs. The fact that that hasn't happened? Well, the delusion continued in Jackson Hole, as Bernanke asserted that although we have no way of proving it, the 'models' we have constructed at the FED say we would have been much worse off if we hadn't had QE.

    Meanwhile, the FED is shooting blanks with regard to it's actual dual mandates of price control and full employment. That is not to say prices haven't been fairly stable but that is more a function of piss poor demand than anything the FED has done. As for full employment, Bernanke has openly admitted there isn't any more the FED can do and says any progress on that will be coming from the fiscal side, if at all.

    However, I expect the FED like most government entitites in order to cover for its shortfalls, in this case on the 'full employment' mandate, will mask its failures by something as simple as declaring a 'new normal', higher level of unemployment and claiming victory in the fight.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Democrats are ahead of the Republicans in recognizing that it is truly a zero-sum game. The entire convention is to rally the troops to lineup for re-distribution rights.

      Delete
    2. The very folks that analysed what Japan was doing wrong a decade ago have now followed Japan's lead down to the smallest details.

      ...as Japan is deep into two decades of economic stagnation.

      Delete
    3. .

      Bernanke has been declared 'the expert' on the great depression.

      This far along in the recession (funk, slowdown, whatever) when you are saddled with that appellation, it's difficult to do anything else but go all in.

      It's a tough job and Bernanke has done some good things but I suspect whoever wins this fall, this will be Ben's last term.


      .

      Delete
  5. As someone with whom she was “so young, so in love, and so in debt,” Mrs. Obama said, her husband believes “success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”

    Whata Guy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rich Karlgaard saw a New York Times piece on Sunday written by Jodi Kantor, and he posted a piece on Forbes:
      "New York Times Proves Clint Eastwood Correct -- Obama Is Lousy CEO."

      A Sunday New York Times front page story -- New York Times! -- might have killed President Obama’s re-election hopes. The story is called 'The Competitor in Chief -- Obama Plays To Win, In Politics and Everything Else.' It is devastating.

      "With such a title, and from such a friendly organ, at first I thought Jodi Kantor’s piece would be a collection of Obama’s greatest political wins: His rapid rise in Illinois, his win over Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primaries, the passage of health care, and so on.

      But the NYT piece is not about any of that. Rather, it is a deep look into the two outstanding flaws in Obama’s executive leadership:

      1. How he vastly overrates his capabilities."

      And here's a pull-quote from the New York Times story: "But even those loyal to Mr. Obama say that his quest for excellence can bleed into cockiness and that he tends to overestimate his capabilities. The cloistered nature of the White House amplifies those tendencies, said Matthew Dowd, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, adding that the same thing happened to his former boss. 'There’s a reinforcing quality,' he said, a tendency for presidents to think, I’m the best at this."

      And...

      2. How he spends extraordinary amounts of time and energy to compete in -- trivialities."

      And again from the New York Times piece: "For someone dealing with the world’s weightiest matters, Mr. Obama spends surprising energy perfecting even less consequential pursuits. He has played golf 104 times since becoming president, according to Mark Knoller of CBS News, who monitors his outings, and he asks superior players for tips that have helped lower his scores. He decompresses with card games on Air Force One, but players who do not concentrate risk a reprimand ('You’re not playing, you’re just gambling,' he once told Arun Chaudhary, his former videographer).

      "His idea of birthday relaxation is competing in an Olympic-style athletic tournament with friends, keeping close score. The 2009 version ended with a bowling event. Guess who won, despite his history of embarrassingly low scores? The president, it turned out, had been practicing in the White House alley."

      The story goes on to quote from the New York Times how Obama is devoted to inconsequential things. Highly competitive in all kinds of inconsequential things. In fact, there's a quote in the story that two weeks into the presidency he's telling people that he's really good at it.

      Two weeks into office he was running around telling people how much he likes being president and how good at it he is.

      So Rich Karlgaard here I guess is theorizing the people who read the New York Times are Obama voters. I mean, they are in the tank for Obama. They're going to read this and they're going to see that Obama's devoted to all these trivialities and inconsequential things and not spending any time whatsoever on things that truly affect the country. While everybody thinks he's got his sleeves rolled up and is working hard on this stuff, this story in the New York Times actually does convey the impression he doesn't care much.

      Delete
  6. Deuce

    I hope all is ok with you and yours in Costa Rica?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks Gag, It was a shaker, you could see the car moving in the driveway! The center of the quake was off the coast in Guanacaste. The international people are calling it a lot higher than they are in CR. The locals are saying 6.7. The Central Valley, where San Jose is located, could feel it. The maid was running around opening the iron gates so they didn’t bend shut.

    Some of the mountains collapsed in Santana and in Guanacate. Having aftershocks now.

    All is well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "The maid was running around opening the iron gates so they didn’t bend shut."

      Never heard of that SOP

      ...is it in the front pages of the phonebook under Earthquake Preparedness?

      Widower Doug definitely needs a maid - give her a couple of months break taking care of my small (lonely) abode in Paradise.

      Delete
    2. The government offices are shut down. Arenal volcano has developed a crack in it. There are some reports of roads collapsing around San Pedro.

      Delete
    3. Careful, Deuce

      You having a maid means you may have some wealth, which equates to evil, according to some on this blog.

      Delete
    4. .

      The government offices are shut down. Arenal volcano has developed a crack in it. There are some reports of roads collapsing around San Pedro.

      Yet, all is well?

