A report on the security lapses that brought us the Peni-bomber. According to one source, "you'd be absolutely shocked..."
If Undibomber accomplished anything, it was to force the President to keep one of his campaign promises, the one about Transparency. We now 'know' what happened, and what didn't happen, in terms of the security of Northwest flight 253...or at least the sanitized version of events the White House chooses to explain and which it can still blame on George Bush. That they had to do so as a result of a self-inflicted public-relations wound is beside the point -- government is supposed to explain shit to the people -- and this is at least sufficient.
Whether the Security Apparatus (and the Administration) actually learn anything from this failure, is another matter altogether.
But, contrast that level of (grudging) White House transparency about the mistakes being made at Homeland Security to what is occurring on the other side of Washington on Capitol Hill. C-Span may not be allowed into the hallowed Halls of Congress to discuss another issue that concerns us all.
I guess there's transparency and the there's TRANSPARENCY...
Update: Whoops! Forgot the links to to the articles. Fixed now.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
The Green Jobs Myth...
Caught a report on FoxNews yesterday which centered on a manufacturer of solar panels in Massachusetts. This business was being hailed as a success story in the new Green Energy sector of American business; a small, American-startup which worked with state and federal authorities to get some financing (tax credits, low-interest loans and so forth), and then provided a community with 800 jobs. A great story, right?
Well, no.
Because that business is packing up and moving some of it's jobs...to China.
Why?
According to the Chief-Cook-and-Bottlewasher (paraphrasing);
"We can't compete because US demand for Solar Energy is down, and the Chinese have made a commitment (i.e. given us a much better bribe) to becoming the Green Energy capital of the world."
Well, the reason the 'demand for solar power' is down is because the demand for all energy is down. That happens in a recession, you idiot. Besides, solar power is more expensive that the dirty stuff that comes out of coal-fired plants, and that makes it even less attractive. In the realm of real-world economics, you would either go out of business, or have to find something else to do. Your response makes you sound as if you believe you have a right to stay in business, making a product fewer people want, while still making a hefty profit, funded by the taxpayer and the bank with more tax breaks and more cheap credit forever.
Here's a guy who gets free fucking money -- operating in an industry all the Earth-firsters claim is going to be the next Industrial Revolution, no less -- and he says he can't stay in business without a massive infusion of (free-to-nearly-free capital), tax breaks, and direct government subsidies. But in this day-and-age when automakers making crap for two decades can expect taxpayers to bail them out, or insurance companies that make risky investments and banks that waste money stupidly can still pay massive bonuses to under-performing executives, with taxpayer funds, how could we blame him for harboring such a stupid idea?
Naturally, when he can't get those things, he'll simply move to China. There, he will enjoy the added bonuses of not having to deal with labor and environmental laws -- not to mention shedding the responsibility of having to pay for any benefits whatsoever --after already having taken the taxpayer for the cash to start and establish his business, he now offers the same taxpayer (and his employees) a hale-and-hearty "Fuck You".
And a bunch of people in Massachusetts lose their jobs, adding to the general economic misery in New England. Incidentally, this is an example of exactly what those who adocate for the Green Energy industry want; the innovation and investment will occur in the West, financed by the Western taxpayer, the actual production and employment will occur in the East. The West will lose moneyand see it's economy shrink, the East will gain jobs and it's economy will rise to meet that of the West, the playing field will be evened, and that's how World Socialism will be brought about --- in the guise of Capitalism.
The 2010 midterms cannot come fast enough, if only because they represent a shred of hope that some people who understand economics will come to the fore, and rescue us from Congresscritters who think their first priority is to ensure the entire country gets a free enema at the Mayo Clinic, rather than fixing the fundamental economic and legal issues that are making us uncompetitive.
Well, no.
Because that business is packing up and moving some of it's jobs...to China.
Why?
According to the Chief-Cook-and-Bottlewasher (paraphrasing);
"We can't compete because US demand for Solar Energy is down, and the Chinese have made a commitment (i.e. given us a much better bribe) to becoming the Green Energy capital of the world."
Well, the reason the 'demand for solar power' is down is because the demand for all energy is down. That happens in a recession, you idiot. Besides, solar power is more expensive that the dirty stuff that comes out of coal-fired plants, and that makes it even less attractive. In the realm of real-world economics, you would either go out of business, or have to find something else to do. Your response makes you sound as if you believe you have a right to stay in business, making a product fewer people want, while still making a hefty profit, funded by the taxpayer and the bank with more tax breaks and more cheap credit forever.
Here's a guy who gets free fucking money -- operating in an industry all the Earth-firsters claim is going to be the next Industrial Revolution, no less -- and he says he can't stay in business without a massive infusion of (free-to-nearly-free capital), tax breaks, and direct government subsidies. But in this day-and-age when automakers making crap for two decades can expect taxpayers to bail them out, or insurance companies that make risky investments and banks that waste money stupidly can still pay massive bonuses to under-performing executives, with taxpayer funds, how could we blame him for harboring such a stupid idea?
Naturally, when he can't get those things, he'll simply move to China. There, he will enjoy the added bonuses of not having to deal with labor and environmental laws -- not to mention shedding the responsibility of having to pay for any benefits whatsoever --after already having taken the taxpayer for the cash to start and establish his business, he now offers the same taxpayer (and his employees) a hale-and-hearty "Fuck You".
And a bunch of people in Massachusetts lose their jobs, adding to the general economic misery in New England. Incidentally, this is an example of exactly what those who adocate for the Green Energy industry want; the innovation and investment will occur in the West, financed by the Western taxpayer, the actual production and employment will occur in the East. The West will lose moneyand see it's economy shrink, the East will gain jobs and it's economy will rise to meet that of the West, the playing field will be evened, and that's how World Socialism will be brought about --- in the guise of Capitalism.
The 2010 midterms cannot come fast enough, if only because they represent a shred of hope that some people who understand economics will come to the fore, and rescue us from Congresscritters who think their first priority is to ensure the entire country gets a free enema at the Mayo Clinic, rather than fixing the fundamental economic and legal issues that are making us uncompetitive.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Terrorist Whack-A-Mole...
You know that carnival game, Whack-A-Mole, where mechanical furry creatures poke their heads out of a few cutouts in a tabletop and you try to whack them with a plush mallet? Listening to all the talk about terrorism nowadays, I get the impression that our so-called leaders are playing that game right now...and they don't realize it.
First, Bill Clinton bombed some aspirin factories in Sudan, in an attempt to get Osama Bin Hidin'. All he accomplished was to chase Osama to Afghanistan, where Al'Qeada hit us again with the September 11th attacks. G.W.B sent troops to Afghanistan to get OBL, and chased him into Pakistan, and now Obambi is using drones to pop terrorist scum in Pakistan and chasing them to Yemen.
And now all the talk in terrorism is about Yemen being the new front in the Overseas-Contingency-Operations-on-Man-Caused-Disasters. But it shouldn't be; if you chase Al'Qeada into Yemen, it'll fight for a while, then melt away to reform someplace else with a weak government and enough head-cases to adopt Islam, like Somalia or Algeria or something. We'll spend forever chasing them from country to country, and we won't be getting any closer to the source of the problem.
The problem is Radical Islam. It's an ideology that has grafted the political to the religious. The problem began in Iran with Khomeini, it has spread across the world -- thanks to the Saudis and their link with Wahabbism -- and it is firmly established in Europe... and American Prisons.
