sowing, reaping, chickens roosting...

via dustbury:

For the children of the Baby Boomers, there is a special delight in watching the world economy shake itself to pieces like a two-dollar pram at this particular moment. Our elders, who bought prosperity and nice pensions at our expense and pulled the ripcords on their "Freedom 55" parachutes without leaving any behind in the passenger cabin, are getting it in the neck just when they thought a secure old age, with money for travel and expensive pastimes, was a safe bet. I'm willing to watch my meagre savings suffer from market turmoil in exchange for contemplating the dilemma of those who are now between 55 and 65.

These are people who started their working lives at a time when labour unions were strong, taxpayers outnumbered retirees nearly 10 to one, housing was as cheap as borscht and the basic personal exemption covered most of a living wage. They congratulated themselves on building an elaborate "social safety net" at the expense of their children. Their great numbers have allowed their preferences and superstitions to dominate culture and media. They're the ones who burned through tonnes of pot and then launched a War on Drugs when they grew bored with it; they drove mighty-bowelled (Camaros and BelAires) in their youth, and only started worrying about the environment when they no longer needed a capacious backseat to fornicate in; they espoused and took full advantage of sexual liberation, but were safely hors de combat by the time AIDS reared its head. The first time I see one shopping for dog food, I doubt I'll be able to suppress a laugh.

As for the younger crowd, it is a quite distinct pleasure to watch their panic and uncertainty. The actually existing danger is not too great, but no one born after about 1980 has much practical experience of severe recession, any more than a 40-year-old knows what a depression looks like. The worst economic event within the memory of the '80s-born will have been the popping of the tech bubble -- a trivial speed bump compared to the conditions of stagflation and wretchedness that became accepted as the norm in the '70s. There is a certain cohort there whose defining traumas are personal, not economic; they're children of the age of divorce and the double-income household. If you're my age, you might know what it was like to go to school in worn-out, humiliatingly generic shoes. If you were born just a bit later you probably had new Nikes every six months -- but you also may have only seen your father every six months.

I don't wish these younger people ill, and I don't believe that the suffering which lies ahead for some of them is character-building. From what I've seen of folks who remember the Depression -- lest they be left out of this salvo of rude intergenerational abuse -- privation mostly breeds bitterness and fear. But the lesson that economic growth is a contingent accomplishment is one that every generation must learn. Why are young people so vulnerable to preposterous political ideas? Why is it the young, most egregiously, who romanticize poverty, cultural backwardness and unspoiled nature?

It's because they regard sound money, good jobs and the benefits of the consumer society as unstated axioms; they have no sense that these things must be perpetually fought for, and can be lost in the blink of an eye. Well, they'll know now. And the knowledge will serve them.

The bad part of this "turmoil" is that many honorable people, both inside and outside the boomer demographic, will suffer in the whirlwind sown by others.

in response to obama's speech,

atlas keeps shrugging

update: do you notice any patterns?

Live Free Or Die

New Hampshire: leading by example. Let us pray that the second option named in their motto does not become necessary.

HCR 6 – AS INTRODUCED

2009 SESSION

09-0274

09/01

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 6

A RESOLUTION affirming States’ rights based on Jeffersonian principles.

SPONSORS: Rep. Itse, Rock 9; Rep. Ingbretson, Graf 5; Rep. Comerford, Rock 9; Sen. Denley, Dist 3

COMMITTEE: State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs

ANALYSIS

This house concurrent resolution affirms States’ rights based on Jeffersonian principles.

09-0274

09/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine

A RESOLUTION affirming States’ rights based on Jeffersonian principles.

Whereas the Constitution of the State of New Hampshire, Part 1, Article 7 declares that the people of this State have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves as a free, sovereign, and independent State; and do, and forever hereafter shall, exercise and enjoy every power, jurisdiction, and right, pertaining thereto, which is not, or may not hereafter be, by them expressly delegated to the United States of America in congress assembled; and

Whereas the Constitution of the State of New Hampshire, Part 2, Article 1 declares that the people inhabiting the territory formerly called the province of New Hampshire, do hereby solemnly and mutually agree with each other, to form themselves into a free, sovereign and independent body-politic, or State, by the name of The State of New Hampshire; and

Whereas the State of New Hampshire when ratifying the Constitution for the United States of America recommended as a change, “First That it be Explicitly declared that all Powers not expressly & particularly Delegated by the aforesaid are reserved to the several States to be, by them Exercised;” and

Whereas the other States that included recommendations, to wit Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia, included an identical or similar recommended change; and

Whereas these recommended changes were incorporated as the ninth amendment, the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people, and the tenth amendment, the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people, to the Constitution for the United States of America; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the several States composing the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their General Government; but that, by a compact under the style and title of a Constitution for the United States, and of amendments thereto, they constituted a General Government for special purposes, -- delegated to that government certain definite powers, reserving, each State to itself, the residuary mass of right to their own self-government; and that whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force; that to this compact each State acceded as a State, and is an integral party, its co-States forming, as to itself, the other party: that the government created by this compact was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself; since that would have made its discretion, and not the Constitution, the measure of its powers; but that, as in all other cases of compact among powers having no common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for itself, as well of infractions as of the mode and measure of redress; and

That the Constitution of the United States, having delegated to Congress a power to punish treason, counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States, piracies, and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations, slavery, and no other crimes whatsoever; and it being true as a general principle, and one of the amendments to the Constitution having also declared, that “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people,” therefore all acts of Congress which assume to create, define, or punish crimes, other than those so enumerated in the Constitution are altogether void, and of no force; and that the power to create, define, and punish such other crimes is reserved, and, of right, appertains solely and exclusively to the respective States, each within its own territory; and

That it is true as a general principle, and is also expressly declared by one of the amendments to the Constitution, that “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people;” and that no power over the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or freedom of the press being delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, all lawful powers respecting the same did of right remain, and were reserved to the States or the people: that thus was manifested their determination to retain to themselves the right of judging how far the licentiousness of speech and of the press may be abridged without lessening their useful freedom, and how far those abuses which cannot be separated from their use should be tolerated, rather than the use be destroyed. And thus also they guarded against all abridgment by the United States of the freedom of religious opinions and exercises, and retained to themselves the right of protecting the same. And that in addition to this general principle and express declaration, another and more special provision has been made by one of the amendments to the Constitution, which expressly declares, that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press:” thereby guarding in the same sentence, and under the same words, the freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press: insomuch, that whatever violated either, throws down the sanctuary which covers the others, and that libels, falsehood, and defamation, equally with heresy and false religion, are withheld from the cognizance of federal tribunals. That, therefore, all acts of Congress of the United States which do abridge the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, are not law, but are altogether void, and of no force; and

That the construction applied by the General Government (as is evidenced by sundry of their proceedings) to those parts of the Constitution of the United States which delegate to Congress a power “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imports, and excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States,” and “to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers vested by the Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof,” goes to the destruction of all limits prescribed to their power by the Constitution: that words meant by the instrument to be subsidiary only to the execution of limited powers, ought not to be so construed as themselves to give unlimited powers, nor a part to be so taken as to destroy the whole residue of that instrument: that the proceedings of the General Government under color of these articles, will be a fit and necessary subject of revisal and correction; and

