POLITICS: The last of the imperial Kennedys?

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/08/23/kennedy_should_resign/

Kennedy should resign
By Jeff Jacoby
Globe Columnist / August 23, 2009
The Boston Globe

*** begin quote ***

RUNNING for reelection in 1982, Senator Ted Kennedy aired a series of sentimental television ads in which longtime supporters spoke of him as an empathetic human being who was no stranger to suffering and sorrow. One of those supporters was 83-year-old Frank Manning, founder of the Massachusetts Association of Older Americans. “He’s not a plaster saint, he’s not without his faults,’’ Manning said in the ad. “But we wouldn’t want a plaster saint.’’

*** end quote ***

They say speak no ill of the dead.

Sorry, but even now we can call them as we see them.

Kennedy’s conduct was an insult to anyone with a shred of human decency. Mary Jo was whitewashed. Any one else would have spent time in jail. What else has been covered over to keep him in office? Disgraceful. More disgraceful to the “liberal leftist” press who failed their sacred trust.

Further, he was a CINO. The classic example of a Catholic In Name Only. He gave public scandal by voting for abortion and everyone gives him a free pass.

It’s not my job to judge. Above my pay grade. But he’s one I don’t understand. Silver spoon and all. He had it all and squandered it.

Eye of the needle.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MONEY: Might be a good answer to the wrong problem!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Nothing against discount brokerages, but may I suggest that it might be the “right answer to the wrong problem”. I was always enamored of the metaphor of “leaning your ladder against the wrong wall”. Recently, after many years of meandering and sometimes successful trading (i.e., went all in on a stock that tripled), I’ve decided that, like medicine, sometimes one can be too smart for one’s own good. I hired what I’ll describe as “an institutional portfolio manager”. (Yeah, have to a 500k$ portfolio to get into that game!) But, I’ve concluded that the “casino” (aka Wall Street) is no place for the DIY crowd like I once was. The electronic trading, the specialists, the “financial consultants”, mutual fund’s crass graft, and all the other machinations have taken the “game” to a new level. The globalization of finance has convinced me that the dollar is on a fast road to perdition. Even gold coins now carry a hefty 12% markup over spot. SO there is no “good” investment for the little guys. Even at cheap transaction fee!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | MONEY | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICS: The D’s and the R’s are the WWF of politics!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

http://www.lewrockwell.com/celente/celente12.1.html

That Sinking Feeling
by Achal Mehra
August 19, 2009

Quoting Gerald Celente

*** begin quote ***

Do you think either political party could have made a difference?

No, it is like watching the World Wrestling Federation. They pretend to be arch-enemies on the stage. After the cameras go off, they do their deals together. There is very little difference between the two parties.

*** end quote ***

Chortle! I love the metaphor. The D’s and the R’s are the WWF of politics!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Cloud computing held hostage to politics

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/21/flickr-v-free-speech-where-is-the-courage/

Flickr v. Free Speech. Where Is The Courage?
by Michael Arrington on August 21, 2009

*** begin quote ***

Flickr really stepped in it this time. And they’ve sparked a free speech and copyright fascism debate that is unlikely to cool down any time soon.

*** and ***

People are angry over the takedown. There are lots of pictures mocking President Bush on a Time Magazine cover on Flickr that haven’t been removed. And of the Heath Ledger Joker character.

*** end quote ***

The “big government socialists” — regardless of party — hide their prejudices in law. We can’t trust “big business”; any more than we can trust “big gooferment”. They are in a symbiotic relationship. Both are big parasites on the poor serf just trying to make a life. Business serves us; companies I’m not so sure of. When they get big or when their liability is limited, that’s when the trouble begins.

Expecting free speech isn’t in their vocabulary.

Cloud computing gives “them” power over content.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | LIBERTY, Technology | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT: 45k for a year?

Monday, August 24, 2009

*** begin quote ***

Trust the government
Human Events
by Newt Gingrich

“How much is one additional year of your life worth? Or one more year of life for your father or your wife? For your child? In Great Britain, the government has settled on a number: $45,000. That’s how much a government commission with the Orwellian acronym NICE has decided British government-run health care will pay for one additional year of life for a British subject. Think it could never happen here? Then you need to pay closer attention to what Washington is planning for your health care.” (08/12/09)

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=33100

*** end quote ***

Probably all that I have?

How dare the gooferment intrude! Whose decision is it anyway?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Ranting | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Bring on the filibuster!

Monday, August 24, 2009

http://tinyurl.com/koyfng

*** begin quote ***

Senate Democratic leadership will pass health care reform “by any legislative means necessary”

ABC News

“Amidst questions of whether or not any Senate Republicans will support a health care reform bill, Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., today said that the ‘White House and the Senate Democratic leadership still prefer a bipartisan bill.’ The Reid spokesman said that ‘neither the White House nor the leadership have made a decision to pursue reconciliation,’ the somewhat controversial legislative process by which a bill is introduced in such a manner so that it requires merely 50 votes instead of 60 to proceed to a vote, thus removing the threat of filibuster.” (08/19/09)

*** end quote ***

No, if I was the R’s, then I’d force them to bring Teddie and KKK-er Byrd in a force the end of a filibuster. Make it clear that “over dead bodies” does anything pass.

