http://thefederalist.com/2014/11/20/no-reagan-did-not-offer-an-amnesty-by-lawless-executive-order/
The media arm of TP decided they ought to make up a cover lie for Emperor of Stench, BO -- so it somewhat standard TP nursery school moral reasoning we have "Reagan did it first!".
The moral argument that "X did it first" has severe shortcomings. Hitler did a number of things first. Even otherwise "good" men have done disastrous things -- FDRs internment of Japanese, Churchill's Gallipoli debacle ... one hesitates to even begin. The list is long and horrid and the infantile moral reasoning of "X did it first" is nothing but an embarrassment as to the depths of TP fatuity.
Given TP media normal treatment of Reagan, you REALLY know they are up to something if they are trying to use him as a GOOD example!
Then we have the stupid factor. If "Reagan had done the same thing", those of us that were alive at the time know we would have witnessed a media firestorm on par with Watergate and likely beyond -- "Constitutional Crisis", IMPEACHMENT! would have been being shouted from every paper day after day! Dan Rostenkowski, in his pre "orange is the new suit of House Ways and Means chairs from IL" guise would have shut down all funding and WON!
It gets to be embarrassing to even think how stupid TP media thinks we are!
But of course, as the linked article explains not nearly as simply as they could, it had NOTHING to do with ANYTHING even REMOTELY like what BO has just done!
In the '80s, CONGRESS passed an amnesty law that failed to take the children of those being granted amnesty into consideration. So the executive branch contacted congress and AGREED that the children of those granted amnesty should not be deported! That is that! HW Bush granted more time in an extension of the same AGREEMENT -- which congress still agreed with.
How can it be that we have slipped so very far that
Friday, November 21, 2014
Cosby Takedown, How About Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, etc
In Re: Bill Cosby | Power Line:
I covered the dichotomy with Slick Willie and Cosby here.
PL does a good job over covering it and adds in the aspect of other Hollywood types that were rapists in one form or another but were not sanctioned in their careers in the way that Cosby now is since he was courageous enough to express his beliefs on the need for black personal responsibility
Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Michael Jackson, Aaron Copeland ... those are just the two from PL and a couple off the top of my head. In general, unless you sin against TP, the media treats even grossly illegal personal behaviour as "personal" and totally separate from "art".
'via Blog this'
I covered the dichotomy with Slick Willie and Cosby here.
PL does a good job over covering it and adds in the aspect of other Hollywood types that were rapists in one form or another but were not sanctioned in their careers in the way that Cosby now is since he was courageous enough to express his beliefs on the need for black personal responsibility
Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Michael Jackson, Aaron Copeland ... those are just the two from PL and a couple off the top of my head. In general, unless you sin against TP, the media treats even grossly illegal personal behaviour as "personal" and totally separate from "art".
'via Blog this'
BO Leaves the Presidency
Go down, Barry | Power Line:
The Presidency is a Constitutional position -- no Constitution, no President. Having a Constitution meant that we had a nation bound by rule of law. We no longer have that.
Last night was a watershed night for the area of land between the countries of Mexico and Canada. The status of the area formerly known as "The United States" had been moving away from rule of law since the Civil War ... destruction of equal protection by the "progressive" income tax, forced participation in socialist schemes like FICA and recently BOcare, plus a host of "administrative law" regulations with de facto force of law not passed by congress to name just a few of the more egregious parts of the slide.
Last night a man occupying the former office of President, one of the three formerly co-equal branches of the government of the old nation, directly usurped the Constitution and took naked dictatorial power. Last night the nation formerly known as the US officially became subjects of BO -- ruled by power, not law. Any opposed to BO now have the natural and moral right to deodorize by any and all means. There is no operative rule of law save might being right.
The content of his utterance is meaningless -- It could have been "I decree ice cream to be good". Free men care not for the decrees of tyrants, especially those already well proved mendacious.
Where we go from here is completely unknown. The other two branches of the old government, Congress -- formerly the law MAKERS, and SCOTUS formerly the law INTERPRETERS hold the responsibility to remove the self-proclaimed "law giver", a position not recognized by free men except from their Creator. The military should also no longer obey the tyrant. If We the People still understood the gift that had formerly been bequeathed by creator, founders and previous generations, the Secret Service would immediately leave their posts. They are bound to protect the occupant of an office that no longer exists.
All free men are now sacredly charged to end this tyranny and form a new nation under the rule of law! Pray for justice!
'via Blog this'
The Presidency is a Constitutional position -- no Constitution, no President. Having a Constitution meant that we had a nation bound by rule of law. We no longer have that.
Last night was a watershed night for the area of land between the countries of Mexico and Canada. The status of the area formerly known as "The United States" had been moving away from rule of law since the Civil War ... destruction of equal protection by the "progressive" income tax, forced participation in socialist schemes like FICA and recently BOcare, plus a host of "administrative law" regulations with de facto force of law not passed by congress to name just a few of the more egregious parts of the slide.
Last night a man occupying the former office of President, one of the three formerly co-equal branches of the government of the old nation, directly usurped the Constitution and took naked dictatorial power. Last night the nation formerly known as the US officially became subjects of BO -- ruled by power, not law. Any opposed to BO now have the natural and moral right to deodorize by any and all means. There is no operative rule of law save might being right.
The content of his utterance is meaningless -- It could have been "I decree ice cream to be good". Free men care not for the decrees of tyrants, especially those already well proved mendacious.
