Kirsten Powers Demagogues on Religious Liberty, Again:
Another little marker on how far we have "progressed" as a nation. When Clinton signed a similar bill in '93, there was no outcry. Many states already have very similar laws on the books and nothing like the shrill howlers would indicate "might happen" has happened.
So if you are a Christian you MUST photographs at a gay "wedding" if you are in the photography business, or a baker must do the cake ... etc, etc. I think we all know that a Muslim, or likely any other person or church that refused their facilities or whatever will get a pass. We don't call things ANTI-Christian in the MSM **YET**!
The simplest idea would be "private businesses can serve whatever customers they decide to serve for whatever reason" ... you see these signs all the time "we reserve the right to refuse service for any reason". Perhaps the potential customer is filthy stinking dirty, perhaps they are loud mouthed and obscene, perhaps they don't meet some standard of attire. The operative situation in a country that supported personal liberty would be that the business owner is forgoing a customer, and if he cuts out certain groups of customers that reduces his potential market, thus costing HIS bottom line!
There used to be a country called the United States of America that held this view.
I'd argue the situation is EXACTLY the same for smokers! I happen not to smoke, and I very much like the fact that I'm not bothered by smoke, however I firmly believe "today they came for the smokers, but I was quiet because I was not a smoker". I believe that the cornerstone of the nation that was once America was that we respected the rights of others to hold views THAT WE DIDN'T AGREE WITH!
We clearly are no longer that nation. So much so that in '93, Slick Willie himself would have been a "racist extremist"!
Now I'm sure that the Slickster has fully "evolved" to whatever way "progress" is blowing today, so the only thing he would stand up for is whatever is in the best interest of he or his "wife" (political partner) getting the most money and power. For the rest of us though, the very few remaining that want to believe that our lives have more value than the excrement that the flies seem to be buzzing to today, we need to at least give the facts as to how fast we are sliding a look!
'via Blog this'
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Keeping the Communist Faith
Hearken to Harkin | Power Line:
One of the things I loved about NPR in the '80s was their breathless reporting of the joys of life in Cuba or the USSR. From their descriptions, it is hard to imagine how any USSR residents would ever think of taking down the wall.
In the linked articles we have a US Senator espousing the results of healthcare in Cuba as stated by THEIR figures! Why, what could go wrong? When a Socialist tells you "If you like your healthcare, you can keep it", why would one not believe them??
Here is an pictoral example with N Korea in the Tyrannical role:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-korea-shrouded-in-darkness-in-stunning-new-photo-from-space-station/
Does a visual do it?
I find China to be the most chilling modern state -- sort of totalitarianism with a curtsey to Communism, taking the competitive parts of Capitalism, and leaving out most of the Nanny State aspects of Socialism and Communism. It remains to be seen if they have arrived at the economic and political stew that works in the 21st century. Right now it would appear so!
There is a broad set of the electorate and the elected that will pine away for the great dream of Socialism and Communism no matter how the disastrous results pile up. True leftist faith is never swayed by the deaths of 100's of millions of people or anything else.
'via Blog this'
One of the things I loved about NPR in the '80s was their breathless reporting of the joys of life in Cuba or the USSR. From their descriptions, it is hard to imagine how any USSR residents would ever think of taking down the wall.
In the linked articles we have a US Senator espousing the results of healthcare in Cuba as stated by THEIR figures! Why, what could go wrong? When a Socialist tells you "If you like your healthcare, you can keep it", why would one not believe them??
Here is an pictoral example with N Korea in the Tyrannical role:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-korea-shrouded-in-darkness-in-stunning-new-photo-from-space-station/
Does a visual do it?
I find China to be the most chilling modern state -- sort of totalitarianism with a curtsey to Communism, taking the competitive parts of Capitalism, and leaving out most of the Nanny State aspects of Socialism and Communism. It remains to be seen if they have arrived at the economic and political stew that works in the 21st century. Right now it would appear so!
There is a broad set of the electorate and the elected that will pine away for the great dream of Socialism and Communism no matter how the disastrous results pile up. True leftist faith is never swayed by the deaths of 100's of millions of people or anything else.
'via Blog this'
5 Ways Socialism Destroys Societies - John Hawkins
5 Ways Socialism Destroys Societies - John Hawkins - Page full:
Short, sweet, excellent and correct!
'via Blog this'
Short, sweet, excellent and correct!
'via Blog this'
Weimar Amerika
Articles: Our Weimar Republic:
Just because comparisons with Nazi Germany are often wrong doesn't mean they are ALWAYS wrong!
'via Blog this'
"As Weimar Germany slid to Nazi Germany, another disturbing trend was the reduction of the national legislature to irrelevance. In the last years of Weimar Germany, President Hindenburg began ruling Germany by emergency decree. On the pretext that the Reichstag could not operate, the executive branch of Weimar Germany simply began acting without legislative consent."Excellent article. Just because you are not paranoid doesn't mean everyone ISN'T out to get you!
Just because comparisons with Nazi Germany are often wrong doesn't mean they are ALWAYS wrong!
'via Blog this'
Mammograms Not Settled Science
Charles Krauthammer: The myth of ‘settled science’ - The Washington Post:
The proud claim of science was once that it was not, nor could be "settled". The settled was the domain of religion, which held claims on that which is eternal, vs science which was confined to the physical, the temporal, that in which change is certain and "there is nothing new under the sun". (or at least REALLY new ... each generation and each new fad is SURE that what they have found is "new")
On mammograms, our haste to "do something" is entirely understandable -- we all have at least a mother who we love dearly, and breast cancer is a very real risk. We WANT to be able to do SOMETHING to feel more secure, and if cancer does come to call, we want to be able to say "we did all we could".
Is that motivation the same with climate? "Well, we HAVE to do SOMETHING!"??
I don't believe so, I believe it is more the case that having a religion is critical to man, and post 60's, a lot of younger folks have been looking for a "new one", so in Charles words, they have gone "whoring after new gods".
"Now we learn from a massive randomized study — 90,000 women followed for 25 years — that mammograms may have no effect on breast cancer deaths. Indeed, one out of five of those diagnosed by mammogram receives unnecessary radiation, chemo or surgery."The news that mammograms may not really help isn't all that shocking for anyone that has been around for a few turns of the earth. We have seen coffee, wine, various fats, grains and a host of other food items shift back and forth from being identified as near certain causes of early demise to being proverbial fountains of youth. If your product is on the outs, just wait around, it may be an elixir soon ... or vice versa.
The proud claim of science was once that it was not, nor could be "settled". The settled was the domain of religion, which held claims on that which is eternal, vs science which was confined to the physical, the temporal, that in which change is certain and "there is nothing new under the sun". (or at least REALLY new ... each generation and each new fad is SURE that what they have found is "new")
On mammograms, our haste to "do something" is entirely understandable -- we all have at least a mother who we love dearly, and breast cancer is a very real risk. We WANT to be able to do SOMETHING to feel more secure, and if cancer does come to call, we want to be able to say "we did all we could".
Is that motivation the same with climate? "Well, we HAVE to do SOMETHING!"??
I don't believe so, I believe it is more the case that having a religion is critical to man, and post 60's, a lot of younger folks have been looking for a "new one", so in Charles words, they have gone "whoring after new gods".
But whoring is whoring, and the gods must be appeased. So if California burns, you send your high priest (in carbon -belching Air Force One, but never mind) to the bone-dry land to offer up, on behalf of the repentant congregation, a $1 billion burnt offering called a “climate resilience fund.”'via Blog this'
Reality Wrong Again
The 'Fairness' Fraud - Thomas Sowell - Page 2:
"Who is to blame" may be similar for the "progressive".
Sowell covers "fairness" yet again in his inimitable style. "Progressives" assume that they know how things SHOULD be, so when reality doesn't meet their preconceptions it MUST be somebody elses fault.
"It's not my fault" is another classic liberal line. In fact, one pretty much just needs to listen to a pre-school playground to understand liberal thought:
-- "It's not fair"!
-- "I'm going to tell"!
-- "Gimme" !
-- "She/he is cheating"!
-- "I can't"!
Perhaps understanding "liberals" is much easier than it sometimes seems?
'via Blog this'
"In other words, the fact that reality does not match the preconceptions of the intelligentsia shows that there is something wrong with reality, for which somebody must be blamed. Apparently their preconceptions cannot be wrong.""First, do no harm" is a good short conservative maxim.
"Who is to blame" may be similar for the "progressive".
Sowell covers "fairness" yet again in his inimitable style. "Progressives" assume that they know how things SHOULD be, so when reality doesn't meet their preconceptions it MUST be somebody elses fault.
"It's not my fault" is another classic liberal line. In fact, one pretty much just needs to listen to a pre-school playground to understand liberal thought:
-- "It's not fair"!
-- "I'm going to tell"!
-- "Gimme" !
-- "She/he is cheating"!
-- "I can't"!
Perhaps understanding "liberals" is much easier than it sometimes seems?
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
How Leftists Fly
GOP Crocodile Tears Over Jobs | RealClearPolitics:
Since natural laws don't apply on the left, they simply grab their bootstraps and pull ... and then they fly! If you don't believe they fly, you are obviously a "denier" and should perhaps have your taxes audited!
See, the Republicans are complaining that the CBO says that raising the minimum wage will cost 500K jobs. They believe in the old time economics where each person employed has to bring in enough money to cover their wages, government mandated taxes, possible government mandated benefits or fines like BOcare, PLUS add enough profit to the bottom line to make it worthwhile to hire them.
