Interesting factoid.
...As Jim Capretta and Yuval Levin point out in an important new article, research from three liberal Harvard researchers indicates that the privately-run Medicare Advantage program can deliver the traditional Medicare benefit package 10 percent more cheaply, on average, than can government-run Medicare. And Medicare Advantage is tied down with all sorts of restrictions that make it less efficient. A Romney/Wyden-Ryan style approach, combining competitive bidding with premium support, is almost certain to generate even greater efficiencies and savings.
Gee. I didn't see that research mentioned in the MFM.
Monday, August 13, 2012
What the Bishops Forgot
The US Bishops infamously scolded Paul Ryan for his "Roadmap". Following that, Ryan spent some time with Cdl. Dolan. After that visit, the US Bishops shut their collective traps.
There's a reason they shut up, and it's right here:
Ryan should hammer that message home every single day. It should go to the top of his stump-speech, not the middle. That 'from God and [of/by] nature' is the core of Conservatism's political philosophy. And by the way, it's known and understood by the vast majority of people in this country, even those who resent it.
It's been noted that Ryan's statement is a quotation from John Locke.
Deneen has a few words to say about Locke:
Locke is widely regarded in the academy as the great originator of liberal secularism. Yet, it was Locke - in a less-read work called The Reasonableness of Christianity - who argued that reason alone was insufficient to arrive at certain moral precepts held to be true by modern man, above all the belief in the inherent dignity of all human beings. What Locke knew - that reason provided insufficient basis for a belief in human dignity - many of Locke's epigones have forgotten.
But Deneen is no fool; Locke's philosophy has its problems, too.
...At the most fundamental level, as modern Americans and intuitive Lockeans, we begin with the assumption that we are naturally free and only secondarily and artificially constrained. Beginning with that assumption, all morality must be understood to be legislated, since in our natural condition there is no legislation and no "morality," only freedom. We understand societies to exist to preserve maximal amount of individual freedom and provide only the minimal amount of constraint in order to provide some security and stability.
That assumption is a fallacy, of course, even though it's adopted by both the Left and Right.
...For the political Left, these libertarian assumptions are thought to apply to our personal and especially sexual lives. An example of this assumption can be seen in the argument that is typically used against conservative advocates of teenage sexual abstinence (evinced in the visceral hostility to Sarah Palin): "teenagers are going to do it anyway, so we should teach them about birth control." It underlies the contemporary insistence that the innate, genetic sources of homosexuality should be regarded as despositive in any further arguments regarding sexual behavior: if it's natural, it will and needs to be acted upon.
...This basic assumption underlies many of the economic assumptions of the Right, as well: the free market is populated with homo economicus, countless self-seeking, risk-taking, profit-seeking self-maximizers. To the extent that our market system is arranged to prevent obstacles to those behaviors, we can expect a dynamic and prosperous economic system. Legislation that restricts self-maximizing activities are abhorrent, curtailing growth and dampening the spirit of entrepreneurialism. These assumptions underlie arguments against regulations that potentially damage the bottom line, or efforts to soften the harsher aspects of the free market system - such as welfare - that undermine our natural economic incentives.
What you see is the shadow of "positive law."
...The truth is, you really can't "legislate morality" - either of the sort that would seek to force us to restrain our hedonistic personal pleasures or the sort that would seek to force us to be socially responsible in the economic realm
...Seeking to "legislate morality" is to acknowledge that the base presuppositions of a culture have made it resistant to any such imposition. A culture that has robust forms of learned or habituated restraint as a matter of cultural transmission does not need to "legislate" such morality, or - if it does - it serves as a punctuating norm, not an external imposition.
Summarily:
...The sad irony is that our false liberal view of human nature - that one advanced by Hobbes and Locke (Bertrand de Jouvenel waggishly commented that such a philosophy was obviously imagined by "childless men who had forgotten their childhoods") - in turn engendered further false views of human nature (in which we could altogether overcome our alienation from one another), such as that advanced by Marx. BOTH are species of an impoverished and false modern understanding of humankind. To move beyond the tired and (what has now stood to be revealed to be) false debate between the Lockeians and the Marxists, we need to re-discover Aristotelian and Thomistic understandings of humanity's true nature. It will not be easy, since Aristotle himself argues that habituation is a powerful shaper of men's mores, and we must acknowledge that most of our contemporary habituation - in the form of popular culture, deep philosophic presuppositions, national mythology, and ubiquitous advertising - instruct us that we are monadic bundles of appetite seeking satiation. We have a highly successful culture of anti-culture, and it is difficult to see how it can be assailed, short of the slow drip-dripping of arguments and practices against it...
So. While it is useful to recall Locke, there is far more to "nature and nature's God" than the cramped and utilitarian vision(s) of the "Left" and "Right."
Let's hope that Ryan remembers that, too.
There's a reason they shut up, and it's right here:
Ryan said the idea of America -- that our rights come from nature and God, not government and we promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes
Ryan should hammer that message home every single day. It should go to the top of his stump-speech, not the middle. That 'from God and [of/by] nature' is the core of Conservatism's political philosophy. And by the way, it's known and understood by the vast majority of people in this country, even those who resent it.
It's been noted that Ryan's statement is a quotation from John Locke.
Deneen has a few words to say about Locke:
Locke is widely regarded in the academy as the great originator of liberal secularism. Yet, it was Locke - in a less-read work called The Reasonableness of Christianity - who argued that reason alone was insufficient to arrive at certain moral precepts held to be true by modern man, above all the belief in the inherent dignity of all human beings. What Locke knew - that reason provided insufficient basis for a belief in human dignity - many of Locke's epigones have forgotten.
But Deneen is no fool; Locke's philosophy has its problems, too.
...At the most fundamental level, as modern Americans and intuitive Lockeans, we begin with the assumption that we are naturally free and only secondarily and artificially constrained. Beginning with that assumption, all morality must be understood to be legislated, since in our natural condition there is no legislation and no "morality," only freedom. We understand societies to exist to preserve maximal amount of individual freedom and provide only the minimal amount of constraint in order to provide some security and stability.
That assumption is a fallacy, of course, even though it's adopted by both the Left and Right.
...For the political Left, these libertarian assumptions are thought to apply to our personal and especially sexual lives. An example of this assumption can be seen in the argument that is typically used against conservative advocates of teenage sexual abstinence (evinced in the visceral hostility to Sarah Palin): "teenagers are going to do it anyway, so we should teach them about birth control." It underlies the contemporary insistence that the innate, genetic sources of homosexuality should be regarded as despositive in any further arguments regarding sexual behavior: if it's natural, it will and needs to be acted upon.
What you see is the shadow of "positive law."
...The truth is, you really can't "legislate morality" - either of the sort that would seek to force us to restrain our hedonistic personal pleasures or the sort that would seek to force us to be socially responsible in the economic realm
Summarily:
...The sad irony is that our false liberal view of human nature - that one advanced by Hobbes and Locke (Bertrand de Jouvenel waggishly commented that such a philosophy was obviously imagined by "childless men who had forgotten their childhoods") - in turn engendered further false views of human nature (in which we could altogether overcome our alienation from one another), such as that advanced by Marx. BOTH are species of an impoverished and false modern understanding of humankind. To move beyond the tired and (what has now stood to be revealed to be) false debate between the Lockeians and the Marxists, we need to re-discover Aristotelian and Thomistic understandings of humanity's true nature. It will not be easy, since Aristotle himself argues that habituation is a powerful shaper of men's mores, and we must acknowledge that most of our contemporary habituation - in the form of popular culture, deep philosophic presuppositions, national mythology, and ubiquitous advertising - instruct us that we are monadic bundles of appetite seeking satiation. We have a highly successful culture of anti-culture, and it is difficult to see how it can be assailed, short of the slow drip-dripping of arguments and practices against it...
So. While it is useful to recall Locke, there is far more to "nature and nature's God" than the cramped and utilitarian vision(s) of the "Left" and "Right."
Let's hope that Ryan remembers that, too.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
The REAL Story Behind Grover Norquist
Back a few years ago, I saw Grover Norquist. He's a very funny guy--and I don't mean 'wierd.' He has a great sense of humor.
He also has a major flaw: his "no-tax pledge." Hovde 'splains it:
...Hovde argued, as have many liberals, that Norquist’s pledge simply protects the status quo, in which politically connected corporations carve out giant loopholes in the tax code. When anybody attempts to close those loopholes, Norquist brands them as “tax hikers.”
“Behind the story with Grover Norquist is he’s funded by giant corporations that have created loopholes in our tax system,” said Hovde. “We need to lower the rates, but we also have to get rid of the corporate welfare....
Frankly, I've had problems with "no tax increase" pledges. We elect someone to do the right thing. If that means dumping a tax loophole (or a Solyndra-like "credit"), then they DO it. If we don't like that, we dis-elect the slob.
HT Playground
He also has a major flaw: his "no-tax pledge." Hovde 'splains it:
...Hovde argued, as have many liberals, that Norquist’s pledge simply protects the status quo, in which politically connected corporations carve out giant loopholes in the tax code. When anybody attempts to close those loopholes, Norquist brands them as “tax hikers.”
“Behind the story with Grover Norquist is he’s funded by giant corporations that have created loopholes in our tax system,” said Hovde. “We need to lower the rates, but we also have to get rid of the corporate welfare....
Frankly, I've had problems with "no tax increase" pledges. We elect someone to do the right thing. If that means dumping a tax loophole (or a Solyndra-like "credit"), then they DO it. If we don't like that, we dis-elect the slob.
HT Playground
Granny to Debtor's Prison, Illegals to Bank!
First graf:
It's no secret that falling behind on student loan payments can squash a borrower's hopes of building savings, buying a home or even finding work. Now, thousands of retirees are learning that defaulting on student debt can threaten something that used to be untouchable: their Social Security benefits.
The 'student loans' here are really loans taken out for their chilluns' or grandchilluns' college expenses.
Meantime, IRS pumped $4Bn or so into the pockets of illegal aliens.
What a Country!!
HT: Grim
It's no secret that falling behind on student loan payments can squash a borrower's hopes of building savings, buying a home or even finding work. Now, thousands of retirees are learning that defaulting on student debt can threaten something that used to be untouchable: their Social Security benefits.
The 'student loans' here are really loans taken out for their chilluns' or grandchilluns' college expenses.
Meantime, IRS pumped $4Bn or so into the pockets of illegal aliens.
What a Country!!
HT: Grim
It's Worse Than Ryan Says.
Somebody has to tell the truth, so USAToday (!!) did it.
The typical American household would have paid nearly all of its income in taxes last year to balance the budget if the government used standard accounting [GAAP] rules to compute the deficit, a USA TODAY analysis finds.
The typical American household would have paid nearly all of its income in taxes last year to balance the budget if the government used standard accounting [GAAP] rules to compute the deficit, a USA TODAY analysis finds.
Under those accounting practices, the government ran red ink last year equal to $42,054 per household — nearly four times the official number reported under unique rules set by Congress.
A U.S. household's median income is $49,445, the Census reports.
Lovely.
And of course, the cooked books lying is "Bi-Partisan":
Deficits are a major issue in this year's presidential campaign, but USA TODAY has calculated federal finances under accounting rules since 2004 and found no correlation between fluctuations in the deficit and which party ran Congress or the White House.
Grim is pessimistic about all this.
Umnnhhh....Ryan's smart enough to know that the Feds are lying. His problem is that--despite 14 years up there--he's still a "junior" MC. There's a certain noblesse oblige which overhangs both Houses of Whores Congress. Ryan sorta had to keep his mouth shut in order to obtain Chair/Budget.
