Let's face it: the "Constitutional Amendment" route is foo-foo-dust. It won't happen. Thus, the Walker proposal is just that: foo-foo-dust. No surprise, as Walker is running as the 'credible moderate-rightist' candidate, which distinguishes him from Bush, Graham, Jindal, and certainly, The Donald, who is barely credible but a helluva lot of fun to watch.
Cruz, on the other hand, has an idea which WILL work: strip the Federal Courts of authority on certain matters.
...Article III, Section 2, Clause 2 of
the Constitution explicitly grants Congress the authority to regulate
and limit the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court....it is clear as day that Congress can banish the courts from specific issues and regulate the scope of their jurisdiction....
(The reaction of the State of Texas shows that Jindal's 'bend over and take it' position is a bit limp, too.)
Unlike the "amendment" solution, stripping the Fed Courts of jurisdiction is eminently do-able, and in a much shorter time-frame. And as the linked essay demonstrates, there is urgency. Lower courts are even more Leftist than SCOTUS and actually have more impact on the country.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Monday, June 29, 2015
John Chisholm, Stasi
Nice.
A December 2012 affidavit reveals that Milwaukee County prosecutors sought and received secret subpoenas or warrants to seize the email, phone, and text records of 17 people. The subpoenas and warrants were served on a multitude of Internet service providers and cellular phone providers, including AT&T, Google and Yahoo.
With the assistance of the service providers, investigators confiscated 19 months of communications, from Jan. 1, 2011 through July 31, 2012.
Maybe you were in communication with one of those 17?
Then you're in the Stasi's little black book.
A December 2012 affidavit reveals that Milwaukee County prosecutors sought and received secret subpoenas or warrants to seize the email, phone, and text records of 17 people. The subpoenas and warrants were served on a multitude of Internet service providers and cellular phone providers, including AT&T, Google and Yahoo.
With the assistance of the service providers, investigators confiscated 19 months of communications, from Jan. 1, 2011 through July 31, 2012.
Maybe you were in communication with one of those 17?
Then you're in the Stasi's little black book.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Scott, We Already Have This
We all know that calling for an amendment is pure bullshit politics.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is calling for a Constitutional amendment to allow states to define marriage and strip the Supreme Court of its authority over the issue after the justices legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Aside from the BS factor, we already have the 10th Amendment, Scott. States--like Wisconsin--should simply ignore SCOTUS. You think that decrepit bunch is going to step up and MAKE us do something?
Better than either of those is an Article V convention of the States.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is calling for a Constitutional amendment to allow states to define marriage and strip the Supreme Court of its authority over the issue after the justices legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Aside from the BS factor, we already have the 10th Amendment, Scott. States--like Wisconsin--should simply ignore SCOTUS. You think that decrepit bunch is going to step up and MAKE us do something?
Better than either of those is an Article V convention of the States.
Lincoln v. SCOTUS
Interesting historical information here, the gist of which is that SCOTUS really isn't all that 'supreme.'
Neither Andy Jackson nor Abe Lincoln thought so, anyway. This distinguishes them from Rubio, who has rolled over on Obergefell, and Walker, who advocates for an Amendment (as though *that* will ever happen.) Other (R) candidates have mumbled about amendments--they are also blowing foo-foo dust up your southern orifice.
Better to treat the decision as erroneous and govern accordingly, following Lincoln.
...Jackson expressed what is known as the “departmental theory” of constitutional interpretation: i.e., that all three departments of the national government have an equal power to interpret the Constitution....
...Abraham Lincoln expressed the departmental principle in his first inaugural, denying that the Court’s interpretation of the Constitution in the Dred Scott case was the last word. Lincoln did not dispute that the Court’s decisions in particular cases must be obeyed, and he admitted that such decisions were “entitled to very high respect and consideration, in all parallel cases, by all other departments of the government.” Nevertheless, the political branches and ultimately the people still had a constitutional role to play. “The candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the government, upon vital questions, affecting the whole people, is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made, in ordinary litigation between parties in personal actions, the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having, to that extent, practically resigned their government into the hands of that eminent tribunal.”
To that end, the Lincoln administration and Congress acted as if Dred Scott had been erroneous....
(Which it was, just as was Roe, SCOTUScare, and Obergefell.)
Things sat there, more or less, until Warren showed up.
...Under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Court went on to ever bolder exercises of judicial power....The justices claimed that Marbury v. Madison had “declared the basic principle that the federal judiciary is supreme in its exposition of the law of the Constitution, and that principle has ever since been respected by this court and the country as a permanent and indispensable feature of our constitutional system.”
Well, neither of those statements is true. As shown above, Presidents (and Congresses, for that matter) had simply ignored SCOTUS when grave matters were at stake. As to Marbury:
...In fact, Marbury was quite a modest decision, in which Marshall held that Congress could not extend the jurisdiction of the Court beyond what the Constitution had provided....
So we can infer that Marbury did not void the 10th Amendment, nor the 9th. And we can further infer that Marbury did NOT authorize the Court to either legislate OR manufacture social policy.
For those who still think that The Supremes are "supreme," which is a legend in their own minds and that of their sycophant camp-followers and groupies, I remind you of the absolute incoherence of Roberts, who on one day opined that the Court can and should legislate, and on the next day complained that the Court was legislating. If that's what you consider 'supreme,' well, you'll get what's coming to you.
However, the next President should follow Lincoln. Be nice, but ignore the stupid stuff.
Neither Andy Jackson nor Abe Lincoln thought so, anyway. This distinguishes them from Rubio, who has rolled over on Obergefell, and Walker, who advocates for an Amendment (as though *that* will ever happen.) Other (R) candidates have mumbled about amendments--they are also blowing foo-foo dust up your southern orifice.
Better to treat the decision as erroneous and govern accordingly, following Lincoln.
...Jackson expressed what is known as the “departmental theory” of constitutional interpretation: i.e., that all three departments of the national government have an equal power to interpret the Constitution....
...Abraham Lincoln expressed the departmental principle in his first inaugural, denying that the Court’s interpretation of the Constitution in the Dred Scott case was the last word. Lincoln did not dispute that the Court’s decisions in particular cases must be obeyed, and he admitted that such decisions were “entitled to very high respect and consideration, in all parallel cases, by all other departments of the government.” Nevertheless, the political branches and ultimately the people still had a constitutional role to play. “The candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the government, upon vital questions, affecting the whole people, is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made, in ordinary litigation between parties in personal actions, the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having, to that extent, practically resigned their government into the hands of that eminent tribunal.”
To that end, the Lincoln administration and Congress acted as if Dred Scott had been erroneous....
(Which it was, just as was Roe, SCOTUScare, and Obergefell.)
Things sat there, more or less, until Warren showed up.
...Under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Court went on to ever bolder exercises of judicial power....The justices claimed that Marbury v. Madison had “declared the basic principle that the federal judiciary is supreme in its exposition of the law of the Constitution, and that principle has ever since been respected by this court and the country as a permanent and indispensable feature of our constitutional system.”
Well, neither of those statements is true. As shown above, Presidents (and Congresses, for that matter) had simply ignored SCOTUS when grave matters were at stake. As to Marbury:
...In fact, Marbury was quite a modest decision, in which Marshall held that Congress could not extend the jurisdiction of the Court beyond what the Constitution had provided....
So we can infer that Marbury did not void the 10th Amendment, nor the 9th. And we can further infer that Marbury did NOT authorize the Court to either legislate OR manufacture social policy.
For those who still think that The Supremes are "supreme," which is a legend in their own minds and that of their sycophant camp-followers and groupies, I remind you of the absolute incoherence of Roberts, who on one day opined that the Court can and should legislate, and on the next day complained that the Court was legislating. If that's what you consider 'supreme,' well, you'll get what's coming to you.
However, the next President should follow Lincoln. Be nice, but ignore the stupid stuff.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
USCC, "Catholic" Health Ass'n: Thanks a Lot!
When USCC was first organized as the National Catholic Welfare Conference, it was a smaller player in charity, using Catholic money to "do good."
But because it was headquartered in Washington DC, it acquired the social disease which infects most organizations (and lots of the people) living there. As a result, the now-USCC and its offspring, including the "Catholic" Health Association and "Catholic" Relief Services are Big Players in Organizational Charity, paying officers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and having a hive or three of program directors, project managers, finance staffers, and general office-types.
That requires Large Dollars, which USCC (et al) have been taking from Uncle Sam, in larger and larger doses, since the 1960's.
And USCC (et. al.) have been strenuously advocating for Mo' Gummint. In the case of the "Catholic" Health Ass'n, it has been both strenuous and utterly shameful.
Heads will not roll, of course. The Establishment is the same no matter the party or denomination.
Anyhow, that has led one rather frustrated AOSHQ post.
...stop protecting people from the big government they support. Too many people who have spent years and decades advocating for bigger and bigger government have to be made to enjoy it as much as we have been.
For me it starts with the Catholic Church. They and any other church that discriminates against gay couples will find up being sued and forced to perform ceremonies or will lose their tax status.
My reaction: Oh well.
US bishops have spent decades advocating liberal big government programs (ObamaCare, as long as they are exempted and amnesty spring to mind) all while enjoying an exemption from its effects or sharing in the burden of the costs via their tax exemption.
Well they are going to get a taste of what they've been building and they aren't going to like it one bit. ...
He (later) includes synagogues and mosques in his program. I would nominate every mainstream Prot church--the Methodists and some Lut'rans have been joined at the hip with USCC on this stuff, too.
Think that's a bit extreme? I'm not so sure, and I'm Catholic. On the one hand, the tax burden will fall onto the people in the pews, not the Bishops (or the Hives in DC.) On the other hand, the cold slap of reality may, ah, *encourage* the Bishops to RIF about 90% of the staffers and move the HQ to South Dakota.
So it's a mixed blessing.
But because it was headquartered in Washington DC, it acquired the social disease which infects most organizations (and lots of the people) living there. As a result, the now-USCC and its offspring, including the "Catholic" Health Association and "Catholic" Relief Services are Big Players in Organizational Charity, paying officers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and having a hive or three of program directors, project managers, finance staffers, and general office-types.
That requires Large Dollars, which USCC (et al) have been taking from Uncle Sam, in larger and larger doses, since the 1960's.
And USCC (et. al.) have been strenuously advocating for Mo' Gummint. In the case of the "Catholic" Health Ass'n, it has been both strenuous and utterly shameful.
Heads will not roll, of course. The Establishment is the same no matter the party or denomination.
Anyhow, that has led one rather frustrated AOSHQ post.
...stop protecting people from the big government they support. Too many people who have spent years and decades advocating for bigger and bigger government have to be made to enjoy it as much as we have been.
For me it starts with the Catholic Church. They and any other church that discriminates against gay couples will find up being sued and forced to perform ceremonies or will lose their tax status.
My reaction: Oh well.
US bishops have spent decades advocating liberal big government programs (ObamaCare, as long as they are exempted and amnesty spring to mind) all while enjoying an exemption from its effects or sharing in the burden of the costs via their tax exemption.
Well they are going to get a taste of what they've been building and they aren't going to like it one bit. ...
He (later) includes synagogues and mosques in his program. I would nominate every mainstream Prot church--the Methodists and some Lut'rans have been joined at the hip with USCC on this stuff, too.
Think that's a bit extreme? I'm not so sure, and I'm Catholic. On the one hand, the tax burden will fall onto the people in the pews, not the Bishops (or the Hives in DC.) On the other hand, the cold slap of reality may, ah, *encourage* the Bishops to RIF about 90% of the staffers and move the HQ to South Dakota.
So it's a mixed blessing.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Scalia Unleashed
Other blogs have posted short, pithy, pull-quotes. PowerLine goes a bit deeper into Scalia's dissent.
Happy for us!
