I generally shy away from Glenn Beck and Fox News and outlets that already have an audience. But I am doing two Beck posts in one week. This is a wonderful summary of the pain and misery Obama and the Democrats inflicted on innocent people. Still, the press served as the Dems' loyal puppets.
Obama is a bully, a thug and quite possibly, a sociopath.
CAN WE GET THE PRESIDENT ANOTHER NOBEL PRIZE?
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Equal Time For Obots Department
Nobel Peace Prize, ACA, Solyndra and much, much more.
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE, WHO NEEDS TALK RADIO?
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE, WHO NEEDS TALK RADIO?
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Glenn Beck Tells A Story He Has Kept Under Wraps For A Year
I don't think this is Beck's BIG announcement but it is big enough. There is a civil war within the GOP that I would gladly defer until Barry is gone. Not sure it will wait.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Why don't we meet at Cracker Barrel, Jessie?
My partner here noted early in the controversy that A&E needed the Robertson family much more than the family needed it. There are probably a dozen cable channels that that would be more than happy to sign them. It was predictable that the family would prevail and that A&E would publicly eat crow. C'est la vie. What amuses me are two bit players who were not involved in the fight yet jumped in and proceeded to embarrass themselves to the amusement of the news media and the general public.
Cracker Barrel, the restaurant chain, is much loved by my down home in-laws but is a total culinary disaster in my estimation. If you remember Cool hand Luke this is the sort of food that would have had George Kennedy and Paul Newman banging their tin cups on the table. You're better off eating twice at Fazoli's twice for the same money. In any event, for those who don't have a Cracker Barrel in their area about a third of the building is devoted to a sort of folksy general store type gift shop where they sell tacky what nots, country music cd's and the Duck Dynasty merchandise both offensive and inoffensive. Offensive merchandise, in Cracker Barrel's opinion, is DD merchandise with Phil Robertson's likeness on it and for a whole 24 hours it was verboten. Then, as the rage on Face Book built and I suspect the sale of Christmas season gift cards declined, management had an epiphany and said, in effect, that they would gladly sell merchandise even if they did think it was offensive because they listen to their customers. Exactly what that says about their assessment of their customers' character I'm not sure but they folded nonetheless.
Enter Jesse Jackson the king of tolerance who was good enough to add "Hymietown" to the lexicon of racial tolerance. The reverend and Anheuser Busch distributorship owner demanded, yes demanded, a meeting with the managements of both A&E and Cracker Barrel. What's interesting here is that Jackson's demand was issued on December 23 with a request that the meeting take place within 72 hours.
And a Merry Christmas to you too, Jessie. Who wouldn't want to forgo Christmas with the family and catch a plane to Chicago during the holiday rush just to hear Jackson pontificate? Unless you know your way around Google better than I do there is no evidence that either of the two management teams even acknowledged the demand let alone met with Jackson. Who could blame the reverend if he never demanded another meeting again? Take a seat in Cracker Barrel, Jessie, and listen to the country laugh.
Cracker Barrel, the restaurant chain, is much loved by my down home in-laws but is a total culinary disaster in my estimation. If you remember Cool hand Luke this is the sort of food that would have had George Kennedy and Paul Newman banging their tin cups on the table. You're better off eating twice at Fazoli's twice for the same money. In any event, for those who don't have a Cracker Barrel in their area about a third of the building is devoted to a sort of folksy general store type gift shop where they sell tacky what nots, country music cd's and the Duck Dynasty merchandise both offensive and inoffensive. Offensive merchandise, in Cracker Barrel's opinion, is DD merchandise with Phil Robertson's likeness on it and for a whole 24 hours it was verboten. Then, as the rage on Face Book built and I suspect the sale of Christmas season gift cards declined, management had an epiphany and said, in effect, that they would gladly sell merchandise even if they did think it was offensive because they listen to their customers. Exactly what that says about their assessment of their customers' character I'm not sure but they folded nonetheless.
Enter Jesse Jackson the king of tolerance who was good enough to add "Hymietown" to the lexicon of racial tolerance. The reverend and Anheuser Busch distributorship owner demanded, yes demanded, a meeting with the managements of both A&E and Cracker Barrel. What's interesting here is that Jackson's demand was issued on December 23 with a request that the meeting take place within 72 hours.
And a Merry Christmas to you too, Jessie. Who wouldn't want to forgo Christmas with the family and catch a plane to Chicago during the holiday rush just to hear Jackson pontificate? Unless you know your way around Google better than I do there is no evidence that either of the two management teams even acknowledged the demand let alone met with Jackson. Who could blame the reverend if he never demanded another meeting again? Take a seat in Cracker Barrel, Jessie, and listen to the country laugh.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Advent And Obama
Sorry to post this after Advent but one could say that we are in a second advent awaiting you know who's return from Hawaii. Let us prepare for his arrival.
DOCTRINAIRES WITHOUT BORDERS?
DOCTRINAIRES WITHOUT BORDERS?
Succeeding Where The Chastity Belt Failed
Ain't enough alcohol in the world or enough darkness in the universe!
NO WE CAN'T!!!
NO WE CAN'T!!!
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Introduction To Neuro-Linguistic Programming
COVERT CONVERSATIONAL HYPNOTISM
I DON'T RECALL WHAT HE SAID BUT DAMN HE IS BRILLIANT
I DON'T RECALL WHAT HE SAID BUT DAMN HE IS BRILLIANT
Seriously, The Plot Revolved Around Terrorists Who Tried To Disrupt Obama's Inauguration. I'm Serious
MORE HAPPY FACES FROM JONESTOWN
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Merry Christmas: A Sad Poem From A Tortured Poet
I posted this before but I did it in a hurry and ran it all together. If you have the time, please read the poem slowly--as you should read all poetry--and absorb what is happening.
The poet becomes an object of sympathy. This is dark and ugly and discomforting. It is also insightful, I believe.
Pop
The poet becomes an object of sympathy. This is dark and ugly and discomforting. It is also insightful, I believe.
Pop
Sitting in his seat, a seat broad and broken
In, sprinkled with ashes,
Pop switches channels, takes another
Shot of Seagrams, neat, and asks
What to do with me, a green young man
Who fails to consider the
Flim and flam of the world, since
Things have been easy for me;
I stare hard at his face, a stare
That deflects off his brow;
I’m sure he’s unaware of his
Dark, watery eyes, that
Glance in different directions,
And his slow, unwelcome twitches,
Fail to pass.
I listen, nod,
Listen, open, till I cling to his pale,
Beige T-shirt, yelling,
Yelling in his ears, that hang
With heavy lobes, but he’s still telling
His joke, so I ask why
He’s so unhappy, to which he replies...
But I don’t care anymore, cause
He took too damn long, and from
Under my seat, I pull out the
Mirror I’ve been saving; I’m laughing,
Laughing loud, the blood rushing from his face
To mine, as he grows small,
A spot in my brain, something
That may be squeezed out, like a
Watermelon seed between
Two fingers.
Pop takes another shot, neat,
Points out the same amber
Stain on his shorts that I’ve got on mine, and
Makes me smell his smell, coming
From me; he switches channels, recites an old poem
He wrote before his mother died,
Stands, shouts, and asks
For a hug, as I shink, my
Arms barely reaching around
His thick, oily neck, and his broad back; ‘cause
I see my face, framed within
Pop’s black-framed glasses
And know he’s laughing too.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Phil Returns to Duck Dynasty. Happy, Happy, Happy but not GLAAD
Phil Robertson is the stud duck and now A&E knows it. When shooting resumes next year Phil will be there. TV Insider reports
A source close to the situation confirmed that when the network resumes airing new episodes of Duck Dynasty starting Jan. 15, footage featuring the Robertson patriarch will indeed remain intact. The network also hopes the media and fan furor will cool down over the holidays and that tensions over shooting future episodes can then be resolved.Maybe next time GLAAD will pick on someone easy such as Chick-fil-A
“There’s no negotiation to have; we’re doing the show,” said an insider close to the situation. “We’ll figure out a solution. It’s just not going to happen overnight. Everybody will take a break for the holidays and regroup afterward. That’s probably the smartest thing for everyone to do. Time heals a lot of wounds.”
