IRS: Tell Us What You're Praying For - Ricochet.com:
My imagination isn't good enough to make this up. What one prays for is a subject of government questioning and the media IS NOT outraged??
Which universe is this?
'via Blog this'
Monday, May 20, 2013
BO Denies Role in Government : The New Yorker
Obama Denies Role in Government : The New Yorker:
The truth and the fiction are pretty darned close here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/19/obama-irs-targeting_n_3302449.html
He IS claiming that he found out about the IRS scandal only from the news media.
REALLY?? People are taking COMFORT from the President of the US only finding out about very significant things in the government for which he has sworn responsibility for.
I know I'm wrong -- because the media is without bias, but it just seems to me that were a Republican claiming this there might be a bit of coverage.
'via Blog this'
The truth and the fiction are pretty darned close here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/19/obama-irs-targeting_n_3302449.html
He IS claiming that he found out about the IRS scandal only from the news media.
REALLY?? People are taking COMFORT from the President of the US only finding out about very significant things in the government for which he has sworn responsibility for.
I know I'm wrong -- because the media is without bias, but it just seems to me that were a Republican claiming this there might be a bit of coverage.
'via Blog this'
BO Strong Union Collaboration
SMOKING GUN: Obama Met With IRS Union Chief the Day Before Agency Started Targeting Conservatives | The Gateway Pundit:
“For me, it’s about collaboration.” — National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley on the relationship between the anti-Tea Party IRS union and the Obama White House
Isn't that special. The head of a union of the government employees that collect our taxes and decide who gets audited and doesn't is happy about the "collaboration" they have with the White House.
Let's see. The left and the WH are so incensed about the SCOTUS ruling on "Citizen's United" that the president finds it appropriate to scold the justices during the STOTU address. Mr President, the power of the Supreme Court is EQUAL to your own at a MINIUM -- when they are making a determination based on the Constitution, they OUTRANK YOU! (as do the PEOPLE BTW, he is our EMPLOYEE!!)
However, it is perfectly acceptable to have government employees that are supposed to be working for ALL of us in unions that support only Democrats and have the POTUS and union leaders "collaborate" on activities!!
Dear god, why don't we just start calling the Democratic party "The Party" and get rid of the fiction!! If you are a member of "The Party", then you have privileges, if not, you will be harassed and possibly imprisoned!
'via Blog this'
“For me, it’s about collaboration.” — National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley on the relationship between the anti-Tea Party IRS union and the Obama White House
Isn't that special. The head of a union of the government employees that collect our taxes and decide who gets audited and doesn't is happy about the "collaboration" they have with the White House.
Let's see. The left and the WH are so incensed about the SCOTUS ruling on "Citizen's United" that the president finds it appropriate to scold the justices during the STOTU address. Mr President, the power of the Supreme Court is EQUAL to your own at a MINIUM -- when they are making a determination based on the Constitution, they OUTRANK YOU! (as do the PEOPLE BTW, he is our EMPLOYEE!!)
However, it is perfectly acceptable to have government employees that are supposed to be working for ALL of us in unions that support only Democrats and have the POTUS and union leaders "collaborate" on activities!!
Dear god, why don't we just start calling the Democratic party "The Party" and get rid of the fiction!! If you are a member of "The Party", then you have privileges, if not, you will be harassed and possibly imprisoned!
'via Blog this'
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Republican Hypocrisy, Tax Exempt
House Republican Hypocrites Rage About The IRS While Demanding An Audit of the AARP:
This column is an interesting read on how the "liberal" brain operates.
The largest point here is why is the Government doing ANYTHING to regulate POLITICAL SPEECH!!! The whole purpose of the first amendment is for political speech to be FREE OF GOVERNMENT CONTROL!!!! This column is an object lesson in why that is a very good idea!
How in any sort of rational sense at all can "liberals" argue out of one side of their mouth that "we can't go back to the 1800's", so government MUST be gigantic, intrusive, and horrendously expensive. Oh, but political speech??? Why THAT should be funded at say 1950 levels BY THE GOVERNMENT who would provide very strict controls so it was "fair". Uh, "fair" TO THE GOVERNMENT??? I'm sure ... but to anyone else?? Very hard to say.
So we have Elected Republicans OPENLY suggesting that various liberal groups ought to be investigated due to specific things they have said or done UNDER EXISTING LAW (which is SUPPOSED to apply equally to ALL of us!) ACORN, AARP, NAACP, Media Matters. These are avowed liberal groups that are ALREADY Tax Exempt, are supposed to follow existing law, and everyone knows EXACTLY where they politically stand and how they advocate constantly. So Elected Republican Representatives openly asked for the IRS to insure that these groups follow existing law. Hypocrisy?
They ought not do that? The alternative would be to step back and allow the IRS to execute completely one-sided enforcement of political speech regulating laws that ought not even be on the books??? It is pretty damned clear why BO and the left hates "Citizens United". It is a fly in the ointment of effective government control of political speech! If enough people are aware of what is being done to them, it might still be just barely possible that BO and company would be in trouble. Political speech that is not in agreement with the "progressive" progrom must be stamped out!!