...The five Justices who compose today’s majority are entirely comfortable concluding that every State violated the Constitution for all of the 135 years between the Fourteenth Amendment’s ratification and Massachusetts’ permitting of same-sex marriages in 2003. They have discovered in the Fourteenth Amendment a “fundamental right” overlooked by every person alive at the time of ratification, and almost everyone else in the time since. They see what lesser legal minds—minds like Thomas Cooley, John Marshall Harlan, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Learned Hand, Louis Brandeis, William Howard Taft, Benjamin Cardozo, Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter, Robert Jackson, and Henry Friendly—could not.....
There's a proof of something about evolution and natural selection in that, no?
Then an exercise in turgidity from Kennedy, with exasperation growing from Scalia:
...Rights, we are told, can “rise . . . from a better informed understanding of how constitutional imperatives define a liberty that remains urgent in our own era.” (Huh? How can a better informed understanding of how constitutional imperatives [whatever that means] define [whatever that means] an urgent liberty [never mind], give birth to a right?) And we are told that, “[i]n any particular case,” either the Equal Protection or Due Process Clause “may be thought to capture the essence of [a] right in a more accurate and comprehensive way,” than the other, “even as the two Clauses may converge in the identification and definition of the right.”
Verily, as Roberts' Rule tells us: words mean nothing. And more of them mean less and less, Kennedy, you simpering twit.
Finally, the Quote to Beat All:
...The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie....
Well, for what it's worth, Justice Scalia, out here in reality-land, we have no doubt that Mystical Aphorisms are the inevitable product of sausage squeezed through a sphincter; and since Warren, that sphincter has been, more and more, SCOTUS.
(Added: Althouse, another somewhat confused lawyer, agrees with Kennedy. But at least Althouse can write with clarity in her error.)
Happy for us!
...The five Justices who compose today’s majority are entirely comfortable concluding that every State violated the Constitution for all of the 135 years between the Fourteenth Amendment’s ratification and Massachusetts’ permitting of same-sex marriages in 2003. They have discovered in the Fourteenth Amendment a “fundamental right” overlooked by every person alive at the time of ratification, and almost everyone else in the time since. They see what lesser legal minds—minds like Thomas Cooley, John Marshall Harlan, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Learned Hand, Louis Brandeis, William Howard Taft, Benjamin Cardozo, Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter, Robert Jackson, and Henry Friendly—could not.....
There's a proof of something about evolution and natural selection in that, no?
Then an exercise in turgidity from Kennedy, with exasperation growing from Scalia:
...Rights, we are told, can “rise . . . from a better informed understanding of how constitutional imperatives define a liberty that remains urgent in our own era.” (Huh? How can a better informed understanding of how constitutional imperatives [whatever that means] define [whatever that means] an urgent liberty [never mind], give birth to a right?) And we are told that, “[i]n any particular case,” either the Equal Protection or Due Process Clause “may be thought to capture the essence of [a] right in a more accurate and comprehensive way,” than the other, “even as the two Clauses may converge in the identification and definition of the right.”
Verily, as Roberts' Rule tells us: words mean nothing. And more of them mean less and less, Kennedy, you simpering twit.
Finally, the Quote to Beat All:
...The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie....
Well, for what it's worth, Justice Scalia, out here in reality-land, we have no doubt that Mystical Aphorisms are the inevitable product of sausage squeezed through a sphincter; and since Warren, that sphincter has been, more and more, SCOTUS.
(Added: Althouse, another somewhat confused lawyer, agrees with Kennedy. But at least Althouse can write with clarity in her error.)
Rubio Goes Limp
Rubio bromides the assault on nature and nature's God.
“While I disagree with this decision, we live in a republic and must abide by the law. As we look ahead, it must be a priority of the next president to nominate judges and justices committed to applying the Constitution as written and originally understood…
Truly courageous, Marco. Your father--who resisted fascists and then launched into the unknown--would puke.
“While I disagree with this decision, we live in a republic and must abide by the law. As we look ahead, it must be a priority of the next president to nominate judges and justices committed to applying the Constitution as written and originally understood…
Truly courageous, Marco. Your father--who resisted fascists and then launched into the unknown--would puke.
Roberts' Rule
Yesterday, CJ Roberts (may he lie in dogshit) opined that words no longer mean anything.
Today, the Supreme Court has said gay marriage is a not just a right, but a fundamental right.
What if Roberts' Rule is correct? (Never thought of that, did they?)
Today, the Supreme Court has said gay marriage is a not just a right, but a fundamental right.
What if Roberts' Rule is correct? (Never thought of that, did they?)
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Sotomayor: The Police State Is Just Fine!!
Think that Los Angeles v. Patel was a victory for the 4th Amendment? Think again.
...Justice Sotomayor’s promising start then goes south with dicta promoting the use of “administrative subpoenas,” which are issued by bureaucrats, not judges, and absent probable cause required by the Fourth Amendment....
...Justice Sotomayor’s promising start then goes south with dicta promoting the use of “administrative subpoenas,” which are issued by bureaucrats, not judges, and absent probable cause required by the Fourth Amendment....
RoJo Saved by the Court!!
Nice twist on the story to the effect that RoJo will not have to whine and twist over ObozoCare any more.
His Failure Theatre act now comes to an end.
His Failure Theatre act now comes to an end.
Culling the Herd of (R) Candidates
This author is correct. Next week, SCOTUS will declare that Queer "Marriage" is a mandate of the Constitution.
...For it is direct confrontation that draws clear lines, as opposed to the faint distinctions without a difference we often prefer in our convenience-driven cowardice. As Winston Churchill once said, “I have every confidence the Americans will do the right thing—right after they finish exhausting all their other options.”
All of our other options of faux coexistence and kicking the can down the road are over. The age of feigned tolerance is at an end and – behold! – the age of forced compliance is now at hand....
...If you are one of those folks who are concerned there are too many GOP presidential candidates to choose from right now, the Supreme Court is here to help cull the herd. By this time next week a bunch of fake Christian leaders, fake conservative leaders, and fake libertarians are going to be outed by the U.S. Supreme Court once and for all. All their fig leaves – as in the excuses many of us chose to believe rather than admitting these people were frauds all along – will be instantly removed, and their shameful nakedness exposed to true patriots everywhere....
*Cough*
Scott Walker, as you recall, punted on the question, saying that 'it's up to the courts.' Think he'll have the balls to openly and loudly campaign against the ruling if it goes as expected?
Bets taken at this window.
...For it is direct confrontation that draws clear lines, as opposed to the faint distinctions without a difference we often prefer in our convenience-driven cowardice. As Winston Churchill once said, “I have every confidence the Americans will do the right thing—right after they finish exhausting all their other options.”
All of our other options of faux coexistence and kicking the can down the road are over. The age of feigned tolerance is at an end and – behold! – the age of forced compliance is now at hand....
...If you are one of those folks who are concerned there are too many GOP presidential candidates to choose from right now, the Supreme Court is here to help cull the herd. By this time next week a bunch of fake Christian leaders, fake conservative leaders, and fake libertarians are going to be outed by the U.S. Supreme Court once and for all. All their fig leaves – as in the excuses many of us chose to believe rather than admitting these people were frauds all along – will be instantly removed, and their shameful nakedness exposed to true patriots everywhere....
*Cough*
Scott Walker, as you recall, punted on the question, saying that 'it's up to the courts.' Think he'll have the balls to openly and loudly campaign against the ruling if it goes as expected?
Bets taken at this window.
SCOTUS Gone Wild, ObozoCare Edition II
Roberts and Kennedy are clearly hell-bent on re-writing laws (not judging them, which is their alleged charter.)
Thus the progress of the Leviathan Government.
F.U, Justice Roberts.
Thus the progress of the Leviathan Government.
F.U, Justice Roberts.
Buy more ammo.
Yes, El Rushbo, "Family Separation" Can Be Moral Imperative
It is true that Pope Francis is something of a controversialist. As a result, knee-jerk 'conservative' pundits have had a field day attempting to rip the Church. That is not surprising, by the way; the Kapital Uber Alles crowd really dislikes all that eschatology stuff.
But I digress.
The very latest is the AFP partial-quote trumpeted by Limbaugh:
Pope Francis said Wednesday that it may be "morally necessary" for some families to split up, marking a change of tone in the Catholic Church's attitude to troubled marriages.
Really? A "change in tone"? Let's examine the rest of the story.
"Sometimes, [separation] can even be morally necessary, when it's about shielding the weaker spouse or young children from the more serious wounds caused by intimidation and violence, humiliation and exploitation," he said....
This is NOT "new," nor is it a "change of tone." It is what we call Common Sense, and yes, common sense actually has a moral dimension.
Or maybe El Rushbo thinks that wives have a 'moral duty' to stay with the husband who beats them?
But I digress.
The very latest is the AFP partial-quote trumpeted by Limbaugh:
Pope Francis said Wednesday that it may be "morally necessary" for some families to split up, marking a change of tone in the Catholic Church's attitude to troubled marriages.
Really? A "change in tone"? Let's examine the rest of the story.
"Sometimes, [separation] can even be morally necessary, when it's about shielding the weaker spouse or young children from the more serious wounds caused by intimidation and violence, humiliation and exploitation," he said....
This is NOT "new," nor is it a "change of tone." It is what we call Common Sense, and yes, common sense actually has a moral dimension.
Or maybe El Rushbo thinks that wives have a 'moral duty' to stay with the husband who beats them?
RoJo Votes With Obama
As expected, Ron Johnson (who has completely abandoned his "fight" against ObozoCare) voted to give Obozo fast-track authority on treaties for the duration of Obozo's term.
This includes a "free trade" treaty--which RoJo has not read--for the Pacific area and some sort of "services" treaty with Europe. And whatever else Obozo can dream up in the next 24 months, by the way.
Reasonable men can disagree about the value of "free trade" to US citizens. I happen to think that it is NOT a blessing; RoJo does.
But it is impossible for any Conservative to give Obozo a free hand in negotiating treaties. Obozo's track record of pure spite and hatred for the Declaration, the Constitution, nature and nature's God, and right order in general should have been a clarion call for opposition to anything he does.
RoJo, you're a failure. Go back to your father-in-law's business.
This includes a "free trade" treaty--which RoJo has not read--for the Pacific area and some sort of "services" treaty with Europe. And whatever else Obozo can dream up in the next 24 months, by the way.
Reasonable men can disagree about the value of "free trade" to US citizens. I happen to think that it is NOT a blessing; RoJo does.
But it is impossible for any Conservative to give Obozo a free hand in negotiating treaties. Obozo's track record of pure spite and hatred for the Declaration, the Constitution, nature and nature's God, and right order in general should have been a clarion call for opposition to anything he does.
RoJo, you're a failure. Go back to your father-in-law's business.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Have a Pal in Gummint? Say Hello to the ChiComs!
25 years ago, I was a reference for a fellow who obtained a high-level security clearance from the Feds.
In all likelihood, the ChiComs now have my name and (former) address and phone number.
I also have a few friends who were (and are) Gummint employees with clearances. The ChiComs have their addresses, too.
Nothing like the Federal Gummint to make your day, eh?
...Perhaps the biggest issue of all is that the government had centralized the collection of that data into a single web-based system, e-QIP, which means that all this data was collected in one place.
I would bet money that each of these decisions came down to someone saying: “Oh, that’s too hard,” “Hiring offshore workers is cheaper,” “That’s too inconvenient.”
At each of those steps, some security was lost because someone decided it was easier to relax the requirements than to get the more expensive and annoying solution. And while the inspector general was calling out the hazards, no one was willing to rock the boat....
This is The Gummint which "defends the shores."
In all likelihood, the ChiComs now have my name and (former) address and phone number.
I also have a few friends who were (and are) Gummint employees with clearances. The ChiComs have their addresses, too.
Nothing like the Federal Gummint to make your day, eh?