That a committee of conference and correspondence be appointed, which shall have as its charge to communicate the preceding resolutions to the Legislatures of the several States; to assure them that this State continues in the same esteem of their friendship and union which it has manifested from that moment at which a common danger first suggested a common union: that it considers union, for specified national purposes, and particularly to those specified in their federal compact, to be friendly to the peace, happiness and prosperity of all the States: that faithful to that compact, according to the plain intent and meaning in which it was understood and acceded to by the several parties, it is sincerely anxious for its preservation: that it does also believe, that to take from the States all the powers of self-government and transfer them to a general and consolidated government, without regard to the special delegations and reservations solemnly agreed to in that compact, is not for the peace, happiness or prosperity of these States; and that therefore this State is determined, as it doubts not its co-States are, to submit to undelegated, and consequently unlimited powers in no man, or body of men on earth: that in cases of an abuse of the delegated powers, the members of the General Government, being chosen by the people, a change by the people would be the constitutional remedy; but, where powers are assumed which have not been delegated, a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy: that every State has a natural right in cases not within the compact, (casus non foederis), to nullify of their own authority all assumptions of power by others within their limits: that without this right, they would be under the dominion, absolute and unlimited, of whosoever might exercise this right of judgment for them: that nevertheless, this State, from motives of regard and respect for its co-States, has wished to communicate with them on the subject: that with them alone it is proper to communicate, they alone being parties to the compact, and solely authorized to judge in the last resort of the powers exercised under it, Congress being not a party, but merely the creature of the compact, and subject as to its assumptions of power to the final judgment of those by whom, and for whose use itself and its powers were all created and modified: that if the acts before specified should stand, these conclusions would flow from them: that it would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights: that confidence is everywhere the parent of despotism -- free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy and not confidence which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those whom we are obliged to trust with power: that our Constitution has accordingly fixed the limits to which, and no further, our confidence may go. In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution. That this State does therefore call on its co-States for an expression of their sentiments on acts not authorized by the federal compact. And it doubts not that their sense will be so announced as to prove their attachment unaltered to limited government, whether general or particular. And that the rights and liberties of their co-States will be exposed to no dangers by remaining embarked in a common bottom with their own. That they will concur with this State in considering acts as so palpably against the Constitution as to amount to an undisguised declaration that that compact is not meant to be the measure of the powers of the General Government, but that it will proceed in the exercise over these States, of all powers whatsoever: that they will view this as seizing the rights of the States, and consolidating them in the hands of the General Government, with a power assumed to bind the States, not merely as the cases made federal, (casus foederis,) but in all cases whatsoever, by laws made, not with their consent, but by others against their consent: that this would be to surrender the form of government we have chosen, and live under one deriving its powers from its own will, and not from our authority; and that the co-States, recurring to their natural right in cases not made federal, will concur in declaring these acts void, and of no force, and will each take measures of its own for providing that neither these acts, nor any others of the General Government not plainly and intentionally authorized by the Constitution, shall be exercised within their respective territories; and

That the said committee be authorized to communicate by writing or personal conferences, at any times or places whatever, with any person or person who may be appointed by any one or more co-States to correspond or confer with them; and that they lay their proceedings before the next session of the General Court; and

That any Act by the Congress of the United States, Executive Order of the President of the United States of America or Judicial Order by the Judicatories of the United States of America which assumes a power not delegated to the government of United States of America by the Constitution for the United States of America and which serves to diminish the liberty of the any of the several States or their citizens shall constitute a nullification of the Constitution for the United States of America by the government of the United States of America. Acts which would cause such a nullification include, but are not limited to:

I. Establishing martial law or a state of emergency within one of the States comprising the United States of America without the consent of the legislature of that State.

II. Requiring involuntary servitude, or governmental service other than a draft during a declared war, or pursuant to, or as an alternative to, incarceration after due process of law.

III. Requiring involuntary servitude or governmental service of persons under the age of 18 other than pursuant to, or as an alternative to, incarceration after due process of law.

IV. Surrendering any power delegated or not delegated to any corporation or foreign government.

V. Any act regarding religion; further limitations on freedom of political speech; or further limitations on freedom of the press.

VI. Further infringements on the right to keep and bear arms including prohibitions of type or quantity of arms or ammunition; and

That should any such act of Congress become law or Executive Order or Judicial Order be put into force, all powers previously delegated to the United States of America by the Constitution for the United States shall revert to the several States individually. Any future government of the United States of America shall require ratification of three quarters of the States seeking to form a government of the United States of America and shall not be binding upon any State not seeking to form such a government; and

That copies of this resolution be transmitted by the house clerk to the President of the United States, each member of the United States Congress, and the presiding officers of each State’s legislature.

(bolds original, italics mine)

p.s. Implied in Section 2 of the Texas Constitution, "Don't Mess With Texas" applies to more than just litter.

All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient.

p.p.s. speaking of delegating powers to foreigners...

p.p.p.s. and abuse of delegated powers...

mortgage crisis

inherited = helped create

MBVD

I like these quotes in this site's headlines, for "foreign and domestic policy":

"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property‹either as a child, a wife, or a concubine‹must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen; all know how to die; but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science‹the science against which it had vainly struggled‹the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome." ~~ Sir Winston Churchill

and

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could, and should, do for themselves. ~~ Abraham Lincoln

Dire Warning

update: Welcome readers from Local Malcontent, Jungle Hut, Jawa Report, and Director Blue!

---

A case of the pot telling the kettle to be careful...

"Obama warns mayors not to waste stimulus money"

Here's my attempt at a scrapplefacing of the linked article:

WASHINGTON – Invoking his own shameful name, President Hussein warned the nation's mayors on Friday that he will "call them out" if they waste the money from his pork-bloated stimulus plan as much as he has.

"Big Brother is watching," Hussein told a gathering of mayors at the Formerly Caucasian House. "They need this pork to work. They know they will see the money that they've stolen from honest workers flushed down a socialist sinkhole of government waste, bureaucratic inefficiency, and Democratic fraud."

In the days since the Formerly Caucasian House and the Anti-progress came to terms on the $787 billion economic package, the political focus has shifted to pretending that it will work. Hussein has staked his reputation not just on the promise of 500 million jobs created, but also on a pledge to never let the public see where the money actually went.

His budget shaman this week released a 25,000-word document that hides completely how Hussein's Credenza, quangos, crooks and local mafiosos will squander spending. It is a system meant to obfuscate reports so they can safely be displayed on the administration's new propaganda site, poverty-is-recovery.gov.

Using his imperial pulpit, Hussein demanded servility, from his cronies in local government as well as his own secret police. He said the new legislation gives him unlimited power to "waste the taxpayers' money with more capriciousness and impunity than ever," and that he will use them.

"If a federal agency proposes a project that will waste that money, I will not hesitate to endorse it, and crush any opposition to it," he said. "I want everyone here to be on notice that if a local government does the same, I will crush those enemies, see them driven before me, and hear the lamentation of their women!!!"