Where we go from here is completely unknown. The other two branches of the old government, Congress -- formerly the law MAKERS, and SCOTUS formerly the law INTERPRETERS hold the responsibility to remove the self-proclaimed "law giver", a position not recognized by free men except from their Creator. The military should also no longer obey the tyrant. If We the People still understood the gift that had formerly been bequeathed by creator, founders and previous generations, the Secret Service would immediately leave their posts. They are bound to protect the occupant of an office that no longer exists.
All free men are now sacredly charged to end this tyranny and form a new nation under the rule of law! Pray for justice!
'via Blog this'
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Six Canons of Conservative Thought
The Conservative Mind by Russell Kirk is one of the books that I'm going over again and this is one that is going to take more than a few blogs to cover.
His six canons of conservative thought from early in the book:
His six canons of conservative thought from early in the book:
- Belief in a transcendent order, or body of natural law, which rules society as well as conscience. Political problems, at bottom, are religious and moral problems.
- Affection for the proliferating variety and mystery of human existence as opposed to the narrowing uniformity, egalitarianism, and utilitarian aims of most radical systems.
- Conviction that civilized society requires orders and classes, as against the notion of a "classless society". Belief in order.
- Persuasion that freedom and property are closely linked: separate property from from private possession and Leviathan becomes master of all. Economic leveling is not economic progress.
- Faith in prescription and distrust of "sophists, calculators and economists" who would reconstruct society on abstract designs. Custom, convention and old prescription checks both upon man's anarchic impulse and on the innovators lust for power.
- Recognition that change may not be salutary reform: hasty innovation may be a devouring conflagration rather than the torch of progress.
- The perfectibility of man and the limitless progress of society: meliorism (belief in the positive direction of "progress" and human ability to make it so) Radicals believe that education, positive legislation and alteration of environment can produce men like gods. They deny that humanity has a natural proclivity for violence and sin.
- Contempt for tradition. Reason, impulse and materialistic determinism are preferred as guides to social welfare, more trusted than the wisdom of the ages. Formal religion is rejected and various ideologies are presented as alternatives.
- Political leveling. Order and privilege are condemned; total democracy, as direct as practicable is the professed radical ideal. An eagerness for centralization and consolidation.
- Economic leveling. The ancient right of property is attacked by nearly all radicals and attempts are made to collectivize it.
It is difficult to pin radicals down because much of what they propose is based on current impulse and tends to look to the future even if current progress on a stated goal is questionable (eg. the 18 year "pause" in AGW, the "glitches" in the BOcare system).
Since the main article of faith is that the present is better than the past and the future will be better still, there is not a lot of reason for deep thought on causes, effects and such. A book that covers this well is "A Conflict of Visions".
The vision of the future tends to be "clear in the abstract" -- it will be "free", "just", "happy", "needs will be met" ... but as to specifics, the vision tends to be extremely weak.
The primary way to recognize the radical is their love of "change" ... the more nonspecific the change desired, the more certain you may be that you are talking to a radical.
Is It The QB or the Receiver?
Greg Jennings Fantasy Stats | RotoWire Fantasy Football:
I'm terrible with names and even worse with keeping track of players after they leave my beloved Packers -- however, when they go to the Vikes ... I know Jennings is not the only example in the last 20 years of excellent QBs at GB, but he is the one that just popped up.
So here we have Jennings stats with the Vikes. Once he was at least as good as Jordy Nelson, suddenly he is CLEARLY not ...
My opinion is that the difference wears number 12.
'via Blog this'
I'm terrible with names and even worse with keeping track of players after they leave my beloved Packers -- however, when they go to the Vikes ... I know Jennings is not the only example in the last 20 years of excellent QBs at GB, but he is the one that just popped up.
So here we have Jennings stats with the Vikes. Once he was at least as good as Jordy Nelson, suddenly he is CLEARLY not ...
My opinion is that the difference wears number 12.
'via Blog this'
Obstructionist on Keystone and Business
Who’s Obstructionist? | Power Line:
We often hear Republicans referred to as "obstructionist" by the media, senators or the president. Typically, it is just a word -- they just say "obstructionist", they don't say what specific program they are trying to put forward and why it is that passing it would be helpful or even popular with the American people. It is just assumed to be good and being obstructed without reason.
Sometimes it was immigration -- but again, we didn't hear what the Democrat or presidents specific proposal actually was -- outside of "reform". Much like "hope and change", Democrats pretty much live off from general terms waved around like talismen -- "reform", "jobs", "the environment", "fairness" ... usually with no detail at as to what the actual ements of the legislation are.
Often, as we have found out relative to BOcare, the content of the legislation is not well defined ("We have to pass it to know what's in it"), or it is purposely written to be obscure as we have learned explicitly from Jonathan Gruber.
This week we yet again saw the Keystone XL Pipeline go down, this time on the basis of a single vote of obstruction. A specific private sector physical asset with significant jobs and energy effects and no negative environmental effects since the oil is being pumped and burned anyway -- the question is just here or China.
Similarly, the issue of "Tax Inversions" -- as we saw with Burger King, Medtronic, and a host of other companies; HQ are moved overseas due to US tax policy and trillions of dollars are spent overseas rather than repatriated to the US to build jobs here, yet the democrats obstruct specific efforts to fix this problem.
As the linked article questions, why? It is very hard to see why this would be so save for gross incompetence or out and out anti-American sentiment -- much the same as we often saw in the Cold War.
That is in fact where I have settled -- many Democrats see the US as having been too successful and carry some sort of "survivors guilt", feeling that it is "someone elses turn". During the years of the Cold War, one could hear giddy NPR reporting from Cuba or the USSR over some supposed triumph of the communist system. When the wall came down, there was shock and dismay -- their favored system had somehow failed, it was unbelievable to them.