The Robertson family hasn’t sounded as optimistic, with a source close to the Louisiana duck call clan telling E!: “They’re an extremely tight-knit family and they’re not going to let this get in the way. [Phil] is the reason for their success—they’re not going to abandon him. They’re also not about to let anyone threaten their religious beliefs.” A representative for the family could not be reached for comment.
About the "complicated nature" of Obama's personal information
As Time Magazine reported;
“Over the weekend and in advance of today’s deadline, the President enrolled in a health care plan made available by the Affordable Care Act on the DC marketplace,” the aide said. “As you all know, the President is one of the 85 percent of Americans who gets his health insurance through his employer and, like previous Presidents, is privileged to receive health care from the military. The act of the President signing up for insurance coverage through the DC exchange is symbolic since the President’s health care will continue to be provided by the military. But, he was pleased to participate in a plan as a show of support for these marketplaces which are providing quality, affordable health care options to more than a million people. The President selected a bronze plan.”
The aide added that Obama only signed himself up, and not the rest of the First Family. Obama also did not enroll through the troubled Healthcare.gov or the D.C. exchange’s website. Aides signed him up in person over the weekend, due to the “complicated nature of the President’s case,” the White House aide said. Some of Obama’s personal information is not readily accessible on the government databases used by the website for identity verification.
Could we go into “complicated nature of the President’s case,” a bit further? Why is the President's personal information not in government databases? You mean to tell us he doesn't have a real birth certificate or a valid social security number? Just asking. Or is he just afraid to put his personal identification on the DC exchange where it might get hacked and then we could possibly have a non citizen in the White House signing bills and making political appointments?
“Over the weekend and in advance of today’s deadline, the President enrolled in a health care plan made available by the Affordable Care Act on the DC marketplace,” the aide said. “As you all know, the President is one of the 85 percent of Americans who gets his health insurance through his employer and, like previous Presidents, is privileged to receive health care from the military. The act of the President signing up for insurance coverage through the DC exchange is symbolic since the President’s health care will continue to be provided by the military. But, he was pleased to participate in a plan as a show of support for these marketplaces which are providing quality, affordable health care options to more than a million people. The President selected a bronze plan.”
The aide added that Obama only signed himself up, and not the rest of the First Family. Obama also did not enroll through the troubled Healthcare.gov or the D.C. exchange’s website. Aides signed him up in person over the weekend, due to the “complicated nature of the President’s case,” the White House aide said. Some of Obama’s personal information is not readily accessible on the government databases used by the website for identity verification.
Could we go into “complicated nature of the President’s case,” a bit further? Why is the President's personal information not in government databases? You mean to tell us he doesn't have a real birth certificate or a valid social security number? Just asking. Or is he just afraid to put his personal identification on the DC exchange where it might get hacked and then we could possibly have a non citizen in the White House signing bills and making political appointments?
Obamacare gets an extra shopping day
EXCLUSIVE: Screenshot from @barackobama's visit to http://t.co/N2NRmL9QZm pic.twitter.com/NbJPSjO8kj
— Matt (@Matthops82) December 23, 2013
Luckily last minute shoppers have an extra day to enroll in Obamacare. The Washington Post reports that the administration did so without any public announcement of the change:If you are keeping score at home this is change number 15 Obama has made to Obamacare without congressional input.Over the weekend, government officials and outside IT contractors working on the online marketplace’s computer system made a software change that automatically gives people a Jan. 1 start date for their new coverage as long as they enroll by 11:59 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Restating The Obvious About "Duck Dynasty"
I know I am not the first to ask this but...Can TV execs be so stupid as to slaughter their only golden goose? Uhhh...yeah.
Smart people can do stupid things. How many recording honchos passed on the Beatles? Xerox fumbled the mouse and the GUI. IBM allowed Microsoft to license their software instead of buying it outright. Apple deposed Steve Jobs. The list goes on and on.
If A&E lets The Family Robertson slip through their greedy fingers, they will be inducted into the Corporate Blunder Hall Of Fame on the first ballot. I don't think "Shipping Wars: or "Rodeo Girls" or "Bad Ink" will fill the void.
Hey! I got an idea for a reality show starring the front office of A&E: "Network Makeover!"
Smart people can do stupid things. How many recording honchos passed on the Beatles? Xerox fumbled the mouse and the GUI. IBM allowed Microsoft to license their software instead of buying it outright. Apple deposed Steve Jobs. The list goes on and on.
If A&E lets The Family Robertson slip through their greedy fingers, they will be inducted into the Corporate Blunder Hall Of Fame on the first ballot. I don't think "Shipping Wars: or "Rodeo Girls" or "Bad Ink" will fill the void.
Hey! I got an idea for a reality show starring the front office of A&E: "Network Makeover!"
"Russia Times" Interviews Steven Seagal
It perplexes me, it bothers me, it annoys me, it pains me, it tortures me to compare Russia to the USA. Russia has risen, we have fallen. In everything that matters, Russia now surpasses the USA.
Russia has a superior human rights record. Pussy Riot or Gary Kasparov might garner headlines but I don't know of any Lois Lerners or her equivalent in Russia. If Russia is doing wholesale spying in the style of NSA, I am unaware of it. Russia is headed by an intellectual. We are headed by an overgrown college sophomore. Russia fights terrorism. We change the terminology. We have a punitive, counterproductive tax system based largely on revenge for imagined wrongs. Russia has a flat tax of 13%.
We could go on and on but one measure of decline and fall is that America no longer has a free press. OK, maybe it is free but it is usually incompetent, always cowardly, always biased. Americans have to go to places like "Russia Times" to find out what is happening in their homeland. That is a tragedy that cannot be put into words.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY TO RUSSIA TO FIND AN AMERICAN WHO WILL STATE THE OBVIOUS ABOUT CNN?
Russia has a superior human rights record. Pussy Riot or Gary Kasparov might garner headlines but I don't know of any Lois Lerners or her equivalent in Russia. If Russia is doing wholesale spying in the style of NSA, I am unaware of it. Russia is headed by an intellectual. We are headed by an overgrown college sophomore. Russia fights terrorism. We change the terminology. We have a punitive, counterproductive tax system based largely on revenge for imagined wrongs. Russia has a flat tax of 13%.
We could go on and on but one measure of decline and fall is that America no longer has a free press. OK, maybe it is free but it is usually incompetent, always cowardly, always biased. Americans have to go to places like "Russia Times" to find out what is happening in their homeland. That is a tragedy that cannot be put into words.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY TO RUSSIA TO FIND AN AMERICAN WHO WILL STATE THE OBVIOUS ABOUT CNN?
Friday, December 20, 2013
A&E Sponsors
Sensodyne: 1-866-844-2797
T-Mobile: Twitter @TMobile / 1-877-453-1304
Samsung: (PR department) samsungpr@edelman.com / Twitter @samsungtweets / 1-800-726-7864
Motorola: Twitter @motorola / 1-800-734-5870 / 1-847-523-5000
Walgreens: Twitter @walgreens / 1-800-925-4733
IHOP: 1-866-444-5144 / Twitter @IHOP / 1-818-240-6055
Macy’s: (PR Department) anne.keating@bloomingdales.com, 212-705-2434 / @Macys / 1-212-494-3000
Nokia: Twitter @Nokia / 1-888-665-4228
Microsoft: Twitter @microsoft / 1-800-642-7676
Verizon: Twitter @verizonwireless / 1-800- 837-4966
Bass Pro Shops: Twitter @Bass_Pro-Shops / 1-800-494-1300 or 1-800-227-7776
You can also contact A&E directly at feedbackaetv@aenetworks.com.