      The 2:09 quote is evidently a later report or we are witnessing a magnificant display of stoicism.

      :)

      .


      Delete
    5. .

      Something to mull upon.

      Black Diamond Bay

      Just kidding of course. :)

      Stay safe.

      .

      Delete
  8. DNC Glorifies Senator Who Left a Woman to Drown in His Car

    If you're going to wage a "war on women," there's no better way to do it than glorifying a guy who left a woman to drown in his car while he escaped to dry ground. The video below was shown tonight at the DNC convention in Charlotte.

    It documents Ted Kennedy's life, but for some reason skipped the time when he drove drunk off of a bridge and left Mary Jo Kopechne (who was on his side and worked for him as a young campaign assistant!) to die in his car, better known as the Chappaquiddick incident..

    The video also skips the part when Kennedy failed to tell police of the incident until nine hours after it happened.

    ---

    Clinton and the Kennedy Bros.
    Saviors of Damsels in Distress.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 'Barack Obama says he'll struggle not to cry during Michelle's speech at the Democratic convention'

    The First Lady, whose eyes welled with tears by the end of her speech, steered clear of party politics but spoke at length about her and her husband’s humble origins to make an implicit contrast with Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee, who was born into wealth and is portrayed by Democrats as an unfeeling plutocrat.

    Yeah the little SOB that always attended the most expensive schools available, from Hawaii to Massachuttes.

    ...and gave nothing to charity until they had to, as Mitt gave away Millions.

    ReplyDelete
  10. HA!

    Shitbirds

    It’s official now — Barack Obama’s acceptance speech tomorrow night won’t take place in The Stadium Whose Real Name Shall Not Be Mentioned. Instead of the 73,000-seat venue, the DNC has opted to move Obama back indoors, where they only need to fill 20,000 seats. The campaign blames incoming weather, but CBS sounds a little skeptical:

    Democrats are significantly downsizing the final night of their national convention, moving the events — including President Obama’s acceptance speech — from Bank of America Stadium to the Time Warner Cable Arena because of threats of thunder and lightning.

    Mr. Obama was slated to accept the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night in the open-air football stadium before a crowd of more than 60,000. The basketball and hockey arena, however, seats just around 20,000.

    Lying Shitbirds

    HA! They can't get the people!!

    H!HA!HA!

    20% chance of rain haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      20,000. Interesting. The exact number of the delegates and the media at the convention.

      From Dana Milbank in the WAPO,

      Do not be deceived by all that talk of delegates and floor speeches: This is a convention of the media, by the media and for the media. There are some 15,000 representatives of the media here for the convention, and only about 5,000 delegates. This mathematical imbalance means most journalists spend their time with other journalists at events sponsored by corporations and hosted by media organizations for the purpose of entertaining advertisers and promoting themselves to each other.

      There’s the Politico Hub (Ketel One Martini bar!), the Bloomberg Link (hot breakfast and goodie bags!), the CNN Grill, the MSNBC Experience and many more. The Atlantic, National Journal and CBS started offering mimosas at 9:30 a.m., and the Hill had a full bar open at 10:30 a.m. in its hospitality suite atop the Charlotte City Club. I attended these events for five hours straight on Tuesday and could not identify a single delegate...


      Sounds like a lot of good work being done.


      .


      Delete
    2. They had the Stadium Sold Out, with 19,000 on the Waiting List.

      This is corroborated by anecdotes of the impossibility of "picking up" a ticket to the event anywhere in Charlotte.

      I usually give you the benefit of the doubt, Deuce - as I do most patrons of the bar. But, Bob showed his colors a long time ago.

      Delete
  11. You're letting your racial hatred get the best of you, Bob. The forecast is

    Thunderstorms

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Race hatred?

      My, my, my. How easily it trips off the tongue.

      Brings to mind an interesting point about that brief history presented at the convention of all the wonderful things the Dem party has done for minorities over the past 200 years, that thing being the blanks that were skipped over.

      For instance, someone, no doubt inadvertantly, left out the parts about the Party's role in the antebellum South. Also, they praise President Wilson for signing the 19th Amendment but ignore the fact that he was a blatant racist. They praise LBJ for signing the Civil Rights Act but ignore the fact that 80 percent of the 'no' votes on the bill came from Democrats, including their longest running member Byrd and Al Gore's dad, the elder Gore.

      If you can rewrite (or ignore) history, why not. Most people won't notice, and to those who do you just look silly. But being a pol, you can always live with that. In fact, it's kinda expected.

      .

      Delete
    2. Since when does being anti Obama mean there is racial hatred? You’re smarter than that. Maybe not. :)

      Delete
    3. I hate Obama... I can't stand his wife. I hate jessie Jackson & rev Wright...

      So I racist?

      I like Allen West, I LOVE halle berry... I like Jessie Jackson JR....

      I like or not people based on the content of their character. NOT The color of their skin..

      What a radical thought.

      Delete
    4. "What a radical thought."

      ---

      Might be for the Man in Missip:
      Represented not so long ago by Trent Lott.

      ...don't think Ruf is from there but perhaps some projected Confederate Guilt from the past?

      ...only Rufanol can tell.

      Break it out now...

      ...it's five-o'clock somewhere.

      Delete
  12. .

    Bob, if you are going on vacation at this time of year, I would have thought you would have opted for the recent Burning Man Festival in Nevada. It's almost in the neighborhood and you seem to be a 'counterculture kinda guy'.