The Undibomber and Richard Reid were not radicalized in Yemen; they were recruited in London. Most of the 9/11 bombers were not radicalized in the Middle East, but in the capitols of Europe. Jose Padilla was not converted in Mecca, he was converted in an American prison. They learned the ideology of jihad outside of their native lands, for the most part. This is what we're fighting; an idea, and when you are fighting ideas, you have to fight twice as hard so as to make that idea mighty unattractive to future generations.
Fuck Yemen. It's an insignificant shitstain on the world map. The only good things to come from Yemen are syphilis and flies. Hardly worth the time or energy to 'save', let alone conquer. "Defeating" Al'Qaeda in Yemen will not bring us one step closer to destroying Islamofacism, it will not bring 'stability' to the Middle East, and it won't shut down a 'recruiting ground' for Al'Qaeda; it'll just waste a lot of bullets.
Concentrate on where the real problem is; there are millions of disaffected, young Muslim men walking the streets of the U.S. and Europe. They become disaffected (and angry) because they are encouraged a not to assimilate, and b) because they don't assimilate they never feel a part of their host society....and begin to resent it. They begin to become easy targets for the Imams. In Europe, outright racism is often to blame -- the French don't mind Algerians when they're out of sight, paying the taxes that let a Frenchie retire at 40 with free medical insurance, driving taxis and cleaning sewers, but they don't want to rub elbows with them in the local cafe. In the U.S. the association of Islam with the Civil Rights movement (a battle that is already won, but is continually re-fought nonetheless by the Poverty Pimps, because they get rich in the process) continues to foster an "Us vs. Them" mentality that is attractive to those who believe they haven't gotten a fair shake from America.
They find Islam an attractive ideology because it appeals to their sense of deprivation. They believe it offers the answer to their feelings of isolation and persecution. That it very often fosters those feelings in order to recruit disciples in the first place is another argument altogether.
Fix those problems (either by encouraging assimilation, or a program of massive deportation)before you decide invading another worthless country is the answer. Don't just hunt-and-annoy terrorists -- fucking kill them and make sure the world sees what it means to screw with Uncle Sam. Don't negotiate with Iran -- fucking flatten it, and do it in Prime Time so the world sees that we're serious about the security of Israel and our Allies. Don't let the Saudi's off scott-free because we want to buy their oil -- make them clean up their own mess, and then let's drill for our own oil right here and put them out of business. Don't let the same conditions that allowed the rise of radical Islam in Europe to establish themselves here; we should be out in the streets protesting Islam, we should be making life very uncomfortable for Muslims, we should be encouraging a program of "Assimilation or Deportation", and telling the truth about what Islamofascism really stands for.
Islam has never solved any one's problems, it has merely made them worse. If the West is not determined to fight for it's very survival by the same tactics that it used to defeat the Nazis, then we will be doomed to a continuous future that resembles the present: there will be more Undibombers, or future-Colonbombers, or Minature Toy Chihuahua Bombers, we'll still be sending soldiers around the world to be shot at and maimed in gun battles with no tangible results, and we'll spend enormous amounts of treasure while we're at at it. Islamofascism will still stand, and it'll still be drawing people to it's banner.
Make the effort to destroy the ideology by showing that it is, ultimately, a hopeless path; it must be shown to be bankrupt -- morally, spiritually, materially, politically, militarily -- before people begin to loose faith in it. Once they've lost that faith, they will no longer support it. The only way to encourage that loss of faith is to do some very mean and disgusting things that send a message that cannot be misread -- this is what we are willing to do in our defense, and to bring about your your defeat. You dare not screw with us.
Stop playing games. Start whacking people. In very large numbers.
More: The BBC agrees. Also, Islam one step closer to classification as Mental Disorder.
(H/T JammieWearingFool)
First, Bill Clinton bombed some aspirin factories in Sudan, in an attempt to get Osama Bin Hidin'. All he accomplished was to chase Osama to Afghanistan, where Al'Qeada hit us again with the September 11th attacks. G.W.B sent troops to Afghanistan to get OBL, and chased him into Pakistan, and now Obambi is using drones to pop terrorist scum in Pakistan and chasing them to Yemen.
And now all the talk in terrorism is about Yemen being the new front in the Overseas-Contingency-Operations-on-Man-Caused-Disasters. But it shouldn't be; if you chase Al'Qeada into Yemen, it'll fight for a while, then melt away to reform someplace else with a weak government and enough head-cases to adopt Islam, like Somalia or Algeria or something. We'll spend forever chasing them from country to country, and we won't be getting any closer to the source of the problem.
The problem is Radical Islam. It's an ideology that has grafted the political to the religious. The problem began in Iran with Khomeini, it has spread across the world -- thanks to the Saudis and their link with Wahabbism -- and it is firmly established in Europe... and American Prisons.
The Undibomber and Richard Reid were not radicalized in Yemen; they were recruited in London. Most of the 9/11 bombers were not radicalized in the Middle East, but in the capitols of Europe. Jose Padilla was not converted in Mecca, he was converted in an American prison. They learned the ideology of jihad outside of their native lands, for the most part. This is what we're fighting; an idea, and when you are fighting ideas, you have to fight twice as hard so as to make that idea mighty unattractive to future generations.
Fuck Yemen. It's an insignificant shitstain on the world map. The only good things to come from Yemen are syphilis and flies. Hardly worth the time or energy to 'save', let alone conquer. "Defeating" Al'Qaeda in Yemen will not bring us one step closer to destroying Islamofacism, it will not bring 'stability' to the Middle East, and it won't shut down a 'recruiting ground' for Al'Qaeda; it'll just waste a lot of bullets.
Concentrate on where the real problem is; there are millions of disaffected, young Muslim men walking the streets of the U.S. and Europe. They become disaffected (and angry) because they are encouraged a not to assimilate, and b) because they don't assimilate they never feel a part of their host society....and begin to resent it. They begin to become easy targets for the Imams. In Europe, outright racism is often to blame -- the French don't mind Algerians when they're out of sight, paying the taxes that let a Frenchie retire at 40 with free medical insurance, driving taxis and cleaning sewers, but they don't want to rub elbows with them in the local cafe. In the U.S. the association of Islam with the Civil Rights movement (a battle that is already won, but is continually re-fought nonetheless by the Poverty Pimps, because they get rich in the process) continues to foster an "Us vs. Them" mentality that is attractive to those who believe they haven't gotten a fair shake from America.
They find Islam an attractive ideology because it appeals to their sense of deprivation. They believe it offers the answer to their feelings of isolation and persecution. That it very often fosters those feelings in order to recruit disciples in the first place is another argument altogether.
Fix those problems (either by encouraging assimilation, or a program of massive deportation)before you decide invading another worthless country is the answer. Don't just hunt-and-annoy terrorists -- fucking kill them and make sure the world sees what it means to screw with Uncle Sam. Don't negotiate with Iran -- fucking flatten it, and do it in Prime Time so the world sees that we're serious about the security of Israel and our Allies. Don't let the Saudi's off scott-free because we want to buy their oil -- make them clean up their own mess, and then let's drill for our own oil right here and put them out of business. Don't let the same conditions that allowed the rise of radical Islam in Europe to establish themselves here; we should be out in the streets protesting Islam, we should be making life very uncomfortable for Muslims, we should be encouraging a program of "Assimilation or Deportation", and telling the truth about what Islamofascism really stands for.