Read more at http://visiontoamerica.com/16454/list-of-ae-advertisers/#1ktmerfuYjelVwXs.99
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Lessons Of Phil Robertson, Duck Dynasty, A&E And GQ
The dinosaur media are alive and well but they ain't what they used to be. Why, oh why, do Republicans line up for the Sunday morning network pillories? Ten years ago, the Networks were the only game in town. No more. Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and private websites change everything. Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz can reach millions without the assistance of David Gregory or Bob Schieffer or George Bilderberg. Why even sit with the president's lackeys?
Why did Phil Robertson even give GQ the time of day? Yes, we have freedom of religion but only if your religion is sanctioned by the media elite. You actually believe Holy Scripture? Thou art suspended.
Of course I want to side with Phil Robertson in expressing his religious opinion even though I personally disagree with some of his religious opinions. But Phil Robertson is not exactly a victim. A&E needs the Mighty Ducks more than the Mighty Ducks need A&E. If push comes to shove, this might be the best thing that ever happened to the Robertson Family. If it was a dynasty before, I don't know what we will call Robertsons 2.0.
So what are the lessons?
1. The media elite would be wise to choose their battles. They are bullies and they had best stick to attacking defenseless targets. If you have a glass jaw...
2. It is no longer necessary to curry favor with the media elite.
3. If one should seek favor with the media elite, bypass GQ.
4. Principles still mean something and people respect principled people. If the Robertson Family stick to their guns, they will do just fine.
Why did Phil Robertson even give GQ the time of day? Yes, we have freedom of religion but only if your religion is sanctioned by the media elite. You actually believe Holy Scripture? Thou art suspended.
Of course I want to side with Phil Robertson in expressing his religious opinion even though I personally disagree with some of his religious opinions. But Phil Robertson is not exactly a victim. A&E needs the Mighty Ducks more than the Mighty Ducks need A&E. If push comes to shove, this might be the best thing that ever happened to the Robertson Family. If it was a dynasty before, I don't know what we will call Robertsons 2.0.
So what are the lessons?
1. The media elite would be wise to choose their battles. They are bullies and they had best stick to attacking defenseless targets. If you have a glass jaw...
2. It is no longer necessary to curry favor with the media elite.
3. If one should seek favor with the media elite, bypass GQ.
4. Principles still mean something and people respect principled people. If the Robertson Family stick to their guns, they will do just fine.
Walter Williams' Succinct Defense Of Capitalism
When someone says something as ridiculous as, "economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world" and concluding that "this opinion ... has never been confirmed by the facts." their authority, their credibility and even their mental clarity comes into question.
It is not disparate facts scattered like grains of sand across the universe that offer a defense of capitalism. The benefits of the slandered institution are overwhelming. Capitalism has benefited more people than water chlorination, antibiotics and surgery. Simply put, capitalism saves lives.
Here is Walter Williams. First, I acknowledge that capitalism fails miserably when compared with heaven or a utopia. Any earthly system is going to come up short in such a comparison. However, mankind must make choices among alternative economic systems that actually exist on earth. For the common man, capitalism is superior to any system yet devised to deal with his everyday needs and desires.
Read more below.
http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2013/12/18/the-pope-and-capitalism-n1763931?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl
It is not disparate facts scattered like grains of sand across the universe that offer a defense of capitalism. The benefits of the slandered institution are overwhelming. Capitalism has benefited more people than water chlorination, antibiotics and surgery. Simply put, capitalism saves lives.
Here is Walter Williams. First, I acknowledge that capitalism fails miserably when compared with heaven or a utopia. Any earthly system is going to come up short in such a comparison. However, mankind must make choices among alternative economic systems that actually exist on earth. For the common man, capitalism is superior to any system yet devised to deal with his everyday needs and desires.
Read more below.
http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2013/12/18/the-pope-and-capitalism-n1763931?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl
Kentucky Senate Race Tightens
Hmm. This Public Policy Polling poll finds finds Mitch McConnell leading challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes by only 1 point, 43% to 42%, While McConnell's inability to reach 50% against a challenger is troubling two things are important to consider. McConnell is facing a primary challenge and Grimes is not. The other consideration is the sample is skewed 52% Democrat to 39% Republican. That may or may not reflect voter registration in Kentucky but Barack Obama lost Kentucky by 16 points. His job approval in Kentucky is 31%. Leading from behind!
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Equal Time For Obots Department: The Empire Strikes Back Against Mia Marie Pope
Occupy Youtube is alive and well. Turns out Mia Marie Pope is a racist and a wannabe assassin, at least that's what Isadora Brush has to say.
Crazy.
Dangerous.
Racist.
It could be Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh or Mia Marie Pope. The Obots leave a distinct fingerprint when they assassinate one's character. They are all over the place with this one. This is not their best effort.
WHO KNEW?
Crazy.
Dangerous.
Racist.
It could be Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh or Mia Marie Pope. The Obots leave a distinct fingerprint when they assassinate one's character. They are all over the place with this one. This is not their best effort.
WHO KNEW?
Louis Farrakhan Is A Farm Subsidy Recipient
Maybe Willie Nelson will hold a telethon for this poor man of the soil.
Read more at http://theblacksphere.net/2013/12/louis-farrakhan-organization-received-103k-farm-subsidies/#UOzW92OX3elssAfT.99
In fairness, farm subsidies frequently go to urban residents who have dubious ties to agriculture.
http://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/7/Federal_Transfer_Report-_Farm_Subsidies_The_Big_Dogs_2013.pdf
Indeed, Obama’s appreciation of all things Islam does not stop there. Thanks to Adam Andrzejewski‘s watch dog organization, Open the Books, we discover that Louis Farrakhan, rabid Nation of Islam leader, has a little pet project, Muhammad Farms, which received $103,529 in aid between 2008 and 2011.
Hmmm. Farm subsidies in urban Chicago. That’s novel.
To be fair, the group did receive $26,357 under the Bush administration.
Read more at http://theblacksphere.net/2013/12/louis-farrakhan-organization-received-103k-farm-subsidies/#UOzW92OX3elssAfT.99
In fairness, farm subsidies frequently go to urban residents who have dubious ties to agriculture.
http://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/7/Federal_Transfer_Report-_Farm_Subsidies_The_Big_Dogs_2013.pdf
Monday, December 16, 2013
Happy Birthday, Keith Richards
Keith Richards, aka Keith Richard (if you are going to change your name, change it, man) Rolling Stones guitarist will be 70 years old this Wednesday. There are better guitarists to be sure but I am not sure if anyone has ever played so passionately. I am reading his autobiography but I won't finish it before his birthday as I had intended.
"Life" is a nice bit of escapism for me. I used to be a reader but these days I mostly read blogs. I miss the old days sometimes. But back to "Life."
Some fun facts:
Keith Richard was a choirboy whose group once sang for the Queen.
Keith was a Boy Scout but got kicked out for slapping a subordinate.
The first time Keith and Bill Wyman visited Chess Records, Muddy Waters was painting the ceiling. He did odd jobs around the office. The Chess Family vehemently denies this.
Keith was banging Ronnie Spector when she was married to Phil Spector.
For ten years, Keith was New Music Express's reigning #1 "Rock Star Most Likely To Die." He fell to #9 about thirty years ago.
Plenty of tidbits here.
I haven't gotten to the part where he rags on Jagger. I am not really looking forward to it. For me the most interesting part of the biography was Keith's childhood in Post-War England. I also like his descriptions of the real Rastafarians, not the Johnny Dread Come Lately Bob Marley.
One problem the Stones faced was waking Keith for shows. I don't have the book in front of me but at one point he says something like, "The only wake up call I would answer was 'Ladies and gentlemen, the Rolling Stones."
Mick Taylor is still a mystery. He just up and left the Stones. If I was fortunate enough and talented enough to be in his shoes, wild horses couldn't drag me away.
Next to the early years, the most interesting part is the formative days of the Stones. We forget how many barriers Rock and Roll had thrown in its path. Not just waggish patriarchs but the jazz establishment, the folk establishment, The R&B purists. It was all very tribal in those days. Then there was the clique of show biz kingmakers who ruled England. Nothing quite like that in the US but there were barriers here as well.