Okseekleen Mayor Danny Maize, who leads the U.S. Conclave of Mayors, said he welcomed Hussein's warning. Sweating profusely on the Formerly Caucasian House driveway, Maize said "We have plenty of constituents who will be weeping long before the president's reign of terror ends".

Mayors of both parties said they appreciated the subpoena to meet with Hussein, Vice President Time Bidin, and a handful of Credenza minions. They cautioned, though, not to speak, or even think, wrong thoughts against President Hussein. When the President arrived at their meeting, the mayors greeted him in unison, saying "It's a good stimulus, Barry. That was some tasty pork that you made there."

The economic plan will inject a sudden boost of cash into unnecessary bridges, reeducation camps, utopian pipe-dreams, and suicide-assistance programs. Beyond new spending, it aims to depress taxpayers through a package of bloodletting, extended unemployment, and euthanasia. The cost will be added to a growing budget deficit, as usual.

Hussein said "Our glorious leaders have been making a victorious advance under the banner of Hussein. Thanks to the Stalin-based politics pursued by our Party, the revolutionary Democratic forces have been incomparably strengthened, the defence line of the homeland consolidated and a great change effected in the revolution and construction. By dint of Party politics we have smashed the anti-PORK, anti-socialist machinations of the old republic step by step, defended the country and the revolution and exalted the dignity and prestige of socialist Amerika in the eyes of the world."

The president did not specify how he would call out one of his own agencies or a local government about efficiency or usefulness, but tar and feather stocks jumped 2619% on speculation immediately after the announcement.

where are they now,

those who howled against the privacy invasion of the patriot act?

a frank discussion about race

the other reason that "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race" is that some of us know that:

1. all men are created equal,
2. race should no longer be an issue to anyone, and
3. the only people who keep "playing the race card" are racists trying to score political points.

i have a dream that someday the word "race" will be as obsolete as "nihilarian" and "snollygoster".

p.s. and "reparations"

bust the trust

monopolies, including those in health care, are bad for everyone

history repe.. history repe.. history repe..

yoda via eratosthenes: "Told you I did. Reckless is he. Now, matters are worse."

Things went bad under Hoover, then FDR took over and made them much worse, while blaming things on his predecessor…

Things went bad under Nixon/Ford, then Carter took over and made them much worse, while blaming things on his predecessor…

Things went bad under George W. Bush, then Obama took over. He’s blaming anything & everything bad, on FaPoBuAd, the Failed Policies of the Bush Administration.

The collection of outspoken folks who think things are about to get better — or will simply stay the same, not getting any worse — is limited to paid spokesmen, punch-drunk newspaper editors, democrat-party hucksters, drunks and druggies who haven’t woken up from January 20 just yet, and nameless-faceless speechwriters. Everyone else is in agreement with Yoda…including history herself.

Not always so difficult to see, the future is.

Things got bad under Hindenburg, too...

new link

dustbury linked to a post at director blue, and reading that and other posts there inspired me to add the site to my blogroll.

holes
obamanopoly
scary trek
foreign history
domestic history

and many more

she should'a been president

oops... i meant vice-president... right...

"The governor recognizes that some form of economic stimulus is necessary, but not the bill that passed the Congress Friday. She has advocated for a package that includes federal spending for infrastructure, tax breaks for individuals and small businesses, and measures to address the housing situation. The governor believes the current legislation is too large and is not sufficiently focused on these objectives.

While the congressional majority rejected their efforts, Gov. Palin appreciates Murkowski’s and Young’s attempt to jump-start the American economy without saddling states with operating budget expenditures that can’t be sustained or increasing the national debt to an alarming degree."

totally unimportant

my criteria for a good nascar race, including today's daytona 500, are:

1) everybody in attendance is safe and uninjured,

2) ford wins,

3) hendrick drivers, primarily jeff gordon, do not win.

i care more about point one and less about the other two every year...

sick again

not strep this time, nausea and headaches

:P$$$

overheard from the future

"...and that, kids, is how earth got its ring."

dateline palo alto

iowahawk: scientists discover world's largest number

An international mathematics research team announced today that they had discovered a new integer that surpasses any previously known value "by a totally mindblowing ****load." Project director Yujin Xiao of Stanford University said the theoretical number, dubbed a "stimulus," could lead to breakthroughs in fields as diverse as astrophysics, quantum mechanics, and Chicago asphalt contracting.

"Unlike previous large numbers like the Googleplex or the Bazillionty, the Stimulus has no static numerical definition," said Xiao. "It keeps growing and growing, compounding factorially, eating up all zeros in its path. It moves freely across Cartesian dimensions and has the power to make any other number irrational."

Jean-Luc Brossard, a researcher with the European consortium CERN, said the number is so staggeringly large that it is difficult for even mathematicians to grasp, let alone lay people.

"The number itself is incomprehensible by human minds, and can only be theoretically understood in a fractional parallel universe which we refer to as the DC dimension," said Brossard. "The best way to understand a stimulus is to imagine a dollar sign followed by a packed string of hexidecimal nanodigits, wound into a triple helix, woven into a dodecahedron, and stacked on top of one another...

"The exciting news is that with more powerful computers and drugs, we believe we are on the verge of discovering an even larger number, which we refer to as a 'stimulusconferencebill,'" said Xiao. "Speaker Pelosi has already promised us the funding."

here are a couple more of iowahawk's hilarious but profane posts.

teh pledj!

teh idiossey!

teh hobos!

back from the memory hole

who was it that caused this financial crisis?

lolbama

stimyaluss: ur doin it rong

--------------------------------

update 1: when i wrote this, i had no knowledge of the imao series of the same name.

update 2: a related quote via house of eratosthenes: "There are two kinds of people in the electorate: 1. People who remember how horrible the Jimmy Carter years were. 2. People who are about to find out."

war is peace, freedom is slavery,...

neglect is care.

...it's a real orwell-shrugged world these days :P

the beards are back in town

or, i was bearded* when bearded wasn't cool.

* and/or lazy 8^)>

go read

updated:

three
from
varifrank,

two from
viewpoint,

and one via jawa report

news summary

in one sentence

baconbaconbaconbacon I SMELL BACON!!

two summaries of obama's "lipsticked pig":

The stimulus bill was a bridge too far, an overplayed hand, ten pounds of manure in a five-pound bag. The legislation’s primary duty was never to stimulate the economy, but to stimulate the growth of government, the scope of the state.

By spending hundreds of billions on things that have absolutely nothing to do with providing an immediate stimulus for the economy, Democrats hoped to make a down payment on their dream government. The billions for student aid, expanded welfare and health-care benefits, and bailouts for profligate state governments; the hundreds of millions for better museums and prettier government buildings; and the millions for smoking-cessation programs and bee insurance aren't just items on crapulent Democrats’ wish list. The budget bloating was deliberate.

and

It's not just pages and pages of special-interest tax breaks, giveaways and protections, one of which would set off a ruinous Smoot-Hawley trade war. It's not just the waste, such as the $88.6 million for new construction for Milwaukee Public Schools, which, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, have shrinking enrollment, 15 vacant schools and, quite logically, no plans for new construction.