Time to stand up and be counted.

# # # # #

1 Comment | Political | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Remember Barbara Wagner; that could be our fate!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=107403

DOCTOR’S ORDERS
Obamacare will be 1 big ‘death panel’
Just as in U.K., government system will lead to early demise of seniors
Posted: August 20, 2009
By Richard Poe

*** begin quote ***

Barbara Wagner of Springfield, Ore., was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005. Chemotherapy and radiation put her cancer into remission. But the cancer returned in May 2008.

Wagner’s doctor prescribed Tarceva, a pill which slows cancer growth. There was a good chance it might extend her life by a few weeks or even months.

At age 64, Wagner had two sons, three daughters, 15 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Every moment she could spend with her loved ones was precious.

But Oregon’s health commissars nixed the plan. Her Tarceva treatment would cost $4,000 per month. Wagner was going to die anyway, so why waste the money?

Wagner received a letter stating that the Oregon Health Plan would not approve any treatment for her “that is meant to prolong life, or change the course of the disease …” However, if Wagner opted for physician-assisted suicide, Oregon would be happy to pick up the tab, said the letter.

Physician-assisted suicide is legal in Oregon and costs only about $50.

“It was horrible,” Wagner told reporters. “To say to someone, we’ll pay for you to die, but not pay for you to live, it’s cruel. Who do they think they are?”

Wagner finally got her Tarceva when the manufacturer Genentech offered to supply it free of charge. She died in October 2008.

A humble, retired schoolbus driver, Wagner touched more people in death than she had in life. Local and national press picked up her story, alerting many Americans to the danger of medical rationing.

*** end quote ***

There has to be a special place in hell for those who have defrauded the public into thinking this is “medical care”.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | GOVEROTRAGEOUS | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: The Universe is truly “one song”

Sunday, August 23, 2009

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheCoachApproach/~3/l-FScTTUK9c/four-ways-to-be-happier-about-your-past.html

Four Ways to Be Happier – About Your Past
from The Coach Approach by Lora Banks

*** begin quote ***

Rewrite Your Personal History. You can actually sit down and write a version of your personal history simply highlighting all of the great events of your past. Try to stick to some semblance of fact. If you embellish too much or try to put a positive spin on say a traumatic experience, you will find your mind busy judging and debating the details rather than relishing the positivity of the past. And you don’t have to actually write it down. We tell our personal stories all the time and they reinforce how we think and feel about our past. Choose the stories that reflect the the gems rather than the rocks and you will in effect, rewrite history – your history that is.

*** end quote ***

ROFL, I kinda did that when I wrote “CHURCH 10●19●62”. I wrote what I thought when I was a child. Carried the story for decades. And, was tickled when it was in print. No one should leave the “universe” with their song unsung. Why leave it to other to write?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MONEY: Dollar is in big trouble

Saturday, August 22, 2009

http://www.lewrockwell.com/lilley/floy10.1.html

Sound Money: The Impossible Dream?
by Floy Lilley

*** begin quote ***

Debt: The US must borrow 46 cents for every dollar spent this year. Outstanding public debt as of 18 August is $11,704,322,903, 918. An estimated population of the United States is 307,209,243, so each citizen’s share of this debt is $38,127. The debt-to-GDP ratio is 82%. This debt will grow by a trillion dollars a year. The debt has to be rolled over every four years. That’s $240 billion a month to be skimmed off capital markets. The four largest budget items are wars, social security, Medicare/Medicaid, and interest on the debt.

*** end quote ***

How does the Republic get out of the mess that the congresscritters have created?

Inflation? Repudiation? What Chapter applies to the nation?

It’s clear we can’t meet our commitments. So what, or rather who, gets thrown under the bus?

Clearly the Chinese, and any one holding our debt. Senior citizens, pensioners, the sick and elderly.

Social security goes broke. What does that look like?

Argh!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | MONEY | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SURVIVAL: Take zero chances. Ever?

Saturday, August 22, 2009

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stcharles/story/3B58782910E1622186257618000D05B1?OpenDocument

Boy, 9, killed rescuing duck from the road
By Joel Currier
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/20/2009

*** begin quote ***

ST. CHARLES COUNTY — Danny Bampton’s compassion for animals cost him his life.

Investigators say the 9-year-old St. Charles County boy was riding with his mother on Highway P near a relative’s house Wednesday afternoon when he saw an injured duck in the road and asked her whether he could save it. After she pulled the car over, Danny hopped out and put the duck in a roadside culvert on the south side of the highway.

But when he tried to cross back over the rural, two-lane road to his family’s car, Danny was struck by a westbound Subaru Legacy driven by Alayna R. Hitz, 18, of Wentzville.

*** end quote ***

Wow, what a tragedy for ALL involved.

I bet Mom is going to rethink that decision for a long time.

Accidents happen.

But, someone always wins the lotto.

Maybe, there’s a lesson there. But I’m having a hard time seeing it.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | SURVIVAL | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »