POLITICAL: It’s the economy. It’s ALWAYS the economy!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

http://www.keywestlou.com/2010/01/haiti-has-brought-earthquakes-to-mind.html

My Life in Key West
Monday, January 18, 2010

*** begin quote ***

This Massachusetts election to fill Ted Kennedy’s seat is both interesting and troublesome. The political pundits this morning are predicting the Republican will win. If so, the Democratic majority of 60 will be gone. And probably also the new healthcare bill.

What does this all reflect?

There is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction in this country. Properly so. The economy is down. Unemployment is rampant. Foreclosures continue. The banks and insurance companies say screw you to the government and people.

The situation is much like that which causes earthquakes. Things have to move and move properly. If not, there is a glitch big time. An earthquake in one instance. A political upheaval in the other.

Something has to be done. And soon. We cannot much longer tolerate the abuse which is being heaped upon us as a people.

Obama, wake up! You can do it!

*** end quote ***

BHO43 has forgotten the (Bill) Clinton doctrine. “It’s the economy stupid!” His “heath care” fiasco — which is not about health, health care, or health care insurance — it IS about putting the gooferment in control of people’s lives. To make a permanent dependence upon politicians for “medical care”. Along the way, in the tradition of good old Chicago politics, BHO43 and his co-conspirators can reward their firends, punish their enemies, and feather their own nests. Argh!

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POLITICAL: Amish exempt from Obamacare?

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20100109/NEWS02/301099964

Amish families exempt from insurance mandate
HEALTH REFORM: People with religious objections can opt out
By MARC HELLER
TIMES WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2010

*** begin quote ***

WASHINGTON — Federal health care reform will require most Northern New Yorkers — but not all, it turns out — to carry health insurance or risk a fine.

*** end quote ***

Interesting?!

They get an exception, but we get abortion?

How come the Hyde Amendment and the conscience exception get dropped? And abortion funding is Rahm-ed up our … ?

Pitchfork and torch in hand, I’m ready. Are you?

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POLITICAL: Sue a government hospital, in a government court?

Monday, January 18, 2010

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/patient-sues-after-learning-uch-records-search-could-top-1-million/1064147

Patient sues after learning UCH records search could top $1 million

By Shelley Rossetter, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Saturday, January 9, 2010

*** begin quote ***

TAMPA — A man attempting to learn whether his surgeon made mistakes at University Community Hospital found that access comes at a high price.

To search through years of records for adverse incident reports on his surgeon, William D. Raulerson would have to pay UCH more than a million dollars, he discovered.

*** end quote ***

An “interesting” legal tactic to defend a malpractice suit.

My thought is that after we get Obama-care, who will the injured sue? A government hospital, in a government court. Good luck with that! And who are you expecting to win?

Argh!

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POLITICS: BHO44 turns it on and off

Saturday, January 16, 2010

http://www.mrc.org/realitycheck/realitycheck/2010/20100114104602.aspx

TV’s Tilted Take on Harry Reid’s “Negro” Remark

MRC Study: Race Controversy Buried After Four Days; Networks Gave Most Airtime to Reid Backers

By: Rich Noyes | View PDF Version

January 14, 2010 10:38 ET

*** begin quote ***

The controversy over Harry Reid’s crack about Barack Obama’s lack of a “Negro dialect” is apparently over, at least according to the broadcast networks. Although the story only broke Saturday afternoon, the last network news story aired Tuesday night on Nightline.

*** end quote ***

I think everyone is missing the point.

“no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”

Reid’s comment points out how BHO44 can turn it on and off as needed!

Fool the people some of the time; not ALL ALL of the time.

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POLITICAL: Don’t mess with the DOWGs

Saturday, January 16, 2010

http://biggovernment.com/2010/01/15/leftists-continue-war-against-filibuster/

Leftists Continue War Against Filibuster

by Brian Darling

*** begin quote ***

Yet another leftist has attacked the Senate filibuster.

*** end quote ***

The Left, far or not, would be well advised to remember that “what goes around comes around”! I remember be taught in Grammar School that the R’s to prevent another FDR 4 term passed the ammendment that prevent IKE from a third term. Don’t mess with the wisdom of the dead old white guys!

