His comment on Sotomayor is right on:
"Imagine a judicial nominee said 'my experience as a white man makes me better than a latina woman.' new racism is no better than old racism,"
When will people learn that two wrongs don't make a right?
UPDATE on June 3, 2009:
And now Newt folds up like a cheap tent in a high wind and backs off his comments.
Friday
If this had been civilians...
...heads would roll. But since it's cops, no one will be held accountable. I'd bet money on it.
Shots From Range Hit Near Md. Nuclear Plant
By Aaron C. Davis and Matt Zapotosky
Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, May 28, 2009
A statewide SWAT team exercise at a firing range on the secured grounds of a nuclear power plant in Southern Maryland was halted this month after stray bullets shattered glass and struck a command center near the plant's reactors, officials said yesterday.
Reactor safety at the Calvert Cliffs plant in Lusby was never compromised, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Constellation Energy Group, which operates the facility. But Constellation closed the range, a popular training site for local law enforcement agencies, pending investigations by plant security and the Calvert County Sheriff's Office, which hosted the exercise.
At least five bullets escaped the firing range and traveled more than a half-mile before striking buildings and a vehicle near the reactors, according to the NRC, Constellation and the sheriff's office.
One struck the plant's "outage control center," which is used as a command area to orchestrate refueling efforts. Another hit an employee's sport-utility vehicle in the parking lot. Three others struck an office facility: Two of them hit the roof, and one shattered the outer pane of a first-floor window.
Employees were working in both buildings at the time, said Maureen Brown, a Constellation spokeswoman. The bullets did not penetrate either structure, she said.
Keep in mind the popular refrain of the anti-gun crowd: Only trained professionals should have guns!
Shots From Range Hit Near Md. Nuclear Plant
By Aaron C. Davis and Matt Zapotosky
Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, May 28, 2009
A statewide SWAT team exercise at a firing range on the secured grounds of a nuclear power plant in Southern Maryland was halted this month after stray bullets shattered glass and struck a command center near the plant's reactors, officials said yesterday.
Reactor safety at the Calvert Cliffs plant in Lusby was never compromised, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Constellation Energy Group, which operates the facility. But Constellation closed the range, a popular training site for local law enforcement agencies, pending investigations by plant security and the Calvert County Sheriff's Office, which hosted the exercise.
At least five bullets escaped the firing range and traveled more than a half-mile before striking buildings and a vehicle near the reactors, according to the NRC, Constellation and the sheriff's office.
One struck the plant's "outage control center," which is used as a command area to orchestrate refueling efforts. Another hit an employee's sport-utility vehicle in the parking lot. Three others struck an office facility: Two of them hit the roof, and one shattered the outer pane of a first-floor window.
Employees were working in both buildings at the time, said Maureen Brown, a Constellation spokeswoman. The bullets did not penetrate either structure, she said.
Keep in mind the popular refrain of the anti-gun crowd: Only trained professionals should have guns!
Gaa Gaa over Gubmint giveaways
This article, penned by one of the sheep, gushes extensively over the cash-for-clunkers program whereby subjects of The Regime can get a hefty tax credit for their old trade-in ... if the new car gets sufficiently better MPG.
The useful idiot manages to perfectly convey the notion of “Take the Kings shilling, become the King’s man” with this snappy little rejoinder:
"If this is socialism, call me Comrade!"
And herein is EXACTLY the attitude that has empowered the tick which threatens to consume the dog.
The useful idiot manages to perfectly convey the notion of “Take the Kings shilling, become the King’s man” with this snappy little rejoinder:
"If this is socialism, call me Comrade!"
And herein is EXACTLY the attitude that has empowered the tick which threatens to consume the dog.
Thursday
Today's absolute MUST read
Squeeze, Baby, Squeeze
by Patricia Neill
I don’t care what you call yourselves, communists or fascists, Democrats or Republicans, Congressmen or Presidents, judges or lawyers, feudal Lords or Monarchs, Multinational Corporations, Friends of the Great Spotted Suck Toad, Gas and Electric Utilities, the Sierra Club, the United Nations or the World Bank. You all have a totalitarian bent and aim for the State to own and control everything and everyone.
You are, in the words of one of the philosophers writing today, moral vultures.
You squeeze and squeeze and squeeze and the more the people of any nation yelp and protest, the more brutal you become.
Good. The more brutal you become, the more the people become aware of your game.
Now read the rest here
by Patricia Neill
I don’t care what you call yourselves, communists or fascists, Democrats or Republicans, Congressmen or Presidents, judges or lawyers, feudal Lords or Monarchs, Multinational Corporations, Friends of the Great Spotted Suck Toad, Gas and Electric Utilities, the Sierra Club, the United Nations or the World Bank. You all have a totalitarian bent and aim for the State to own and control everything and everyone.
You are, in the words of one of the philosophers writing today, moral vultures.
You squeeze and squeeze and squeeze and the more the people of any nation yelp and protest, the more brutal you become.
Good. The more brutal you become, the more the people become aware of your game.
Now read the rest here
Oklahoma state troopers versus ambulance drivers!
Paramedics, OHP Troopers Respond To Video
Posted: May 28, 2009 8:13 AM EDT Updated: May 28, 2009 12:36 PM EDT
The troopers attempt to restrain a paramedic during the altercation.
By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9 for NewsOn6.com
PADEN, OK -- Both sides are defending themselves after a confrontation between an Oklahoma Highway trooper and paramedics which was caught on video.
The OHP trooper in question identified in newly-released documents as Daniel Martin is under investigation by the state Department of Public Safety. This comes one day after video of him trying to arrest a Creek Nation paramedic in the middle of a transport made headlines nationwide.
In the video, you see a confrontation between first responders and troopers outside of an ambulance, as a patient inside waits for medical care.
OHP trooper Daniel Martin, who placed his hands around the neck of a paramedic, is now the subject of an internal investigation, although he and his partners remain on duty."The highway patrol officers, the troopers, are not being placed on any kind of administrative leave," OHP Captain Chris West said. "If the investigation shows there were some violations of department policy or procedure, we'll address those accordingly."
OHP claims the dispute started after the ambulance failed to yield to troopers who were responding to a call. Once the troopers finished their official business, they pulled over EMS as paramedics were transporting a patient inside. That patient was Kenyada Davis' mother.
Davis shot the video of the confrontation after paramedics were pulled over. "We're like trying to tell the guy, ‘Dude, my mom is in the back,'" Kenyada Davis said. "My stepdad was like, ‘My wife is in the back. Can we do this at the hospital?'" Both paramedics released statements they made to Creek Nation officials. According to Paramedic Paul Franks, he told Trooper Martin, "We have a patient en route to Prague ER... if you would follow us, we would sort this out afterwards." He says Martin told him "get your --- in my vehicle. I'm giving you a ticket right now."
At that point, Maurice White, the other paramedic, says he exited the rear of the ambulance to make a similar plea. Trooper Martin tried to arrest him, and after a brief struggle he returned to the back of the ambulance.
OHP dash cameras recorded the first confrontation between the men. Prosecutors now have that tape, which they say shows Maurice White assaulting Trooper Martin. "Anything that would be on the tape would be a matter of the internal investigation," said OHP Lt. Chris West.
The Okfuskee County District Attorney's office says it's reviewing the dash-cam video and all the other evidence surrounding this case, but no decision has been made as to whether charges will be filed against anyone involved in this confrontation. Creek Nation EMS officials wouldn't comment on the possibility of criminal charges, but they did say both paramedics remain on duty.
Posted: May 28, 2009 8:13 AM EDT Updated: May 28, 2009 12:36 PM EDT
The troopers attempt to restrain a paramedic during the altercation.
By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9 for NewsOn6.com
PADEN, OK -- Both sides are defending themselves after a confrontation between an Oklahoma Highway trooper and paramedics which was caught on video.
The OHP trooper in question identified in newly-released documents as Daniel Martin is under investigation by the state Department of Public Safety. This comes one day after video of him trying to arrest a Creek Nation paramedic in the middle of a transport made headlines nationwide.
In the video, you see a confrontation between first responders and troopers outside of an ambulance, as a patient inside waits for medical care.
OHP trooper Daniel Martin, who placed his hands around the neck of a paramedic, is now the subject of an internal investigation, although he and his partners remain on duty."The highway patrol officers, the troopers, are not being placed on any kind of administrative leave," OHP Captain Chris West said. "If the investigation shows there were some violations of department policy or procedure, we'll address those accordingly."
OHP claims the dispute started after the ambulance failed to yield to troopers who were responding to a call. Once the troopers finished their official business, they pulled over EMS as paramedics were transporting a patient inside. That patient was Kenyada Davis' mother.
Davis shot the video of the confrontation after paramedics were pulled over. "We're like trying to tell the guy, ‘Dude, my mom is in the back,'" Kenyada Davis said. "My stepdad was like, ‘My wife is in the back. Can we do this at the hospital?'" Both paramedics released statements they made to Creek Nation officials. According to Paramedic Paul Franks, he told Trooper Martin, "We have a patient en route to Prague ER... if you would follow us, we would sort this out afterwards." He says Martin told him "get your --- in my vehicle. I'm giving you a ticket right now."
At that point, Maurice White, the other paramedic, says he exited the rear of the ambulance to make a similar plea. Trooper Martin tried to arrest him, and after a brief struggle he returned to the back of the ambulance.
OHP dash cameras recorded the first confrontation between the men. Prosecutors now have that tape, which they say shows Maurice White assaulting Trooper Martin. "Anything that would be on the tape would be a matter of the internal investigation," said OHP Lt. Chris West.
The Okfuskee County District Attorney's office says it's reviewing the dash-cam video and all the other evidence surrounding this case, but no decision has been made as to whether charges will be filed against anyone involved in this confrontation. Creek Nation EMS officials wouldn't comment on the possibility of criminal charges, but they did say both paramedics remain on duty.
Who says Drill Instructors don't bounce? (A memory)
This personal anecdote was inspired by my recently establishing correspondence with one of my Drill Instructors after 31 years. Ahh Paris Island! What a place!
Drill Instructor Sergeant Gilchrist once told us that "Marines don't walk, they glide." That was his way of imparting a little style and bearing into our otherwise ungainly selves.
Let's face it; his was a difficult task in turning a pack of total civilian pukes into something resembling Marines in a mere 13 weeks. Indeed Sgt. Gilchrist had a unique gliding walk that was as far from a diddy-bop as he could possibly manage. The guy had style I tell you!
His usual demeanor was cool and unflappable, and he presented a stone-faced mask of hard military bearing at all times. And I only saw him lose that cucumber cool just one time. I no longer recall if it was day or night. That's not just the passage of nearly 31 years either; Marine Corps bootcamp being a strange place where the intensity of events at any given time can crowd out such mendacities as whether the sun is up or down.
Our footlockers containing all our worldly goods were neatly grounded in front of our racks. The narrow distance between the racks translated into very even distances between the footlockers, and Drill Instructor Sergeant Gilchrist was walking in a slow and measured fashion along the tops of those footlockers. He was monologuing as I recall - about what I do NOT recall. We, were standing "on line" at our usual position of Attention, listening to the drone of his voice.
Ahh but the floor was slick concrete. And one false step by Sgt Electro-glide sent one of those footlockers flying out from beneath his foot, and him crashing to the deck!
Hmmm... here was something we hadn't ever seen before: A DI in a compromised or embarrassing position. I mean, these guys had their sh*t in one sock 24/7/365! You NEVER saw one do something amiss. And here we were, witnessing one literally BUST HIS ASS!
I've never seen a human rubber ball - until that exact moment!
He went down.
And in a nanosecond he was back on his feet. Bruce Lee would have envied the speed with which our esteemed instructor righted himself.
If a disinterested party had walked into the room at that precise instant he would have presumed that WE had flung Sgt Gilchrist bodily onto the floor. He breathed dire threats of such doom and destruction that adequate words of description fail me utterly. Mostly it took the form of a grievous warning that none of us dare laugh - something along the lines of "I'll PT you all until you f*cking die!!!"
It was a struggle to keep a straight face let me tell you. And there was precious little to laugh or smile about there in 1st Bn. B Company Plt 1086 during the Fall of 1978. But there was the time Drill Instructor Sergeant Gilchrist busted his ass; and the memory of it makes me grin from ear to ear.
Drill Instructor Sergeant Gilchrist once told us that "Marines don't walk, they glide." That was his way of imparting a little style and bearing into our otherwise ungainly selves.
Let's face it; his was a difficult task in turning a pack of total civilian pukes into something resembling Marines in a mere 13 weeks. Indeed Sgt. Gilchrist had a unique gliding walk that was as far from a diddy-bop as he could possibly manage. The guy had style I tell you!
His usual demeanor was cool and unflappable, and he presented a stone-faced mask of hard military bearing at all times. And I only saw him lose that cucumber cool just one time. I no longer recall if it was day or night. That's not just the passage of nearly 31 years either; Marine Corps bootcamp being a strange place where the intensity of events at any given time can crowd out such mendacities as whether the sun is up or down.
Our footlockers containing all our worldly goods were neatly grounded in front of our racks. The narrow distance between the racks translated into very even distances between the footlockers, and Drill Instructor Sergeant Gilchrist was walking in a slow and measured fashion along the tops of those footlockers. He was monologuing as I recall - about what I do NOT recall. We, were standing "on line" at our usual position of Attention, listening to the drone of his voice.
Ahh but the floor was slick concrete. And one false step by Sgt Electro-glide sent one of those footlockers flying out from beneath his foot, and him crashing to the deck!
Hmmm... here was something we hadn't ever seen before: A DI in a compromised or embarrassing position. I mean, these guys had their sh*t in one sock 24/7/365! You NEVER saw one do something amiss. And here we were, witnessing one literally BUST HIS ASS!
I've never seen a human rubber ball - until that exact moment!
He went down.
And in a nanosecond he was back on his feet. Bruce Lee would have envied the speed with which our esteemed instructor righted himself.
If a disinterested party had walked into the room at that precise instant he would have presumed that WE had flung Sgt Gilchrist bodily onto the floor. He breathed dire threats of such doom and destruction that adequate words of description fail me utterly. Mostly it took the form of a grievous warning that none of us dare laugh - something along the lines of "I'll PT you all until you f*cking die!!!"
It was a struggle to keep a straight face let me tell you. And there was precious little to laugh or smile about there in 1st Bn. B Company Plt 1086 during the Fall of 1978. But there was the time Drill Instructor Sergeant Gilchrist busted his ass; and the memory of it makes me grin from ear to ear.
Wednesday
Dad calls 911 on son's messy room
Andrew Mizsak Says He Overreacted
BEDFORD, Ohio -- An Ohio man who argued with his grown son over a messy bedroom said he overreacted when he called 911.
Andrew Mizsak called authorities Thursday after his 28-year-old son -- who's a school board member in the Cleveland suburb of Bedford -- threw a plate of food across the kitchen table and made a fist at him when told to clean his room.
The son, also named Andrew, lives in a room in his parents' basement.
The father declined to press charges and told police he doesn't want to ruin his son's political career.
The son, who also works as a political consultant, said he's lucky to be living in the house rent free. He also promises to keep his room clean.
===============================
Could anyone get any sorrier?
It’s hard to tell whether the son or the father is worse. Honestly!
When I was a young man, I yearned to be free of my parents with every fiber of my being. The week I turned seventeen I was down at a Marine recruiter’s office getting signed up. And the week I graduated high school I packed my diddy-bag, kissed mommy on the cheek, and said my goodbyes. Now I did NOT do that merely to be away from home. Au contraire…my purpose was to go join Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children and be about the business of killing people and slowing sh*t up. But I was KEENLY aware of being free of the parental domicile.
For a 28 year old man to reside in Daddy’s basement free of charge is just sorry. I cannot think of a more apt description than that. And Dad is equally piss-poor sorry in my opinion. Why did this parent not muster enough care for his son to boot that sorry-ass out of the nest so that he could begin the business of being a self-supporting adult? Maybe he didn’t love the kid enough to discipline him when he was growing up. It would appear that the kid is just spoiled rotten. My my my…America sure has enough of THAT ilk on its hands!
The final coup de grace of utter sorry-ness is the father calling 911 over a dirty room. Now all the world knows that both Dad and Junior have simultaneously reached the proverbial nirvana of sorry-assed-ness. There can now be no further doubt of the complete worthlessness of these two ass-bags. It is part of the official record for all to see.
I believe that if I lived next door to these mouth-breathing wastes of oxygen, I would be compelled to reveal my contempt for them by strolling to the property line and relieving myself on their lawn.
For the record, I hope you made note of the son’s chosen profession. It’s always these types of jackasses who can’t take care of themselves, who are so convinced that they can make the decisions for the rest of us!
BEDFORD, Ohio -- An Ohio man who argued with his grown son over a messy bedroom said he overreacted when he called 911.
Andrew Mizsak called authorities Thursday after his 28-year-old son -- who's a school board member in the Cleveland suburb of Bedford -- threw a plate of food across the kitchen table and made a fist at him when told to clean his room.
The son, also named Andrew, lives in a room in his parents' basement.
The father declined to press charges and told police he doesn't want to ruin his son's political career.
The son, who also works as a political consultant, said he's lucky to be living in the house rent free. He also promises to keep his room clean.
===============================
Could anyone get any sorrier?
It’s hard to tell whether the son or the father is worse. Honestly!
When I was a young man, I yearned to be free of my parents with every fiber of my being. The week I turned seventeen I was down at a Marine recruiter’s office getting signed up. And the week I graduated high school I packed my diddy-bag, kissed mommy on the cheek, and said my goodbyes. Now I did NOT do that merely to be away from home. Au contraire…my purpose was to go join Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children and be about the business of killing people and slowing sh*t up. But I was KEENLY aware of being free of the parental domicile.
For a 28 year old man to reside in Daddy’s basement free of charge is just sorry. I cannot think of a more apt description than that. And Dad is equally piss-poor sorry in my opinion. Why did this parent not muster enough care for his son to boot that sorry-ass out of the nest so that he could begin the business of being a self-supporting adult? Maybe he didn’t love the kid enough to discipline him when he was growing up. It would appear that the kid is just spoiled rotten. My my my…America sure has enough of THAT ilk on its hands!
The final coup de grace of utter sorry-ness is the father calling 911 over a dirty room. Now all the world knows that both Dad and Junior have simultaneously reached the proverbial nirvana of sorry-assed-ness. There can now be no further doubt of the complete worthlessness of these two ass-bags. It is part of the official record for all to see.
I believe that if I lived next door to these mouth-breathing wastes of oxygen, I would be compelled to reveal my contempt for them by strolling to the property line and relieving myself on their lawn.
For the record, I hope you made note of the son’s chosen profession. It’s always these types of jackasses who can’t take care of themselves, who are so convinced that they can make the decisions for the rest of us!
It's not what he says - it's what he DOES
Obama ducks promise to delay bill signings
Complete bills not on Web for pledged 5 days
It seemed among the easiest of his transparency pledges and is entirely under his control, but President Obama is finagling his promise to post bills on the White House Web site for comment for five days before he signs them.
The White House said it posted links from its Web site to Congress' legislative Web site about a week before Mr. Obama signed the measures, but transparency advocates say that doesn't match the president's pledge to give Americans time to comment on the final version he is about to sign.
"He didn't say, 'When there's a bill heading to my desk,' or 'When we're pretty sure a bill will soon be passed.' He said when a bill ends up on his desk - a strong implication that public review would follow the bill arriving at his desk," said Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at the Cato Institute.
Tuesday
Diversity my ass!
This quote serves as my “inspiration” for making this post:
Some gushing moron of a journalist at AP wrote that. And frankly it makes me want to vomit.
Only if you’ve spent the last 30 years in a cave would it be possible to NOT know of modern society’s fixation with the pseudo-virtue of “diversity”. Look at the mission statements of colleges, companies, and agencies and you’ll find its praises being sung virtually everywhere.