And that's not likely to change until Romney/Ryan win. One can only hope and pray that Romney then takes the lead, institutes GAAP (at least as a side-by-side comparison to prior lies) and pushes, hard, for its adoption in Fed budgeting.
Of course, that exposes him to the possibility of assassination by Members of Congress. He'll have to triple the Secret Service budget before he pulls the blankets off the scam.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
What Paul Ryan Must Overcome
K'hammer (with whom I sometimes disagree...)
What program? Obama laid it out boldly early in his presidency. The roots of the nation’s crisis, he declared, were systemic. Fundamental change was required. He had come to deliver it.
No need to recite the specifics--but every one of them is a failure.
...given that there’s no good reason whatever for Obama to be leading, one can only presume that Romney’s strategy in July and now in August is not working.
So here’s why he should be talking about other things, releasing plans, giving speeches on big topics—-because it’s the only way he can control the discussion. If he says the same thing about the economy every single day, he bores. He provides nothing new for anyone to fix on. He has to feed the beast. And it can’t just be that he puts his toe gingerly in the welfare-reform pool one day and then defend himself for three days after. It all has to keep moving.
IOW, Romney either does a "man up" to his campaign--talking about the ideology--or he slowly becomes another John McPain.
Well.
I quibble with K-hammer's worry about the election; Romney's behind because nobody's paying attention to the election now. They never have. The focus begins in early October. Secondly, Obozo has inertia on his side--for the time being. He IS the President, he seems to be a nice guy, and yes, the MFM has done their kneepad-best.
Nonetheless, Ryan has a lot to do here--and maybe Romney realizes that "the economy" ain't gonna make it; that there is a real, tangible, and very meaningful cultural/ideological divide which must be addressed. Romney can win that battle, and Ryan will be his C-in-C in that effort.
HT: ColdFury
There are two ways to run against Barack Obama: stewardship or ideology. You can run against his record, or you can run against his ideas.
The ideological case, on the other hand, is not just appealing to a center-right country with twice as many conservatives as liberals; it is also explanatory. It underpins the stewardship argument. Obama’s ideology — and the program that followed — explains the failure of these four years.
No need to recite the specifics--but every one of them is a failure.
...given that there’s no good reason whatever for Obama to be leading, one can only presume that Romney’s strategy in July and now in August is not working.
Which is why the “we only talk about the economy” line, while superficially clever, was and is so foolish—stupid, even. Of course Romney wants to focus on that one issue. It’s the one that hurts Obama the most, and the one on which he seems to score the best. He and his team have an idea about the campaign. They need to win independents to win. Independents are less ideological. So don’t press the ideological buttons. Keep it simple. Keep it plain. Obama has hurt you. I’ll help you. Fine.
But that’s not the only reason they’re doing it this way.
Romney and his people prefer this strategy because it’s what is most comfortable to them. He is not, at root, an ideological person. Neither, at root, are they. And the data suggest this is not a time for a sharply ideological campaign. The data suggest Romney needs to run as Mr. Fix-It. That is how Romney prefers to view himself. So the two match perfectly.
Alas for him, that’s not how it works. If conservative ideology is a problem with some independents, it also has the virtue of providing those who use it to discuss the nation’s problems with a pulse. Romney has just learned over the past few weeks that he cannot limit the discussion to the topics he wishes to talk about, especially when his rival is spending $100 million trying to destroy him in the swing states and when the media are largely serving his purposes by acting as though an increase in the unemployment rate and utterly unimpressive jobs-creation numbers are somehow good news.
IOW, Romney either does a "man up" to his campaign--talking about the ideology--or he slowly becomes another John McPain.
Well.
I quibble with K-hammer's worry about the election; Romney's behind because nobody's paying attention to the election now. They never have. The focus begins in early October. Secondly, Obozo has inertia on his side--for the time being. He IS the President, he seems to be a nice guy, and yes, the MFM has done their kneepad-best.
Nonetheless, Ryan has a lot to do here--and maybe Romney realizes that "the economy" ain't gonna make it; that there is a real, tangible, and very meaningful cultural/ideological divide which must be addressed. Romney can win that battle, and Ryan will be his C-in-C in that effort.
HT: ColdFury
Liar-in-Chief
Obozo deliberately obfuscates.
Of all the freedoms we cherish as Americans, of all the rights that we hold sacred, foremost among them is freedom of religion, the right to worship as we choose. It’s enshrined in the First Amendment of our Constitution — the law of the land, always and forever.
Ummnnnhhhh.....no. In relevant part, we have Amendment Number One:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
In Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963), the Supreme Court required states to meet the "strict scrutiny" standard when refusing to accommodate religiously motivated conduct. This meant that a government needed to have a "compelling interest" regarding such a refusal.
"Free exercise" has never been limited to "worship." Religion, by definition, encompasses not only the worldview of its adherents, but the 'exercise' thereof includes acting on moral teachings.
Obozo, the Liar-in-Chief, doesn't like that "acting on moral teachings" part--so he re-defines the First Amendment extremely narrowly: "worship."
He's wrong; he KNOWS he's wrong; and he plays his card anyway.
'S OK. He's a very bad memory as of January 2013.
Of all the freedoms we cherish as Americans, of all the rights that we hold sacred, foremost among them is freedom of religion, the right to worship as we choose. It’s enshrined in the First Amendment of our Constitution — the law of the land, always and forever.
Ummnnnhhhh.....no. In relevant part, we have Amendment Number One:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
In Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963), the Supreme Court required states to meet the "strict scrutiny" standard when refusing to accommodate religiously motivated conduct. This meant that a government needed to have a "compelling interest" regarding such a refusal.
"Free exercise" has never been limited to "worship." Religion, by definition, encompasses not only the worldview of its adherents, but the 'exercise' thereof includes acting on moral teachings.
Obozo, the Liar-in-Chief, doesn't like that "acting on moral teachings" part--so he re-defines the First Amendment extremely narrowly: "worship."
He's wrong; he KNOWS he's wrong; and he plays his card anyway.
'S OK. He's a very bad memory as of January 2013.
"Environomental Justice" = No 45/94 Improvements!
Other than Goofy Gaylor (see below) this has to be the wacky-of-the-week story. (Caution: this is a JSOnline link)
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Madison, argues the project will "have the likely effect of exacerbating regional racial segregation, and it will have adverse environmental effects on air quality and water resources. . . . If the project proceeds, it will have major and significant impacts on the most racially segregated region in the United States."
Yup. It's the Usual Suspects.
Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and Midwest Environmental Advocates filed suit earlier this week against the state and federal transportation departments on behalf of Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope and the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin....
Here's the "claim":
The lawsuit claims that pattern violated the terms of the 2000 settlement of a federal civil rights complaint that alleged state officials discriminated by favoring highway projects that benefited white suburbanites while opposing a light-rail system that could have benefited urban minorities. In that agreement, state officials agreed to help improve area transit, including cooperation with what later became the Milwaukee streetcar plan.
And there's more!!
Another concern is that the Zoo Interchange is being built with the capacity to expand if six-lane freeways are later widened to eight lanes, the lawsuit says.
Boosting the amount of pavement also would increase concerns about storm water runoff, the suit says...
"Environmental Justice", of course, is un-definable. That's why it's in the settlement which Diamond Jim Doyle authorized.
Lawyers like Jimbo Doyle need work, ya' know.
Milwaukee community organizations are suing to block reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange, accusing state and federal transportation officials of discriminating against urban minorities by not including public transit improvements in the $1.7 billion freeway project.
Yup. It's the Usual Suspects.
Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and Midwest Environmental Advocates filed suit earlier this week against the state and federal transportation departments on behalf of Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope and the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin....
Here's the "claim":
The lawsuit claims that pattern violated the terms of the 2000 settlement of a federal civil rights complaint that alleged state officials discriminated by favoring highway projects that benefited white suburbanites while opposing a light-rail system that could have benefited urban minorities. In that agreement, state officials agreed to help improve area transit, including cooperation with what later became the Milwaukee streetcar plan.
And there's more!!
Another concern is that the Zoo Interchange is being built with the capacity to expand if six-lane freeways are later widened to eight lanes, the lawsuit says.
That would bring more traffic and boost air pollution, at a time when "persons of color in the region, especially African-Americans, have higher rates of air-quality-related respiratory disease, such as asthma, than white persons."
"Environmental Justice", of course, is un-definable. That's why it's in the settlement which Diamond Jim Doyle authorized.
Lawyers like Jimbo Doyle need work, ya' know.
"Goofy" Gaylor Hits Roadblock
A. L. Gaylor ("Goofy" to normal people) has been told to buzz off in Steubenville.
...the logo was blasted by the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation as implying Steubenville is a “theocracy” because the distinctive cross atop the Catholic university’s Christ the King Chapel was included alongside several architectural silhouettes, including Historic Fort Steuben and the Veterans Memorial Bridge...
Goofy is the pestilence from Madistan.
The city of Steubenville’s decision last month to remove the Franciscan University of Steubenville’s chapel silhouette from its logo based on an anti-religion group’s legal threat is now on hold after the move triggered a deluge of opposition...
Goofy is the pestilence from Madistan.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Reason v. Teh Gay Marriage Bunch
Just because some need a reminder.
...the broader population thinks opposition to gay marriage is a matter of religion alone. And as such, it can be marginalized. Indeed, it must be marginalized, for our culture assumes a fundamental split between faith and reason. The roots of this split reach back to the medieval period in William of Occam’s nominalist and voluntarist theology, which conceived of God not as reason but as raw arbitrary will. Religion became regarded as irrational. And most modern Christians—whether Protestant or Catholic—accept that split, having absorbed it from the ambient culture.
There’s a reason Occam was never sainted. The broader Christian tradition has claimed God is rational. First, the intelligibility of creation suggests a rational intellect as creator. Second, the first verses of the Gospel of John claim that the logos—the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God—was God and the agent of creation. Most translations render logos as “Word,” but it can also be rendered as “Reason”: “In the beginning was Reason . . . and Reason was God.” The split between faith and reason (and thus religion and the public square) is not a necessary given of Christian theology. Rather, the broader Christian tradition has seen faith and reason operating in harmony.
Another problem with Occam was his innerlekshul progeny of the converse: Nietzsche. It is his 'theology' from which springs abortion and the idea that gay 'marriage' is fine and dandy. See:
But--as is made plain by the Obozo Regime--"reason" has little to do with their opus.
...the broader population thinks opposition to gay marriage is a matter of religion alone. And as such, it can be marginalized. Indeed, it must be marginalized, for our culture assumes a fundamental split between faith and reason. The roots of this split reach back to the medieval period in William of Occam’s nominalist and voluntarist theology, which conceived of God not as reason but as raw arbitrary will. Religion became regarded as irrational. And most modern Christians—whether Protestant or Catholic—accept that split, having absorbed it from the ambient culture.
There’s a reason Occam was never sainted. The broader Christian tradition has claimed God is rational. First, the intelligibility of creation suggests a rational intellect as creator. Second, the first verses of the Gospel of John claim that the logos—the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God—was God and the agent of creation. Most translations render logos as “Word,” but it can also be rendered as “Reason”: “In the beginning was Reason . . . and Reason was God.” The split between faith and reason (and thus religion and the public square) is not a necessary given of Christian theology. Rather, the broader Christian tradition has seen faith and reason operating in harmony.
Another problem with Occam was his innerlekshul progeny of the converse: Nietzsche. It is his 'theology' from which springs abortion and the idea that gay 'marriage' is fine and dandy. See:
It’s a common postmodern maneuver to claim that all appeals to the objectivity of nature and reason are merely masquerades instantiating culture by the will to power. We need to continue having that discussion. But for now, in simpler terms, consider this: Is “Thou shalt not kill” a truth of faith, or a truth of reason? Shall we repeal our laws forbidding murder because its prohibition is found in a religious text?