...Perhaps the biggest issue of all is that the government had centralized the collection of that data into a single web-based system, e-QIP, which means that all this data was collected in one place.
I would bet money that each of these decisions came down to someone saying: “Oh, that’s too hard,” “Hiring offshore workers is cheaper,” “That’s too inconvenient.”
At each of those steps, some security was lost because someone decided it was easier to relax the requirements than to get the more expensive and annoying solution. And while the inspector general was calling out the hazards, no one was willing to rock the boat....
This is The Gummint which "defends the shores."
Buy. More. Ammo.
Jobs Americans Won't GET
It is said that we have illegal immigration because the illegals 'do jobs that Americans won't do.'
Uh-huh.
So Ford Motor Company is offsetting that problem by creating jobs that Americans won't GET!!
"Ford has 11,300 employees in Mexico," said the statement. "The Ford Fiesta, Fusion and Lincoln MKZ as well as the hybrid versions of both are manufactured in Mexico. Ford also has established an Engineering Center in Mexico, which employs more than 1,100 engineers who support global projects."
That just set the foundation.
"... Ford today announced a $2.5 billion investment in two new facilities building a new generation of engines and transmissions in the states of Chihuahua and Guanjuato, respectively," the statement said.
This investment, it said, "will bring 3,800 direct new jobs plus additional indirect jobs to Mexico."
I guess that what's good for Ford is good for Mexico, eh?
Uh-huh.
So Ford Motor Company is offsetting that problem by creating jobs that Americans won't GET!!
"Ford has 11,300 employees in Mexico," said the statement. "The Ford Fiesta, Fusion and Lincoln MKZ as well as the hybrid versions of both are manufactured in Mexico. Ford also has established an Engineering Center in Mexico, which employs more than 1,100 engineers who support global projects."
That just set the foundation.
"... Ford today announced a $2.5 billion investment in two new facilities building a new generation of engines and transmissions in the states of Chihuahua and Guanjuato, respectively," the statement said.
This investment, it said, "will bring 3,800 direct new jobs plus additional indirect jobs to Mexico."
I guess that what's good for Ford is good for Mexico, eh?
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Concrete Spend-a-Holics, Part Two
Earlier, we gave kudos to Owen, whose research on the RoadBuilders machine is enlightening.
He did it again!
Wisconsin spends almost $65k more per mile than the average. Why?
Hint: lotsa sloshing dollars. But even more basic:
...Wisconsin spends below the average for maintenance – $17,816 per mile as compared to a weighted average of $26,079 per mile. But Wisconsin spends 50% more than the weighted average on administrative costs per mile ($15,709 compared to $10,579) and 42% more for new roads and bridges ($122,272 as compared to $86,153).
Anyone with common sense--which apparently excludes Wisconsin DOT and their leggie enablers--knows that if you buy a new car, you CHANGE THE OIL every so often, or your new car will go *boom*. We can also infer that "administration" does not preserve roads, nor does it do a good job of "building" them in the first damn place.
...if Wisconsin spent the same amount on roads per mile as Iowa – a state with similar weather and economic needs – Wisconsin would spend $1,098,967,932 less PER YEAR for the same amount of infrastructure...
A billion here, a billion there--pretty soon that adds up to real money--which is being taken from YOUR pocket.
Maybe it's time to start primary-ing a few Republicans here, eh?
He did it again!
Wisconsin spends almost $65k more per mile than the average. Why?
Hint: lotsa sloshing dollars. But even more basic:
...Wisconsin spends below the average for maintenance – $17,816 per mile as compared to a weighted average of $26,079 per mile. But Wisconsin spends 50% more than the weighted average on administrative costs per mile ($15,709 compared to $10,579) and 42% more for new roads and bridges ($122,272 as compared to $86,153).
Anyone with common sense--which apparently excludes Wisconsin DOT and their leggie enablers--knows that if you buy a new car, you CHANGE THE OIL every so often, or your new car will go *boom*. We can also infer that "administration" does not preserve roads, nor does it do a good job of "building" them in the first damn place.
...if Wisconsin spent the same amount on roads per mile as Iowa – a state with similar weather and economic needs – Wisconsin would spend $1,098,967,932 less PER YEAR for the same amount of infrastructure...
A billion here, a billion there--pretty soon that adds up to real money--which is being taken from YOUR pocket.
Maybe it's time to start primary-ing a few Republicans here, eh?
Saturday, June 20, 2015
The Donald, Part Two
This is why The Donald's campaign is valuable.
...Donald Trump is the Godzilla we all wanted Sarah Palin to be. He is the real renegade. He is the businessman we wanted Mitt Romney to be. He is the straight-talker that George W. Bush was on good days.
Another way you know that Mr. Trump is manna from heaven for America is to hear all the clowns in media and politics who were perfectly horrified by the spectacle of Mr. Trump’s announcement....
Yes. Instead of the Paul Ryan Shuffle and the Ron Johnson Disappearing Act, (as only two examples), we will have someone who says to the DC crowd of Intellectualoid Grifters "Enough of your BS!!"
The Donald is disrupting their OODA-loops.
Excellent.
...Donald Trump is the Godzilla we all wanted Sarah Palin to be. He is the real renegade. He is the businessman we wanted Mitt Romney to be. He is the straight-talker that George W. Bush was on good days.
Another way you know that Mr. Trump is manna from heaven for America is to hear all the clowns in media and politics who were perfectly horrified by the spectacle of Mr. Trump’s announcement....
Yes. Instead of the Paul Ryan Shuffle and the Ron Johnson Disappearing Act, (as only two examples), we will have someone who says to the DC crowd of Intellectualoid Grifters "Enough of your BS!!"
The Donald is disrupting their OODA-loops.
Excellent.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Brian Fraley, Fabulist
It's the season of fabulism. Bruce Jenner says he's a woman. A white woman in Washington State says she's a black.
And Brian Fraley says an Article V convention will "jeopardize our First and Second Amendment rights as well as all othe[r rights] enshrined in the Constitution."
That's really going to help Dorow, Brian.
And Brian Fraley says an Article V convention will "jeopardize our First and Second Amendment rights as well as all othe[r rights] enshrined in the Constitution."
That's really going to help Dorow, Brian.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
The "Best and Brightest" Body-Slam Federal Database
We all know that the ChiComs are now holding ALL the personal data on ALL Federal employees, including their security-clearance information--which includes personal data on ALL their references.
Nice.
For this to happen, the Federal Government contracted a company to work on its personnel systems. That company hired "the best and brightest" to do the work.
The project manager lived in Argentina.
The co-project manager lived in Communist China. Two other project workers had ChiCom passports.
The head of the Feds' Personnel Office is an ex-grade-school teacher.
That teacher was told--FOUR YEARS AGO--that the "security" on the database was for shit.
Now it doesn't matter, does it?
Nice.
For this to happen, the Federal Government contracted a company to work on its personnel systems. That company hired "the best and brightest" to do the work.
The project manager lived in Argentina.
The co-project manager lived in Communist China. Two other project workers had ChiCom passports.
The head of the Feds' Personnel Office is an ex-grade-school teacher.
That teacher was told--FOUR YEARS AGO--that the "security" on the database was for shit.
Now it doesn't matter, does it?
Today: Did the Globaloney Crowd Buy Enough Votes?
Today Boehner will try again to facilitate the Globaloney Crowd's Wet Dream: to demolish US sovereignty in favor of some worldwide "commission" of pasty-faced bureaucrats someplace.
...“It is essential that there be no misunderstanding: fast-track preapproves the formation of not only the unprecedentedly large Trans-Pacific Partnership, but an unlimited number of such agreements over the next six years,” Sessions said. “Those pacts include three of the most ambitious ever contemplated. After TPP comes the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the United States and the European Union, followed by the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), seeking as one its goals labor mobility among more than 50 nations. Together, these three international compacts encompass three-fourths of the world’s GDP. Including the nations whose membership is being courted for after enactment, the countries involved would encompass nearly 90 percent of global GDP. Yet, through fast-track, Congress will have authorized the President to ink these deals before a page of them has been made public. Then, the Executive sends Congress ‘implementing’ legislation to change U.S. law—legislation which cannot be amended, cannot be filibustered, and will not be subjected to the Constitutional requirement for a two-thirds treaty vote.”...
Boehner and Paul Ryan have been furtively "conferencing" with congresscritters to obtain their votes. In plain English, that means that they have been handing out envelopes stuffed with cash, OR promising lotsa Federal favors--which taxpayers will pay for at the point of the IRS' guns. Or both. Otherwise, those "conferences" would have been held in public, with reporters present.
Apparently Glen Grothman thinks he was elected to represent the Globaloney Crowd. It remains to be seen whether Jim Sensenbrenner will stay on the side of the Constitution and US workers, both blue- and white-collar.
...“It is essential that there be no misunderstanding: fast-track preapproves the formation of not only the unprecedentedly large Trans-Pacific Partnership, but an unlimited number of such agreements over the next six years,” Sessions said. “Those pacts include three of the most ambitious ever contemplated. After TPP comes the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the United States and the European Union, followed by the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), seeking as one its goals labor mobility among more than 50 nations. Together, these three international compacts encompass three-fourths of the world’s GDP. Including the nations whose membership is being courted for after enactment, the countries involved would encompass nearly 90 percent of global GDP. Yet, through fast-track, Congress will have authorized the President to ink these deals before a page of them has been made public. Then, the Executive sends Congress ‘implementing’ legislation to change U.S. law—legislation which cannot be amended, cannot be filibustered, and will not be subjected to the Constitutional requirement for a two-thirds treaty vote.”...
Boehner and Paul Ryan have been furtively "conferencing" with congresscritters to obtain their votes. In plain English, that means that they have been handing out envelopes stuffed with cash, OR promising lotsa Federal favors--which taxpayers will pay for at the point of the IRS' guns. Or both. Otherwise, those "conferences" would have been held in public, with reporters present.
Apparently Glen Grothman thinks he was elected to represent the Globaloney Crowd. It remains to be seen whether Jim Sensenbrenner will stay on the side of the Constitution and US workers, both blue- and white-collar.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Paul Ryan Goes All Bill Clinton
"I did not have sex with that woman."
"It depends on the meaning of 'is'."
“We’re not considering the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. There isn’t a trade agreement yet to consider. It’s not a deal, it’s still being negotiated.”
All the above are specifically designed to mislead. The last one is Paul Ryan's, whose craving for the favor of Boehner/Obozo has turned him into a despicable character, indeed.
....as Breitbart News previously reported and numerous Congressmen have confirmed, several hundreds of pages of Trans Pacific Partnership are available for review in a secret room only for individuals with security clearance. Therefore, there is in fact a trade deal in existence, and Australian Financial Review reported it is near completion.
“We are literally one week of negotiation away from completing this extraordinary deal across 12 countries and 40 per cent of the world’s GDP,” said Andrew Robb, Australia’s trade minister....
OK, Paul.
Have I mentioned that TPP is un-Constitutional, regardless of which President gets it?
OK, Paul.
"It depends on the meaning of 'is'."
“We’re not considering the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. There isn’t a trade agreement yet to consider. It’s not a deal, it’s still being negotiated.”
All the above are specifically designed to mislead. The last one is Paul Ryan's, whose craving for the favor of Boehner/Obozo has turned him into a despicable character, indeed.
....as Breitbart News previously reported and numerous Congressmen have confirmed, several hundreds of pages of Trans Pacific Partnership are available for review in a secret room only for individuals with security clearance. Therefore, there is in fact a trade deal in existence, and Australian Financial Review reported it is near completion.
“We are literally one week of negotiation away from completing this extraordinary deal across 12 countries and 40 per cent of the world’s GDP,” said Andrew Robb, Australia’s trade minister....
OK, Paul.
Have I mentioned that TPP is un-Constitutional, regardless of which President gets it?