But the truth is, diversity for its own sake, is really a sham. To achieve diversity of skin color demands that other more meaningful criteria must be jettisoned. If the melanin content of a person’s skin becomes the most desirable aspect of their persona, then what remains to be said of their intelligence, their integrity, their work ethic, or any one of a dozen other more substantive characteristics? It means they are discounted of course.
I don’t recall the author, but something I once read rightly pointed out that there are no studies, nor any form of empirical data, that in any way validates diversity as a desirable characteristic! Then why is so desirable?
The answer is because of what diversity does: It furthers the socialist-collectivist concept of group identity politics.
It’s the overriding tendency of that ilk to denigrate the individual while lauding virtues of the group; unless of course the group in question is white, Southern, Christian, or conservative.
As a business executive I am quite often called upon to making hiring or firing decisions. My overriding criteria for hiring has always been summed up as “the best person for the job”. I honestly don’t care what the candidate’s color, race, sex, or religion is. I truly don’t care.
And as for “diversity”…well, it doesn’t enter into my mind at all. Let’s hope the EEOC doesn’t find out.
Obama and Sotomayor stood with Vice President Joe Biden. It was a striking picture of diversity: a black president, a white vice president and a Hispanic nominee to the nation's highest court.
Some gushing moron of a journalist at AP wrote that. And frankly it makes me want to vomit.
Only if you’ve spent the last 30 years in a cave would it be possible to NOT know of modern society’s fixation with the pseudo-virtue of “diversity”. Look at the mission statements of colleges, companies, and agencies and you’ll find its praises being sung virtually everywhere.
But the truth is, diversity for its own sake, is really a sham. To achieve diversity of skin color demands that other more meaningful criteria must be jettisoned. If the melanin content of a person’s skin becomes the most desirable aspect of their persona, then what remains to be said of their intelligence, their integrity, their work ethic, or any one of a dozen other more substantive characteristics? It means they are discounted of course.
I don’t recall the author, but something I once read rightly pointed out that there are no studies, nor any form of empirical data, that in any way validates diversity as a desirable characteristic! Then why is so desirable?
The answer is because of what diversity does: It furthers the socialist-collectivist concept of group identity politics.
It’s the overriding tendency of that ilk to denigrate the individual while lauding virtues of the group; unless of course the group in question is white, Southern, Christian, or conservative.
As a business executive I am quite often called upon to making hiring or firing decisions. My overriding criteria for hiring has always been summed up as “the best person for the job”. I honestly don’t care what the candidate’s color, race, sex, or religion is. I truly don’t care.
And as for “diversity”…well, it doesn’t enter into my mind at all. Let’s hope the EEOC doesn’t find out.
Sunday
Just good advice
On reflection, these two videos should probably accompany this diagram. Take the time to watch Don't Talk to the Police Part I and Part II. It is EXCELLENT information to have handy in your brain housing group!
Saturday
President of the US can't tell the difference between war dead and veterans
Obama urges Americans to pay tribute to veterans
1hr 27 mins ago
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama urged Americans to pay tribute to veterans on Memorial Day, saying the nation all too often has "failed to live up to that responsibility."
In his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday, Obama said people can honor veterans by sending a letter or care package to troops overseas, volunteering at health clinics or taking supplies to a homeless veterans center. He said it could also mean something as simple as saying "thank you" to a veteran walking by on the street.
"We have a responsibility to serve all of them as well as they serve all of us," Obama said. "And yet, all too often in recent years and decades, we, as a nation, have failed to live up to that responsibility. We have failed to give them the support they need or pay them the respect they deserve.
"That is a betrayal of the sacred trust that America has with all who wear and all who have worn the proud uniform of our country," he said.
Obama said he was committed to giving troops the training and equipment they need and making certain the Veterans Affairs Department had the money it needed. He also noted that he had signed a bill into law that would eliminate waste in defense projects and was working to improve the economy so that veterans can find a good job, provide for their families and earn a college degree.
"That is what Memorial Day is all about," Obama said. "It is about doing all we can to repay the debt we owe to those men and women who have answered our nation's call by fighting under its flag. It is about recognizing that we, as a people, did not get here by accident or good fortune alone."
========================
Now the US observes a Veteran's Day and a Memorial Day. They are entirely distinct from one another. Memorial Day is the day set aside to remember America's war dead, and Veterans Day is the day we honor our veterans. I suppose the Kenyan in the White House will order us to honor the war dead on Veteran's Day.
Just another example of change I guess. It's certainly an example of his utter ignorance!
1hr 27 mins ago
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama urged Americans to pay tribute to veterans on Memorial Day, saying the nation all too often has "failed to live up to that responsibility."
In his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday, Obama said people can honor veterans by sending a letter or care package to troops overseas, volunteering at health clinics or taking supplies to a homeless veterans center. He said it could also mean something as simple as saying "thank you" to a veteran walking by on the street.
"We have a responsibility to serve all of them as well as they serve all of us," Obama said. "And yet, all too often in recent years and decades, we, as a nation, have failed to live up to that responsibility. We have failed to give them the support they need or pay them the respect they deserve.
"That is a betrayal of the sacred trust that America has with all who wear and all who have worn the proud uniform of our country," he said.
Obama said he was committed to giving troops the training and equipment they need and making certain the Veterans Affairs Department had the money it needed. He also noted that he had signed a bill into law that would eliminate waste in defense projects and was working to improve the economy so that veterans can find a good job, provide for their families and earn a college degree.
"That is what Memorial Day is all about," Obama said. "It is about doing all we can to repay the debt we owe to those men and women who have answered our nation's call by fighting under its flag. It is about recognizing that we, as a people, did not get here by accident or good fortune alone."
========================
Now the US observes a Veteran's Day and a Memorial Day. They are entirely distinct from one another. Memorial Day is the day set aside to remember America's war dead, and Veterans Day is the day we honor our veterans. I suppose the Kenyan in the White House will order us to honor the war dead on Veteran's Day.
Just another example of change I guess. It's certainly an example of his utter ignorance!
Thursday
Narcissistic? Or just plain evil?
NM mom charged with killing son on the playground
By HEATHER CLARK, Associated Press Writer Heather Clark, Associated Press Writer – 26 mins ago
She had made a ghastly discovery: a dead little boy, buried in the sand.
For nearly a week, who the toddler was, how he died, and who put him there were a chilling mystery until Thursday, when a drawing of the youngster circulated by police led to the arrest of a young mother on murder charges.
"For a mother to kill her own child is unfathomable. Most people can't even imagine how you could even think about doing something like that," said Cmdr. Michael Geier. "We'll never really understand why that happened, but we now understand the dynamics of what led up to that."
Toribio was homeless and sleeping in the park, having been kicked out of her mother's home and a friend's apartment in the days before her son's death because she was ignoring the boy and withholding affection, investigators said.
The rest of the horrible story ...if you can stomach it!
==================================
Okay, this murdering kids stuff is the MOST hideously evil crap our sick depraved society has managed yet! (Or is it slaughtering the unborn?) I am of the view that this woman - or ANYONE who cold bloodlessly murders an innocent child - needs to be shot, hung or fried with extreme prejudice!
I would volunteer to be the executioner in these cases, and I'd do it for free (merely have expenses reimbursed) at a moment's notice. In all honesty I would revel in the chore as I positively detest anyone who hurts, molests, or kills a child. And once done, I could stand over the remains and eat a sandwich...such would the coldness of MY heart towards these evil bastards.
Even better...place me in charge of the removal and disposal of their corpses! I would feed 'em to to the hogs, "salt" em in various prison septic tanks, or donate them to some wacko scientist who performs maggot feeding experiments.
Paper money systems all eventually fail
Update:
Here's gold market value increase just TODAY May 21st.
And here's the previous 30 days...
So you better have some Gold.
Here's gold market value increase just TODAY May 21st.
And here's the previous 30 days...
So you better have some Gold.
Tuesday
Chicoms have us (US) by the short ones!
China holds sway over US$
Diane Francis, Financial Post
"The U. S. should be afraid, very afraid. China is questioning the dollar's status as a reserve currency and, at US$1,000 an ounce, gold has become the world's de facto currency." -- John Ing, Maison Placements in Canada
---
It is a chilling statement from an expert on both gold and China. But he is speaking the truth: In a G2 world (the United States and China), he who is the piper calls the tune, and China holds a US$2-trillion mortgage on the United States and is not happy. This country, along with others that lend money to the United States, such as Saudi Arabia, will determine the value of the U. S. dollar and gold. And they have spoken. They are not buying more U. S. treasuries and are buying gold as a new asset class. [This means that the Omaba administration, which is spending two dollars for every ONE dollar of tax revenue, has only one recourse to cover the gap: RUNNING THE PRINTING PRESSES!] China announced that it was doing so quietly, and recent reports are that the Saudis and others have been buying bullion and hocked gold jewelery from around the world.
The only way is up for gold prices because the United States, which backstops the International Monetary Fund, the world's lender of last resort, has had to become its own lender of last resort.
Washington has cranked up the printing presses in an unprecedented way, replicating the behaviour of its spendthrift corporations and consumers. This year's budget is US$3.5-trillion, bigger than any in history.
And as Ing points out, the "bi" in this bipolar global economy is China. Beijing has not only started to hoard gold but has continued to talk up a new reserve currency concept to replace the U. S. dollar. The only reason the Chinese and others don't dump U. S. dollars is because it would be like shooting themselves in the foot.
Inflation, on top of excessive money supply dilution, will (unless mitigated by growth or stoppage) reduce the dollar's value. Ing estimates that the printing of money to bail out banks, autos and the U. S. economy will create a catch-up in gold bullion prices: "Gold should be US$9,000 an ounce to cover the [current and projected] U. S. monetary base," he says.
China has become the world's fifth-biggest gold hoarder, in addition to being the world's biggest gold producer (through its government-owned mining companies). I also suspect that China is behind the political sabotage in Mongolia, to its north, which has for five years prevented Ivanhoe Mines of Vancouver from producing gold and copper from its massive discovery.