Islam has never solved any one's problems, it has merely made them worse. If the West is not determined to fight for it's very survival by the same tactics that it used to defeat the Nazis, then we will be doomed to a continuous future that resembles the present: there will be more Undibombers, or future-Colonbombers, or Minature Toy Chihuahua Bombers, we'll still be sending soldiers around the world to be shot at and maimed in gun battles with no tangible results, and we'll spend enormous amounts of treasure while we're at at it. Islamofascism will still stand, and it'll still be drawing people to it's banner.
Make the effort to destroy the ideology by showing that it is, ultimately, a hopeless path; it must be shown to be bankrupt -- morally, spiritually, materially, politically, militarily -- before people begin to loose faith in it. Once they've lost that faith, they will no longer support it. The only way to encourage that loss of faith is to do some very mean and disgusting things that send a message that cannot be misread -- this is what we are willing to do in our defense, and to bring about your your defeat. You dare not screw with us.
Stop playing games. Start whacking people. In very large numbers.
More: The BBC agrees. Also, Islam one step closer to classification as Mental Disorder.
(H/T JammieWearingFool)
The Rats Were the First off the Titanic, Too...
So, Chris Dodd has announced his retirement? It's about two years too late, if you ask me, and it's not all about "spending more time" with his family, and it's not about giving another democrat a chance in the Senate, as he tried to imply. It's about Chris Dodd being to slimy for even democrats to support anymore.
The up-side for Dodd is that, well, at least he won't have to defend his (abysmal and near-criminal) record anymore. He won't have to say another word (he hopes) about sweetheart mortgage deals, under-valued Irish real estate, fucking up on Fannie and Freddie, and slipping provisions in bills to ensure that fat cat morons at AIG get exorbitant bonuses for running their company into the sewer, paid with taxpayer money. Besides, he's already dodged that 'Ethics" bullet. It's speaks volumes to the man's sense of propriety that he gives the speech in front of another piece of pricey real estate; his Connecticut home -- a converted and refurbished 1850's schoolhouse. I wonder if Senator Dodd used his good offices to swing a sweetheart deal from the local school board for that one? A man who supposedly 'fought for the little guy' quits on him in front of a million-dollar home.
Whatever Dodd might say in public, the truth of the matter is that he simply understood that he could not win a general election run. His own support amongst democrats had eroded to about 33% (I think that's Rassmussen), and it's rumored that the democratic bigwigs have been pressuring him, behind the scenes, to pack it in. The slime was too thick, too sticky, it couldn't be washed off. You could, as Barack Obama used to be fond of saying, put lipstick on this pig.
Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.
And is isn't rather ironic that Sen. Dodd's father was once hounded out of office under a cloud of scandal? I guess the turd doesn't fall far from the asshole, does it? That probably means that the sort of damage-control speech he gave today was simply old hat.
More: Here's a take from Ed Driscoll at PajamasMedia on Dodd's resignation,and what it means to dems. And in what is only the first of many such pieces (all of which will be absolute nonsense), Tea Party supporters take credit for Dodd's downfall. The jury is out on that one; that Dodd was simply too scummy to 're-invent' himself one last time is probably closer to the truth.
Update: Blanche Lincoln has 'retired', and so has Byron Dorgan. That's one Healthcare vote victim, and another Mortgage Scandal on the democratic (small 'd' intentional) scoreboard. Smelling blood in the water? Don't get too excited; the GOP lineup is not much better.
The up-side for Dodd is that, well, at least he won't have to defend his (abysmal and near-criminal) record anymore. He won't have to say another word (he hopes) about sweetheart mortgage deals, under-valued Irish real estate, fucking up on Fannie and Freddie, and slipping provisions in bills to ensure that fat cat morons at AIG get exorbitant bonuses for running their company into the sewer, paid with taxpayer money. Besides, he's already dodged that 'Ethics" bullet. It's speaks volumes to the man's sense of propriety that he gives the speech in front of another piece of pricey real estate; his Connecticut home -- a converted and refurbished 1850's schoolhouse. I wonder if Senator Dodd used his good offices to swing a sweetheart deal from the local school board for that one? A man who supposedly 'fought for the little guy' quits on him in front of a million-dollar home.
Whatever Dodd might say in public, the truth of the matter is that he simply understood that he could not win a general election run. His own support amongst democrats had eroded to about 33% (I think that's Rassmussen), and it's rumored that the democratic bigwigs have been pressuring him, behind the scenes, to pack it in. The slime was too thick, too sticky, it couldn't be washed off. You could, as Barack Obama used to be fond of saying, put lipstick on this pig.
Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.
And is isn't rather ironic that Sen. Dodd's father was once hounded out of office under a cloud of scandal? I guess the turd doesn't fall far from the asshole, does it? That probably means that the sort of damage-control speech he gave today was simply old hat.
More: Here's a take from Ed Driscoll at PajamasMedia on Dodd's resignation,and what it means to dems. And in what is only the first of many such pieces (all of which will be absolute nonsense), Tea Party supporters take credit for Dodd's downfall. The jury is out on that one; that Dodd was simply too scummy to 're-invent' himself one last time is probably closer to the truth.
Update: Blanche Lincoln has 'retired', and so has Byron Dorgan. That's one Healthcare vote victim, and another Mortgage Scandal on the democratic (small 'd' intentional) scoreboard. Smelling blood in the water? Don't get too excited; the GOP lineup is not much better.
Blogging Light and Late...Real Life Intrudes...
Busy, busy, busy this morning into the afternoon. I've got some important-employment-related things to do, and won't be around to get any blogging in most of the day.
But don't worry -- my evil elves are keeping an eye open for crap that might pique my interest (and bile!), and I'll be back later this afternoon to vomit up some caustic commentary!
This is your chance. all three of you, to go get a life outside of this blog. Seize the opportunity, eh?
But don't worry -- my evil elves are keeping an eye open for crap that might pique my interest (and bile!), and I'll be back later this afternoon to vomit up some caustic commentary!
This is your chance. all three of you, to go get a life outside of this blog. Seize the opportunity, eh?
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
We Need More Teachers Like This...
Mike Adams explains why all men are created equal...-ly annoying.
Well, This Explains Much...
Men Know When they Are Aroused, Women May Not.
Expect a new round of designer, female aphrodisiacs to be developed by Big Pharma. All of them with a host of side-effects, one of which will most certainly be diarrhea (diarrhea is always one of the side-effects. You'd think by now someone could invent a drug that didn't make you crap like a bullard). So, now you'll be aware of your previously-unnoticed arousal, and have loose bowels. Sooo romantic.
I wonder if those drugs will be covered under Obamacare?
Seriously, there's some scientists out there with too much free time (and someone else's money) on their hands.
Expect a new round of designer, female aphrodisiacs to be developed by Big Pharma. All of them with a host of side-effects, one of which will most certainly be diarrhea (diarrhea is always one of the side-effects. You'd think by now someone could invent a drug that didn't make you crap like a bullard). So, now you'll be aware of your previously-unnoticed arousal, and have loose bowels. Sooo romantic.
I wonder if those drugs will be covered under Obamacare?
Seriously, there's some scientists out there with too much free time (and someone else's money) on their hands.
Obama Assassination Plot Foiled...
You mean them crazy White, Right-Wing, Gun-loving, God-Clinging, Bible Thumpers plotted to kill Obambi on Inauguration Day?