In the modern Democrat universe however that is "foolish". Even though we have been following their policies since '09, and really '07 when they took over congress, we have 8 million LESS people employed than we did in '07!!!
But here is how they propose to "improve the economy" via the bootstraps from here:
If only Democrats would become so convinced of their wisdom that they would jump off a cliff tugging on their bootstraps one by one until somebody had a "learning moment"!
'via Blog this'
Since natural laws don't apply on the left, they simply grab their bootstraps and pull ... and then they fly! If you don't believe they fly, you are obviously a "denier" and should perhaps have your taxes audited!
See, the Republicans are complaining that the CBO says that raising the minimum wage will cost 500K jobs. They believe in the old time economics where each person employed has to bring in enough money to cover their wages, government mandated taxes, possible government mandated benefits or fines like BOcare, PLUS add enough profit to the bottom line to make it worthwhile to hire them.
In the modern Democrat universe however that is "foolish". Even though we have been following their policies since '09, and really '07 when they took over congress, we have 8 million LESS people employed than we did in '07!!!
But here is how they propose to "improve the economy" via the bootstraps from here:
The first thing to do is extend the long-term unemployment benefits that expired at the end of last year. According to the CBO -- whose word, apparently, is now holy writ among Republicans -- this simple measure would add 200,000 jobs, perhaps as many as 300,000.Then ...
The CBO has estimated that canceling the across-the-board reductions in federal spending known as "sequestration" would preserve 900,000 jobs a year.and top it all off ...
That gives us more than 1 million jobs to replace the 500,000 lost from hiking the minimum wage. But Republicans wouldn't want to stop there. To maximize employment, putting as many people to work as possible, the GOP should obviously begin designing a new economic stimulus package, much like the stimulus Obama convinced Congress to approve five years ago.
According to the CBO, the $800 billion stimulus -- much maligned by Republicans as a waste of money -- created or saved an average of 1.6 million jobs per year from 2009 through 2012. Now that most of the money is spent and the impact of the stimulus is waning, clearly it's time to give job-creation another boost.Got that??? We have EIGHT MILLION LESS people employed than we did at the top of the last cycle, with millions more americans in the workforce, at least partially due to the policies that Democrats think are "helpful", and the way to get more jobs is to just spend more and more government money! You CAN fly by pulling on your bootstraps!!
If only Democrats would become so convinced of their wisdom that they would jump off a cliff tugging on their bootstraps one by one until somebody had a "learning moment"!
'via Blog this'
Chutzpah and Economic Numbers
US Constitution, Article 1, Section 7:1
"All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills."
I've seen a few "facts" floating about about how great a job BO is doing! All sorts of numbers about deficit reduction, economic improvement including jobs, etc. It reminds me of how he has the chutzpah to take credit for oil production going up on his watch. In the real world, our increased oil production is 100% the result of hydraulic fracking in shale which BO has much to do with as I do. Actually less, since he has tried to stop it, regulate it, and has stopped the Keystone pipeline.
If you have been listening a little too credulously to MSM outlets (it is easy to do, we ALL soak in it!), you may need to refresh your memory. Bill Clinton for example DID NOT "balance the budget". A short perusal of the Constitution plus a slight remembrance of the howling as Republicans "cut" (reduced the rate of GROWTH) in Medicare, plus took other "mean, hard hearted and cynical" actions on the budget that overall SLIGHTLY reduced the rate of GROWTH in government spending, PLUS (and most importantly) releasing the productivity of the American people and creating growth in the economy. One of the things I loved about Reagan was that he constantly reminded us that the engine of all good things is economic growth, not government!
The combination of the MSM controlling the story line, and the general poor memory and natural desire to believe the current narrative allows 90% of the population to live in an MSM wonderland where Slick Willie or BO fights valiantly against the evil Republican forces trying to CUT TO THE BONE (reduce the rate of GROWTH) in spending on Medicare, Military benefits, Food Stamps, Head Start for wonderful innocent little children, all because of their inherent evil and the fact that they are beholden to awful profit seeking business!
Then, when nothing bad happens because of the "cuts", "sequester", "shutdown", etc, and the economy starts to show signs of life, who pops up like a Jack-in-the-box saying "I did it, I did it!!" but the President. Naturally, if the president has a "D" next to his name, the media gets all gushy about HIS success!
If it is an "R" however, they have usually already been pushing hard on an economic and tax agenda that the media found "draconian", so when the economy improves, "it just happened" ... which in BOTH cases is more true than not, since the best thing government can generally do is get the hell out of the way!
Both Slick Willie and BO ought to be INCREDIBLY grateful for their Republican Congress. Without it, Slick would never have had what he and the MSM trumpets as his singular achievement -- BJs with pizza in the Oval Office, oh wait, I meant "his" balanced budget!