But--as is made plain by the Obozo Regime--"reason" has little to do with their opus.
The La-La-Land of EPA Bureaucrats
The Other Planet's inhabitants dictate, and you will bow before Zod.
The EPA revealed the requirement to the American Motorcyclist Association in a letter dated Aug. 1, responding to AMA concerns that E15 — a gasoline formulation that contains up to 15 percent ethanol by volume — could be put in motorcycle and ATV gas tanks inadvertently when consumers use blender pumps.
Huh? REQUIRE a minimum of 4 gallons? Won't that.....ahhh....
...Another problem with the new EPA policy, ['cycle ass'n guy] Allard said, is that not all motorcycle and ATV gas tanks hold four or more gallons.
“Not only do we find it unacceptable for the EPA to mandate that everyone — including our members — buy minimum amounts of gas, but the EPA answer simply won’t work because of the sizes of many motorcycle and ATV gas tanks and the fact that off-highway riders take containers of gas with them on their trips, and most times those containers are much smaller than four gallons,” Allard said.
Like, for example, the fuel tank you fill up for your lawnmower or snowblower.
But EPA'crats don't cut their lawns, nor worry about clearing their driveways.
Not on THEIR planet.
HT: Grim
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will require all consumers to buy at least four gallons of gasoline from certain gas pumps after the new E15 ethanol-gasoline blend is introduced into the market.
Huh? REQUIRE a minimum of 4 gallons? Won't that.....ahhh....
...Another problem with the new EPA policy, ['cycle ass'n guy] Allard said, is that not all motorcycle and ATV gas tanks hold four or more gallons.
“Not only do we find it unacceptable for the EPA to mandate that everyone — including our members — buy minimum amounts of gas, but the EPA answer simply won’t work because of the sizes of many motorcycle and ATV gas tanks and the fact that off-highway riders take containers of gas with them on their trips, and most times those containers are much smaller than four gallons,” Allard said.
Like, for example, the fuel tank you fill up for your lawnmower or snowblower.
But EPA'crats don't cut their lawns, nor worry about clearing their driveways.
Not on THEIR planet.
HT: Grim
Holder Will Not Prosecute GoldmanSachs
In another "not news" release today:
... The investigative report by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Levin, found that Goldman Sachs “used net short positions to benefit from the downturn in the mortgage market, and designed, marketed, and sold CDOs in ways that created conflicts of interest with the firm’s clients and at times led to the bank’s profiting from the same products that caused substantial losses for its clients.”
IOW, Goldie screwed its own clients. However, they should have laid back and enjoyed it, right?
A statement from the Justice Department issued late on Thursday evening noted, “Based on the law and evidence as they exist at this time, there is not a viable basis to bring a criminal prosecution with respect to Goldman Sachs or its employees in regard to the allegations set forth in the report.”
There's a pattern here!
...This most recent decision follows other high-profile investigations that Justice decided not to prosecute: There was the collapse of AIG and the role of the top executive at AIG Financial Products division, Joseph Cassano, and former Countrywide CEO Anthony Mozillo, who was fined by the SEC in an insider trading case. Citibank and JP Morgan both had multi-million-dollar settlements with the SEC over collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, tied to the U.S. housing market, but Justice has not brought any criminal cases. Freddie Mac was subpoenaed in a grand jury investigation in 2008 but the firm disclosed in an Aug. 8, 2011, SEC filing that the Justice investigation was closed.
Some pigs are more equal than others.
The Justice Department has decided it will not prosecute Goldman Sachs or its employees for their role in the financial crisis, following an investigation by senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Tom Coburn (R-OK).
IOW, Goldie screwed its own clients. However, they should have laid back and enjoyed it, right?
A statement from the Justice Department issued late on Thursday evening noted, “Based on the law and evidence as they exist at this time, there is not a viable basis to bring a criminal prosecution with respect to Goldman Sachs or its employees in regard to the allegations set forth in the report.”
There's a pattern here!
...This most recent decision follows other high-profile investigations that Justice decided not to prosecute: There was the collapse of AIG and the role of the top executive at AIG Financial Products division, Joseph Cassano, and former Countrywide CEO Anthony Mozillo, who was fined by the SEC in an insider trading case. Citibank and JP Morgan both had multi-million-dollar settlements with the SEC over collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, tied to the U.S. housing market, but Justice has not brought any criminal cases. Freddie Mac was subpoenaed in a grand jury investigation in 2008 but the firm disclosed in an Aug. 8, 2011, SEC filing that the Justice investigation was closed.
Some pigs are more equal than others.
Totalitarian "Mandate" Takes Another Hit
Seems as though the Federal courts don't cotton to totalitarianism.
In that case, Judge Robert H. Cleland ordered the briefing schedule and hearing set. He also instructed that the plaintiffs’ original motion for a temporary restraining order, which would have stopped enforcement of the mandate for up to 14 days, be converted into a motion for a preliminary injunction.
That "injunction" stuff is serious.
Now there’s word from the Thomas More Law Center in Michigan that a federal judge there has set a court date of Sept. 26 for arguments on whether the Obama administration should be enjoined from enforcing the same mandate against Ann Arbor-based Weingartz Supply Co. and Legatus, the nation’s largest organization of top Catholic business leaders.
...As part of that court schedule, the judge noted, “the government agreed not to enforce the regulation against plaintiffs prior to Jan. 1, 2013 …”
In that case, Judge Robert H. Cleland ordered the briefing schedule and hearing set. He also instructed that the plaintiffs’ original motion for a temporary restraining order, which would have stopped enforcement of the mandate for up to 14 days, be converted into a motion for a preliminary injunction.
That "injunction" stuff is serious.
The Cost of Oil
Here's an interesting tidbit:
Shell has been planning to explore the Arctic for seven years and has spent more than $4 billion on leases, permits, and studies to reap an estimated 20 billion barrels of oil.
That tells me that Shell spent 20 cents/bbl just on pre-drilling faddletwatter.
The rest of the article is not "news." It describes the Obozoites' methods of delaying the project.
Shell has been planning to explore the Arctic for seven years and has spent more than $4 billion on leases, permits, and studies to reap an estimated 20 billion barrels of oil.
That tells me that Shell spent 20 cents/bbl just on pre-drilling faddletwatter.
The rest of the article is not "news." It describes the Obozoites' methods of delaying the project.
Thursday, August 09, 2012
Still Think He's NOT a Statist?
Direct quotation from Obozo the SCOAMF:
“I said, I believe in American workers, I believe in this American industry, and now the American auto industry has come roaring back,” he said. “Now I want to do the same thing with manufacturing jobs, not just in the auto industry, but in every industry.
First reported by Politico, relayed by AOSHQ
Umnnnhhh....remember Ford Motor Company? The company that 'roared back' without taxpayer bailout?
How COULD that have happened??
“I said, I believe in American workers, I believe in this American industry, and now the American auto industry has come roaring back,” he said. “Now I want to do the same thing with manufacturing jobs, not just in the auto industry, but in every industry.
First reported by Politico, relayed by AOSHQ
Umnnnhhh....remember Ford Motor Company? The company that 'roared back' without taxpayer bailout?
How COULD that have happened??
Gov. Walker, You're Not Finished Yet
Not a surprise; that "balanced budget" funding had to come from somewhere.
...Ranking 10th on the list of the highest tax states, however, is not so hot for taxpayers.
While tax trackers don’t have more up-to-date numbers, they say the Badger State likely has remained in the top 10 on the tax burden charts in the intervening years, thanks to big tax hikes in 2009-10 and inertia in removing those increases since.
It's not "inertia." State spending cannot be balanced without equal State revenues, and Wisconsin is still a big-spending State.
...Ranking 10th on the list of the highest tax states, however, is not so hot for taxpayers.
That’s where Wisconsin stands — or stood — according to the most recent U.S. Census data, which tracks 2008-09 state revenue.
It's not "inertia." State spending cannot be balanced without equal State revenues, and Wisconsin is still a big-spending State.
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Double-Dealing? Napolitano? NNOOOOOO!!
Strike a deal with a Democrat, lose big on the renege.
...“Even though she denied the waiver request, Secretary Napolitano expressed her Department’s desire to work with Furie ‘to find an equitable way to allow transportation of your rig to Cook Inlet [Alaska]‘ and invited Furie’s representatives to meet immediately with DHS officials to discuss mitigation of any Jones Act penalties,” Furie says in the complaint.
CBP Assitant Commissioner Allen Gina told Furie that he would recommend that the Jones Act penalty not exceed 15 percent of the value of the vessel, and that promise — together with Napolitano’s letter – resulted in Furie towing their rig to Alaska in order to begin drilling for natural gas. It was towed by a foreign ship from the Gulf to Vancouver, and then American tug boats towed it from Vancouver to Alaska.
That was then. This is now:
CBP hit Furie with the maximum penalty of $15 million for using a foreign ship on the first leg of the trip and refused to review Furie’s appeals.
Lie, cheat, steal, and murder pre-born babies. It's the Democrat Way!!
...“Even though she denied the waiver request, Secretary Napolitano expressed her Department’s desire to work with Furie ‘to find an equitable way to allow transportation of your rig to Cook Inlet [Alaska]‘ and invited Furie’s representatives to meet immediately with DHS officials to discuss mitigation of any Jones Act penalties,” Furie says in the complaint.
That was then. This is now:
CBP hit Furie with the maximum penalty of $15 million for using a foreign ship on the first leg of the trip and refused to review Furie’s appeals.
Lie, cheat, steal, and murder pre-born babies. It's the Democrat Way!!
Not A Citizen? IRS *Hearts* You
Try pulling tax-fraud if you ARE a citizen. Can you spell "Leavenworth"?
But if you're not--why, then, IRS management will HELP you!
“Complaints from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees that their supervisors were urging them to ignore potential fraud in a program that reviews and verifies applications for Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) have been validated,” TIGTA announced in a new report.
Un-Fricking-Believable....
But if you're not--why, then, IRS management will HELP you!
Internal Revenue Service supervisors “urged” their subordinates to ignore cases of fraud in applications for Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, which allow foreign nationals to get tax refunds, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported today.
Un-Fricking-Believable....
The Health-Cost Lie
Here's the ObozoLie:
Now, these are the facts. Nobody disputes them.
And here's the truth:
...A January 2012 article in the journal Health Affairs reported that “U.S. health spending grew more slowly in 2009 and 2010—at rates of 3.8 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively—than in any other years during the fifty-one-year history of the National Health Expenditure Accounts.” That article, by economists and statisticians who work for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, says, rather than controlling costs, ObamaCare actually increased health spending by one or two tenths of a percentage point in 2010. Overall, though, the law’s effect in 2010 was less important than were things like “the loss of patent protection for certain brand-name drugs” and “a continuing increase in the use of generic medications,” i.e., those $4 generics at Walmart.
That's not news to one well-connected figure.
“Slowing,” not “skyrocketing,” got that? Now he tells us.
Horse. Barn. Lying Sack of S*&t.
Then there’s the problem of rising cost....insurance premiums have gone up three times faster than wages....our health care system is placing an unsustainable burden on taxpayers. When health care costs grow at the rate they have, it puts greater pressure on programs like Medicare and Medicaid. If we do nothing to slow these skyrocketing costs, we will eventually be spending more on Medicare and Medicaid than every other government program combined....