The Stones' saddest song for me was "Angie." Now that I read that it was inspired by Keith's infant daughter who would not stop crying, the song is not at all sad. It's kind of funny now.
I have been singing "Before They Make Me Run" with transongstantiated lyrics much worse than I ever suspected. Not just one or two words. I heard the whole thing wrong. What a heartfelt song, though.
Keith is a true pop music scholar. He lost me a few times with his guitar workshop that comes across as wonkish as Steve Wozniak getting all giddy over floppy disks.
With a hundred plus pages to go, I hope I don't ultimately sour on the narrative. Wish me well.
Happy Birthday, Keith!
"Life" is a nice bit of escapism for me. I used to be a reader but these days I mostly read blogs. I miss the old days sometimes. But back to "Life."
Some fun facts:
Keith Richard was a choirboy whose group once sang for the Queen.
Keith was a Boy Scout but got kicked out for slapping a subordinate.
The first time Keith and Bill Wyman visited Chess Records, Muddy Waters was painting the ceiling. He did odd jobs around the office. The Chess Family vehemently denies this.
Keith was banging Ronnie Spector when she was married to Phil Spector.
For ten years, Keith was New Music Express's reigning #1 "Rock Star Most Likely To Die." He fell to #9 about thirty years ago.
Plenty of tidbits here.
I haven't gotten to the part where he rags on Jagger. I am not really looking forward to it. For me the most interesting part of the biography was Keith's childhood in Post-War England. I also like his descriptions of the real Rastafarians, not the Johnny Dread Come Lately Bob Marley.
One problem the Stones faced was waking Keith for shows. I don't have the book in front of me but at one point he says something like, "The only wake up call I would answer was 'Ladies and gentlemen, the Rolling Stones."
Mick Taylor is still a mystery. He just up and left the Stones. If I was fortunate enough and talented enough to be in his shoes, wild horses couldn't drag me away.
Next to the early years, the most interesting part is the formative days of the Stones. We forget how many barriers Rock and Roll had thrown in its path. Not just waggish patriarchs but the jazz establishment, the folk establishment, The R&B purists. It was all very tribal in those days. Then there was the clique of show biz kingmakers who ruled England. Nothing quite like that in the US but there were barriers here as well.
The Stones' saddest song for me was "Angie." Now that I read that it was inspired by Keith's infant daughter who would not stop crying, the song is not at all sad. It's kind of funny now.
I have been singing "Before They Make Me Run" with transongstantiated lyrics much worse than I ever suspected. Not just one or two words. I heard the whole thing wrong. What a heartfelt song, though.
Keith is a true pop music scholar. He lost me a few times with his guitar workshop that comes across as wonkish as Steve Wozniak getting all giddy over floppy disks.
With a hundred plus pages to go, I hope I don't ultimately sour on the narrative. Wish me well.
Happy Birthday, Keith!
Senator you lied
Is this the template for the 2014 Senate elections? The advantage to having such a dominate issue as Obamacare is Republicans can market test and run the same ads in every state with an incumbent Democratic senator.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
It's no accident that the Osborne brothers are legendary
This well plagiarized paragraph is probably the closest account I will ever be able to find as to the origins of the Osborne Brother's fabulous career.
The end of World War II saw a large out migration from Appalachia as thousands of backwoods country boys found opportunity abounding in the Northern industrial cities. They met the world on their own terms, sequestering themselves in hill billy ghettos in cities such Detroit, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Dayton. They kept their churches and their music. More aptly they gave the world their music. The Osborne family moved to Dayton and the brothers went about the business of selling Bluegrass to the world. The Osborne Brothers became the first bluegrass group to perform on a college campus at Antioch College in 1960 and the first bluegrass group to perform at the White House in 1973. They joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1964.
Other than having a demanding father who was apparently their biggest fan, in Bobby the most recognized tenor voice in bluegrass that could hold a note all afternoon, in Sonny a banjo player good enough to play for Bill Monroe at 14, the creativity to conjure up their unique "stacked harmony" and the show businesses acumen to hitch onto the folk music trend the brothers didn't have a lot going for them after Bobby took time out to fight in Korea and win a purple heart. If Sonny was musician enough to play for Bill Monroe at 14 Bobby was creative enough at 17 to write Pain in my Heart that was later recorded by the legendary Flatt and Scruggs.
Before he had a career Bobby tried to emulate Ernest Tubbs, even playing an electric guitar. That all changed when his dad took the family to hear Bill Monroe when he played Dayton. He continued with his guitar until he teamed up with Jimmy Martin who wanted to play guitar. He then made himself one of the best mandolin players in the business. Savor this account of Sonny's banjo background from the Basement Rug.
Here is an example of that stacked harmony at its very best.
So where the Osborne Bothers, Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs able to sell their music to the world ? Could be the answer is yes. Ask someone in the Korean audience if he likes Japanese bluegrass.
In June 1949, at age 17, Bobby Osborne made his first radio broadcast appearance at WPFB in Middletown, Ohio. At his father’s insistence, Bobby sang “Ruby” for the first time, and 50 telegrams were received by the station asking them to have Bobby sing it again. They did, he did, and as they say, “The rest is history!” That song became a signature for The Osborne Brothers throughout their career.Ruby was coal mining folk song and young Osborne had probably heard it first while in the cradle. The Osborne brothers were born in the heart of the Eastern Kentucky coal fields. They were born in Roark, Kentucky but moved to Hyden after the family home burnt down. One supposes that Bobby wasn't inclined to push his luck as his debuting song became his signature song for the next 20 years until he and his brother recorded Rocky Top on Christmas Day of 1967.
The end of World War II saw a large out migration from Appalachia as thousands of backwoods country boys found opportunity abounding in the Northern industrial cities. They met the world on their own terms, sequestering themselves in hill billy ghettos in cities such Detroit, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Dayton. They kept their churches and their music. More aptly they gave the world their music. The Osborne family moved to Dayton and the brothers went about the business of selling Bluegrass to the world. The Osborne Brothers became the first bluegrass group to perform on a college campus at Antioch College in 1960 and the first bluegrass group to perform at the White House in 1973. They joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1964.
Other than having a demanding father who was apparently their biggest fan, in Bobby the most recognized tenor voice in bluegrass that could hold a note all afternoon, in Sonny a banjo player good enough to play for Bill Monroe at 14, the creativity to conjure up their unique "stacked harmony" and the show businesses acumen to hitch onto the folk music trend the brothers didn't have a lot going for them after Bobby took time out to fight in Korea and win a purple heart. If Sonny was musician enough to play for Bill Monroe at 14 Bobby was creative enough at 17 to write Pain in my Heart that was later recorded by the legendary Flatt and Scruggs.
Before he had a career Bobby tried to emulate Ernest Tubbs, even playing an electric guitar. That all changed when his dad took the family to hear Bill Monroe when he played Dayton. He continued with his guitar until he teamed up with Jimmy Martin who wanted to play guitar. He then made himself one of the best mandolin players in the business. Savor this account of Sonny's banjo background from the Basement Rug.
He began by convincing his dad to buy him a $100 Kay five string banjo which they ordered through the school music department. Before the banjo arrived, Sonny remembers sitting in class at school, trying to figure out a Ralph Stanley break on “We’ll Be Sweethearts in Heaven”. Sonny felt he had the right hand figured out for that song, and also “Cripple Creek”. A few weeks later when the banjo finally arrived, to the amazement of his Dad, music teacher and himself, Sonny was immediately able to play it. He practiced at least five, and sometimes as much as 15 hours a day, out on the back porch swing. Often he’d still be up at 4:45 a.m., at which time he would hurry off to bed and pretend to be asleep before his father awoke for work at 5:00 a.m. and checked on him. Sonny says his father never was the wiser.