OTOH, we have the IRS INTERNALLY and SECRETLY targeting "Conservative Groups" for audits, gathering information on their members so that they may also be audited, and preventing many other groups from even getting their tax exempt status. (the Rochester Tea Party Patriots were rejected)
Let's see. The IRS is an agency of the US Government that is supposed to be acting on behalf of ALL the people! Strange though it obviously is to the "liberal" mind, that meant that people were at least formerly allowed to have freedom of DIFFERENT speech!! Meaning, the 1st amendment was not created to allow "Free Speech for those that Agree with the "liberal" position"!! Apparently, a concept that is alien to the authors of this column.
Note the similarity in how "liberals" (actually STATISTS) see the 1st and 2nd Amendments. They see them as GOVERNMENT rights!! In the 2nd, the MILITARY has the right to have guns ... not "the people". For the 1st Amendment, individuals and groups have a right to "obscene" or "offensive" speech (as long as it doesn't make any of the Federally selected special groups feel bad ... women, blacks, gays, muslims). However, POLITICAL SPEECH needs to be "fairly regulated" by the government! The Fox guarding the henhouse really doesn't do it justice.
Were we arguing about if a Democrat Representative ought to be able to ask for a specific Conservative group to be investigated -- say the NRA. (oops, not tax exempt) ... but find one, have some elected Democrats stand up and ask the IRS to do an investigation of if they are following the law, and THEN, if Republicans think THAT ought not be allowed, it would be hypocrisy!!
What we have here is proof positive that our government is WAY too intrusive, and just HOW FAR we have slid toward one party rule. 90%+ of those IRS union employees vote Democrat. They KNOW where their bread is buttered. It is completely UNsurprising that they would be strongly motivated to reduce the political speech of those seeking a smaller government, with or without prompting. It is also pretty hard to imagine that even if pushed rather hard by Republicans in government, that they would be anxious to prosecute groups whose political leanings they agree with.
The ONLY solution here is to GET THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF REGULATING POLITICAL SPEECH!!! Exactly as the 1st amendment says!!!!
Sadly, what the left is trying to use this incident for is to ADD to the speech regulating powers of the IRS. Guess whose favor the IRS is going regulate???
'via Blog this
This column is an interesting read on how the "liberal" brain operates.
The largest point here is why is the Government doing ANYTHING to regulate POLITICAL SPEECH!!! The whole purpose of the first amendment is for political speech to be FREE OF GOVERNMENT CONTROL!!!! This column is an object lesson in why that is a very good idea!
How in any sort of rational sense at all can "liberals" argue out of one side of their mouth that "we can't go back to the 1800's", so government MUST be gigantic, intrusive, and horrendously expensive. Oh, but political speech??? Why THAT should be funded at say 1950 levels BY THE GOVERNMENT who would provide very strict controls so it was "fair". Uh, "fair" TO THE GOVERNMENT??? I'm sure ... but to anyone else?? Very hard to say.
So we have Elected Republicans OPENLY suggesting that various liberal groups ought to be investigated due to specific things they have said or done UNDER EXISTING LAW (which is SUPPOSED to apply equally to ALL of us!) ACORN, AARP, NAACP, Media Matters. These are avowed liberal groups that are ALREADY Tax Exempt, are supposed to follow existing law, and everyone knows EXACTLY where they politically stand and how they advocate constantly. So Elected Republican Representatives openly asked for the IRS to insure that these groups follow existing law. Hypocrisy?
They ought not do that? The alternative would be to step back and allow the IRS to execute completely one-sided enforcement of political speech regulating laws that ought not even be on the books??? It is pretty damned clear why BO and the left hates "Citizens United". It is a fly in the ointment of effective government control of political speech! If enough people are aware of what is being done to them, it might still be just barely possible that BO and company would be in trouble. Political speech that is not in agreement with the "progressive" progrom must be stamped out!!
OTOH, we have the IRS INTERNALLY and SECRETLY targeting "Conservative Groups" for audits, gathering information on their members so that they may also be audited, and preventing many other groups from even getting their tax exempt status. (the Rochester Tea Party Patriots were rejected)
Let's see. The IRS is an agency of the US Government that is supposed to be acting on behalf of ALL the people! Strange though it obviously is to the "liberal" mind, that meant that people were at least formerly allowed to have freedom of DIFFERENT speech!! Meaning, the 1st amendment was not created to allow "Free Speech for those that Agree with the "liberal" position"!! Apparently, a concept that is alien to the authors of this column.
Note the similarity in how "liberals" (actually STATISTS) see the 1st and 2nd Amendments. They see them as GOVERNMENT rights!! In the 2nd, the MILITARY has the right to have guns ... not "the people". For the 1st Amendment, individuals and groups have a right to "obscene" or "offensive" speech (as long as it doesn't make any of the Federally selected special groups feel bad ... women, blacks, gays, muslims). However, POLITICAL SPEECH needs to be "fairly regulated" by the government! The Fox guarding the henhouse really doesn't do it justice.
Were we arguing about if a Democrat Representative ought to be able to ask for a specific Conservative group to be investigated -- say the NRA. (oops, not tax exempt) ... but find one, have some elected Democrats stand up and ask the IRS to do an investigation of if they are following the law, and THEN, if Republicans think THAT ought not be allowed, it would be hypocrisy!!