    If I were younger, I might have considered going myself. More commercialized than you'd like but still spring break in the desert in the fall.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  13. The latest Weather Underground forecast for Charlotte on Thursday states that there is a 40 per cent chance of rain tomorrow and only the possibility of thurnderstorms: 'Overcast with a chance of a thunderstorm and a chance of rain..Chance of rain 40% with rainfall amounts near 4.8 mm possible.' The chances of rain in the evening drop to 30 per cent.

    (((((((A convention worker told MailOnline on Tuesday: ‘It looks like a done deal to me. The decision’s apparently been taken and it’s just a matter of spinning it as being forced on us by the weather.’ As the source was speaking, Democrats were saying publicly the event would go ahead as planned.))))))))

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2198695/Democrats-forced-Obamas-big-speech-74-000-seater-outdoor-stadium-20-000-seater-indoor-arena.html#ixzz25cUh4QX7

    The turds can't fill the stadium. hahahahha


    Quirk, we done been delayed one day. but have a reservation in Missoula tomorrow night.

    Blame: wife, has to do this, has to do that first. It's like herding turtles.

    Always wanted to go to the Burning Man.

    Not nearly as good as the Cowboy Poetry Festival though.

    I'm not counter cultural. Just seem so compared to the no-cultural moron from Mississippi.

    But that's the way it rolls.

    I'm not a racist, but I said that before. I am a culturalist.

    What I can't stand is people that have iron civil war cannonballs for brains.

    Like poor Ruf. Though I do care deeply for him.

    ReplyDelete
  14. (((((A convention worker told MailOnline on Tuesday: ‘It looks like a done deal to me. The decision’s apparently been taken and it’s just a matter of spinning it as being forced on us by the weather.’))))))

    but, I repeat myself.

    They couldn't find enough living bodies to bus in to Bank of America Stadium.


    hehehehhehe

    (It's racist to say this, shuuussh)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As I said, They had 19,000 on the "Waiting" List.

      But, can you imagine the grief they would have caught if there would have been attendees killed by a lightening strike?

      Delete
    2. It's quite funny how many of the Party of Hate and Division were wishing Isaac would make a direct hit on Florida last week. Somewhere around the Tampa area?

      Delete
  15. Hey Ruf, you know what color Mia Love is? She's b l a c k. And a M o r m o n.

    I've been singing her praises since I first became aware of her. I hope she wins.

    I've pumped up her balloon in private correspondence with folks for at least three months now. And sent her a few bucks.

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


    http://www.love4utah.com/


    Donate at love4utah

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Republicans have become the Party of the Ignorant, and "Know nothing," Bob. I could care less who Mia Love is.

      Delete
    2. You are certainly entitled to your opinion.

      Delete
    3. Love, Niki Haley, the Lady Guv of New Mexico, ...etc.

      Truly, a bunch of dumb-ass minority bitches.

      oops, no, that would be the Democrats:

      Maxine Waters, Debbie Blabbermouth Schultz, that outright racist, anti-semite black bitch from down your way...

      Delete
  16. .

    And some here complain about the Iranians being insane.


    Putin to fly with cranes in latest publicity stunt

    After shooting a tiger with a tranquilliser dart and fixing an electronic tracker to a polar bear, Vladimir Putin is to undertake his latest animal stunt by flying in a motorised hang glider with a flock of rare Siberian cranes.

    Up. Up. And Away

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew Putin was a fraud when I saw him 'fishing' without a shirt on.

      Bugs, skeeters, sun burn.....

      photo op

      Delete
  17. Replies
    1. Iconoclasts.

      Turds.

      Shakespeare's father.

      Catholic.

      Lived through it.

      Had to whitewash paint the old pictorial murals in their church.

      Billy kept low to the ground on his own outlook.

      Bad for the playwriting business, being in the Tower.

      Delete
    2. There got my thingy to work again. It's the battery. I'm almost sure now.

      Delete
    3. .

      With regard to your thingy, have you ever tried that vacuum cleaner hose procedure people used to talk about?

      .

      Delete
    4. What thingy wasn't working?
      Vacuum hose sounds interesting.

      Delete
    5. .

      We used sell a few of the kits out of Souls-R-Us.

      Mainly to Idaho and Washington as I recall.

      .

      Delete
    6. .

      By the way, Bob, enjoy the vacation.

      .

      Delete
  18. .

    What ever happened to that Muslim Jumah?

    Don't get me wrong. I don't think any religious events should be tied to either political convention. The moral issues associated with any of the policy decisions involved can be sorted out by the individual himself without the help of their local chaplain.

    However, the politics involved here, I would think, should be obvious to all.

    How did the Jumah go from 20,000 to 300?

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same way Obama went from 74,000 for his speech to 20,000!!!

      Delete
  19. Isaac killed six people in Louisiana and two in Mississippi, according to state authorities.

    And at least 13,000 are still without power in Louisiana, three weeks later, according to CNN. "Throughout the state, at least 13,000 homes were damaged, Christina Stephens, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said Tuesday." The Horror.


    All those poor, poor children, without food, without healthcare, it's it's, it's gut wrenching, I tell you. Not one single word from the bleeding heart tight wads.

    If Bush were still President, they would be calling for his head. Instead, Obama gets a pass. After all, those are "his" people. I bet some of them could be his son or daughter. Gut wrenching, I tell you.

    But, no worries, all those bleeding heart tight wads are in Charlotte, demanding service and stiffing waiters.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not really; as a result of Democratic initiatives those children have Food and Healthcare.

