Tuesday, June 30, 2009
More Light Shed On The Cap and Trade Insanity
h/t: MsUnderestimated
Maybe if global warming weren't just crackpot science there might be some justification for cap and trade. But, even if that were the case, we are going get a similar effect from the reduced energy use that is being brought on by a contracting economy. But nonsensical cap and trade does make sense to Obama and his bureaucrats and members of congress who get paid the same whether or not any business in America is successful. Especially since it has been designed so that members of congress are going to make a quick buck from it. I think they all need to be replaced by people take more interest in the common good.
Single Payer S**t Storm in Massachusetts
Stop the ACLU has a noteworthy post by Warner Todd Huston about Massachusetts' single payer health care system that has unraveled in a few short years. Their set up is a sort of canary in the mine for ObamaCare. The whole thing is well worth reading. I am giving a couple of pertinent quotes below.
" . . . cracks in the system are already being seen. These cracks are instructive as a lesson on how Obamacare will crash and burn just like Romneycare is now in the process of doing.
One of the early claims that helped push Romneycare through to law was the insistence by its supporters that Emergency Room visits would fall as more and more citizens became covered under healthcare insurance. Since ER care is far more expensive than a doctor’s care, it was thought that more people with insurance would ease the overcrowding of ERs as well as lower the overall costs of healthcare.
However, a flaw in this logic has been seen throughout the state. As more people became insured, more people demanded the care of doctors. These doctors became overloaded with patients and waiting lists for doctors got longer and longer. As a result, ERs in Massachusetts have not seen a downturn in visits. On the contrary, it seems that ER visits are actually on the upswing in the Bay State. In fact, in 2007 they were higher than the national average by 20 percent.
"Then there is another problem unaccounted for by the politicians. You see these citizens newly covered were given no reason to worry that the costs at an Emergency Room are higher than just waiting for their doctors to have room on their schedules to see them. So, off to the ER they went. After all, it’s covered!
Additionally, after initial gains in “reducing care barriers and boosting affordability,” the system is showing signs of reverses in areas that were thought to have been “fixed” by Romneycare.
"The percentage of non-elderly adults that claimed they were not getting the care they want initially dipped but as of June of 2009 that success has been reversed back to 2007 levels. The reason? Not enough doctors for the increased demand."
………………………………...................................
"Simply put the politicians never came clean with the people of Massachusetts about the costs of the plan. All sorts of rosy scenarios were drawn and everyone smiled and backslapped to get these unfunded mandates passed. But now reality is setting in and the system is crashing down around them.
"This is the fate of Obamacare on the national level.
but what do the people of Massachusetts think of Romneycare? Do they like it? After all, it is they that are forced to foot the bill and they who will elect more politicians to either kill or continue the plan.
"According to the Rasmussen polling service, only 26 percent of Bay Staters think Romneycare is a success. Worse, only 10 percent think that their care has improved while a hefty 53 percent say they’ve seen no change in their own healthcare."
" . . . cracks in the system are already being seen. These cracks are instructive as a lesson on how Obamacare will crash and burn just like Romneycare is now in the process of doing.
One of the early claims that helped push Romneycare through to law was the insistence by its supporters that Emergency Room visits would fall as more and more citizens became covered under healthcare insurance. Since ER care is far more expensive than a doctor’s care, it was thought that more people with insurance would ease the overcrowding of ERs as well as lower the overall costs of healthcare.
However, a flaw in this logic has been seen throughout the state. As more people became insured, more people demanded the care of doctors. These doctors became overloaded with patients and waiting lists for doctors got longer and longer. As a result, ERs in Massachusetts have not seen a downturn in visits. On the contrary, it seems that ER visits are actually on the upswing in the Bay State. In fact, in 2007 they were higher than the national average by 20 percent.
"Then there is another problem unaccounted for by the politicians. You see these citizens newly covered were given no reason to worry that the costs at an Emergency Room are higher than just waiting for their doctors to have room on their schedules to see them. So, off to the ER they went. After all, it’s covered!
Additionally, after initial gains in “reducing care barriers and boosting affordability,” the system is showing signs of reverses in areas that were thought to have been “fixed” by Romneycare.
"The percentage of non-elderly adults that claimed they were not getting the care they want initially dipped but as of June of 2009 that success has been reversed back to 2007 levels. The reason? Not enough doctors for the increased demand."
………………………………...................................
"Simply put the politicians never came clean with the people of Massachusetts about the costs of the plan. All sorts of rosy scenarios were drawn and everyone smiled and backslapped to get these unfunded mandates passed. But now reality is setting in and the system is crashing down around them.
"This is the fate of Obamacare on the national level.
but what do the people of Massachusetts think of Romneycare? Do they like it? After all, it is they that are forced to foot the bill and they who will elect more politicians to either kill or continue the plan.
"According to the Rasmussen polling service, only 26 percent of Bay Staters think Romneycare is a success. Worse, only 10 percent think that their care has improved while a hefty 53 percent say they’ve seen no change in their own healthcare."
Monday, June 29, 2009
When Is A Promise Not A Promise? When Barack Obama Made It
Who put the mess in Messiah? And,no. I don't care about that Sanford guy. He's been done to death by every liberal talking head there is.
h/t: Hot Air.com
h/t: Hot Air.com
Transparency Update Revisited
I'm reposting two things I wrote about Obama's lack of transparency. He doesn't seem to remember what he has said, so we have to.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Transparency Update
These are the words of Team Obama from the dot gov website: "End the Practice of Writing Legislation Behind Closed Doors: As president, Barack Obama will restore the American people's trust in their government by making government more open and transparent. Obama will work to reform congressional rules to require all legislative sessions, including committee mark-ups and conference committees, to be conducted in public. By making these practices public, the American people will be able to hold their leaders accountable for wasteful spending and lawmakers won't be able to slip favors for lobbyists into bills at the last minute."
The reality was that the stimulus bill was written behind closed doors and and now the conference committee to forge an agreement between the House and Senate versions will take place behind closed doors.
Obama also promised a period of five days between congressional passage of a bill his signature to allow public examination and comment. He has yet to keep that promise. Which makes one wonder if he is ducking public examination and comment.
But he also promised bipartisan governance but appears to be in fact uninterested in that.
He also promised to not have lobbyists in his administration. But he has made a Raytheon lobbyist a deputy secretary of defense. And the rest of his administration is filling up with lobbyists. His pants are on fire and he will probably have the embarrassing fire extinguished by a lobbyist. Posted by Chris M. at 1:29 PM
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Transparency Update: The Unvetted President
Some things the public has a right to know that will never be available or are still kept out of the public record:
1. OccidentalCollege records — Not released
2. ColumbiaCollege records — Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper — ‘not available’
4. Harvard College records — Not released
5. Selective Service Registration — Not released
6. Medical records — Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule — ‘not available’
8. Law practice client list — Not released
9. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate — Not released
10. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth — Not released
11. Harvard Law Review articles published — None
12. University of Chicago scholarly articles — None
13. Record of baptism — Not released or ‘not available’
14. Illinois State Senate records — ‘not available’ Posted by Chris M. at 2:02 AM 2 comments
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Transparency Update
These are the words of Team Obama from the dot gov website: "End the Practice of Writing Legislation Behind Closed Doors: As president, Barack Obama will restore the American people's trust in their government by making government more open and transparent. Obama will work to reform congressional rules to require all legislative sessions, including committee mark-ups and conference committees, to be conducted in public. By making these practices public, the American people will be able to hold their leaders accountable for wasteful spending and lawmakers won't be able to slip favors for lobbyists into bills at the last minute."
The reality was that the stimulus bill was written behind closed doors and and now the conference committee to forge an agreement between the House and Senate versions will take place behind closed doors.
Obama also promised a period of five days between congressional passage of a bill his signature to allow public examination and comment. He has yet to keep that promise. Which makes one wonder if he is ducking public examination and comment.
But he also promised bipartisan governance but appears to be in fact uninterested in that.
He also promised to not have lobbyists in his administration. But he has made a Raytheon lobbyist a deputy secretary of defense. And the rest of his administration is filling up with lobbyists. His pants are on fire and he will probably have the embarrassing fire extinguished by a lobbyist. Posted by Chris M. at 1:29 PM
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Transparency Update: The Unvetted President
Some things the public has a right to know that will never be available or are still kept out of the public record:
1. OccidentalCollege records — Not released
2. ColumbiaCollege records — Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper — ‘not available’
4. Harvard College records — Not released
5. Selective Service Registration — Not released
6. Medical records — Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule — ‘not available’
8. Law practice client list — Not released
9. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate — Not released
10. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth — Not released
11. Harvard Law Review articles published — None
12. University of Chicago scholarly articles — None
13. Record of baptism — Not released or ‘not available’
14. Illinois State Senate records — ‘not available’ Posted by Chris M. at 2:02 AM 2 comments
What ever happened to the much trumpeted Dialogue on Race?
What ever happened to the much trumpeted Dialogue on Race? The pseudo-intellectual teleprompter jockey in chief should be informed that one throw away speech is not a dialogue.
Mostly The Temptations
The Temptations - My Girl (Movie version)
The Temptations - Swannee
U2 - Stand By Me ft. Bruce Springsteen
The Temptations - Swannee
U2 - Stand By Me ft. Bruce Springsteen
The Last Patrol in Baghdad
This clip is from the BBC.
They could not have gone much more out of their way to put the American effort in a negative light without risking an unflattering comparison with MSNBC. I wonder how long they had to tape the American soldier at the end before they got what the little they finally used. BBC reporters are why the term 'douchebag' remains in use.
The Finest Links in All of Christendom
Jo-Joe Politico writes about the acid rain scare of many years ago. He thinks a nostalgic walk down World Catastrophe Avenue might help us form the proper approach to cap and trade. And why haven’t the hole in the ozone layer and overpopulation ended civilization yet? Also from J-J P this quote, “QUESTION: "Wouldn't that drive private insurance out of business?" MR. OBAMA: "Why would it drive private insurance out of business? If -- if private -- if private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care; if they tell us that they're offering a good deal, then why is it that the government, which they say can't run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That's not logical." Are you intelligent enough to understand what he tried to slip by you in that statement?” Joe gives the answer. He also has an enjoyable post about some of our troops in Iraq. Included are a bunch of photos whose captions convey something of the mind set of a returning vet.