What we have here is proof positive that our government is WAY too intrusive, and just HOW FAR we have slid toward one party rule. 90%+ of those IRS union employees vote Democrat. They KNOW where their bread is buttered. It is completely UNsurprising that they would be strongly motivated to reduce the political speech of those seeking a smaller government, with or without prompting. It is also pretty hard to imagine that even if pushed rather hard by Republicans in government, that they would be anxious to prosecute groups whose political leanings they agree with.
The ONLY solution here is to GET THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF REGULATING POLITICAL SPEECH!!! Exactly as the 1st amendment says!!!!
Sadly, what the left is trying to use this incident for is to ADD to the speech regulating powers of the IRS. Guess whose favor the IRS is going regulate???
'via Blog this
Saturday, May 18, 2013
MN #1 !!
MN Has Most Expensive Gas In The Nation « CBS Minnesota:
When you live in a state with Mark Dayton as a Governor and a failed comedian as a Senator, it isn't often that you can brag about being NUMBER ONE!!!
'via Blog this'
When you live in a state with Mark Dayton as a Governor and a failed comedian as a Senator, it isn't often that you can brag about being NUMBER ONE!!!
'via Blog this'
The Banality of The Chicago Way
The Autocrat Accountants | National Review Online:
Steyn touches on what I think is the real point of the information that has leaked out through the MSM about the federalizing of The Chicago Way (TCW).
What is the TCW?? Like all effective measures, it is very simple at it's core; "Reward your friends and punish your enemies". One could just call it "The Mob Way", "The Non-Christian Way", or the "National Socialist Way". It is as old as any sort of government organization, and it was the SPECIFIC reason that the US Government was created as LIMITED.
So what do we really expect from a giant unionized bureaucracy where 90%+ of the employees vote for one party?? Why would they NOT protect their turf and the turf of those who feed their fine bureaucratic beast??
The core argument from the MSM and the BO administration is "this is just the way government works"!! On Benghazi, of course agencies cover their ass and want friendly leadership to be re-elected! It is human nature! It is like covering for the successful coach that likes young boys too much -- only in this case, we have aligned the system so our natural impulses are truly OK!
After you have held a series of anesthetizing bureaucratic chairs, it is completely natural to recuse yourself from an activity, yet forget when you did it and have no documentation of it! Who would question you?? If you were paying attention, it would be evidence you thought you were doing wrong -- life ought to be a gauzy drift. What was the issue again??
Oh, someone did seem to care or have other ideas. Why would it be "bad" to have them audited by the IRS?? "Bad"? What is that? The IRS is to protect the people -- from things like incorrect SCOTUS rulings like "Citizens United", or when the soon to be dead party of old white men and religious zealots fails to provide enough operational cash.
Does one really need to listen to the MSM and the IRS very long to realize that auditing organizations that do weird and unpopular things like "educate on the Constitution" is completely reasonable? Why would anyone even care about this??? Is the novo-hist ride of life in the US not smooth enough so that the populace can't just settle back and enjoy the ride?
Which brings us back to TCW. "Reward your friends, punish your enemies". Every chief and king since the dawn of civilization has understood that calculus. It is the base calculus of earthly power. Executed properly and ruthlessly enough, it can be complete power. It was the calculus of power that Christ died on the cross to break, and the government practice thereof the nation of America was created to explicitly resist. Why WOULD some people fight against living where things are easy, morals are loose, and your acquiescence is all that is needed to drift along?
The enemy is not so much evil, but evil couched as banal. It has always been so -- since the apple in the garden.
'via Blog this'
Steyn touches on what I think is the real point of the information that has leaked out through the MSM about the federalizing of The Chicago Way (TCW).
What is the TCW?? Like all effective measures, it is very simple at it's core; "Reward your friends and punish your enemies". One could just call it "The Mob Way", "The Non-Christian Way", or the "National Socialist Way". It is as old as any sort of government organization, and it was the SPECIFIC reason that the US Government was created as LIMITED.
So what do we really expect from a giant unionized bureaucracy where 90%+ of the employees vote for one party?? Why would they NOT protect their turf and the turf of those who feed their fine bureaucratic beast??
The core argument from the MSM and the BO administration is "this is just the way government works"!! On Benghazi, of course agencies cover their ass and want friendly leadership to be re-elected! It is human nature! It is like covering for the successful coach that likes young boys too much -- only in this case, we have aligned the system so our natural impulses are truly OK!
After you have held a series of anesthetizing bureaucratic chairs, it is completely natural to recuse yourself from an activity, yet forget when you did it and have no documentation of it! Who would question you?? If you were paying attention, it would be evidence you thought you were doing wrong -- life ought to be a gauzy drift. What was the issue again??
Oh, someone did seem to care or have other ideas. Why would it be "bad" to have them audited by the IRS?? "Bad"? What is that? The IRS is to protect the people -- from things like incorrect SCOTUS rulings like "Citizens United", or when the soon to be dead party of old white men and religious zealots fails to provide enough operational cash.
Does one really need to listen to the MSM and the IRS very long to realize that auditing organizations that do weird and unpopular things like "educate on the Constitution" is completely reasonable? Why would anyone even care about this??? Is the novo-hist ride of life in the US not smooth enough so that the populace can't just settle back and enjoy the ride?