      Delete
    2. And, if someone has to get hit by a hurricane, well . . . . . . . . a gaggle of republicans isn't such a "Bad" target. :)

      Delete
    3. Why don't you just amble over to Democratic Underground where you'd fit in?

      oops, forgot that would leave us in an "echo chamber what with "education" pop-culture, the MSM, Hollywood, etc all dominated by right-wing Neanderthals like us.

      Delete
    4. And, why don't you just come crashing through the door, from time to time, screaming, breaking things, throwing fecal matter against the walls, and ceiling, and go blasting out the back door as rapidly as you entered?

      Oh, wait . . . . . . . . . . . . . you already do that.


      never mind.

      Delete
    5. I work for a living, Rufus, about 55 hours a week on average, not a lot of time to play with my friends on the internet. Besides, by the time I finally make it to the EB, YOU have already sucked the oxygen out of the room.

      Delete
    6. :)

      That comment was for Doug, Gag. Hard to imagine you running around breaking things.

      Delete
    7. Oh, well, uh, Ok. No offense on the oxygen thing, eventhough it's true. :-)

      Delete
    8. None taken, neighbor (or, perhaps, soon-to-be, anyway.) :)

      Delete
    9. I can't breathe, I can't breathe, help me.....

      Delete
  20. "echo chamber"

    - Rufanol, 2012

    ReplyDelete
  21. Looking forward to your replies to my replies upstream regarding possible origins from down there of your warped mind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm just fed up with the Pubs, Doug.

      Delete
    2. Just sign up for Free Democrat Chow:

      Food Stamps, nay, credit cards have doubled, for the children, sufferin from the Obamie Economy.

      Delete
  22. .

    Just saw the 'Money Honey' interviewing Kim Kardashian on CNBC. The interview centered around Kardashian's new make-up line but Maria just couldn't help bringing up Kris Humphries and the two month marriage. Looking to kick up a little dirt or just mesmerized by the spectacle, it's hard to tell.

    KK was obviously a little flustered by being blindsided by the question but she handled it well, just as she did when MB tried to pin her down on which candidate she was supporting for president.

    Despite the sex tapes and the jokes, my take is that KK and her sisters are some of the hardest workers in Hollywood, probably in the country.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  23. It's a mighty big place, Rufus.

    The total land area covered by Texas is the second amongst the different U.S. states. It measures 268,820 square miles or 696,241 kilometers. Its length is approximately 790 miles or 1,270 kilometers, while its width measures 773 miles or 1,244 kilometers. The lowest point is the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. On the other hand, the highest point is Guadalupe Peak, which measures 8,751 feet or 2,667 meters high. El Paso is closer to Los Angeles than Dallas, to give you an idea.

    What area are you targeting?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe, around El Paso.

      (Summers just ain't nearly hot enough in Mississippi.)

      :)

      Delete
    2. I think I read, somewhere, a long time ago, that Texarkana is closer to Chicago than it is El Paso. Does that sound about right?

      Delete
    3. Or, maybe it was Texarcana to McAllen, Tx?

      Delete
  24. Some of tonight's all star cast, no particular order

    1) Our National Rapist - Bill Clinton
    2) The Cherokee that isn't a Cherokee - Squaw Warren
    3)Steve Westly
    Former State Controller and Chief Financial Officer of California
    4)The Honorable John A. Pérez
    Speaker and Member of the California State Assembly
    5)Ken Myers
    Deputy Sheriff, Carroll County, Iowa
    6)The Honorable Patty "Brain Dead Patty" Murray
    Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
    Member of the US Senate
    7)Denise Juneau
    Superintendent of the Montana Office of Public Instruction
    8)Cecile "Comfort Room" Richards
    President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America
    9)The Honorable Barney "Back Door" Frank
    Honorary Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee GLBT Council
    10)The Honorable Michael Nutter
    Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    11)Benita Veliz
    DREAM Act Activist
    12)Cristina Saralegui
    Talk Show Host
    13)Sandra "You Buy My Birthcontrol" Fluke
    Attorney and Women's Rights Activist
    14) Sundry other unknows

    If you can survive this, God Has Blessed You

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is just possible, barely, that the deputy sheriff of Carroll County, Iowa, might be worth listening to.

      But I doubt it.

      Delete
  25. Health insurance premiums for NC college students rise 51% under ObamaCare
    drudge

    And here I thought everything was going to be 'free and easy'.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hey! This guy might be good too --

    3)Steve Westly
    Former State Controller and Chief Financial Officer of California

    'How we went broke in California, tips for Obama at the National level'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'and too late decided to invest in Bain'

      Delete
  27. AND! let's not forget that Senator Harry "Support a hooker, support Harry too" Reid is speaking sometime, if they find his ass and haul it out of that Charlotte Harlot Sheraton.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Another reason to vote for Romney, Quirk.

    Concentrate now:

    “We don’t belong to government, the government belongs to us.”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is what Democrats believe?

      By: Dan Spencer (Diary) | September 5th at 10:00 AM | 9

      I was a nonplussed last night when I saw the video played at the opening of the Democrats’ national convention, which actually states, “Government is the only thing we all belong to.”

      That is such a foreign concept. To me Saying you belong to the government is like saying you are a subject of some monarch, or worse enslaved.

      You can’t say it any better than Mitt Romney did:

      “We don’t belong to government, the government belongs to us.”