So their only answer seems to be suicide for the US and the West. One of our own political parties sees our system as "corrupt, unfair, harmful to the planet, damaging to human dignity, etc", so they are doing their best to get the shotgun in Uncle Sam's mouth and end the US.
They continue to do a hell of a job.
'via Blog this'
We often hear Republicans referred to as "obstructionist" by the media, senators or the president. Typically, it is just a word -- they just say "obstructionist", they don't say what specific program they are trying to put forward and why it is that passing it would be helpful or even popular with the American people. It is just assumed to be good and being obstructed without reason.
Sometimes it was immigration -- but again, we didn't hear what the Democrat or presidents specific proposal actually was -- outside of "reform". Much like "hope and change", Democrats pretty much live off from general terms waved around like talismen -- "reform", "jobs", "the environment", "fairness" ... usually with no detail at as to what the actual ements of the legislation are.
Often, as we have found out relative to BOcare, the content of the legislation is not well defined ("We have to pass it to know what's in it"), or it is purposely written to be obscure as we have learned explicitly from Jonathan Gruber.
This week we yet again saw the Keystone XL Pipeline go down, this time on the basis of a single vote of obstruction. A specific private sector physical asset with significant jobs and energy effects and no negative environmental effects since the oil is being pumped and burned anyway -- the question is just here or China.
Similarly, the issue of "Tax Inversions" -- as we saw with Burger King, Medtronic, and a host of other companies; HQ are moved overseas due to US tax policy and trillions of dollars are spent overseas rather than repatriated to the US to build jobs here, yet the democrats obstruct specific efforts to fix this problem.
As the linked article questions, why? It is very hard to see why this would be so save for gross incompetence or out and out anti-American sentiment -- much the same as we often saw in the Cold War.
That is in fact where I have settled -- many Democrats see the US as having been too successful and carry some sort of "survivors guilt", feeling that it is "someone elses turn". During the years of the Cold War, one could hear giddy NPR reporting from Cuba or the USSR over some supposed triumph of the communist system. When the wall came down, there was shock and dismay -- their favored system had somehow failed, it was unbelievable to them.
So their only answer seems to be suicide for the US and the West. One of our own political parties sees our system as "corrupt, unfair, harmful to the planet, damaging to human dignity, etc", so they are doing their best to get the shotgun in Uncle Sam's mouth and end the US.
They continue to do a hell of a job.
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
The Hawaiian Shirt Of Enlightenment, Hillary Nutcracker
How to Turn a Cool Moment Into a #ShirtStorm | TIME:
"The Enlightenment" is a time in the late 1700's when mankind supposedly turned from "absolutes" (like God) to "reason, empiricism, science, liberty, democracy" and was thus "enlightened.
Man became "the measure of all things" -- good and evil could be decided by physical measurement, experience, trial and error, or a simple vote. "Man" forgot that designation would now include "woman" with the feminizing "virtues" being applied at levels beyond sleeping on the couch. Exit the age of "mighty men", knights, poets, sages, wizards and the like -- enter the age of trashy romance novels and "the sensitive guy".
We seem clearly past the pinnacle of what was once a bold new direction. Large signs -- 100's of millions dead from the Godless "isms" of the 20th century, vast hordes of drugged, drunk, distracted masses completely purposeless, drifting to the next hit/high/distraction and horribly suicide / overdose prone. Governments mired in massive debt, corruption and pseudo-science like AGW.
And also small signs -- like the shirt.
Man was once supposedly about great things -- an eternal soul, the image of God, bravery, chivalry, romance, glory, wisdom --- but no longer. An accomplished scientist, scion of the "enlightenment" is brought to tears because he wore a shirt his girl friend made for him. He chose poorly -- in wardrobe.
We know little of the back-story of this but anyone that has went through our education system, corporate system, or pretty much any organization in the modern world knows that "respect for the individual" has become "respect for the resource" -- and let's face it, the net of that is often a solid knee-lift to the balls from some mid-level bureaucrat with the personal honor and competence of a slug, but the full weight and power of the modern "enlightened" system behind them.
No doubt the poor sap in the shirt was faced with the loss of his job/career/mission or his manhood , so he knelt and whimpered. Hail, the "enlightened man"!
I believe that the shirt leads us to potentially the penultimate symbol of the "enlightenment" -- perhaps we might re-think the loss of transcendent truth just a wee bit?
'via Blog this'
"The Enlightenment" is a time in the late 1700's when mankind supposedly turned from "absolutes" (like God) to "reason, empiricism, science, liberty, democracy" and was thus "enlightened.
Man became "the measure of all things" -- good and evil could be decided by physical measurement, experience, trial and error, or a simple vote. "Man" forgot that designation would now include "woman" with the feminizing "virtues" being applied at levels beyond sleeping on the couch. Exit the age of "mighty men", knights, poets, sages, wizards and the like -- enter the age of trashy romance novels and "the sensitive guy".
We seem clearly past the pinnacle of what was once a bold new direction. Large signs -- 100's of millions dead from the Godless "isms" of the 20th century, vast hordes of drugged, drunk, distracted masses completely purposeless, drifting to the next hit/high/distraction and horribly suicide / overdose prone. Governments mired in massive debt, corruption and pseudo-science like AGW.
And also small signs -- like the shirt.
Man was once supposedly about great things -- an eternal soul, the image of God, bravery, chivalry, romance, glory, wisdom --- but no longer. An accomplished scientist, scion of the "enlightenment" is brought to tears because he wore a shirt his girl friend made for him. He chose poorly -- in wardrobe.