Which brings us back to TCW. "Reward your friends, punish your enemies". Every chief and king since the dawn of civilization has understood that calculus. It is the base calculus of earthly power. Executed properly and ruthlessly enough, it can be complete power. It was the calculus of power that Christ died on the cross to break, and the government practice thereof the nation of America was created to explicitly resist. Why WOULD some people fight against living where things are easy, morals are loose, and your acquiescence is all that is needed to drift along?
The enemy is not so much evil, but evil couched as banal. It has always been so -- since the apple in the garden.
'via Blog this'
Friday, May 17, 2013
Seeing Different Worlds
The Republicans’ Scandal Machine - NYTimes.com:
This is the NY F&*ing Times !! This is supposedly our "Paper of Record". I listen to NPR, the view from there is pretty much identical!!!
Here is a little different view.
I don't care which side you are on, and in today's world, you ARE on a "side", if you want to have ANY semblance of understanding of the "real world", you MUST make sure your media diet is balanced! I can't do it, no Blog will do it, and to some degree it is nigh on impossible since we are ALL extremely biased. But without at least attempting it, you are a UNWITTING slave to the world view of others. You are doomed to not even really know what you are thinking!
FIRST, be aware of what your overall World View (WV) is. You DO have one of these in some combination of their many many forms ... you just may not be aware of it, or in fact, even think you hold the other view, but really do not:
What Civilization (as in Western Civilization, a bunch of shared ideas that applied to many nations) and American Culture (those aspects of Western Civilization that were distinctly American) used to provide for us was a set of consistent and reasonable values all driven from WV1 that were codified in written laws and the vast majority of people at least loosely agreed on; "Ten Commandments, Constitution, Apostles Creed, Rule of Law, Contracts, Golden Rule, etc".
**NOTE**, the political "left and right" DO NOT correlate to WV1&2. I see the WV as the Y-axis and left/right, or "Control / Chaos" as the X-axis. MANY of the WV2 folks are hard over on CONTROL and want the State to demand that you see things their way -- as in BOcare, "Hate Speech", Auditing your enemies, etc. In fact, I'd argue that the reason that the NYTimes sees no "scandal" here, but rather only a temporary smokescreen for Republican evil is just that -- they are angry that their (and the governments) level of control is yet insufficient to stamp out the voices of the apostates.
So we fight. It takes not much thought to realize that WV1 reached it's pinnacle in say "1900" in the US, and has been in decline ever since. WV2 hit a pinnacle in Stalinist Russia, Hitler's Germany and Mao's China ... along with lesser states like Cuba and Venezuela. North Korea is it's current poster child.
Islam is an interesting case where WV1 with Islam as the specific religious view is combined with the far left of Control /Chaos. Powerful and dangerous. The following is how I see Politics and "Religion" (WV) mapped out in the past and current world. Green is optimum, yellow is desirable red is some combination of undesirable and unsustainable. WHICH religion certainly matters -- I'd argue that you can't have Islam in the upper right quadrant.
Without some view of a transcendent purpose and timeless values, the upper right quadrant can not be maintained and at least for larger nations there is an inexorable pull to either godless or fundamentalist tyranny. We either need to believe the same things on our own, or we will end up at least stating that we believe the same things by force.
So why is it again that we don't just "all get along"???
'via Blog this'
"There are no “things like this,” beyond a coincidence of bad timing. But they do have one thing in common: when bound together and loudly denounced on cable television and in hearings, they serve to obscure the real damage that Republicans continue to do to the economy and the workings of government.The sum of current information from Benghazi, IRS, Gun Runner, appointment of Czars, AP records, BOcare, attacks on the 2nd Amendement, and on, is "no things like this" ... get your eyes back on the evil of the Republican menace -- they still control the House, dammit!!! They are the ones doing all damage, BO is doing all good. That is all you need to know!!!
This is the NY F&*ing Times !! This is supposedly our "Paper of Record". I listen to NPR, the view from there is pretty much identical!!!
Here is a little different view.
I don't care which side you are on, and in today's world, you ARE on a "side", if you want to have ANY semblance of understanding of the "real world", you MUST make sure your media diet is balanced! I can't do it, no Blog will do it, and to some degree it is nigh on impossible since we are ALL extremely biased. But without at least attempting it, you are a UNWITTING slave to the world view of others. You are doomed to not even really know what you are thinking!
FIRST, be aware of what your overall World View (WV) is. You DO have one of these in some combination of their many many forms ... you just may not be aware of it, or in fact, even think you hold the other view, but really do not:
- (WV1) Religious / Rational / God / Order driven -- You may or may not even go to church and have this, or even really think that you "believe in God" (I'd argue you really do, but that isn't the topic today). The idea that the universe was created by intelligence, has a purpose, is "cared for" or operates under reasonable and constant "laws" that came from that intelligence, and has a purpose at some level.
The universe can be understood by reason. "Under God", "Pray for Me", "Endowed by their Creator" would all be phrases that resonate with this sort of view. Much of "Republican" would see the world this way. When you believe the above, since the universe is ordered and reason counts, you are painfully aware that consistency matters -- since you are a human, that is really really tough, and you screw up a lot. One of the big reasons these folks tend to need religion is that they value reason, consistency and morals, but they fall short of their own standards.