Ummm, not quite...
But remember: the people who told us the "System Worked" are on the job. They certainly know where to find terrorists, so Da Prezzz should be nice and safe.
(H/T to Lumpy, Frumpy and Grumpy)
Ummm, not quite...
But remember: the people who told us the "System Worked" are on the job. They certainly know where to find terrorists, so Da Prezzz should be nice and safe.
(H/T to Lumpy, Frumpy and Grumpy)
Muslim-Only Airport Lines...
(H/T to the ClosetConservative).
Great idea! Only, I'd rather Muslims not be allowed anywhere near an airport at all, and if they must fly, that they do so on Muslim carriers.
And so long as they're leaving America on those flights, I think we can dispense with all that stuff about buying one-way tickets with cash...
And for all of you who might scream about the gross violation of Civil Rights that this idea suggests, I say this:
I will stand up for your (Muslim's) right not to be hassled or singled-out, just as soon as you stand up for my right not to be atomized in Coach.
If you (Muslims) truly wish to be a part of this society, if you really, really, REALLY want to be Americans, and enjoy all that comes with that, you're going to have to make an effort to assimilate. You're going to have to turn in your crazy brothers and uncles. You're going to have to stop murdering your wives and daughters because they wear lipstick. You're Stateside now; you're shitty, outdated, barbaric, fucked-up-beyond-all-belief-apeshit-crazy cultural norms don't apply here. We don't go for vaginal mutilation to insure fidelity, for example. We don't hold with the idea that you can shout "Death to America" in the Mosque and then expect America to embrace you in public. Get with the program. The problem is not US, it's YOU.
Until you do, until you stand up to the disease that came with your culture (Islamic Radicalism) don't be surprised that people view you with suspicion, and even hatred.
I know that not all Muslims are suicide bombers, but it appears that all suicide bombers are Muslim. Fix that, and then we can talk about Civil Rights, because without the sense of security that comes from a peaceful and law-abiding community, there ain't no civil discourse, and there ain't no civil rights.
And Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a whining poverty pimp who will shill for whoever pays him today. What an asshole.
Great idea! Only, I'd rather Muslims not be allowed anywhere near an airport at all, and if they must fly, that they do so on Muslim carriers.
And so long as they're leaving America on those flights, I think we can dispense with all that stuff about buying one-way tickets with cash...
And for all of you who might scream about the gross violation of Civil Rights that this idea suggests, I say this:
I will stand up for your (Muslim's) right not to be hassled or singled-out, just as soon as you stand up for my right not to be atomized in Coach.
If you (Muslims) truly wish to be a part of this society, if you really, really, REALLY want to be Americans, and enjoy all that comes with that, you're going to have to make an effort to assimilate. You're going to have to turn in your crazy brothers and uncles. You're going to have to stop murdering your wives and daughters because they wear lipstick. You're Stateside now; you're shitty, outdated, barbaric, fucked-up-beyond-all-belief-apeshit-crazy cultural norms don't apply here. We don't go for vaginal mutilation to insure fidelity, for example. We don't hold with the idea that you can shout "Death to America" in the Mosque and then expect America to embrace you in public. Get with the program. The problem is not US, it's YOU.
Until you do, until you stand up to the disease that came with your culture (Islamic Radicalism) don't be surprised that people view you with suspicion, and even hatred.
I know that not all Muslims are suicide bombers, but it appears that all suicide bombers are Muslim. Fix that, and then we can talk about Civil Rights, because without the sense of security that comes from a peaceful and law-abiding community, there ain't no civil discourse, and there ain't no civil rights.
And Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a whining poverty pimp who will shill for whoever pays him today. What an asshole.
How To Speak Tea Bag...
This was posted on NPR's site.
You know, whenever the "Other Side" attempts to be cute and funny, they simply become more annoying. This video is so childish it should probably be run on Saturday Night Live, where the ever-more vacuous ersatz-cognoscenti of today would find it bladder-busting hysterical.
The guy who made that cartoon probably actually does think that way, that Tea Partiers are simplistic,nose-picking, knuckle-dragging morons who lack an understanding of the nuances of liberal ideology.
Actually, we're much smarter than you could ever hope to be. We understand it far better than you do. We're just not dumb enough to believe in it. Like you are. Also, we don't like people who insult us. Remember: we're those bitter, Bible-thumping clingers Obama warned you about -- with guns.
You should be quite circumspect about insulting someone in possession of the means to put a fairly-large hole in your ass, Sir.
You know, whenever the "Other Side" attempts to be cute and funny, they simply become more annoying. This video is so childish it should probably be run on Saturday Night Live, where the ever-more vacuous ersatz-cognoscenti of today would find it bladder-busting hysterical.
The guy who made that cartoon probably actually does think that way, that Tea Partiers are simplistic,nose-picking, knuckle-dragging morons who lack an understanding of the nuances of liberal ideology.
Actually, we're much smarter than you could ever hope to be. We understand it far better than you do. We're just not dumb enough to believe in it. Like you are. Also, we don't like people who insult us. Remember: we're those bitter, Bible-thumping clingers Obama warned you about -- with guns.
You should be quite circumspect about insulting someone in possession of the means to put a fairly-large hole in your ass, Sir.
This is Why You Should NEVER Give Crappy Gifts...
The Brits just shoved one up Obama's pooper.
Of course, the President's defenders will take a look at that 2008 date and claim that the Undi-bomber was still George Bush's fault.
Obama has gone out of his way to poison the once-special relationship between Great Britain and the United States, to the point of humiliating Gordon Brown on several occasions, and even bowing to Saudi Princes -- but not to Queen Elizabeth. It's almost as if he doesn't want the British around, and if it wasn't for the fact that Britain is carrying the majority of the "European" load in Iraq and Afghanistan, I think Obama would like very much to cut them loose.
Why is a mystery.
He's done the same, to a lesser extent to Sarkozy and Merkel. He does so at his own peril because it will lead to some unhappy consequences:
Europe (despite everyone's recent emphasis on Yemen), and especially Britain, is really Ground-Zero for terrorism these days. Not only should the President be paying more attention to the Trans-Atlantic alliances, he should be mending fences with Brown, Merkel and Sarkozy, even if it means holding his nose. It will be Europeans who will help us win the War on Terror, not a bunch of illiterate, unwashed camel-fuckers in San'a or Kandahar.
Of course, the President's defenders will take a look at that 2008 date and claim that the Undi-bomber was still George Bush's fault.
Obama has gone out of his way to poison the once-special relationship between Great Britain and the United States, to the point of humiliating Gordon Brown on several occasions, and even bowing to Saudi Princes -- but not to Queen Elizabeth. It's almost as if he doesn't want the British around, and if it wasn't for the fact that Britain is carrying the majority of the "European" load in Iraq and Afghanistan, I think Obama would like very much to cut them loose.
Why is a mystery.
He's done the same, to a lesser extent to Sarkozy and Merkel. He does so at his own peril because it will lead to some unhappy consequences:
Europe (despite everyone's recent emphasis on Yemen), and especially Britain, is really Ground-Zero for terrorism these days. Not only should the President be paying more attention to the Trans-Atlantic alliances, he should be mending fences with Brown, Merkel and Sarkozy, even if it means holding his nose. It will be Europeans who will help us win the War on Terror, not a bunch of illiterate, unwashed camel-fuckers in San'a or Kandahar.