Then he hired out to Bill Monroe
Bobby was in Korea at this time, in the United States Marine Corp. When school was out in June of 1952, Jimmy Martin and Sonny went to Bean Blossom, Indiana to see Bill Monroe. Bill hired Jimmy, and with Jimmy’s insistence, also hired 14 year old Sonny. A week later they were off to Nashville. On Sonny’s first Grand Ole Opry appearance with the Bluegrass Boys, he performed “Rawhide”. It was during this time period when Sonny recorded nine tunes with Monroe. This was quite an experience for a 14 year old.Key to the brothers' success was their stacked harmony vocal style. This technique enabled Bobby to sing lead at the top of his range during verses, and stay on the high lead in the chorus. Sonny sang baritone and usually another vocalist sang low tenor. That produced very smooth harmonies, but without the lonesome quality. Their music never sounded forlorn. The Osbornes offended some in the "we don't plug in" community when they used electric instruments and even drums but they had livings to earn. It's not as if some fiddlers didn't admit that they borrowed their own patented technique from from a clarinet player or that Monroe himself loved to go clubbing in New Orleans to savor jazz and dixie land. Sonny retired in 2005 following a stroke but Bobby continues to perform.
Here is an example of that stacked harmony at its very best.
So where the Osborne Bothers, Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs able to sell their music to the world ? Could be the answer is yes. Ask someone in the Korean audience if he likes Japanese bluegrass.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Jailer Brutally's Assaults Suspect
The corrections officer slammed the DUI suspect's head against the wall for making a spitting sound as he tried to clear his throat. He was knocked unconscious and his head was bloodied. In an unusual turn of events the officer was actually arrested and jailed for 13 minutes until he could make bail. He is on unpaid leave. The incident occurred in Marion County, Florida.
The Marion County Sheriff is not pleased with the publicity and the criminal case will go forward.
'Employees of the Marion County Sheriff's Office are expected, and required, to maintain the highest level of integrity and accountability in our dealings with the public - including inmates incarcerated in the Marion County Jail,' a statement noted.
The Marion County Sheriff is not pleased with the publicity and the criminal case will go forward.
'Employees of the Marion County Sheriff's Office are expected, and required, to maintain the highest level of integrity and accountability in our dealings with the public - including inmates incarcerated in the Marion County Jail,' a statement noted.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Is The Small Bank An Endangered Species?
Lowest number of banks since 1934...
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304579404579232343313671258
Let The Castro Brothers Feed Your Collection Plate!
Orwell said, “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” I accepted this quote as a truism but I also thought of it as an abstraction. History was in my eyes, more or less true. We might fudge on the details here and there but the essence is usually valid.
Never before have I seen history rewritten before my very eyes. Now the Pope is attacking high salaries and endorses economic equality. In a zillion spheres economic freedom has enriched the poor. Capitalist countries do not have famine. Period. When capitalism is watered down or worse, eliminated, the poor suffer and the productive are scapegoated. That is history repeated over and over and over. Now the Pope is rewriting history.
I was brought back to the pew by the "Catholics Come Home" advertising campaign. Surprisingly, I enjoyed my return more than I thought I would. Priests were friendlier than I had remembered them. Father Mark and Father Steve served up homilies that were everything homilies were supposed to be. I actually grew interested in the character and nuance of Catholicism. Saint Augustine and Ave Maria, that sort of thing.
Yes, there were leftists on the pulpit. I smelled trouble when I heard the sob stories of "undocumented people," "the common good" and bristled at other loaded terms. We look past such things and pray for clarity, especially for our leaders. But then we went from the subtle to the overt. The Pope denounces the machinery of prosperity and the machinery of freedom. That is a game changer.
I was fairly generous with the collection plate. No more. They can get Barack Obama or Michael Moore or Susan Sarandon to keep the lights on. I cannot worship in a church whose leader spews falsehood.
Never before have I seen history rewritten before my very eyes. Now the Pope is attacking high salaries and endorses economic equality. In a zillion spheres economic freedom has enriched the poor. Capitalist countries do not have famine. Period. When capitalism is watered down or worse, eliminated, the poor suffer and the productive are scapegoated. That is history repeated over and over and over. Now the Pope is rewriting history.
I was brought back to the pew by the "Catholics Come Home" advertising campaign. Surprisingly, I enjoyed my return more than I thought I would. Priests were friendlier than I had remembered them. Father Mark and Father Steve served up homilies that were everything homilies were supposed to be. I actually grew interested in the character and nuance of Catholicism. Saint Augustine and Ave Maria, that sort of thing.
Yes, there were leftists on the pulpit. I smelled trouble when I heard the sob stories of "undocumented people," "the common good" and bristled at other loaded terms. We look past such things and pray for clarity, especially for our leaders. But then we went from the subtle to the overt. The Pope denounces the machinery of prosperity and the machinery of freedom. That is a game changer.
I was fairly generous with the collection plate. No more. They can get Barack Obama or Michael Moore or Susan Sarandon to keep the lights on. I cannot worship in a church whose leader spews falsehood.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Why Are We Flying the Flag At Half Mast For This America-Hater?
1) “If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don’t care for human beings.”
2) “Long live the Cuban revolution. Long live comrade Fidel Castro … Cuban internationalists have done so much for African independence, freedom and justice. We admire the sacrifices of the Cuban people in maintaining their independence and sovereignty in the face of a vicious imperialist campaign designed to destroy the advances of the Cuban revolution. We too want to control our destiny. … There can be no surrender. It is a case of freedom or death. The Cuban revolution has been a source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people.”
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/12/the-real-mandela-in-his-own-words/#R8LHJ8HyJmIicXzm.99
2) “Long live the Cuban revolution. Long live comrade Fidel Castro … Cuban internationalists have done so much for African independence, freedom and justice. We admire the sacrifices of the Cuban people in maintaining their independence and sovereignty in the face of a vicious imperialist campaign designed to destroy the advances of the Cuban revolution. We too want to control our destiny. … There can be no surrender. It is a case of freedom or death. The Cuban revolution has been a source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people.”
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/12/the-real-mandela-in-his-own-words/#R8LHJ8HyJmIicXzm.99
Issa Accuses FBI and IRS of Obstructing Justice
Six months after it began, the FBI’s investigation has resulted in no release of information. The congressmen said the FBI even rescinded an offer for an in-person briefing with the assistant director in charge of the investigation. The reversal, after the FBI consulted with the Justice Department, suggests political meddling, the two investigators said.
“The department’s tactics have impeded a congressional investigation and interfered with the committee’s access to documents and information. Obstructing a congressional investigation is a crime,” Mr. Issa and Mr. Jordan said in their letter to Mr. Comey, warning that if they don’t get the information they will use “compulsory” means.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/2/lawmakers-suspect-fbi-is-impeding-irs-inquiry-targ/#.Up4_3YnNSiE.twitter#ixzz2n7s8gwXi
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
Meanwhile, The King of Corruption makes light of the IRS scandal, literally the biggest scandal in the history of the United States.
http://eaglerising.com/3409/president-obama-makes-light-irs-scandal/
“The department’s tactics have impeded a congressional investigation and interfered with the committee’s access to documents and information. Obstructing a congressional investigation is a crime,” Mr. Issa and Mr. Jordan said in their letter to Mr. Comey, warning that if they don’t get the information they will use “compulsory” means.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/2/lawmakers-suspect-fbi-is-impeding-irs-inquiry-targ/#.Up4_3YnNSiE.twitter#ixzz2n7s8gwXi
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
Meanwhile, The King of Corruption makes light of the IRS scandal, literally the biggest scandal in the history of the United States.
http://eaglerising.com/3409/president-obama-makes-light-irs-scandal/
Monday, December 9, 2013
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Is This Why The GOP Will Not Fight Blatant Voter Fraud?
We know that something is wrong with the picture but we are no sure what? The Democrats have been caught repeatedly committing voter fraud and The Republican Party will not fight even the most obvious abuses? Why?
This explanation is that it stems from a consent decree stemming from Republican wrongdoing 30+ years ago. Roll over and salute Caesar. There is no opposition party. We are doomed.
http://dcclothesline.com/2013/06/30/why-the-gop-wont-challenge-vote-fraud/
This explanation is that it stems from a consent decree stemming from Republican wrongdoing 30+ years ago. Roll over and salute Caesar. There is no opposition party. We are doomed.
http://dcclothesline.com/2013/06/30/why-the-gop-wont-challenge-vote-fraud/
Did Bill Ayers Misspeak About Uncle Omar?