      It is not surprising to me that the Obama campaign is already trying to distance itself from the ill-conceived tag line by claiming it was neither an OFA nor a DNC video.

      What is surprising is that Democrats actually do believe we all belong to the government. Watch the following video put together by the good folks at Revealing Politics after Caleb Bonham and Kelly Maher interviewed convention-goers about the we belong to the government tag line.


      http://www.redstate.com/2012/09/05/this-is-what-democrats-believe/

      Delete
    2. I don't know; I belong to a family. The family, most definitely, doesn't belong to me.

      I belong to the human race; the human race, most definitely, doesn't belong to me.

      And, all those boys that got drafted to fight in all those wars most certainly "belonged" to the Government of The United States of America.

      Delete
    3. That is a really really confused line of reasoning Ruf.

      Delete
    4. What did you expect, Boobie?

      Logic?

      ...fuckin Wacko.

      Delete
    5. Only to someone that never served the country or the people in it.
      Never sacrificed for the greater whole, or something greater than themselves.

      No wonder you are confused, boobie.

      Delete
  29. Our National Rapist to nominate 'empty chair'--

    You can't make this shit up --

    Can you believe that the fellow -- Mr. Clinton -- who is widely reported to have called the Empty Chair an "amateur" -- is the same fellow who is going to formally nominate Empty to a second term, without having had his speech seriously vetted (and perhaps not at all -- that is the best bet) beforehand?

    Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/09/bill_clinton_has_obama_right_where_he_wants_him.html#ixzz25dN3KWfj

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pretty damn good article above - excerpt -

      Clearly Mr. Clinton has to make a pitch that is sufficiently pro-Empty on the surface to maintain credibility in Democratic circles; he's not going to shriek, with bullhorn in hand, "Vote Romney!"

      When you look carefully at the language, you see that Mr. Clinton says that President Obama has a plan, but then says that "it" works only if there is a strong middle class.

      Is the middle class strong now? No. Who hasn't heard, for example, that median incomes are down $4,000?

      So Mr. Clinton says that Empty's plan works only if the middle class is strong, but everyone (surely including Mr. Clinton) knows that it isn't. Therefore, Mr. Clinton is really saying that Mr. Obama's plan will not work.

      Then, Mr. Clinton reminds us that there was (according to him, anyway) a strong middle class when he was president ("That's what happened when I was president"), after which he says that "we need to keep going with his plan."

      On the surface, "his plan" clearly refers to Obama's plan. However, we have just shown that Mr. Clinton has in fact said that Obama's plan will not work. Therefore, the plan that Mr. Clinton is saying we need to go with when he says "his plan" is his own, not Obama's -- which also explains why Mr. Clinton says "we need to keep going with his plan" right after referring to his own presidency.

      After all, Mr. Clinton could very easily have said instead that "we need to keep going with President Obama's plan," where the latter is what a genuine, unequivocal endorsement of Obama would seem to require.

      Mr. Clinton's plan surely has something to do with 2016.


      Bill may be going to throw Empty under the Bus.



      hahahahahaha



      >Clearly Mr. Clinton has to make a pitch that is sufficiently pro-Empty on the surface....


      hohohohohoho

      Delete
    2. A preemptive strike on Empty?

      Delete
    3. .

      On the surface, "his plan" clearly refers to Obama's plan. However, we have just shown that Mr. Clinton has in fact said that Obama's plan will not work. Therefore, the plan that Mr. Clinton is saying we need to go with when he says "his plan" is his own, not Obama's -- which also explains why Mr. Clinton says "we need to keep going with his plan" right after referring to his own presidency.

      Geez-o-peet, Bob. The reasoning is on a level with the way Limbaugh would phrase an argument and at least as vacuous. Why do you embarass yourself putting up 'excerpts' like this?

      I would have expected better from an English major or even a non-practicing farmer.

      You shouldn't have waited to go on that vacation.

      .

      Delete
  30. Peanut President Trivia:

    Charlie Daniels Band "Devil Went Down to Georgia"

    (Watch it quick, there's a Computer Simulation ad for What Obama's big Blowout woulda been like had not the best weather of the week threated to make the Debacle Possible)

    David Wild, Rolling Stone writer went down to Nashville to a Tribute to Southern Rock and snuck in and asked Daniels:

    "Is it true that Southern Rock helped get Carter elected?"

    Charlie gave him the look of Death and said...
    " We all make mistakes, son. "

    ---

    Courtesy of Carolla's Free Podcast:

    Andrew W.K. and David Wild

    ReplyDelete
  31. Lizzie Warren, the fakaroo Cherokee, steps to the mike, waves, says "How".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Them Okie Injuns were famous for hangin Darkies back in the good old Jim Crow Days.

      Outta have reunions, I tell ya.

      Delete
    2. Cherokees were slavers, too, it's true. I think they may have run the Sioux out to up north as well. Pretty uncouth folk, some have now been couthed a bit through interbreeding, thankfully. You can find some of these couthed Cherokee sitting in front of computer screens all day in places like northern Mississippi, taking out their natural aggression through cursing over the internet. Harmless, nowadays.

      Delete
    3. Laura Nelson tried to stop a mob from lynching her son,
      and was hanged beside him from a bridge.
      May 25, 1911, Okemah, Oklahoma

      ---

      District Judge Caruthers convened a grand jury in June 1911 to investigate the lynching of Laura Nelson and her son.