And here's the truth:
...A January 2012 article in the journal Health Affairs reported that “U.S. health spending grew more slowly in 2009 and 2010—at rates of 3.8 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively—than in any other years during the fifty-one-year history of the National Health Expenditure Accounts.” That article, by economists and statisticians who work for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, says, rather than controlling costs, ObamaCare actually increased health spending by one or two tenths of a percentage point in 2010. Overall, though, the law’s effect in 2010 was less important than were things like “the loss of patent protection for certain brand-name drugs” and “a continuing increase in the use of generic medications,” i.e., those $4 generics at Walmart.
That's not news to one well-connected figure.
The man who was President Obama’s White House budget director, Peter Orszag, weighed in last week from his new perch in the private sector with a column acknowledging that “The rising cost of health care in the U.S. has been slowing over the past few years.”
Horse. Barn. Lying Sack of S*&t.
Nothing New in Obamism
He could have summed it up this way:
“Nothing outside or above the state, nothing against the state, everything within the state, everything for the state.” Fascism rejected the natural law, insisting that rights are granted by the state, not God. The state transcended mere individuals and was “the immanent conscience of the nation.”
....but he called it "Hope 'n Change" instead.
The original is from B. Mussolini.
“Nothing outside or above the state, nothing against the state, everything within the state, everything for the state.” Fascism rejected the natural law, insisting that rights are granted by the state, not God. The state transcended mere individuals and was “the immanent conscience of the nation.”
....but he called it "Hope 'n Change" instead.
The original is from B. Mussolini.
Want to Find a Racist?
Not an hour after this posted, a racist emerged from the Left, where most of 'em are nowadays.
The New Idiots: Bernanke and The Fed
Congress and the Executive Branch are filled with idiots. We shrug acceptance--for the time being.
Now the Fed joins! Ain't life grand??
...a book by Robert Hetzel, a senior economist at Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, says it wasn’t Bushonomics or greedy bankers or broken markets that caused the Great Recession. In The Great Recession: Market Failure or Policy Failure, Hetzel pins the blame squarely on the Federal Reserve and Team Bernanke.
But only a moderate one. It was the Fed’s monetary policy miscues after the downturn began that turned a run-of-the-mill downturn into a once-in-a century disaster.
According to the book, the Fed kept its discount-rate and psychologically 'tightened' it through hawkish yammering; it should have been loosened, instead.
Never forget: Bernanke, who oversaw all this, is an "expert" on the Great Depression.
Now the Fed joins! Ain't life grand??
...a book by Robert Hetzel, a senior economist at Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, says it wasn’t Bushonomics or greedy bankers or broken markets that caused the Great Recession. In The Great Recession: Market Failure or Policy Failure, Hetzel pins the blame squarely on the Federal Reserve and Team Bernanke.
Oh, the downturn first started with “correction of an excess in the housing stock and a sharp increase in energy prices” — the housing bust and the oil shock. Indeed, those two things were enough, in Hetzel’s view, to cause a “moderate recession” beginning in December 2007.
According to the book, the Fed kept its discount-rate and psychologically 'tightened' it through hawkish yammering; it should have been loosened, instead.
Never forget: Bernanke, who oversaw all this, is an "expert" on the Great Depression.
A Simile Worth Stealing
Midst one of the essays at McCain's place:
...Richard Cohen, of the purportedly free press in this country, have permitted Harry Reid to play Gollum to Obama’s Sauron for 3.5 years....
Authored by "Smitty"
Damn good one!
...Richard Cohen, of the purportedly free press in this country, have permitted Harry Reid to play Gollum to Obama’s Sauron for 3.5 years....
Authored by "Smitty"
Damn good one!
More MSM Ignorance on the Sikhs
LawDog mentions it, and so does Grim. But LawDog goes the entire distance.
...One of the tenets of the Sikh religion is that adherents must carry on their person a knife, called a Kirpan. The Kirpan is a reminder that the carrier should have the courage to defend all those who are persecuted or oppressed.
For myself, I choose to believe that Satwant Singh Kaleka went to his God with a smile on his lips and a bloody Kirpan in his hand.
No greater love than this: that a man lay down his life for his friend.
Yes. ALL self-defense weapons would be banned by the Left-o-Bozos, leaving us with 'butter knives.'
We now know how that worked out, eh?
...One of the tenets of the Sikh religion is that adherents must carry on their person a knife, called a Kirpan. The Kirpan is a reminder that the carrier should have the courage to defend all those who are persecuted or oppressed.
In our enlightened, politically-correct times, however, this has caused some problems. The blade -- traditionally between six inches and three feet in length -- seems to be "intimidating" in the Age of the Common Man, and thus has been variously legally required to be "less than four inches", or blunted, or even sealed inside of its scabbard with glue.
I mention this because initial reports state that when Evil presented itself in his place of peace and began to slaughter those of his flock, 65-year-old Satwant Singh Kaleka did his level best to punch the ticket of the decades-younger murderer with what the Media has described as a "butter knife" -- a blunted blade, less than four inches in length.
Some Media reports indicate that there was a "trail of blood" from the spot where Satwant Singh Kaleka did his last duty as a Sikh and as a man; others do not mention it.
No greater love than this: that a man lay down his life for his friend.
Yes. ALL self-defense weapons would be banned by the Left-o-Bozos, leaving us with 'butter knives.'
We now know how that worked out, eh?
The 10th Amendment in New York State
This is one you might not expect: New York State asserts that the 10th Amendment is still operative.
At least, that corruption is what was implied by his actions (note those are my words, not his). Lawsky refused to give Tim Geithner or Ben Bernanke or anyone else at Treasury or the Fed any advance notice of pending legal/regulatory actions. Sorry, Treasury, he seemed to be saying, but your track records preceded you.
Wonders will never cease.
Benjamin Lawsky, head of the New York State Department of Financial Services, has declared that the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve is “too corrupt” to be involved in NY’s actions against money launderers and Iran sponsors at Standard Chartered bank.
Wonders will never cease.
An Essayist Who Gets It
The fact that Roger Kimball's name isn't well-known is an indicator.
...Kimball’s survey articulates his two great themes. The first is the need to battle what he has elsewhere called “cultural amnesia”; the struggle requires recovering the great thinkers and writers of the past, “the salient figures whose works helped weave the great unfolding tapestry of our civilization” but “whose voices have been drowned out by the demotic inanities of pop culture or embalmed by the dead hand of the academy.” Second is the importance of “discrimination,” or what Kimball calls “the gritty job of intellectual and cultural trash collector,” in which one identifies and disposes of the faddish and politicized ephemera that make up most of the art and writing celebrated by the bien-pensant elite. These efforts are essentially educational. As Kimball writes in his preface, today’s students are taught to “regard education as an exercise in disillusionment” and to “look to the past only to corroborate their sense of superiority and self-satisfaction.”...
Indeed.
...Kimball’s survey articulates his two great themes. The first is the need to battle what he has elsewhere called “cultural amnesia”; the struggle requires recovering the great thinkers and writers of the past, “the salient figures whose works helped weave the great unfolding tapestry of our civilization” but “whose voices have been drowned out by the demotic inanities of pop culture or embalmed by the dead hand of the academy.” Second is the importance of “discrimination,” or what Kimball calls “the gritty job of intellectual and cultural trash collector,” in which one identifies and disposes of the faddish and politicized ephemera that make up most of the art and writing celebrated by the bien-pensant elite. These efforts are essentially educational. As Kimball writes in his preface, today’s students are taught to “regard education as an exercise in disillusionment” and to “look to the past only to corroborate their sense of superiority and self-satisfaction.”...
Indeed.
Oh, Yes--There's Another Kleefisch!
A lot of attention has bee paid to Wisconsin's Lieutenant Governor, a bright and attractive cancer survivor.
Meantime, her husband......well......
Representative Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc) has been named a winner of the American Conservative Union Foundation’s Defender of Freedom award, the organization announced today.
“This is in recognition of your perfect score of 100% on ACU's first-ever ratings for the Wisconsin Legislature,” said Larry Hart, the ACT’s Director of Government Relations. “It reflects your outstanding support of conservative principles on a wide range of issues during the 2012 session.”
Not bad at all!!
Meantime, her husband......well......
Representative Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc) has been named a winner of the American Conservative Union Foundation’s Defender of Freedom award, the organization announced today.
“This is in recognition of your perfect score of 100% on ACU's first-ever ratings for the Wisconsin Legislature,” said Larry Hart, the ACT’s Director of Government Relations. “It reflects your outstanding support of conservative principles on a wide range of issues during the 2012 session.”
Not bad at all!!
"Screw 'Em!!"--The Obozo Lying Machine
Evidently being a (D) requires an M.S. in Prevarication--but enough on lying.
Here's the truth.
...As Washington rushed to nationalize the U.S. auto industry with $80 billion in taxpayer "rescue" funds and avoid contested court termination proceedings, the White House auto team and the Treasury Department schemed with Big Labor bosses to preserve UAW members' costly pension funds by shafting their nonunion counterparts.
In addition, the nonunion pensioners lost all of their health and life insurance benefits. The abused workers — most from hard-hit northeast Ohio, Michigan and neighboring states — had devoted decades of their lives as secretaries, technicians, engineers and sales employees at Delphi/GM.
Some workers have watched up to 70 percent of their pensions vanish.
Some are more equal than others, you see.
Here's the truth.
...As Washington rushed to nationalize the U.S. auto industry with $80 billion in taxpayer "rescue" funds and avoid contested court termination proceedings, the White House auto team and the Treasury Department schemed with Big Labor bosses to preserve UAW members' costly pension funds by shafting their nonunion counterparts.
In addition, the nonunion pensioners lost all of their health and life insurance benefits. The abused workers — most from hard-hit northeast Ohio, Michigan and neighboring states — had devoted decades of their lives as secretaries, technicians, engineers and sales employees at Delphi/GM.
Some workers have watched up to 70 percent of their pensions vanish.
Some are more equal than others, you see.
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
Free Money From Obozo!
Egads.
...It has long been a sound principle of immigration law that those who seek citizenship in this country ought to be financially self-sufficient. We were thus shocked to discover that both the State Department and DHS exclude reliance on almost all governmental welfare programs when evaluating whether an alien is likely to become a public charge. Your agencies apply a cramped interpretation of the law in this regard, considering reliance on only two of nearly 80 federal welfare programs as evidence of likelihood of becoming a public charge: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)....--Letter to HRC from four GOP Senators reported at PowerLine
Oh, no. That's not all.
That chart shows tax CREDITS paid to illegals for child-credits.
The Inspector General recommended that, “Legislation should be considered to require a Social Security Number in order to be eligible for the ACTC, consistent with the requirements for the Earned Income Tax Credit… As it now stands, the payment of Federal funds through this tax benefit appears to provide an additional incentive for aliens to enter, reside, and work in the U.S. without authorization, which contradicts Federal law and policy to remove such incentives.” Republican Senators proposed such legislation, but Harry Reid refused to allow it to come to the Senate floor for a vote.
There are many reports that Harry Reid was engaged in pederasty at the time.
...It has long been a sound principle of immigration law that those who seek citizenship in this country ought to be financially self-sufficient. We were thus shocked to discover that both the State Department and DHS exclude reliance on almost all governmental welfare programs when evaluating whether an alien is likely to become a public charge. Your agencies apply a cramped interpretation of the law in this regard, considering reliance on only two of nearly 80 federal welfare programs as evidence of likelihood of becoming a public charge: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)....--Letter to HRC from four GOP Senators reported at PowerLine
Oh, no. That's not all.