Clearly, China also has been dis-investing from the U. S. dollar by getting slowly into hard assets (stock, commodities or ore bodies), which I have written about. This concerns Washington, which is why Hilary Clinton, U. S. Secretary of State, made her first state "house call" in Beijing to make nice with America's first mortgagor.
At that time, and publicly, too, China warned the United States about its dollar woes, while suggesting a basket of currencies to replace its pre-eminence. These scary pronouncements were followed by an announcement in Washington a few weeks ago that there would be a massive U. S. Treasury buyback of U. S. bonds. Put another way, the Chinese and others aren't buying anymore so the surpluses are being mopped up by putting more on the taxpayer tab.
It is an irreversible trend that China and others will continue to disinvest and diversify out of U. S. dollars, and that inflation will further impair the U. S. dollar's value. That's because the U. S. monetary/economic rescue is simply Washington's version of the excesses and over-leveraging that led to the need for a rescue in the first place.
Monday
Book Review
I have mixed feelings about the author, but I’ll save that for another time. He seems to have done his homework pretty thoroughly in preparation for Born Fighting. As the descendant of a Scotsman who migrated to South Carolina in the mid-eighteenth century, the subject matter of this book resonates with me a mighty way! Here’s Webb to summarize his main point better than I could:
"This people gave our country great things, including its most definitive culture. Its bloodlines have flowed in the veins of at least a dozen presidents, and in many of our greatest soldiers. It created and still perpetuates the most distinctly American form of music. It is imbued with a unique and unforgiving code of personal honor, less ritualized but every bit as powerful as the samurai code. Its legacy is broad, in many ways defining the attitudes and values of the military, of working class America, and even of the particularly populist form of American democracy itself. And yet its story has been lost under the weight of more recent immigrations, revisionist historians, and common ignorance."
I'm only a third of the way through it, but Born Fighting's proving to be a great read.
"This people gave our country great things, including its most definitive culture. Its bloodlines have flowed in the veins of at least a dozen presidents, and in many of our greatest soldiers. It created and still perpetuates the most distinctly American form of music. It is imbued with a unique and unforgiving code of personal honor, less ritualized but every bit as powerful as the samurai code. Its legacy is broad, in many ways defining the attitudes and values of the military, of working class America, and even of the particularly populist form of American democracy itself. And yet its story has been lost under the weight of more recent immigrations, revisionist historians, and common ignorance."
I'm only a third of the way through it, but Born Fighting's proving to be a great read.
Somewhere there's a village missing its idiot!
Biden Reveals Location of Secret VP Bunker
The vice president, well-known for his verbal gaffes, confirms at a dinner the existence and location of a secret hidden bunker that Cheney is believed to have used after the 9/11 attacks.
By Jonathan Passantino
Vice President Joe Biden, well-known for his verbal gaffes, may have finally outdone himself, divulging potentially classified information meant to save the life of a sitting vice president.
According to a report, while recently attending the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, an annual event where powerful politicians and media elite get a chance to cozy up to one another, Biden told his dinnermates about the existence of a secret bunker under the old U.S. Naval Observatory, which is now the home of the vice president.
The bunker is believed to be the secure, undisclosed location former Vice President Dick Cheney remained under protection in secret after the 9/11 attacks.
Eleanor Clift, Newsweek magazine's Washington contributing editor, said Biden revealed the location while filling in for President Obama at the dinner, who, along with Grover Cleveland, is the only president to skip the gathering.
According to Clift's report on the Newsweek blog, Biden "said a young naval officer giving him a tour of the residence showed him the hideaway, which is behind a massive steel door secured by an elaborate lock with a narrow connecting hallway lined with shelves filled with communications equipment."
Clift continued: "The officer explained that when Cheney was in lock down, this was where his most trusted aides were stationed, an image that Biden conveyed in a way that suggested we shouldn't be surprised that the policies that emerged were off the wall."
In December 2002, neighbors complained of loud construction work being done at the Naval Observatory, which has been used as a residence by vice presidents since 1974.
The upset neighbors were sent a letter by the observatory's superintendent, calling the work "sensitive in nature" and "classified" and that it was urgent it be completed "on a highly accelerated schedule."
Residents said they believed workers were digging deep into the ground, which would support Biden's report of a secret bunker, but officials never confirmed the purpose of the work performed.
The revelation is the latest from Biden, who has a long history of political blunders.
Most recently, he said in a televised interview that if a family member asked him about traveling he'd advise staying away from public transportation or confined spaces to avoid swine flu -- a remark described as "borderline fearmongering" by an airline spokesman.
Click here for a handy list of Biden's many many "stupid attacks"!
There's too much GunRights4US
I’ve been putting this off for months, but my recent trip to Jamaica highlighted in stark detail the need for me to lose weight and get in shape.
My entire life has been a struggle against weight gain, and right now I’m as big as I’ve ever been. But I have had some great success in the past at getting in shape, and it’s my intention to repeat that success.
In 1999 my mother died and, in a classic case of delayed reaction, it took a couple of months but I was plunged into the deepest darkest depression you could possibly imagine. I peeked down the barrel of a gun on several occasions during that time, and only the thought of the pain it would bring to my family kept me from checking out permanently.
Refocusing my thoughts away from my depression and onto diet and exercise is a big part of what helped me get thru that terrible period in my life. Initially, while under the influence of depression I stopped eating almost completely. For about 40 days I ate no solid foods, and my only intake was orange juice, vitamins, and coffee. If memory serves me correctly I dropped approximately 25 to 30 pounds during that first phase.
Note: I am NOT advocating this, merely relating what I did. This causes a horrific strain on the body and I would never repeat this under any circumstances!
But one thing it DID accomplish was to completely break the “hunger pangs”, the persistent craving for food. By removing the food-wish entirely from my psyche I was free to concentrate on exercise. At this point I began exercising with a very mild program of calisthenics and walking that I stuck to every day. With my food intake remaining very low, my workout program was initially pretty mild; almost ridiculously so in fact.
My early workouts looked something like this:
5 pushups
10 situps
5 leglifts
1 set with 10 lb dumbbells
¼ mile walk
Pretty tame stuff right? But the key I found out was to be consistent to the point of obsession. Never miss a workout. A little bit done very regularly is far more beneficial than a lot done once in a while.
The other principal I applied was to continually increase everything. If today’s count was 5, then tomorrow’s would be 6. If today I walked as far as mailbox X, then tomorrow I walked to mailbox Y. Naturally this required strict record keeping, and so I did. I kept a spreadsheet that listed by date everything I did in great detail.
I kept my portion sizes for all foods very small; kids meal size for everything. At the same time my exercise program continued with an almost religious fervency. Within a few months my daily (and I DO mean daily!) routine looked something like this:
500 situps
400 leglifts
500 crunches
350 side crunches
2 hours of weightlifting
3 – 5 mile runs
These are not exaggerations in any way.
Within about eight months I lost 73 pounds. But more importantly I felt GREAT! I had my wind back, my blood pressure was optimized, and I felt good about myself. Needless to say, somewhere along the way I forgot to be depressed. Hell… I had a washboard stomach at the age of 40, something I never had even in the Marines!
That lasted about a year and a half. My mistake was trying to continue that frenetic pace on and on without ceasing. While I certainly enjoyed it, my routine consumed two to two and a half hours every day. At some point I just stopped and started enjoying life again; beer and chicken wings took the place of crunches and dumbbells.
But I learned that the human body can achieve impressive things given enough time and consistent training. I also learned that consistency and continual improvement is the way to go.
I’m starting over again, and this time there will be no fasting like before. I probably won’t run anymore either; too hard on older knees and joints. But long vigorous walks are just as good!
I’ll keep you posted on my progress, but right now…I gotta go workout!
Saturday
The BEST way to track down old service buddies
I think I'm safe in saying that TogetherWeServed.com is THE BEST way for veterans to track down old service buddies. I know I've re-connected with a half a dozen or so over the last two years because of it!
"Ok Maggot! You eyeballed it enough! NOW PASS IT ON!"
"Ok Maggot! You eyeballed it enough! NOW PASS IT ON!"
Friday
Just who was in Air Force One when it flew over NYC?
Althouse makes some interesting points regarding the recent fiasco involving Air Force 1 flying over New York.
I still haven't "come down" from my Jamaican trip
Here's the view from 900 feet above sea level (CORRECTION: 1,700 feet!) at Lover's Leap. Trust me...pictures don't do it justice!
Here's the hammock I wish I was swinging in this morning, instead of going to work.
Here's a nice sunset at Jakes in Treasure Beach
Here's the hammock I wish I was swinging in this morning, instead of going to work.
Here's a nice sunset at Jakes in Treasure Beach
Thursday
Holding GM Debt? Gubbermint Is Robbing You!
Do you hold GM bonds? Perhaps some so-called "unsubordinated" debt?
A lot of people - individuals - do.
These bonds were quite popular for college savings and other long-term plans - including retirement.
Why?
Because the coupon was pretty good, they were unsubordinated (meaning senior, or first) preference in the event of bankruptcy, and GM has been around for a very, very long time.
If you hold this debt you are about to be wiped out by our government, who has decreed by fiat, without even a vote in Congress, that:
1.You don't matter.
2.You don't have a right to rely on anything in the prospectus printed when these bonds issued, or even common and statutory law.
3.Your rights do not exist. Your government has literally declared economic war on you.
Let me be clear: The government, specifically President Obama's Treasury, is acting exactly as did George Bush's Treasury - they are behaving as gangsters who are about to rob you blind, returning only 10 cents - if that - on the dollar for your investment and they are going to force you to take it at gunpoint.
This despite the fact that the UAW is going to get somewhere between 80 cents and the full buck for every dollar they are owed for their VEBA.
VEBA obligations are unsecured and subordinate to yours under the law.
That means that under the law the UAW is entitled to exactly nothing until you get every dollar you are owed.
President Obama and Geithner have declared that it does not matter what the law says - they are going to do whatever the hell they want - and what they want to do is SCREW YOU.
