I am saddened but not surprised that Sarah Palin has dropped out of the presidential race. The lesson here is never underestimate the mainstream media. I view every election as the peasants vs. the ruling class media. Sarah was our Joan of Arc and I think Saint Joan might have gotten off easy in comparison. The old media still matter and they will remind us of their import from time to time.
If Palin does not defend herself in a court of law I will lose all respect for her. Even successful litigation will be not restore her reputation. The elite can afford to pay tens of millions to make Palin go away. She could collect damages and it would be but a flea bite to an elephant. So yes, lawsuits might seem futile but she has to fight that fight anyway.
Paul Krassner stated "The truth is Silly Putty." The summary has never been more accurate or more relevant.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Want to Hear Me Complain? I Thought So.
I wish I could complain about work but HIPPA prohibits me from voicing meaningful grievances. And certain other people hit every exposed nerve but I will boldly chart the course of lesser resistance and remain mute. Still, I complain.
I have always been a complainer. Usually I complain about how much people annoy me, how tired I happen to be and how busy I happen to be. All legitimate complaints.
I started this blog as a temporary measure until I got my website going. Blogs are best utilized as appendices to web sites. They can be ends unto themselves but that was not my intention. The web site never developed. It is still in development as they say.
I started posting vids as a substitute for the news and commentary I had wanted to provide. More than 90% of my posts are vids. 10/90 became 90/10. There is always a logjam so it seems.
I am finally commenting on the death of Anwar al-Awlaki. While I am in partial agreement with or perhaps sympathetic to Ron Paul and Gary Johnson concerning American citizens executed without due process of law. And I agree with the pundits and experts who bemoan the loss of an intelligence resource (as with Bin Laden.)
But the story is more complicated than that. The CIA wasted Awlaki in part because they did not trust either the FBI or the Holder Justice Department. The FBI had a Bulger-style relationship with Awlaki. There are some loose ends that never been connected. And the Holder Justice Department can always be counted on to do the wrong thing. What else could the CIA do?
I plead guilty to moral relativism. Under the circumstances the CIA acted properly in executing the choreographer of numerous terrorist plots. I, for one, will save my tears for someone more deserving. A drone strike was possibly too quick and painless but let's not pick nit.
By the way, I love the CIA. Bye bye Awlaki. You were one creepy dude.
I have always been a complainer. Usually I complain about how much people annoy me, how tired I happen to be and how busy I happen to be. All legitimate complaints.
I started this blog as a temporary measure until I got my website going. Blogs are best utilized as appendices to web sites. They can be ends unto themselves but that was not my intention. The web site never developed. It is still in development as they say.
I started posting vids as a substitute for the news and commentary I had wanted to provide. More than 90% of my posts are vids. 10/90 became 90/10. There is always a logjam so it seems.
I am finally commenting on the death of Anwar al-Awlaki. While I am in partial agreement with or perhaps sympathetic to Ron Paul and Gary Johnson concerning American citizens executed without due process of law. And I agree with the pundits and experts who bemoan the loss of an intelligence resource (as with Bin Laden.)
But the story is more complicated than that. The CIA wasted Awlaki in part because they did not trust either the FBI or the Holder Justice Department. The FBI had a Bulger-style relationship with Awlaki. There are some loose ends that never been connected. And the Holder Justice Department can always be counted on to do the wrong thing. What else could the CIA do?
I plead guilty to moral relativism. Under the circumstances the CIA acted properly in executing the choreographer of numerous terrorist plots. I, for one, will save my tears for someone more deserving. A drone strike was possibly too quick and painless but let's not pick nit.
By the way, I love the CIA. Bye bye Awlaki. You were one creepy dude.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Frivolous Friday: Obama Tattoos
I am so glad that I have divorced myself from the Democratic Party. It was a 31 year relationship but a breakup was long overdue. Unaffiliated is the official label in New Hampshire. As long as we have open primaries I don't see any reason to register with either party. But if we adopt a closed primary as some states maintain, and I was forced to register with a given party to vote in their primary, which one would I choose?
I would choose the party with the fewer idiots who are so stupid as to place an image of an inflated community organizer directly onto their skin.
Quick observation: I do not understand the tattoo phenomenon. It is more than a fad. It seems to me that the proliferation of tattoo artists has diluted the talent base. Truthfully, some of these Obama images look nothing like the exalted one. That might be a good thing as their deity has become a laughing stock. "It's Steve Erkel grown up."