Pat from And So It Goes In Shreveport got to see Clapton live recently. I’m jealous but it makes sense that her boyfriend would take Pat rather than me. She has John Boehner’s radio address from Saturday. Boehner, who snuck in a reference to Ohio, is giving the Republican’s rebuttal to The Light of Chicago. Then there is a frightening post that deals with the breakdown of the American moral fabric. There is a YouTube clip that is a profane rap song performed by the godson of a member of the legislature. Thankfully Pat balances the insanity with a funny song from Hoagy Carmichael at the end. I feel that much of the moral decay that disgusts us has grown by lefties working so hard for so long to weaken and devalue the institutions we have always used to conserve and pass on values. There has been endless attacks on the family structure, on religion and churches and synagogues and endless attacks on so many other nurturing institutions such as the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts. Lefties rend and destroy (when they’re not taxing people near to death).
Obama’s adoption of the Bush indefinite detention policy, against which he campaigned so loudly and with such hypocritical posturing of moral superiority, has caused Pundit and Pundette to write about Obama’s inveterate lying and give some good links to more. Pundette gives a quote from V. D. Hanson that I can’t pass by without sharing: “Sometimes the past is simply airbrushed away. Barack Obama has a disturbing habit of contradicting his past declarations as if spoken words did not mean much at all.” Then Steve Goodman gives us ‘Red, Red Robin.’ He starts out a bit intense but ends up light, joyful and happy. Then P & P have a post that expresses anger at the passage of the cap and trade bill in the House. And this is joined with some reflections on degenerate trends in pop culture. As I said above, the institutions that preserve and transmit morality in our culture have been attacked, weakened and debased. Congress is a great example. Congress has degenerated into a collection of whores scrambling to see who can sell out the most. Cap and trade has been designed to make a lot of money for some members of congress and for those who bribe them. I wonder who kids see as role models these days. There aren’t any famous people who would be considered notable for the good they do. Ink and air time seem to be reserved for money makers and whatever ‘personalities’ the press thinks are cool or strange enough to draw some viewers. Obama is treated like he’s some kind of moral paragon but I don’t know of one case in which he actually did something because it is the right thing to do. He has done very well for himself, his family and those who have given him money or helped him politically. But those are all either morally neutral or immoral acts.
Pat from And So It Goes In Shreveport got to see Clapton live recently. I’m jealous but it makes sense that her boyfriend would take Pat rather than me. She has John Boehner’s radio address from Saturday. Boehner, who snuck in a reference to Ohio, is giving the Republican’s rebuttal to The Light of Chicago. Then there is a frightening post that deals with the breakdown of the American moral fabric. There is a YouTube clip that is a profane rap song performed by the godson of a member of the legislature. Thankfully Pat balances the insanity with a funny song from Hoagy Carmichael at the end. I feel that much of the moral decay that disgusts us has grown by lefties working so hard for so long to weaken and devalue the institutions we have always used to conserve and pass on values. There has been endless attacks on the family structure, on religion and churches and synagogues and endless attacks on so many other nurturing institutions such as the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts. Lefties rend and destroy (when they’re not taxing people near to death).
Obama’s adoption of the Bush indefinite detention policy, against which he campaigned so loudly and with such hypocritical posturing of moral superiority, has caused Pundit and Pundette to write about Obama’s inveterate lying and give some good links to more. Pundette gives a quote from V. D. Hanson that I can’t pass by without sharing: “Sometimes the past is simply airbrushed away. Barack Obama has a disturbing habit of contradicting his past declarations as if spoken words did not mean much at all.” Then Steve Goodman gives us ‘Red, Red Robin.’ He starts out a bit intense but ends up light, joyful and happy. Then P & P have a post that expresses anger at the passage of the cap and trade bill in the House. And this is joined with some reflections on degenerate trends in pop culture. As I said above, the institutions that preserve and transmit morality in our culture have been attacked, weakened and debased. Congress is a great example. Congress has degenerated into a collection of whores scrambling to see who can sell out the most. Cap and trade has been designed to make a lot of money for some members of congress and for those who bribe them. I wonder who kids see as role models these days. There aren’t any famous people who would be considered notable for the good they do. Ink and air time seem to be reserved for money makers and whatever ‘personalities’ the press thinks are cool or strange enough to draw some viewers. Obama is treated like he’s some kind of moral paragon but I don’t know of one case in which he actually did something because it is the right thing to do. He has done very well for himself, his family and those who have given him money or helped him politically. But those are all either morally neutral or immoral acts.
Some Present and a Former Member of Congress Who Will Rake in Lots of Cash If They Saddle Us With Cap and Trade
Spain has reached 18% unemployment (twice the European average)because they have a favoritism enhanced cap and trade bill. And I'll bet Spain can't even begin to compete with our congress in corruption and total unconcern for the citizenry.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Uke
SMILE by Rebecca Zapen: Bushman World Ukulele Video Contest
Rubber Ducky on Ukulele
Build Me Up, Buttercup on ukulele
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Rubber Ducky on Ukulele
Build Me Up, Buttercup on ukulele
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Who'd Have Thunk: Pot and Coke Smoking President Really Friendly to Opium Poppy Growing Farmers
The US has a new policy regarding opium cultivation in Afghanistan. Here's a bit of the story from the Beeb:
"The United States is to change the way it deals with the massive poppy growing industry in Afghanistan.
"Instead of destroying the crops it will spend money encouraging Afghan farmers to grow different ones.
"US special envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, at a G8 meeting in Italy, said current measures against poppy growers had been "a failure".
The conference of foreign ministers in Trieste also called for credible elections in Afghanistan in August.
"Mr Holbrooke said that existing programmes of eradication had not reduced by one dollar the amount of money the Taliban earned from production.
"Spraying the crops just penalises the farmer and they grow crops somewhere else. The hundreds of millions of dollars we spend on crop eradication has not had any damage on the Taliban."
""On the contrary, it has helped them recruit. This is the least effective programme ever," Mr Holbrooke added."
"The United States is to change the way it deals with the massive poppy growing industry in Afghanistan.
"Instead of destroying the crops it will spend money encouraging Afghan farmers to grow different ones.
"US special envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, at a G8 meeting in Italy, said current measures against poppy growers had been "a failure".
The conference of foreign ministers in Trieste also called for credible elections in Afghanistan in August.
"Mr Holbrooke said that existing programmes of eradication had not reduced by one dollar the amount of money the Taliban earned from production.
"Spraying the crops just penalises the farmer and they grow crops somewhere else. The hundreds of millions of dollars we spend on crop eradication has not had any damage on the Taliban."
""On the contrary, it has helped them recruit. This is the least effective programme ever," Mr Holbrooke added."
Oh Goody, Blue on Blue
This all related to that Huffpo questioner planted at the presidential news conference.
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If the president had just taken a moment to fully and honestly lay out exactly why that particular guy was there then, this would be a nonstory. But the whole honesty and openess thing don't seem to come easily to either Mr.Obama or the Huffpo.
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If the president had just taken a moment to fully and honestly lay out exactly why that particular guy was there then, this would be a nonstory. But the whole honesty and openess thing don't seem to come easily to either Mr.Obama or the Huffpo.
We Need Universal Health Care to Make Life Easier for Reality TV Stars
From NewsBusters I picked up a couple of irrational quotes from the Washington Post about how government run health care might have saved Jon and Kate's marriage (I am not against saving the marriages of TV stars. I just think that it should happen within the confines of reality.)
". . . if the federal government subsidized in vitro fertilization (IVF), Kate might have had only one baby instead of sextuplets. "Possibly nothing could have saved this marriage, but one thing would have made it less fragile: a mandate for health insurance to cover in vitro fertilization.""
………………………………............
"The price tag for health-care reform is already higher than anybody expected, so it's probably unreasonable to think that it could include better insurance coverage for the millions of Americans who suffer from infertility. But such coverage for women of childbearing age could lower the extraordinary health-care costs associated with the birth of triplets or more. And it would even the reproductive odds, giving middle-class and lower-income Americans access to treatment that is currently reserved for the well-off or the unusually well insured."
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Government run health care will be able to bring JFK and Captain Kangroo back from the grave. It will end tooth decay and the heart break of psoriasis and banish static cling from our great land. If the government runs health care I will finally get a date with that real pretty checker at the super market. I think her name is Melody. And if the Democrats run health care my wife won't mind.
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
Probably the only thing worth remembering from everything above is the money quote: "The price tag for health-care reform is already higher than anybody expected" The remainder is probably lies.
". . . if the federal government subsidized in vitro fertilization (IVF), Kate might have had only one baby instead of sextuplets. "Possibly nothing could have saved this marriage, but one thing would have made it less fragile: a mandate for health insurance to cover in vitro fertilization.""
………………………………............
"The price tag for health-care reform is already higher than anybody expected, so it's probably unreasonable to think that it could include better insurance coverage for the millions of Americans who suffer from infertility. But such coverage for women of childbearing age could lower the extraordinary health-care costs associated with the birth of triplets or more. And it would even the reproductive odds, giving middle-class and lower-income Americans access to treatment that is currently reserved for the well-off or the unusually well insured."
******************************************************************************
******************************************************************************
Government run health care will be able to bring JFK and Captain Kangroo back from the grave. It will end tooth decay and the heart break of psoriasis and banish static cling from our great land. If the government runs health care I will finally get a date with that real pretty checker at the super market. I think her name is Melody. And if the Democrats run health care my wife won't mind.
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
Probably the only thing worth remembering from everything above is the money quote: "The price tag for health-care reform is already higher than anybody expected" The remainder is probably lies.
The Real Sufferers from ObamaCare Will Be the Canadians Who Have Often Nowhere but the US to Turn to for Treatment
I have never been in or near Canada but I have had some experience with the Canadian health care system. In the mid 1980 I worked as a nurse in an alcohol and drug treatment unit in Dana Point, California. If you are going from Disneyland to Mexico, my hospital, called Capistrano by the Sea, is at about the one third mark on the journey to the border. Apparently Canada only had one or two facilities that offered drug and alcohol rehabilitation treatment. So an enterprising company recruited Canadians needing such treatment and flew them to California’s south Orange County and filled up all the empty beds within twenty-five miles of my hospital.