They just got done ramrodding Chrysler bondholders with the exact same "deal", shoved down their throats, and allegedly enforced with threats of tax audits and other jackbooted actions if the bondholders resisted in court.
To be clear: You have every right, under the law, to receive full value for your bonds before anyone else gets paid for so much as one penny of the subordinated or unsecured debt owed to them, INCLUDING THE UAW.
You accepted a lower coupon in exchange for what was represented to be less risk as a consequence of this protection.
Now, after the fact, you are being robbed just as clearly as you would be if President Obama and Tim Geithner came into your house at 3:00 AM with automatic weapons and shoved them up your nose, stealing every penny you had.
I ask you this essential question:
If President Obama and Tim Geithner will steal from you in this fashion, literally at gunpoint, do you believe that your 401k or IRA will not similarly be confiscated whenever our government decides it wants to steal from you on similar "terms" - or when it suddenly "needs" some money (like when the bond market has had enough of this crap and stops being willing to finance a nearly $2 trillion annual deficit!)
Site where I found this post
A lot of people - individuals - do.
These bonds were quite popular for college savings and other long-term plans - including retirement.
Why?
Because the coupon was pretty good, they were unsubordinated (meaning senior, or first) preference in the event of bankruptcy, and GM has been around for a very, very long time.
If you hold this debt you are about to be wiped out by our government, who has decreed by fiat, without even a vote in Congress, that:
1.You don't matter.
2.You don't have a right to rely on anything in the prospectus printed when these bonds issued, or even common and statutory law.
3.Your rights do not exist. Your government has literally declared economic war on you.
Let me be clear: The government, specifically President Obama's Treasury, is acting exactly as did George Bush's Treasury - they are behaving as gangsters who are about to rob you blind, returning only 10 cents - if that - on the dollar for your investment and they are going to force you to take it at gunpoint.
This despite the fact that the UAW is going to get somewhere between 80 cents and the full buck for every dollar they are owed for their VEBA.
VEBA obligations are unsecured and subordinate to yours under the law.
That means that under the law the UAW is entitled to exactly nothing until you get every dollar you are owed.
President Obama and Geithner have declared that it does not matter what the law says - they are going to do whatever the hell they want - and what they want to do is SCREW YOU.
They just got done ramrodding Chrysler bondholders with the exact same "deal", shoved down their throats, and allegedly enforced with threats of tax audits and other jackbooted actions if the bondholders resisted in court.
To be clear: You have every right, under the law, to receive full value for your bonds before anyone else gets paid for so much as one penny of the subordinated or unsecured debt owed to them, INCLUDING THE UAW.
You accepted a lower coupon in exchange for what was represented to be less risk as a consequence of this protection.
Now, after the fact, you are being robbed just as clearly as you would be if President Obama and Tim Geithner came into your house at 3:00 AM with automatic weapons and shoved them up your nose, stealing every penny you had.
I ask you this essential question:
If President Obama and Tim Geithner will steal from you in this fashion, literally at gunpoint, do you believe that your 401k or IRA will not similarly be confiscated whenever our government decides it wants to steal from you on similar "terms" - or when it suddenly "needs" some money (like when the bond market has had enough of this crap and stops being willing to finance a nearly $2 trillion annual deficit!)
Site where I found this post
Spreading the gospel of gun ownership in Jamaica
As I described in a previous post, Jamaica has some of the most stringent gun laws in the world. Consequently they have a huge problem with gun crime! To say that guns and gun ownership is a sensitive topic there would be quite the understatement.
So naturally I had to wear this T-shirt while I was down there:
My family and I were riding in the back of a tractor-drawn tram through an active ranch that happens to have a most beautiful series of waterfalls (Check out YS Falls). There were a couple of Jamaican guys riding the running board immediately behind us, and I overheard one pointing out my shirt to the other one.
Though they speak English, it isn’t a version of English that the typical American can understand readily, and the Jamaicans are always shocked that I can understand their conversations. These guys were no exception to that rule when I turned around and remarked “Yeah I own a bunch of guns. Too bad you guys can’t.”
After overcoming his momentary surprise that I had understood the drift of their conversation the first man asked “How many guns do you own?”
“Oh well…I guess between 30 and 40" I said. (I subscribe to the belief that if you can count how many you have, you don’t have enough!)
A new look of incredulity replaced the old as the man tried to determine if I was serious or just pulling his leg.
“Where do you shoot them?” he said.
“At the rifle range, in the woods, or at my hunting club” I replied.
In a clearly challenging tone the second Jamaican now chimed in with “What you need wit all dem guns?”
Rising to the challenge, I leaned closer to the man and with a look of deadly seriousness on my face I said: “To keep the damned Gubmint off my ass!”
And thus ended the conversation on the tram.
But later in the park one or two of the young guys working as guides approached me to ask their own questions; mostly pretty typical stuff: how many, what kind, etc. The one worth relating was the young guy trying to be funny who asked me if I could get him a “57 magnum”. Trying not to laugh I asked if he meant a 357 magnum!
“Yeah mon! Dats de one”
LOL
So naturally I had to wear this T-shirt while I was down there:
My family and I were riding in the back of a tractor-drawn tram through an active ranch that happens to have a most beautiful series of waterfalls (Check out YS Falls). There were a couple of Jamaican guys riding the running board immediately behind us, and I overheard one pointing out my shirt to the other one.
Though they speak English, it isn’t a version of English that the typical American can understand readily, and the Jamaicans are always shocked that I can understand their conversations. These guys were no exception to that rule when I turned around and remarked “Yeah I own a bunch of guns. Too bad you guys can’t.”
After overcoming his momentary surprise that I had understood the drift of their conversation the first man asked “How many guns do you own?”
“Oh well…I guess between 30 and 40" I said. (I subscribe to the belief that if you can count how many you have, you don’t have enough!)
A new look of incredulity replaced the old as the man tried to determine if I was serious or just pulling his leg.
“Where do you shoot them?” he said.
“At the rifle range, in the woods, or at my hunting club” I replied.
In a clearly challenging tone the second Jamaican now chimed in with “What you need wit all dem guns?”
Rising to the challenge, I leaned closer to the man and with a look of deadly seriousness on my face I said: “To keep the damned Gubmint off my ass!”
And thus ended the conversation on the tram.
But later in the park one or two of the young guys working as guides approached me to ask their own questions; mostly pretty typical stuff: how many, what kind, etc. The one worth relating was the young guy trying to be funny who asked me if I could get him a “57 magnum”. Trying not to laugh I asked if he meant a 357 magnum!
“Yeah mon! Dats de one”
LOL
When speaking to your elected officals is made illegal
Head over to Will Griggs' site and read about Chris Pentico and what was done to him for merely attempting to deliver a letter of protest to his state governor.
Wednesday
Written in 1851
...by Pierre-Joseph Proudhoun:
To be governed is to be kept in sight, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so…. To be governed is to be at every operation, at every transaction, noted, registered, enrolled, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is, under the pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, trained, ransomed, exploited, monopolized, extorted, squeezed, mystified, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, despised, harassed, tracked, abused, clubbed, disarmed, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and, to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, outraged, dishonored. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.
So I’m in a Jamaican airport right? And I’m doing the shakedown-for-security bogey. As required, I’ve removed my shoes, and been scanned, sniffed, x-rayed, commanded and prodded. I breathe a sigh of relief that the goons haven’t pulled me aside for some extra tender loving care. Having made my face into a mask of ambivalence, I’ve successfully hidden my seething fury at being treated this way.
Reaching the end of the x-ray line I put my shoes on and then I place first one foot, then another, up on the low counter in order to tie my shoes. With both hands occupied I have my passport and boarding pass jammed in my mouth. One of the Gubmint apparatchiks attending the sheep-herding says something to me about taking my foot down.
Now there is NOTHING even remotely related to a degraded state of national or airline security associated with me having my foot up on the edge of her counter! I ignore her and continue tying my shoe. Now she places her hands on her hips in a display of impatience while taking another breath in preparation for strengthening her command. I finish at that precise moment and rather dramatically make a show of taking my passport out of my mouth, leaning forward and with all the fake innocence I can muster saying “Did you say something to me?”
“Yes” the bureaucrat says. “I told you to take your foot down.”
“Oh… well I’m already done now” I mockingly said with a big sh*t-eating grin all over my face.
It was at the same time a tiny meaningless gesture, AND the source of deep personal satisfaction for me to flout the order of the Gubmint’s drone on the scene.
To be governed is to be kept in sight, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so…. To be governed is to be at every operation, at every transaction, noted, registered, enrolled, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is, under the pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, trained, ransomed, exploited, monopolized, extorted, squeezed, mystified, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, despised, harassed, tracked, abused, clubbed, disarmed, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and, to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, outraged, dishonored. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.
So I’m in a Jamaican airport right? And I’m doing the shakedown-for-security bogey. As required, I’ve removed my shoes, and been scanned, sniffed, x-rayed, commanded and prodded. I breathe a sigh of relief that the goons haven’t pulled me aside for some extra tender loving care. Having made my face into a mask of ambivalence, I’ve successfully hidden my seething fury at being treated this way.
Reaching the end of the x-ray line I put my shoes on and then I place first one foot, then another, up on the low counter in order to tie my shoes. With both hands occupied I have my passport and boarding pass jammed in my mouth. One of the Gubmint apparatchiks attending the sheep-herding says something to me about taking my foot down.
Now there is NOTHING even remotely related to a degraded state of national or airline security associated with me having my foot up on the edge of her counter! I ignore her and continue tying my shoe. Now she places her hands on her hips in a display of impatience while taking another breath in preparation for strengthening her command. I finish at that precise moment and rather dramatically make a show of taking my passport out of my mouth, leaning forward and with all the fake innocence I can muster saying “Did you say something to me?”
“Yes” the bureaucrat says. “I told you to take your foot down.”
“Oh… well I’m already done now” I mockingly said with a big sh*t-eating grin all over my face.
It was at the same time a tiny meaningless gesture, AND the source of deep personal satisfaction for me to flout the order of the Gubmint’s drone on the scene.