Sacraments / Symbols -- Baptism, Holy Communion, Cross, Flag, Family, Constitution, Right to Bear Arms, sacredness of human life, human history, real rational science, responsibility, liberty, opportunity, ... - (WV 2) Random / Post Modern / State as God / Humans infinitely perfectible -- The standard Democrat / "progressive" / "liberal" view. A big random wind blew through the junkyard of physics equations and created the 747 of a universe that we live in.
There is no purpose save maybe "being happy" (as in YOU, or people you like being happy), so likewise there is no real morality. HOWEVER, since this universe is random and reason may or may not be in play at any given instant depending on how you feel about it, the key freedom that you have is; CONSISTENCY IS NOT AN ISSUE!!! This aspect allows you to constantly be "correct" -- even, and to some degree ESPECIALLY when you are on both sides of an issue, but the side you are on is always the "right one". Just look at the MSM news, or a "current opinion poll".
Sacraments / Symbols - abortion, weed, gay sex, peace symbol, gay rainbow / "equal", "mother earth", "Heil Hitler" -- or whomever is current locus of state power, "settled/political science", "progress", fairness, security, ...
What Civilization (as in Western Civilization, a bunch of shared ideas that applied to many nations) and American Culture (those aspects of Western Civilization that were distinctly American) used to provide for us was a set of consistent and reasonable values all driven from WV1 that were codified in written laws and the vast majority of people at least loosely agreed on; "Ten Commandments, Constitution, Apostles Creed, Rule of Law, Contracts, Golden Rule, etc".
**NOTE**, the political "left and right" DO NOT correlate to WV1&2. I see the WV as the Y-axis and left/right, or "Control / Chaos" as the X-axis. MANY of the WV2 folks are hard over on CONTROL and want the State to demand that you see things their way -- as in BOcare, "Hate Speech", Auditing your enemies, etc. In fact, I'd argue that the reason that the NYTimes sees no "scandal" here, but rather only a temporary smokescreen for Republican evil is just that -- they are angry that their (and the governments) level of control is yet insufficient to stamp out the voices of the apostates.
So we fight. It takes not much thought to realize that WV1 reached it's pinnacle in say "1900" in the US, and has been in decline ever since. WV2 hit a pinnacle in Stalinist Russia, Hitler's Germany and Mao's China ... along with lesser states like Cuba and Venezuela. North Korea is it's current poster child.
Islam is an interesting case where WV1 with Islam as the specific religious view is combined with the far left of Control /Chaos. Powerful and dangerous. The following is how I see Politics and "Religion" (WV) mapped out in the past and current world. Green is optimum, yellow is desirable red is some combination of undesirable and unsustainable. WHICH religion certainly matters -- I'd argue that you can't have Islam in the upper right quadrant.
Without some view of a transcendent purpose and timeless values, the upper right quadrant can not be maintained and at least for larger nations there is an inexorable pull to either godless or fundamentalist tyranny. We either need to believe the same things on our own, or we will end up at least stating that we believe the same things by force.
So why is it again that we don't just "all get along"???
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Stewart, Barack, Trek Into Darkness
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-may-13-2013/barack-trek--into-darkness?xrs=playershare_fb
Jon is having a little trouble covering the BO these days. I wonder if since the administration has shown incompetence and malfeasance at this point, if Jon would admit that "those of the tin foil hats" might have a point??
Nah, he won't go that far, but occasionally he does take a minute out to pay attention tot he real world.
Jon is having a little trouble covering the BO these days. I wonder if since the administration has shown incompetence and malfeasance at this point, if Jon would admit that "those of the tin foil hats" might have a point??
Nah, he won't go that far, but occasionally he does take a minute out to pay attention tot he real world.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Mille Lacs Glaciation Preview
BBC News Ice sheet creeps ashore on Minnesota lake - YouTube:
I've always argued that "global warming" would be easier for humans to deal with that "global cooling". The planet was ice-free for much of it's 4-5B year life and did just fine. We actually live in a very cold period (not the coldest, see "Snowball Earth") relative to the warmer periods in planet history.
There are more extensive and better videos out on YouTube if you want to delve deeper, but I liked the fact that good old Mille Lacs made the BBC.
Try to imagine those ice sheets a mile deep, but flowing much slower, covering pretty much the entire Northern Hemisphere. Somehow I always find that picture scarier than the one of me sitting on my deck here in MN in January, but I guess to each their own.
'via Blog this'
I've always argued that "global warming" would be easier for humans to deal with that "global cooling". The planet was ice-free for much of it's 4-5B year life and did just fine. We actually live in a very cold period (not the coldest, see "Snowball Earth") relative to the warmer periods in planet history.
There are more extensive and better videos out on YouTube if you want to delve deeper, but I liked the fact that good old Mille Lacs made the BBC.
Try to imagine those ice sheets a mile deep, but flowing much slower, covering pretty much the entire Northern Hemisphere. Somehow I always find that picture scarier than the one of me sitting on my deck here in MN in January, but I guess to each their own.
'via Blog this'
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Gun Violence Drop Deniers
Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware | Pew Social & Demographic
Trends:
Pew is a pretty respectable site for public opinion -- regularly used by NPR for one I know.
Gee, down 49% since '93, and in that time we had both extra gun control (Assault Weapons Ban), and the expiration of that ban. If one was interested in saving lives, it would seem that this information would be VERY good news and a tremendous opportunity to figure out what works and what doesn't relative to gun violence.