The inimitable Howie Carr weaves his magic.
The question all week long was this:
Who are you going to believe, an illegal alien or the president of the United States of America?
Obviously, if it’s a president who once went by an alias, Barry Soetoro, you go with Uncle Omar, 100 percent, no questions asked.
Read the entire column at the link below.
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/columnists/howie_carr/2013/12/carr_twisting_the_truth_till_you_cry_uncle
Honors Student Shot to Death After Traffic Stop
An honors student described by his friends as "sweetest, kindest, gentlest person" was shot to death by a campus cop after he was stopped for driving erratically. He was unarmed and shot 4 to 6 times. A witness described hearing 'five or six' gunshots, but no verbal warnings.
'I didn't hear him say anything like, "Get down on your hands and knees," you know? I didn't hear him say anything. He just started shooting, He emptied the gun on him,' he said. 'Boom, boom, boom.'
The shooter, Corporal Chris Carter was placed on administrative leave but not charged. His gig at the University of the Incarnate Word Police Department in San Antonio, Texas was his ninth job at eight different agencies over his eight-year law enforcement career. His 7 month stint at UIW was the longest employment of his career.
'I didn't hear him say anything like, "Get down on your hands and knees," you know? I didn't hear him say anything. He just started shooting, He emptied the gun on him,' he said. 'Boom, boom, boom.'
The shooter, Corporal Chris Carter was placed on administrative leave but not charged. His gig at the University of the Incarnate Word Police Department in San Antonio, Texas was his ninth job at eight different agencies over his eight-year law enforcement career. His 7 month stint at UIW was the longest employment of his career.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Think you're Harvard material?
Think you're Harvard material? Don't sell yourself short. Chances are you could carry and A average and graduate with honors. Put it this way. The odds favor that you will graduate with honors as 60% of graduates do. In a brief concession to common sense Harvard set the limit at 60% as graduating 90% honors students looked a little too silly. The most common grade at Harvard is an A-. The University issued this curiously worded statement to ABC news.
We believe that learning is the most important thing that happens in our classrooms and throughout our system of residential education,” the school said in a statement from spokesman Jeff Neal. “The faculty are focused on creating positive and lasting learning outcomes for our undergraduates. We watch and review trends in grading across Harvard College, but we are most interested in helping our students learn and learn well.I'm sure you are as glad as I am that Harvard considers learning the most thing that happens in its classrooms. Dad would probably not be apt to shell out $54,496 per year if the most important thing was drinking or hooking up but when Harvard sweetens the deal by throwing in a positive and lasting learning outcome as opposed to a mere education, well, that's an offer no one can refuse.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Taxing drivers by the mile is idiocy on steroids
If you thought Obamacare was the zenith of Democratic stupidity view this clever proposal. From the Hill:
As to the the Congressman's proposal to tax by the mile, it is idiotically inefficient. The federal gasoline tax is presently administered with a scant minimum of cost to either the government or the consumer / taxpayer. Abuse of the program hardly exists. Under this proposal the motorist would, I presume, report his odometer reading at some regular interval and and remit payment. Good luck on that. Americans are loath to pay taxes and especially loath to write checks to pay taxes. The reason the public tolerates excise taxes is because they are hidden but making them visible will only lead to resentment and opposition. One suspects that at some point Blumenauer would want to mandate some go to hell black box that one would tamper with only under a penalty of a 5 year prison term, equipped with a 4G interface that would dutifully tell the motorist's bank to send X dollars post haste. Writing such a program would be child's play for a tech savvy company such as CGI.
It's not about the money. This is the liberal mind at work. It is about making taxation onerous on the many so they will cultivate a proper fear of jackasses like Blumenauer. It's about pushing people around.
While researching the topic I stumbled across this graphic by Doug Short of The Business Insider. This chart was created using data from the Department of Transportation.
Viewing the chart does not indicate that more miles will be driven in the future. Off hand I would say it may have been a good idea 40 years ago but when oil prices started to surge in 2007 the number of miles driven declined. Would the Congressman's sustainable tax be producing more revenue today than it did in 2006? Before any taxes are raised the people in Washington need to explain why a nation that is driving less should be paying more for road building and repairs.
Rep. Earl Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) on Tuesday reintroduced legislation that would require the government to study the most practical ways of taxing drivers based on how far they drive, in order to help fund federal highway programs.First, it's merely a personal prejudice but I feel that anyone using the adjective "sustainable" should have molten lead poured down his throat to serve notice that the public will no longer accept such silly nonsense. Banality is not a virtue and when politicians learn to speak intelligent English without pretension maybe the public may begin to take them seriously.
Blumenauer's bill, H.R. 3638, would set up a Road Usage Fee Pilot Program, which he said would study mileage-based fee systems. He cast his bill as a long-term solution for funding highway programs, and proposed it along with a shorter-term plan to nearly double the gas tax, from 18.4 cents to 33.4 cents per gallon.
"As we extend the gas tax, we must also think about how to replace it with something more sustainable," Blumenauer said Tuesday. "The best candidate would be the vehicle mile traveled fee being explored by pilot projects in Oregon and implemented there on a voluntary basis next year."
He said the bill would help answer questions about "how best to implement a vehicle miles traveled [VMT] system," and said it "looks to the future and helps provide a more stable funding base for the next one hundred years."
(D-Ore.) on Tuesday reintroduced legislation that would require the government to study the most practical ways of taxing drivers based on how far they drive, in order to help fund federal highway programs.
Blumenauer's bill, H.R. 3638, would set up a Road Usage Fee Pilot Program, which he said would study mileage-based fee systems. He cast his bill as a long-term solution for funding highway programs, and proposed it along with a shorter-term plan to nearly double the gas tax, from 18.4 cents to 33.4 cents per gallon.
"As we extend the gas tax, we must also think about how to replace it with something more sustainable," Blumenauer said Tuesday. "The best candidate would be the vehicle mile traveled fee being explored by pilot projects in Oregon and implemented there on a voluntary basis next year."
He said the bill would help answer questions about "how best to implement a vehicle miles traveled [VMT] system," and said it "looks to the future and helps provide a more stable funding base for the next one hundred years."
As to the the Congressman's proposal to tax by the mile, it is idiotically inefficient. The federal gasoline tax is presently administered with a scant minimum of cost to either the government or the consumer / taxpayer. Abuse of the program hardly exists. Under this proposal the motorist would, I presume, report his odometer reading at some regular interval and and remit payment. Good luck on that. Americans are loath to pay taxes and especially loath to write checks to pay taxes. The reason the public tolerates excise taxes is because they are hidden but making them visible will only lead to resentment and opposition. One suspects that at some point Blumenauer would want to mandate some go to hell black box that one would tamper with only under a penalty of a 5 year prison term, equipped with a 4G interface that would dutifully tell the motorist's bank to send X dollars post haste. Writing such a program would be child's play for a tech savvy company such as CGI.
It's not about the money. This is the liberal mind at work. It is about making taxation onerous on the many so they will cultivate a proper fear of jackasses like Blumenauer. It's about pushing people around.
While researching the topic I stumbled across this graphic by Doug Short of The Business Insider. This chart was created using data from the Department of Transportation.
Viewing the chart does not indicate that more miles will be driven in the future. Off hand I would say it may have been a good idea 40 years ago but when oil prices started to surge in 2007 the number of miles driven declined. Would the Congressman's sustainable tax be producing more revenue today than it did in 2006? Before any taxes are raised the people in Washington need to explain why a nation that is driving less should be paying more for road building and repairs.
Martin Bashir quits MSNBC
Martin Bashir has left MSNBC. The Washington Free Beacon has put together this video to commemorate his most famous words (word). Indeed!