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POLITICS: The game is rigged!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9D72N2O0&show_article=1

Seating Mass. Senate winner could be delayed
Jan 13 03:22 PM US/Eastern
By GLEN JOHNSON AP Political Writer

*** begin quote ***

BOSTON (AP) – Massachusetts’s top election official says it could take weeks to certify the results of the upcoming U.S. Senate special election. That delay could let President Barack Obama preserve a key 60th vote for his health care overhaul even if the Republican who has vowed to kill it wins Democrat Edward M. Kennedy’s former seat.

Secretary of State William F. Galvin, citing state law, says city and town clerks must wait at least 10 days for absentee ballots to arrive before they certify the results of the Jan. 19 election. They then have five more days to file the returns with his office.

Galvin bypassed the provision in 2007 so his fellow Democrats could gain a House vote they needed to override a veto of then-Republican President George W. Bush, but the secretary says U.S. Senate rules would preclude a similar rush today.

*** end quote ***

What a bunch of “barbara streisand”!

Special place in hell for the bender of the laws?

It’s corrupt and beyond the pale. Guess there’s no “play fair” in Democratic politics.

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POLITICAL: Sarah Palin’s Bill O’Reilly debut

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

http://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/Sarah-Palin-shoots-straight-in-Bill-OReilly-debut-on-Fox-News-81309207.html

Sarah Palin shoots straight in Bill O’Reilly debut on Fox News
Wednesday, January 13, 2010, 4:00 AM

*** begin quote ***

Patrick Roberts: Sarah Palin came out swinging on Bill O’Reilly last night – and for the first time I could see what this woman has that voters find so attractive.She swore, she let loose , she nailed some enemies. She came across as a real person, not a polished politician, but a person who, until very recently, was skinning polar bears or whatever it is they do in the wilds of Alaska.

*** end quote ***

I saw the segment, but the follow up analysis was nuked by Haiti “coverage” (i.e., a talking female head repeating that they knew nothing, dermatologist describing how poor they were on her medical relief missions, and professional fundraiser asking for donations while patting themselves on the back for just delivering two containers of stuff that very day due to lucky timing; in other words, fluff!).

The ex-Guv dodged Bo’R’s attempts to get her to say something bad about the various folks attacking her. She deflected by reporting that the attackers weren’t there and were just passing along third had gossip.

The ex-Guv also dodged the “bomb Iran” question. She called for sanctions. (How does starving little kids bring about peace?) So, she needs to be carefully examined to see if she’s a Libertarian or a neo-Conservative?

This observer is still on the fence. Leaning her way, but on the fence.

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POLITICAL: Beck on a roll about rights

Monday, January 11, 2010

In today’s TV show, Glenn Beck is on a roll. Senator Harkin attempts to define Health Care as a right. Rights come from the Creator; not from Congress. Because if rights did come from Congress, then they could take them away.

Time for pitchforks and torches, Sheeple!

Argh!

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POLITICAL: BHO44 put us here; dumb

Monday, January 11, 2010

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6957485/Detroit-bomber-singing-like-a-canary-before-arrest.html

Detroit bomber ‘singing like a canary’ before arrest
By Philip Sherwell in New York
Published: 6:27PM GMT 09 Jan 2010

*** begin quote ***

President Barack Obama is under fire over claims that the Christmas Day underwear bomber was “singing like a canary” until he was treated as an ordinary criminal and advised of his right to silence.

*** end quote ***

Elections have consequences and this is one of them.

BHO44 didn’t lie (I don’t think; not like the Obamacare dealings will be on CSpan!) and conceal that this would be his position. But, respectfully, he’s DUMB. Maybe a Harvard lawyer, but this self-inflicted inability to get military intelligence — about this self-evidenced terrorists, his compadres, the higher up, future plans, and collateral information — is dangerous.

A wise man understands the logical extension of his proposals. In this case, we have two choices: (1) he didn’t anticipate where his policies would place us; OR (2) he did and didn’t realize the dangers. Either way, it’s dumb.

We have to quickly convince people to reverse course — before we get hit again with something bigger and badder.

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POLITICS: Name a gooferment program that works

Monday, January 11, 2010

http://libertyunbound.com/article.php?id=449

Bridging the Two Libertarianisms
Carl S. Milsted, Jr.
What does the nonaggression principle really mean for libertarianism?

*** begin quote ***

People routinely send mail by government post, drive on government roads, rely on government food inspections, walk on government sidewalks, and enforce contracts in government courts.