The Inspector General recommended that, “Legislation should be considered to require a Social Security Number in order to be eligible for the ACTC, consistent with the requirements for the Earned Income Tax Credit… As it now stands, the payment of Federal funds through this tax benefit appears to provide an additional incentive for aliens to enter, reside, and work in the U.S. without authorization, which contradicts Federal law and policy to remove such incentives.” Republican Senators proposed such legislation, but Harry Reid refused to allow it to come to the Senate floor for a vote.
There are many reports that Harry Reid was engaged in pederasty at the time.
Surprise! ObozoGang Killed Delphi Pensions
Daily Caller found emails which (strongly) suggest that Geithner--not PBGC--killed the non-UAW Delphi pensions.
The matter of "sworn testimony"? Should we call it "perjury"?
Under 29 U.S.C. §1342, the PBGC is the only government entity that is legally empowered to initiate termination of a pension or make any official movements toward doing so.
Umnnhhhh...but PBGC people weren't involved in the meetings leading up to the termination.
“Treasury,” House responded.
...Treasury excluded them from the meeting during which the discussions began, which is likely a violation of 29 U.S.C. §1342. Without a PBGC representative in the room, Treasury officials were legally prohibited from making decision about pensions — or even from moving toward them.
Woopsie....
The matter of "sworn testimony"? Should we call it "perjury"?
“As a result of the Delphi Corporation bankruptcy, for example, Delphi and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation were forced to terminate Delphi’s pension plans, which means there are Delphi retirees who unfortunately will collect less than their full pension benefits,” Feldman testified on July 11, 2012.
The emails TheDC has obtained show that the Treasury Department, not the independent PBGC, was running the show.
Umnnhhhh...but PBGC people weren't involved in the meetings leading up to the termination.
Morris had written earlier that day that the PBGC team would “probably get invited to the Monday meeting at tomorrow’s meeting,” and that the Monday meeting would involve “talks” on the GM and Delphi portions of the bailout plan. Those strategies, she wrote, including “pension issues,” would be “kicking off” that Monday.
But after the Friday meeting, House emailed PBGC staffers Karen Morris and John Menke. “We’ve been disinvited,” he wrote. “It’s for the best.”
“Who uninvited us?” Morris replied.
...Treasury excluded them from the meeting during which the discussions began, which is likely a violation of 29 U.S.C. §1342. Without a PBGC representative in the room, Treasury officials were legally prohibited from making decision about pensions — or even from moving toward them.
Woopsie....
Monday, August 06, 2012
The Threat of Obamism
Yuval Levin:
The Right’s high regard for civil society, meanwhile, is driven above all not by a disdain for government but by a deeply held belief in the importance of our diverse and evolved societal forms, without which we could not hope to secure our liberty. Conservatives seek mechanisms and institutions to bring implicit social knowledge to bear on our troubles, while progressives seek the authority and power to bring explicit technical knowledge to bear on them.
Obamism, unchecked, is all about 'seeking authority and power'--and more and more it's not "seeking" but rather arrogating that power to itself.
It must be eradicated.
HT: AmSpecBlog
The Left’s disdain for civil society is thus driven above all not by a desire to empower the state without limit, but by a deeply held concern that the mediating institutions in society — emphatically including the family, the church, and private enterprise — are instruments of prejudice, selfishness, backwardness, and resistance to change, and that in order to establish our national life on more rational grounds, the government needs to weaken and counteract them.
Obamism, unchecked, is all about 'seeking authority and power'--and more and more it's not "seeking" but rather arrogating that power to itself.
It must be eradicated.
HT: AmSpecBlog
Burke Rises
The latest Batman movie has a surprise for the Left-O-Wackies:
Bane’s desolate and ravaged Gotham, which Nolan portrays as the natural endpoint of an Occupy Wall Street-style uprising, is really just a dictatorship that pretends to be a people’s government, and The Dark Knight Rises is a ferocious rebuke to “leaders” who claim that popular backing and concern for the downtrodden justifies their seizing ever more power for themselves. Batman understands that, in the words of his fellow conservative Edmund Burke, “it is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare.”
Indeed.
1. Batman is a Burkean.
Indeed.
The Dirty Liar's Dirty Deals
The Dirty Liar--just coincidence, mind you--has dirt written all over him.
....There’s another factor, however, one more personal to Reid: His son, Rory Reid, is one of the attorneys for the ENN Mojave Energy project. A Reid spokeswoman said the senator did not suggest Reid’s firm – Lionel, Sawyer & Collins – to ENN, nor has the elder Reid spoken to this son about the deal.
The first part of that statement is the classic non-denial denial. As to the second part: multiple sources have told me that the Dirty Liar speaks with his son regularly.
And we vigorously disagree with Carroll's take on The Dirty Liar Affair.
Priebus offered his opinion on Reid’s character after Stephanopoulos asked him to comment on Reid’s assertion that someone told him Romney did not pay any taxes for ten years....
Actually, Priebus is speaking the truth, which is not 'worse discourse.' Reince is cleaning the Augean stables with something called "truth."
It's about damn time that someone called The Dirty Liar a Dirty Liar. Sunshine, disinfectant, and all that.
....There’s another factor, however, one more personal to Reid: His son, Rory Reid, is one of the attorneys for the ENN Mojave Energy project. A Reid spokeswoman said the senator did not suggest Reid’s firm – Lionel, Sawyer & Collins – to ENN, nor has the elder Reid spoken to this son about the deal.
The first part of that statement is the classic non-denial denial. As to the second part: multiple sources have told me that the Dirty Liar speaks with his son regularly.
And we vigorously disagree with Carroll's take on The Dirty Liar Affair.
If you thought the discourse in Washington couldn’t get any worse, it just did. Yesterday on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a “dirty liar.”
Actually, Priebus is speaking the truth, which is not 'worse discourse.' Reince is cleaning the Augean stables with something called "truth."
It's about damn time that someone called The Dirty Liar a Dirty Liar. Sunshine, disinfectant, and all that.
Not "Crazy"
The influence of Satan has created six more victims.
The shooter was not "crazy." He was evil--just like the Colorado shooter.
Oremus for the victims, their families, and the country.
The shooter was not "crazy." He was evil--just like the Colorado shooter.
Oremus for the victims, their families, and the country.
Sunday, August 05, 2012
The Statists Have Their Plan
For Jimbo, who doesn't quite get it, we quite from Small Wars Journal:
...In this paper, we posit a scenario in which a group of political reactionaries take over a strategically positioned town and have the tacit support of not only local law enforcement but also state government officials, right up to the governor. Under present law, which initially stemmed from bad feelings about Reconstruction, the military’s domestic role is highly circumscribed. In the situation we lay out below, even though the governor refuses to seek federal help to quell the uprising (the usual channel for military assistance), the Constitution allows the president broad leeway in times of insurrection. Citing the precedents of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and Dwight D. Eisenhower sending troops to Little Rock in 1957, the president mobilizes the military and the Department of Homeland Security, to regain control of the city. This scenario requires us to consider how domestic intelligence is gathered and shared, the role of local law enforcement (to the extent that it supports the operation), the scope and limits of the Insurrection Act--for example maintaining a military chain of command but in support of the Attorney General as the Department of Justice is the Lead Federal Agency (LFA) under the conditions of the Act--and the roles of the local, national, and international media.
The essay was written during the Bush Administration.
...In May 2016 an extremist militia motivated by the goals of the “tea party” movement takes over the government of Darlington, South Carolina, occupying City Hall, disbanding the city council, and placing the mayor under house arrest. Activists remove the chief of police and either disarm local police and county sheriff departments or discourage them from interfering. In truth, this is hardly necessary. Many law enforcement officials already are sympathetic to the tea party’s agenda, know many of the people involved, and have made clear they will not challenge the takeover. The militia members are organized and have a relatively well thought-out plan of action...
What....not the Black Panthers? Not the KKK? Not Occupy Wall Street?
Wait, wait:
...When the leaders of the group hold a press conference to announce their goals, they invoke the Declaration of Independence and argue that the current form of the federal government is not deriving its “just powers from the consent of the governed” but is actually “destructive to these ends.” Therefore, they say, the people can alter or abolish the existing government and replace it with another that, in the words of the Declaration, “shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.” While mainstream politicians and citizens react with alarm, the “tea party” insurrectionists in South Carolina enjoy a groundswell of support from other tea party groups, militias, racist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, anti-immigrant associations such as the Minutemen, and other right-wing groups....
The Reagan Administration was helpful:
...Executive Order 12333, United States Intelligence Activities, dated 4 December 1981, relates mostly to intelligence gathering outside the continental United States. However, it also outlines in broad terms permissible information-gathering within the United States and on American citizens and permanent resident aliens, categorized as United States persons....
....The pace of the operation needs to be deliberate and controlled. Combat units will conduct overt Show of Force operations to remind the insurrectionists they are now facing professional military forces, with all the training and equipment that implies. Army and Marine units will remove road blocks and check points both overtly and covertly with minimum essential force to ratchet up pressure continually on insurrectionist leadership. Representatives of state and local government as well as federalized South Carolina National Guard units will care for residents choosing to flee Darlington. A focus on the humanitarian aspect of the effort will be politically more palatable for the state and local officials. Federal forces continue to tighten the noose as troops seize and secure power and water stations, radio and TV stations, and hospitals. The final phase of the operation, restoring order and returning properly elected officials to their offices, will be the most sensitive....
The combox is interesting. Here's a (presumably) well-informed dissent:
...There was a jarring lack of concern for the Constitutional rights of our citizens amongst the field grade and flag officers that I spoke with during my time as part of JTF-KATRINA. As someone who takes their oath extremely seriously, it was disconcerting and disheartening to see those above me blithely ignoring the fact that their viewpoints were in direct conflict with the oaths they swore. In the few cases I made mention of such concerns, such thoughts were dismissed out of hand, sometimes in a most hostile manner.
An observation which is not surprising (see, e.g., the pantingly-PC Police Chiefs). It would be FAR more interesting to know the level of concern for Constitutional rights among the line officers, NCOs, and troops. The staff- and field-grade brass might be surprised to find how few troops are actually following them, or their orders.
...In this paper, we posit a scenario in which a group of political reactionaries take over a strategically positioned town and have the tacit support of not only local law enforcement but also state government officials, right up to the governor. Under present law, which initially stemmed from bad feelings about Reconstruction, the military’s domestic role is highly circumscribed. In the situation we lay out below, even though the governor refuses to seek federal help to quell the uprising (the usual channel for military assistance), the Constitution allows the president broad leeway in times of insurrection. Citing the precedents of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and Dwight D. Eisenhower sending troops to Little Rock in 1957, the president mobilizes the military and the Department of Homeland Security, to regain control of the city. This scenario requires us to consider how domestic intelligence is gathered and shared, the role of local law enforcement (to the extent that it supports the operation), the scope and limits of the Insurrection Act--for example maintaining a military chain of command but in support of the Attorney General as the Department of Justice is the Lead Federal Agency (LFA) under the conditions of the Act--and the roles of the local, national, and international media.
The essay was written during the Bush Administration.
...In May 2016 an extremist militia motivated by the goals of the “tea party” movement takes over the government of Darlington, South Carolina, occupying City Hall, disbanding the city council, and placing the mayor under house arrest. Activists remove the chief of police and either disarm local police and county sheriff departments or discourage them from interfering. In truth, this is hardly necessary. Many law enforcement officials already are sympathetic to the tea party’s agenda, know many of the people involved, and have made clear they will not challenge the takeover. The militia members are organized and have a relatively well thought-out plan of action...
What....not the Black Panthers? Not the KKK? Not Occupy Wall Street?