For starters, we have been a lot tougher on drug crime in that time, there are a lot more concealed carry states (and permit holders), and there have been a lot more guns purchased.
Wow, the public is unaware! Now there is something that I'm sure our media is embarrassed about and is going to work every bit as hard as they do on say "Global Warming / Climate Change" to INSURE that everyone is fully informed about "the real world.
Any "Gun Violence Drop Deniers" are no doubt going to be suitably chastised for not being "reality based".
Don't think any of this is going to happen? Seems absolutely clear that the impulse to "Gun Control" is really about CONTROL doesn't it?
'via Blog this'
Trends:
Pew is a pretty respectable site for public opinion -- regularly used by NPR for one I know.
Gee, down 49% since '93, and in that time we had both extra gun control (Assault Weapons Ban), and the expiration of that ban. If one was interested in saving lives, it would seem that this information would be VERY good news and a tremendous opportunity to figure out what works and what doesn't relative to gun violence.
For starters, we have been a lot tougher on drug crime in that time, there are a lot more concealed carry states (and permit holders), and there have been a lot more guns purchased.
Wow, the public is unaware! Now there is something that I'm sure our media is embarrassed about and is going to work every bit as hard as they do on say "Global Warming / Climate Change" to INSURE that everyone is fully informed about "the real world.
Any "Gun Violence Drop Deniers" are no doubt going to be suitably chastised for not being "reality based".
Don't think any of this is going to happen? Seems absolutely clear that the impulse to "Gun Control" is really about CONTROL doesn't it?
'via Blog this'
Watergate to Benghazi
Eric Boehlert: Benghazi, Projection, and the Dark Obama Obsession:
I'd argue that this "dark obsession" has plagued alternative sides of any semi-successful (at least politically) presidency since Nixon.
Certainly EVERYTHING claimed in this article as applying to those who find Benghazi serious goes 10x for Watergate. Nobody died in Watergate. It's national or international import was absolutely zilch. The ENTIRE issue was the "coverup", and "did the president lie?". A new standard was established by the left in America with Watergate -- at least REPUBLICAN president re-elected in an absolute landslide could be taken out of office if the proper game of "gotcha" could be executed against him.
So with Reagan we had Iran-Contra. Still no lives lost, but an opportunity for the Democrats to assert that "the will of Congress" had been usurped -- man, they love the Constitution when it seems to be on their side. Iran Contra was still brought up during the HW Bush election in '92.
Is it REALLY that surprising that Republicans eventually learned this tactic?? Slick Willie provided them with AMPLE opportunity, and I suppose that Whitewater was a "low standard" when a former governor of Arkansas and 5 or so of the Clinton's closest personal friends ended up in jail.
Does this columnist really think that there wasn't "war" on W for the whole 8 years??? Does nobody remember Dan Rather losing his job over fake documents?? Not to mention "Plamegate" ... Whitewater was a "low standard"?? Trying to make a "leak" that "outed" a CIA agent that drove to Langley every day and whose husband's "Who's Who" entry mentioned her by name? How many "secret agents" do you know whose husbands write controversial articles for magazines? BTW, "Plamegate" warranted a "special prosecutor" ... so Benghazi isn't even close until we get that far.
So we come to Obama. I happen to have read his first book, it isn't very hard to find A LOT of questions that would be asked of him if he had been coming from the "the other side" politically. His "borrowed dream" that he dedicated his life to is anti-colonialism. Righting the "injustice" of the expansion of Western civilization -- the return to tribalism and paganism. His "opposite" would be a "throwback", and "America First" sort that had no apologies for America, Christianity, Western civilization. Based on the treatment of W, I'd argue that the treatment of someone on the right that had a history that was as "anti-progressive" as Obama's is "anti-western civilization would create an anger from the left to make the "dark obsession" with BO seem positively tame by comparison.
'via Blog this'
I'd argue that this "dark obsession" has plagued alternative sides of any semi-successful (at least politically) presidency since Nixon.
Certainly EVERYTHING claimed in this article as applying to those who find Benghazi serious goes 10x for Watergate. Nobody died in Watergate. It's national or international import was absolutely zilch. The ENTIRE issue was the "coverup", and "did the president lie?". A new standard was established by the left in America with Watergate -- at least REPUBLICAN president re-elected in an absolute landslide could be taken out of office if the proper game of "gotcha" could be executed against him.
So with Reagan we had Iran-Contra. Still no lives lost, but an opportunity for the Democrats to assert that "the will of Congress" had been usurped -- man, they love the Constitution when it seems to be on their side. Iran Contra was still brought up during the HW Bush election in '92.
Is it REALLY that surprising that Republicans eventually learned this tactic?? Slick Willie provided them with AMPLE opportunity, and I suppose that Whitewater was a "low standard" when a former governor of Arkansas and 5 or so of the Clinton's closest personal friends ended up in jail.
Does this columnist really think that there wasn't "war" on W for the whole 8 years??? Does nobody remember Dan Rather losing his job over fake documents?? Not to mention "Plamegate" ... Whitewater was a "low standard"?? Trying to make a "leak" that "outed" a CIA agent that drove to Langley every day and whose husband's "Who's Who" entry mentioned her by name? How many "secret agents" do you know whose husbands write controversial articles for magazines? BTW, "Plamegate" warranted a "special prosecutor" ... so Benghazi isn't even close until we get that far.