*** end quote ***

I once heard on Free Talk Live http://freetalklive.com/ one of the host expressed the paradigm: “Name one program that works? And, if we can agree it does work, how much does it cost? How much should it cost?”.

So let’s look at your examples:

  1. Mail: Even with funny accounting — they don’t count the cost of capital assets like real estate and equipment depreciation — the cost is absurd. And, they have to enforce the first class mail franchise with a law enforcing their monopoly. (The famous one dollar minimum for express delivery services.) It’s laughable when the USPS compares themselves to FedEx for package delivery since in some areas they subcontract to FedEx. And, let’s talk about lost mail. We have very little statistical information but that doesn’t mean they are flawless.
      
  2. Roads: In New Jersey, the roads are a disgrace. And, we had a gas tax trust fund that was raided by the goofenors of both parties to fund their pet projects. We have no way to know if there is a better way since no one is allowed to try a different way. We can look at the road in Disney World and other amusement parks that are in relatively perfect condition. Hard to imagine that a consortium of WalMart, UPS, and others couldn’t do as well. As a proxy, look at the Air Traffic Control System, that is run totally be the Federal Gooferment. Vintage 1950 computing causes massive delays. The roads are comperable. Where’s the innovation like in computers that makes roads better.
  3. Food Inspections: We can point to the fact that most “inspections” are either not done or don’t protect the people. A recent press story said that the gooferment accepts 10 or 20 times the level of filth in meat than McD’s does. We have no idea how much this “gooferment inspection” costs, but are people relying on that or the fact that they trust WalMart to sell them good stuff.
  4. Sidewalks: Sorry, but those are foisted on the property owner. Even when the gooferment destroys them, the land owner gets stuck fixing them. (I know personal experience.)
  5. Courts: That’s why we have Judge Judy on TV. The gooferment’s courts are backed up and capricious. And, heaven help you, if the gooferment has an interest in the suit. Sue the gooferment in it’s own court and be surprised at the result.

And on, and on, and on.

I have yet to see a gooferment program that works. Or even not working, do it at a reasonable cost.

I notice that the author didn’t cite: schools, dmv, health insurance, health care, foreign policy, DoD, and on, and on, and on.

My solution is to be pragmatic.

Let’s have an exit plan. It may take decades to “unwind” these programs, but let’s start.

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POLITICAL: Start the journey towards liberty

Sunday, January 10, 2010

http://www.michnews.org/2010/01/a-libertarian-vision-for-michigan/

A Libertarian vision for Michigan

*** begin quote ***

Troy – How should we as Libertarians craft our campaign theme for 2010? Here are my thoughts on the subject. I would certainly appreciate yours, too. As a political party we must articulate a positive, persuasive, simple and appealing campaign theme for our candidates in 2010.

*** and ***

# Fair. No bail outs. No hand outs. No special deals for businesses, unions or individuals. Instead, cut spending now by eliminating all incentives, benefits, and programs that don´t benefit the average voter or business. Cut government costs by eliminating all agencies and regulations that impede the creation of jobs and businesses, competition and personal freedom. Eliminate tax abatements, exemptions and discounts for the few preferred businesses, unions and individuals, and cut the tax rates paid by all.

*** end quote ***

“cut spending now by eliminating all incentives, benefits, and programs that don´t benefit the average voter or business”

That don’t benefit “ALL” voters.

The problem is that when gooferment tries to pick winners and losers, funny how they always pick the politicians’ friends.

A libertarian government should be extremely small. Prevent force or fraud. AND, that’s IT!

You don’t need a lot of taxes when you’re not doing a lot!

Slash the spending and taxes and step out of the way. Privatize any “service” or “product” that the government produces.

If it CAN NOT be done immediately, then let’s have a transition out of it. Five, Ten, … heck … even Forty Year plans.

Let’s start the journey to liberty!

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POLITICAL: No executive or even management experience!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

FROM THE DRUDGE REPORT, FRONT PAGE:

*** begin quote ***

PAPER: Obama’s anti-terror chief remained on ski slopes…

CIA Panetta Was Also on Vacation All Last Week…

*** end quote ***

Isn’t this “Management 101”?

I remember back in my AT&T days that there was an Executive On Duty list. We were all required to (1) be on duty if our boss was on vacation OR (2) if our Number #2 was on vacation. So if I was on vacation my boss and my Number #2 covered for me. It got a chance for my boss to evaluate my Number #2 and how I did picking a Number #2.