Tuesday
Street scenes in Jamaica
Somewhere in St. Elizabeth, far back in the hills, a curvy country road passes an old walled-in cemetery.
Morning traffic, not for the faint of heart!
A section of the new Jamaica superhighway...rumored to be a private enterprise spearheaded by some French firm.
School children in Kingston, Saint Andrew
Morning traffic, not for the faint of heart!
A section of the new Jamaica superhighway...rumored to be a private enterprise spearheaded by some French firm.
School children in Kingston, Saint Andrew
Sunday
The Obama Coverup
If even one tenth of these things are true, then America is doomed....utterly doomed
Blogging From Jamaica
Well I'm at my Mother-In-Law's house in Kingston Jamaica getting ready for Mother's Day dinner, but I just read something good I wanted to share with you:
Sixty million armed Patriots ... and counting
Mark Alexander
From Patriot Post Vol. 09 No. 04; Published 30 January 2009 Print Email PDF
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms." --Thomas Jefferson
Currently, large sectors of the U.S. economy have collapsed, consumer confidence is at a historic low, Democrats control the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, and they're poised to print "bailout and infrastructure" money on the theory of "trickle up poverty" -- risking a prolonged recession followed by hyperinflation and/or a protracted depression.
Or does the latter "risk" constitute their real plan?
If there is an economic recovery any time soon, it will be the result of private sector initiatives and a consumer confidence recovery, not the redistribution of a few trillion dollars among friends as directed by the "community organizer" in the White House.
But can consumer confidence overcome Barack Hussein Obama's agenda? Clearly, he and his congressional cadre are using the current crisis as cover to further undermine our constitutional rule of law -- in fact, they may just spend liberty out of existence -- leaving the masses dependent on the state for subsistence, thus rife for the radical "change" that Obama and his ilk ultimately seek.
Yes, Obama and his Demo colleagues in the Senate and House have taken a sacred oath to "support and defend" our Constitution, but they have no history of honoring their oaths.
So where does that leave "The People"? Well, if the politicians don't honor their oath, why should we honor their office? That is a question for another day.
At no time in our history has the future of American liberty been secure without a vigorous defense of the plain language of our Constitution, opposed to the adulterated interpretation of the so-called "Living Constitution" promoted by Barack Obama and his gang of judicial activists.
And there is no more important place to start at this moment in our history than with the Second Amendment to our Constitution.
In 1833, Justice Joseph Story, appointed to the Supreme Court by our Constitution's principal author, James Madison, wrote the following in his "Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States": "The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of the republic; since it offers a strong moral check against usurpation and arbitrary power of the rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."
That was never more true than today.
Obama claims: "I believe in the Second Amendment. Lawful gun owners have nothing to fear. I said that throughout the campaign. I haven't indicated anything different during the transition. ... We can have reasonable, thoughtful gun control measures that I think respect the Second Amendment and people's traditions. I think there's a lot of room before bumping against a constitutional barrier."
Lots of room, if you are talking about that "Living Constitution."
However, Obama's nominee for attorney general, Eric Holder (formerly Janet Reno's Deputy Attorney General), who faces Senate confirmation next week, reaffirmed in the recent DC v. Heller Supreme Court case his long-held position that the Second Amendment affirms no right of individual gun possession by private citizens.
Holder insists that the Second Amendment "does not protect firearms possession or use that is unrelated to participation in a well-regulated militia," which he interprets as a military unit. Of course, our Founders understood "militia" to be synonymous with "the people," but Holder must have skipped his law school's elective on "original intent."
Holder's remarks seem to conflict with his boss's statements about gun ownership, but Obama is not referring to the rights assured by the Second Amendment: "I'm a strong believer in the rights of hunters and sportsmen to have firearms." That's the same subterfuge his mentor John Kerry propagated back in '04.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso understands what's at stake: "Given Holder's career of attacks on the Second Amendment, his nomination continues to be of great concern to me. ... Our nation's highest law enforcement officer must be committed to protecting and defending our individual rights to keep and bear arms."
Other conservatives also get it, like Louisiana Sen. David Vitter: "[Holder has] clearly advocated near-universal licensing and registration, and he joined and filed an amicus brief in the District of Columbia v. Heller U.S. Supreme Court case arguing that the Second Amendment was not an individual right. That's deeply disturbing."
Statistically, those who are not "deeply disturbed" by the implications of Holder's appointment are likely residing in one of those blue urban centers which typically elect liberals to national office.
I came across an essay from one such misguided urbanite this week -- Fred Lebrun, who writes for the Albany (NY) Times-Union.
Fred wrote of the unprecedented number of gun sales since Obama's election: "Otherwise sensible people seem to completely lose their marbles when it comes to the loaded question of handgun ownership, and what rules ought to apply. I'm not sure why that is. The latest example of mass paranoia at work for no discernable reason is a rush to gun shops across the country to buy sidearms. The rationale, or vague impetus, is that with the election of Barack Obama as president, we're heading for the confiscation of our guns, for sure. ... Well, if it's true, why in the world would you go out and buy something the government is going to take away from you anyway?"
Fred, those of us who still uphold our Constitution and honor our oaths, as have generations of Patriots before, understand that, in the words of James Madison, "The ultimate authority ... resides in the people alone. ... The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation ... forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition."
Madison's words are truer today than when he wrote them in 1787. (Our adversaries at the time of that writing, the British, are learning that gun confiscation leaves one defenseless against tyranny -- and they are now protesting ... with cardboard placards.)
As for why some folks "go out and buy something the government is going to take away from you anyway," well, the only guns that will ever be taken from my hands, or those of tens of millions of like-minded gun owners, will be seized posthumously, and with empty magazines -- which is the only reason Obama and his congressional Leftists have not completely discarded that venerable old Constitution.
Fred concludes: "For the first time since 1935, with an all-Democratic national government, we are in a position to finally institute some meaningful and sensible gun control measures that will help mightily in regaining our cities from gun terror, street by street. Gun control doesn't have to be a dirty word."
What Fred doesn't seem to understand is that there are already some 20,000 -- TWENTY THOUSAND -- gun laws on the books. The argument that more laws will make America safer is ludicrous at every level, and to suggest that somehow such laws justify undermining the Second Amendment's clear intent is to undermine the strongest pillar of our Constitution.
Y'know, Fred, old Ben Franklin had a word of advice for folks like you: "They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
And to those for whom such a struggle proves too much an encroachment on their comfort zone, Sam Adams said, "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!"
Fortunately, millions of gun owners subscribe to Thomas Paine's opinion: "If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."
Currently, some 80 million Americans are gun owners, and it is estimated that 60 million of them own guns for purposes other than hunting. If you are not among them, you might thank God for the ranks of us who are, because as our Founders knew, we are the vanguard between liberty and tyranny.
Sixty million armed Patriots ... and counting
Mark Alexander
From Patriot Post Vol. 09 No. 04; Published 30 January 2009 Print Email PDF
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms." --Thomas Jefferson
Currently, large sectors of the U.S. economy have collapsed, consumer confidence is at a historic low, Democrats control the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, and they're poised to print "bailout and infrastructure" money on the theory of "trickle up poverty" -- risking a prolonged recession followed by hyperinflation and/or a protracted depression.
Or does the latter "risk" constitute their real plan?
If there is an economic recovery any time soon, it will be the result of private sector initiatives and a consumer confidence recovery, not the redistribution of a few trillion dollars among friends as directed by the "community organizer" in the White House.
But can consumer confidence overcome Barack Hussein Obama's agenda? Clearly, he and his congressional cadre are using the current crisis as cover to further undermine our constitutional rule of law -- in fact, they may just spend liberty out of existence -- leaving the masses dependent on the state for subsistence, thus rife for the radical "change" that Obama and his ilk ultimately seek.
Yes, Obama and his Demo colleagues in the Senate and House have taken a sacred oath to "support and defend" our Constitution, but they have no history of honoring their oaths.
So where does that leave "The People"? Well, if the politicians don't honor their oath, why should we honor their office? That is a question for another day.
At no time in our history has the future of American liberty been secure without a vigorous defense of the plain language of our Constitution, opposed to the adulterated interpretation of the so-called "Living Constitution" promoted by Barack Obama and his gang of judicial activists.
And there is no more important place to start at this moment in our history than with the Second Amendment to our Constitution.
In 1833, Justice Joseph Story, appointed to the Supreme Court by our Constitution's principal author, James Madison, wrote the following in his "Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States": "The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of the republic; since it offers a strong moral check against usurpation and arbitrary power of the rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."
That was never more true than today.
Obama claims: "I believe in the Second Amendment. Lawful gun owners have nothing to fear. I said that throughout the campaign. I haven't indicated anything different during the transition. ... We can have reasonable, thoughtful gun control measures that I think respect the Second Amendment and people's traditions. I think there's a lot of room before bumping against a constitutional barrier."
Lots of room, if you are talking about that "Living Constitution."
However, Obama's nominee for attorney general, Eric Holder (formerly Janet Reno's Deputy Attorney General), who faces Senate confirmation next week, reaffirmed in the recent DC v. Heller Supreme Court case his long-held position that the Second Amendment affirms no right of individual gun possession by private citizens.
Holder insists that the Second Amendment "does not protect firearms possession or use that is unrelated to participation in a well-regulated militia," which he interprets as a military unit. Of course, our Founders understood "militia" to be synonymous with "the people," but Holder must have skipped his law school's elective on "original intent."
Holder's remarks seem to conflict with his boss's statements about gun ownership, but Obama is not referring to the rights assured by the Second Amendment: "I'm a strong believer in the rights of hunters and sportsmen to have firearms." That's the same subterfuge his mentor John Kerry propagated back in '04.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso understands what's at stake: "Given Holder's career of attacks on the Second Amendment, his nomination continues to be of great concern to me. ... Our nation's highest law enforcement officer must be committed to protecting and defending our individual rights to keep and bear arms."
Other conservatives also get it, like Louisiana Sen. David Vitter: "[Holder has] clearly advocated near-universal licensing and registration, and he joined and filed an amicus brief in the District of Columbia v. Heller U.S. Supreme Court case arguing that the Second Amendment was not an individual right. That's deeply disturbing."
Statistically, those who are not "deeply disturbed" by the implications of Holder's appointment are likely residing in one of those blue urban centers which typically elect liberals to national office.
I came across an essay from one such misguided urbanite this week -- Fred Lebrun, who writes for the Albany (NY) Times-Union.
Fred wrote of the unprecedented number of gun sales since Obama's election: "Otherwise sensible people seem to completely lose their marbles when it comes to the loaded question of handgun ownership, and what rules ought to apply. I'm not sure why that is. The latest example of mass paranoia at work for no discernable reason is a rush to gun shops across the country to buy sidearms. The rationale, or vague impetus, is that with the election of Barack Obama as president, we're heading for the confiscation of our guns, for sure. ... Well, if it's true, why in the world would you go out and buy something the government is going to take away from you anyway?"
Fred, those of us who still uphold our Constitution and honor our oaths, as have generations of Patriots before, understand that, in the words of James Madison, "The ultimate authority ... resides in the people alone. ... The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation ... forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition."
Madison's words are truer today than when he wrote them in 1787. (Our adversaries at the time of that writing, the British, are learning that gun confiscation leaves one defenseless against tyranny -- and they are now protesting ... with cardboard placards.)
As for why some folks "go out and buy something the government is going to take away from you anyway," well, the only guns that will ever be taken from my hands, or those of tens of millions of like-minded gun owners, will be seized posthumously, and with empty magazines -- which is the only reason Obama and his congressional Leftists have not completely discarded that venerable old Constitution.
Fred concludes: "For the first time since 1935, with an all-Democratic national government, we are in a position to finally institute some meaningful and sensible gun control measures that will help mightily in regaining our cities from gun terror, street by street. Gun control doesn't have to be a dirty word."
What Fred doesn't seem to understand is that there are already some 20,000 -- TWENTY THOUSAND -- gun laws on the books. The argument that more laws will make America safer is ludicrous at every level, and to suggest that somehow such laws justify undermining the Second Amendment's clear intent is to undermine the strongest pillar of our Constitution.
Y'know, Fred, old Ben Franklin had a word of advice for folks like you: "They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
And to those for whom such a struggle proves too much an encroachment on their comfort zone, Sam Adams said, "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!"
Fortunately, millions of gun owners subscribe to Thomas Paine's opinion: "If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."
Currently, some 80 million Americans are gun owners, and it is estimated that 60 million of them own guns for purposes other than hunting. If you are not among them, you might thank God for the ranks of us who are, because as our Founders knew, we are the vanguard between liberty and tyranny.
Tuesday
I'm supposed to be packing but ...
This guy got my attention BIG TIME!
"I escaped the democrat plantation"
"I escaped the democrat plantation"
I realize economic topics cause eyes to glaze over, but this is good stuff...
May 04, 2009
The Top Ten Reasons Obamanomics Won't Work
By Mikiel de Bary
A brute inflationary monetary policy of the kind we are experiencing today can hardly avoid leading to a growth in GDP that, after all, is largely a record of consumer spending. But we cannot judge an economic policy to be "working" simply by detecting such an increase in GDP. Nor may we say policy has "succeeded" just from increases in government jobs or government-subsidized jobs. An economy's success, properly speaking, is one that increases long-term levels of production with robust private sector employment. In short, inflation and public sector growth do not mean a policy has "worked." As the essence of Obamanomics is easy money and government aggrandizement, there are lots of reasons for pessimism. Here are ten of them
10. The Obama economic team really does not know how we got into this mess. For example, Christina Romer, chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, claims that the "fundamental cause" of the current economic downturn is the decline in asset prices from the levels reached in 2006 and 2007, i.e., from the peak of arguably the biggest and broadest asset bubble in history. In other words, she believes that the retreat from absurd valuations is giving us problems.
9. Obama himself follows the scapegoating line initiated by Bush. He blames both the general asset bubble and its collapse on insufficiently regulated companies, rather than on fiat money and central banking -- the sacred institutions of the failed macroeconomic establishment -- which financed every aspect of the Great Bubble.
8. Larry Summers and Ben Bernanke consider credit and liquidity to be the "lifeblood" of the economy. So they will supply untold quantities of it to somehow "restart" financial markets. They are unaware that economic freedom -- let's call it the "oxygen" of the economy -- makes possible credit, liquidity, and financial markets.
7. The Administration tries to meddle with private contracts -- see its attempts to pre-empt the bankruptcy courts and undercut the functions of mortgage foreclosure clauses. For a few cosmetic results, it chills confidence in all future investments.
6. The federal government burdens what is now left of free markets by raising its own spending and borrowing and, of course, by planning to increase taxes and regulation.
5. Government creates a new welfare system for union members when it preserves zombie auto companies in order to save "jobs." It creates a sham "financial system" when it bails out "systemically important" banks and insurance companies -- those that are too embarrassing to fail.
4. The Administration's efforts to manipulate prices upward (as in the markets for residences and "toxic" securities) are irrelevant, at best, and are more likely to delay a return to normal functioning in those markets.
3. President Obama apparently believes that increasing taxes on some of us and then redistributing the money to favored groups and promoters somehow "stimulates" the economy. Who besides macroeconomists (and their former students) believes this?
2. The Federal Reserve Board has transformed itself into an obedient appendage of the Executive Branch of government. Few seem aware that it is managing our monetary system more recklessly than ever in its history. The historic quattuordecupling of bank reserves in the last six months (that's a multiplication by 14) sets the stage for a doubling or more of the money supply. (The Fed has never before dared to promote annual money supply increases of more than around 10 percent.) When and if a bogus "recovery" does actually begin under these conditions, remnants of sanity will force the Administration to reverse its easy money policy. (Reluctantly, to be sure. Romer recently warned of the dangers of reversing too soon.) That reversal, of course, will bring on still another economic relapse. So, American entrepreneurs, are you feeling brave?
And the number one reason Obamanomics won't work:
1. You can't push off the costs to our descendants. Many Americans worry that their "children and grandchildren" will suffer the economic hardship of repaying the Bush-bama trillion dollar deficits. But they won't. (The little darlings will repudiate the debt one way -- monetary depreciation -- or the other. Explicit repudiation. They will, that is, if the present generation doesn't do it first.) The current follies of economic policy are not an extravagance for which we can charge someone else in the remote future. We are the ones who, passively allowing this conversion to a command economy, will experience the deprivations it supplies to all but the politically connected. The transition starts now, with the private sector mired in paralysis and Washington, D.C., beginning to flex its muscle in earnest.
Mikiel de Bary works in the financial services industry and is a freelance observer of macroeconomics in contemporary society.
The Top Ten Reasons Obamanomics Won't Work
By Mikiel de Bary
A brute inflationary monetary policy of the kind we are experiencing today can hardly avoid leading to a growth in GDP that, after all, is largely a record of consumer spending. But we cannot judge an economic policy to be "working" simply by detecting such an increase in GDP. Nor may we say policy has "succeeded" just from increases in government jobs or government-subsidized jobs. An economy's success, properly speaking, is one that increases long-term levels of production with robust private sector employment. In short, inflation and public sector growth do not mean a policy has "worked." As the essence of Obamanomics is easy money and government aggrandizement, there are lots of reasons for pessimism. Here are ten of them
10. The Obama economic team really does not know how we got into this mess. For example, Christina Romer, chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, claims that the "fundamental cause" of the current economic downturn is the decline in asset prices from the levels reached in 2006 and 2007, i.e., from the peak of arguably the biggest and broadest asset bubble in history. In other words, she believes that the retreat from absurd valuations is giving us problems.
9. Obama himself follows the scapegoating line initiated by Bush. He blames both the general asset bubble and its collapse on insufficiently regulated companies, rather than on fiat money and central banking -- the sacred institutions of the failed macroeconomic establishment -- which financed every aspect of the Great Bubble.
8. Larry Summers and Ben Bernanke consider credit and liquidity to be the "lifeblood" of the economy. So they will supply untold quantities of it to somehow "restart" financial markets. They are unaware that economic freedom -- let's call it the "oxygen" of the economy -- makes possible credit, liquidity, and financial markets.
7. The Administration tries to meddle with private contracts -- see its attempts to pre-empt the bankruptcy courts and undercut the functions of mortgage foreclosure clauses. For a few cosmetic results, it chills confidence in all future investments.
6. The federal government burdens what is now left of free markets by raising its own spending and borrowing and, of course, by planning to increase taxes and regulation.
5. Government creates a new welfare system for union members when it preserves zombie auto companies in order to save "jobs." It creates a sham "financial system" when it bails out "systemically important" banks and insurance companies -- those that are too embarrassing to fail.
4. The Administration's efforts to manipulate prices upward (as in the markets for residences and "toxic" securities) are irrelevant, at best, and are more likely to delay a return to normal functioning in those markets.
3. President Obama apparently believes that increasing taxes on some of us and then redistributing the money to favored groups and promoters somehow "stimulates" the economy. Who besides macroeconomists (and their former students) believes this?
2. The Federal Reserve Board has transformed itself into an obedient appendage of the Executive Branch of government. Few seem aware that it is managing our monetary system more recklessly than ever in its history. The historic quattuordecupling of bank reserves in the last six months (that's a multiplication by 14) sets the stage for a doubling or more of the money supply. (The Fed has never before dared to promote annual money supply increases of more than around 10 percent.) When and if a bogus "recovery" does actually begin under these conditions, remnants of sanity will force the Administration to reverse its easy money policy. (Reluctantly, to be sure. Romer recently warned of the dangers of reversing too soon.) That reversal, of course, will bring on still another economic relapse. So, American entrepreneurs, are you feeling brave?
And the number one reason Obamanomics won't work:
1. You can't push off the costs to our descendants. Many Americans worry that their "children and grandchildren" will suffer the economic hardship of repaying the Bush-bama trillion dollar deficits. But they won't. (The little darlings will repudiate the debt one way -- monetary depreciation -- or the other. Explicit repudiation. They will, that is, if the present generation doesn't do it first.) The current follies of economic policy are not an extravagance for which we can charge someone else in the remote future. We are the ones who, passively allowing this conversion to a command economy, will experience the deprivations it supplies to all but the politically connected. The transition starts now, with the private sector mired in paralysis and Washington, D.C., beginning to flex its muscle in earnest.
Mikiel de Bary works in the financial services industry and is a freelance observer of macroeconomics in contemporary society.
I am going for a vacation
I'm heading out for awhile to recharge my mental batteries. For the next week or so I'll be somewhere in Jamaica, either on a beach or running the hills in a 4wd jeep. I'll post some pics when I return, but here are some pics from past trips to tide you over.
Mr & Mrs GunRights4US
Mr & Mrs GunRights4US
Monday
Head over to Sipsey St...
for one of the most moving things you'll ever read. We can all do well to be reminded of the stench of tyranny...regardless of what flag it's wrapped in.
It must be nice to have a "friendly press"
The things you don’t read about Barack Obama
Will Rogers famously pleaded that all he knew was what he read in the papers. If all a person knew of Barack Obama’s first 100 days as president was what they read of them in this newspaper, it would seem to be a very charmed young presidency.
The Chronicle Herald recently made space for an urgent Associated Press dispatch from Washington informing readers the Obamas had chosen a Portuguese water dog. Not original reporting, of course, but an AP rephrasing of a White House-arranged scoop in the Washington Post online.
That was followed by a crack Canadian Press report, drawn from such gumshoe news-gathering as reading the Huffington Post, on the "hillbilly" Republican governor of Alaska: her "family and political theatrics that would do Jerry Springer proud," like "the arrest and indictment of her sister-in-law on break-and-enter charges" and "the sordid revelations of her daughter’s ex-boyfriend."
The Portuguese water dog and Alaskan "hillbillies" news beats apparently leave little time for anything remotely skeptical of the president of the United States. And they wonder why folks aren’t buying the papers like they used to.
So here is a small selection of news on the most powerful man on Earth which has been deemed unfit to print:
•Obama’s first two major bills alone, the "stimulus" and "omnibus," cost nearly twice as much as was spent on Iraq over six years – $1.2 trillion vs. $650 billion.
•Obama abandoned his campaign promise of "a net spending cut," his first annual deficit – not counting bailouts – being three times the worst deficit under President George W. Bush.
•Obama’s objective in his first G20 summit – commitments to spend our way to prosperity with massive stimulus boondoggles across the G20 – was rejected out of hand.
•Obama’s objective in his first NATO summit – commitments to combat troops for Afghanistan from "our European allies," which Obama and his party imagined were ready and willing to fight if only someone "enlightened" like him were running things – was predictably refused, with some more European non-combat contingents offered as a token.
•Obama’s Defence Department announced cuts of $1.4 billion to missile defence, the day after North Korea test-fired its long-range, multi-stage ballistic missile.
•Obama’s economics were criticized by Warren Buffet, whose endorsement had been candidate Obama’s highest economic credential.
•Obama reversed the free trade Bush policy that had allowed about 100 Mexican tractor-trailers into the United States, which the Mexican government immediately used as an excuse to levy tariffs on 90 American goods amounting to $2.4 billion in U.S. exports.
•Obama’s "tax cuts for 95 per cent" turned out to mean $13 a week from June to December, to be clawed back to $8 a week in January – as compared with President Bush’s 2008 tax rebates of $600 to $1,200 plus $300 per child, which were notably scoffed at during the election campaign by Michelle Obama.
•Obama’s campaign promise of a $3,000-per-employee tax credit for businesses that hired new workers – repeated ad nauseam for weeks before the election – was discreetly retired even before inauguration day.
•Obama abandoned his campaign promise that "lobbyists won’t work in my White House," waiving his no-lobbyist executive order or conveniently re-
defining his appointees’ past lobbying work to allow 30 lobbyists into his administration.
•Obama abandoned his campaign promise to reform earmarks, signing the omnibus bill which contained 8,816 of them.
•Obama took more money from AIG than any other politician in 2008 – over $100,000 – and signed into law the provision guaranteeing the AIG bonuses which later had him in front of the cameras "shaking with outrage" and siccing the pitchfork crowd on law-abiding citizens who had fulfilled their end of a contract and had their payment upheld by Obama’s own legislation.
Why should these points, and many more like them, have to be made by some obscure contributor to The Chronicle Herald’s opinion pages?
Fox News Channel is the butt of jokes and the target of attacks like no other media outlet in the English-speaking world, not least by people who fancy themselves the guardians of a free press.
But Fox News is today the lone television news service in the English-speaking world capable of serious skepticism and scrutiny of the sitting president and the Congress of the United States.
Fox News is also the second most-watched channel in all American cable television. It long ago became by far the most-watched cable news channel; more Americans watched Fox News than CNN and MSNBC combined in every time slot from 6 a.m. to midnight in April. Now, while The New York Times is $1.3 billion in debt, Fox has expanded its operations with a business channel and a juggernaut Internet presence.
There’s a lesson there, though Fox News will be just as well pleased if the impeccably "mainstream" news business remains clueless about it.
The people need a Fourth Estate, not yet another adulator of Barack Obama, yet another smearer of Sarah Palin, yet another patrician editor to keep out anything disagreeable to progressive sensibilities, yet another laptop-and-latte journalism-schooler to spit on everything pre-dating 1968. And they wonder why the news business has come on hard times.
Andrew W. Smith, from Cape Sable Island, N.S., writes and resides in Tulsa, Okla.
Will Rogers famously pleaded that all he knew was what he read in the papers. If all a person knew of Barack Obama’s first 100 days as president was what they read of them in this newspaper, it would seem to be a very charmed young presidency.
The Chronicle Herald recently made space for an urgent Associated Press dispatch from Washington informing readers the Obamas had chosen a Portuguese water dog. Not original reporting, of course, but an AP rephrasing of a White House-arranged scoop in the Washington Post online.
That was followed by a crack Canadian Press report, drawn from such gumshoe news-gathering as reading the Huffington Post, on the "hillbilly" Republican governor of Alaska: her "family and political theatrics that would do Jerry Springer proud," like "the arrest and indictment of her sister-in-law on break-and-enter charges" and "the sordid revelations of her daughter’s ex-boyfriend."
The Portuguese water dog and Alaskan "hillbillies" news beats apparently leave little time for anything remotely skeptical of the president of the United States. And they wonder why folks aren’t buying the papers like they used to.
So here is a small selection of news on the most powerful man on Earth which has been deemed unfit to print:
•Obama’s first two major bills alone, the "stimulus" and "omnibus," cost nearly twice as much as was spent on Iraq over six years – $1.2 trillion vs. $650 billion.
•Obama abandoned his campaign promise of "a net spending cut," his first annual deficit – not counting bailouts – being three times the worst deficit under President George W. Bush.
•Obama’s objective in his first G20 summit – commitments to spend our way to prosperity with massive stimulus boondoggles across the G20 – was rejected out of hand.
•Obama’s objective in his first NATO summit – commitments to combat troops for Afghanistan from "our European allies," which Obama and his party imagined were ready and willing to fight if only someone "enlightened" like him were running things – was predictably refused, with some more European non-combat contingents offered as a token.
•Obama’s Defence Department announced cuts of $1.4 billion to missile defence, the day after North Korea test-fired its long-range, multi-stage ballistic missile.
•Obama’s economics were criticized by Warren Buffet, whose endorsement had been candidate Obama’s highest economic credential.
•Obama reversed the free trade Bush policy that had allowed about 100 Mexican tractor-trailers into the United States, which the Mexican government immediately used as an excuse to levy tariffs on 90 American goods amounting to $2.4 billion in U.S. exports.
•Obama’s "tax cuts for 95 per cent" turned out to mean $13 a week from June to December, to be clawed back to $8 a week in January – as compared with President Bush’s 2008 tax rebates of $600 to $1,200 plus $300 per child, which were notably scoffed at during the election campaign by Michelle Obama.
•Obama’s campaign promise of a $3,000-per-employee tax credit for businesses that hired new workers – repeated ad nauseam for weeks before the election – was discreetly retired even before inauguration day.
•Obama abandoned his campaign promise that "lobbyists won’t work in my White House," waiving his no-lobbyist executive order or conveniently re-
defining his appointees’ past lobbying work to allow 30 lobbyists into his administration.
•Obama abandoned his campaign promise to reform earmarks, signing the omnibus bill which contained 8,816 of them.
•Obama took more money from AIG than any other politician in 2008 – over $100,000 – and signed into law the provision guaranteeing the AIG bonuses which later had him in front of the cameras "shaking with outrage" and siccing the pitchfork crowd on law-abiding citizens who had fulfilled their end of a contract and had their payment upheld by Obama’s own legislation.
Why should these points, and many more like them, have to be made by some obscure contributor to The Chronicle Herald’s opinion pages?
Fox News Channel is the butt of jokes and the target of attacks like no other media outlet in the English-speaking world, not least by people who fancy themselves the guardians of a free press.
But Fox News is today the lone television news service in the English-speaking world capable of serious skepticism and scrutiny of the sitting president and the Congress of the United States.
Fox News is also the second most-watched channel in all American cable television. It long ago became by far the most-watched cable news channel; more Americans watched Fox News than CNN and MSNBC combined in every time slot from 6 a.m. to midnight in April. Now, while The New York Times is $1.3 billion in debt, Fox has expanded its operations with a business channel and a juggernaut Internet presence.
There’s a lesson there, though Fox News will be just as well pleased if the impeccably "mainstream" news business remains clueless about it.
The people need a Fourth Estate, not yet another adulator of Barack Obama, yet another smearer of Sarah Palin, yet another patrician editor to keep out anything disagreeable to progressive sensibilities, yet another laptop-and-latte journalism-schooler to spit on everything pre-dating 1968. And they wonder why the news business has come on hard times.
Andrew W. Smith, from Cape Sable Island, N.S., writes and resides in Tulsa, Okla.
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