Attempting to treat the Canadian patients was quite an experience. Almost all Canadians that we received were addicts badly in need of treatment. But the attitude of most of them could be summed up as, “You’re getting paid, so do something.” But in this kind of treatment the only things that cause the needed change in the patient are things the patient does. So in in almost all cases we ended up in a Canadian stand off: the patient would not take any action so the patient returned home unchanged. (It is a little more complicated than that. They all had a fatal disease whose suffering would sooner or later demand attention. And we had planted a small seed in the Canadians. They now knew they had lived for weeks without their drug. They had seen and talked to people at the 12 step meetings that had been drug free for years and were plainly happy. Deep inside their twisted addict souls was now a small seed of hope. Not the cheap over the counter crap that Obama talks about but the real and mean life changing thing. That‘s why, as bad a day as I might have had in that job, I could always go home knowing that seeds had been planted that day that might blossom in ways I could not even imagine. No day could ever be labeled a failure since what had been planted might not even blossom outwardly for many years.)
Hundreds of Canadians went through the treatment programs in south Orange County. None of the hospitals ever received the payment supposedly guaranteed by the Canadian system. Some units went under so there were fewer beds available to treat others who needed help. The lesson is that if the US ever has a Canadian style system and someone needs treatment that just isn’t being provided they can always go to America to get treated.
StopThe ACLU has a good post about socialized medicine. One of the founders of Canadian single payer, Claude Castonguay, now wants to get the private sector more involved in Canada’s health care system: ““We thought we could resolve the system’s problems by rationing services or injecting massive amounts of new money into it,” says Castonguay. But now he prescribes a radical overhaul: “We are proposing to give a greater role to the private sector so that people can exercise freedom of choice.””
“Castonguay advocates contracting out services to the private sector, going so far as suggesting that public hospitals rent space during off-hours to entrepreneurial doctors. He supports co-pays for patients who want to see physicians. Castonguay, the man who championed public health insurance in Canada, now urges for the legalization of private health insurance”
One of the problems of the Canadian health care is that, if you need care, you might not get any care this year. Rather than admit their failure the Canadian bureaucrats, just keep rationing and bureaucratically withholding care and/or payment, as in this case quoted from Stop the ACLU: “Sick with ovarian cancer, Sylvia de Vires, an Ontario woman afflicted with a 13-inch, fluid-filled tumor weighing 40 pounds, was unable to get timely care in Canada. She crossed the American border to Pontiac, Mich., where a surgeon removed the tumor, estimating she could not have lived longer than a few weeks more.
The Canadian government pays for U.S. medical care in some circumstances, but it declined to do so in de Vires’ case for a bureaucratically perfect, but inhumane, reason: She hadn’t properly filled out a form. At death’s door, de Vires should have done her paperwork better
Elsewhere in socialized medicine, Stop the ACLU has this cherry note about new nontreatment trends in Britain: “The Ministry of Health declared that British patients should get ER care within four hours. The result? At some hospitals, seriously ill patients are kept in ambulances for hours so as not to run afoul of the regulation; at other hospitals, patients are admitted to inappropriate wards.”
Attempting to treat the Canadian patients was quite an experience. Almost all Canadians that we received were addicts badly in need of treatment. But the attitude of most of them could be summed up as, “You’re getting paid, so do something.” But in this kind of treatment the only things that cause the needed change in the patient are things the patient does. So in in almost all cases we ended up in a Canadian stand off: the patient would not take any action so the patient returned home unchanged. (It is a little more complicated than that. They all had a fatal disease whose suffering would sooner or later demand attention. And we had planted a small seed in the Canadians. They now knew they had lived for weeks without their drug. They had seen and talked to people at the 12 step meetings that had been drug free for years and were plainly happy. Deep inside their twisted addict souls was now a small seed of hope. Not the cheap over the counter crap that Obama talks about but the real and mean life changing thing. That‘s why, as bad a day as I might have had in that job, I could always go home knowing that seeds had been planted that day that might blossom in ways I could not even imagine. No day could ever be labeled a failure since what had been planted might not even blossom outwardly for many years.)
Hundreds of Canadians went through the treatment programs in south Orange County. None of the hospitals ever received the payment supposedly guaranteed by the Canadian system. Some units went under so there were fewer beds available to treat others who needed help. The lesson is that if the US ever has a Canadian style system and someone needs treatment that just isn’t being provided they can always go to America to get treated.
StopThe ACLU has a good post about socialized medicine. One of the founders of Canadian single payer, Claude Castonguay, now wants to get the private sector more involved in Canada’s health care system: ““We thought we could resolve the system’s problems by rationing services or injecting massive amounts of new money into it,” says Castonguay. But now he prescribes a radical overhaul: “We are proposing to give a greater role to the private sector so that people can exercise freedom of choice.””
“Castonguay advocates contracting out services to the private sector, going so far as suggesting that public hospitals rent space during off-hours to entrepreneurial doctors. He supports co-pays for patients who want to see physicians. Castonguay, the man who championed public health insurance in Canada, now urges for the legalization of private health insurance”
One of the problems of the Canadian health care is that, if you need care, you might not get any care this year. Rather than admit their failure the Canadian bureaucrats, just keep rationing and bureaucratically withholding care and/or payment, as in this case quoted from Stop the ACLU: “Sick with ovarian cancer, Sylvia de Vires, an Ontario woman afflicted with a 13-inch, fluid-filled tumor weighing 40 pounds, was unable to get timely care in Canada. She crossed the American border to Pontiac, Mich., where a surgeon removed the tumor, estimating she could not have lived longer than a few weeks more.
The Canadian government pays for U.S. medical care in some circumstances, but it declined to do so in de Vires’ case for a bureaucratically perfect, but inhumane, reason: She hadn’t properly filled out a form. At death’s door, de Vires should have done her paperwork better
Elsewhere in socialized medicine, Stop the ACLU has this cherry note about new nontreatment trends in Britain: “The Ministry of Health declared that British patients should get ER care within four hours. The result? At some hospitals, seriously ill patients are kept in ambulances for hours so as not to run afoul of the regulation; at other hospitals, patients are admitted to inappropriate wards.”
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The Cap and Trade Nightmare: As America Discovers If the Senate Really Is Wiser Than the House
W. T. Huston at Stop the ACLU provides some of the bill for curious citizens. Apparently no member of the House read the bill before it was voted on. In the interests of transparency no copy of the bill was available to Congresspeople or any other Americans long enough before the vote to make reading possible. Neither of my senators or my congressman have yet been willing to explain why they are comfortable voting on legislation under these circumstances. I'm just as curious as to why an Iranian risking his life for democracy would ever pay attention to anything Barack Obama has to say on the subject. A couple of quotes from Jammie Wearing Fool:
Want to replace a window? Not so fast. First you must pay for an appraisal of your house to measure its energy efficiency and receive calculations of both before and after the proposed change. Hey, it may be a great excuse for those guys trying to avoid putting in that big bay style window that the missus has been bugging you about.
Are you having a new house built? Back up, Skippy. This bill includes language that tells you exactly where you can put your electrical outlets.
Did you know that for one sort of appraisal service related to determining energy efficiency there is only one company you can use? Yup, it is right in there along with the name of the company. How is it that this one company managed to land the only contract to service 300 million Americans? Who is this company?
I wish I could answer those questions, but all of those provisions and more, Rep. Boehner went on for almost an hour citing them and still didn't get through the whole 300 pages, is not available. You see because of when the Democrats dropped this amendment at 3 AM the text of it is not available. So much for that transparency. The total bill runs on for more then 1500 pages and it controls every aspect of your life, from what type of car we will be able to produce and buy to what type of appliances you have in your house.
Under some of these provisions you won't be able to sell your house. Got your eyes and a quaint little place out the way and off the beaten path? Forget about it. By the time you went through the time and expense to get it up to the new code proposed in this legislation that little place in the woods will resemble something out the Jetsons.
So for those who were at work and getting ready for their weekend, and were simply tired of the wall-to-wall coverage of Michael Jackson, you came just one more step closer to being less free today then you were yesterday. And by the way, Congress has blown town for a two-week vacation. It is hard work turning a Republic into a Socialist state. This must be stopped in the Senate.
.. . .. . . . . . .. . .. .
The other questions I have are what did these eight corruptocrats get in exchange for voting away our futures and the futures of our children? This bill goes far beyond trying to cripple the coal industry as many of the talking heads are still saying.
Want to replace a window? Not so fast. First you must pay for an appraisal of your house to measure its energy efficiency and receive calculations of both before and after the proposed change. Hey, it may be a great excuse for those guys trying to avoid putting in that big bay style window that the missus has been bugging you about.
Are you having a new house built? Back up, Skippy. This bill includes language that tells you exactly where you can put your electrical outlets.
Did you know that for one sort of appraisal service related to determining energy efficiency there is only one company you can use? Yup, it is right in there along with the name of the company. How is it that this one company managed to land the only contract to service 300 million Americans? Who is this company?
I wish I could answer those questions, but all of those provisions and more, Rep. Boehner went on for almost an hour citing them and still didn't get through the whole 300 pages, is not available. You see because of when the Democrats dropped this amendment at 3 AM the text of it is not available. So much for that transparency. The total bill runs on for more then 1500 pages and it controls every aspect of your life, from what type of car we will be able to produce and buy to what type of appliances you have in your house.
Under some of these provisions you won't be able to sell your house. Got your eyes and a quaint little place out the way and off the beaten path? Forget about it. By the time you went through the time and expense to get it up to the new code proposed in this legislation that little place in the woods will resemble something out the Jetsons.
So for those who were at work and getting ready for their weekend, and were simply tired of the wall-to-wall coverage of Michael Jackson, you came just one more step closer to being less free today then you were yesterday. And by the way, Congress has blown town for a two-week vacation. It is hard work turning a Republic into a Socialist state. This must be stopped in the Senate.
.. . .. . . . . . .. . .. .
The other questions I have are what did these eight corruptocrats get in exchange for voting away our futures and the futures of our children? This bill goes far beyond trying to cripple the coal industry as many of the talking heads are still saying.
That Cairo Speech Might Not Have Been as Revolutionary as Advertised
There are other factors yjat might inspire democratic aspirationas. From Coulter's most recent column:
. . if the better part of valor is for America to stand neutral between freedom and Islamic oppression, why are liberals trying to credit Obama's ridiculous Cairo speech for emboldening the Iranian protesters?
The only reason that bald contradiction doesn't smack you in the face is that it is utterly preposterous that Obama's Cairo speech accomplished anything -- anything worthwhile, that is. Not even the people who say that believe it.