OK, Paul.
Unit Labor Cost, PCI, PCE, and ObozoCare
We've all noticed the rapid increase in "unit labor cost," which tracks the (fully burdened) cost of labor per unit of production. One possible cause of this is reduced production levels without a concomitant reduction in the labor force.
Another?
ObozoCare.
....as a result of Obamacare, labor costs for corporations are already through the roof, and since every spare dollar allocated to SG&A is allotted to paying for Obama's "Affordable" Care Act, there is virtually nothing left over for wage growth.
This explains both why CPI is rising (not enough) as it captures some (not all) of the soaring rent and OER costs in the economy, even as the PCE is sliding (for now).
It also explains why while the US consumer is seemingly "deflating" (just ask anyone who buys food and rents if their cost of living is lower) US corporations have finally hit their profit maximization limits. In fact, as the following chart from Bloomberg shows, after peaking recently, corporate margins are slowly but surely sliding, ...
Note that the REALLY big ObozoCare-driven insurance hikes will occur in 2016. You ain't seen nothin' yet.
Another?
ObozoCare.
....as a result of Obamacare, labor costs for corporations are already through the roof, and since every spare dollar allocated to SG&A is allotted to paying for Obama's "Affordable" Care Act, there is virtually nothing left over for wage growth.
This explains both why CPI is rising (not enough) as it captures some (not all) of the soaring rent and OER costs in the economy, even as the PCE is sliding (for now).
It also explains why while the US consumer is seemingly "deflating" (just ask anyone who buys food and rents if their cost of living is lower) US corporations have finally hit their profit maximization limits. In fact, as the following chart from Bloomberg shows, after peaking recently, corporate margins are slowly but surely sliding, ...
Note that the REALLY big ObozoCare-driven insurance hikes will occur in 2016. You ain't seen nothin' yet.
The Donald
A friend called yesterday to tell me he's voting for The Donald after hearing his speech.
Hmmm.
Later I heard The Donald on Hannity's radio show. Lotsa bombast, not too much content--but the bombast was a lot of fun to hear--until he got around to mentioning Oprah as his VP pick.
So this analysis is spot-on:
...Donald Trump is the disrespectful candidate for people who disrespect the process. He’ll be rude. He’ll be loud. He’ll be confrontational. And he won’t get the nomination. But along the way, he will speak to the fears and hopes of a lot of people who no longer connect with Washington or trust the government to get it right.
For a lot of people who hate politicians who go to Washington to get rich off the system like Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) 0%, they can trust that Donald Trump is already a billionaire so will not need to enrich himself off the treasury. Trump’s campaign, like Ben Carson’s, makes no sense in an age when people respect Washington. But it makes a hell of a lot of sense in an age when people no longer think their vote matters, but they sure want the crap kicked out of all the politicians they blame for making their vote meaningless.
The people who no longer think they can win in America will side with a guy even they don’t think can win, just to watch him strike the match and burn down all they feel betrayed them. And that, ironically, can give him staying power when coupled with his money....
In that regard, The Donald has something in common with Mike Ditka, who contemplated a Senate run against--of all people--Barry Soetero/Obozo. Ditka would probably have won that contest, although he may only have served one term.
But for those of you who like to play "What If the South Had Won the War?", we ask: "What If Ditka Had Won the Senate Seat"?
Same here: "What If The Donald Wins the Presidency?"
Heh.
Hmmm.
Later I heard The Donald on Hannity's radio show. Lotsa bombast, not too much content--but the bombast was a lot of fun to hear--until he got around to mentioning Oprah as his VP pick.
So this analysis is spot-on:
...Donald Trump is the disrespectful candidate for people who disrespect the process. He’ll be rude. He’ll be loud. He’ll be confrontational. And he won’t get the nomination. But along the way, he will speak to the fears and hopes of a lot of people who no longer connect with Washington or trust the government to get it right.
For a lot of people who hate politicians who go to Washington to get rich off the system like Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) 0%, they can trust that Donald Trump is already a billionaire so will not need to enrich himself off the treasury. Trump’s campaign, like Ben Carson’s, makes no sense in an age when people respect Washington. But it makes a hell of a lot of sense in an age when people no longer think their vote matters, but they sure want the crap kicked out of all the politicians they blame for making their vote meaningless.
The people who no longer think they can win in America will side with a guy even they don’t think can win, just to watch him strike the match and burn down all they feel betrayed them. And that, ironically, can give him staying power when coupled with his money....
In that regard, The Donald has something in common with Mike Ditka, who contemplated a Senate run against--of all people--Barry Soetero/Obozo. Ditka would probably have won that contest, although he may only have served one term.
But for those of you who like to play "What If the South Had Won the War?", we ask: "What If Ditka Had Won the Senate Seat"?
Same here: "What If The Donald Wins the Presidency?"
Heh.
The SJW "Artist" of the Milwaukee Art Museum's New Acq
Milwaukee Art Museum has a new acquisition (see below post and link).
You'll note that the museum did not spend any money to get it. (That's a pretty good appraisal of the piece's worth right there.)
As to the troubled SJW artist-ette, today's AOSHQ has a description:
...I remember one game was called "Uproar," and it was the game played between fathers and midteen daughters. The father lays down a forbiddance (usually about boys, dress, staying out late/overnight, etc.), and the daughter reacts by stomping off to her room, slamming her door shut, and shouting something terrible.
The point of Uproar is to express something by ritualized display that can't easily be expressed in words, or which would be too embarrassing to express in words.
This woman, like so many other feminists, seem to be frozen in this particular phase of development and can't get over how righteously empowered they felt in defying their father, and yet, at the same time, how protectively cared for by that dominant male figure, that even in much later years, they are still playing the Uproar game -- or trying to, leastaways -- by casting each and every man who strays across their bubble-gum pink transoms in the role of Overprotective (But Snuggly-Armed) Dad Who Must Be Rebelled Against To Let Him Know I Am Now a Woman-Grown Just Like Mommy....
The analogy fits very well. In less words, she's a perma-pout high-school sophomore in a big girl's body.
You'll note that the museum did not spend any money to get it. (That's a pretty good appraisal of the piece's worth right there.)
As to the troubled SJW artist-ette, today's AOSHQ has a description:
...I remember one game was called "Uproar," and it was the game played between fathers and midteen daughters. The father lays down a forbiddance (usually about boys, dress, staying out late/overnight, etc.), and the daughter reacts by stomping off to her room, slamming her door shut, and shouting something terrible.
The point of Uproar is to express something by ritualized display that can't easily be expressed in words, or which would be too embarrassing to express in words.
This woman, like so many other feminists, seem to be frozen in this particular phase of development and can't get over how righteously empowered they felt in defying their father, and yet, at the same time, how protectively cared for by that dominant male figure, that even in much later years, they are still playing the Uproar game -- or trying to, leastaways -- by casting each and every man who strays across their bubble-gum pink transoms in the role of Overprotective (But Snuggly-Armed) Dad Who Must Be Rebelled Against To Let Him Know I Am Now a Woman-Grown Just Like Mommy....
The analogy fits very well. In less words, she's a perma-pout high-school sophomore in a big girl's body.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
So That's "Art"?
The Milwaukee Art Museum went for the banal and tasteless, big time.
Those terms would be a compliment to the artist-ette, who is apparently quite troubled.
(The link will go to JSOnline which displays a "portrait" of Benedict XVI fashioned from rubbers.)
Those terms would be a compliment to the artist-ette, who is apparently quite troubled.
(The link will go to JSOnline which displays a "portrait" of Benedict XVI fashioned from rubbers.)
Monday, June 15, 2015
Obozo's Sex-Criminal Brigade
We've often urged y'all to Buy More Ammo. There are several reasons for that, including this one.
...[T]he Boston Globe has published a riveting expose on information they discovered about hundreds of violent sex offenders who have been released with no desire on the part of the feds to seriously track their behavior or whereabouts. After winning a lawsuit against ICE for withholding this information, the federal officials finally released the data to the Globe – just for the years 2008-2012. The Globe discovered that 424 sex offenders were released during that time. One can only imagine how many more were released after 2012 when the administration vitiated immigration enforcement altogether. ICE is still withholding that information....
Yes, it gets worse:
...They are convicted rapists, child molesters, and kidnappers — among “the worst of the worst,” as one law enforcement agency put it. Yet the Globe found that immigration officials have released them without making sure they register with local authorities as sex offenders. And once US Immigration and Customs Enforcement frees them, agency officials often lose track of the criminals, despite outstanding deportation orders against them...--Quotation from The Globe
The Pantywaist-in-Chief's little cabal has an excuse--sort of:
...The administration has defended their appalling criminal releases by hiding behind a court decision in 2001, Zadvydas v. Davis (and later expanded in Clark v. Martinez), prohibiting ICE from detaining aliens ordered deported for more than 6 months. This problem is most prevalent when, as the Boston Globe observes in the case of Cuba, the countries of origin refuse to repatriate their citizens....
I have a solution to the problem of the Cuban (and Chinese, Mexicans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans), and it's relatively inexpensive!! Freighter plane and parachutes.
(There are other solutions outlined by Mr. Horowitz which are a bit more genteel.)
Well, to re-iterate: Buy. More. Ammo. Your wife and children depend on it. The (R) Congress is very busy with double-secret handshakes and code-words having to do with Trade. They can't be bothered with this stuff, ya'know.
...[T]he Boston Globe has published a riveting expose on information they discovered about hundreds of violent sex offenders who have been released with no desire on the part of the feds to seriously track their behavior or whereabouts. After winning a lawsuit against ICE for withholding this information, the federal officials finally released the data to the Globe – just for the years 2008-2012. The Globe discovered that 424 sex offenders were released during that time. One can only imagine how many more were released after 2012 when the administration vitiated immigration enforcement altogether. ICE is still withholding that information....
Yes, it gets worse:
...They are convicted rapists, child molesters, and kidnappers — among “the worst of the worst,” as one law enforcement agency put it. Yet the Globe found that immigration officials have released them without making sure they register with local authorities as sex offenders. And once US Immigration and Customs Enforcement frees them, agency officials often lose track of the criminals, despite outstanding deportation orders against them...--Quotation from The Globe
The Pantywaist-in-Chief's little cabal has an excuse--sort of:
...The administration has defended their appalling criminal releases by hiding behind a court decision in 2001, Zadvydas v. Davis (and later expanded in Clark v. Martinez), prohibiting ICE from detaining aliens ordered deported for more than 6 months. This problem is most prevalent when, as the Boston Globe observes in the case of Cuba, the countries of origin refuse to repatriate their citizens....
I have a solution to the problem of the Cuban (and Chinese, Mexicans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans), and it's relatively inexpensive!! Freighter plane and parachutes.
(There are other solutions outlined by Mr. Horowitz which are a bit more genteel.)
Well, to re-iterate: Buy. More. Ammo. Your wife and children depend on it. The (R) Congress is very busy with double-secret handshakes and code-words having to do with Trade. They can't be bothered with this stuff, ya'know.
Concrete Spend-a-Holics
Tommy Thompson was pretty good at spending a helluvalotta tax dollars on useless State projects (UW-Parkside, anyone??) His specialty was kneeling before the RoadBuilders, and he left a legacy: bonded debt and damn-near-vacant roads.
Tommy wasn't the Lone Ranger, either.
Owen found a nice set of graphs which you should take a look at before you let your Leggie vote on another bunch of wasted pavement.
Tommy wasn't the Lone Ranger, either.
Owen found a nice set of graphs which you should take a look at before you let your Leggie vote on another bunch of wasted pavement.
It Ain't About "Free Trade"
We already asked 'if free trade is such a boon to mankind, why do we need "trade assistance" for those who will be UN-employed as a result'?
But there's more wrong with TPA than just that. It's an attack on US sovereignty. Coming from the Obozo Administration, this is not a surprise. What IS a surprise is that Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are trying to hand Obozo any authority at all to make treaties.