So we come to Obama. I happen to have read his first book, it isn't very hard to find A LOT of questions that would be asked of him if he had been coming from the "the other side" politically. His "borrowed dream" that he dedicated his life to is anti-colonialism. Righting the "injustice" of the expansion of Western civilization -- the return to tribalism and paganism. His "opposite" would be a "throwback", and "America First" sort that had no apologies for America, Christianity, Western civilization. Based on the treatment of W, I'd argue that the treatment of someone on the right that had a history that was as "anti-progressive" as Obama's is "anti-western civilization would create an anger from the left to make the "dark obsession" with BO seem positively tame by comparison.
'via Blog this'
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Dying for Meaning
Suicide Rate Rises Sharply in U.S. - NYTimes.com:
Our nation has been the victim of "progress" driven by "progressives" for over a century now, and the verdicts have been coming in for some time. Financially, jobs wise, morality wise, happiness wise, and even just on the basic will to live.
Suicide rates have been high in Europe for a long time -- and birth rates low. In the cosmic picture, "what is life about"?
"Progress" has destroyed the honor of sticking with a marriage that is far less than perfect -- for the kids, or whatever. It has destroyed religion for many, in the simplest sense because religion is no longer seen as a "standard way to live" in our culture -- and for the people in the middle to lower part of the "bell shaped curve" of existence, "doing what the crowd does" looms large.
The "minimum wage" has been constantly increased as have the government benefits, so "work", SOME work, as having dignity over not working has been largely removed as a measure of a worthy life. There is no stigma in "Taking a Living" any more, and in fact the government declares what a "Living Wage" is -- there is absolutely no honor in scraping by on that or even less. TAKE! Your labor isn't worth enough to survive in our society -- or you have been "oppressed", and clearly the "oppressors" have won.
In fact, the very concept of some standard to a meaningful life are now "wrong". ... "he was honest, he went to church, he worked hard, he took care of his family, he was a good neighbor, etc" ... all those "value judgements", or "standards" are "judgmental", somehow small-town hicksville, not worthy to be considered.
Why would there be any "standard"? Isn't it "better" to give all people "equal standing" for simply breathing? Well, maybe if they don't try to "judge anyone else" ... like if they impertinently stand up for some tired old Christian morality, or some old tired document like the Constitution. THOSE people are worthy of disdain. THOSE people MUST change their views to the way of moral relativity. Everyone else is "equally OK" ... at least. If they stand up for relativism, maybe even better than that!
So we die. Individually and alone by suicide. Culturally by low birth rate and murdering the unborn. The article has a lot of excuses -- poor finances, drugs, etc, but does ANYONE really believe that??
This is very very old and sad news in the waning days of a corrupt and lost civilization.
"Where there is no vision, the people perish". (Prov 29:18)
'via Blog this'
Our nation has been the victim of "progress" driven by "progressives" for over a century now, and the verdicts have been coming in for some time. Financially, jobs wise, morality wise, happiness wise, and even just on the basic will to live.
Suicide rates have been high in Europe for a long time -- and birth rates low. In the cosmic picture, "what is life about"?
In 2010 there were 33,687 deaths from motor vehicle crashes and 38,364 suicides.So we choose to die at a higher rate than we die even in our cars -- and let's be honest. How many of those car crashes are really just suicides better covered up, as well as a host of other "accidental deaths".
"Progress" has destroyed the honor of sticking with a marriage that is far less than perfect -- for the kids, or whatever. It has destroyed religion for many, in the simplest sense because religion is no longer seen as a "standard way to live" in our culture -- and for the people in the middle to lower part of the "bell shaped curve" of existence, "doing what the crowd does" looms large.
The "minimum wage" has been constantly increased as have the government benefits, so "work", SOME work, as having dignity over not working has been largely removed as a measure of a worthy life. There is no stigma in "Taking a Living" any more, and in fact the government declares what a "Living Wage" is -- there is absolutely no honor in scraping by on that or even less. TAKE! Your labor isn't worth enough to survive in our society -- or you have been "oppressed", and clearly the "oppressors" have won.
In fact, the very concept of some standard to a meaningful life are now "wrong". ... "he was honest, he went to church, he worked hard, he took care of his family, he was a good neighbor, etc" ... all those "value judgements", or "standards" are "judgmental", somehow small-town hicksville, not worthy to be considered.
Why would there be any "standard"? Isn't it "better" to give all people "equal standing" for simply breathing? Well, maybe if they don't try to "judge anyone else" ... like if they impertinently stand up for some tired old Christian morality, or some old tired document like the Constitution. THOSE people are worthy of disdain. THOSE people MUST change their views to the way of moral relativity. Everyone else is "equally OK" ... at least. If they stand up for relativism, maybe even better than that!
So we die. Individually and alone by suicide. Culturally by low birth rate and murdering the unborn. The article has a lot of excuses -- poor finances, drugs, etc, but does ANYONE really believe that??
This is very very old and sad news in the waning days of a corrupt and lost civilization.
"Where there is no vision, the people perish". (Prov 29:18)
'via Blog this'
Tax Enemies, One Party Rule
IRS admits targeting conservatives for tax scrutiny in 2012 election - The Washington Post:
I've always compared BO with Carter on the basis of policy, but it is definitely Nixon he is closest to in morality.