Wait, wait:
...When the leaders of the group hold a press conference to announce their goals, they invoke the Declaration of Independence and argue that the current form of the federal government is not deriving its “just powers from the consent of the governed” but is actually “destructive to these ends.” Therefore, they say, the people can alter or abolish the existing government and replace it with another that, in the words of the Declaration, “shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.” While mainstream politicians and citizens react with alarm, the “tea party” insurrectionists in South Carolina enjoy a groundswell of support from other tea party groups, militias, racist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, anti-immigrant associations such as the Minutemen, and other right-wing groups....
The Reagan Administration was helpful:
...Executive Order 12333, United States Intelligence Activities, dated 4 December 1981, relates mostly to intelligence gathering outside the continental United States. However, it also outlines in broad terms permissible information-gathering within the United States and on American citizens and permanent resident aliens, categorized as United States persons....
....The pace of the operation needs to be deliberate and controlled. Combat units will conduct overt Show of Force operations to remind the insurrectionists they are now facing professional military forces, with all the training and equipment that implies. Army and Marine units will remove road blocks and check points both overtly and covertly with minimum essential force to ratchet up pressure continually on insurrectionist leadership. Representatives of state and local government as well as federalized South Carolina National Guard units will care for residents choosing to flee Darlington. A focus on the humanitarian aspect of the effort will be politically more palatable for the state and local officials. Federal forces continue to tighten the noose as troops seize and secure power and water stations, radio and TV stations, and hospitals. The final phase of the operation, restoring order and returning properly elected officials to their offices, will be the most sensitive....
The combox is interesting. Here's a (presumably) well-informed dissent:
...There was a jarring lack of concern for the Constitutional rights of our citizens amongst the field grade and flag officers that I spoke with during my time as part of JTF-KATRINA. As someone who takes their oath extremely seriously, it was disconcerting and disheartening to see those above me blithely ignoring the fact that their viewpoints were in direct conflict with the oaths they swore. In the few cases I made mention of such concerns, such thoughts were dismissed out of hand, sometimes in a most hostile manner.
An observation which is not surprising (see, e.g., the pantingly-PC Police Chiefs). It would be FAR more interesting to know the level of concern for Constitutional rights among the line officers, NCOs, and troops. The staff- and field-grade brass might be surprised to find how few troops are actually following them, or their orders.
ObozoStatism "Healthcare"
How it really works:
So, it’s $36,500 per year if you don’t cover an employee’s IUDs, but only $2000 if you don’t offer her anything *at all.* --Jester quoting Price
IOW, this has nothing, whatever, to do with 'offering healthcare.' It has everything to do with persecuting religious observance.
It's a virulent form of Statism. Ask John Adams, or George Washington, or Tom Jefferson about that.
There are three forms of resistance available: the soapbox, the ballot box, and the cartridge box. Obviously, the soap box didn't work. Let's hope that the ballot box is the solution, eh?
To show you what the administration’s priorities really are, an employer that does not offer health insurance under Obamacare will pay a $2000 annual penalty for each worker.
But the penalty for failing to offer the pill is $100 per day per employee.
IOW, this has nothing, whatever, to do with 'offering healthcare.' It has everything to do with persecuting religious observance.
It's a virulent form of Statism. Ask John Adams, or George Washington, or Tom Jefferson about that.
There are three forms of resistance available: the soapbox, the ballot box, and the cartridge box. Obviously, the soap box didn't work. Let's hope that the ballot box is the solution, eh?
Saturday, August 04, 2012
Cops on RKBA
Some commenter asked for 'proof' that cops support RKBA a while back.
John Lott provides it.
...Take the annual survey by the National Association of Chiefs of Police of more than 20,000 chiefs of police and sheriffs. In 2010 it found that 95% believed "any law-abiding citizen [should] be able to purchase a firearm for sport or self-defense." Seventy-seven percent believed that concealed-handgun permits issued in one state should be honored by other states "in the way that drivers' licenses are recognized through the country"—and that making citizens' permits portable would "facilitate the violent crime-fighting potential of the professional law enforcement community."
(SOME police chiefs--political toadies who get quoted a lot in the MFM--are opposed.)
As to street cops:
...A 2007 national survey of sworn police officers by Police Magazine found that 88% disagreed that "tighter restrictions on handgun ownership would increase or enhance public safety." In the same survey, 67% opposed tighter gun control because the "law would only be obeyed by law-abiding citizens."
We knew that.
John Lott provides it.
...Take the annual survey by the National Association of Chiefs of Police of more than 20,000 chiefs of police and sheriffs. In 2010 it found that 95% believed "any law-abiding citizen [should] be able to purchase a firearm for sport or self-defense." Seventy-seven percent believed that concealed-handgun permits issued in one state should be honored by other states "in the way that drivers' licenses are recognized through the country"—and that making citizens' permits portable would "facilitate the violent crime-fighting potential of the professional law enforcement community."
(SOME police chiefs--political toadies who get quoted a lot in the MFM--are opposed.)
As to street cops:
...A 2007 national survey of sworn police officers by Police Magazine found that 88% disagreed that "tighter restrictions on handgun ownership would increase or enhance public safety." In the same survey, 67% opposed tighter gun control because the "law would only be obeyed by law-abiding citizens."
We knew that.
Feds to Midwest: "No Gasoline for You!!"
Seems like the Feds are behaving in their normal fashion, obstructing whatever they can.
...Some in the industry are beginning to talk about possible shortages of gasoline in the region.
"I know the terminals and they said refineries are down," he said. "They could start allocating. It's possible."
Most people in SE Wisconsin know about the broken pipeline near Jackson. But there's another one Up Nort'.
...Roth said Enbridge Energy Pipeline, which ruptured a week ago, has been fixed but the government is asking for further testing at the site of the spill.
But then, common sense is not built into Gummint-brain, is it?
...Some in the industry are beginning to talk about possible shortages of gasoline in the region.
Independent gas station owner Richard Klein said that that supplies could become a bit tighter in the coming weeks.
Most people in SE Wisconsin know about the broken pipeline near Jackson. But there's another one Up Nort'.
...Roth said Enbridge Energy Pipeline, which ruptured a week ago, has been fixed but the government is asking for further testing at the site of the spill.
"Our question is why not allow it to be restarted and then have it inspected," she said. "It just makes no sense to us."
But then, common sense is not built into Gummint-brain, is it?
The Little Lord Fauntelroy Lefties
Charlie Daniels has a point here.
...I think that Boston Mayor, Thomas Menino, Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, and a few other “progressive” mayors showed the true colors of the left this week when they basically told Chick-fil-A, "If you don't believe the way we do we don't want you in our towns."
Of course they haven't, they don't have the cojones. They never do.
We don't expect Obozo to remark on the curious Muslim practice of stoning adulterers (and homosexuals) either--nor of their practice of elbowing or firebombing non-Muslims out of their homes in Lebanon or Egypt.
Their powder-blue waistcoats might get dirty.
...I think that Boston Mayor, Thomas Menino, Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, and a few other “progressive” mayors showed the true colors of the left this week when they basically told Chick-fil-A, "If you don't believe the way we do we don't want you in our towns."
I think that the encyclopedias should put pictures of Menino, Emanuel and their similarly minded counterparts next to the definitions of hypocrites and cowards, and I don't say that lightly.
Muslims don't believe in same-sex marriage either, but have any of the stalwart mayors attacked any Muslims or Muslim businesses or told them they were not welcome in Chicago, Boston or San Francisco?
We don't expect Obozo to remark on the curious Muslim practice of stoning adulterers (and homosexuals) either--nor of their practice of elbowing or firebombing non-Muslims out of their homes in Lebanon or Egypt.
Their powder-blue waistcoats might get dirty.
Under the Top Line of Unemployment
Some will say this is all "retirements."
Really?
...people who simply left the labor force (150,000) exceeded the number of newly unemployed (45,000) by more than two to one (105,000).
Hmmmm.
Really?
There were 195,000 fewer people employed in the United States in July than in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics...
Hmmmm.
Friday, August 03, 2012
Tommy Thompson's ChooChoo Chomps Taxpayers. Again.
Tommy Thompson's favorite train.
“It costs passengers $9.50 to buy a cheeseburger on Amtrak, but the cost to taxpayers is $16.15," said [Rep. John Mica (R-FL)]. "Riders pay $2.00 for a Pepsi, but each of these sodas costs the U.S. Treasury $3.40." --AOSHQ quoting Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It takes a special sort of stupid to lose money on a $9.50 cheeseburger.
The "conservative budget-slashing" Thompson sat on the Amtrak Board and loved it.
His toy train? A complete loser. Best for all of us that Tommy retires to his home's Lionel train-set.
“It costs passengers $9.50 to buy a cheeseburger on Amtrak, but the cost to taxpayers is $16.15," said [Rep. John Mica (R-FL)]. "Riders pay $2.00 for a Pepsi, but each of these sodas costs the U.S. Treasury $3.40." --AOSHQ quoting Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It takes a special sort of stupid to lose money on a $9.50 cheeseburger.
The "conservative budget-slashing" Thompson sat on the Amtrak Board and loved it.
His toy train? A complete loser. Best for all of us that Tommy retires to his home's Lionel train-set.
Don't Cry for Farmers. Your Kids Will Pay for Them.
This "crop insurance" racket is a lot worse than you might have thought.
...The USDA crop insurance program insures 264 million acres, 1.14 million policies, and $110 billion worth of liability on about 500,000 farms nationally.
Got that? Taxpayers pay MORE THAN HALF of the insurance premiums. But we're not done yet.
The top 10 percent of policyholders received more than 50 percent of premium subsidies last year. The bottom 80 percent of policyholders received 27 percent of premium subsidies.
So. The largest farms (not the '40 acres and a cow' bunch) sucked most of the TAXPAYER money--and it's money which pays the PREMIUMS, not even the claims--so far.
That's before they Corn-A-Hole us.
As to the "insurance companies"--oh, yes, they're on your teat, too!!
Taxpayers, through the Agricultural Risk Protection Act, paid $22 billion to deliver $11 billion in net payments to farmers between 2000 and 2008, according to Iowa State University economists...
So. You pay most of the premiums, then you lose another $11 BN or so to the "insurers."
Then you get Corn-A-Holed, too.
Can you spell "racketeering"?
...The USDA crop insurance program insures 264 million acres, 1.14 million policies, and $110 billion worth of liability on about 500,000 farms nationally.
The brunt of that program and its payments is paid for by taxpayers.
The Risk Management Agency, which manages the USDA crop insurance, subsidizes crop insurance premiums — through taxpayers — in two ways. First, the insurance company receives a taxpayer subsidy for administrative and overhead costs. Second, the RMA subsidizes part of the producer’s premium.
Taxpayers subsidize farmers and the 16 insurance agencies working with USDA for billions of dollars.
In 2011, taxpayer subsidies for farmers’ premiums equaled $7.42 billion, $3 billion more than farmers paid in premiums themselves, according to the Environmental Working Group, which tracks farm subsidies.Got that? Taxpayers pay MORE THAN HALF of the insurance premiums. But we're not done yet.
The top 10 percent of policyholders received more than 50 percent of premium subsidies last year. The bottom 80 percent of policyholders received 27 percent of premium subsidies.
So. The largest farms (not the '40 acres and a cow' bunch) sucked most of the TAXPAYER money--and it's money which pays the PREMIUMS, not even the claims--so far.
That's before they Corn-A-Hole us.
As to the "insurance companies"--oh, yes, they're on your teat, too!!
Insurers have been insulated from the down years by keeping a higher proportion of underwriting gains — where premium collections exceeded insurance payments — and writing off a larger portion of underwriting losses.
So. You pay most of the premiums, then you lose another $11 BN or so to the "insurers."
Then you get Corn-A-Holed, too.