It's the essential fraud of rushing through a bill in which the normal rules (committee hearings, finding revenue to pay for the programs) are suspended on the grounds that a national emergency requires an immediate job-creating stimulus -- and then throwing into it hundreds of billions that have nothing to do with stimulus, that Congress's own budget office says won't be spent until 2011 and beyond, and that are little more than the back-scratching, special-interest, lobby-driven parochialism that Obama (claimed he) came to Washington to abolish.

read the rest

hope for change?

yes we can!

words mean things

but in some cases, we just have no idea what they mean...

see also, numbers

my pet hope

obama reads to kids in the middle of a crisis, too.

heh, indeed

two good ones in a murky pond:

"lipstick on a pig"

"you might be a taliban"

the inaugural address

in

parallel

and

perpendicular

quite possibly

found quote:

Half of the harm that is done in this world
Is due to people who want to feel important.

– T.S. Eliot

new to me

I had certainly heard the name Alexander Solzhenitsyn, but I had not heard much about his views. This speech from over thirty years ago was an eye opener for me. The whole thing is worth reading; here are just a few highlights:

(on courage)

A decline in courage may be the most striking feature which an outside observer notices in the West in our days. The Western world has lost its civil courage... particularly noticeable among the ruling groups and the intellectual elite, causing an impression of loss of courage by the entire society. Of course, there are many courageous individuals, but they have no determining influence on public life.

Political and intellectual bureaucrats show depression, passivity, and perplexity in their actions and in their statements... And decline in courage is ironically emphasized by occasional explosions of anger and inflexibility on the part of the same bureaucrats when dealing with weak governments and with countries not supported by anyone, or with currents which cannot offer any resistance. But they get tongue-tied and paralyzed when they deal with powerful governments and threatening forces, with aggressors and international terrorists.

Should one point out that from ancient times declining courage has been considered the beginning of the end?

(on individual rights)

The defense of individual rights has reached such extremes as to make society as a whole defenseless against certain individuals. It is time, in the West, to defend not so much human rights as human obligations.

Destructive and irresponsible freedom has been granted boundless space. Society appears to have little defense against the abyss of human decadence, such as, for example, misuse of liberty for moral violence against young people, such as motion pictures full of pornography, crime, and horror. It is considered to be part of freedom and theoretically counterbalanced by the young people's right not to look or not to accept. Life organized legalistically has thus shown its inability to defend itself against the corrosion of evil.

...The culprit can go unpunished or obtain undeserved leniency with the support of thousands of public defenders. When a government starts an earnest fight against terrorism, public opinion immediately accuses it of violating the terrorist's civil rights. There are many such cases.

Such a tilt of freedom in the direction of evil has come about gradually, but it was evidently born primarily out of a humanistic and benevolent concept according to which there is no evil inherent to human nature.

(on freedom of the press)

The press too, of course, enjoys the widest freedom... But what sort of use does it make of this freedom?

...There is no true moral responsibility for deformation or disproportion. What sort of responsibility does a journalist or a newspaper have to his readers, or to history? If they have misled public opinion or the government by inaccurate information or wrong conclusions, do we know of any cases of public recognition and rectification of such mistakes by the same journalist or the same newspaper? It hardly ever happens because it would damage sales. A nation may be the victim of such a mistake, but the journalist usually always gets away with it...

Because instant and credible information has to be given, it becomes necessary to resort to guesswork, rumors, and suppositions to fill in the voids, and none of them will ever be rectified; they will stay on in the readers' memories. How many hasty, immature, superficial, and misleading judgments are expressed every day, confusing readers, without any verification. The press can both simulate public opinion and miseducate it. Thus, we may see terrorists described as heroes, or secret matters pertaining to one's nation's defense publicly revealed, or we may witness shameless intrusion on the privacy of well-known people under the slogan: "Everyone is entitled to know everything." But this is a false slogan, characteristic of a false era. People also have the right not to know and it's a much more valuable one. The right not to have their divine souls stuffed with gossip, nonsense, vain talk. A person who works and leads a meaningful life does not need this excessive burdening flow of information.

Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic disease of the 20th century and more than anywhere else this disease is reflected in the press. Such as it is, however, the press has become the greatest power within the Western countries, more powerful than the legislative power, the executive, and the judiciary. And one would then like to ask: By what law has it been elected and to whom is it responsible? In the communist East a journalist is frankly appointed as a state official. But who has granted Western journalists their power, for how long a time, and with what prerogatives?

(emphases mine)

historic inauguration

Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a time where people "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Wry Mouth echoes that sentiment:

"..."this historical inauguration" of Mr. Barack Obama.

Sigh... I can't help but ask myself, "historical in what way?"

For I am afraid the answer would be, for many people, "the inauguration is historical because Mr. Obama is The First Black President of the USA."

And that sounds so... condescending, somehow... For me, the historical election will be the one where we no longer remark upon the president's gender or faith or skin color with hushed tones."

alternative lifestyle

'Gay'-rights leader Michael Glatze quits homosexuality:

The radical change in his life, Glatze recalls, began with inner "promptings" he now attributes to God.

"I hope I can share my story," he said. "I feel strongly God has put me here for a reason. Even in the darkest days of late-night parties, substance abuse and all kinds of things – when I felt like, 'Why am I here, what am I doing?' – there was always a voice there...

In fact, he writes in his WND column today, "'coming out' from under the influence of the homosexual mindset was the most liberating, beautiful and astonishing thing I've ever experienced in my entire life."

snul*? strep!

have been sick this week, and it's dangerous to post while fevered...

(* "snul" invented by house of eratosthenes)

"those who control the past control the future"

this article reminded of the quote used as this title, and while searching for its source (orwell) i found something related to think about.

lolnews

"inkompatuns, we haz it"

1 billion... 840 million...

...and now a bid of 750 million from the hatless man in the back row.

let your opinion be known

Should the motto "In God We Trust" be removed from U.S. currency?

must... remember...

after... inauguration...:

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD;
he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

true story

Overheard at a leatherworking shop: "No sir, we can't sell by the yard. Cows don't grow on bolts."

was television just a fad after all?

Many families already enjoy the benefits of "tuning out and turning off" by disconnecting Big Brother's sewer line from their households. The federally-mandated shutdown of the analog broadcast provides a logical time for others to follow their example.

update: a reminder from local malcontent's comment

Psalm 101:3-4 (NIV)

I will set before my eyes
no vile thing.
The deeds of faithless men I hate;
they will not cling to me.

Men of perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with evil.

top five #5

fifth in the series:

Top Five Places People Usually Forget To Look When Trying To "Find Themselves":

1. At home
2. In the mirror
3. At work
4. At the Ramada Inn of Pocatello, Idaho
   
5. Down

top five #4

fourth in the series:

Top Five Four-Letter Words That Could, But Should Not, Be Used To Name Soap:

1. Brie
2. Dyad
3. Gamy
4. Lewd
5. Manx

top five #3

third in the series:

Top Five Historical Figures Who Should Not Be Allowed To Operate A Motor Vehicle:

1. Genghis Khan
2. Gautama Buddha
3. George IV
4. Guthrum
5. Hieronymus Bosch

top five #2

next in the series...

Top Five Most Annoying TV Ditties To Get Stuck Endlessly Repeating In Your Head:

1. "I Feel Like Chicken Tonight"
2. Alka-Seltzer's "Plop Plop Fizz Fizz"
3. The theme to "Crosswords"
4. Only the first four notes of "The Twilight Zone" theme
5. NuvaRing's "Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri-Sat-Sun-Everyday"

top five #1

i was inspired by this site (which i find humorous despite some politics & vulgarity) to make some hopefully humorous top five lists. attempt one:

Top Five Alternate Names for FedEx That Were Rejected for Being Needlessly Whimsical:

1. P.J.Shippenboxer's
2. Around The World In Three Days Or Less
3. T.G.I. On Time
4. O'Maileys'
5. I Can't Believe It's Not Broken!

the not-so-great satan

i thought terrorists preferred obama?

(via monday evening marcel)

friends of friends links

Office Furniture USA: the name says it all.

Simulator Solution: ambulance training simulators.

glasses

lileks' history of vision correction is not dissimilar to mine...

gun control

facts vs dogma:

If we are serious about the role of guns and gun control as factors in differing rates of violence between countries, then we need to do what history professor Joyce Lee Malcolm does -- examine the history of guns and violence. In England, as she points out, over the centuries "violent crime continued to decline markedly at the very time that guns were becoming increasingly available."

England's Bill of Rights in 1688 was quite unambiguous that the right of a private individual to be armed was an individual right, independently of any collective right of militias. Guns were as freely available to Englishmen as to Americans, on into the early 20th century.

The rise of the interventionist state in early 20th century England included efforts to restrict ownership of guns. After the First World War, gun control laws began restricting the possession of firearms. Then, after the Second World War, these restrictions grew more severe, eventually disarming the civilian population of England -- or at least the law-abiding part of it.

It was during this period of severe restrictions on owning firearms that crime rates in general, and the murder rate in particular, began to rise in England. "As the number of legal firearms have dwindled, the numbers of armed crimes have risen," Professor Malcolm points out.

In 1954, there were only a dozen armed robberies in London but, by the 1990s, there were more than a hundred times as many. In England, as in the United States, drastic crackdowns on gun ownership by law-abiding citizens were accompanied by ever greater leniency to criminals. In both countries, this turned out to be a formula for disaster.

While England has not yet reached the American level of murders, it has already surpassed the United States in rates of robbery and burglary. Moreover, in recent years the murder rate in England has been going up under still more severe gun control laws, while the murder rate in the United States has been going down as more and more states have allowed private citizens to carry concealed weapons -- and have begun locking up more criminals...

In England as in America, sensational gun crimes have been seized upon and used politically to promote crackdowns on gun ownership by law-abiding citizens, while doing nothing about criminals.

wait just a minute...

i thought dissent was the highest form of patriotism?

gambling losses

re-shrug,
rehire, and
let it ride.

crazy people

monday evening is onto them, i.e. us:

What does it mean when economic output drops? More people sat home watching TV, ignoring the commercials, I guess. Maybe it’s an indication that we were measuring the wrong thing, or measuring wrong. Some of us thought a Super-Sized Chevy pickup was worth as much as a house, and a house as much as a small business. But a barrel of oil turns out not to be worth $150, and Campbell’s Soup isn’t worth $1.50. Everybody thinks, “Dang, they’re on to us.” Panic ensues.

People had been making useless junk and didn’t know it, and now they’ve stopped. Maybe our economy depends on us working hard to make stuff we don’t need, so we can buy stuff we don’t need. Every few years people notice, and then there’s a recession. Really, if most of what we make is expensive and unnecessary, we’re lucky it’s ever anything but a recession.

Imagine if we tried to maintain our weblogs like that.

complimentary?

one of my posts from over four years ago has the google ranking 2 of about 3,160,000 of "randomness in the highest form". i'm not sure what to think of that...

another apology

...for the lack of posts...

...tired-ish, sick-ish, distracted and lazy...

...will be back before too long, i hope...

creep & creeper-er

even lagerfeld understands animals - and the beasts they defend.

what's the arabic word for "chutzpah"?

(new updates below)

Quoth Hamas, after innumerable terrorist attacks, underground infiltrations, and most recently the firing of hundreds of rockets into Israel, "stop hitting us back!":

Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu said ... "What our people want is clear: an immediate stop to all kinds of aggression, the end of the siege by all means, the opening of all border crossings, and international guarantees that the occupation will not renew this terrorist war again."

update 1: a related cartoon

update 2: the solution is obvious:

(Those who believe) that negotiations will solve these problems (in the Middle East) forget that our enemies want us dead or dominated, they don’t want a world at peace in which they will have to deal with real problems of governance. They are waging jihad, not diplomacy.

(T)hose people who fume at the very idea of challenging the Iranian regime are actually making a truly terrible war more likely, not less. Those few of us who believe that support for Iranian democratic dissidents could bring down the mullahs are almost universally scorned, and even accused of seeking war. It is just the opposite. The same accusations were directed against us when we supported Soviet dissidents, and called for regime change in Moscow. And yet the Soviet Empire came down. The Iranian regime is far weaker than the Soviet state. An overwhelming number of Iranians oppose the regime, and are dreaming of the day when we finally embrace their cause...

(I)t is impossible to address the Arab/Israeli conflict by itself, for the context is all wrong. Nobody in Gaza or the West Bank, nor in Amman or Cairo, can guarantee peace for Israel. Today, that decision rests in the hands of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Until there is a different government in Tehran, there cannot be peace between Arabs and Israelis, any more than there can be peace in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan or Lebanon.

update 3: Sane people everywhere should be offended by every bit of press coverage that calls "Israel defending itself" an "offensive".

update 4: Jungle Mom has more cartoons

well whaddya know!

i'm a trendsetter! haven't sold a track for several years...

hpy hollllllidays

Finished Christmas shopping tonight, and had to get some wrapping paper. I prefer geometric and/or simple designs, and try to avoid recognizable figures that might get cut in half. The store's selection of giftwrap with a snowy look included snowflakes designed with either 5 or 8 points - gah! (Those designers are a few bulbs short of a strand.)

So everybody's presents from me this year will be wrapped in poinsetta paper...

i can haz hokeystik?

algore say: y2k stole mah inkunveenyunt trooth!

(A volunteer team assessed) problems with US temperature data used for climate modeling. One of these people is Steve McIntyre, who operates the site climateaudit.org. While inspecting historical temperature graphs, he noticed a strange discontinuity, or "jump" in many locations, all occurring around the time of January, 2000.

These graphs were created by NASA's Reto Ruedy and James Hansen (who shot to fame when he accused the administration of trying to censor his views on climate change). Hansen refused to provide McKintyre with the algorithm used to generate graph data, so McKintyre reverse-engineered it. The result appeared to be a Y2K bug in the handling of the raw data.

McKintyre notified the pair of the bug; Ruedy replied and acknowledged the problem as an "oversight" that would be fixed in the next data refresh.