The only reaction to Obama's Cairo speech in the Middle East is that the mullahs probably sighed in relief upon discovering that the U.S. president is a coward and an imbecile.
Two weeks ago, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman was exulting over the "free and fair" national election in Lebanon, in which the voters threw out Hezbollah and voted in the "U.S.-supported coalition." (Apparently support from America is not deemed the vote-killer in Lebanon that it allegedly is in Iran.)
To justify his Times-expensed airfare to Beirut, Friedman added some local color, noting that "more than one Lebanese whispered to me: Without George Bush standing up to the Syrians in 2005 ... this free election would not have happened."
That's what Lebanese voters said.
But Friedman also placed a phone call to a guy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace -- which he didn't have to go to Lebanon for -- to get a quote supporting the ludicrous proposition that Obama's Cairo speech was responsible for the favorable election results in Lebanon.
"And then here came this man (Obama)," Mr. Carnegie Fund said, "who came to them with respect, speaking these deep values about their identity and dignity and economic progress and education, and this person indicated that this little prison that people are living in here was not the whole world. That change was possible."
I think the fact that their Muslim brethren are now living in freedom in a democratic Iraq might have made the point that "change was possible" and "this little prison" is "not the whole world" somewhat more forcefully than a speech apologizing for Westerners who dislike the hijab.
Obama -- and America -- are still living off President Bush's successes in the war on terrorism. For the country's sake, may those successes outlast Obama's attempt to dismantle them.
. . if the better part of valor is for America to stand neutral between freedom and Islamic oppression, why are liberals trying to credit Obama's ridiculous Cairo speech for emboldening the Iranian protesters?
The only reason that bald contradiction doesn't smack you in the face is that it is utterly preposterous that Obama's Cairo speech accomplished anything -- anything worthwhile, that is. Not even the people who say that believe it.
The only reaction to Obama's Cairo speech in the Middle East is that the mullahs probably sighed in relief upon discovering that the U.S. president is a coward and an imbecile.
Two weeks ago, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman was exulting over the "free and fair" national election in Lebanon, in which the voters threw out Hezbollah and voted in the "U.S.-supported coalition." (Apparently support from America is not deemed the vote-killer in Lebanon that it allegedly is in Iran.)
To justify his Times-expensed airfare to Beirut, Friedman added some local color, noting that "more than one Lebanese whispered to me: Without George Bush standing up to the Syrians in 2005 ... this free election would not have happened."
That's what Lebanese voters said.
But Friedman also placed a phone call to a guy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace -- which he didn't have to go to Lebanon for -- to get a quote supporting the ludicrous proposition that Obama's Cairo speech was responsible for the favorable election results in Lebanon.
"And then here came this man (Obama)," Mr. Carnegie Fund said, "who came to them with respect, speaking these deep values about their identity and dignity and economic progress and education, and this person indicated that this little prison that people are living in here was not the whole world. That change was possible."
I think the fact that their Muslim brethren are now living in freedom in a democratic Iraq might have made the point that "change was possible" and "this little prison" is "not the whole world" somewhat more forcefully than a speech apologizing for Westerners who dislike the hijab.
Obama -- and America -- are still living off President Bush's successes in the war on terrorism. For the country's sake, may those successes outlast Obama's attempt to dismantle them.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Obamacare Not Good Enough For Obama's Own Family: “It’s A Terrific Question”
You will be surprised when I tell you that the MSM apparently didn't hear these words spoken in front of millions. I am beginning to note a definite connection between kneeling and very poor hearing. Judgment is often impaired as well. When reporters lack judgment and decent hearing their jobs could be done better by your average dry cleaner, auto mechanic, nurses' aide or unemployed porn star. This is part of my massive snaggletoothieCare plan. Essential will be the replacement of most journalists by people who will report the news. The long term effect of snaggletoothieCare will be that ObamaCare will die a quick death and we will begin rational and widely discussed improvements of the actual problems in the existing system.
Brenda Lee
Brenda Lee-Jambalaya(1965)
I'm Sorry
Brenda Lee: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (with lyrics)
I'm Sorry
Brenda Lee: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (with lyrics)
Who Will Guard The Guardians? It Is Confirmed: Obama Wants to Ration Health Care, Moronic MSM Thinks The Real News Is In Argentina
Many people said Obama’s health care plan wouldn’t work without rationing. Obama denied that he would ever ration health care. Not the great Obama. But part of the stimulus bill was the creation of aboard to ration health care. It was not that embarrassing to Obama since no one in the MSM actually read the stimulus bill. To them it was just part of a cosmic battle in which Alaskans and knuckle draggers had opposed their Wise Leader. Rationing of health care is part of a larger battle. For Obama and the MSM it is not so much about the money. It's ideological. It is all about decimating that part of the electorate that is most likely to be conservative and not blindly accept their foolishness.
Bush was responsible for a few deaths using an army and working in concert with congress. Obama will kill millions with the extra-constitutional aide of bean counters, community organizers, union dues, and silence from reporters (which was once a strange concept).Democrats have no problem with death, even on a large scale. Some even call them the Party of Death. But they often don’t want to kill nonAmericans. The see their real enemies here among their fellow citizens. So they do their killing here. Half a million a year with abortions. If things continue to work out via tactical ’rationing’ of health care, many million more domestic enemies will die. Once they get things sorted out domestically, they might well loose armies on God only knows who. Maybe Oceania.
Bush was responsible for a few deaths using an army and working in concert with congress. Obama will kill millions with the extra-constitutional aide of bean counters, community organizers, union dues, and silence from reporters (which was once a strange concept).Democrats have no problem with death, even on a large scale. Some even call them the Party of Death. But they often don’t want to kill nonAmericans. The see their real enemies here among their fellow citizens. So they do their killing here. Half a million a year with abortions. If things continue to work out via tactical ’rationing’ of health care, many million more domestic enemies will die. Once they get things sorted out domestically, they might well loose armies on God only knows who. Maybe Oceania.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A Shropshire Lad. 1896. XLVIII. Be still, my soul, be still
BE still, my soul, be still; the arms you bear are brittle,
Earth and high heaven are fixt of old and founded strong.
Think rather,—call to thought, if now you grieve a little,
The days when we had rest, O soul, for they were long.
Men loved unkindness then, but lightless in the quarry 5
I slept and saw not; tears fell down, I did not mourn;
Sweat ran and blood sprang out and I was never sorry:
Then it was well with me, in days ere I was born.
Now, and I muse for why and never find the reason,
I pace the earth, and drink the air, and feel the sun. 10
Be still, be still, my soul; it is but for a season:
Let us endure an hour and see injustice done.
Ay, look: high heaven and earth ail from the prime foundation;
All thoughts to rive the heart are here, and all are vain:
Horror and scorn and hate and fear and indignation— 15
Oh why did I awake? when shall I sleep again?
A. E. Houseman
Earth and high heaven are fixt of old and founded strong.
Think rather,—call to thought, if now you grieve a little,
The days when we had rest, O soul, for they were long.
Men loved unkindness then, but lightless in the quarry 5
I slept and saw not; tears fell down, I did not mourn;
Sweat ran and blood sprang out and I was never sorry:
Then it was well with me, in days ere I was born.
Now, and I muse for why and never find the reason,
I pace the earth, and drink the air, and feel the sun. 10
Be still, be still, my soul; it is but for a season:
Let us endure an hour and see injustice done.
Ay, look: high heaven and earth ail from the prime foundation;
All thoughts to rive the heart are here, and all are vain:
Horror and scorn and hate and fear and indignation— 15
Oh why did I awake? when shall I sleep again?
A. E. Houseman
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Will of God and Prayer
"A tragic mistake that is often made by orthodox religious people is to assume that the Will of God for them is bound to be something dull and uninviting. If not positively unpleasant. Consciously or not they look upon God as a hard task-master, or a severe Puritanical parent. Too often their prayers virtually amount to something like this: ‘Please God, give me such and such a boon which I sorely need -- but I don’t suppose you will, because you won’t think it is good for me.” Needless to say, a prayer of this sort is answered as all prayers are answered, according to the faith of the subject; that is to say, the boon is not granted. The truth is that the will of God for us always means greater freedom, greater self-expression, wider newer and brighter experience; better health, greater prosperity, wider opportunity of service to others -- life more abundant."
from The Sermon on the Mount
by Emmet Fox
from The Sermon on the Mount
by Emmet Fox
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
OK, Granted, Obama doesn't have a clue about what he is doing.
OK, Granted, Obama doesn't have a clue about what he is doing. But that still doesn't give reporters the right to ask him difficult questions, does it? What do they think he is? Perez Hilton at a rap concert? No, he's the most powerful man in the world. Tapper and Garrett are just going to ruin it for the rest of us. If they don't back off, they'll push Obama too far. And he'll end freedom of speech for all of us. And it will be all your fault, Jake.
SONG OF THE REDWOOD-TREE --- A CALIFORNIA song
SONG OF THE REDWOOD-TREE
1 A CALIFORNIA song,
A prophecy and indirection, a thought impalpable to breathe as air,
A chorus of dryads, fading, departing, or hamadryads departing,
A murmuring, fateful, giant voice, out of the earth and sky,
Voice of a mighty dying tree in the redwood forest dense.
Farewell my brethren,
Farewell O earth and sky, farewell ye neighboring waters,
My time has ended, my term has come.
Along the northern coast,
Just back from the rock-bound shore and the caves,
In the saline air from the sea in the
Mendocino country,
With the surge for base and accompaniment low and hoarse,
With crackling blows of axes sounding musically driven by strong arms,
Riven deep by the sharp tongues of the axes, there in the redwood forest dense,
I heard the might tree its death-chant chanting.
The choppers heard not, the camp shanties echoed not,
The quick-ear’d teamsters and chain and jack-screw men heard not,
As the wood-spirits came from their haunts of a thousand years to join the refrain,
But in my soul I plainly heard.
Murmuring out of its myriad leaves,
Down from its lofty top rising two hundred feet high,
Out of its stalwart trunk and limbs, out of its foot-thick bark,
That chant of the seasons and time, chant not of the past only but the future.
You untold life of me,
And all you venerable and innocent joys,
Perennial hardy life of me with joys ‘mid rain and many a summer sun,
And the white snows and night and the wild winds;
O the great patient rugged joys, my soul’s strong joys unreck’d by man, (For know
I bear the soul befitting me,
I too have consciousness,
identity,
And all the rocks and mountains have, and all the earth,) Joys of the life befitting me and brothers mine,
Our time, our term has come.
Nor yield we mournfully majestic brothers,
We who have grandly fill’d our time,
With Nature’s calm content, with tacit huge delight,
We welcome what we wrought for through the past,
And leave the field for them.
For them predicted long,
For a superber race, they too to grandly fill their time,
For them we abdicate, in them ourselves ye forest kings!
In them these skies and airs, these mountain peaks,
Shasta, Nevadas, These huge precipitous cliffs, this amplitude, these valleys, far
Yosemite, To be in them absorb’d, assimilated.
Then to a loftier strain,
Still prouder, more ecstatic rose the chant,
As if the heirs, the deities of the West,
Joining with master-tongue bore part.
Not wan from Asia’s fetiches,
Nor red from Europe’s old dynastic slaughter-house, (Area of murder-plots of thrones, with scent left yet of wars and scaffolds everywhere,
But come from Nature’s long and harmless throes, peacefully builded thence,
These virgin lands, lands of the Western shore,
To the new culminating man, to you, the empire new,
You promis’d long, we pledge, we dedicate.
You occult deep volitions,
You average spiritual manhood, purpose of all, pois’d on yourself, giving not taking law,
You womanhood divine, mistress and source of all, whence life and love and aught that comes from life and love,
You unseen moral essence of all the vast materials of
America, (age upon age working in death the same as life,) You that, sometimes known, oftener unknown, really shape and mould the
New
World, adjusting it to
Time and
Space,
You hidden national will lying in your abysms, conceal’d but ever alert,
You past and present purposes tenaciously pursued, may-be unconscious of yourselves,
Unswerv’d by all the passing errors, perturbations of the surface;
You vital, universal, deathless germs, beneath all creeds, arts, statutes, literatures,
Here build your homes for good, establish here, these areas entire, lands of the
Western shore, We pledge, we dedicate to you.
For man of you, your characteristic race,
Here may he hardy, sweet, gigantic grow, here tower proportionate to
Nature, Here climb the vast pure spaces unconfined, uncheck’d by wall or roof,
Here laugh with storm or sun, here joy, here patiently inure,
Here heed himself, unfold himself, (not others’ formulas heed,) here fill his time,
To duly fall, to aid, unreck’d at last,
To disappear, to serve.
Thus on the northern coast,
In the echo of teamsters’ calls and the clinking chains, and the music of choppers’ axes,
The falling trunk and limbs, the crash, the muffled shriek, the groan,
Such words combined from the redwood-tree, as of voices ecstatic, ancient and rustling,
The century-lasting, unseen dryads, singing, withdrawing,
All their recesses of forests and mountains leaving,
From the Cascade range to the
Wahsatch, or Idaho far, or Utah,
To the deities of the modern henceforth yielding,
The chorus and indications, the vistas of coming humanity, the settlements, features all,
In the Mendocino woods I caught.
2 The flashing and golden pageant of
California, The sudden and gorgeous drama, the sunny and ample lands,
The long and varied stretch from
Puget sound to Colorado south,
Lands bathed in sweeter, rarer, healthier air, valleys and mountain cliffs,
The fields of
Nature long prepared and fallow, the silent, cyclic chemistry,
The slow and steady ages plodding, the unoccupied surface ripening, the rich ores forming beneath;
At last the New arriving, assuming, taking possession,
A swarming and busy race settling and organizing everywhere,
Ships coming in from the whole round world, and going out to the whole world,
To India and
China and Australia and the thousand island paradises of the Pacific,
Populous cities, the latest inventions, the steamers on the rivers, the railroads, with many a thrifty farm, with machinery,
And wool and wheat and the grape, and diggings of yellow gold.
3 But more in you than these, lands of the
Western shore, (These but the means, the implements, the standing-ground,) I see in you, certain to come, the promise of thousands of years, till now deferr’d,
Promis’d to be fulfill’d, our common kind, the race.
The new society at last, proportionate to
Nature,
In man of you, more than your mountain peaks or stalwart trees imperial,
In woman more, far more, than all your gold or vines, or even vital air.
Fresh come, to a new world indeed, yet long prepared,
I see the genius of the modern, child of the real and ideal,
Clearing the ground for broad humanity, the true
America, heir of the past so grand,
To build a grander future
Walt Whitman
1 A CALIFORNIA song,
A prophecy and indirection, a thought impalpable to breathe as air,
A chorus of dryads, fading, departing, or hamadryads departing,
A murmuring, fateful, giant voice, out of the earth and sky,
Voice of a mighty dying tree in the redwood forest dense.
Farewell my brethren,
Farewell O earth and sky, farewell ye neighboring waters,
My time has ended, my term has come.
Along the northern coast,
Just back from the rock-bound shore and the caves,
In the saline air from the sea in the
Mendocino country,
With the surge for base and accompaniment low and hoarse,
With crackling blows of axes sounding musically driven by strong arms,
Riven deep by the sharp tongues of the axes, there in the redwood forest dense,
I heard the might tree its death-chant chanting.
The choppers heard not, the camp shanties echoed not,
The quick-ear’d teamsters and chain and jack-screw men heard not,
As the wood-spirits came from their haunts of a thousand years to join the refrain,
But in my soul I plainly heard.
Murmuring out of its myriad leaves,
Down from its lofty top rising two hundred feet high,
Out of its stalwart trunk and limbs, out of its foot-thick bark,
That chant of the seasons and time, chant not of the past only but the future.
You untold life of me,
And all you venerable and innocent joys,
Perennial hardy life of me with joys ‘mid rain and many a summer sun,
And the white snows and night and the wild winds;
O the great patient rugged joys, my soul’s strong joys unreck’d by man, (For know
I bear the soul befitting me,
I too have consciousness,
identity,
And all the rocks and mountains have, and all the earth,) Joys of the life befitting me and brothers mine,
Our time, our term has come.
Nor yield we mournfully majestic brothers,
We who have grandly fill’d our time,
With Nature’s calm content, with tacit huge delight,
We welcome what we wrought for through the past,
And leave the field for them.
For them predicted long,
For a superber race, they too to grandly fill their time,
For them we abdicate, in them ourselves ye forest kings!
In them these skies and airs, these mountain peaks,
Shasta, Nevadas, These huge precipitous cliffs, this amplitude, these valleys, far
Yosemite, To be in them absorb’d, assimilated.
Then to a loftier strain,
Still prouder, more ecstatic rose the chant,
As if the heirs, the deities of the West,
Joining with master-tongue bore part.
Not wan from Asia’s fetiches,
Nor red from Europe’s old dynastic slaughter-house, (Area of murder-plots of thrones, with scent left yet of wars and scaffolds everywhere,
But come from Nature’s long and harmless throes, peacefully builded thence,
These virgin lands, lands of the Western shore,
To the new culminating man, to you, the empire new,
You promis’d long, we pledge, we dedicate.
You occult deep volitions,
You average spiritual manhood, purpose of all, pois’d on yourself, giving not taking law,
You womanhood divine, mistress and source of all, whence life and love and aught that comes from life and love,
You unseen moral essence of all the vast materials of
America, (age upon age working in death the same as life,) You that, sometimes known, oftener unknown, really shape and mould the
New
World, adjusting it to
Time and
Space,
You hidden national will lying in your abysms, conceal’d but ever alert,
You past and present purposes tenaciously pursued, may-be unconscious of yourselves,
Unswerv’d by all the passing errors, perturbations of the surface;
You vital, universal, deathless germs, beneath all creeds, arts, statutes, literatures,
Here build your homes for good, establish here, these areas entire, lands of the
Western shore, We pledge, we dedicate to you.
For man of you, your characteristic race,
Here may he hardy, sweet, gigantic grow, here tower proportionate to
Nature, Here climb the vast pure spaces unconfined, uncheck’d by wall or roof,
Here laugh with storm or sun, here joy, here patiently inure,
Here heed himself, unfold himself, (not others’ formulas heed,) here fill his time,
To duly fall, to aid, unreck’d at last,
To disappear, to serve.
Thus on the northern coast,
In the echo of teamsters’ calls and the clinking chains, and the music of choppers’ axes,
The falling trunk and limbs, the crash, the muffled shriek, the groan,
Such words combined from the redwood-tree, as of voices ecstatic, ancient and rustling,
The century-lasting, unseen dryads, singing, withdrawing,
All their recesses of forests and mountains leaving,
From the Cascade range to the
Wahsatch, or Idaho far, or Utah,
To the deities of the modern henceforth yielding,
The chorus and indications, the vistas of coming humanity, the settlements, features all,
In the Mendocino woods I caught.
2 The flashing and golden pageant of
California, The sudden and gorgeous drama, the sunny and ample lands,
The long and varied stretch from
Puget sound to Colorado south,
Lands bathed in sweeter, rarer, healthier air, valleys and mountain cliffs,
The fields of
Nature long prepared and fallow, the silent, cyclic chemistry,
The slow and steady ages plodding, the unoccupied surface ripening, the rich ores forming beneath;
At last the New arriving, assuming, taking possession,
A swarming and busy race settling and organizing everywhere,
Ships coming in from the whole round world, and going out to the whole world,
To India and
China and Australia and the thousand island paradises of the Pacific,
Populous cities, the latest inventions, the steamers on the rivers, the railroads, with many a thrifty farm, with machinery,
And wool and wheat and the grape, and diggings of yellow gold.
3 But more in you than these, lands of the
Western shore, (These but the means, the implements, the standing-ground,) I see in you, certain to come, the promise of thousands of years, till now deferr’d,
Promis’d to be fulfill’d, our common kind, the race.
The new society at last, proportionate to
Nature,
In man of you, more than your mountain peaks or stalwart trees imperial,
In woman more, far more, than all your gold or vines, or even vital air.
Fresh come, to a new world indeed, yet long prepared,
I see the genius of the modern, child of the real and ideal,
Clearing the ground for broad humanity, the true
America, heir of the past so grand,
To build a grander future
Walt Whitman
Christopher Hitchens & William F. Buckley (5/5)
Hitchens admits that he was too impressed by the style of the Black Panthers and he missed seeing that MLK was the true revolutionary of those times.
Christopher Hitchens & William F. Buckley (4/5)
Buckley admits he was wrong to oppose the civil rights movement. But he will not admit that it was a great moment in American history since it was, "anti-thought and anti-rational; the kind of thing that causes Socratesto leave the Symposium."