Professor Hanson is On a Roll...
Two VDH posts in one day??? The Man is not only a genius, but prolific!
Here, the Professor speaks of Barack Obama as Greek Tragedy.
And here's another one in which the Professor suggests that Barack Obama doesn't know his ass from his elbow on the subject of terrorism.
Enjoy. I know I did.
Here, the Professor speaks of Barack Obama as Greek Tragedy.
And here's another one in which the Professor suggests that Barack Obama doesn't know his ass from his elbow on the subject of terrorism.
Enjoy. I know I did.
From the "No Sh*t" File...
Spanking makes happier, more successful, better-adjusted kids than a time out in the corner.
Someone's just spent a shitload of taxpayer money to study something that was already proven by 1,000,000 years of human experience. Good thing we have scientists.
Someone's just spent a shitload of taxpayer money to study something that was already proven by 1,000,000 years of human experience. Good thing we have scientists.
Monday, January 04, 2010
A New Addition...
I'm directing readers to a blog called Stilettos in the Sand, written by an American living in Saudi Arabia. She's been lurking here for a couple of weeks now, and I finally got the opportunity to pay her a visit. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and invite you all to stop by.
You can click on the link above, or get there via my Link Bar below. It really is a treat.
You can click on the link above, or get there via my Link Bar below. It really is a treat.
Kids Say the Darndest Things..
40 Most Obnoxious Quotes of 2009, courtesy of Right Wing News.
I especially love the one about Nancy Pelosi and Osama bin Laden, but that's just me.
I especially love the one about Nancy Pelosi and Osama bin Laden, but that's just me.
Perhaps They Could Remove That Brain Tumor, Too?
Oh, wait; That's his brain!
Senator John "Lurch" Kerry is undergoing his second hip replacement today. Presumably, he wore the last one out putting his foot in his mouth as often as he does. I assume there was no government panel to review his worthiness for such medical largess, and the Senator has private insurance...or does he have a plan sponsored by the government that will look nothing like the one he advocates for the rest us? You know, one of those "Cadillac Plans" that needs to be taxed within an inch of it's life?
Because under that system, too, John Kerry would still receive a second hip replacement, and you wouldn't. Health Care Reform is about taking away from those who pay for their healthcare and giving it to those who don't. Those for whom money is no object (because they're very good at marrying wealthy widows) have no real dog in this fight; they can afford the free market, easily. Those at the top of the Healthcare Food Chain; the elite, nothing will ever change. They'll still have access to the best doctors and the best care. The only rationing will be amongst the peasants. I'll bet it even says as much in that 2,500 page monstrosity that Harry Reid is hiding.
In the case of Senator Kerry and the "Congressional Queen Mary Healthcare Plan" (the one all Congresscritters get at taxpayer expense, don't pay taxes on, and which will be left entirely intact while the government dismantles 1/6 of the U.S.Economy), it entitles him to as many hip replacements, hemorrhoid treatments, and all the hair plugs and prostate exams as the taxpayer can afford.
People who get free rides shouldn't be allowed to make this sort of policy. People who are fortunate enough to receive second hip replacements should probably be a little more circumspect about talking healthcare in public, and certainly about taking the privilege away from people who work damned hard to pay for their own insurance.
Hypocrisy deserves a few days off, Senator.
Senator John "Lurch" Kerry is undergoing his second hip replacement today. Presumably, he wore the last one out putting his foot in his mouth as often as he does. I assume there was no government panel to review his worthiness for such medical largess, and the Senator has private insurance...or does he have a plan sponsored by the government that will look nothing like the one he advocates for the rest us? You know, one of those "Cadillac Plans" that needs to be taxed within an inch of it's life?
Because under that system, too, John Kerry would still receive a second hip replacement, and you wouldn't. Health Care Reform is about taking away from those who pay for their healthcare and giving it to those who don't. Those for whom money is no object (because they're very good at marrying wealthy widows) have no real dog in this fight; they can afford the free market, easily. Those at the top of the Healthcare Food Chain; the elite, nothing will ever change. They'll still have access to the best doctors and the best care. The only rationing will be amongst the peasants. I'll bet it even says as much in that 2,500 page monstrosity that Harry Reid is hiding.
In the case of Senator Kerry and the "Congressional Queen Mary Healthcare Plan" (the one all Congresscritters get at taxpayer expense, don't pay taxes on, and which will be left entirely intact while the government dismantles 1/6 of the U.S.Economy), it entitles him to as many hip replacements, hemorrhoid treatments, and all the hair plugs and prostate exams as the taxpayer can afford.
People who get free rides shouldn't be allowed to make this sort of policy. People who are fortunate enough to receive second hip replacements should probably be a little more circumspect about talking healthcare in public, and certainly about taking the privilege away from people who work damned hard to pay for their own insurance.
Hypocrisy deserves a few days off, Senator.
Now You Know How We Got This F***ed Up...
No, nothing wrong with this at all. No abuse of power by the state at all....
These people really have no shame.
Update: City governments need the money for programs like this. (H/T to ClosetConservative)
These people really have no shame.
Update: City governments need the money for programs like this. (H/T to ClosetConservative)
No Smoking Gun...
That's what John Brennan, Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler of Something Having to do With the CIA and Homeland Security had to say about the inability to identify and stop the Pantybomber.
According to Brennan, speaking on Fox News Sunday, the Homeland Security folks had "snippets"of information about the Briefbomber, but not enough to put together into a coherent picture that would have allowed security employees to prevent him from getting on that flight to Detroit. According to Brennan, "there was no smoking gun..."
Except that, well, that there was a clear picture...for those of us who aren't government employees. And usually, when you have a smoking gun -- it's already too late.
I guess for someone to be considered a danger to the security of an aircraft, he has to walk through the airport with a flashing neon sign stapled to his forehead that says "I'm a TERRORIST!".
Let's give Mr. Brennan the benefit of the doubt for a moment, and let's say that the Security Apparatus did, in fact, have all the information that it's been reported to have had. According to those reports, Abdulmutallab was denied a visa by the British government, information they pass on to the U.S. Government, he was known to have been in Yemen, a hotbed of international jihad ---and information they got from Abdulmuttalab's own father -- who also told the CIA officer at the American Embassy in Lagos, "Hey, I think my kid might a jihadi."
That information was in the system, and someone took enough notice of it to put Abdulmuttalab on some sort of watch list.
Did they not know about this in Nigeria or Amsterdam? Because the kid got on planes despite being on a watch list. He has a Muslim name. He's travelling internationally without a passport or visa. He's buying a one-way ticket...with $3000 in cash. He has no luggage. None of these actions raised any eyebrows in either Amsterdam or Nigeria, and in addition, conventional airport security screenings missed his bomb entirely. What are the problems there, and why are such things still happening nine years after 9/11?
And then, finally, we have an aircraft damaged by fire, several hundred passengers saved by one of their fellows, and Janet Napolitano proclaiming a false victory.
No, no smoking guns here at all.
You begin to see a pattern emerge when it comes to the problem of catching terrorists before they get on aircraft.