IS THAT ROSEANNE BARR OR JACKIE CHAN?
I would choose the party with the fewer idiots who are so stupid as to place an image of an inflated community organizer directly onto their skin.
Quick observation: I do not understand the tattoo phenomenon. It is more than a fad. It seems to me that the proliferation of tattoo artists has diluted the talent base. Truthfully, some of these Obama images look nothing like the exalted one. That might be a good thing as their deity has become a laughing stock. "It's Steve Erkel grown up."
IS THAT ROSEANNE BARR OR JACKIE CHAN?
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Retro Thursday: Originally Posted August 31, 2009
I always liked this song but I knew the first time I heard it that it lends itself to parody. It's sing-songy melody invites the listener to supply his own words. Sure enough, the first time I searched vids for this song, there were already bunches of parodies.
This is a masterpiece of parody. The images, the turns of phrase, the timing. Perfection!
LIFE IS EASIER IF YOU JUST DRINK THE KOOL-AID
This is a masterpiece of parody. The images, the turns of phrase, the timing. Perfection!
LIFE IS EASIER IF YOU JUST DRINK THE KOOL-AID
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Rest in Peace, Steve
Steve Jobs is dead. I am sad about his early departure. In a way, Steve Jobs ruined me. I plotted and schemed to buy a computer for about fifteen years. In 1994, I purchased a discontinued Mac. It was a great machine but it ruined me.
Then as now, if you bought a Mac, it did what you wanted it to do. No blue screens, no crashes, no data loss. It was like buying a TV set, You bring the Mac home. You plug it in. It works. User is happy.
Mac owners did not spend their hours visiting help sites that offered tips to insure that applications worked the way they were supposed to work. They might have backed up their data in case of fire or flood or nuclear war. Sure, you have to prepare for eventualities, but you how often do we get nuked?
I can remember in the mid 90's two coworkers--Windows users--discussing recovery disks for longer than I thought it was possible to discuss the subject. I can remember overhearing another workplace conversation revolving the frequency of Windows reboots. I was scared but Apple was dwindling. I went over to the dark side in 1998 and I have never gone back.
In the year 2011 Windows users download accessories like Revo Uninstaller to perform basic functions that Microsoft has trouble performing. That is, Windows Vista and Windows 7 have trouble cleanly uninstalling software. This is absurd! But Revo is popular.
For a long time, I resisted the whole install-a-second-set-of-windshield-wipers-because-you-know-damn-well-the-factory-parts-don't-work mentality. I fervently resisted it. In that sense, Steve Jobs ruined me. If you start out with an electronic ignition, you probably will not be impressed with those happy fools who take pride in their gold-plated cranks. I thought that Windows would either improve radically or Moore's Law would make Apple the new Volkswagen. Neither scenario has played out. Microsoft still produces a mediocre operating system and Apple is more concerned with mystique than saturation.
Steve Jobs is an American Hero. But he's also the reason my PC talent never developed. Rest in peace, Steve.
Then as now, if you bought a Mac, it did what you wanted it to do. No blue screens, no crashes, no data loss. It was like buying a TV set, You bring the Mac home. You plug it in. It works. User is happy.
Mac owners did not spend their hours visiting help sites that offered tips to insure that applications worked the way they were supposed to work. They might have backed up their data in case of fire or flood or nuclear war. Sure, you have to prepare for eventualities, but you how often do we get nuked?
I can remember in the mid 90's two coworkers--Windows users--discussing recovery disks for longer than I thought it was possible to discuss the subject. I can remember overhearing another workplace conversation revolving the frequency of Windows reboots. I was scared but Apple was dwindling. I went over to the dark side in 1998 and I have never gone back.
In the year 2011 Windows users download accessories like Revo Uninstaller to perform basic functions that Microsoft has trouble performing. That is, Windows Vista and Windows 7 have trouble cleanly uninstalling software. This is absurd! But Revo is popular.
For a long time, I resisted the whole install-a-second-set-of-windshield-wipers-because-you-know-damn-well-the-factory-parts-don't-work mentality. I fervently resisted it. In that sense, Steve Jobs ruined me. If you start out with an electronic ignition, you probably will not be impressed with those happy fools who take pride in their gold-plated cranks. I thought that Windows would either improve radically or Moore's Law would make Apple the new Volkswagen. Neither scenario has played out. Microsoft still produces a mediocre operating system and Apple is more concerned with mystique than saturation.