BO would not have had the impressive feat (for him) of seeing the unemployment number below 7%!! WOW!! (it was under 5% in '07). Of course we are not talking about the labor participation rate that is the worst now that it has been since the '70s!
Don't expect the MSM (or BO) to be applauding the results of the Republicans feeble attempts to slow the rate of growth in the federal spending juggernaut anytime soon.
"All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills."
I've seen a few "facts" floating about about how great a job BO is doing! All sorts of numbers about deficit reduction, economic improvement including jobs, etc. It reminds me of how he has the chutzpah to take credit for oil production going up on his watch. In the real world, our increased oil production is 100% the result of hydraulic fracking in shale which BO has much to do with as I do. Actually less, since he has tried to stop it, regulate it, and has stopped the Keystone pipeline.
If you have been listening a little too credulously to MSM outlets (it is easy to do, we ALL soak in it!), you may need to refresh your memory. Bill Clinton for example DID NOT "balance the budget". A short perusal of the Constitution plus a slight remembrance of the howling as Republicans "cut" (reduced the rate of GROWTH) in Medicare, plus took other "mean, hard hearted and cynical" actions on the budget that overall SLIGHTLY reduced the rate of GROWTH in government spending, PLUS (and most importantly) releasing the productivity of the American people and creating growth in the economy. One of the things I loved about Reagan was that he constantly reminded us that the engine of all good things is economic growth, not government!
The combination of the MSM controlling the story line, and the general poor memory and natural desire to believe the current narrative allows 90% of the population to live in an MSM wonderland where Slick Willie or BO fights valiantly against the evil Republican forces trying to CUT TO THE BONE (reduce the rate of GROWTH) in spending on Medicare, Military benefits, Food Stamps, Head Start for wonderful innocent little children, all because of their inherent evil and the fact that they are beholden to awful profit seeking business!
Then, when nothing bad happens because of the "cuts", "sequester", "shutdown", etc, and the economy starts to show signs of life, who pops up like a Jack-in-the-box saying "I did it, I did it!!" but the President. Naturally, if the president has a "D" next to his name, the media gets all gushy about HIS success!
If it is an "R" however, they have usually already been pushing hard on an economic and tax agenda that the media found "draconian", so when the economy improves, "it just happened" ... which in BOTH cases is more true than not, since the best thing government can generally do is get the hell out of the way!
Both Slick Willie and BO ought to be INCREDIBLY grateful for their Republican Congress. Without it, Slick would never have had what he and the MSM trumpets as his singular achievement -- BJs with pizza in the Oval Office, oh wait, I meant "his" balanced budget!
BO would not have had the impressive feat (for him) of seeing the unemployment number below 7%!! WOW!! (it was under 5% in '07). Of course we are not talking about the labor participation rate that is the worst now that it has been since the '70s!
Don't expect the MSM (or BO) to be applauding the results of the Republicans feeble attempts to slow the rate of growth in the federal spending juggernaut anytime soon.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Florida 2014, Carnival Paradise Cruise
FL 2014 - Photo Stream:
Sitting on our balcony at the Lani Kai in Fort Meyers Beach Florida trying to capture a bit of our 2014 "spring break".
We left Rochester and West Bend last Friday, Feb 14 with Marla's mother Evie along. I had a rough day driving through sketchy road conditions with a Buick with not so good summer tires. We saw a semi and a number of cars and trucks in the ditch or worse, but we made it through to about 70mi N of St Louis where Marla took over on better roads. We made it to Cape Girardeau Missouri. When we got up in the AM it was 16 degrees, and we still saw some snow until about 70 miles N of Memphis.
We stopped in Memphis for some killer BBQ at Tom's ... ribs, brisket, pork, the works. Very solid, featured on DDD. We made it all the way to Tallahassee Sat night and I was glad we didn't have to do the trip down in 2 days. Had a nice seafood meal at Barnacle Bills.
Made the easy run to Tampa Sunday. Had a great PM meal at Bahama Breeze sitting on the deck in 72+ degrees -- third time I've eaten there. Business to Verizon at Temple Terrace, stayed across the road on a previous winter retreat. I love their plantain.
Hopped on the Paradise Monday and had an easy and fun ride to Grand Cayman ... mostly 80s, sunny, just soaking it up. Picked up some Glenrothes scotch for $45 a bottle ... $90+ in Rochester. We ended up getting 4 liters of alcohol on the trip, declared it (along with a cuban cigar), but customs just put the declaration on a spindle and said "Welcome Home". We must not have that smuggler look!
We did a tour of the Mayan ruins in Cozumel with a driver that made Mexico sound like a socialist paradise while we were driving through neighborhoods that reminded me of the Bronx in the early '80s ... they looked like there was a war and Mexico lost. Guess there was. The Socialists won!! He also had an infinite respect for the Mayans -- did his best to make human sacrifice and killing any kids born that were less than perfect as "culturally advanced". Perhaps Hillary will bring him in to head HEW.