These guys all follow the same modus operandi (I'll say it: the same profile), and yet, no one seems able to stop them. They all engage in the same kinds of behavior which are supposed to be red flags, but which get ignored or overlooked. There is a distinct and identifiable procedure that can be observed which often identifies them; shrewd (or merely just conscious) security people will be able to recognize them in a heartbeat, and thus, we hope, stop a would-be Peni-bomber. The same people who brought you 9/11; the high-school dropout, the obsessive cell-phone-user, the compulsive texter, the brain dead, the lazy, the unobservant, are still on the job. If you need proof of this, a man shut down Newark International last night because he went through 'security' ...backwards....and then promptly disappeared.
The next pattern: they happen to be Muslim. They have Muslim names. They often look Middle Eastern (and yes, I know Jose Padilla and Richard Reid don't look Muslim, we'll get to that in a minute). And somehow, less attention is paid to them and more to the grandmother in the wheelchair. Why? Because no one wants to insult Muslims. Fuck 'em; we wouldn't have to go through all this bullshit if it wasn't for them. If they don't want to be hassled and insulted, tell them to turn in their crazy uncles, brothers and fathers before they kill again. They know who these people are. I'm not concerned about inconveniencing Muslims and making them feel bad about themselves. When they stand up against their own for my right not to get blown up in coach, I'll start giving a shit about their self-esteem. The point is to discourage the Would-Be Muslim Bomber from even attempting to get near the airport by letting him know "We're waiting for you..."
As for Reid and Padilla, they probably (I don't say definitely) would have been caught with the application of some common criminal profiling techniques. Trained police officers are often able to spot the criminals and troublemakers before they do anything, because experience has given them a keen eye for certain details, and allows them to interpret subtle behaviors the rest of us would miss. But here's the thing: if we were profiling Arabs and obvious Muslims, we'd discourage them from flying almost entirely --- and we'd have the resources to better catch the Reids and Padillas with good ol' fashioned police work instead of a multi-billion dollar government boondoggle who's response to a bomb is to restrict rest room use..
Okay, so getting back to Mr. Brennan's assertion that there was No Smoking Gun, given what we know now, it seems that:
a) Homeland Security would never have been on the lookout for Pantybomber in the first place. The information on hand did not point to an "imminent" threat -- just a possible one. TSA and Homeland Security don't work int he realm of the possible, only that which is actually happening, and even then, it's bureaucratic process probably prevents any meaningful action from taking place. I guess to Homeland Security a threat of jihad is simply that. Political Correctness prevents this bureaucracy from paying close attention to the people it probably should be paying attention to (i.e. Muslims and criminals), and even when it is on the ball, the 'system;' is inflexible and reactive, rather than dynamic and proactive.
b) The system which is supposed to share and disseminate this security information and intelligence absolutely creaks and is grossly inefficient. The great clue here is that even when the security regime is in full possession of an awful lot of dots, there is no one to connect them. And certainly not on a Holiday weekend. It's apparent that when the security apparatus is in possession of information that could save lives, that information often falls into a bureaucratic black hole which ensures it's rarely acted upon, or even reacted upon smartly, but which always figures large in the inevitable over-reaction in the aftermath of a (near-)tragedy.
c) Airport security is too-obviously focused on finding conventional weapons (knives, guns, and so forth) and not in catching terrorists. That is a focus that needs to be shifted if we're to actually start catching some of these guys before they do harm. We're about to spend billions on full-body scanners in major airports, and I wonder if the money wouldn't be better spent teaching the slugs at TSA how to spot and stop criminals. The focus is put almost entirely upon technology which, unfortunately, tends to take the responsibility away from a human being. Human beings who begin to realize they aren't responsible for anything soon rely too much on the technology, and failures proliferate. Put the human beings back in charge, train 'em up, and then hold them responsible.
It appears from the tale of the Underwear Bomber that, yeah, there was a smoking gun. Many of them. The line goes all the way back to the American Embassy in Lagos, it runs through the State Department, the CIA, Homeland Security and the TSA. None of these mega-agencies seem capable of putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with 4, not without bureaucratic lag, and certainly not in a timely fashion which might save someone's life, and certainly not with the would-be killer's father ratting him out.
Mr. Brennan should be ashamed of himself for having the gall to appear on television yesterday to defend the indefensible (see here). Nine years after the World Trade Center became a smoking crater, this country is still unprepared to defend itself against terrorists, and it's because of incompetence at the highest level, political correctness run amok, and a failure to apply common sense.
No Smoking Gun, indeed...
Update: More on your government's stupidity here and here.
And Still More: Terrorism is a Low Priority for Obamabi Administration, says GOP. Also, Brennan should have resisted the urge to open his big, pie hole and not spill the beans.
New and Improved More: Ralph Peters says the Terrorists are outsmarting us.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
They Just Don't Get IT...
According to Barack Obama, Dick Cheney loves terrorists. This is the response of an Administration stung by Cheney's repeated attempts to get Obama more active, involved and truthful about the War on Terror. That Cheney criticizes the President and his Administration in the wake of another attempted bombing of an airliner somehow equates to Cheney giving aid and comfort to the enemy in Obama's eyes.
That's the same Obama that wants to close Gitmo, read terrorists their rights, give them the full panoply of rights afforded an American citizen, a government-provided lawyer, try them in civilian courts rather than by military tribunals, who holds out an "open hand" to Iran, and dithers for months over a "surge" in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban.
An idiot who can't get laid (the Pantybomber) decides the answer to his dilemma is to strap a bomb to his John Thomas and take 300 people with him, and when his plot is foiled, he's not a terrorist at all according to the Obama Administration, he's an "alleged" terrorist and an "isolated extremist". He is treated not as a war criminal, but as a criminal defendant, no different than your common car thief or shoplifter by the Obama National Security apparatus.
First off: the people on that plane saw him ignite his underwear, subdued him, and put the flames out. I'm not a lawyer, but if 50 people spot someone do something, then "alleged" is not the adjective I would apply to the wrong-doer, neither is the guy a "suspect" under those conditions. Fifty people can identify him as a) a bomber, and b) the asshole who tried to set it off.
Good luck to any defense attorney who can magically call the eyewitness testimony of 50 people into question. This guy isn't entitled to a trial by jury; he's entitled to a trial by waterboarding.
He's a goddamned terrorist, not a jaywalker.
Secondly: Dick Cheney is one of the guys who Obama says "tortured" the very guys he wants to give Miranda warnings to with waterboarding, rendition, sleep-deprivation, cold cells and loud noises (and Lord knows what else). Cheney has defended his support for such policies on a near-daily basis for nearly a decade. In fact, he's quite unashamed to admit that his only regret was that more of the same wasn't done, all to keep the country safer. He makes no bones about what was done, why it was done, and how it was done. The only thing he won't talk about is what the interrogators actually discovered and what was done with the information (except that one time about KSM, and the time he defended himself by daring Obama to release the files) .
Obama and his cohorts have attacked Cheney and former-President GW Bush for their actions in the War on Terrorism, vehemently, and in some of the most disgusting language you can think of, accusing them of being this-close to the Gestapo. Suddenly the men who Barack Hussein Obama claimed are the worst examples of human degeneracy, so totally out-of-touch with "our values", are now clasping terrorists to their bosom and babying them?
Get real. You can't have it both ways, Mr. President.
President Obama and his crowd of morons, like Napolitano, are going to get people killed. And no amount of spin is going to change or prevent that, and no attack on a prescient-Dick Cheney is going to save them from the legitimate criticism they deserve in the wake of this disaster.
I can only wonder how they'll blame Bush and Cheney when the body bags start filling up?