      In his instructions to the jury, he said,

      "The people of the state have said by recently adopted constitutional provision that the race to which the unfortunate victims belonged should in large measure be divorced from participation in our political contests, because of their known racial inferiority and their dependent credulity, which very characteristic made them the mere tool of the designing and cunning.

      It is well known that I heartily concur in this constitutional provision of the people's will.

      The more then does the duty devolve upon us of a superior race and of greater intelligence to protect this weaker race from unjustifiable and lawless attacks.
      "

      ---

      Guy could come up with some learned arguments for PETA these days.

      Delete
  32. Doug, my new doc, a looker from Santa Cruz with the most beautiful discrete little diamond on the left side of her nose, told me all the older farmers were lonely, and ordered me to form a coffee group. I have done so. The response was really positive from everyone. First social group I've ever been involved in forming in my life. Meet once a month, starting after fall work. Though I may miss the first session, it's off and flying! All ages, too. We are debating whether to allow the wives and husbands, boy and girlfriends, of the farmers to attend. There are a couple female farmers. I've been a little concerned about running afoul of some PC regulation or other, but what the hell, it's Idaho and the farmers can vote on the proposition as they please.

    ReplyDelete
  33. 'God' booed at the Democratic National Convention today.

    ReplyDelete
  34. More disgusting crap from the Democratic National Convention:

    SC Dem Chair Compares Nikki Haley To Hitler's Mistress...

    What's with all these comparisons of folks to Hitler, and even to Hitler's mistress from the dems, these days?

    Nikki Haley doesn't look, act, speak, or behave a thing like Eva Braun. And she's a Sikh, not a kraut.

    I don't get it.

    Maybe they are all crazy?

    ReplyDelete
  35. Voter fraud? Why I was told here there was no problem at all, just a week or so ago.

    What's with this?

    Something else I just don't get.


    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A Democratic state legislator from east Arkansas, his father and two campaign workers pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit election fraud after federal prosecutors said they bribed absentee voters and destroyed ballots in a special election last year.

    Prosecutors said Democratic Rep. Hudson Hallum of Marion, Kent Hallum, Phillip Wayne Carter and Sam Malone acknowledged that they participated in a conspiracy to bribe voters to influence absentee votes in the Arkansas District 54 primary, runoff and general elections in 2011. The three were released pending a sentencing hearing.

    "In a nation in which every person's vote matters, protecting the integrity of the electoral process from those who seek to win office by cheating the system is critical," U.S. Attorney Jane Duke said in a statement released by her office. "Voter fraud schemes such as that carried out in the 2011 District 54 race have the devastating effect of eroding public confidence in elected officials and disenfranchising voters.



    And he looks like such a nice young man -

    http://www.fox16.com/news/local/story/Ark-lawmaker-pleads-guilty-to-election-charge/qjc8PtXwfkC8frDCgwLNrg.cspx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      As Ronnie would say, "There you go again."

      The discussion last week wasn't about "voter fraud" and you weren't told "there was no problem at all."

      The discussion was about photo-ID, which given that this was about absentee ballots and destroying ballots, would have had no effect at all in this case.

      You better have that short-term memory checked.

      .

      Delete
  36. Democratic vote counting at the Democratic National Convention -

    Stalin seems to have been right, it's who counts the votes that counts --

    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/09/democrat_convention_enters_fiasco_territory.html

    2;20 to 3;00 minute mark.

    Very funny.

    Isn't anyone going to join me in bashing the Democrats? Quirk declared it bash democrats week, and it's really easy, nothing hard about it at all.

    Somebody better get ready to carry the water tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. All right, Quirk. Whadda did you say? Must have been nasty, you're the only one here takes his nastys down.

      Delete
  37. fuchsia1

    We are witnessing a death rattle. One of the greatest political miracles of all time was the continuing survival of the Democrat Party after the Civil War. Being the party of slavery, and then Jim Crow and Nathan Bedford Forrest and his KKK... FDR shifted the perception... but the conflict remained. The insiders all know that the impending election will be a massacre... leaving the Democrats with the inner cities and convicted felons.


    Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/09/democrat_convention_enters_fiasco_territory_comments.html#disqus_thread#ixzz25eAZBgXk

    ReplyDelete
  38. Apple Inc.'s competitors are racing to promote their newest smartphones ahead of next week's expected unveiling of the iPhone 5, but in their haste they're leaving out some key details.

    ...

    Rival Motorola Mobility, a unit of Google Inc., unveiled three phones on the same day to be sold by Verizon Wireless...

    ReplyDelete



  39. "Shtruggles"

    Michelle's dad was a ward healer, worked for the city for 55 k plus liberal bennies.
    Inflation adusted:

    $ 182,000

    More than many in our families.

    Mom worked as a Secretary for Speigle.

    Michelle went to elite special school in Chi-Town, then got affirmative action scholarships to Princeton, or wherever.

    Has anyone ever seen those famous, humongous, Student Loans?

    I think not

    ---

    BHO's Typical White Granny?

    A Bank VP @ Hawaii's second largest bank.

    Tuition @ Punahoe?

    15 k

    Expensive college on CA Seashore, Occidental.

    Affirmative Bennies.

    Columbia, MAYBE

    Super Duper Cheap Harvard.

    ===

    Oh! The Humanity!

    ...and a rusted out car and tightwad shoes.

    Boo, hoo, hoo,

    She definitely deserves her Million Plus Wardrobe.