Marla then let me retire to the "Owl Sanctuary" (Hooters) since even she was put off by getting accosted by the hawkers at the Mexican restaurants nearby. The girls didn't speak english very well, but they seemed to have sort of a universal communication capability -- plus free wi fi, which for old guys is about as important as anything. Marla stopped by a couple times to dump more items, and when the table collapsed it was time to head for the ship.
Nice run back to Tampa, slow port entry due to fog in the AM, but no big deal since we were not catching a plane. Picked up the rental and headed down here to our Lani Kai.
The hotel is sort of stuck in the 1950s ... not fancy at all, but reasonably clean. 40 yds to the beach on sand that is like talcum powder. The sun can beat on it but your feet don't burn. $2.50 Bloodys from 8 - noon, killer rum runners for $5 during happy hour 4-6. Great wings, shrimp, crab omlet, etc up on the swinging hammock dining deck on the 6th floor. Lots of laid back live and XM oldies rock and Jimmy Buffet ... with a little Chili Peppers, Cheryl Crow, etc thrown in.
Marla is working this week ... and I'm DEFINITELY NOT! One of the benefits of IBM remote work these days.
Three more days in Paradise and then it is back to the reality of sub-zero nights. Oh well, we DO miss the kitties, and no doubt there will be some level of excitement to get back home!
'via Blog this'
Sitting on our balcony at the Lani Kai in Fort Meyers Beach Florida trying to capture a bit of our 2014 "spring break".
We left Rochester and West Bend last Friday, Feb 14 with Marla's mother Evie along. I had a rough day driving through sketchy road conditions with a Buick with not so good summer tires. We saw a semi and a number of cars and trucks in the ditch or worse, but we made it through to about 70mi N of St Louis where Marla took over on better roads. We made it to Cape Girardeau Missouri. When we got up in the AM it was 16 degrees, and we still saw some snow until about 70 miles N of Memphis.
We stopped in Memphis for some killer BBQ at Tom's ... ribs, brisket, pork, the works. Very solid, featured on DDD. We made it all the way to Tallahassee Sat night and I was glad we didn't have to do the trip down in 2 days. Had a nice seafood meal at Barnacle Bills.
Made the easy run to Tampa Sunday. Had a great PM meal at Bahama Breeze sitting on the deck in 72+ degrees -- third time I've eaten there. Business to Verizon at Temple Terrace, stayed across the road on a previous winter retreat. I love their plantain.
Hopped on the Paradise Monday and had an easy and fun ride to Grand Cayman ... mostly 80s, sunny, just soaking it up. Picked up some Glenrothes scotch for $45 a bottle ... $90+ in Rochester. We ended up getting 4 liters of alcohol on the trip, declared it (along with a cuban cigar), but customs just put the declaration on a spindle and said "Welcome Home". We must not have that smuggler look!
We did a tour of the Mayan ruins in Cozumel with a driver that made Mexico sound like a socialist paradise while we were driving through neighborhoods that reminded me of the Bronx in the early '80s ... they looked like there was a war and Mexico lost. Guess there was. The Socialists won!! He also had an infinite respect for the Mayans -- did his best to make human sacrifice and killing any kids born that were less than perfect as "culturally advanced". Perhaps Hillary will bring him in to head HEW.
Marla then let me retire to the "Owl Sanctuary" (Hooters) since even she was put off by getting accosted by the hawkers at the Mexican restaurants nearby. The girls didn't speak english very well, but they seemed to have sort of a universal communication capability -- plus free wi fi, which for old guys is about as important as anything. Marla stopped by a couple times to dump more items, and when the table collapsed it was time to head for the ship.
Nice run back to Tampa, slow port entry due to fog in the AM, but no big deal since we were not catching a plane. Picked up the rental and headed down here to our Lani Kai.
The hotel is sort of stuck in the 1950s ... not fancy at all, but reasonably clean. 40 yds to the beach on sand that is like talcum powder. The sun can beat on it but your feet don't burn. $2.50 Bloodys from 8 - noon, killer rum runners for $5 during happy hour 4-6. Great wings, shrimp, crab omlet, etc up on the swinging hammock dining deck on the 6th floor. Lots of laid back live and XM oldies rock and Jimmy Buffet ... with a little Chili Peppers, Cheryl Crow, etc thrown in.
Marla is working this week ... and I'm DEFINITELY NOT! One of the benefits of IBM remote work these days.
Three more days in Paradise and then it is back to the reality of sub-zero nights. Oh well, we DO miss the kitties, and no doubt there will be some level of excitement to get back home!