We know little of the back-story of this but anyone that has went through our education system, corporate system, or pretty much any organization in the modern world knows that "respect for the individual" has become "respect for the resource" -- and let's face it, the net of that is often a solid knee-lift to the balls from some mid-level bureaucrat with the personal honor and competence of a slug, but the full weight and power of the modern "enlightened" system behind them.
No doubt the poor sap in the shirt was faced with the loss of his job/career/mission or his manhood , so he knelt and whimpered. Hail, the "enlightened man"!
I believe that the shirt leads us to potentially the penultimate symbol of the "enlightenment" -- perhaps we might re-think the loss of transcendent truth just a wee bit?
'via Blog this'
"Fair Share", By Quintile -- Killing Success
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/11/203641-2-chart-new-definition-fair-share-20-americans-pay-almost-100-everything/
As of 2011, the quintiles for US income were:
0 - $20K
$20K - $38K
$38K - $62K
$62K - $102K
$102K and up
"Quintile" means divide the population up into 5 equal sized groups using a variable -- in this case income. The same number of Americans are in each of those 5 groups, roughly 64 million people each.
This chart makes the decline of America extremely easy to understand. Want to place any bets on how "sustainable" this is?
On average, if you make much over $100K, you pay something just below $50K into the FEDERAL government. What the chart doesn't show is that you ALSO pay something close to 10% of your income into the STATE if you live in a blue or purple state. If you don't feel like a tax slave, you need to look at the chart a while longer.
Any one having trouble understanding why our workforce participation rate is the lowest since the '70s? People pull that train for a few years and they figure out that the cars behind are a lot more comfortable than the providing pedal power for engine.
Other small fact -- notice that "The Party" (TP-D) doesn't throw the most money to the bottom -- the votes are in the 2nd and 3rd quintiles! The folks at the very bottom are often too old or too unmotivated to even do the handed to them mail in vote, so the money goes to those that make from $20-$62K ... the fact that more per capita goes to the $38K-$62K group than to the 0-$20K group would be especially galling to anyone that cared about "the poor" more than votes!
I case you are reading this and saying "but I pay income taxes", remember that this is NET -- if you get FICA, housing assistance, BOcare, Earned Income Credit, etc, that is deducted from what you "pay".
The linked article has one more fact worth repeating --- 40% of US households now get more than HALF of their income from transfer payments!
As of 2011, the quintiles for US income were:
0 - $20K
$20K - $38K
$38K - $62K
$62K - $102K
$102K and up
"Quintile" means divide the population up into 5 equal sized groups using a variable -- in this case income. The same number of Americans are in each of those 5 groups, roughly 64 million people each.
This chart makes the decline of America extremely easy to understand. Want to place any bets on how "sustainable" this is?
On average, if you make much over $100K, you pay something just below $50K into the FEDERAL government. What the chart doesn't show is that you ALSO pay something close to 10% of your income into the STATE if you live in a blue or purple state. If you don't feel like a tax slave, you need to look at the chart a while longer.
Any one having trouble understanding why our workforce participation rate is the lowest since the '70s? People pull that train for a few years and they figure out that the cars behind are a lot more comfortable than the providing pedal power for engine.
Other small fact -- notice that "The Party" (TP-D) doesn't throw the most money to the bottom -- the votes are in the 2nd and 3rd quintiles! The folks at the very bottom are often too old or too unmotivated to even do the handed to them mail in vote, so the money goes to those that make from $20-$62K ... the fact that more per capita goes to the $38K-$62K group than to the 0-$20K group would be especially galling to anyone that cared about "the poor" more than votes!
I case you are reading this and saying "but I pay income taxes", remember that this is NET -- if you get FICA, housing assistance, BOcare, Earned Income Credit, etc, that is deducted from what you "pay".
The linked article has one more fact worth repeating --- 40% of US households now get more than HALF of their income from transfer payments!
Chelsea Clinton's Felon In Law
snopes.com: Ed Mezvinsky - Father of the Groom:
The level of bias in the US media still finds a way to shock me!
Chelsea's FiL is an ex congressman, convicted felon -- pretty much the flower of TP so I'd expect that the in-laws ought to get along superbly. Two sets of feckless felons! The sordid linkages and the character of Mezvinsky are worth reading the Snopes link -- we already know the Clinton's character, and that it is officially "not an issue" according to the TP controlled media.
I'm sure they would treat it just the same if one of W's daughters got married to an ex-congressman Felon! (every day needs some humor)
The problem here is that the MSM would cover this if a Republican offspring was being similarly wed -- because Republicans would react with shock and horror and it would be a big smudge on even the girls parents. The DIFFERENCE is that the very business of TP is criminally defrauding the american people! They just typically have enough power to prevent prosecution -- but even when they are found out, it is considered to just be "an occupational hazard".
'via Blog this'
The level of bias in the US media still finds a way to shock me!
Chelsea's FiL is an ex congressman, convicted felon -- pretty much the flower of TP so I'd expect that the in-laws ought to get along superbly. Two sets of feckless felons! The sordid linkages and the character of Mezvinsky are worth reading the Snopes link -- we already know the Clinton's character, and that it is officially "not an issue" according to the TP controlled media.
I'm sure they would treat it just the same if one of W's daughters got married to an ex-congressman Felon! (every day needs some humor)
The problem here is that the MSM would cover this if a Republican offspring was being similarly wed -- because Republicans would react with shock and horror and it would be a big smudge on even the girls parents. The DIFFERENCE is that the very business of TP is criminally defrauding the american people! They just typically have enough power to prevent prosecution -- but even when they are found out, it is considered to just be "an occupational hazard".