NASA has now silently released corrected figures, and the changes are truly astounding. The warmest year on record is now 1934. 1998 (long trumpeted by the media as record-breaking) moves to second place. 1921 takes third. In fact, 5 of the 10 warmest years on record now all occur before World War II. Anthony Watts has put the new data in chart form, along with a more detailed summary of the events.

The effect of the correction on global temperatures is minor (some 1-2% less warming than originally thought), but the effect on the U.S. global warming propaganda machine could be huge. Then again - maybe not. I strongly suspect this story will receive little to no attention from the mainstream media.

no news is good news

Global Warming is to Climate Change as Inflation is to _______ ?

men of lawlessness

Secular and Christian prophets agree...

Torchlight, via Gates of Vienna:

What you are witnessing now is the eclipse of evil over the light of civilization. The streets are filled with those who wish to plunge your nation into the abyss of anarchy and regress into tribalism. The question of how the whimsical nature of these beasts can potentially usurp 3,000 plus years of prosperity and proud heritage is a difficult one but must not be avoided. Furthermore, the question of which way to go, and how best to maintain order deserves an immediate answer.

“Our democracy is destroying itself because it abused the rights of freedom and equality, because it taught the citizens to consider insolence a right, lawlessness as freedom, the audacity of words as equality and anarchy as bliss….” — Isocrates (436-338BC)

Insolence, lawlessness, anarchy, and the perceived right to destroy the work and successes of fellow men are indeed not freedoms but instead crimes of the worst nature. Equality never meant to enshrine the Marxist ideology that when one man suffers, all must follow suit.

Paul, via Bible Gateway:

...Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God... For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

to republicans, on popularity

This article reminds me of a joke my dad used to tell, that went something like this:

"There was a man who happened to live near the Potomac when the Civil War started. He had friends on both sides and wanted to remain neutral. To symbolize his neutrality, he decided to wear a Confederate coat and yankee pants. When the battle neared his house, the yankees shot at his arms and the Confederates shot at his legs."

bad predictions

bogus, we know

bogus, we hope

next time, ask

but hopefully there won't be a "next time" where the "media were heavily invested in getting Obama coronated so actually investigating him was out of the question.":

There are at least seven questions Obama's team needs to answer, and answer soon, if their inauguration is to avoid the odor of corruption.

1 - Did you communicate directly or indirectly with Blagojevich about picking your replacement in the U.S. Senate?

2 - Why didn't you or someone on your team correct your close adviser David Axelrod when he said you had spoken to Blagojevich about picking your replacement?

3 - When did you learn the investigation involved Blagojevich's alleged efforts to 'sell' your Senate seat, or of the governor's impending arrest?

4 - Did you or anyone close to you contact the FBI or U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald about Blagojevich's alleged efforts to sell your Senate seat to the highest bidder?

5 - Did federal investigators interview you or anyone close to you in the investigation?

6 - When did you and Blagojevich last speak and about what?

7 - Do you regret supporting Blagojevich?

guest posting

at local malcontent:

"too close for comfort"
"potty mouth"

Chicago S.O.P.

Gates of Vienna:

So the governor’s office was offering to sell Obama’s vacant seat for the right price. It sounds like standard operating procedure for the Chicago political machine. But Barack Obama is the child and beneficiary of that same machine. Who bought his chance at a Senate seat for him? And what price was paid for it?

Illinois Senate seat: $? million
U.S. Presidency: $600 million
Media supression of relevant questions: $$$billions
Turning the White House into Uncle Dem's Cabin: priceless

meme across the red river

For a short time surrounding his upcoming nuptials, the "Malcontent" in this blogger's name temporarily means "short of content". So i've been asked to help provide some content, and i hope you find it not too "mal" ;)

But i'm having a little trouble coming up with a new idea, so here's my continuation of this meme found at his site:

read it here

Do you remember your first favorite song? If so, what was it?
not really. it was probably a hymn. "jeremiah was a bullfrog" was the first rock song i ever heard.

What do you refuse to eat?
"seafood with legs": squid, octopus, crab, lobster, crawdad...

Have you ever injected any kind of drug before?
very very no.

Do amusement park rides make you sick?
they didn't back when i rode them - they might today.

Who is your favorite Star Wars character?
han solo. definitely not the muppet-based characters: yoda, ewoks, etc.

What kind of cheese do you put on your sandwiches?
cheddar with salami, swiss with other lunchmeats.

What was the first thing you ever learned how to cook?
macaroni & cheese. skinner elbows & velveeta, not that nasty box-o-chemicals.

Did you ever collect beanie babies?
very very no.

When was the last time you got a haircut?
buzzed last month.

Have you ever been to a bachelor/bachelorette party?
two extremely tame ones.

Where are you most ticklish on your body?
probably feet.

Have you ever bailed anyone out of jail?
no.

What’s the last board game you played?
does 'cranium' or 'balderdash' count? if not, i don't know.

Do you still own any VHS tapes?
a few tapes, but currently no player.

Do you shop at JC Penney’s ever?
on rare occasion.

If there was a real Jurassic Park, would you visit it?
i might fly over it if they don't bring back pterodactyls.

Do you ever read the newspaper?
newspapers are the best argument for tree conservation.

Do you eat your mac & cheese with a fork or a spoon?
usually fork, unless i hadn't run the dishwasher for a while.

Is there any medicine/pill you take everyday?
two, to remain unnamed.

How many 20 dollar bills do you have on you right now?
this minute, none.

Would you do meth if it was legalized?
and again, very very no.

Are you afraid others will judge you, reading your answers to survey questions?
these questions? not much.

Do you think Obama will be assassinated?
unlikely.

Have you ever made out with someone and then never saw them again?
immediately afterwards? no. i haven't seen my first girlfriend since we broke up (via phone, not my idea), does that count?

Do you drink egg nog?
if someone offers it, and it's non-alcoholic, maybe.

What are you wearing?
all black, as usual.

more fakes?

This could be a much bigger story than Rathergate:

Barack Hussein Obama's birth certificate may be forged.

Stay tuned.

A Blogger's Lament

O! That a blog
Were as an untended lawn,
Whose fecund vegetation flourisheth
Though its proprietor languisheth in disinterest.

Woe! That a blog
Is as an untended houseplant,
That withereth hastily whilst
Its author neglecteth it for mere moments.

Thanksgiving

Psalm 107
(Young's Literal Translation)

1 Give ye thanks to Jehovah, For good, for to the age [is] His kindness:

2 Let the redeemed of Jehovah say, Whom He redeemed from the hand of an adversary.

3 And from the lands hath gathered them, From east and from west, From north, and from the sea.

4 They wandered in a wilderness, in a desert by the way, A city of habitation they have not found.

5 Hungry - yea - thirsty, Their soul in them becometh feeble,

6 And they cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distress He delivereth them,

7 And causeth them to tread in a right way, To go unto a city of habitation.

8 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men.

9 For He hath satisfied a longing soul, And a hungry soul hath filled [with] goodness.

10 Inhabitants of dark places and death-shade, Prisoners of affliction and of iron,

11 Because they changed the saying of God, And the counsel of the Most High despised.

12 And He humbleth with labour their heart, They have been feeble, and there is no helper.

13 And they cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distresses He saveth them.

14 He bringeth them out from the dark place, And death-shade, And their bands He draweth away.

15 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men.