Monday, June 22, 2009
Laura Ingraham, Brigitte Gabriel, as well as Justin Logan of the CATO Institute on Obama’s Nonreaction to Events in Iran (from 6/18)
Obama is not displaying leadership. I understand it is delicate. But it is not as delicate a situation as Obama's lack of response would imply. I am afraid that a lot of the problem is that Obama has not been tested and learned to adapt as a leader. He seems to have a fear of making mistakes that just shouts 'novice.' He seems to not understand that any course he chooses will have negative consequences. Sometime he just has to choose the lesser evil. He seems to to have a sophomoric belief that he can be slick and emerge with lots more adulation. I think those days are numbered. Will he know when he must act? I am less optimistic about that then I have been since he was elected. Pundit and Pundette have a couple of recent posts that analyze Obama's patterns and motivation and give links to other writings about these subjects here and here. I highly recommend thatblog.
h/t: MsUnderestimated
Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics: This Story Has Them All
I watched the panel discussion on Stephanopoulos’ Sunday morning show. George S. and most of the panel kept referring to to a new NYT/CBS poll. They kept quoting numbers for approval of the president’s unwritten plan that were wildly higher than any I have heard. A story at Patterico’s Pontifications today analyzed the methodology of the poll. The poll is pure BS and gun smoke and basically a fraud. Here are a couple of quotes from the post by Karl at Patterico.
“This is what propaganda looks like:
“Americans overwhelmingly support substantial changes to the health care system and are strongly behind [72%] one of the most contentious proposals Congress is considering, a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
“Bruce Kesler points out that — in traditional NYT/CBS fashion — the sample is badly skewed:
“According to the actual poll data, of the 73% of respondents who said they voted in 2008 only 34% voted for McCain and 66% for Obama. The actual vote was 48% McCain.
“This is a good example of why reading a poll is as much art as science, because the first problem is the percentage who say they voted in the 2008 election. In reality, no more than 62% of eligible voters cast ballots last year. Accordingly, the poll has sampled a lot of adults who were ineligible to vote… or, as often happens, respondents lied about voting. In such cases, the lie tends to skew in favor of the winner.
“Does that mean the sample might be more valid than Kesler suggests? Not in this case. In this poll, the sample identified as 27% liberal, 37% moderate, and 29% conservative. In contrast, last week’s Gallup Poll showed Americans identify as 21% liberal, 35% moderate, and 40% conservative.”
And there is another big problem with the poll that automatically skews the results toward the direction the NYT apparently demanded:
Of those somehow chosen for the sample, “16% was temporarily out of work, and another 10% was not in the market for work. Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg tells us that those who have been unemployed within the past year (or have an immediate family member in that category) are the most supportive of a government takeover of the US healthcare system. So a sample with much higher unemployment than the national average tells us something about the skew here also.”
This morning Diane Sawyer said about ABC, "I know that our network has worked very, very hard to be completely- completely responsible and fair and serious about big issues." The relish with which most of the ABC employees endlessly repeated the results of this poll leads me to believe that either they are going to tell us that health care is not one of the big issues or Sawyer is a liar.
“This is what propaganda looks like:
“Americans overwhelmingly support substantial changes to the health care system and are strongly behind [72%] one of the most contentious proposals Congress is considering, a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
“Bruce Kesler points out that — in traditional NYT/CBS fashion — the sample is badly skewed:
“According to the actual poll data, of the 73% of respondents who said they voted in 2008 only 34% voted for McCain and 66% for Obama. The actual vote was 48% McCain.
“This is a good example of why reading a poll is as much art as science, because the first problem is the percentage who say they voted in the 2008 election. In reality, no more than 62% of eligible voters cast ballots last year. Accordingly, the poll has sampled a lot of adults who were ineligible to vote… or, as often happens, respondents lied about voting. In such cases, the lie tends to skew in favor of the winner.
“Does that mean the sample might be more valid than Kesler suggests? Not in this case. In this poll, the sample identified as 27% liberal, 37% moderate, and 29% conservative. In contrast, last week’s Gallup Poll showed Americans identify as 21% liberal, 35% moderate, and 40% conservative.”
And there is another big problem with the poll that automatically skews the results toward the direction the NYT apparently demanded:
Of those somehow chosen for the sample, “16% was temporarily out of work, and another 10% was not in the market for work. Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg tells us that those who have been unemployed within the past year (or have an immediate family member in that category) are the most supportive of a government takeover of the US healthcare system. So a sample with much higher unemployment than the national average tells us something about the skew here also.”
This morning Diane Sawyer said about ABC, "I know that our network has worked very, very hard to be completely- completely responsible and fair and serious about big issues." The relish with which most of the ABC employees endlessly repeated the results of this poll leads me to believe that either they are going to tell us that health care is not one of the big issues or Sawyer is a liar.
A Message From The Boss
from the Mike McConnell Show (799WLW) site
Subject: A Message From The Boss
To All My Valued Employees,
There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this
company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has
changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good
news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does
threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this
country.
However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you
decide what is in your best interests.
First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against
employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there
is a Back Story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed
by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside.
You've seen my big home at last year's Christmas party. I'm sure; all
these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about
my life.
However, what you don't see is the BACK STORY:
I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square
foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was
converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a
company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.
My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent
went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a
defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed
home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying.
In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and
sacrifice.
Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made
a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove
flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer
clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion
item, I was trolling through the discount store extracting any clothing
item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced
their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my
time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually,
some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends
supposedly had.
So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at
about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for
me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend
all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe
this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no
weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached
to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see
the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations...
you never realize the Back Story and the sacrifices I've made.
Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right
decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who
didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled
to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.
Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep
and not without wounds.
Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you,
is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell
you why:
I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I
have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes.
Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes
on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess
what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and
regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of
my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000
for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero..
Nada. Zilch.
The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy
who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000
people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting
at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check?
Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this
country.
The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit
and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who
wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which
is why your job is in jeopardy.
Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy
you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government
mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of
depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have
spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic
growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut
in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it
now.
When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't
defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life,
do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of
America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not
kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of
America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine.
Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change
you can keep.
So where am I going with all this?
It's quite simple.
If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be
swift and simple. I'll fire you. I'll fire your co-workers. You can then
plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and
your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.
Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and
retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the
productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and
to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.
So, if you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it
will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this
country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its
landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a
beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about....
Signed, THE BOSS
h/t: Stop the ACLU
Subject: A Message From The Boss
To All My Valued Employees,
There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this
company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has
changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good
news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does
threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this
country.
However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you
decide what is in your best interests.
First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against
employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there
is a Back Story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed
by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside.
You've seen my big home at last year's Christmas party. I'm sure; all
these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about
my life.
However, what you don't see is the BACK STORY:
I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square
foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was
converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a
company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.
My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent
went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a
defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed
home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying.
In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and
sacrifice.
Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made
a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove
flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer
clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion
item, I was trolling through the discount store extracting any clothing
item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced
their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my
time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually,
some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends
supposedly had.
So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at
about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for
me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend
all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe
this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no
weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached
to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see
the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations...
you never realize the Back Story and the sacrifices I've made.
Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right
decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who
didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled
to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.
Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep
and not without wounds.
Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you,
is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell
you why:
I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I
have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes.
Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes
on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess
what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and
regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of
my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000
for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero..
Nada. Zilch.
The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy
who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000
people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting
at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check?
Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this
country.
The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit
and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who
wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which
is why your job is in jeopardy.
Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy
you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government
mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of
depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have
spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic
growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut
in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it
now.
When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't
defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life,
do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of
America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not
kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of
America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine.
Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change
you can keep.
So where am I going with all this?
It's quite simple.
If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be
swift and simple. I'll fire you. I'll fire your co-workers. You can then
plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and
your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.
Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and
retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the
productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and
to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.
So, if you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it
will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this
country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its
landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a
beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about....
Signed, THE BOSS
h/t: Stop the ACLU
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Victor D. Hanson on Iran and Obama
It is sad to contemplate, but Obama lacks the temperament, knowledge and desire to do anything but screw up foreign affairs. The remainder of this post is two quotes from VDH's column yesterday at Pajamsmedia about how clueless Obama is about what is happening in Iran.
"It’s a personal thing that interferes with Obama’s ego, and messianic personal diplomacy. Obama himself is not comfortable with those abroad who emulate American values and seek to have the freedoms and rights we take for granted. The post-colonial industry mandates that the Other is a perpetual victim of colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, and racism with justified grievances. Only elite American intellectuals of singular insight and empathy understand the calculus of the oppressed, and so, through apologies, accommodations, and concessions, they alone on our behalf can deal with an Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Ortega, Castro, Morales, Nasrallah, etc. But when we see a purple-finger election, a statue of liberty at Tiananmen, or the current Levi-clad, cell-phoning, English-placard-carrying Iranian grassroots resistance, all the above is rendered null and void. Obama wants to rise above his country; but when his country is not held in disrepute (as is true among the Iranian people), he is an actor without a role.
"People abroad really do prefer freedom and true constitutional government to autocratic grievance mongers who loot their country and brutalize the free. In such conditions, old-fashioned Americans, often inarticulate and perhaps clumsy, but honest in their belief in the universal appeal of human freedom, do better than all the nuanced Kennedy School intellectuals (e.g. They laughed at the reductionist “Tear Down This Wall” and “Evil Empire” and apparently preferred “No Inordinate Fear of Communism”). So a deer-in-the-headlights Obama wonders, ‘Wait, why aren’t they shouting the boilerplate ‘Death to America!’ and invoking, like I did, 1953 and the CIA crimes? Don’t they know the things that we did to them and I apologized for? Don’t they see that I am as separate from the US of the 1950s as they are? What’s this grass-roots rejection of an anti-Western, anti-colonialist indigenous Iranian government all about? (cf. his moral equivalent comparison of Mousavi to Ahmadinejad as equally anti-American)."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"4) He’s addicted to the ossified Iraqi paradigm of “Bush intervened and caused a mess” (Free Iraq is apparently still equivalent to Saddam’s Iraq), so “I don’t want to follow his lead” (as if vocal support now is the same as shock and awe then). Somewhere in stone a lie is chiseled “Iraq made Iran stronger”. He doesn’t see the footnote: “But if Iraqi democracy survives, it fuels emulation in neighboring Iran and does more to undermine the theocracy than all the F-22s in the world”. Who knows-if Iranian freedom spreads, some nut might praise Bush’s commitment to Middle East freedom in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon, and not Obama’s apologetics at Cairo? (Free Shiites in Iraq are far better for Iran than either oppressed minorities under Saddam, or Saddam’s opportunistic dictatorship). Bottom line again: Obama needs to forget Ahmadinejad and talk daily with Maliki.