'via Blog this'
TP In Action: Keystone Fail Mary
Senate rejects Keystone bill - POLITICO:
Since TP controls the media, the facts are usually to be found only with the difficulty of following the ball on a 3 card monte game. The TP story on congress for 4 years now has been "the Republicans are obstructionist", when the fact was that hundreds of bills were stopped in the TP controlled Senate with no reporting.
But in a shameless case of naked political opportunism, TP wanted to give Mary Landrieu's run-off bid a boost by putting her name in front of getting the Keystone XL through the Senate. Keystone is hugely popular in Louisiana as well as 65% approval across the US.
They did get it to a vote, but they could not pass it! In what is one of the landmark cases of political incompetence, they attempted to put a feather in their candidates cap, but even with Republican help were unable to get the job done!
Corrupt and Incompetent -- the cornerstones of TP and government in general.
'via Blog this'
Since TP controls the media, the facts are usually to be found only with the difficulty of following the ball on a 3 card monte game. The TP story on congress for 4 years now has been "the Republicans are obstructionist", when the fact was that hundreds of bills were stopped in the TP controlled Senate with no reporting.
But in a shameless case of naked political opportunism, TP wanted to give Mary Landrieu's run-off bid a boost by putting her name in front of getting the Keystone XL through the Senate. Keystone is hugely popular in Louisiana as well as 65% approval across the US.
They did get it to a vote, but they could not pass it! In what is one of the landmark cases of political incompetence, they attempted to put a feather in their candidates cap, but even with Republican help were unable to get the job done!
Corrupt and Incompetent -- the cornerstones of TP and government in general.
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
BO "Lies In" On Grubergate
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2014/11/18/bret_baier_transparency_issues_plagued_obamacare_from_the_start.html
So HHS is paying Gruber $400K, yet it and the Democrats persist in quoting him ad nauseum as an "independent source". It gives criminal corruption a bad name -- mob bosses were far far more honorable than this.
There really are no words. "I just learned about this a few minutes ago" ... Arrogance, narcissism, complete lack of even a hint of truth, and utter disdain for America and it's people.
The nation voted itself into the abyss and there is clearly no bottom.
'via Blog this'
So HHS is paying Gruber $400K, yet it and the Democrats persist in quoting him ad nauseum as an "independent source". It gives criminal corruption a bad name -- mob bosses were far far more honorable than this.
There really are no words. "I just learned about this a few minutes ago" ... Arrogance, narcissism, complete lack of even a hint of truth, and utter disdain for America and it's people.
The nation voted itself into the abyss and there is clearly no bottom.
'via Blog this'
It's Below Freezing in Every State, Imagine a Similar Heat Event
Cold weather grips most of U.S.; heavy snow in North - CNN.com:
Just try to imagine the kind of coverage this would be getting if it was a heat event of similar proportions. It boggles the mind -- there would be nothing else on.
We have been getting a fairly steady diet of reporting on the completely meaningless "agreement" on carbon that BO signed with China as well as the "debate" over the Keystone Pipeline, here is a recent Hot Air article that is a good summary of the state of the "discussion" relative to the other side of the topic -- the side you can't get in the MSM.
Most of the MSM suppresses any contrary evidence -- they are done with it, they want to control carbon and that is that. Anyone that doesn't see it their way is "fool, denier, oil company stooge, etc" -- pay no attention to record cold winters, Novembers, springs, late ice outs on Lake Superior, 18 year pause in warming, etc, etc ... the list goes on, just follow the link and read up on the basics.
One more topic where any hint of sanity has completely left the building.
'via Blog this'
Just try to imagine the kind of coverage this would be getting if it was a heat event of similar proportions. It boggles the mind -- there would be nothing else on.
We have been getting a fairly steady diet of reporting on the completely meaningless "agreement" on carbon that BO signed with China as well as the "debate" over the Keystone Pipeline, here is a recent Hot Air article that is a good summary of the state of the "discussion" relative to the other side of the topic -- the side you can't get in the MSM.
Most of the MSM suppresses any contrary evidence -- they are done with it, they want to control carbon and that is that. Anyone that doesn't see it their way is "fool, denier, oil company stooge, etc" -- pay no attention to record cold winters, Novembers, springs, late ice outs on Lake Superior, 18 year pause in warming, etc, etc ... the list goes on, just follow the link and read up on the basics.
One more topic where any hint of sanity has completely left the building.
'via Blog this'
Bill Cosby, Bill Clinton
Woman accuses Bill Cosby of sexual assault in the 1960s - CNN.com:
Woman Accuses Bill Clinton of sexual assault in the 1970's
I see that 40+ year old rape charges against Bill Cosby have been in the news lately. I scanned one of the articles in amazement and could not help think of the Juanita Broaddrick charges against Bill Clinton that I linked to above, that were barely covered at the time they came out.
Bill Cosby has run afoul of TP ("The Party", Democrat) and it's media arm as a black man that believes that blacks need to live and act responsibly if they want to move forward. TP is of the opinion that blacks need to remain as wards on the happy TP voter plantation, rioting, doing drugs, and feeling outraged.
If one wastes the time to scan the kinds of charges, the similarities are rather striking -- dates and details are often smudged and what you most pick up are women telling you in some way that their trust was broken, they were outraged, they were afraid and they were under some "spell" in that they didn't report it at the time.