Steve Jobs is an American Hero. But he's also the reason my PC talent never developed. Rest in peace, Steve.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Chris Christie and The Only Hope Phenomenon
Chris Christie seems like an entertaining guy to me. Would he be my first choice for president? No, and he would notc rack the top five. I would have liked for him to challenge Martinez for the NJ Senate seat. That is not discussed anywhere but here (one time.)
William Kristol, Ann Coulter, and an idiot Boston radio hostess all said that Cristie was the only man who could defeat Obama. The GOP's only hope. I don't understand the only hope phenomenon but it does seem to make people stupid. Dick Morris promoted this idea that only Condoleeza Rice could defeat Hillary. He made no sense when he tried to explain his fantasy and I think he endangered his credibility. The only hope phenomenon can turn a rational person into the equivalent of an Obama supporter. Love makes fools of us all.
I remember a few pundits who had Trump pegged as the only hope. Then it was Perry. Then it was Christie. Will Rubio be next? I hope not.
The search for Mr. Goodenough continues.
William Kristol, Ann Coulter, and an idiot Boston radio hostess all said that Cristie was the only man who could defeat Obama. The GOP's only hope. I don't understand the only hope phenomenon but it does seem to make people stupid. Dick Morris promoted this idea that only Condoleeza Rice could defeat Hillary. He made no sense when he tried to explain his fantasy and I think he endangered his credibility. The only hope phenomenon can turn a rational person into the equivalent of an Obama supporter. Love makes fools of us all.
I remember a few pundits who had Trump pegged as the only hope. Then it was Perry. Then it was Christie. Will Rubio be next? I hope not.
The search for Mr. Goodenough continues.
Twofer Tuesday: Plus Five: David Friedman in New Hampshire
THIS GUY HOLDS PHDS IN PHYSICS AND ECONOMICS AND LAST I HEARD HE WAS TEACHING LAW
HIS FATHER AND SON PRECEDED HIM ON TWOFER TUESDAY
I LIKE HIS TAKE ON DEMOCRACY
1,749 YOUTUBE VIEWS AS THE VID IS EMBEDDED HERE
IF YOU MISSED IT, THE FREE STATERS ARE HOSTING THIS EVENT
WHERE WAS C-SPAN?
THE GRAND FINALE!
HIS FATHER AND SON PRECEDED HIM ON TWOFER TUESDAY
I LIKE HIS TAKE ON DEMOCRACY
1,749 YOUTUBE VIEWS AS THE VID IS EMBEDDED HERE
IF YOU MISSED IT, THE FREE STATERS ARE HOSTING THIS EVENT
WHERE WAS C-SPAN?
THE GRAND FINALE!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Media Monday: Excellent Andy Rooney Summary
Andy Rooney was an unabashed leftist (I hate it when the word liberal is misused) who admitted his bias but was critical of Dan Rather for being too transparent in the promotion of his agenda.
Andy Rooney delivered his final commentary Sunday night at the end of 60 Minutes and while the now 92-year old curmudgeon’s pieces usually dealt with non-serious topics, he should be credited for being able to recognize, unlike many of his prominent peers, that the media are liberal – even conceding his own “liberal bias.” He declared Dan Rather “transparently liberal” and quipped people in the news business “were almost evenly divided” in 2004 – “half of them liked Senator Kerry; the other half hated President Bush.”
The post continues at the link below. Read it!
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2011/10/02/andy-rooney-recognized-media-s-liberalism-and-espoused-it-himself#ixzz1ZmpCSAMY
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2011/10/02/andy-rooney-recognized-media-s-liberalism-and-espoused-it-himself
Andy Rooney delivered his final commentary Sunday night at the end of 60 Minutes and while the now 92-year old curmudgeon’s pieces usually dealt with non-serious topics, he should be credited for being able to recognize, unlike many of his prominent peers, that the media are liberal – even conceding his own “liberal bias.” He declared Dan Rather “transparently liberal” and quipped people in the news business “were almost evenly divided” in 2004 – “half of them liked Senator Kerry; the other half hated President Bush.”
The post continues at the link below. Read it!
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2011/10/02/andy-rooney-recognized-media-s-liberalism-and-espoused-it-himself#ixzz1ZmpCSAMY
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2011/10/02/andy-rooney-recognized-media-s-liberalism-and-espoused-it-himself
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