Had something similar at CS First Boston.

QUESTION: How come BHO aka O44 didn’t have the same thing?

ANSWER: No executive or even management experience!

Argh!

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POLITICAL: No consequences for prosecutorial and investigative malpractice

Saturday, January 9, 2010

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/45956.html

The FBI, Bullying, and Sloppy Investigations
Posted by Bill Anderson on January 1, 2010 10:56 AM

*** begin quote ***

By empowering police and prosecutors and providing them with immunity from their wrongdoing, the government is encouraging investigators to be sloppy and incompetent. As we have seen in the two linked examples, bullying investigators have managed to botch these investigations, and it is no accident. The political classes tell us that we have to give the “authorities” near-absolute power to keep us “safe.” (Read any of the conservative websites and you will see what I mean. There is near-worship of the police, prosecutors, and federal investigators.) Guess what? When there are no consequences for being wrong, we can expect the police and FBI and others to be wrong, as it is much easier for them to make up their own narratives and then bully people into “agreeing” with them.

*** end quote ***

If we can fault the Dead Old White Guys (and that’s hard to do given their level of understanding at that point in time), then it would be for not putting a penalty in for ALL the INDIVIDUALS who violates some Constitutional rights.

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POLITICS: Good cop; bad cop

Monday, January 4, 2010

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/janetdaley/100020863/obama-tries-to-find-new-words-to-fight-terrorism/

Obama tries to find new words to fight terrorism
By Janet Daley World
Last updated: December 29th, 2009

*** begin quote ***

Barack Obama has launched a new offensive against jihadi terrorism – which is to say, a new rhetorical offensive. Having discovered that the earlier Obama doctrine of “reaching out” to the Islamic fundamentalist enemies of western democracy has made no difference whatever to their determination to blow innocent people out of the sky (or, in the case of Iran, to build a nuclear bomb), he is opening another verbal front.

*** end quote ***

I guess we can declare “reaching out” a failure. Especially with supposedly hundreds more in training.

If you’re going to be in a war, you have to fight it to win.

I’m reminded of the old KGB “insurance policy”. During the Cold War, no one messed with the Soviet agents or diplomats. Anyone who did would risk having their families wiped out. Find something that the terrorists hold dear, and NUKE it.

That would establish “detante”.

Clearly, the “good cop” is getting worse results than the old “bad cop”.

Not unexpectedly!

And, they laughed when Ron Paul talked about “blowback”.

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POLITICAL: Top 10 disasters of the 2009 Obama administration

Monday, January 4, 2010

http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2009/12/libertarians-release-top-10-disasters-of-2009-obama-administration/

*** begin quote ***

Libertarians release

Top 10 disasters of the 2009 Obama administration (in no particular order):

   1. Cash for Clunkers

   2. War escalation in Afghanistan

   3. Giant government health care expansion bill

   4. Post office loses money hand over fist

   5. Stimulus package

   6. Expansion of “state secrets” doctrine

   7. Big increase in unemployment

   8. “Bailout” Geithner as Treasury Secretary

   9. Skyrocketing federal spending

  10. Huge federal deficits

*** end quote ***

“Cash For Cluckers” was a bone-headed move on so many levels, but it was “cheap” in comparison to the items lower on the list. There’s no way I’d give it the #1 slot!

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POLITICAL: Nuke power for the USA!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/01/02/1330245/Thorium-the-Next-Nuclear-Fuel
?from=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A
 +slashdot%2FeqWf+%28Slashdot%3A+Slashdot%29

Science: Thorium, the Next Nuclear Fuel? on Saturday January 02, @10:57AM
Posted by Soulskill on Saturday January 02, @10:57AM

*** begin quote ***

mrshermanoaks writes “When the choices for developing nuclear energy were being made, we went with uranium because it had the byproduct of producing plutonium that could be weaponized. But thorium is safer and easier to work with, and may cause a lot fewer headaches. ‘It’s abundant — the US has at least 175,000 tons of the stuff — and doesn’t require costly processing. It is also extraordinarily efficient as a nuclear fuel. As it decays in a reactor core, its byproducts produce more neutrons per collision than conventional fuel. The more neutrons per collision, the more energy generated, the less total fuel consumed, and the less radioactive nastiness left behind. Even better, Weinberg realized that you could use thorium in an entirely new kind of reactor, one that would have zero risk of meltdown. The design is based on the lab’s finding that thorium dissolves in hot liquid fluoride salts. This fission soup is poured into tubes in the core of the reactor, where the nuclear chain reaction — the billiard balls colliding — happens. The system makes the reactor self-regulating: When the soup gets too hot it expands and flows out of the tubes — slowing fission and eliminating the possibility of another Chernobyl. Any actinide can work in this method, but thorium is particularly well suited because it is so efficient at the high temperatures at which fission occurs in the soup.’ So why are we not building these reactors?”