'via Blog this'
Ice Age Preview
Stunning Ice-Covered Great Lakes Seen from Space (Photo) | LiveScience:
The picture in the linked article gives a nice visual of one of the reasons why ice over most of the planet is the standard earth climate (it's white), and the last 7-10K years is a somewhat unusual warm period relative to the last 500K and likely last 3.5 million years.
This link gives a bigger picture with the salient image being:
Note that in this NOAA graph:
Certainly my biases are affected by looking at such data in the 70's, when "90% of the scientists" thought were WERE at that point, but it wasn't nearly so politicized.
What we have seen the past couple of years COULD be a harbinger of that slip. The record late spring snow, shivering the last weekend in July with a high failing to reach 60, ice building at both poles, and now cruising toward a record number of below zero nights here in N America with massive snow cover.
The solar cycle is heading down, and it appears that every 100K years it goes especially low. The amount of white in the N hemisphere goes up (as the Great Lakes picture shows) and as that article mentions, that has wider effects -- later spring, cooler summer.
It tends to build on itself, and since our natural climate is NOT "1951-1980", but rather those squiggles you see on the chart between the yellow band anomalies, it is a fairly quick move to cold. We could well be strongly into it in the 30ish years a lucky me would have to still be around.
But I could well be wrong. That chart is just "more data". Even if my theory is correct, we could well be a few thousand years away, since even though the yellow bands are pretty regular, a lot of that ice core data only goes back 500K years, which means THAT yellow band must have been warmer and longer. Data is a cruel thing -- our human perspective and our time perspective in particular is so inappropriate to many aspects of our world, that humility is the primary element of scientific wisdom.
Perhaps "97% of scientists" need a bit of a cool down to recall that overarching fact?
'via Blog this'
The picture in the linked article gives a nice visual of one of the reasons why ice over most of the planet is the standard earth climate (it's white), and the last 7-10K years is a somewhat unusual warm period relative to the last 500K and likely last 3.5 million years.
This link gives a bigger picture with the salient image being:
Note that in this NOAA graph:
- The cyclical nature of solar impact on the N hemisphere is shown. Note what is happening to it now.
- The cyclical nature of one of our best proxies for global temp (antarctic ice cores) shows that about 130K years ago the globe was likely close to where we have been in the last 10K years on the warm side. With like 100K years of relatively cold between, being our "normal climate".
- The chart shows that increase in CO2 in roughly 100K cycles is also normal, so we are appear to be where one would expect the next cold cycle to begin.
Certainly my biases are affected by looking at such data in the 70's, when "90% of the scientists" thought were WERE at that point, but it wasn't nearly so politicized.
What we have seen the past couple of years COULD be a harbinger of that slip. The record late spring snow, shivering the last weekend in July with a high failing to reach 60, ice building at both poles, and now cruising toward a record number of below zero nights here in N America with massive snow cover.
The solar cycle is heading down, and it appears that every 100K years it goes especially low. The amount of white in the N hemisphere goes up (as the Great Lakes picture shows) and as that article mentions, that has wider effects -- later spring, cooler summer.
It tends to build on itself, and since our natural climate is NOT "1951-1980", but rather those squiggles you see on the chart between the yellow band anomalies, it is a fairly quick move to cold. We could well be strongly into it in the 30ish years a lucky me would have to still be around.
But I could well be wrong. That chart is just "more data". Even if my theory is correct, we could well be a few thousand years away, since even though the yellow bands are pretty regular, a lot of that ice core data only goes back 500K years, which means THAT yellow band must have been warmer and longer. Data is a cruel thing -- our human perspective and our time perspective in particular is so inappropriate to many aspects of our world, that humility is the primary element of scientific wisdom.
Perhaps "97% of scientists" need a bit of a cool down to recall that overarching fact?
'via Blog this'
Sunday, February 23, 2014
The Kamikaze Caucus
Kim Strassel: Another Misguided Cruz Missile - WSJ.com:
Good article on the circular firing squad that is doing it's best to scuttle the Republicans slim hopes of taking the Senate.
CONSERVATIVES are to be the party of principle first, but it has never been all that clear what the Republican Party in America is. The Democrats have always been the party of "POWER by whatever means necessary baby!!!".
Republicans have made runs at "justice" ... ending slavery, giving blacks the vote, ensuring the they were actually allowed to vote, etc, based on principle. All those efforts faced staunch opposition from Democrats.
"Progressives" have been a major force in both parties -- Teddy Roosevelt being the big Republican "progressive". "Progressive" is another oxymoron like "liberal", the best definition is paternalism enforced by the state. Prohibition was an example of a "progressive" project, as was eugenics, forced sterilization for the "less fortunate". The National Socialists in Germany were unabashedly "progressive", but when they didn't turn out to be so wonderful, the term "liberal" was stolen from the ACTUAL liberals -- or "libertarian" wing of the more conservative parties.