For a guy who is supposed to be so sharp, one wonders how Barack Hussein Obama misses the obvious. And then you remember that he's a politician and his whole world revolves around ignoring the obvious for that which is politically expedient.
Barack Obama doesn't get it because his politics don't account for a world full of evil men who want to kill Americans in large numbers. He compounds this error by surrounding himself with like-minded people who simply parrot whatever he wants to hear. Unfortunately, this self-constructed bubble won't get popped until there's a mushroom cloud over an American city. It usually takes something that difficult to miss to get a liberal's attention.
Dumbass.
Mark Steyn in National Review talks on this very subject.
This New York Post Editorial sums it up nicely.
According to Rassmussen, a majority of Americans now believes we are losing the War on Terror....for the first time ever... Nice going, Mr. President.
That's the same Obama that wants to close Gitmo, read terrorists their rights, give them the full panoply of rights afforded an American citizen, a government-provided lawyer, try them in civilian courts rather than by military tribunals, who holds out an "open hand" to Iran, and dithers for months over a "surge" in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban.
An idiot who can't get laid (the Pantybomber) decides the answer to his dilemma is to strap a bomb to his John Thomas and take 300 people with him, and when his plot is foiled, he's not a terrorist at all according to the Obama Administration, he's an "alleged" terrorist and an "isolated extremist". He is treated not as a war criminal, but as a criminal defendant, no different than your common car thief or shoplifter by the Obama National Security apparatus.
First off: the people on that plane saw him ignite his underwear, subdued him, and put the flames out. I'm not a lawyer, but if 50 people spot someone do something, then "alleged" is not the adjective I would apply to the wrong-doer, neither is the guy a "suspect" under those conditions. Fifty people can identify him as a) a bomber, and b) the asshole who tried to set it off.
Good luck to any defense attorney who can magically call the eyewitness testimony of 50 people into question. This guy isn't entitled to a trial by jury; he's entitled to a trial by waterboarding.
He's a goddamned terrorist, not a jaywalker.
Secondly: Dick Cheney is one of the guys who Obama says "tortured" the very guys he wants to give Miranda warnings to with waterboarding, rendition, sleep-deprivation, cold cells and loud noises (and Lord knows what else). Cheney has defended his support for such policies on a near-daily basis for nearly a decade. In fact, he's quite unashamed to admit that his only regret was that more of the same wasn't done, all to keep the country safer. He makes no bones about what was done, why it was done, and how it was done. The only thing he won't talk about is what the interrogators actually discovered and what was done with the information (except that one time about KSM, and the time he defended himself by daring Obama to release the files) .
Obama and his cohorts have attacked Cheney and former-President GW Bush for their actions in the War on Terrorism, vehemently, and in some of the most disgusting language you can think of, accusing them of being this-close to the Gestapo. Suddenly the men who Barack Hussein Obama claimed are the worst examples of human degeneracy, so totally out-of-touch with "our values", are now clasping terrorists to their bosom and babying them?
Get real. You can't have it both ways, Mr. President.
President Obama and his crowd of morons, like Napolitano, are going to get people killed. And no amount of spin is going to change or prevent that, and no attack on a prescient-Dick Cheney is going to save them from the legitimate criticism they deserve in the wake of this disaster.
I can only wonder how they'll blame Bush and Cheney when the body bags start filling up?
For a guy who is supposed to be so sharp, one wonders how Barack Hussein Obama misses the obvious. And then you remember that he's a politician and his whole world revolves around ignoring the obvious for that which is politically expedient.
Barack Obama doesn't get it because his politics don't account for a world full of evil men who want to kill Americans in large numbers. He compounds this error by surrounding himself with like-minded people who simply parrot whatever he wants to hear. Unfortunately, this self-constructed bubble won't get popped until there's a mushroom cloud over an American city. It usually takes something that difficult to miss to get a liberal's attention.
Dumbass.
Mark Steyn in National Review talks on this very subject.
This New York Post Editorial sums it up nicely.
According to Rassmussen, a majority of Americans now believes we are losing the War on Terror....for the first time ever... Nice going, Mr. President.
Saturday, January 02, 2010
I Think The Wrong People Won the Civil War...
I was saddened today to learn that the State of North Carolina has finally succumbed to it's self-inflicted infection of imported Yankees and instituted a state-wide smoking ban in restaurants, bars and public areas.
This is what happens when you allow several million whining north-easterners into your state; they gradually begin to remake the place according to their own whims. If they can't do it with money, they eventually get it done with votes, and if that fails, they whine...incessantly...until you give them what they want. The influx of Northerners into Raleigh and Charlotte following the technology and banking jobs, have brought you to this sorry state of affairs. You can't smoke in the state that lives and dies on tobacco?
Mark my words, North Carolina; the ban will gradually be extended. Soon, you'll not be able to smoke in front of a public building, never mind that you're outside. Not long after that, there will be great debates about whether people who own condominiums in high-rise buildings are allowed to smoke in their own home because of the proximity of their neighbors.
All the while Cigarette taxes will continue to climb, as Yankees gradually spread the misinformation that smokers burden the Health Care System, (wrong; uninsured illegal aliens and AIDS victims burden the Health Care System) which is 'underfunded'. Mostly because the same Yankees screamed that their pet disease du jour -- Juvenile Ingrown Toenails, Athlete's Tongue, Homoerotic Scrofula -- be funded to such an extent that money was diverted from basic care just to shut them up, and to show that the politicians care.
Soon, you too can live in New York; a place where you can't smoke except in a closet equipped with it's own separate air-circulation system, where cigarettes cost $10 a pack, mostly because of taxes to pay for hospitals that are full of drug addicts, AIDS patients, illegal aliens, and people who have lived far longer than they ever had any right or expectation to without insurance or savings. But it's your fault, Smokers; Even if you will eventually have that massive stroke or heart attack in your 60's that will kill you instantly, and thus save the community the burden of having you linger on for months and years, taking up valuable resources.
Things like this are ultimately driven by other motives; the first is the nerve of pushy people to believe they know better, that they can dictate the conditions of other people's lives. And then they have the nerve to say that they do it for the common good. Kathy Shaidle at FiveFeetOfFury likes to tell this sort of pretentious, presumptuous, obnoxious Soccer-Mom/Metrosexual type "You're not smart enough to tell me how to live."
The second motive is to use the process of Incrementalism to slowly erode your personal rights while simultaneously picking your pocket. Politicians cannot help but spend money -- other people's money. It's their disease (how long before that becomes 'underfunded'?). And eventually, they spend so much that the traditional sources ("revenue streams" as they say on Wall Street) dry up, and they have to find more ways to steal from the public. When they can present this theft as a positive boon for society, they're even more dangerous and dishonest. This is all about raising taxes at some point -- and then wasting the money.
And don't think you've escaped if you chew. They'll get you people next with a SNU-tax, and justify that on the basis "of an increase in oral cancers", and to keep these "gateway tobacco products" out of the "hands of the children".
It's always about "the Children." with this crowd, isn't it?
No it isn't, but that's how they fool you. It's about persecuting people they don't like, and since they can no longer persecute Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, Italians, Irish, and whatnot in public anymore, they've had to find new targets for hate but in a way that doesn't get them punched in the face; so they started picking on Christians and Smokers. If I were still in Charlotte tonight, I'd start thinking about joining one of them Civil War re-enactment groups. And then I'd start thinking about how I could get them to join me in doing it for real.