    He, billions in private pleasure flights around the Globe, dinners with Hollywood Millionaires, 100 rounds of Golf etc etc etc.

    "Shtruggles" My Fucking Ass!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very good at lying with a smiley face.

      It's what dem politicians do.

      Delete
  40. A still rampant China is in this way seen to be expanding helter-skelter into its surrounding oceans. The determination to secure its vast and rapidly growing energy needs is the clearest motivation.

    Meanwhile the US, with a military that still dwarfs those of all its friends and enemies combined, refuses – for the time being – to allow the logic of economic decline to dictate either its rhetoric or its strategies.

    In the midst of stresses such as these, and with governments on both sides that are rapidly approaching the end of their mandates, it is not surprising that the latest attempt by the US and China to thrash out a bilateral agreement was so fraught. Their failure to do something "that has never been done in history" will leave the new administrations in both Washington and Beijing with problems that are rapidly growing toxic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Come on, Sam, you need to at least tell us this is by Joe Dipshit or Uptight Magazine.

      .

      Delete
  41. The inventor of the world wide web has denied there is an "off-switch" which could turn off the internet across the globe.

    Tim Berners-Lee, who launched the web on Christmas Day 1990, said the only way internet could ever be entirely shut down is if governments all over the world coordinated to make it a centralised system.

    ReplyDelete
  42. This is a nation of second chances, and Wednesday night, President Bill Clinton, who was caught up in his own Oval Office sex scandal, will be the major speaker at the Democratic convention.

    But observers say it’s hard to see a political comeback for Edwards, who has largely disappeared from public view since the charges were dismissed against him in May.

    “He is a political talent squandered,” said Steven Greene, a political scientist at N.C. State University in Raleigh. “I’ve not heard a single person say it’s too bad that John Edwards is still not around.”

    ReplyDelete
  43. On this day in 1774, the first Continental Congress gathered in Philadelphia, Pa.

    ReplyDelete
  44. When Our National Rapist, Bill "Bubba" Clinton, was raping women he would get into biting their lips. So the girls, two I think, said.

    "Bubba" is introducing and putting in nomination Empty at the Democratic National Convention.

    ReplyDelete
  45. SCUM

    If you've scratched your head trying to puzzle out the complex inter-relationships between these glamorous grifters, stop scratching. I'm about to unveil a Grand Unified Theory that explains why Huma Abedin, the alleged Muslim Brotherhood asset who's the top aide of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, chose to marry disgraced ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner in an interfaith ceremony performed by matrimonial expert Bill Clinton.

    Bill and Hillary and Huma and Anthony

    http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/09/bill_and_hillary_and_huma_and_anthony.html

    In fact, working with Hillary's State Department, Obama has helped to install the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and throughout the Middle East, using the "Arab Spring" turmoil to empower these sworn America-haters.

    And now here comes the icing on the treachery cake: Obama and Hillary reportedly have informed Iran that they've abandoned Israel, leaving the only Jewish State to face a nuclear Iran alone. How proud the Abedin family must be of their little girl!

    Conventional wisdom has it that Hillary is a formidable contender for president, but I suspect that that may not be true. For one thing, her appearance and behavior are both falling apart, as she drunkenly carouses in public with exclusively female friends. And for another, the American public may not be so forgiving as the Bill and Hillary and Huma and Anthony saga unfolds.



    SCUM



    ReplyDelete
  46. One U.S. official said the meeting was canceled because Mr. Xi was suffering from a back problem. Further details were unclear.

    A senior State Department official said Mr. Xi had also canceled an appearance with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

    Mr. Xi, who is 59 years old, hasn't appeared since Saturday on the government's official nightly news broadcast, which routinely spotlights senior leaders' activities.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Bogo, turning to Kasko and Ellenanda:

    Has Empty been nominated yet?

    Kasko

    Hard to say, I can't see him.

    Ellenanda

    Oooooo, I love that man. So nondescript.

    Kasko

    What does he wear, Ellenanda?

    Ellenanda

    An empty suit.

    Bogo

    Empty?
    You mean, empty?

    Ellenanda

    Perfectly fitting, like a tight condom, full of sweet nothings.

    Kasko

    They say he will really screw you, throw you under his bus.

    Ellenanda

    Ooooo ....He can take me under his bus.

    Kaska

    He threw a preacher under his bus once. I thought it rude.

    Bogo

    Lots of people under his bus.

    Bogo

    There he is. There he is!

    In unison, Kasko and Ellenanda

    Where, where?

    All together

    There, there, everywhere, there where he isn't, is where he is.

    Dialogue to continue in your own imagination......

    ReplyDelete
  48. .

    Ninety-one is too old to be wearing a kilt.

    A new picture of Prince Phillip has surfaced at the highland games with him smiling, dressed in a kilt, legs spread, full commando, with royal flag flying.

    Some reports indicate he was merely airing out the royal member after a recent urinary infection.

    Note to myself: Ask resident commando and urinary sufferer, Bob, what the protocol is in such instances.

    Question of the Day: Is the institution of the monarchy really worth the bother?

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My grandfather, who was a Monarchist, and said it was the only institution worth defending, always said:

      "Ven de Royl flag ss unfurling ya saloot with member high"

      Hope that helps.

      Delete
    2. .

      Doesn't help but it explains a lot.

      .