So Republicans have always had an "identity problem" -- while the media likes to claim they are the party of the "rich", that is definitely not so ... the vast majority of the wealthy in this country are Democrats. Including CEOs, Hollywood Stars, media personalities, Sports Stars, Wall Street Tycoons, and of course Lawyers.
In gambling, the big rule is "the house wins". This is also true in politics, and "the house" is made up of 90%+ Lawyers -- State and Federal, but of course the big money folks are also part of "the house" -- they prefer a government controlled playing field where their risks are bailed out by the government and their rewards can be taxed lightly or not at all. (they are HUGELY in favor of income earning folks in the $40-$500K range paying VASTLY more taxes)
That is why we find when a Democrat tries to appoint people they are all 10's, 100's of thousands or more out of whack on taxes. The IRS is part of the corrupt system that rewards the friends of the the ruling party and punishes it's enemies. Being the right level of Democrat freind means that you are exempt from things like high taxes -- you are a freind, taxes are for the enemies to pay!
Reagan formed a coalition that is very damaged now, and as this article points out, teetering. The Tea Party is an unabashedly upper low and ACTUAL "middle class" movement -- meaning folks from around $40K INCOME to say "< $500K" in INCOME. The media and the Democrats, but I repeat myself, get VERY angry about folks like that having the gall to think!
Note, I said INCOME, not WEALTH!!! Because of the income tax, we live with a good many fantasies in this country. Reagan formed a coalition of that "income middle class" + elderly and religious folks that still cared about values at that time. The Democrats like to call people that make $150, $200, $300K ish "rich". A few years of that maximum level of income is "nice", and if one watches their Ps and Q's, lives WELL below the lifestyle level one would "think" such an income would buy, invests wisely and has some luck, you might be able to have something.
Most people don't -- they borrow heavily all the way up the scale, spend a lot on cars, vacations, etc, and maybe invest in a lot of popular products that primarily make investment people wealthy. Then the plant closes, the market crashes, the housing prices drop, etc, etc, and they are back in the "needs assistance" class -- which is what the system the Democrats set up is exactly as planned!
The Democrats have used abortion, gay marriage, added government assistance and programs and vastly increasing amounts of public employment (much of it via contracting) to lock in their power base solidly. Romey was wrong about the 47% takers vs makers ... it is more like 53% primarily takers. Doesn't mean they don't work, and don't work hard, but they believe that the same "house" that is owned by lawyers, wall street, hollywood, the super rich, etc is actually going to make their lives better.
The party of power could care less about the benefit of anyone but themselves, least of all those that are willing to be the "controlled" -- sometimes known as "the sheeple" part of their voting block. Over 90% of the blacks, over 70% of the women, over 70% of those that receive some sort of government "benefit" -- rising of course with BOcare. Those that consume a diet full of public education and mass media that either never thought they had a shot, or have lost faith for more than being wards of the state are way too afraid to question the hand that (for now) feeds them.
So we kill the general competitiveness and innovation of the nation by increasing the transfer from the small business owner and the $40-$500K income level as well as future generations -- making sure that they know their future is hopeless before they ever even get out of school.
To the extent that the ruling class cares, which in general they don't, their belief is that they will be able to ride out the implosion -- sure, many of the sheeple that voted them in might live in absolute squalor and death, but by that time they will have fully institutionalized the kind of corrupition we see under BO.
The Republicans are now a rump party. W was our last faint hope, but he was too much of the old line patrician kind of R like his Dad, and not nearly the kind of communicator that was needed. We screwed the pooch with the '06 election and it has been downhill from there. I see nobody on the horizon capable of transmitting the relatively simple message that the vast majority of Americans have been completely duped, and those that look around a bit are just waiting for the inevitable final fall.
It becomes hard to know what to cheer for -- a Republican win that might stave things off a very tiny bit, another Republican rout that would return us to the '07-'09 kind of free fall, or just some treading water, which is the most likely. Very very few even have a remote handle on the seriousness or our situtation, and games like Cruz is playing are very much rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
'via Blog this'
Good article on the circular firing squad that is doing it's best to scuttle the Republicans slim hopes of taking the Senate.
CONSERVATIVES are to be the party of principle first, but it has never been all that clear what the Republican Party in America is. The Democrats have always been the party of "POWER by whatever means necessary baby!!!".
Republicans have made runs at "justice" ... ending slavery, giving blacks the vote, ensuring the they were actually allowed to vote, etc, based on principle. All those efforts faced staunch opposition from Democrats.
"Progressives" have been a major force in both parties -- Teddy Roosevelt being the big Republican "progressive". "Progressive" is another oxymoron like "liberal", the best definition is paternalism enforced by the state. Prohibition was an example of a "progressive" project, as was eugenics, forced sterilization for the "less fortunate". The National Socialists in Germany were unabashedly "progressive", but when they didn't turn out to be so wonderful, the term "liberal" was stolen from the ACTUAL liberals -- or "libertarian" wing of the more conservative parties.