Can you spell "racketeering"?
Incompetent? Look to Racine's City Clerk
A hullabaloo of the first order was screeched by the LameStreamMedia over a non-report of Brookfield's votes in the SCOWI election. The vote was accurately recorded, and accurately posted, but the posting was 12 hours late.
(In other words, the LameStream "reporters" couldn't add, and expected the County Clerk to do the math for them.)
So. We expect another hullabaloo over THIS, right?
... As many as 23 voter registration forms signed by Racine City Clerk Johnson-Martin failed to list the voter’s proof of residence type – information required by state law in fully completed voter registration forms.
Incompetence (and we're being generous here) calls for LameStream screeching, right?
Right?
(In other words, the LameStream "reporters" couldn't add, and expected the County Clerk to do the math for them.)
So. We expect another hullabaloo over THIS, right?
A Media Trackers review of voter registration forms from the recall election shows that Racine City Clerk Janice M. Johnson-Martin personally failed to follow state protocol when registering voters.
Incompetence (and we're being generous here) calls for LameStream screeching, right?
Right?
"Nope. Corn-A-Holing Is NOT a Problem. LOOK!! A Squirrel!!!"
Rational thinking--such as recognizing the supply/price line--is not a hallmark of the Corn-A-Holers.
With the drought conditions continuing throughout much of the country, we already know that this year's corn yield will be down, potentially resulting in price increases for animal feed and consumer food products.
Ethanol opponents are already fingering the industry as one of the contributors to these expected price increases. In fact, they're in the process of trying to convince the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to waive the existing Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as a means to keep the cost of animal feed down for livestock producers.
This mindset is absolutely wrong. [SQUIRREL!!!!] The ethanol industry should not be held responsible for the consequences of this year's unusual weather patterns.
Actually, no one 'holds the Corn-A-Holers responsible for weather.' Rape and robbery of consumers, yes. Weather? No.
Josh then goes into a useless explanation of 'Rape and Robbery credits' a/k/a "RIN numbers."
It's all so neat and clean, just like balance sheets and counter-debits, and like that stuff, see? (It's three-card monte, in the real world).
Thanks anyway, Josh. We didn't look at the squirrel. We're focused on the price of corn and cereal, not on your squirrelly bullroar.
With the drought conditions continuing throughout much of the country, we already know that this year's corn yield will be down, potentially resulting in price increases for animal feed and consumer food products.
Ethanol opponents are already fingering the industry as one of the contributors to these expected price increases. In fact, they're in the process of trying to convince the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to waive the existing Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as a means to keep the cost of animal feed down for livestock producers.
This mindset is absolutely wrong. [SQUIRREL!!!!] The ethanol industry should not be held responsible for the consequences of this year's unusual weather patterns.
Actually, no one 'holds the Corn-A-Holers responsible for weather.' Rape and robbery of consumers, yes. Weather? No.
Josh then goes into a useless explanation of 'Rape and Robbery credits' a/k/a "RIN numbers."
It's all so neat and clean, just like balance sheets and counter-debits, and like that stuff, see? (It's three-card monte, in the real world).
Thanks anyway, Josh. We didn't look at the squirrel. We're focused on the price of corn and cereal, not on your squirrelly bullroar.
That "Right to Vote" Thing? Not in Obozo's World!
Well, well.
...On July 17th, the Obama for America Campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and the Ohio Democratic Party filed suit in OH to strike down part of that state's law governing voting by members of the military. Their suit said that part of the law is "arbitrary" with "no discernible rational basis."
What maroons this guy and his Party really are.
...On July 17th, the Obama for America Campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and the Ohio Democratic Party filed suit in OH to strike down part of that state's law governing voting by members of the military. Their suit said that part of the law is "arbitrary" with "no discernible rational basis."
What maroons this guy and his Party really are.
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Limbaugh and The Chickin
Very significant insight.
Students of history know that there are rarely singular triggers to world-changing events.
.... The greatest trick that Hollywood, the lying liberal media and the Democrat Party was able to conjure was the illusion of their power and our isolation. As tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Americans are realizing in a simple act of conscious commerce today and this evening, we are legion. There are far more of us than there are of them, and in that realization, our power grows, and our desire to give up even a fraction more of our rights, shrinks...--Cold Fury quoting Bob Owens
Those of you who have listened to Rush Limbaugh for several years recall that one of Limbaugh's recurring themes was that 'lots of conservative folks found out that they are NOT alone in their un-ease...that his listener base of well over 10 million affirmed them, encouraged them, (etc.)'
Hmmmmm.
The massive crowd reaction locally and nationwide are driven by a loathing of arrogant politicians like those in Boston, New York, Chicago and San Francisco who feel they have the power and the authority to tell a businessman like Dan Cathy what personal opinions he can and cannot hold if he wants to do business in “their” towns.
They trampled on his religious beliefs. They trampled on his freedom of speech. They attempted to deny him and his franchisees the rights to start small businesses, merely because a free American dared to share what he believed.
.... The greatest trick that Hollywood, the lying liberal media and the Democrat Party was able to conjure was the illusion of their power and our isolation. As tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Americans are realizing in a simple act of conscious commerce today and this evening, we are legion. There are far more of us than there are of them, and in that realization, our power grows, and our desire to give up even a fraction more of our rights, shrinks...--Cold Fury quoting Bob Owens
Those of you who have listened to Rush Limbaugh for several years recall that one of Limbaugh's recurring themes was that 'lots of conservative folks found out that they are NOT alone in their un-ease...that his listener base of well over 10 million affirmed them, encouraged them, (etc.)'
Hmmmmm.
The "D" Word
Hmmmm.
There is nothing more depressing than hearing about a new recession when you haven’t fully recovered from the last one. I take heart in suspecting that in a still-distant future, historians will look back with clarity and call this whole rotten period a depression. --AOSHQ quoting CBS MarketWatch
Just what Obozo needs.
The Great Depression that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke claims to have averted has been part of the background radiation of our economy since at least 2008.
It’s just that like radiation — it’s invisible.
We’ve called it the recovery, the jobless recovery, the slogging recovery and more recently the fading recovery. We’ve measured modest growth in our nation’s gross domestic product to record that our so-called Great Recession ended in June 2009. And now we are saying that if this disappointing growth suddenly disappears, as currently feared, we will be in a new recession.
Just what Obozo needs.
Some Damn Bug Holds Up Keystone
Yup. The heat was on in Obozo's kitchen, so he (partially) caved on the Keystone pipeline, making it the "pipeline to nowhere."
But that's not the end of the story. Obozo's Cabinet (USFWS) managed to find another way to stop construction.
“A federal agency‘s recent decision involving the endangered American burying beetle could cause up to a year’s delay in construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, if the project wins federal approval,” the Omaha World-Herald reported Wednesday.
Umnnhhhhh.....huh?
...an official with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed the agency is not allowing researchers hired by pipeline TransCanada to trap and relocate the endangered beetles from the new path of the controversial crude-oil pipeline until the project receives federal approval.
That arabesque is unprecedented, folks.
But that's not the end of the story. Obozo's Cabinet (USFWS) managed to find another way to stop construction.
“A federal agency‘s recent decision involving the endangered American burying beetle could cause up to a year’s delay in construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, if the project wins federal approval,” the Omaha World-Herald reported Wednesday.
Umnnhhhhh.....huh?
...an official with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed the agency is not allowing researchers hired by pipeline TransCanada to trap and relocate the endangered beetles from the new path of the controversial crude-oil pipeline until the project receives federal approval.
That arabesque is unprecedented, folks.
The Plan Is Working!!
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Egads! Uppity Wisconsin Asks the Right Question
Recently, Tim Sullivan (ex-CEO/Bucyrus-Erie) has been making noises about mandating 'shop training' in schools. Seems that he and others can't find enough "technically qualified" people standing in line to work at B-E, or something.
Uppity Wisconsin commented:
...Sullivan is chairman of the Governor's Council on Workforce Investment. He wants Walker to change how the state spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year in federal job training funds. He would do that in part by tying the funds to local education reform. Regional groups applying for the federal funs would have to justify their proposals by offering commitments to reform public education from kindergarten through twelfth grade at every pubilc school in the their region, along with changes at all the region's public technical colleges. Does the region need more highly skilled welders, as Sullivan reports? Well, then, if your area wants to grab federal dollars to train more pupils for work, then you had better have a plan to train welders.
Ummmnnnhhhhh.....they're a bit over the top, as usual. But they pose a very good question.
Not that long ago, public (and private) education gave kids a VERY sound "three R's" foundation. One was expected to know elementary algebra and geometry to graduate from HS, and pretty-good students got Algebra 2 (now known as FST) and physics or chem.
That was in addition to knowing English grammar, spelling, and composition.
Some high schools also offered "vocational" training, but there were only a few--such as Boys' Tech HS in Milwaukee.
Then the kid graduated and went to work, WHERE HIS EMPLOYER TRAINED HIM in all the necessary crafts, whether electricity, mechanical drafting/design, welding, machining, (etc.)
Now it seems that the Capitalist Types expect the taxpayers (schools) to assume the costs of training workers for B-E et.al.
These are the "Capitalists" who "made it all on their own", eh?
Really??
Uppity Wisconsin commented:
...Sullivan is chairman of the Governor's Council on Workforce Investment. He wants Walker to change how the state spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year in federal job training funds. He would do that in part by tying the funds to local education reform. Regional groups applying for the federal funs would have to justify their proposals by offering commitments to reform public education from kindergarten through twelfth grade at every pubilc school in the their region, along with changes at all the region's public technical colleges. Does the region need more highly skilled welders, as Sullivan reports? Well, then, if your area wants to grab federal dollars to train more pupils for work, then you had better have a plan to train welders.
Ummmnnnhhhhh.....they're a bit over the top, as usual. But they pose a very good question.
Not that long ago, public (and private) education gave kids a VERY sound "three R's" foundation. One was expected to know elementary algebra and geometry to graduate from HS, and pretty-good students got Algebra 2 (now known as FST) and physics or chem.
That was in addition to knowing English grammar, spelling, and composition.
Some high schools also offered "vocational" training, but there were only a few--such as Boys' Tech HS in Milwaukee.
Then the kid graduated and went to work, WHERE HIS EMPLOYER TRAINED HIM in all the necessary crafts, whether electricity, mechanical drafting/design, welding, machining, (etc.)
Now it seems that the Capitalist Types expect the taxpayers (schools) to assume the costs of training workers for B-E et.al.
These are the "Capitalists" who "made it all on their own", eh?
Really??
What Might "Free Trade" Mean to You?
The earlier part of the essay contains the predicate statistics; here's the upshot:
....But more importantly, note what this signifies for the USA if the apostles of free trade were ever able to achieve their goal of permitting international trade to take place on the same terms as American domestic trade in a manner that realized the anticipated economic benefits: at least fifty percent of American workers would be expected to leave the USA by the average age of 35!
This vast exodus of young Americans would say nothing, of course, of the hundreds of millions of non-American workers who would be expected to enter the USA, with all of the various consequences to be expected as a result of immigration that is an order of magnitude larger than the current wave....
Oh, what the Hell. Let 'em all leave. That'll do wonders for the Social Security and Medicare funding, right?
....But more importantly, note what this signifies for the USA if the apostles of free trade were ever able to achieve their goal of permitting international trade to take place on the same terms as American domestic trade in a manner that realized the anticipated economic benefits: at least fifty percent of American workers would be expected to leave the USA by the average age of 35!
This vast exodus of young Americans would say nothing, of course, of the hundreds of millions of non-American workers who would be expected to enter the USA, with all of the various consequences to be expected as a result of immigration that is an order of magnitude larger than the current wave....