One can only feel sorry for these women no matter what actually happened in either case, but why oh why would such accusations be national news against Bill Cosby? Clinton OTOH was in the presidency with CURRENT accusations at the level that made one wonder if any women would be able to come forward and say " I was NOT sexually molested by the president"! Certainly any woman that had been attacked by him in the past, OR was just the kind of suggestable woman that might have trouble with reality was likely to come forward. The media of course did all it could to tamp down accusations in that case, and Juanita Broaddrick barely saw the light of day.
I can't see any reason that the Cosby accusations are national news beyond yet another example being made of a black man that has had the courage to step off the TP thought plantation just a TINY bit. He is even on record not very long ago with a solid rant against "racist Republicans", but apparently that isn't enough to keep him in good standing!
ANY suggestion of blacks being able to take responsibility for themselves and break their chains of fealty to TP must be met with attacks. Here is an article where Cosby's call for blacks to break the violence in their community is mentioned. Ironically, the article is written by Juan Williams, himself banished from NPR for "insufficient blackness".
Thou shalt not question the authority of TP or you will be punished! Cleave on to TP and thy sins will be covered. Thus saith TP.
'via Blog this'
Woman Accuses Bill Clinton of sexual assault in the 1970's
I see that 40+ year old rape charges against Bill Cosby have been in the news lately. I scanned one of the articles in amazement and could not help think of the Juanita Broaddrick charges against Bill Clinton that I linked to above, that were barely covered at the time they came out.
Bill Cosby has run afoul of TP ("The Party", Democrat) and it's media arm as a black man that believes that blacks need to live and act responsibly if they want to move forward. TP is of the opinion that blacks need to remain as wards on the happy TP voter plantation, rioting, doing drugs, and feeling outraged.
If one wastes the time to scan the kinds of charges, the similarities are rather striking -- dates and details are often smudged and what you most pick up are women telling you in some way that their trust was broken, they were outraged, they were afraid and they were under some "spell" in that they didn't report it at the time.
One can only feel sorry for these women no matter what actually happened in either case, but why oh why would such accusations be national news against Bill Cosby? Clinton OTOH was in the presidency with CURRENT accusations at the level that made one wonder if any women would be able to come forward and say " I was NOT sexually molested by the president"! Certainly any woman that had been attacked by him in the past, OR was just the kind of suggestable woman that might have trouble with reality was likely to come forward. The media of course did all it could to tamp down accusations in that case, and Juanita Broaddrick barely saw the light of day.
I can't see any reason that the Cosby accusations are national news beyond yet another example being made of a black man that has had the courage to step off the TP thought plantation just a TINY bit. He is even on record not very long ago with a solid rant against "racist Republicans", but apparently that isn't enough to keep him in good standing!
ANY suggestion of blacks being able to take responsibility for themselves and break their chains of fealty to TP must be met with attacks. Here is an article where Cosby's call for blacks to break the violence in their community is mentioned. Ironically, the article is written by Juan Williams, himself banished from NPR for "insufficient blackness".
Thou shalt not question the authority of TP or you will be punished! Cleave on to TP and thy sins will be covered. Thus saith TP.
'via Blog this'
Monday, November 17, 2014
Ideas Have Consequences by Richard Weaver
https://www.amazon.com/Ideas-Have-Consequences-Richard-Weaver/dp/022609006X
This book was first published in 1948 and it is scary to see how far we have tumbled down the predicted cliff toward the ultimate demise of Western Civilization since then.
Weaver points out that without first principles, there is no way to know where we went astray or why, and he is very clear and simple on the causes.
It is a book I could go on and on quoting from, but that breaks my promise to explain what the book means to me and encourage others to read it.
Ideas set humans apart and make us what we are. When we are focused at the highest levels of our brain --- reason, abstraction, ultimates, patterns, relations, connections, etc, we are most human in the sense of unique from animals -- with an eternal soul, a soul that wants those transcendentals. It drives us to look for ultimate and eternal causes, the explanation for WHY things are as they are.
When I was in college, a favorite professor described the difference between the university and the vocational school up the hill as basically "Down here we learn WHY the computer works as it does, up the hill they learn only HOW to operate or program following a specific path, not the reason why that path may be optimal, easy, efficient or what alternatives there are to the specifics being taught".
The reference is at about 7:30 in if you don't like the lead up ...
When there are no transcendentals (ultimate reasons "why"), then one way is hard to defend one view from another and we arrive at "my truth and your truth". It is all relative -- it is todays sense data that counts, because it is assumed that is all there is. The physical shared reality (although that is less certain than it once was). We may be able to do a lot of "technology", but as is also covered in the book, much of it will only do more to distract us from that which is of ultimate value.
"Ideas" is a critical book about first principles to understand the universe, our place in it, and how to reach for "the good life", as in the spiritual life that has eternal meaning (although it is not a "religious" book).
"Ideas" is a cornerstone of what I'm re-reading and attempting to weave together as my personal "Canon of Christian Conservatism" at this point in my life -- the basis of what I have come to believe about life, the universe and everything! It was previously discussed here, as well as here.
At its base "Ideas" is "God" (transcendence), Yes or No, and what is likely to happen to both you and your civilization depending on how you choose!
This book was first published in 1948 and it is scary to see how far we have tumbled down the predicted cliff toward the ultimate demise of Western Civilization since then.
Weaver points out that without first principles, there is no way to know where we went astray or why, and he is very clear and simple on the causes.
"This was a change that overtook the dominant philosophical thinking of the West in the fourteenth century, when the reality of transcendentals was first seriously challenged."Since man moved away from the idea of transcendentals to the idea that "man is the measure of all things", the Whig theory of history quickly developed -- "the belief that the most advanced point in time represents the point of highest development". Today this banner is carried by "progressives" -- the firm belief that the last drop of hootch to be excreted from the still today is better than 40 year old Scotch.