...Conservatives are caught between their general support for “free trade” and a concern to uphold American national sovereignty. The support for free trade doesn’t just come from a general pro-business orientation; it reflects an older idea that trade unencumbered by government regulation is not only good for business, but good for individuals and for society as a whole, continuous with rights of property and liberty generally.
But today’s trade agreements aren’t really about free trade, at least not as traditionally understood. They are efforts to achieve regulatory harmonization across borders, initiatives in what is now called “global governance.” They don’t keep the state out of the marketplace so much as bring it in, on selective terms, to favor powerful corporate interests at the expense of national sovereignty.
Nowhere is this more clear than in the new enthusiasm for special “investor-state dispute settlement” (ISDS) mechanisms. ISDS gives foreign corporations the right to sue national governments for regulations that interfere with their expected profits. It allows multinational litigants to bypass the national courts and instead empowers panels of private arbitrators—most of whom are practicing attorneys who cycle in and out of arbitral work—the right to sit in judgment of national laws....
Are you surprised to learn that 825 (or so) pages of the "Free Trade" treaty were written by corporate lobbyist/lawyers? Or that US law will be secondary to international "regulatory harmonization"?
Are you fed up with the DC Claque's know-it-all and screw-the-hindmost attitude? The one that gave us NAFTA and MFN for Red China? Or are you, like certain radiomouths, convinced that "Free" trade is--no matter anything--best for all?
But there's more wrong with TPA than just that. It's an attack on US sovereignty. Coming from the Obozo Administration, this is not a surprise. What IS a surprise is that Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are trying to hand Obozo any authority at all to make treaties.
...Conservatives are caught between their general support for “free trade” and a concern to uphold American national sovereignty. The support for free trade doesn’t just come from a general pro-business orientation; it reflects an older idea that trade unencumbered by government regulation is not only good for business, but good for individuals and for society as a whole, continuous with rights of property and liberty generally.
But today’s trade agreements aren’t really about free trade, at least not as traditionally understood. They are efforts to achieve regulatory harmonization across borders, initiatives in what is now called “global governance.” They don’t keep the state out of the marketplace so much as bring it in, on selective terms, to favor powerful corporate interests at the expense of national sovereignty.
Nowhere is this more clear than in the new enthusiasm for special “investor-state dispute settlement” (ISDS) mechanisms. ISDS gives foreign corporations the right to sue national governments for regulations that interfere with their expected profits. It allows multinational litigants to bypass the national courts and instead empowers panels of private arbitrators—most of whom are practicing attorneys who cycle in and out of arbitral work—the right to sit in judgment of national laws....
Are you surprised to learn that 825 (or so) pages of the "Free Trade" treaty were written by corporate lobbyist/lawyers? Or that US law will be secondary to international "regulatory harmonization"?
Are you fed up with the DC Claque's know-it-all and screw-the-hindmost attitude? The one that gave us NAFTA and MFN for Red China? Or are you, like certain radiomouths, convinced that "Free" trade is--no matter anything--best for all?
Sunday, June 14, 2015
The Roman Catholic Mass, Rightly Considered
The current Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship has a few words which are very significant. Not likely that the Milwaukee Archdiocesan Liturgy Office will publish this, so here are a few excerpts.
...The liturgy in its essence is “actio Christi”. [It is]the “work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to God.” (n.5) It is He who is the great Priest, the true subject, the true actor in the liturgy (n.7). If this vital principle is not accepted in faith, there is the risk of making the liturgy into a human work, a self-celebration of the community....
...The Church, the Body of Christ, must therefore become in Her turn an instrument in the hands of the Word.
...The liturgy in its essence is “actio Christi”. [It is]the “work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to God.” (n.5) It is He who is the great Priest, the true subject, the true actor in the liturgy (n.7). If this vital principle is not accepted in faith, there is the risk of making the liturgy into a human work, a self-celebration of the community....
...The Church, the Body of Christ, must therefore become in Her turn an instrument in the hands of the Word.
This is the ultimate meaning of the
key-concept of the Conciliar Constitution: “participatio actuosa”.
Such participation for the Church consists in becoming the instrument
of Christ – The Priest, with the aim of sharing in His Trinitarian
mission. The Church takes part actively in the liturgical action of
Christ in the measure that She is His instrument. In this sense, to
speak of “a celebrating community”” is not devoid of ambiguity and
requires prudence. (Instruction” Redemptoris sacramentum”, n. 42).
“Participatio actuosa” should not then be intended as the need to do
something. On this point the Council’s teaching has frequently been
deformed. Rather, it is about allowing Christ to take us and associate
us with His Sacrifice....
Yes. It was phrased another way by a scholarly older priest who often referred to himself as 'the Legitimate Liturgist', and his formulation was that "actuosa participatio" really meant that the participant underwent 'metanoia,' a conversion, by which he offers himself as sacrifice to the Father, as did Christ.
The Cardinal doesn't pull any punches, either:
...it is
deplorable that the sanctuary (of the high altar) in our churches is
not a place strictly reserved for Divine worship, that secular clothes
are worn in it and that the sacred space is not clearly defined by the
architecture. Since, as the Council teaches, Christ is present in His
Word when this is proclaimed , it is similarly detrimental that the
readers do not wear appropriate clothing, indicating that they are not
pronouncing human words but the Divine Word....
There's more at the link. Worth your time.
Obozo "Recovery", Part 2,365
Great.
About 15.4% of American homes are 'underwater', which is around 7X the "norm."
Even better: most of those which are underwater are relatively low-value homes, meaning they belong to relatively low income-earners.
Obviously, the solution is Mo'Low-Income Immigrants'!! Cowbell might help, too.
About 15.4% of American homes are 'underwater', which is around 7X the "norm."
Even better: most of those which are underwater are relatively low-value homes, meaning they belong to relatively low income-earners.
Obviously, the solution is Mo'Low-Income Immigrants'!! Cowbell might help, too.
Friday, June 12, 2015
The New Whigs: RoJo, Ryan, Sensenbrenner
Oh, I could add to that list above. There are lots of New Whigs wearing an (R) label.
What? You don't remember the Whigs?
HT to AOSHQ for the idea.
What? You don't remember the Whigs?
HT to AOSHQ for the idea.
Charlie Sykes' Very Bad Morning
So this morning Charlie hosted a couple of folks who discussed ObozoTrade. One of them was Kevin Binversie--who used to be a local kinda guy, but whose last paid gig was with the Chamber of Commerce in D.C.
Think that anyone mentioned that bit of biography before Kevin launched into his "All Praise to Trade!!' speech?
Nope.
Charlie was also in fine form, praising "Free Trade" and claiming that Real Conservatives believe in that as much as they believe in the law of gravity.
Not so fast, Charlie.
The Conservative position on trade is very simple: sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Put another way, that's called "FAIR trade." We've seen the effects of "Free Trade"--there's NAFTA, which shredded US manufacturing in favor of Mexico; and there's MFN status for the ChiComs, which obliterated the textile and computer-manufacturing industries in the US.
The winners did not include US workers.
And, of course, the panelists glossed over the most important factor in the whole TPA/TPP (etc.) debate: Obozo himself, who has--throughout his entire regime--done all in his power to re-make the US, or, as he put it, to "fundamentally transform" the county.
He's done a fine job of that, alright. What eluded the grasp of Kruschev, Andropov, and Mao has been set in motion by Obozo and his cabal. And if he needs to co-opt the Chamber of Commerce, it's only fitting, for as Kruschev said, "You will sell us the rope with which we will hang you!"
Yes, we will.
Oh, by the way, Charlie:
Charlie, what I don't get is this: if Free Trade is really all that good for US workers, how come we have to have Trade Adjustment Assistance spending for all the displaced US workers? I mean, Charlie, the way you and Kevin Chamber-of-Commerce describe it, US workers will be in economic heaven the minute this passes.
Go ahead. Answer that, Charlie!
Think that anyone mentioned that bit of biography before Kevin launched into his "All Praise to Trade!!' speech?
Nope.
Charlie was also in fine form, praising "Free Trade" and claiming that Real Conservatives believe in that as much as they believe in the law of gravity.
Not so fast, Charlie.
The Conservative position on trade is very simple: sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Put another way, that's called "FAIR trade." We've seen the effects of "Free Trade"--there's NAFTA, which shredded US manufacturing in favor of Mexico; and there's MFN status for the ChiComs, which obliterated the textile and computer-manufacturing industries in the US.
The winners did not include US workers.
And, of course, the panelists glossed over the most important factor in the whole TPA/TPP (etc.) debate: Obozo himself, who has--throughout his entire regime--done all in his power to re-make the US, or, as he put it, to "fundamentally transform" the county.
He's done a fine job of that, alright. What eluded the grasp of Kruschev, Andropov, and Mao has been set in motion by Obozo and his cabal. And if he needs to co-opt the Chamber of Commerce, it's only fitting, for as Kruschev said, "You will sell us the rope with which we will hang you!"
Yes, we will.
Oh, by the way, Charlie:
Charlie, what I don't get is this: if Free Trade is really all that good for US workers, how come we have to have Trade Adjustment Assistance spending for all the displaced US workers? I mean, Charlie, the way you and Kevin Chamber-of-Commerce describe it, US workers will be in economic heaven the minute this passes.
Go ahead. Answer that, Charlie!
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
State's Statist Teen-Girl Pouting
No question that Obozo is really a pouter. Fits his girly-girl persona to a "T".
That teenaged-girl poutiness extends to his State Department, too. But this little bitch-slapping thing turned very serious, indeed.
The Obama administration’s latest anti-gun salvo isn’t about reducing gun violence or stopping the export of dangerous weapons, it’s about pure retaliation against a non-profit that sued the government in federal court last month.
It's Defense Distributed, the guys with the 3-D print goodies for gunners.
...in May of 2013, Defense Distributed received a letter from the State Department alleging that the group was illegally exporting technical data. The federal government then demanded, in contravention of long-standing policy dating back to 1984, that Defense Distributed submit its proposed speech to the federal government for pre-approval...
D.D. sued, using Alan Gura (!!) State sat on the suit.
...On June 3, just four weeks after Defense Distributed filed its complaint in federal court, the State Department suddenly decided to propose a new rule giving it the authority to pre-approve speech related to publicly available firearm plans. The State Department’s play here is obvious: it hopes to promulgate a new rule making its previous anti-speech efforts superficially legal in order to short-circuit Defense Distributed’s court case. If that were to happen, the non-profit would then have to file a new and separate suit alleging the unconstitutionality of the new rule....
Actually, this is a lot bigger than a teenaged chick-fight.
...the administration proposes to change the definition of “technical data” in such a way that mere public discussion of technical gun data–virtually identical to what you can find on any gun-owner forum on the Internet–will be treated as a violation of federal weapons export laws. Second, the administration proposes to treat software itself as a “defense article,” a move that would put open source computer code in the same category as nuclear warheads and intercontinental ballistic missiles....
So much for trading reloading tips online.
And there's more!!
...the federal government informs us that information can only be considered in the “public domain” if the federal government, via unelected State Department bureaucrats, has issued a prior ruling declaring the information to be in the public domain. In other words, even if speech is obviously in the public domain, it doesn’t count as being in the public domain unless the federal government says so.
This is the Obozo State Department which is negotiating a new trade-treaty--and Paul Ryan is pushing for fast-track to grease the skids.
Really, Paul??
That teenaged-girl poutiness extends to his State Department, too. But this little bitch-slapping thing turned very serious, indeed.
The Obama administration’s latest anti-gun salvo isn’t about reducing gun violence or stopping the export of dangerous weapons, it’s about pure retaliation against a non-profit that sued the government in federal court last month.
It's Defense Distributed, the guys with the 3-D print goodies for gunners.