Oh, what the Hell. Let 'em all leave. That'll do wonders for the Social Security and Medicare funding, right?
How Does One Define "Democrat"?
This will be a shock to the Southern Democrats.
Reports that the Democratic Party may add support for gay marriage to its party platform are in keeping with a significant shift of opinion on this issue among Democrats nationwide. Just four years ago, in 2008, only half (50%) of Democrats favored allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, while 42% were opposed. Support for gay marriage among Democrats has jumped to 65% today, more than double the percentage that is opposed (29%)...
Or perhaps it's time to re-define the term "Democrat".
Reports that the Democratic Party may add support for gay marriage to its party platform are in keeping with a significant shift of opinion on this issue among Democrats nationwide. Just four years ago, in 2008, only half (50%) of Democrats favored allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, while 42% were opposed. Support for gay marriage among Democrats has jumped to 65% today, more than double the percentage that is opposed (29%)...
Or perhaps it's time to re-define the term "Democrat".
Does Sanfelippo Call This "Capitalism"?
This advocate of regulatory oligopoly enforcement is running as a "Republican". Sad to say, the story fits right into Obozo's "You didn't build it" narrative.
Despite a market value of $150,000, the holder of a taxicab permit pays the city just $175 a year.
We are repulsed by this crap. Rent-seeking, whether practiced by G.E. or the Sanfelippo family, is unethical, unjust, and directly contrary to ANY free-market system.
...In February 2012, Milwaukee Magazine published a lengthy expose detailing Milwaukee County Supervisor Joe Sanfelippo’s role in his family’s “near-monopoly in taxicabs” in the City of Milwaukee. Joe Sanfelippo’s brother Michael Sanfelippo owns 165 of the 321 taxicab permits, or 51% of all taxicab permits in the City.
And while Joe Sanfelippo may not be the owner of the 165 permits,* there is a serious question of principle in regards to Joe Sanfelippo’s active defense of an outdated and arbitrary cap on Milwaukee taxicab permits; a cap that hinders competition and new business.
In September of 2011, the civil liberties law firm Institute for Justice (IJ) filed a lawsuit against the City of Milwaukee on behalf of three individual taxicab drivers citing that the arbitrary cap of 321 taxicab permits “violates their right to earn a living.” The three plaintiffs, all first generation Americans, want to own their own taxicab and pursue their own entrepreneurial ambitions. The problem? Since taxicab permits are capped in the City of Milwaukee, and no new permits are issued, a secondary market for taxicab permits has emerged. According to the Institute for Justice lawsuit, “the current market price of a Milwaukee taxicab permit is approximately $150,000.”
We are repulsed by this crap. Rent-seeking, whether practiced by G.E. or the Sanfelippo family, is unethical, unjust, and directly contrary to ANY free-market system.
More of The Liberal "Mind"
If Harkin's blathering (below) demonstrated the utter fecklessness of the Left, Harry Reid frosts that cake with his recent comment. Clearly, the polling data is running heavily toward the Right.
Reid is a doddering old fool, so we don't pay too much attention to his droolings. But when even ABC people call it "totally unsubstantiated"....
It's becoming very obvious that Obozo is losing this election, and it now seems as though the Left will lose its Senate majority, too. When Reid starts resorting to this sort of shit, it's because he's been reading the internal polling data.
Freedom is nigh!!
Here’s a totally unsubstantiated rumor: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said that he’s heard that Romney did not pay any taxes for 10 years. Democrats have criticized Romney for not releasing more than two years of his tax returns. But there has never been anything to suggest that Romney’s tax bill was zero.
... “He didn’t pay taxes for 10 years! Now, do I know that that’s true? Well, I’m not certain,” said Reid. “But obviously he can’t release those tax returns. How would it look?
Reid is a doddering old fool, so we don't pay too much attention to his droolings. But when even ABC people call it "totally unsubstantiated"....
It's becoming very obvious that Obozo is losing this election, and it now seems as though the Left will lose its Senate majority, too. When Reid starts resorting to this sort of shit, it's because he's been reading the internal polling data.
Freedom is nigh!!
The Implications of Rahm-ism
It's not just Chicago, by the way. Rahm-ism is Obozo-ism.
...Cardinal George begs to differ with the mayor’s understanding of ‘Chicago values’. “I was born and raised here, and my understanding of being a Chicagoan never included submitting my value system to the government for approval,” he wrote. “Must those whose personal values do not conform to those of the government of the day move from the city? Is the City Council going to set up a ‘Council Committee on Un-Chicagoan Activities’ and call those of us who are suspect to appear before it?...
There's a reason that Wisconsinites refer to Chicago people as F.I.B's. Rahm personifies it, as did Capone. But at least Capone didn't play the victim card.
...Cardinal George begs to differ with the mayor’s understanding of ‘Chicago values’. “I was born and raised here, and my understanding of being a Chicagoan never included submitting my value system to the government for approval,” he wrote. “Must those whose personal values do not conform to those of the government of the day move from the city? Is the City Council going to set up a ‘Council Committee on Un-Chicagoan Activities’ and call those of us who are suspect to appear before it?...
There's a reason that Wisconsinites refer to Chicago people as F.I.B's. Rahm personifies it, as did Capone. But at least Capone didn't play the victim card.
Oh. Well. Under THOSE Circumstances....
This is the liberal "mind" at work. Not surprisingly, it's the same "mind" revealed by some people in my comboxes here.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) today justified what the Catholic bishops of the United States have unanimously called an “unjust and illegal mandate” that forces Catholic business owners to provide coverage for free sterilizations, contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs because, Harkin said, some women need birth control pills to deal with menstrual pain...
Uh-huh.
First off, that would be "some", not "all". The Liberal "mind" doesn't do math very well.
...In an interview with CNSNews.com, Harkin at no time contested that the regulation required Catholics to act against their faith. Instead, he likened forcing a Catholic to purchase health insurance that covers sterilizations, contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs to forcing Quakers to pay taxes to cover a war.
“It’s like a Quaker who pays income taxes,” said Harkin. “They have to pay income taxes. Quakers, as you know, have unalterably been opposed to war and military spending. Yes, some of their taxes have to go to that.”
The comparo is invalid. For openers, national defense is a Constitutional mandate, not an option. Secondly, there IS a 'conscience exemption' from front-line military service for Quakers and others who object to war-fighting.
But the Leftist "mind" doesn't grasp the difference.
And they bleat and wail that 'Conservatives seem to be so angry'.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) today justified what the Catholic bishops of the United States have unanimously called an “unjust and illegal mandate” that forces Catholic business owners to provide coverage for free sterilizations, contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs because, Harkin said, some women need birth control pills to deal with menstrual pain...
Uh-huh.
First off, that would be "some", not "all". The Liberal "mind" doesn't do math very well.
...In an interview with CNSNews.com, Harkin at no time contested that the regulation required Catholics to act against their faith. Instead, he likened forcing a Catholic to purchase health insurance that covers sterilizations, contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs to forcing Quakers to pay taxes to cover a war.
“It’s like a Quaker who pays income taxes,” said Harkin. “They have to pay income taxes. Quakers, as you know, have unalterably been opposed to war and military spending. Yes, some of their taxes have to go to that.”
The comparo is invalid. For openers, national defense is a Constitutional mandate, not an option. Secondly, there IS a 'conscience exemption' from front-line military service for Quakers and others who object to war-fighting.
But the Leftist "mind" doesn't grasp the difference.
And they bleat and wail that 'Conservatives seem to be so angry'.
Romney Goes Two-Fisted--Finally!!
Bang and slam. Two new ads focusing on Obozo's "plan". You decide if "it's working."
Is Tommy Thompson Next?
Hmmmm. If Thompson's negative (and dishonest) ads get ramped up, this may well be the reason.
Texas Tea Party candidate Ted Cruz's victory over Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in Tuesday's Texas Republican primary runoff was arguably the most significant victory for the Tea Party movement to date.
The Pubbie Establishment lost. The Conservative insurgency continues to steamroll old-time Republican progressives.
By the way:
Cruz's victory continued former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's winning streak in the 2012 Republican Senate primaries. Palin successfully endorsed three underdog candidates in Indiana, Nebraska, and Texas in addition to Orrin Hatch in Utah...
Heh.
Texas Tea Party candidate Ted Cruz's victory over Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in Tuesday's Texas Republican primary runoff was arguably the most significant victory for the Tea Party movement to date.
The Pubbie Establishment lost. The Conservative insurgency continues to steamroll old-time Republican progressives.
By the way:
Cruz's victory continued former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's winning streak in the 2012 Republican Senate primaries. Palin successfully endorsed three underdog candidates in Indiana, Nebraska, and Texas in addition to Orrin Hatch in Utah...
Heh.
Timing Is Everything
Manipulating announcements is important for elections, ya know.
Seems that the sequestration of Defense moneys will cost a LOT of people their jobs in the very near future.
...Corporations who are impacted by this sequestration process will be forced to lay off tens of thousands of employees. The WARN act dictates a 60-day notice for layoffs. Sequestration would kick in on January 2, 2013. 60 days prior to January 2 is – November 2… just a few days before the election. Barack Obama does NOT want to have tens of thousands of pink slips to go out days before the election.
So. How to wallpaper over that little problem?? Manipulation!!!
This week the DOL issued guidance that companies need not comply with the WARN Act if sequestration occurs.
A little lying and cheating here and there, and *presto*--election victory, right??
What happens when you combine the Budget Control Act of 2011 with huge mandatory cuts in the defense budget? Lots of layoffs and unemployment, that’s what. And what happens – or is supposed to happen – when mass layoffs occur? According to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, there is supposed to be a 60-day notice of the impending layoffs. And herein lies the problem…for Barack Obama
Seems that the sequestration of Defense moneys will cost a LOT of people their jobs in the very near future.
...Corporations who are impacted by this sequestration process will be forced to lay off tens of thousands of employees. The WARN act dictates a 60-day notice for layoffs. Sequestration would kick in on January 2, 2013. 60 days prior to January 2 is – November 2… just a few days before the election. Barack Obama does NOT want to have tens of thousands of pink slips to go out days before the election.
So. How to wallpaper over that little problem?? Manipulation!!!
This week the DOL issued guidance that companies need not comply with the WARN Act if sequestration occurs.
A little lying and cheating here and there, and *presto*--election victory, right??
Why Are They So Angry? Part 3,468
The bleaters often ask 'why TEA Party people are so angry?'
Read on.
The farmer owes the Feds $20 grand for this egregious and wanton violation, don'cha know.
That's not all: the County owes the Feds another $175 large for having the temerity to give Lutter permission to fix his stinking ditch.
It's not hard to figure out where the 'anger' comes from. Moronic drones commit assaults on common sense; anger results therefrom.
Read on.
...A small manmade open ditch ran through Lutter's property in Noble County, Ind. It was in need of repair, and Lutter got permission from his county to place tile drains for the collection of the agricultural discharge and cover over the eroding open ditch. This not only saved county taxpayer dollars, but also cleaned up the water supply and prevented further soil erosion.
But that doesn't matter. According to Noble County and Lutter, they were told they violated the Clean Water Act. This is despite the fact that Lutter said the ditch was manmade and used only for agricultural discharge and did not impede the flow of any main waterways — usual exemptions under the Clean Water Act...The farmer owes the Feds $20 grand for this egregious and wanton violation, don'cha know.
That's not all: the County owes the Feds another $175 large for having the temerity to give Lutter permission to fix his stinking ditch.
It's not hard to figure out where the 'anger' comes from. Moronic drones commit assaults on common sense; anger results therefrom.
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