      Delete

  49. OT

    The uber-delusion of the Democrats: “The government is the only thing that we all belong to.”



    rickbull • an hour ago • parent

    The rule of not ending a sentence with a preposition comes from the Latin idiom, and does not apply to English, which is a Germanic language, not a romance language. In the words of Winston Churchill, "That is something up with which I will not put."


    http://www.redstate.com/2012/09/05/the-uber-delusion-of-the-democrats-the-government-is-the-only-thing-that-we-all-belong-to/

    ReplyDelete
  50. Q. There are two Coeur d'Alene girls in a car without any music - who is
    driving?

    A. The policeman..

    ReplyDelete
  51. One day an Irishman goes into a pharmacy shop, reaches into his pocket and takes out a small bottle and a teaspoon.

    He pours some liquid onto the teaspoon and offers it to the chemist.

    "Could you taste this for me, please?"

    The chemist takes the teaspoon, puts it in his mouth, swills the liquid around and swallows it.

    "Does that taste sweet to you?" says Paddy.

    "No, not at all," says the chemist.

    "Oh that's a relief," says Paddy. "The doctor told me to come here and get my urine tested for sugar."

    ReplyDelete
  52. .

    Democracy at work.

    Kerry Bentivolio, Tea Party activist and reindeer rancher who many in his own party claim is certifiable seems poised to win the GOP primary nomination for the seat vacated by Thad McCotter who recently resigned from his position in the House due to an election fraud scandal.

    Its appears that about 7% of eligible voters will have actually voted in the primary election.

    Nice going Michigan Congressional Distric 11. You have restored our faith in democracy. And thank you GOP. You have restored our faith in Washington.

    .

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's with the TWO bottom dots?

      Early onset?

      Your post is an obvious attempt to take an isolated incident and make A BIG DEAL about it, while totally ignoring the item I posted upstream about the DEM voter fraud guy who is going to prison.

      Shameless.

      And then you say this -

      You have restored our faith in Washington.

      O ha ha I get it.

      But Grandfather was light years ahead, never having any faith(faith? faith!) in democracy to begin with.

      Hence never needing anything restored, never having been disillusioned.

      Long Live The Queen!






      Delete
  53. .

    9 pit bulls rescued after they were found guarding marijuana plants

    Detroit Dog Rescue board member Dante Dasaro of Roseville, who was at the 3 p.m. Tuesday raid, said the dogs were set up in a “maze” blocking about 40 or 50 marijuana plants that stood 5 to 6 feet tall...

    Dasaro said the dogs did not seem vicious but instead rather mellow. Once the rescuers fed them treats and calmed them down six went immediatly to sleep while three others begged for more. He said Detroit Police investigators called DDR when they spotted the dogs...


    Mellow Mutts Munch and Doze

    .

    ReplyDelete
  54. .

    What a 92 year old sans kilt and royal raimant can do.

    VERONA, Ky. -- Earl Jones had just turned off his new TV shortly after 2 a.m. Monday when he heard a bang in the basement.

    The 92-year-old Boone County farmer walked eight paces to get his loaded .22-caliber rifle from behind the bedroom door. He unwrapped a beige cloth and returned to the living room, sitting in a chair with clear view -- and shot -- of the basement door, waiting with the gun across his lap.

    Some 15 minutes later, when he heard footsteps moving closer up the stairs, he raised the rifle to his eye. The intruder kicked open the door. Jones fixed his aim on the center of the man's chest and fired a single shot.

    The Boone County sheriff later announced the death of the intruder, Lloyd "Adam" Maxwell, 24, of Richmond, Ky.

    "These people aren't worth any more to me than a groundhog," Jones told The Enquirer.


    Groundhog Justice

    .

    ReplyDelete
  55. .

    CHARLOTTE — Democratic delegates restored to their party platform Wednesday the position that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, reversing a controversial omission that had angered some Jewish organizations and drew criticism from Republicans that President Obama was distancing the United States from its closest ally in the Middle East.

    The amendment to the platform, which essentially reinstates the language on Jerusalem from the 2008 version, was introduced by former Ohio governor Ted Strickland. It was put to a voice vote by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, the convention chairman, who asked three times for “aye” votes before determining that the amendment had a two-thirds majority...

    The vote was far from decisive, however, and angered many delegates who opposed the reinstatement of the language. Some stood up from their seats inside the Time Warner Arena, shaking their fingers at Villaraigosa...

    “AIPAC believes this is a very pro-Israel platform,” said a person close to the most politically influential Jewish organization, known formally as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee...


    From the WaPo

    .

    ReplyDelete
  56. .

    Gaddafi. He was our enemy before he was our friend before he was our ememy.

    More on that crazy gang at the CIA.

    Rendition? Oh, yeh. I meant to tell you about that.


    Ah, those little white lies.

    .

    ReplyDelete

  57. .

    From the NYT,

    The Democratic platform, released this week, includes a pledge that the nation’s antiterrorism efforts will not run afoul of the Constitution or of civil liberties — a pledge that critics say has not always been kept during the last four years.

    Haven't 'always' been kept! Lordy.


    Theme Song for Democratic National Convention

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      As Richard Nixon put, "If the president does it, then it's not afgainst the law."

      As Obama told us in 2008, whistleblowing involves "acts of courage and patriotism."

      How quickly things change when you have the power and no one objects.

      .

      Delete
  58. .

    Most talk of troubles in the EU have centered on the PIGS; however, lately there have been stories surfacing of Germany possibly heading into recession.

    What happens then? And when?

    The two months leading up to our election could be interesting on a number of fronts.

    .

    ReplyDelete