...in May of 2013, Defense Distributed received a letter from the State Department alleging that the group was illegally exporting technical data. The federal government then demanded, in contravention of long-standing policy dating back to 1984, that Defense Distributed submit its proposed speech to the federal government for pre-approval...
D.D. sued, using Alan Gura (!!) State sat on the suit.
...On June 3, just four weeks after Defense Distributed filed its complaint in federal court, the State Department suddenly decided to propose a new rule giving it the authority to pre-approve speech related to publicly available firearm plans. The State Department’s play here is obvious: it hopes to promulgate a new rule making its previous anti-speech efforts superficially legal in order to short-circuit Defense Distributed’s court case. If that were to happen, the non-profit would then have to file a new and separate suit alleging the unconstitutionality of the new rule....
Actually, this is a lot bigger than a teenaged chick-fight.
...the administration proposes to change the definition of “technical data” in such a way that mere public discussion of technical gun data–virtually identical to what you can find on any gun-owner forum on the Internet–will be treated as a violation of federal weapons export laws. Second, the administration proposes to treat software itself as a “defense article,” a move that would put open source computer code in the same category as nuclear warheads and intercontinental ballistic missiles....
So much for trading reloading tips online.
And there's more!!
...the federal government informs us that information can only be considered in the “public domain” if the federal government, via unelected State Department bureaucrats, has issued a prior ruling declaring the information to be in the public domain. In other words, even if speech is obviously in the public domain, it doesn’t count as being in the public domain unless the federal government says so.
This is the Obozo State Department which is negotiating a new trade-treaty--and Paul Ryan is pushing for fast-track to grease the skids.
Really, Paul??
ObozoTrade Horse-Trades
A couple of sentences from Politico's story on ObozoTrade can be explained in citizen's terms:
...Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has been holding small meetings with lawmakers in his office as he seeks to maximize Republican “yes” votes — and he huddled late Tuesday with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to address some unresolved spending and procedural issues....
... The White House, meanwhile, is working with House GOP leadership to solidify Democratic support....
What do those terms "small meetings", "huddled", and "working with"?
They mean that Boehner and Obozo are giving away envelopes stuffed with Chamber of Commerce checks--or other "favors"--to Congress-critters who are "undecided."
...Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has been holding small meetings with lawmakers in his office as he seeks to maximize Republican “yes” votes — and he huddled late Tuesday with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to address some unresolved spending and procedural issues....
... The White House, meanwhile, is working with House GOP leadership to solidify Democratic support....
What do those terms "small meetings", "huddled", and "working with"?
They mean that Boehner and Obozo are giving away envelopes stuffed with Chamber of Commerce checks--or other "favors"--to Congress-critters who are "undecided."
Tuesday, June 09, 2015
"Free Trade" a (R) Party Principle, Eh?
Paul Ryan is busy trading Wales for his Ways-and-Means job.
Or rather, he's trading US industry (and its workers) for it.
Ryan says [ ] "We believe in free trade. That is one of our party's primary principles."
Perhaps he's right; but thinking people (i.e., Conservatives) would much prefer FAIR trade. There's a difference.
FAIR trade implies that the other guys have stringent environmental, labor, and tax laws like the USA. FAIR trade implies that the other guys provide health and pension benefits, enforce patents and copyrights, and--by the way--have reasonably decent humanitarian systems.
FREE trade, Paul, means the other guys can initiate a race to the bottom for their workers about whom they really don't give a damn anyway. See the ChiComs.
So that's an (R) principle, Paul? And you tell us that Obama is a curse on the nation?
Or rather, he's trading US industry (and its workers) for it.
Ryan says [ ] "We believe in free trade. That is one of our party's primary principles."
Perhaps he's right; but thinking people (i.e., Conservatives) would much prefer FAIR trade. There's a difference.
FAIR trade implies that the other guys have stringent environmental, labor, and tax laws like the USA. FAIR trade implies that the other guys provide health and pension benefits, enforce patents and copyrights, and--by the way--have reasonably decent humanitarian systems.
FREE trade, Paul, means the other guys can initiate a race to the bottom for their workers about whom they really don't give a damn anyway. See the ChiComs.
So that's an (R) principle, Paul? And you tell us that Obama is a curse on the nation?
Teh Stupids at NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is populated with Obozo-ites. They're willing to display their utter stupidity, much like their Maximum Leader, the President.
“You don’t pay extra for your seat belt, and you shouldn’t have to pay extra for technology that can help prevent a collision altogether,” said Christopher Hart, chairman, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Note the glaring asininity of his remark. You DO pay for those seatbelts (and airbags, and blind-zone warnings, etc., etc.) no matter that they are not on the Moroney sticker attached to the window of that shiny new car.
This idiot obviously thinks that if you don't see it on the sticker, it's free.
One need not comment on the rest of his remark--but it's more of the same, piled higher and deeper.
Thus with ALL of Teh Stupids appointed by The Community Organizer.
“You don’t pay extra for your seat belt, and you shouldn’t have to pay extra for technology that can help prevent a collision altogether,” said Christopher Hart, chairman, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Note the glaring asininity of his remark. You DO pay for those seatbelts (and airbags, and blind-zone warnings, etc., etc.) no matter that they are not on the Moroney sticker attached to the window of that shiny new car.
This idiot obviously thinks that if you don't see it on the sticker, it's free.
One need not comment on the rest of his remark--but it's more of the same, piled higher and deeper.
Thus with ALL of Teh Stupids appointed by The Community Organizer.
The Cardinal v. The Catholic Musician
Yah, well, stuff happens. But it happens for a reason.
...While Archbishop Chaput is a well-respected and highly articulate theological conservative – as well as a gifted homilist – he has never been known for liturgical traditionalism. This author recalls his time spent in Denver, where Abp. Chaput’s masses were often accompanied by a well-rehearsed but aesthetically deficient contemporary band. The kind of music presented on these occasions rarely reflected the wishes of the Church regarding proper liturgical fare....
,,, it seems that outside of the small community of competent musical authorities, few Catholics – let alone their clergy – seem cognizant of the fact that musical choices in the Mass are anything but a “matter of taste.”...
No doubt about it, and the author has more, which is dead-on:
....The “tyranny of taste” is part of the “dictatorship of relativism,” each boiling over, often with disastrous results, into the Church’s liturgical life. This situation is made worse by a strong lack of seminary education on Catholic liturgical music and aesthetics, along with a general attitude which precludes the competent Church musician’s natural authority in such matters. At the very least, a pastor or bishop should know that the Church has specific wishes in regards to music in the liturgy, and be able to hire a well-trained music director to execute the Church’s vision. The pastor or bishop should also be willing to consult with – and when appropriate, defer to – the director’s long developed specialty. In the case of Mr. Romeri, we have just such a specialist whose clear, Catholic aesthetic vision seems to have been senselessly pushed aside....
We see that lack of education and blindness far more often than we should from priests. In most cases, the result is nested in "hire cheap or free" musicians. Most often, those musicians have no clue about Actual Liturgical Music. IOW, it's a classic case of the blind leading the blind AND being led by the blind, too.
Oh, well. No one promised you a rose garden.
...While Archbishop Chaput is a well-respected and highly articulate theological conservative – as well as a gifted homilist – he has never been known for liturgical traditionalism. This author recalls his time spent in Denver, where Abp. Chaput’s masses were often accompanied by a well-rehearsed but aesthetically deficient contemporary band. The kind of music presented on these occasions rarely reflected the wishes of the Church regarding proper liturgical fare....
,,, it seems that outside of the small community of competent musical authorities, few Catholics – let alone their clergy – seem cognizant of the fact that musical choices in the Mass are anything but a “matter of taste.”...
No doubt about it, and the author has more, which is dead-on:
....The “tyranny of taste” is part of the “dictatorship of relativism,” each boiling over, often with disastrous results, into the Church’s liturgical life. This situation is made worse by a strong lack of seminary education on Catholic liturgical music and aesthetics, along with a general attitude which precludes the competent Church musician’s natural authority in such matters. At the very least, a pastor or bishop should know that the Church has specific wishes in regards to music in the liturgy, and be able to hire a well-trained music director to execute the Church’s vision. The pastor or bishop should also be willing to consult with – and when appropriate, defer to – the director’s long developed specialty. In the case of Mr. Romeri, we have just such a specialist whose clear, Catholic aesthetic vision seems to have been senselessly pushed aside....
We see that lack of education and blindness far more often than we should from priests. In most cases, the result is nested in "hire cheap or free" musicians. Most often, those musicians have no clue about Actual Liturgical Music. IOW, it's a classic case of the blind leading the blind AND being led by the blind, too.
Oh, well. No one promised you a rose garden.
Ted Cruz: WRONG on TPA
Cruz is, mostly, a conservative. But on some matters, he's dead wrong, including TPA.
TPA over-writes the Senate's 'two-thirds' approval requirement which happens to be in the Constitution. Cruz (and others) may think they've lawyered their way around it, and there is precedent. So what?
More important: he's allowing Obozo to negotiate the (TPP) treaty. Given Obozo's track record on any matter at all, Cruz' approval of TPA is near treasonous.
Too bad, Ted. You picked the wrong side in this fight.
TPA over-writes the Senate's 'two-thirds' approval requirement which happens to be in the Constitution. Cruz (and others) may think they've lawyered their way around it, and there is precedent. So what?
More important: he's allowing Obozo to negotiate the (TPP) treaty. Given Obozo's track record on any matter at all, Cruz' approval of TPA is near treasonous.
Too bad, Ted. You picked the wrong side in this fight.
Monday, June 08, 2015
ObozoTrade: Worse Than Terrible
Read the story at the link--or just read the bullet points.
Boehner--the Fortune 50's Purchased Pol--likes this. Obviously, US sovereignty is not something that Boehner respects.
RoJo voted for it already, strengthening Feingold's case against him. Gee, Ron: are you TRYING to lose?
We expect Paul Ryan to fall into line with Boehner; after all, he'll be happy to trade sovereignty for Ways & Means. God only knows what Senselessbrenner's going to do, but I'm no optimist.
Boehner--the Fortune 50's Purchased Pol--likes this. Obviously, US sovereignty is not something that Boehner respects.
RoJo voted for it already, strengthening Feingold's case against him. Gee, Ron: are you TRYING to lose?
We expect Paul Ryan to fall into line with Boehner; after all, he'll be happy to trade sovereignty for Ways & Means. God only knows what Senselessbrenner's going to do, but I'm no optimist.
Sunday, June 07, 2015
ObozoJobs: No Soup for YOU!!
Reported at ZeroHedge:
...in May's far stronger than expected report, the two for the first time were almost identical: the Establishment Survey reported an increase of 280K jobs, while according to the Household survey 272K jobs were added.
Impressive numbers in a month in which only 215K jobs were expected to be added....
That's pretty much the end of the 'good' news, though.
There were the usual kinks, of course. Two thirds of all jobs, according to the Establishment survey, were low-paying, low-quality jobs, primarily teachers, retail, temp help and waiters...
...the biggest surprise came from Table 7, where the BLS reveals the number of "foreign born workers" used in the Household survey. In May, this number increased to 25.098 million, the second highest in history, a monthly jump of 279K...
...using the BLS' own Native-Born series, also presented on an unadjusted basis, we find the following stunner: since the start of the Second Great Depression, the US has added 2.3 million "foreign-born" workers, offset by just 727K "native-born"....
New sign on the restaurant door: "US Natives Need Not Apply."
...in May's far stronger than expected report, the two for the first time were almost identical: the Establishment Survey reported an increase of 280K jobs, while according to the Household survey 272K jobs were added.
Impressive numbers in a month in which only 215K jobs were expected to be added....
That's pretty much the end of the 'good' news, though.
There were the usual kinks, of course. Two thirds of all jobs, according to the Establishment survey, were low-paying, low-quality jobs, primarily teachers, retail, temp help and waiters...