"For four centuries every man has been not only his own priest, but his own professor of ethics, and the consequence is an anarchy which threatens even that minimum consensus of value necessary to the political state."At least he isn't always his own bartender! Weaver links transcendentals primarily back to Plato, although the connection with religion obviously seeps through. For the common man, the doctrine of Christianity is what would be infinitely more beneficial to both the eternal soul and temporal existence here on earth than the worship of the relativist pagan state.
"The issue ultimately involved is whether there is a source of truth higher than, and independent of man; and the answer to the question is decisive for one's view of nature and the destiny of humankind. The practical result of nominalist philosophy is to banish the reality which is perceived by the intellect and and to posit as reality that which is perceived by the senses."
"The denial of everything transcending experience means inevitably -- though ways are found to hedge on this -- the denial of truth. With the denial of objective truth there is no escape from the relativism of man is the measure of all things .... The witches spoke with the habitual equivocation of oracles when they told man that by this easy choice he might realize himself more fully, for they were actually initiating a course which cuts one off from reality. Thus began the "abomination of desolation" appearing today as a feeling of alienation from all fixed truth"."Nominalist" meaning denying that things that transcend the physical universe exist. ("matter" is all there is) Not simply however "god" -- since our own abstract thoughts and to some degree language stretch the old meaning of "physical".
It is a book I could go on and on quoting from, but that breaks my promise to explain what the book means to me and encourage others to read it.
Ideas set humans apart and make us what we are. When we are focused at the highest levels of our brain --- reason, abstraction, ultimates, patterns, relations, connections, etc, we are most human in the sense of unique from animals -- with an eternal soul, a soul that wants those transcendentals. It drives us to look for ultimate and eternal causes, the explanation for WHY things are as they are.
When I was in college, a favorite professor described the difference between the university and the vocational school up the hill as basically "Down here we learn WHY the computer works as it does, up the hill they learn only HOW to operate or program following a specific path, not the reason why that path may be optimal, easy, efficient or what alternatives there are to the specifics being taught".
The reference is at about 7:30 in if you don't like the lead up ...
When there are no transcendentals (ultimate reasons "why"), then one way is hard to defend one view from another and we arrive at "my truth and your truth". It is all relative -- it is todays sense data that counts, because it is assumed that is all there is. The physical shared reality (although that is less certain than it once was). We may be able to do a lot of "technology", but as is also covered in the book, much of it will only do more to distract us from that which is of ultimate value.
"Ideas" is a critical book about first principles to understand the universe, our place in it, and how to reach for "the good life", as in the spiritual life that has eternal meaning (although it is not a "religious" book).
"Ideas" is a cornerstone of what I'm re-reading and attempting to weave together as my personal "Canon of Christian Conservatism" at this point in my life -- the basis of what I have come to believe about life, the universe and everything! It was previously discussed here, as well as here.
At its base "Ideas" is "God" (transcendence), Yes or No, and what is likely to happen to both you and your civilization depending on how you choose!
Shivers of Eternal Awareness
WATCH: After His Owner Died, Everyone Was Shocked By What This Dog Did. I Have Goosebumps. [VIDEO]:
I'm re-reading one of my favorite books on how to think about meaning / the universe, "Ideas Have Consequences". I'll do a review on it here in a few days, but the basic element is that how we live personally and even more importantly, as a society/culture, is defined by how we answer the question: "Is man the measure of all things, or are there "universals", "transcendentals" that provide the ultimate forms of our existence?".
The layman version of that is "God, yes or no"?
One of the questions that I have is if all people actually feel a shiver of extra awareness when they see the light hit the dog in the linked video, or if it is only some of us? Christians? Other? My belief is that it is universal and that some either deny or have managed to suppress / alter the natural "shiver of awareness" over the course of life to suppress that feeling or convert it to anger, hurt, derision, etc as they declare "it is just some trick", "it is an accident", etc.. They have "killed the shiver" and now it is a negative that makes them want to strike back and what they are convinced is "fake".
In song, my prayer for myself and those I love on this subject is well embodied in this song -- which I think hints at accepting and believing in the shiver -- if even some of them turned out to be "fake".
Naturally, it COULD all a be a big accident, and we no longer have to feel small beside the ocean -- the transcendent does not force belief, yet ignoring it can be exceedingly hard I think. Hard enough to turn hopeful loving people into insolent haters -- because maybe there was something about Gods purity that made them feel smaller than they wanted to.
Our days on this rock have a number of "light on the dog" or "stand beside the ocean" kinds of moments -- all clearly explainable by coincidence, random chance, good wine or a momentary chill maybe. Phenomena like humor, music, love, consciousness, etc are all "explainable" by "random selection" -- or just "accidental artifacts, side-effects" ... nothing to see here, move along. Don't give faith a chance -- but really, it is just THAT faith that links us to the eternal that "the other" is going to work hard to get you to deny.
Our very existence remains a matter of faith. That the universe that we live in is teleological (goal directed/has a purpose), is rational, predictable and can be understood by reason/experience are ALWAYS matters of faith! Those matters are not provable by experience -- induction can falsify, but it can never prove. We can ALWAYS deny -- 3 times, hundreds of times maybe, but no matter how angry that shiver may make some, does it ever really really go away?