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Obama Worship Is Alive And Well: Son Of Promise, Child Of Hope
This blog covers a multitude of subjects but it was started by a miffed and confused and frightened observer who was trying hard to understand the deification of a petty human being of minuscule talent. This was not the elevation of Ray Kurzweil or Steve Jobs or some other accomplished individual. Quite the opposite.
We are still concerned about the rise of the most successful religious-political cult in the history of Planet Earth. It is too burdensome and too demoralizing to track this all of the time. However, we do feel the need to check in now and then.
The faithful have made another play in where else, our public schools. Once again, Barack Obama has been identified as the messiah.
We are still concerned about the rise of the most successful religious-political cult in the history of Planet Earth. It is too burdensome and too demoralizing to track this all of the time. However, we do feel the need to check in now and then.
The faithful have made another play in where else, our public schools. Once again, Barack Obama has been identified as the messiah.
A new lesson plan for American school students, offered on an open marketplace for educators, is reprising what some devout followers have called Barack Obama for several years already – a messiah.
Created by Sherece Bennett, it’s based on the book “Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope” by Nikki Grimes.
Kyle Olson reported the plan on his Education Action Group website, commenting that it casts Obama “in a messianic light. Literally.”
2014 is shaping up to be a blowout for Democrats
Now, I’m starting to feel a sense of deja vu when talking with Democrats. Anytime 2010 comes up in a conversation, it is quickly dismissed as an aberration. Most Democrats can’t even imagine another election cycle where President Barack Obama is as unpopular and as much of a drag on Democrats as he was in his first midterm.He goes on to cite a recent Quinnipiac poll that shows Colorado Senator Mark Udall pulling no more than 45% against 4 unknown Republicans and states that there are at least 10 other Democratic Senate seats that are structurally more vulnerable than Colorado. Gonzales concludes that it's doubtful that Republicans can pick up another 63 House seats in 2014 but that is hardly necessary.
But I’m not sure we can rule out the possibility that next November will be a very bad year for Democrats.
The 2010 blowout was was attributed to Obama's lack of popularity but in 2014 the issue of personal culpability of many Senate and Congressional Democrats in misleading the public about being able to keep their health insurance can be documented on YouTube videos. This blog has posted several Democratic Senators making that pledge. All of this comes as the latest Rasmussen poll gives the Republicans a 5 point edge in the generic congressional poll which boost the GOP's margin to 2.5 in the RCP average of polls. 2014 could be a very bad year.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Wisconsin's John Doe Investigation
If the GOP does not retaliate in kind, we can go ahead and shroud them.
The news is full of references to an ongoing John Doe investigation concerning the activities of persons connected to Gov. Scott Walker while he served as Milwaukee County executive. John Doe, in this context, does not refer to a person; it is a legal proceeding.
The John Doe proceeding is an institution sanctioned by long usage since Wisconsin’s territorial days.1 The provisions of Wis. Stat. section 968.26 currently define the scope of a John Doe proceeding in Wisconsin, which is intended as an independent, investigatory tool to ascertain whether a crime has been committed and if so, by whom.
Continued at following link.
http://www.hbslawfirm.com/articles_display.php?id=72
Mr. O'Keefe says he received his subpoena in early October. He adds that at least three of the targets had their homes raided at dawn, with law-enforcement officers turning over belongings to seize computers and files.
Mr. O'Keefe and other sources say they don't know the genesis of the probe, and Mr. Schmitz declined comment. The first public reference appeared in an October 21 blog post by Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Mr. Bice is well known for his Democratic sources.
Continued at following link.
Is Milton Friedman The New Galileo?
With one Papal sucker punch I went from Cafeteria Catholic to Anorexic Catholic. For about half of my life I have been a practicing Catholic and for about half of my life I have been indifferent to all religious practice.
I originally grew alienated from all religion due to religious priorities. Every religion I had encountered emphasized matters of sensuality--more specifically the abstaining from sensuality-- to the exclusion of all else. All else!
What would I have liked to have them address? Abuses of governmental power would be nice. Wall Street witch hunts, excessive taxation, laws that facilitate predation, laws that facilitate parasitism, and any action that facilitates the theft of volition.
I could come to accept that religions are just politically neutral on things that really matter. But the recent Papal missive actually endorses tyranny. There is no way to otherwise state it. I cannot place my imprimatur on the tenor, tone or content of the Pope's statement.
In addition to my moral objection, I also object to the Pope's comments because they run counter to a body of empirical knowledge. Catholicism was sometimes easy for me because I agree with the Church's position on abortion and evolution and that Galileo thing, that was a long time ago. It was convenient that I was not asked to believe that our planet was four thousand years old or that dinosaurs never existed or that there was no such thing as mutation. When theology clashes with empiricism, I am siding with the empirical every single time.
The empirical evidence for the merits of capitalism is overwhelming. It depresses me that after a century of failed communism, failed socialism and the many efforts at relabeling and repackaging, we still have these discussions. South Korea vs. North Korea, West Germany vs. East Germany, Taiwan vs. Mainland China. Singapore vs. Mainland China. My favorite, Hong Kong vs. Mainland China. Hong Kong had zero natural resources. None. They even had to import water. Yet, they had to build fences to limit the starving peasants who tried to wander in from the People's Republic.
We can also measure the economic welfare of citizens of Russia or the Ukraine or Estonia vs. the welfare of the citizens of The Soviet Union. Standing in line for rationed goods was the national pastime of the USSR. A country loaded with natural resources produced mass starvation. Two decades after liquidation,has more billionaires than any city in the world. Trickle down/spillover economics has been good to yesterday's comrades.
Milton Friedman (along with his wife, Rose) summarizes collectivism's dismal record in "Free To Choose." It is an easy read and nicely summarizes his lifetime of observations. Friedman's conclusions are not consistent with the Pope's recent statements. Will free market economists be denounced as heretics?
I can sooner believe that the sun revolves around the earth than I can believe in the tyranny of unfettered capitalism. Empiricism trumps silliness. Sorry, Your Holiness.
I originally grew alienated from all religion due to religious priorities. Every religion I had encountered emphasized matters of sensuality--more specifically the abstaining from sensuality-- to the exclusion of all else. All else!
What would I have liked to have them address? Abuses of governmental power would be nice. Wall Street witch hunts, excessive taxation, laws that facilitate predation, laws that facilitate parasitism, and any action that facilitates the theft of volition.
I could come to accept that religions are just politically neutral on things that really matter. But the recent Papal missive actually endorses tyranny. There is no way to otherwise state it. I cannot place my imprimatur on the tenor, tone or content of the Pope's statement.
In addition to my moral objection, I also object to the Pope's comments because they run counter to a body of empirical knowledge. Catholicism was sometimes easy for me because I agree with the Church's position on abortion and evolution and that Galileo thing, that was a long time ago. It was convenient that I was not asked to believe that our planet was four thousand years old or that dinosaurs never existed or that there was no such thing as mutation. When theology clashes with empiricism, I am siding with the empirical every single time.
The empirical evidence for the merits of capitalism is overwhelming. It depresses me that after a century of failed communism, failed socialism and the many efforts at relabeling and repackaging, we still have these discussions. South Korea vs. North Korea, West Germany vs. East Germany, Taiwan vs. Mainland China. Singapore vs. Mainland China. My favorite, Hong Kong vs. Mainland China. Hong Kong had zero natural resources. None. They even had to import water. Yet, they had to build fences to limit the starving peasants who tried to wander in from the People's Republic.
We can also measure the economic welfare of citizens of Russia or the Ukraine or Estonia vs. the welfare of the citizens of The Soviet Union. Standing in line for rationed goods was the national pastime of the USSR. A country loaded with natural resources produced mass starvation. Two decades after liquidation,has more billionaires than any city in the world. Trickle down/spillover economics has been good to yesterday's comrades.
Milton Friedman (along with his wife, Rose) summarizes collectivism's dismal record in "Free To Choose." It is an easy read and nicely summarizes his lifetime of observations. Friedman's conclusions are not consistent with the Pope's recent statements. Will free market economists be denounced as heretics?