First, the practice is no surprise at all, just mildly surprising that the IRS would forget that it it isn't on the list of things to talk about openly.
The IRS, and in ALL agencies of the government save the military (although that is shifting too) are union organizations that vote over 90% Democrat. We currently have, and effectively have had for some time, one party rule. Why would they NOT target Republicans? They would have to care more for Rule of Law than how they feel -- and they are Democrats.
If they valued Rule of Law over temporary political advantage, they would be Republicans. They believe in their hearts, not their minds, and certainly not in som old tired Constitution.
So we OFFICIALLY and OPENLY (for today) live in a country where you are targeted for your political allegiance. Expect that to be a big story? Not from this side it won't be -- the MSM is just fine with this, in fact, they no doubt feel it is good and proper. Embarrassing when IRS folks get lost enough so they talk about it openly, but that can be fixed and it can be buried again.
To some degree, they need to do this from time to time. It instills fear. If you don't agree with "The Party", then you can be targeted. Keep your head down, lie low, maybe nobody will rat you out!
'via Blog this'
I've always compared BO with Carter on the basis of policy, but it is definitely Nixon he is closest to in morality.
First, the practice is no surprise at all, just mildly surprising that the IRS would forget that it it isn't on the list of things to talk about openly.
The IRS, and in ALL agencies of the government save the military (although that is shifting too) are union organizations that vote over 90% Democrat. We currently have, and effectively have had for some time, one party rule. Why would they NOT target Republicans? They would have to care more for Rule of Law than how they feel -- and they are Democrats.
If they valued Rule of Law over temporary political advantage, they would be Republicans. They believe in their hearts, not their minds, and certainly not in som old tired Constitution.
So we OFFICIALLY and OPENLY (for today) live in a country where you are targeted for your political allegiance. Expect that to be a big story? Not from this side it won't be -- the MSM is just fine with this, in fact, they no doubt feel it is good and proper. Embarrassing when IRS folks get lost enough so they talk about it openly, but that can be fixed and it can be buried again.
To some degree, they need to do this from time to time. It instills fear. If you don't agree with "The Party", then you can be targeted. Keep your head down, lie low, maybe nobody will rat you out!
'via Blog this'
Friday, May 10, 2013
Ice Cancels Fishing Opener
Ice Likely Ruining The Fishing Opener On Mille Lacs « CBS Minnesota:
For the first time in quarter century, I'm not doing any fishing in MN this opener. For 45+ years I did an opener either here or in WI, where the opener was a week earlier. During that time there was never an issue with ice on any of the lakes that I opened on -- this year, there was, and would definitely have been had I gone to WI.
I listen to MPR pretty much every day, there has been VERY little discussion about all the records being broken this year, where last year, the early and warm spring was a CONSTANT discussion, often with a little quip thrown in of "how hard it must be to be a "denier".
Guess what. BOTH years were WEATHER, not CLIMATE ... as have been all the 10, 20, and even 100 year shifts in temps, rainfall, snow, etc.
The best that science can tell us is that the CLIMATE of the planet has shifted between periods of warm and cold for at least the last 2.6 million years, and we are in fact still in an "ice age" called the Pleistocene.
The chart shows evidence from antarctic ices cores over the past 450,000 years. If people like to think about the "big picture", this chart brings a few thoughts to mind:
'via Blog this'
For the first time in quarter century, I'm not doing any fishing in MN this opener. For 45+ years I did an opener either here or in WI, where the opener was a week earlier. During that time there was never an issue with ice on any of the lakes that I opened on -- this year, there was, and would definitely have been had I gone to WI.
I listen to MPR pretty much every day, there has been VERY little discussion about all the records being broken this year, where last year, the early and warm spring was a CONSTANT discussion, often with a little quip thrown in of "how hard it must be to be a "denier".
Guess what. BOTH years were WEATHER, not CLIMATE ... as have been all the 10, 20, and even 100 year shifts in temps, rainfall, snow, etc.
The chart shows evidence from antarctic ices cores over the past 450,000 years. If people like to think about the "big picture", this chart brings a few thoughts to mind:
- Note the scale, 50,000 year increments. The whole of recorded human history is in that rightmost uptick in temps.
- Note the semi-regular 4 peaks pior to (I think) even the warmists belief in human effect.
- Five isn't a really good number for a persistent pattern over 2.5 million years, when what you have is on 1/5th of the data because the other 4/5ths melted.
- Look at the peak about 125,000 years ago. It got a lot warmer than now. The place at which this ice sheet was at was still ice covered, and guess what! The planet survived, and they didn't even have Al Gore to protect it.
- Note how "fast" (on this scale, still hundreds and thousands of years) the temperature drops are after the peaks. We know that the planet has survived both the peaks and the valleys, along with all the life forms we see around us today. Polar bears for example, did NOT evolve in the last 125K years, after it previously got 4° C warmer than now. Folks that claim otherwise are either misinformed or lying.
- Note how much of the time it is VERY cold. A few min spent looking at the following http://mclean.ch/climate/Ice_cores.htm will point out that the last 3K years have THANKFULLY been fairly warm. There are mastodons from Siberia dated 7-8K years ago when it was WARMER STILL. My thinking is that was not due to humans driving around too much!! But then thoughts like that make me a stupid "denier".
'via Blog this'
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