"OR
"5) His entire anti-Bush foreign policy is then in trouble. We’ve heard for eight years a cheap slur of “neo-cons” did it, not that in the dangerous world abroad there are no good choices, but supporting freedom is usually the better alternative if one must choose. If a peaceful democratic revolution succeeds in Iran, then what happens with “outreach” to Putin, Chavez, and Hamas? The new liberal realpolitik insisted that we don’t offer moral judgment, and was framed instead by winning the hearts and minds of tyrants through humbling ourselves and meae culpae. But if these democracies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and an Iran (?) were to succeed, then what? You would not go to Chavez and promise first to talk about shared colonial racist oppression, but rather say to the Venezuelan people, “We stand with you in your struggle to achieve freedom and dignity and to join the other democracies of Latin America”? That is not just in the cards, and so Iran, is well, a monkey-wrench.
"For now, watch the Iranian army and police. If one battalion bolts, then . . ."
"It’s a personal thing that interferes with Obama’s ego, and messianic personal diplomacy. Obama himself is not comfortable with those abroad who emulate American values and seek to have the freedoms and rights we take for granted. The post-colonial industry mandates that the Other is a perpetual victim of colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, and racism with justified grievances. Only elite American intellectuals of singular insight and empathy understand the calculus of the oppressed, and so, through apologies, accommodations, and concessions, they alone on our behalf can deal with an Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Ortega, Castro, Morales, Nasrallah, etc. But when we see a purple-finger election, a statue of liberty at Tiananmen, or the current Levi-clad, cell-phoning, English-placard-carrying Iranian grassroots resistance, all the above is rendered null and void. Obama wants to rise above his country; but when his country is not held in disrepute (as is true among the Iranian people), he is an actor without a role.
"People abroad really do prefer freedom and true constitutional government to autocratic grievance mongers who loot their country and brutalize the free. In such conditions, old-fashioned Americans, often inarticulate and perhaps clumsy, but honest in their belief in the universal appeal of human freedom, do better than all the nuanced Kennedy School intellectuals (e.g. They laughed at the reductionist “Tear Down This Wall” and “Evil Empire” and apparently preferred “No Inordinate Fear of Communism”). So a deer-in-the-headlights Obama wonders, ‘Wait, why aren’t they shouting the boilerplate ‘Death to America!’ and invoking, like I did, 1953 and the CIA crimes? Don’t they know the things that we did to them and I apologized for? Don’t they see that I am as separate from the US of the 1950s as they are? What’s this grass-roots rejection of an anti-Western, anti-colonialist indigenous Iranian government all about? (cf. his moral equivalent comparison of Mousavi to Ahmadinejad as equally anti-American)."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"4) He’s addicted to the ossified Iraqi paradigm of “Bush intervened and caused a mess” (Free Iraq is apparently still equivalent to Saddam’s Iraq), so “I don’t want to follow his lead” (as if vocal support now is the same as shock and awe then). Somewhere in stone a lie is chiseled “Iraq made Iran stronger”. He doesn’t see the footnote: “But if Iraqi democracy survives, it fuels emulation in neighboring Iran and does more to undermine the theocracy than all the F-22s in the world”. Who knows-if Iranian freedom spreads, some nut might praise Bush’s commitment to Middle East freedom in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon, and not Obama’s apologetics at Cairo? (Free Shiites in Iraq are far better for Iran than either oppressed minorities under Saddam, or Saddam’s opportunistic dictatorship). Bottom line again: Obama needs to forget Ahmadinejad and talk daily with Maliki.
"OR
"5) His entire anti-Bush foreign policy is then in trouble. We’ve heard for eight years a cheap slur of “neo-cons” did it, not that in the dangerous world abroad there are no good choices, but supporting freedom is usually the better alternative if one must choose. If a peaceful democratic revolution succeeds in Iran, then what happens with “outreach” to Putin, Chavez, and Hamas? The new liberal realpolitik insisted that we don’t offer moral judgment, and was framed instead by winning the hearts and minds of tyrants through humbling ourselves and meae culpae. But if these democracies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and an Iran (?) were to succeed, then what? You would not go to Chavez and promise first to talk about shared colonial racist oppression, but rather say to the Venezuelan people, “We stand with you in your struggle to achieve freedom and dignity and to join the other democracies of Latin America”? That is not just in the cards, and so Iran, is well, a monkey-wrench.
"For now, watch the Iranian army and police. If one battalion bolts, then . . ."
Christopher Hitchens & William F. Buckley (3/5)
Hitchen's self-righteousness with the stupid grin makes him look more superficial than he usually appears to me. Buckley is truly more serious. I liked hearing him say, "You might have been right. But it would have been romantic of me to assume you were right."
Gutfeld Not So Sure There Should Be Skateboarding in the White House While Tehran Burns
The most recent Gregalogue:
Am I an old fart or am I right to be pissed that some jackass is skateboarding down the halls of the White House while all this Iranian shit is going down?
We truly have succumbed to the idiocy of the MTV/Mountain Dew/Road Rules backward hat and baggy short culture. Did I miss something, or is the White House the future set for the next Real World? Where are the wallet chains? Is Hot Topic handling our foreign policy? Obama should be grounded for a week for letting Tony Hawk play in OUR house. Where in hell are the adults?
Look: Tony Hawk is in his mid forties. He's a grown man...and he skateboards. Could you imagine your dad or anyone who lived during World War II treating a man who skateboards with anything less than scorn and ridicule?
Right now, people are risking their lives for the glimmer of freedom, and Tony Hawk is in the White House tweeting about Frosted Flakes.
Someone please dig up Reagan. I'd take a dead leader with balls over a living camp counselor who wants all the cool kids to like him.
What a screaming joke.
h/t: HotAir.com
Am I an old fart or am I right to be pissed that some jackass is skateboarding down the halls of the White House while all this Iranian shit is going down?
We truly have succumbed to the idiocy of the MTV/Mountain Dew/Road Rules backward hat and baggy short culture. Did I miss something, or is the White House the future set for the next Real World? Where are the wallet chains? Is Hot Topic handling our foreign policy? Obama should be grounded for a week for letting Tony Hawk play in OUR house. Where in hell are the adults?
Look: Tony Hawk is in his mid forties. He's a grown man...and he skateboards. Could you imagine your dad or anyone who lived during World War II treating a man who skateboards with anything less than scorn and ridicule?
Right now, people are risking their lives for the glimmer of freedom, and Tony Hawk is in the White House tweeting about Frosted Flakes.
Someone please dig up Reagan. I'd take a dead leader with balls over a living camp counselor who wants all the cool kids to like him.
What a screaming joke.
h/t: HotAir.com
Christopher Hitchens and William F. Buckley (2/5)
Who were the bad guys in Viet Nam?
Did the doctrine of containment make sense?
Did the US take over the European empires?
Saturday, June 20, 2009
SEIU Threatening California Legislators
I say throw the bunch of them out. These legislators are the ones who continually gave in to almost any demand from the unions and ruined the once vibrant California economy in the process. Any help from the unions in removing them will be appreciated.
Christopher Hitchens & William F. Buckley (1/5)
Sorry for the BS lefty-moron intro. Such romanticizing of the protester’s sign is rather sad.
In the summer of 1968 Hitch was in Cuba as a volunteer agriculture worker. He was at that time a Luxembourger Trotskyite.
They argue a little about the sexual revolution.
In the summer of 1968 Hitch was in Cuba as a volunteer agriculture worker. He was at that time a Luxembourger Trotskyite.
They argue a little about the sexual revolution.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Profiles in Courage, Chicago Style
Barack Obama got out of bed this morning. To an admiring and approving press corps Press Secretary Gibbs explained that, “In a bold and nearly unprecedented move Our Great Leader put his left foot on the floor. But, not to be out done by lefty, our Far Seeing Leader’s right foot moved itself to the floor. Yes, Loyal Servants and Journalists, in an act of political courage seldom seen in the sweeping history of Western Civilization, Barack the Community Organizer Obama stood up from his bed. And, no Chris Matthews, you cannot touch the Marvelous Bed. I wish the rest of you would shut Matthews up so I can relate to you more glorious acts of political courage from our Humble Ruler’s epic morning.”
“Breakfast was the stuff of legend today,” Gibbs continued. “The president said, ‘I want three minute eggs and I want them now’ The cook, clearly unwilling to work well with others and in anti-team spirit, used the standard capitalist ploy of taking three, yes, I said three minutes to make three minute eggs. While he ate his eggs our Revered President consulted with some top advisors. The most influential advisor at the meeting observed that the cook was obviously confused, disorganized and ill prepared. One advisor felt that the cook was exhibiting disloyalty that might upset arrangements with a certain egg cartel. Our Far Seeing President observed that it might not be the best thing to commit to writing anything about disloyalty. The Great One then ordered that the cook be told that if he did not resign immediately he will be fired. Yes, Garrett I can tell you have a question.”
“Yes, the cook was fired. . . No, you could not be more wrong in describing it as childish pique gone wild. It took great political courage for the Greatest Leader the Free World Has Ever Had to fire this cook. The Light of Chicago is no respecter of persons. He is The Greatest Friend the Working Man Has Ever Had but he will visit his wrath on any who work against the common good. Yes Slavish Journalists this has been a week in which our Esteemed Leader has exhibited great courage. It has almost always been political. Yes, Journalists Who Know Their Place, this has been a week in which the First Truly Great Man Created by the American Nation has excelled in acts of great political courage. Poor Washington and Lincoln died before they could see the greatness that America could produce. How very sad for them. And how sad that JFK was not able to write a profile of true and genuine political courage”
“Breakfast was the stuff of legend today,” Gibbs continued. “The president said, ‘I want three minute eggs and I want them now’ The cook, clearly unwilling to work well with others and in anti-team spirit, used the standard capitalist ploy of taking three, yes, I said three minutes to make three minute eggs. While he ate his eggs our Revered President consulted with some top advisors. The most influential advisor at the meeting observed that the cook was obviously confused, disorganized and ill prepared. One advisor felt that the cook was exhibiting disloyalty that might upset arrangements with a certain egg cartel. Our Far Seeing President observed that it might not be the best thing to commit to writing anything about disloyalty. The Great One then ordered that the cook be told that if he did not resign immediately he will be fired. Yes, Garrett I can tell you have a question.”