Accepting the existence of God is called a "leap of faith". I personally find atheism, the ultimate faith in the non-existence of God to be a MUCH greater "LEAP of faith" since as Nietzsche explained when he lamented "God is dead", it is known by thinkers to be a lamentable decision. A leap and a tumble into the the abyss. No God, no center, no meaning, no purpose, no direction ... the faith of nullification. Indeed the HOPE of instant annihilation. But can even rejection really kill the shiver? I don't know, I certainly don't want to walk that dark path, but my sense tells me no -- the shiver will keep calling, keep trying to bring you home. At least I pray it does!
No doubt I will have to read the book discussed here, but the link is worth following for the "8 explanations of the universe" which I'll cover another time. The book is prompted by the fact that there are numerous features of our universe that must be "just so" (like the porridge in Goldilocks) ... some of those values are:
Our scientists believe many of these were "set" during the Big Bang, and were they set to tiny different values we would not exist. But ALL of them were set "just right". Again ... as the 8 ways to deal with that indicate, it COULD all be an accident ... in fact, the discovery of the precision of anthropic "setting" is one of the larger reasons that the "Multiverse Theory", where there are gigantic number of UNIVERSES -- like 10 to the 400 or so has gained consideration primarily because many scientists and atheists realized that something like that HAD to be true if their position of no God was to remain tenable.
Murdering the shiver can take a lot of ammo!
Do we all feel the "shiver of awareness"? I believe we do -- for Christ came for ALL. I believe we all have both the "shiver" and free will -- thus the opportunity to make THE choice of eternal significance in all things, those as mundane as a dog in a picture or as immense as the cosmos itself.
Still just a small thing next to the power of God.
'via Blog this'
I'm re-reading one of my favorite books on how to think about meaning / the universe, "Ideas Have Consequences". I'll do a review on it here in a few days, but the basic element is that how we live personally and even more importantly, as a society/culture, is defined by how we answer the question: "Is man the measure of all things, or are there "universals", "transcendentals" that provide the ultimate forms of our existence?".
The layman version of that is "God, yes or no"?
One of the questions that I have is if all people actually feel a shiver of extra awareness when they see the light hit the dog in the linked video, or if it is only some of us? Christians? Other? My belief is that it is universal and that some either deny or have managed to suppress / alter the natural "shiver of awareness" over the course of life to suppress that feeling or convert it to anger, hurt, derision, etc as they declare "it is just some trick", "it is an accident", etc.. They have "killed the shiver" and now it is a negative that makes them want to strike back and what they are convinced is "fake".
In song, my prayer for myself and those I love on this subject is well embodied in this song -- which I think hints at accepting and believing in the shiver -- if even some of them turned out to be "fake".
Naturally, it COULD all a be a big accident, and we no longer have to feel small beside the ocean -- the transcendent does not force belief, yet ignoring it can be exceedingly hard I think. Hard enough to turn hopeful loving people into insolent haters -- because maybe there was something about Gods purity that made them feel smaller than they wanted to.
Our days on this rock have a number of "light on the dog" or "stand beside the ocean" kinds of moments -- all clearly explainable by coincidence, random chance, good wine or a momentary chill maybe. Phenomena like humor, music, love, consciousness, etc are all "explainable" by "random selection" -- or just "accidental artifacts, side-effects" ... nothing to see here, move along. Don't give faith a chance -- but really, it is just THAT faith that links us to the eternal that "the other" is going to work hard to get you to deny.
Our very existence remains a matter of faith. That the universe that we live in is teleological (goal directed/has a purpose), is rational, predictable and can be understood by reason/experience are ALWAYS matters of faith! Those matters are not provable by experience -- induction can falsify, but it can never prove. We can ALWAYS deny -- 3 times, hundreds of times maybe, but no matter how angry that shiver may make some, does it ever really really go away?
Accepting the existence of God is called a "leap of faith". I personally find atheism, the ultimate faith in the non-existence of God to be a MUCH greater "LEAP of faith" since as Nietzsche explained when he lamented "God is dead", it is known by thinkers to be a lamentable decision. A leap and a tumble into the the abyss. No God, no center, no meaning, no purpose, no direction ... the faith of nullification. Indeed the HOPE of instant annihilation. But can even rejection really kill the shiver? I don't know, I certainly don't want to walk that dark path, but my sense tells me no -- the shiver will keep calling, keep trying to bring you home. At least I pray it does!
No doubt I will have to read the book discussed here, but the link is worth following for the "8 explanations of the universe" which I'll cover another time. The book is prompted by the fact that there are numerous features of our universe that must be "just so" (like the porridge in Goldilocks) ... some of those values are:
- N (ratio of strength of gravity to electromagnetism),
- Epsilon (force binding nucleons into nuclei),
- Omega (ratio of universe mass density to critical mass density),
- Cosmological Constant (starts being significant at 10 to -122),
- D (number of spatial dimensions in spacetime) ... etc
Our scientists believe many of these were "set" during the Big Bang, and were they set to tiny different values we would not exist. But ALL of them were set "just right". Again ... as the 8 ways to deal with that indicate, it COULD all be an accident ... in fact, the discovery of the precision of anthropic "setting" is one of the larger reasons that the "Multiverse Theory", where there are gigantic number of UNIVERSES -- like 10 to the 400 or so has gained consideration primarily because many scientists and atheists realized that something like that HAD to be true if their position of no God was to remain tenable.
Murdering the shiver can take a lot of ammo!
Do we all feel the "shiver of awareness"? I believe we do -- for Christ came for ALL. I believe we all have both the "shiver" and free will -- thus the opportunity to make THE choice of eternal significance in all things, those as mundane as a dog in a picture or as immense as the cosmos itself.
Still just a small thing next to the power of God.
'via Blog this'
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