I can sooner believe that the sun revolves around the earth than I can believe in the tyranny of unfettered capitalism. Empiricism trumps silliness. Sorry, Your Holiness.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Cancer Victim Who States He Lost Coverage Due To Obamacare Now Hit By IRS Audit
And the insurance broker who assisted the cancer victim is being audited back to 2003.
http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=214666
This is a long story but is well summarized here.
http://csteventucker.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/the-truth-about-preexisting-conditions/
http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=214666
This is a long story but is well summarized here.
http://csteventucker.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/the-truth-about-preexisting-conditions/
From The Blogroll: What if Jackie Robinson Had Batted 220?
White guilt is alive and well and the Chicago political machine has taken full advantage of the situation. Great analysis on why the loyalists still cling to a failed president.
But is it just black pride and white guilt that sustain the worst president since Richard Nixon and the most corrupt and abusive administration (with no close seconds) in US History? No. The haters on the left are willing to sacrifice everything, including their access to health care, to keep conservatives/Christians/Mormons/Republicans out of the White House.
http://datechguyblog.com/2013/11/29/liberal-guilt-isnt-the-whole-story/
But is it just black pride and white guilt that sustain the worst president since Richard Nixon and the most corrupt and abusive administration (with no close seconds) in US History? No. The haters on the left are willing to sacrifice everything, including their access to health care, to keep conservatives/Christians/Mormons/Republicans out of the White House.
http://datechguyblog.com/2013/11/29/liberal-guilt-isnt-the-whole-story/
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Is Bill Ayers Really Taking Credit For "Dreams From My Father" ???
I am surprised the linguistically rich Barack Obama was not presented with a Pulitzer Prize to complement his Nobel Peace Prize. Should that event have transpired, one wonders if Barry would have given sufficient thanks to Bill Ayers at his acceptance speech.
Others waxed proudly about how his tangled and biracial life story reflected "the diversity of America."
But this myth-making was recently busted by Obama biographer David Maraniss, who documented at least 38 instances in the president's life story that were fabricated. Obama made up people, events and history. Much of the book was pure fiction.
The real story may be that Obama was deeper in bed with an unrepentant America-hating militant socialist than he has admitted.
Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-obama-care/112613-680812-bill-ayers-claims-authorship-of-obama-dreams-memoir.htm#ixzz2luL0mgML
Follow us: @IBDinvestors on Twitter | InvestorsBusinessDaily on Facebook
Even if Bill Ayers outs himself, I don't know if it will make any difference. Obots practice unconditional love for their master.
Others waxed proudly about how his tangled and biracial life story reflected "the diversity of America."
But this myth-making was recently busted by Obama biographer David Maraniss, who documented at least 38 instances in the president's life story that were fabricated. Obama made up people, events and history. Much of the book was pure fiction.
The real story may be that Obama was deeper in bed with an unrepentant America-hating militant socialist than he has admitted.
Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-obama-care/112613-680812-bill-ayers-claims-authorship-of-obama-dreams-memoir.htm#ixzz2luL0mgML
Follow us: @IBDinvestors on Twitter | InvestorsBusinessDaily on Facebook
Even if Bill Ayers outs himself, I don't know if it will make any difference. Obots practice unconditional love for their master.
CNN & MSNBC lose nearly half thier audiences
If cable news seems a bit jaundiced this Thanksgiving Day try to remember there are some who have seen their fortunes decline and a bit of depression is forgivable. CNN and MSNBC have seen their ratings cut in half since the glory days of election year viewing. Year to year CNN has lost 48% of it audience while MSNBC shed 45% of its viewers. It was so bad that even Fox is down 18% from the peak.
The prime time slots were a real blowout. CNN was off 54% and 62% in the key demo while MSNBC dropped 50% and 57% in the demo. Fox was off 21% and 41% respectively.
The prime time slots were a real blowout. CNN was off 54% and 62% in the key demo while MSNBC dropped 50% and 57% in the demo. Fox was off 21% and 41% respectively.
In This Era Of New Scandal Every Week, It Is Easy To Overlook One Or Two Here And There
In most years this would be led story but we are like dumb ass frogs swimming in boiling water. Oh, the Feds are raiding reporters' homes? It's the new normal. Get used to it.
I have heard about this blatant abuse of power from Michael Savage and to be fair, when I have searched this online, it has been mentioned here and there. Still, this attack on the 1st and 2nd Amendments has been underplayed.
Investigative journalist Audrey Hudson complained this week about a pre-dawn raid that federal and state agents conducted at her house. She claims that the authorities not only violated the terms of their search warrant, but that the whole incident was a deliberate intimidation tactic.
http://reason.com/blog/2013/10/31/feds-raid-investigative-journalist-audre
I have heard about this blatant abuse of power from Michael Savage and to be fair, when I have searched this online, it has been mentioned here and there. Still, this attack on the 1st and 2nd Amendments has been underplayed.
Investigative journalist Audrey Hudson complained this week about a pre-dawn raid that federal and state agents conducted at her house. She claims that the authorities not only violated the terms of their search warrant, but that the whole incident was a deliberate intimidation tactic.
http://reason.com/blog/2013/10/31/feds-raid-investigative-journalist-audre
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Mainstream Media Fall For Tweets Of Faux Congressman
Note: There is no Steve Smith in Congress and Georgia only has 14 districts.
http://genfringe.com/2013/11/lame-stream-media-falls-for-fake-congressman/
http://genfringe.com/2013/11/lame-stream-media-falls-for-fake-congressman/
Today's Thomas Sowell Quote
"One of the reasons it has taken so long for some people to finally see through Barack Obama is that people do not like to admit, even to themselves, that they have been played for fools by a slick-talking politician." Thomas Sowell.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Only 7 RSVP Obamacare seminar with free dinner
Would go to a health insurance exchange seminar if they kicked in a free dinner? If Bloomington, New Mexico is a valid sample then the answer is probably NO.
"We advertised for three weeks before, put it on our reader board and hand-delivered invitations to various doctor's offices and small businesses," said Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce President Janet Mackey. "We only had seven people RSVP, and since we were also going to be providing dinner, we thought with so few people it would be a waste of resources."
Only 10 people attended a separate seminar in Wednesday at the Courtyard by Marriott in Farmington.
According to Enroll Maven only 172 people in New Mexico have signed up for Obamacare.
"We advertised for three weeks before, put it on our reader board and hand-delivered invitations to various doctor's offices and small businesses," said Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce President Janet Mackey. "We only had seven people RSVP, and since we were also going to be providing dinner, we thought with so few people it would be a waste of resources."
Only 10 people attended a separate seminar in Wednesday at the Courtyard by Marriott in Farmington.
According to Enroll Maven only 172 people in New Mexico have signed up for Obamacare.
Woman who accused Duke lacrosse team of rape sentenced to prison for murder
Everyone remembers Crystal Mangum; maybe not by name. If Obama had been president during the Duke lacrosse team rape case I'm sure we would have heard that if he had had another daughter she would have looked like Crystal Mangum and he would have given prosecutor Mike Nifong the Presidential Freedom Medal. But Obama wasn't the president and Crystal was never raped and even praying with Jesse Jackson couldn't make it so. Crystal's fortunes have gone south. She went from celebrity victim to convicted murderer. She got 14 to 18 years for stabbing her boyfriend to death.. She's in the jailhouse now.
Items From My Mailbox: Thanks Bonnie
From the L. A. Times
1. 40% of all workers in L. A. County ( L. A. County has 10.2 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes.
This is because they are predominantly illegal immigrants working without a green card.
2. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.
3. 75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.
4. Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose births were paid for by taxpayers.
5. Nearly 35% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.
6. Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.
7... The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border.
8 Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.
9. 21 radio stations in L. A. are Spanish speaking.
10. In L.. A. County 5.1 million people speak English, 3.9 million speak Spanish.. (There are 10.2 million people in L. A. County .)
(All 10 of the above facts were published in the Los Angeles Times)
Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 29% are on welfare. Over 70% of the United States ' annual population growth(and over 90% of California , Florida , and New York ) results from immigration. 29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens .
We are fools for letting this continue
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