This is what happens when you allow several million whining north-easterners into your state; they gradually begin to remake the place according to their own whims. If they can't do it with money, they eventually get it done with votes, and if that fails, they whine...incessantly...until you give them what they want. The influx of Northerners into Raleigh and Charlotte following the technology and banking jobs, have brought you to this sorry state of affairs. You can't smoke in the state that lives and dies on tobacco?
Mark my words, North Carolina; the ban will gradually be extended. Soon, you'll not be able to smoke in front of a public building, never mind that you're outside. Not long after that, there will be great debates about whether people who own condominiums in high-rise buildings are allowed to smoke in their own home because of the proximity of their neighbors.
All the while Cigarette taxes will continue to climb, as Yankees gradually spread the misinformation that smokers burden the Health Care System, (wrong; uninsured illegal aliens and AIDS victims burden the Health Care System) which is 'underfunded'. Mostly because the same Yankees screamed that their pet disease du jour -- Juvenile Ingrown Toenails, Athlete's Tongue, Homoerotic Scrofula -- be funded to such an extent that money was diverted from basic care just to shut them up, and to show that the politicians care.
Soon, you too can live in New York; a place where you can't smoke except in a closet equipped with it's own separate air-circulation system, where cigarettes cost $10 a pack, mostly because of taxes to pay for hospitals that are full of drug addicts, AIDS patients, illegal aliens, and people who have lived far longer than they ever had any right or expectation to without insurance or savings. But it's your fault, Smokers; Even if you will eventually have that massive stroke or heart attack in your 60's that will kill you instantly, and thus save the community the burden of having you linger on for months and years, taking up valuable resources.
Things like this are ultimately driven by other motives; the first is the nerve of pushy people to believe they know better, that they can dictate the conditions of other people's lives. And then they have the nerve to say that they do it for the common good. Kathy Shaidle at FiveFeetOfFury likes to tell this sort of pretentious, presumptuous, obnoxious Soccer-Mom/Metrosexual type "You're not smart enough to tell me how to live."
The second motive is to use the process of Incrementalism to slowly erode your personal rights while simultaneously picking your pocket. Politicians cannot help but spend money -- other people's money. It's their disease (how long before that becomes 'underfunded'?). And eventually, they spend so much that the traditional sources ("revenue streams" as they say on Wall Street) dry up, and they have to find more ways to steal from the public. When they can present this theft as a positive boon for society, they're even more dangerous and dishonest. This is all about raising taxes at some point -- and then wasting the money.
And don't think you've escaped if you chew. They'll get you people next with a SNU-tax, and justify that on the basis "of an increase in oral cancers", and to keep these "gateway tobacco products" out of the "hands of the children".
It's always about "the Children." with this crowd, isn't it?
No it isn't, but that's how they fool you. It's about persecuting people they don't like, and since they can no longer persecute Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, Italians, Irish, and whatnot in public anymore, they've had to find new targets for hate but in a way that doesn't get them punched in the face; so they started picking on Christians and Smokers. If I were still in Charlotte tonight, I'd start thinking about joining one of them Civil War re-enactment groups. And then I'd start thinking about how I could get them to join me in doing it for real.
Some Random Thoughts On Polar Bears
I was watching the idiot box today when Noah Wylie (since when does anyone remember Noah Wylie?) comes on for the WWF, and starts talking about Polar Bears. Now, I'm not sure just when Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan started caring about Polar Bears, but I haven't followed wrestling since I was 12...I grew up and discovered girls after that.
Anyways, Noah starts talking about how Polar Bears are dying because of Global Warming. Apparently, Polar Bears need nut-numbing cold in order to survive.They don't know any better. All this warming is so bad that mother bears can't feed their cubs, and so they die. Why is never explained. The gist is that it's a problem with retreating ice and Polar Bears being too stupid to swim, although every David Attenborough documentary I've ever saw shows Polar Bears with Micheal Phelps-like water skills. Maybe Noah doesn't know what he's talking about (See the pictures, do they look like they're drowning?).
Probably not, since two million scientific studies (it seems) say there's more Polar Bears now than there have been in several hundred years, but what the hell do I know? I though tin the world of Global Warming Science, if you had two million studies that all said the same thing, the science was, therefore, settled. I guess that only applies to studies the Warmies conduct and concoct data for, but I digress.
So, there I am, watching a cute-as-a-button Polar Bear Cub (who will one day grow up to be an 800-pound killer, red in tooth and claw, feeding on whale carcasses that no one but the Japanese would want, see above) frolics in the arctic snow, probably already doomed to die a horrid death and seemingly unaware, when I began to think of Charles Darwin.
Just in case you live in a cave, or go to Harvard, Charles Darwin was the author of the Theory of Evolution which states that organisms which best adapt to their environments tend to flourish. And Here's Noah Wylie, and the people in Copenhagen, and Al Gore and the legions of brain-dead college kids and communists-in-sheep's-clothing all trying to conspire to stop a natural process (evolution) in the name of...saving all the other natural processes?
I mean, it's man's special talent to adapt through technology, through the manipulation of his physical environment. That's what's allowed us to survive and inhabit every corner of this planet. In the process, yes, we do some sort of damage to the natural world, but according to Darwin, the natural world (wildlife, plants, bacteria, etc) should adapt in order to survive. Those that adapt will live, and those that don't will go extinct. Extinction is a is part-and-parcel of evolution.
And I thought libs were all great believers in Evolution, so much so that they sue school boards to keep Creationism and Intelligent Design out of classrooms. So, why save Polar Bears if they won't or can't save themselves? And why does Noah Wylie need my money to do this?
Then I was struck by another thought (two in one day? I need to start drinking again); I remember Irving Krystal, the father of modern Conservatism, once said (paraphrasing) that a "Conservative is someone who stands in front of the runaway freight train of progress, yelling "STOP!" The Tree Huggers are trying to stop industrial progress so that they can save polar bears, and snail darters, and spotted owls, and three-toed Cambodian Cockroaches, in defiance of the Theory of Evolution, and asking for money to finance the project, sorta like when some televangelist(in this case, Noah Wylie) tells his flock that God will do the worst and take him if he doesn't raise $3 bazillion dollars for the new Tabernacle-Theme Park-Casino and Bait Shop.
Then I got confused (I don't need to drink for that to happen): Doesn't all of this halting of progress, asking for voluntary contributions to serve a higher purpose sound a lot like conservatism? I mean, would this sorta-kind make them, these self-proclaimed Progressive Liberals, that is...Conservative...in some fashion? I mean, aren't they denying Evolution and adopting the Judeo-Christian view of man as the Steward of All Creation?
I mean, the similarities don't end there, either. Conservatives are always accused of wanting to 'turn back the clock', to some supposed Golden Era which liberals laughingly insist never existed, only how do you explain their own behavior; True Believers in Global Warming theory have to accept two premises:
a) There was a time when the climate of this planet was somehow 'perfect', not too hot, not too cold, and suitable for the flourishing of all life as we currently perceive it. A Golden Era if ever there was one. And...
b) That if we simply arrest and re-direct progress in the proper way (i.e. under oppressive Government direction), mankind can return to that climatic Golden Era.
So, I guess that Noah Wylie and the Wrestling Folks are out there trying to recruit Conservatives and not save Polar Bears after all?
I wonder, if any Tree Huggers out there have ever thought this same way...and had their heads explode.
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