...the biggest surprise came from Table 7, where the BLS reveals the number of "foreign born workers" used in the Household survey. In May, this number increased to 25.098 million, the second highest in history, a monthly jump of 279K...
...using the BLS' own Native-Born series, also presented on an unadjusted basis, we find the following stunner: since the start of the Second Great Depression, the US has added 2.3 million "foreign-born" workers, offset by just 727K "native-born"....
New sign on the restaurant door: "US Natives Need Not Apply."
Saturday, June 06, 2015
Reality About "Diversity"
Well-written and flat-out truth.
With all the recent troubles we're again being invited to an honest and open conversation about race, or said differently, the browbeatings will be resumed. Try this for honest and open: many of us, probably most of us, are tired of your whining, your so-called grievances, your violence and crime, your insults and threats, your witless blather and pornographic demeanor—all of it. You're not quite 13% of the population yet everything has to be about you, all day, every day. With you, facts aren't facts, everything's a kozmik krisis, and abusive confrontations are your go-to.
...... So here's the deal. If you want to know what we really think of you, the answer is we don't, unless you're making yourself unavoidable or we're cleaning up your latest mess. We can safely rely on you to make astonishingly irresponsible choices and blame us for the consequences. And you'll demand we make good on them for you. We won't take a chance on your sincerity ever again. Take it somewhere else, you have no credibility left with us. You're a net liability, predictable to the point of surety. So we attend to our own lives and our own problems. It's as it should be. We recommend it. As for you, frankly my dear, we don't give a damn.
There's a LOT in-between those two grafs. You should read it.
HT: ColdFury
With all the recent troubles we're again being invited to an honest and open conversation about race, or said differently, the browbeatings will be resumed. Try this for honest and open: many of us, probably most of us, are tired of your whining, your so-called grievances, your violence and crime, your insults and threats, your witless blather and pornographic demeanor—all of it. You're not quite 13% of the population yet everything has to be about you, all day, every day. With you, facts aren't facts, everything's a kozmik krisis, and abusive confrontations are your go-to.
...... So here's the deal. If you want to know what we really think of you, the answer is we don't, unless you're making yourself unavoidable or we're cleaning up your latest mess. We can safely rely on you to make astonishingly irresponsible choices and blame us for the consequences. And you'll demand we make good on them for you. We won't take a chance on your sincerity ever again. Take it somewhere else, you have no credibility left with us. You're a net liability, predictable to the point of surety. So we attend to our own lives and our own problems. It's as it should be. We recommend it. As for you, frankly my dear, we don't give a damn.
There's a LOT in-between those two grafs. You should read it.
HT: ColdFury
Choom Gang Dreams
When you're a choom-gang type (aka dope-smoker), you can say a lot of really stupid stuff.
One example:
President Obama has had to punt on his electric vehicle goal – the United States did not put one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015 as he touted in 2009.[i] In fact, the goal fell short by more than 70 percent. U.S. consumers only bought about 286,814 electric and hybrid vehicles from 2009 to 2014, (about 3 percent of total vehicle sales)....
Obozo's Gummint was at 7% in the same timeframe.
His personal fleet consists of 3/4-ton armored Suburbans, of course, and there are a lot more of those behemoths in the fleets of his Special People in the Cabinet.
They need the armor, ya'know.
One example:
President Obama has had to punt on his electric vehicle goal – the United States did not put one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015 as he touted in 2009.[i] In fact, the goal fell short by more than 70 percent. U.S. consumers only bought about 286,814 electric and hybrid vehicles from 2009 to 2014, (about 3 percent of total vehicle sales)....
Obozo's Gummint was at 7% in the same timeframe.
His personal fleet consists of 3/4-ton armored Suburbans, of course, and there are a lot more of those behemoths in the fleets of his Special People in the Cabinet.
They need the armor, ya'know.
ObozoCare Costs Hit Wisconsin
Yup. ObozoCare is going to hurt.
...Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corp. (WPS) is requesting a hike of nearly 33 percent for its individual policies under the ACA and an 11.5 percent increase for small groups. Unity Health Plus Insurance Corp. is asking for rate increases of 10.3 percent and 18.2 percent for two individual plans. Unity is an affiliate of UW Health.
All totaled, 11 companies that sell health insurance under the ACA here have notified the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that they plan to raise their rates 10 percent or more starting Jan. 1....
The article is a bit misleading when it states that 'the costs will be blunted due to subsidies.' Those subsidies could come to a screeching halt in SCOTUS later this spring.
...Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corp. (WPS) is requesting a hike of nearly 33 percent for its individual policies under the ACA and an 11.5 percent increase for small groups. Unity Health Plus Insurance Corp. is asking for rate increases of 10.3 percent and 18.2 percent for two individual plans. Unity is an affiliate of UW Health.
All totaled, 11 companies that sell health insurance under the ACA here have notified the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that they plan to raise their rates 10 percent or more starting Jan. 1....
The article is a bit misleading when it states that 'the costs will be blunted due to subsidies.' Those subsidies could come to a screeching halt in SCOTUS later this spring.
Friday, June 05, 2015
Is Islam the Religion of Bitches?
So you can read the disinterested passenger's account of the United Airlines brouhaha and make up your own mind.
Simplicity in Living
Frankly, we are accustomed to excess in living. That's not a good thing.
Contrast to these few vignettes:
...Simplicity was an instinct rooted in our nation's original culture, as when Thomas Jefferson took the presidential oath of office and returned to his boarding house where he waited his turn for dinner, and when Harry Truman left the White House and drove himself back to Missouri with no guards and no pension. He did not pretend to be broke because he was broke, and he refused directorships on corporations, saying it would be trafficking in the dignity of the presidential office. It cannot be said that Queen Victoria lived in penury, but she did have her own notion of domesticity when she darned socks for the Prince of Wales in Windsor Castle, humming "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." In her youth, she returned from her coronation in the gilded state coach, took off her ermine robes, put on an apron and gave her dog a bath....
One may argue that, despite the excess we enjoy, we are not of the "entitlement mentality."
That's an excuse?
Contrast to these few vignettes:
...Simplicity was an instinct rooted in our nation's original culture, as when Thomas Jefferson took the presidential oath of office and returned to his boarding house where he waited his turn for dinner, and when Harry Truman left the White House and drove himself back to Missouri with no guards and no pension. He did not pretend to be broke because he was broke, and he refused directorships on corporations, saying it would be trafficking in the dignity of the presidential office. It cannot be said that Queen Victoria lived in penury, but she did have her own notion of domesticity when she darned socks for the Prince of Wales in Windsor Castle, humming "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." In her youth, she returned from her coronation in the gilded state coach, took off her ermine robes, put on an apron and gave her dog a bath....
One may argue that, despite the excess we enjoy, we are not of the "entitlement mentality."
That's an excuse?
Walker Fires On His Own Credibility
One supposes that Scott Walker made some silly promises, so he has to come up with some rationale.
But the rationale is as silly as his promises are.
...Walker’s point is plain: If the city of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County and the state don’t come up with a way to help pay for a new playground for the Bucks, the NBA will make good on its threat to buy back the team from its owners and then shop the franchise to some other city willing to play ball.
The governor, by all indications on the brink of officially announcing his presidential campaign, cited estimates pegging lost revenue and growth of $419 million should the Bucks skip town....
That $419MM is partially an amalgamation of "fixing up the Bradley Center" and "lost income taxes from pro basketball players."
The "fixing the Bradley Center" half is pure crap. If the Bucks leave, nobody will occupy the Bradley Center, so "fixing" it is stupid (although not beyond the stupidity of Government, mind you.)
As for the income taxes--yes, that will be a loss. But the State has lost income taxes before (see any recession you want to pick) and has survived.
(Of course, CUTTING SPENDING is on the table, right, Governor??)
One more thing: did Abele REALLY convince you that his un-collectable $80 million is worth $80 million? REALLY? Because that tells us that you are ......ahhh......on the slow side, Scott.
Further, we'll subsidize "businesses" in the new facility, meaning that other, tax-paying competitors, will LOSE revenue dollars and thus, pay less in income taxes. Walker's not crying over those losses--but the tax-paying competitors might.
C'mon, Scott. Get with the real world and get out of the pockets of the Corporate Welfare Class.
But the rationale is as silly as his promises are.
...Walker’s point is plain: If the city of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County and the state don’t come up with a way to help pay for a new playground for the Bucks, the NBA will make good on its threat to buy back the team from its owners and then shop the franchise to some other city willing to play ball.
The governor, by all indications on the brink of officially announcing his presidential campaign, cited estimates pegging lost revenue and growth of $419 million should the Bucks skip town....
That $419MM is partially an amalgamation of "fixing up the Bradley Center" and "lost income taxes from pro basketball players."
The "fixing the Bradley Center" half is pure crap. If the Bucks leave, nobody will occupy the Bradley Center, so "fixing" it is stupid (although not beyond the stupidity of Government, mind you.)
As for the income taxes--yes, that will be a loss. But the State has lost income taxes before (see any recession you want to pick) and has survived.
(Of course, CUTTING SPENDING is on the table, right, Governor??)
One more thing: did Abele REALLY convince you that his un-collectable $80 million is worth $80 million? REALLY? Because that tells us that you are ......ahhh......on the slow side, Scott.
Further, we'll subsidize "businesses" in the new facility, meaning that other, tax-paying competitors, will LOSE revenue dollars and thus, pay less in income taxes. Walker's not crying over those losses--but the tax-paying competitors might.
C'mon, Scott. Get with the real world and get out of the pockets of the Corporate Welfare Class.
Rick Santorum Plays Anthony Kennedy
Santorum has evidently studied in the Anthony Kennedy School of Insanity.
"If he says he’s a woman, then he’s a woman" (quoted at Althouse)
And if Joe Blow says he's a Martian, or un-dead, then that settles that, right?
Well, Althouse approves, to no one's surprise.
"If he says he’s a woman, then he’s a woman" (quoted at Althouse)
And if Joe Blow says he's a Martian, or un-dead, then that settles that, right?
Well, Althouse approves, to no one's surprise.
Facebook's Zuckerberg: Anti-American Rich Twit
Apparently Zuckerberg's wealth (deserved or not) has done its usual work.
Zuckerberg founded an outfit called "Fwd.us" which stridently agitates for more hiring of foreignslaves "tech workers." "Fwd.us" intends to accomplish this the old-fashioned way: purchasing various members of Congress.
And, of course, by lying like hell about "the needs" while slandering US citizens.
In the "lying like hell" category, we should mention IBM. They've earned it, too!!
Zuckerberg founded an outfit called "Fwd.us" which stridently agitates for more hiring of foreign
And, of course, by lying like hell about "the needs" while slandering US citizens.
In the "lying like hell" category, we should mention IBM. They've earned it, too!!
Surprise!! Academic Liars on EPA Tit!
EPA is Tricky Dick Nixon's revenge on the US for his resignation. It's also leading a very close race for the Bureaucracy Corruption-King Award. (IRS and D. of Ed. simply have to work harder at it.)
This all stems from Congressional mis- and mal-feasance, of course. Give me a mandate to 'make the Earth perfect' and I'll be able to spend umpty-trillion dollars, too.
Anyhow, it seems as though EPA's collaborators are inclined to lie, just as is EPA. Surprise!!
...In early May, a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change purported to support a key EPA claim about its forthcoming global warming rules aimed at coal-fired power plants. The New York Times’ headline, “EPA Emissions Plan Will Save Thousands of Lives, Study Finds,” typified the media coverage.
Across the media, the authors were innocuously described as simply university-affiliated “researchers.” After all, the researchers had declared they had “no competing financial interests” in their study. Both universities had issued media releases heralding the study as the “first independent, peer-reviewed paper of its kind.”...
Well, nothing except $45 million in grants over the last few years.