“Yes, the cook was fired. . . No, you could not be more wrong in describing it as childish pique gone wild. It took great political courage for the Greatest Leader the Free World Has Ever Had to fire this cook. The Light of Chicago is no respecter of persons. He is The Greatest Friend the Working Man Has Ever Had but he will visit his wrath on any who work against the common good. Yes Slavish Journalists this has been a week in which our Esteemed Leader has exhibited great courage. It has almost always been political. Yes, Journalists Who Know Their Place, this has been a week in which the First Truly Great Man Created by the American Nation has excelled in acts of great political courage. Poor Washington and Lincoln died before they could see the greatness that America could produce. How very sad for them. And how sad that JFK was not able to write a profile of true and genuine political courage”
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Goal of ObamaCare Is To Destroy Health Care In America?
Is the over all goal to destroy America?
Barbara Boxer Can't Get Any Respect
I understand how she feels. I have been cursed with this bi . . . um . . . lady as my Senator for too many years. Of all the emails I have sent her I have only gotten one reply. And that reply pretty much boiled down to, 'FU. We are not interested in input. We know what is best.' I would love to receive from her the amount of respect she demands from others. If Boxer is reelected in 2010 I will be greatly disappointed by my state. The way she has reacted to communications from me leads me to suspect that she is not down with the whole legitimacy bring derived from the consent of the governed concept.
I tried to find this clip on the Google site. My search for 'Barbara Boxer demands to be called senator' yielded only clips many years old. Google is trying to cover up for that jerk of a senator. Just more government run media in action.
ht/Red State
I tried to find this clip on the Google site. My search for 'Barbara Boxer demands to be called senator' yielded only clips many years old. Google is trying to cover up for that jerk of a senator. Just more government run media in action.
ht/Red State
ABC News Has Become a Total Pawn Of The White House
This afternoon I emailed this message to ABC News:
"Please stop claiming to be a news organization. This false advertising might leave you open to law suits from viewers you are defrauding. There are other wholly owned subsidiaries of the Democratic party that are not as ashamed or dishonest as you are. The longer you continue this charade the more guilty you are. The American public is by nature very forgiving. But we cannot forgive you until you admit to your dishonest manipulation and promise to stop. End this criminal behavior now!"
In return I received an electronically generated reply that invited me to watch the special that will be broadcast tonight from the White House on ABC. I could save myself time by just reading Team Obama's press releases. It would be so much more honest if ABC would stop using the word 'news.' They would be less open to charges of fraud.
"Please stop claiming to be a news organization. This false advertising might leave you open to law suits from viewers you are defrauding. There are other wholly owned subsidiaries of the Democratic party that are not as ashamed or dishonest as you are. The longer you continue this charade the more guilty you are. The American public is by nature very forgiving. But we cannot forgive you until you admit to your dishonest manipulation and promise to stop. End this criminal behavior now!"
In return I received an electronically generated reply that invited me to watch the special that will be broadcast tonight from the White House on ABC. I could save myself time by just reading Team Obama's press releases. It would be so much more honest if ABC would stop using the word 'news.' They would be less open to charges of fraud.
Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
Paul Weller & Amy Winehouse I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Teach me tonight- Amy Winehouse
Paul Weller & Amy Winehouse I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Teach me tonight- Amy Winehouse
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
If This Man Is Senile The Obama Administration Is Transparent
In other words, no way.
One catchy comment from Hot Air's thread:
Weak on Iran and North Korea, strong on houseflies and IGs.
Weight of Glory on June 17, 2009 at 8:58 PM
ht/Hot Air.com
Link:
One catchy comment from Hot Air's thread:
Weak on Iran and North Korea, strong on houseflies and IGs.
Weight of Glory on June 17, 2009 at 8:58 PM
ht/Hot Air.com
Burkha Rage
From columnist Allison Pearson in London's Daily Mail:
On a train to London, a young woman wearing a burkha, with only her heavily made-up eyes peeping out, did not have a valid ticket.
Challenged by the guard, the young woman gave a litany of excuses. She had left her bag at her boyfriend's, he had bought the ticket, she had no money on her...
My friend Jane, who was in the same carriage, noticed how the guard became nervous as the Muslim girl presented herself as an innocent in a society she didn't understand.
Instead of issuing a penalty fine, the guard backed off, shrugging his helplessness at the other passengers.
So imagine my friend's surprise when she got off at the same station as burkha girl and saw this 'penniless innocent' whip out a credit card from under the folds of her dress with which she promptly bought a Tube ticket.
Jane was so incensed she sent me a text message, explaining what she'd witnessed. It ended: 'Attack of Burkha Rage. Grrr.'
Jane is not a BNP voter. She is a university lecturer who specialises in the developing world.
Yet Burkha Rage has become our personal shorthand for someone taking the mickey out of our country and its tolerant ways.
Despite a growing acceptance that multi-culturalism has been deeply damaging to race relations, there are still almost weekly opportunities for a fit of Burkha Rage.
Camille Paglia Damns Obama's Cairo Speech With Faint Praise
She liked his speech more than I did. But she is not excited. The remainder of the post is quotes Ms. Paglia's Salon piece.
"Obama's speech (which I read rather than heard) seemed to my teacher's eye like a strong first draft rather than a polished final product. This could and should have been one of the most important documents in American political history. But any president, given the crushing onus of his daily agenda, needs help from a team of speechwriters and advisors who will flesh out his thoughts and argument with example and detail. Despite his Ivy League background, Obama evidently still lacks a reliable circle of erudite, cosmopolitan analysts like those John F. Kennedy drafted via his Harvard network.
"The Cairo speech is well-organized, ticking off central thorny issues region by region. But there is an unsettling slackness and even sentimentality in its view of history. Yes, Obama's principal targeted audience was moderate Muslims, whom he attempted to woo away from extremism. But the president missed a huge opportunity to speak with equal force to doubters in his own nation, where suspicion of Muslims has sometimes turned ruthless and paranoid." . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Hence, given the lingering climate of fear and suspicion, I wish that the Cairo speech had been more specific and instructional about Muslim beliefs and culture. Obama's quick and late citations of Andalusia and Córdoba, for instance, could only prove baffling to the majority of Americans, who know virtually nothing about Moorish Spain. Obama's cursory two-sentence summary of the past relationship between Islam and the West -- jumping from "conflict and religious wars" to "colonialism" -- seemed vague and timid. While there was a mini-list of Muslim ideas and inventions (including the questionable assertion that we owe our "mastery of pens and printing" to the Arabs), no comparable credit was given to the enormous Western contributions to science, medicine and technology. But the gravest omission was that Obama failed to fully articulate the most basic Western concepts of legal process and civil liberties, which have inspired reformers around the world. The president of the U.S. should be an eloquent ambassador of those ideals wherever he goes."
[I suspect that Obama's inability to be a good ambassador of Western ideals stems from those ideas being of absolutely no importance to him. Ms. Paglia is very intelligent and I think she will, one of these days, come to see through Obama's meaningless and misleading veneer of liberal values.]
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Finest Links in all of Christendom
Jo-Joe Politico has a post questioning whether David Letterman’s most recent statement about Willow Palin (the lech just can’t leave the poor girl alone) is actually an apology. My answer is the first comment in the comment thread. Joe’s next post presents a challenging situation. Joe and his wife are both suffering from disabilities and savings that are fading away. Joe’s wife suffers too much from carpel tunnel syndrome to be able to work. Their situation would be much improved if she could work. But they have no health insurance and not enough resources to get her the operation a doctor feels will fix the carpel tunnel. I have no answer. Just a few tentative thoughts. Mention of this on as many blogs as possible might turn up an angel. As a retired nurse I know that surgeons almost always see surgery as the only answer when there might be excellent alternatives that wide research will uncover. I realize that some would say that single payer health care would solve this problem for Joe and his wife. But that is far from a foregone conclusion. Obama’s health care rationing board might not OK this surgery. Obama wants the power and your money. But Obama understands the calculus of power and knows that once you have surrendered all that to him, there is much less reason for him to keep any of the seven conflicting promises he has made on the subject. Joe and his wife need your prayers. And if anyone reading this has a solution or some useful resource please go to Joe’s site and tell him.
Nothing like a little Orwell in the morning. Readers of 1984 might remember the Two Minutes of Hate that was part of Big Brother’s presentations. Pundit and Pundette trace a quick history of similar manifestations in the Brother Barry show. Here’s a link to a YouTube clip from the movie of 1984 that bears too much resemblance to an Obama rally. The citizens of Oceana show little difference from the reactions of the crowds at a Jon Stewart, Bill Maher or Dave Letterman show. There is the changing lineup of villains that get heavily emoted upon at the direction of Big Brother from the oval office. The latest enemy is the AMA. Tomorrow it may be you. Then there is a video of Congresswoman Michelle Bachman. Apparently a car dealership that loses its contract with the big auto maker has no chance of obtaining due process unless he can get a Democrat congressman to go to bat for him. DC will be called Chicago on the Potomac before Obama is finished with it. It has been said that Brother O. feels the constitution to be a very imperfect and unfinished document. I think he just does not want its protections applied to anyone not paying protection money to his campaign treasury. Letterman’s pseudo-apology is skewered for the lie it is. P & P also has a post about health care. Some improvements that don’t require a total government take over are suggested. Also some of the more unpleasant side effects (like frequent death) of government run care are mentioned. For some reason the MSM will not say anything negative about anything Obama favors. Just think, thanks to government managed news, we could have a new government run health system that will kill millions and no one will know for 350 years.
And So It Goes In Shreveport points some more ways that Obama in your health care might not be good for your health. (It is a little crazy to put so much power in the hands of someone whose most complex exercise in planning up to now has been to outline a semester long course.) Pat and Cynthia Yockey want to keep up the Letterman boycott (they’re right). Pat also has a good clip of a massive crowd in Tehran (Obama’s present focus is attacking anyone not in complete agreement with his as yet unwritten health care plan).
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