*** end quote ***

Here’s an excellent idea!

Why can’t we have nuke power here int he USA? France does it.

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POLITICS: The value of conspiracy theories

Friday, January 1, 2010

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php

Philosophy vs. Conspiracy
By Jerry Salcido
Published 12/23/09

*** begin quote ***

Anyone who has worked in support of the liberty movement knows an unfortunate truth: it is all too often associated, rightly or wrongly, with “conspiracy theories” — those all too often unsubstantiated, speculative viewpoints on various topics such as the assassination of JFK, the attempted assassination of Reagan, 9/11, the role of the Rockefellers and Rothschilds in modern world history, and the current doings of the Bilderbergers, Trilateral Commission, and the Council on Foreign Relations. The problem is that liberty’s enemies are very aware of this association as well and they use it to their advantage. Too often freedom’s detractors slander the liberty movement as being filled with conspiracy nuts and other wackos.

*** end quote ***

I too havw a tin foil hat in the closet. Matters not which one it is. (OK, it’s FDR and Pearl Harbor!) What that has taught me is: (1) Very few people care; (2) The entire government is one giant gooferment that screws everything up while spending vast sums of money doing the screwing and it’s the sheelple being screwed; AND (3) the corrupt system has to be btought back to the roots. While one should rarely lead with one’s favorite conspiracy theory, they can be used with a giant panaolophy of “where there is smoke there’s fire” argument.

The basic argument is that a gooferment based on force CAN NOT suceed; we need the soverign individual freely pursuing their own best interests while respecting the mutual extended rights to everyone. The Zero aggression principle IS the golden run for government.

imho

Now let me adjust my tin foil hat and talk about the evils of FDR. (In second place for worst prez after Abe!)

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POLITICAL: Fire “Big Sis”!

Friday, January 1, 2010

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/74041-homeland-security-dept-to-launch-international-airport-security-campaign

Napolitano announces international airport security campaign

By Tony Romm – 12/31/09 04:30 PM ET

*** begin quote ***

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday announced it would launch a campaign next week to strengthen security screening procedures at a host of international airports.

The effort is part of the White House’s heightened response to a Christmas Day attempt to bomb Delta Flight 253 in Detroit, a flight that originated in Amsterdam.

*** end quote ***

A story about a lock, a barn door, and a horse comes to mind!

Fire “Big Sis”!

She gets paid the big bux to ANTICIPATE and preclude problems.

Anyone can react. And, “everything worked” shows her to be incompetent.

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POLITICAL: We need to be “isolationalist”

Thursday, December 31, 2009

http://thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/politics/2651-ben-stein-says-ron-paul-uses-anti-semitic-arguments

Ben Stein Says Ron Paul Uses “Anti-Semitic Arguments”
Written by Thomas R. Eddlem   
Tuesday, 29 December 2009 10:52

*** begin quote ***

Rep. Paul, a Republican from Texas, has argued for removing U.S. soldiers from the Middle East because the American presence there is increasingly seen by many Muslims as a foreign occupation force. Responding to Rep. Paul’s argument that Americans should mind their own business and not become the policeman of the world, Stein argued: “No, we’re not occupiers. That’s the same anti-Semitic argument we’ve heard over and over again. That’s the same anti-Semitic argument we’ve heard over and over again.”

*** end quote ***

Time to get our boys and girls home.

We’re not the global policeman.

The choice is ours, but it can’t be found in EITHER political party!

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POLITICAL: Small steps in Health Care Insurance

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

http://channel-surfing.blogspot.com/2009/12/head-fake-on-health-care.html

Friday, December 25, 2009

Head fake on health care

*** begin quote ***

There are good things in this bill and there is the possibility that it can be used as a foundation on which to build real reform. The problem is the discourse surrounding the bill. If it were being described by the press and the president as what it is — something short of reform — that would be OK. But it’s not. It is being described as once-in-a-generation reform and that creates the danger that this bill has become a once-in-a-generation chance to fix our broken system. If the House cannot fix it, cannot toughen this bill up, progressives need to walk away from it.