16 For He hath broken doors of brass, And bars of iron He hath cut.

17 Fools, by means of their transgression, And by their iniquities, afflict themselves.

18 All food doth their soul abominate, And they come nigh unto the gates of death,

19 And cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distresses He saveth them,

20 He sendeth His word and healeth them, And delivereth from their destructions.

21 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men,

22 And they sacrifice sacrifices of thanksgiving, And recount His works with singing.

23 Those going down [to] the sea in ships, Doing business in many waters,

24 They have seen the works of Jehovah, And His wonders in the deep.

25 And He saith, and appointeth a tempest, And it lifteth up its billows,

26 They go up [to] the heavens, they go down [to] the depths, Their soul in evil is melted.

27 They reel to and fro, and move as a drunkard, And all their wisdom is swallowed up.

28 And they cry to Jehovah in their adversity, And from their distresses He bringeth them out.

29 He establisheth a whirlwind to a calm, And hushed are their billows.

30 And they rejoice because they are quiet, And He leadeth them to the haven of their desire.

31 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men,

32 And they exalt Him in the assembly of the people, And in the seat of the elders praise Him.

33 He maketh rivers become a wilderness, And fountains of waters become dry land.

34 A fruitful land becometh a barren place, For the wickedness of its inhabitants.

35 He maketh a wilderness become a pool of water, And a dry land become fountains of waters.

36 And He causeth the hungry to dwell there, And they prepare a city of habitation.

37 And they sow fields, and plant vineyards, And they make fruits of increase.

38 And He blesseth them, and they multiply exceedingly, And their cattle He doth not diminish.

39 And they are diminished, and bow down, By restraint, evil, and sorrow.

40 He is pouring contempt upon nobles, And causeth them to wander in vacancy - no way.

41 And setteth on high the needy from affliction, And placeth families as a flock.

42 The upright do see and rejoice, And all perversity hath shut her mouth.

43 Who [is] wise, and observeth these? They understand the kind acts of Jehovah!

(you may find other versions in previous years)

for the person who has everything

you could buy them a submarine.

in debasement

where modern art lies:

"It’s not the humanism that ruined art, it was humanism that divorced itself from the possibility of transcendence. Which would be bad enough if it hadn’t decided to splash around in the gutters as well."

spreading it thick

in theory and in practice

slim pickins

sorry about the lack of posts. have had a small project ongoing here, then found out saturday that a friend (younger than me) had a stroke. according to him, he's doing "much better than he has any right to be", but he does have a stretch of rehab coming up.

so (as if you need any hint from me), just keep reading 'the usual suspects' in my sidebar, including but not limited to:

Viewpoint
Bleat
ScrappleFace
Varifrank
No Oil For Pacifists
Steyn Online

...and most importantly, find some time for the Author of life, online or otherwise.

money, power, etc.

the news, in lyric form:

everybody wants to rule the world

i want it all, and i want it now

money, it's a gas

everybody's crazy

tonight's editorial: one way or another

dc talk

"The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding."

politely stating the obvious

update: Wry Mouth wrote these five posts about Proposition 8.

In reference to the whiners still fighting California's Proposition 8, one anonymous viewer responded:

"The folks on the other side of this issue have always painted themselves as the most tolerant, wanting to embrace diversity and it just seems like their conduct is not consistent with that picture."

"Hypocrisy from the left?!? Inconceivable!?!" <\vizzinivoice>

stumbled upon

bears & donkeys

thugocracy

A majority of voters have apparently forgotten the history of the thirties, and have thus doomed us all to repeat it.

transfer of wealth

retirement plans kept equal by hatchet, ax, and saw.

several thousand rpm

spins Jefferson...

to voters, on unemployment

see what happens when you vote for the national socialist party?

The Age Of Incompetence

(This one will stay top-posted for a while. Scroll down for updates.)

With an insincere apology to the Fifth Dimension, I present "The Age Of Incompetence":

---

When the loon is in the White House
And Pelosi's allowed to Speak
Then peace becomes impossible
False hopes enslave the weak.

This is the dawning of the age of Incompetence
The age of Incompetence
Incompetence!
Incompetence!

Slogans without understanding
Sycophants and lust abounding
Doubleplusgood media derisions
Gilded history revisions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's obliteration
Incompetence!
Incompetence!

Empty suit is in the White House,
And commies on the Hill.
Common sense has left the planet
And real achievers foot the bill.

This is the dawning of the age of Incompetence
The age of Incompetence
Incompetence!
Incompetence!

Gary Coleman comes to mind

"Call me an optimist, but I like to think when America's breadlines erupt into riots it will be because of our shared starvation, not the differences in our color."

Tolerance Strikes Again!

Families hit hardest!

big brother my eye!

Cincinnati voters poke the nanny state in the eye:

On Tuesday, voters in Cincinnati, Ohio made it clear that photo enforcement is not welcome in the city. A majority of voters approved an amendment to the city charter prohibiting local officials from ever installing either red light cameras or speed cameras. Referendum co-sponsor Josh Weitzman hopes his coalition’s victory inspires other cities. “This election is further proof that people do not want to have traffic cameras,” Weitzman told the Newspaper.com. “Politicians in cities across the country need to take note of this if they plan on getting re-elected.” Cincinnati city council members had been trying for the past four years to install the devices that promised to generate between $2m and $12m in annual revenue. Advocates were stopped in 2005 when former Mayor Charlie Luken vetoed a camera ordinance saying, “Let’s be honest with the public — we didn’t think about this until we came up with a budget problem.”

A diverse group of political activists from all ends of the political spectrum banded together to form the “We Demand a Vote” coalition to stop the idea. Members include regional chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Republican Party, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party and others. The group received more than 10k signatures on a petition to put the subject of cameras on the ballot before the devices even had a chance to issue a single ticket. Political leaders quickly backed off their support of cameras after seeing public opinion on the matter.

I hope that mood catches on everywhere. We live in America, not Oceania.

after taking a deep breath

My actual prediction for the next four years is that it will get at least Carter-bad, maybe FDR-bad but not Stalin-bad. Economy down, wars up, malaise way up after the first year.

The worst part of the electorate's foolish decision is that America's enemies, primarily Iran and the Islamofascists, will likely expand Jihad with apparent (as far as earthly strength is reckoned) impunity. Perhaps we can make it through without too many mushroom clouds.

sore winners

NewsWeak whines:

Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill.

Notably absent from the article is any hint of outrage at the OVER ONE-HALF BILLION DOLLARS with which Obama and his backers purchased the presidency.

upsides of the election

Blacks have forever given up the right to claim "the man" is keeping them down.

Whites can now demand reparations for the decades they suffered unfair taxation under the lost war on poverty.

No more pollution from American coal.

It will be costly, but our enslavement under the Democrats' control should prove once and for all that their policies are morally and intellectually bankrupt failures.

The media will be blamed for their complicity in destroying America.