Shall we name names? Sure!!
Charles Driscoll of Syracuse University
Jonathan Buonocore of Harvard University
Co-author Dallas Burtraw, a researcher at the think tank Resources for the Future
Harvard co-author Jonathan I. Levy
Co-author Joel Schwartz, also of Harvard
"Resources for the Future," indeed. The question is: "WHOSE future?"
This all stems from Congressional mis- and mal-feasance, of course. Give me a mandate to 'make the Earth perfect' and I'll be able to spend umpty-trillion dollars, too.
Anyhow, it seems as though EPA's collaborators are inclined to lie, just as is EPA. Surprise!!
...In early May, a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change purported to support a key EPA claim about its forthcoming global warming rules aimed at coal-fired power plants. The New York Times’ headline, “EPA Emissions Plan Will Save Thousands of Lives, Study Finds,” typified the media coverage.
Across the media, the authors were innocuously described as simply university-affiliated “researchers.” After all, the researchers had declared they had “no competing financial interests” in their study. Both universities had issued media releases heralding the study as the “first independent, peer-reviewed paper of its kind.”...
Well, nothing except $45 million in grants over the last few years.
Shall we name names? Sure!!
Charles Driscoll of Syracuse University
Jonathan Buonocore of Harvard University
Co-author Dallas Burtraw, a researcher at the think tank Resources for the Future
Harvard co-author Jonathan I. Levy
Co-author Joel Schwartz, also of Harvard
"Resources for the Future," indeed. The question is: "WHOSE future?"
Thursday, June 04, 2015
Schadenfreude Over Vermont
Vermont is a heavy-Lefty State. It sucks to be them, now.
Then things unraveled.
The online insurance marketplace that Vermont built to enroll people in
private coverage under the law had extensive technical failures. The
problems soured public and legislative enthusiasm for sweeping health
care changes just as Gov. Peter Shumlin needed to build support for his
complex single-payer plan. Finally, Mr. Shumlin, a Democrat, shelved the
plan in December, citing the high cost to taxpayers....--Quoted at HotAir
Oh, yes--next year's premiums will go up more than 20%.
Heh.
...Just
a few years ago, lawmakers in this left-leaning state viewed President
Obama’s Affordable Care Act as little more than a pit stop on the road
to a far more ambitious goal: single-payer, universal health care for
all residents.
Oh, yes--next year's premiums will go up more than 20%.
Heh.
Wednesday, June 03, 2015
Trouble Coming to Wisconsin Schools
Appleton, Fond du Lac, Beloit, Kenosha, Green Bay, Eau Claire, Madistan, Monona Grove, Oconomowoc, Racine, Sun Prairie, Verona, Wauwatosa, Whitefish Bay, and Waukesha.
Do you know who your "School Consultants" are?
You might want to read a bit about The Troubles in St Paul, MN.
Do you know who your "School Consultants" are?
You might want to read a bit about The Troubles in St Paul, MN.
The SJW v. the Catholic Church
While the Catholic Church's leading lights yammer about 'social justice' (a term which is deliberately un-definable), there are some ironies about that.
...There is no surer path to financial insolvency than for a hard worker to direct their energies towards some form of full-time Catholic apostolate, or to slave away for long hours as a Director of Religious Education, or to teach at a Catholic school....
Let us refine that a bit. The statement is true, but ought to include church musicians--especially those who actually have and want to practice using actual Catholic liturgical principles. Because, in most of those cases, the wages afforded to them are zero.
...There is no surer path to financial insolvency than for a hard worker to direct their energies towards some form of full-time Catholic apostolate, or to slave away for long hours as a Director of Religious Education, or to teach at a Catholic school....
Let us refine that a bit. The statement is true, but ought to include church musicians--especially those who actually have and want to practice using actual Catholic liturgical principles. Because, in most of those cases, the wages afforded to them are zero.
Sorry, Bruce. You're Still a Man
We are reminded of Lincoln's 'a tail is not a leg' comment.
Bruce Jenner remains a man, regardless of his psychopathic hyper-narcissism, thousands of dollars in chemicals, and hundreds of thousands in surgeries.
He's merely the latest example of the Progressive fantasy that nature is entirely malleable by man. No, it is not, regardless of SCOTUS rulings or agit-propaganda campaigns. This belief underlies the arguments of the abortion gang, the slave-traders, the queer-"marriage" crowd, and the globaloney purveyors.
Didn't work too well for Icarus, either.
Bruce Jenner remains a man, regardless of his psychopathic hyper-narcissism, thousands of dollars in chemicals, and hundreds of thousands in surgeries.
He's merely the latest example of the Progressive fantasy that nature is entirely malleable by man. No, it is not, regardless of SCOTUS rulings or agit-propaganda campaigns. This belief underlies the arguments of the abortion gang, the slave-traders, the queer-"marriage" crowd, and the globaloney purveyors.
Didn't work too well for Icarus, either.
Abercrombie: Wierd
So now, "intent" is no longer a pre-requisite for guilt under the Civil Rights Act. Maybe.
Scalia et. al. twisted Jesuitically to arrive at that conclusion.
"...An employer who has actual knowledge of the need for an accommodation does not violate Title VII by refusing to hire an applicant if avoiding that accommodation is not his motive. Conversely, an employer who acts with the motive of avoiding accommodation may violate Title VII even if he has no more than an unsubstantiated suspicion that accommodation would be needed...."
The Court apparently concluded that Abercrombie's dress-rules were motivated by anti-Muslim animus.
Thomas disagrees.
"...I adhere to what I had thought before today was an undisputed proposition: Mere application of a neutral policy cannot constitute 'intentional discrimination.'..."
It is certainly the case that Catholic schools "intentionally discriminate" against same-sex "married" teachers. Soon, we'll be able to find out if that religious thing trumps the Civil Rights Act.
Scalia et. al. twisted Jesuitically to arrive at that conclusion.
"...An employer who has actual knowledge of the need for an accommodation does not violate Title VII by refusing to hire an applicant if avoiding that accommodation is not his motive. Conversely, an employer who acts with the motive of avoiding accommodation may violate Title VII even if he has no more than an unsubstantiated suspicion that accommodation would be needed...."
The Court apparently concluded that Abercrombie's dress-rules were motivated by anti-Muslim animus.
Thomas disagrees.
"...I adhere to what I had thought before today was an undisputed proposition: Mere application of a neutral policy cannot constitute 'intentional discrimination.'..."
It is certainly the case that Catholic schools "intentionally discriminate" against same-sex "married" teachers. Soon, we'll be able to find out if that religious thing trumps the Civil Rights Act.
Vatican Apparatchik Goes All Witchy
The "FrancisChurch" turns a bit snippy.
Margaret Archer, the president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, has lashed out at the author of a recent essay, accusing him of hate speech and moral depravity for questioning the Academy’s position on climate change...Gennarini suggested that inviting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, and former Senator Tim Wirth, all of whom hold moral positions at variance with the Catholic Church, may have been a mistake....
Those three could be invited to the Vatican, so long as they remained outside the walls, covered in sackcloth and ashes, and begging forgiveness. Then, after a week, ...well...
The problem began with a Bishop who--like a lot of Bishops--doesn't like to be criticized.
...Gennarini sent a series of questions about the workshop to the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Science and Social Sciences. In responding, Argentinian Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo accused skeptics of global warming of being Tea Party flunkies and paid lobbyists of the oil industry. Gennarini published this odd exchange...
The GloboWarmist bunch is pretty much the same worldwide, I guess..
Margaret Archer, the president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, has lashed out at the author of a recent essay, accusing him of hate speech and moral depravity for questioning the Academy’s position on climate change...Gennarini suggested that inviting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, and former Senator Tim Wirth, all of whom hold moral positions at variance with the Catholic Church, may have been a mistake....
Those three could be invited to the Vatican, so long as they remained outside the walls, covered in sackcloth and ashes, and begging forgiveness. Then, after a week, ...well...
The problem began with a Bishop who--like a lot of Bishops--doesn't like to be criticized.
...Gennarini sent a series of questions about the workshop to the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Science and Social Sciences. In responding, Argentinian Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo accused skeptics of global warming of being Tea Party flunkies and paid lobbyists of the oil industry. Gennarini published this odd exchange...
The GloboWarmist bunch is pretty much the same worldwide, I guess..
Tuesday, June 02, 2015
Hey!! RoJo!! Remember Your "Promise"??
Hey, Ron! Heard you're running again for the Senate.
Funny--I don't hear you yammering about 'doing everything in my power to repeal ObamaCare' this time around. But now's the time we need that repeal, Ron.
...Obamacare’s community rating results in insurance prices that are higher for younger people than they would be in a free market, and its guaranteed issue allows people to sign up for insurance even if they get sick, so young and healthy people have ample incentive to forgo insurance. This leaves the insurance “risk pool” older and sicker and, hence, more costly to insure. Premiums will have to rise to cover those costs, leading some of the younger and healthier people who did initially sign up to then drop out. The risk pool then becomes even older and sicker, premiums rise again, and the process repeats.....
Yah, we knew that. (So did RoJo, IIRC.)
...The “death spiral is bogus” meme has been making the rounds in the liberal media. Rachel Maddow’s blog states that Obamacare critics “were wrong about the ‘death spiral,’” while at the Daily Beast Michael Tomasky calls the death spiral prediction one of the “Five Biggest Lies About ObamaCare.”....
One would hardly expect less from those folks. But RoJo knows that, too.
....Obamacare exchanges have a mechanism similar to New Jersey’s, known as the “risk corridor.” The risk corridor is a three-year program under which insurers on the exchanges who make a profit are required to share some of those profits with insurers who took losses on the exchanges. .... This program likely checked large premium increases heading in the second year on the exchange....
Yah; it's about a $725 million dollar loss this year.
So what about this "Death Spiral"?
It's beginning.
Suggested rates for 2016 are starting to trickle in, and it appears that the edges of the death spiral are on the horizon.
Oregon, Montana, Tennessee, South Dakota, New Mexico, Maryland......
So RoJo: how's that "promise" of yours working out? For US, that is.
We'll wait for your answer, Ron.
HT: AOSHQ
Funny--I don't hear you yammering about 'doing everything in my power to repeal ObamaCare' this time around. But now's the time we need that repeal, Ron.
...Obamacare’s community rating results in insurance prices that are higher for younger people than they would be in a free market, and its guaranteed issue allows people to sign up for insurance even if they get sick, so young and healthy people have ample incentive to forgo insurance. This leaves the insurance “risk pool” older and sicker and, hence, more costly to insure. Premiums will have to rise to cover those costs, leading some of the younger and healthier people who did initially sign up to then drop out. The risk pool then becomes even older and sicker, premiums rise again, and the process repeats.....
Yah, we knew that. (So did RoJo, IIRC.)
...The “death spiral is bogus” meme has been making the rounds in the liberal media. Rachel Maddow’s blog states that Obamacare critics “were wrong about the ‘death spiral,’” while at the Daily Beast Michael Tomasky calls the death spiral prediction one of the “Five Biggest Lies About ObamaCare.”....
One would hardly expect less from those folks. But RoJo knows that, too.
....Obamacare exchanges have a mechanism similar to New Jersey’s, known as the “risk corridor.” The risk corridor is a three-year program under which insurers on the exchanges who make a profit are required to share some of those profits with insurers who took losses on the exchanges. .... This program likely checked large premium increases heading in the second year on the exchange....
Yah; it's about a $725 million dollar loss this year.
So what about this "Death Spiral"?
It's beginning.
Suggested rates for 2016 are starting to trickle in, and it appears that the edges of the death spiral are on the horizon.
Oregon, Montana, Tennessee, South Dakota, New Mexico, Maryland......
So RoJo: how's that "promise" of yours working out? For US, that is.
We'll wait for your answer, Ron.
HT: AOSHQ