*** end quote ***

As you may already guess, I think ALL these gooferment programs are a BIG mistake. Here’s a few points to try and convince you:

(1) If the gooferment runs health care and you get “screwed”, to whom will you appeal?

(2) Assume for a moment that the “estimates” are correct (and that is a HUGE ssumption), where will we borrow the money for it?

(3) Is it “constitutional”? (Equal protection in Nbraska, Fifth in the nationalization of insurance companies, Fourth in the individual “mandate”, and even First in the lack of conscience exemption about abortion)

(4) Is it necessary? (Could we not try some SMALL steps? Lawsuit reform. Tax deductability for individual’s purchasing their own policies like life insurance. Nationally available polices. Allowing credit union and WalMart to get into the “health” biz.

Let’s not throw what is the best to keep the politicians and socialists happy.

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POLITICAL: Criticism of Fox’s O’Reilly

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

http://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/Has-Bill-OReilly-gone-soft-on-Obama-79888222.html

Has Bill O’Reilly gone soft on Obama?
By PATRICK ROBERTS, IrishCentral.com
Published Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 7:53 AM
Updated Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 11:45 AM

*** begin quote ***

Unlike most of his Fox News colleagues, Bill O’Reilly has always seemed to have a soft spot for President Obama. Perhaps it was because Obama has given O’Reilly some exclusive interviews and feedback.

It certainly seems that O’Reilly has been impressed. His gushing column on his night at the White House media party last week reads like a missive from the liberal website Moveon.org — not from the O’Reilly we all know.

Consider this: “Michelle Obama, whom I had never met, was stunning. She was warm and kind to my 10-year-old daughter and gracious to me. My quick assessment of her: Strong, charismatic, and beautiful.”

Wow! Hard to imagine Sean Hannity saying that.

*** end quote ***

No secret! I like Bill O’R. Watch it most nights.

I think his assessment of MO is accurate from what I’ve see and heard about her.

Going to the White House party is like going behind the lines. He’s a commentator, who’s format requires a foil. SO he has to have a supply of “victims”. And, maybe he might have shed some light on the stupidity of the WH was on Fox.

That being said, B O’R is the not the least dogmatic of the FOx commentators I’ve heard. Greta is more apolitical than him. Maybe Cavuto is closer in temperament.

B O’R is often “wrong” imho. He’s NOT a libertarian. As evidence, the sparing with Stossel. He was apoplectic at Stossel’s quiet libertarianism. B O’R has given BO grades that were “inflated” imho.

BO has forgotten Bill Clinton’s “commandment”. “It the economy, stupid.” TARP2, Porkulous, and GM were all stupidly poisonous to the economy.

(Let folks fail. Take your medicine promptly. And don’t be surprised when “impossible situation”, “unsurmountable obstacles”, and “irreconcilable differences” “suddenly” are “solved”. GM Unions and Management would suddenly become “best friends” when going down on the same Titanic! Watch Wall Street suddenly figure out how to be profitable WITHOUT the gooferment’s help. Especially with visions of “golden parachutes” and “big bonuses of taxpayer money” swirling down the the bowl.)

So when B O’R graded BO, his ruler was “elastic” based on his values. I don’t think that makes B O’R “soft” on BO.

Just wrong.

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POLITICAL: New DNA techniques and “not our job”

Saturday, December 26, 2009

http://reason.com/blog/2009/12/20/florida-sees-its-12th-exonerat

Florida Sees Its 12th Exoneration
Radley Balko | December 20, 2009

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This is a common refrain from state officials and prosecutors. “It isn’t our job to find innocent people in the prisons.” Even in jurisdictions where there’s every reason to believe an unusually high number of innocent people have been convicted. They threw the state’s resources at putting the people behind bars in the first place, but argue it’s the responsibility of the wrongly convicted themselves or cash-strapped non-profit groups like the Innocence Project to bring the cases to the attention of the courts—usually as the same prosecutor offices fight them every step of the way.

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Sorry, the little L libertarian disagrees. Justice demands it! New DNA evidence that can prove innocence must be examined by the State. Otherwise, we’re just a “banana republic”!