The end of the world may be much sooner than previously thought. Islam will probably start Armageddon before Obama gets unpacked in the White House, since they have nothing to fear from an Obama-led American military. (As an added bonus, nuclear winter will solve global warming.)

Tina Fey returns to the obscurity of SNL.

Illegal immigration will decrease drastically as Mexicans realize they might as well stay in their own corrupt socialist country instead of exchanging it for another one.

(This list may be updated as I think of more. The reader is free to guess which of these I am or am not serious about.)

Green Pastures and Wry Mouth see other upsides, as does Discerning Texan:

This election is going to be a "coming of age" moment for a lot of people. They say, "Be careful what you wish for" and a lot of people got their wish yesterday. And now they're bound to be disappointed.

I think Obama is going to turn out to be the worst president since Carter, and for the same reason: good intentions do not guarantee good results. Idealists often stub their toes on the wayward rocks of reality, and fall on their faces. And the world doesn't respond to benign behavior benignly.

But there's another reason why: Obama has been hiding his light under a basket. A lot of people bought a pig in a poke today, and now they're going to find out what they bought. Obama isn't what most of them think he is. The intoxication of the cult will wear off, leaving a monumental hangover...

this will be a "coming of age" moment is that now Obama and the Democrats have to put up or shut up. Obama got elected by making himself a blank slate, with vapid promises about "hope" and "change" -- but now he actually has to do something. Now he has to reveal his true agenda. And with the Democrats also having a majority in both chambers of Congress, now the Democrats really have to lead. And they're not going to do a very good job of it. It's going to be amusing to watch. And the people who fell for the demagoguery will learn an invaluable lesson.

read the rest

Mythbusters

Viewpoint:

It's both remarkable and encouraging that a nation with our history can elect an African-American to the presidency. For that we can rejoice. It's just too bad that it happened to be this particular African-American who has broken the barrier.

Obama's victory was a triumph of intuition over knowledge, emotion over reason, race over qualification, style over substance, hope over plausibility, and youth over experience. Perhaps now Michelle Obama can at long last be proud of her country.

Last night's result has buried several myths about the American people: First, that they're generally moderate to conservative and, secondly, that they're corporately wise...

Another myth this election should have exploded but probably didn't is the myth of racist America. Obama is our next president because whites voted for him in large numbers. Even those who voted against him did so because of his ideas rather than his race. There may have been a fraction of the anti-Obama vote that was inspired by race, but it was small and insignificant. Indeed, there's at least was much evidence during this campaign of racism in the black community as there is among whites.

Read the rest.

question authority

remember, dissent is still the highest form of patriotism.

a darker view

doc russia is not optimistic:

So, what will happen if (Obama) wins? Well, the first thing you may expect is that (since) the media has already made its deal with the devil by not vetting Obama, that they will have no choice but to continue to act as his propaganda machine lest they be forced to admit that he was not all they cracked him up to be when the wheels start coming off the wagon... and they most certainly will...

Once such a disastrous ideology starts getting enacted into policy, you will start seeing people go John Galt... "going John Galt" is basically refusing to allow yourself to be punished for achieving. This is done by withdrawing your contribution to society in the form of taxes, by producing less, and thusly getting taxed less...

We will see exactly the same kind of wall-to-wall spin coverage of the Obama presidency that we have seen in his campaign. Gaffes will be edited out, statements will be resubmitted, the original never being published. We will also see more of what we have already seen with dissent. If you question him, you will be attacked. It was Obama who approached Joe the plumber, and Joe spoke his mind. For daring to question Authority, Obama's agents started digging through his past in order to assassinate the man in an attempt to undermine his question which revealed, in an unguarded moment that he was, in fact, a Marxist. Whenever the media or the citizenry question Obama, you will see the agents of Obama set to work against them in a manner reminiscent of secret police. They will dig through your past in order to find something to punish you with. Failing that, the IRS will be directed to audit you. We will see Obama use the levers of power in a future presidency because we have already seen him use it in his present campaign for presidency.

This is how Stalin held power. He gained control of the levers of power, and then used them against both political opponents and allies who were starting to outshine him. He persecuted his opposition with the tools of the State, and eliminated the inconvenient in his own party to the point where there were none to hold him in check...

Texas will again reconsider the question of secession. The media will not pay attention, just as they did with Clinton, because to admit that the policies of their favorite politician are leading to the breakup of the union is to admit that they were wrong in his ability to unite America, and that while Bush was hated, you did not see California thinking about seccession. Whether Texas has the legal right is neither clear nor of consequence. Since Texans believe that they have the right, for all intents and purposes, they do. Period. Any efforts, legal or otherwise, to restrict what they see as a right will be seen as Tyranny, and opposed by violence which will preclude the state of Texas as being a member of the union since it will only see the relationship as an occupied republic. Sorry, but that is the way Texas views things, and there is no way to reverse it other than to persuade us by logic that we want to be part of the union, or that we have no right to secede. Good luck with that. Most Yankees I meet simply cannot comprehend this Texas state of mind. It is beyond them. Kind of like describing colors to the blind. Alaska may follow suit...

Four years of economic stagnation and civil unrest will probably be too much for even the combined forces of the media to peddle to the public as a golden age of Obama. Even if Texas does not secede, and he is thrown out of office, it will take decades to reverse the damage...

Still, we vote, because resistance is never futile. If Obama wins, and things get as bad as I suspect they will, then I will go John Galt. I will look at the jobs as a physician which give me the greatest return per hour for working, and then work only enough hours that I stay just under the threshold of punishment. I will oppose Obama's Marxist policies at every step, and will never let the public forget that he came to power by vote fraud, and Chicago style intimidation. If things get really bad, then I will support Texas in seceding from the union.

As long as you are prepared to go all the way, resistance is never futile. They will invest energy in silencing you that they will never have returned. Getting you out of the way will only incur cost, and never benefit. As long as the state never benefits from your subjugation, you will never be subjugated. So, while things look bleak, I will approach this with the same resilience that has held men fast in dark times. I will fight while there is no hope, and resist while there is no respite. I will do this as long as I may draw breath in the hope that someday, there will be a crack in the enemy's defenses, and I will be able to fight my way to final victory.

McGehee isn't happy either

before the aftermath

remember this

on redistribution of wealth

Overheard in reference to Obama's financial plans: "Robin Hood redistributed wealth too, and the Industrial Revolution was delayed by several hundred years because of it."

Some things I've noticed

Liberals always value feelings over facts.

Liberals prize freedom of speech until you say something they don't like.

Liberals will tell you to think for yourself, unless you think differently from them.

Liberals value their individuality, despite how utterly identical their core beliefs are.

putting words in obama's mouth

and this time it rings true:

“Sarah Palin tried to tell you that I’m a socialist, but you wouldn’t listen. Instead the media viciously ridiculed a woman who has actual executive experience, the highest popularity rating of any U.S. governor, a demonstrated track record of fiscal responsibility, and a personal story of hard work, determination, grace under fire and success that I think represents the ultimate expression of feminist ideals. But the liberal feminists came out of the closet and all but admitted they didn’t really want a woman in the executive branch, they wanted a liberal. And so here I am — Jane Fonda with a baritone voice and a buzz cut.”

read the rest.