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POLITICAL: Four month rotation

Thursday, December 24, 2009

On a recent trip to AC, at the magic show, an USAF fellow was there. With wife and two little girls. (Guess he was leaving from McGuire) Under duress, he revealed that he was about to leave on Thanksgiving for a FOUR MONTH ROTATION as a medic to the “war”.

Of course, this made me start thinking.

Why four months?

… because 181 days in a war zone gives certain benefits, entitlements, and pay.

Why Thanksgiving?

… no clue. (A human being might have scheduled the 4 months to split the holidays.)

Why are we always at “war”?

… because “war is the health of the state”.

Why do we regard the military as a job?

… that family could lose the husband.

Why?

… because we don’t have the stones to stand up to the political class and say “no”?

“Dona Nobis Pacem”

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POLITICAL: Carter calls for debt action

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

http://www.globalatlanta.com/article/23608/

President Carter to U.S.: Tackle Debt Before Lecturing China
Trevor Williams
Atlanta – 12.16.09

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The U.S. should focus on getting its own fiscal house in order and give up pressuring China to revalue its currency, the yuan, former President Jimmy Carter said during a Dec. 3 panel discussion at the Carter Center in Atlanta.

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Pretty bad when ex-President Carter talks financial sense. Guess a stopped clock can be right twice per day. Clearly, the debt should be a priority. If not first, (i.e., national defense, citizen protection, the economy), it’s got to be up there.

The cure is one that the Big Gooferment advocates don’t want to hear — cut spending.

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POLITICAL: Copenhagen caper

Sunday, December 20, 2009

http://channel-surfing.blogspot.com/2009/12/world-leaders-spent-two-weeks-in.html

Saturday, December 19, 2009
World leaders spent two weeks in Copenhagen and all we got was this?

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It took two weeks of talks in Copenhagen, after two years of preliminary talks and in the end, to much fanfare we got….

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Lucky for us that “climate change”, “global warming”, and “global kooling” are all just “barbara streisand” to get socialism ramped up. More “global gooferment”, wealth transfer, and guilt the rich to transfer wealth from the have’s to the gooferments of the have not’s. Note that you can pour money on the “poor” until the cows come home and ALL of it will go into some petty dictators’ or bureaucrats’ pockets.

But lucky for us, humans are like the flies on the cows butt. We can no more impact climate with our minuscule actions then we can make poverty go away.

Argh!

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POLITICS: Unemployment numbers are misleading

Saturday, December 19, 2009

http://www.jibberjobber.com/blog/2009/12/18/unemployment-lies-and-deception

Unemployment Lies and Deception

December 18th, 2009

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As far as I know, unemployment numbers are based on those who are reporting to the government — those who are collecting unemployment insurance.

Guess what… unemployment insurance RUNS OUT. And then, you are so worthless, you aren’t even counted as a statistic! You are essentially written off the books.

Yeah, this really gets under my skin. And we aren’t even talking about UNDEREMPLOYED people!!

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And, don’t forget the underemployed and the old farts who are now “retired” for want of anything better to do.

I fault the gooferment and it’s absolute stupidity.

First, average wage in gooferment is twice that of private industry. Regardless of how they slice and dice the numbers, gooferment workers are in the ascendancy in both quantity and money. TARP — bailout to the banks; should have just let them fail. (Cynically, I’d bet that they’d have figured out how to survive. The bail out of AIG was a direct payoff to Goldman Sachs. The same Goldman Sachs that paid gigantic bonuses.)

Second, every dollar the gooferment “gives” in unemployment benefits has to come from some taxpayer. Remember Basiat and the unseen victim. In this case, we now have four generation of “welfare farmers”. Some of those on “welfare” are rich companies and individuals. Milk and sugar subsidies come to mind.

Third, the poor economy has landed hard on the young and old. Youth unemployment — especially minority — is skyrocketing. And, the older workers are being forced into early retirement; some after burning through their savings from reduced retirement portfolios.

My solution is reduce gooferment. They need to cut, cut, and cut some more. Some entities need to be killed — Agriculture and Education would be my starting point. We need to cut the corporate income tax from 30+ to say ZERO. (Corporations don’t pay taxes. Only real people do. Corps pass them along or go out of business.) When Ron Paul campaigned, he asserted that cutting gooferment back to 1990 levels would allow the income tax to be ZERO.

Not like any of this is going to happen. But I wouldn’t trust anything the gooferment says or does. This included “running health care or health insurance”.

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