So Republicans have always had an "identity problem" -- while the media likes to claim they are the party of the "rich", that is definitely not so ... the vast majority of the wealthy in this country are Democrats. Including CEOs, Hollywood Stars, media personalities, Sports Stars, Wall Street Tycoons, and of course Lawyers.
In gambling, the big rule is "the house wins". This is also true in politics, and "the house" is made up of 90%+ Lawyers -- State and Federal, but of course the big money folks are also part of "the house" -- they prefer a government controlled playing field where their risks are bailed out by the government and their rewards can be taxed lightly or not at all. (they are HUGELY in favor of income earning folks in the $40-$500K range paying VASTLY more taxes)
That is why we find when a Democrat tries to appoint people they are all 10's, 100's of thousands or more out of whack on taxes. The IRS is part of the corrupt system that rewards the friends of the the ruling party and punishes it's enemies. Being the right level of Democrat freind means that you are exempt from things like high taxes -- you are a freind, taxes are for the enemies to pay!
Reagan formed a coalition that is very damaged now, and as this article points out, teetering. The Tea Party is an unabashedly upper low and ACTUAL "middle class" movement -- meaning folks from around $40K INCOME to say "< $500K" in INCOME. The media and the Democrats, but I repeat myself, get VERY angry about folks like that having the gall to think!
Note, I said INCOME, not WEALTH!!! Because of the income tax, we live with a good many fantasies in this country. Reagan formed a coalition of that "income middle class" + elderly and religious folks that still cared about values at that time. The Democrats like to call people that make $150, $200, $300K ish "rich". A few years of that maximum level of income is "nice", and if one watches their Ps and Q's, lives WELL below the lifestyle level one would "think" such an income would buy, invests wisely and has some luck, you might be able to have something.
Most people don't -- they borrow heavily all the way up the scale, spend a lot on cars, vacations, etc, and maybe invest in a lot of popular products that primarily make investment people wealthy. Then the plant closes, the market crashes, the housing prices drop, etc, etc, and they are back in the "needs assistance" class -- which is what the system the Democrats set up is exactly as planned!
The Democrats have used abortion, gay marriage, added government assistance and programs and vastly increasing amounts of public employment (much of it via contracting) to lock in their power base solidly. Romey was wrong about the 47% takers vs makers ... it is more like 53% primarily takers. Doesn't mean they don't work, and don't work hard, but they believe that the same "house" that is owned by lawyers, wall street, hollywood, the super rich, etc is actually going to make their lives better.
The party of power could care less about the benefit of anyone but themselves, least of all those that are willing to be the "controlled" -- sometimes known as "the sheeple" part of their voting block. Over 90% of the blacks, over 70% of the women, over 70% of those that receive some sort of government "benefit" -- rising of course with BOcare. Those that consume a diet full of public education and mass media that either never thought they had a shot, or have lost faith for more than being wards of the state are way too afraid to question the hand that (for now) feeds them.
So we kill the general competitiveness and innovation of the nation by increasing the transfer from the small business owner and the $40-$500K income level as well as future generations -- making sure that they know their future is hopeless before they ever even get out of school.
To the extent that the ruling class cares, which in general they don't, their belief is that they will be able to ride out the implosion -- sure, many of the sheeple that voted them in might live in absolute squalor and death, but by that time they will have fully institutionalized the kind of corrupition we see under BO.
The Republicans are now a rump party. W was our last faint hope, but he was too much of the old line patrician kind of R like his Dad, and not nearly the kind of communicator that was needed. We screwed the pooch with the '06 election and it has been downhill from there. I see nobody on the horizon capable of transmitting the relatively simple message that the vast majority of Americans have been completely duped, and those that look around a bit are just waiting for the inevitable final fall.
It becomes hard to know what to cheer for -- a Republican win that might stave things off a very tiny bit, another Republican rout that would return us to the '07-'09 kind of free fall, or just some treading water, which is the most likely. Very very few even have a remote handle on the seriousness or our situtation, and games like Cruz is playing are very much rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
'via Blog this'
Unapolagetic and Weightless
And Now for Something Completely Different | Power Line:
I agree with PL, Kate Upton weightless is TRUE innovation!
Isn't it great that on the left, the people they approve of are supposed to be PROUD of WHO THEY ARE!!! Like a "minority" like "women" who are actually a majority, can be PROUD ... well, unless they are too proud of how they look, too "perfect", maybe too white, too wealthy, or too Christian ... or "randomness forbid", conservative!!!
The left is very much like the Amish or the Medieval Catholic Church. If you agree with their dogma, you have a right to "their view of happiness" ... which includes a special kind of scolding pride. If you have any disagreements with their views on everything from eating, drinking, how you look, to where you shop, what you do for a living, what kind of car you drive, etc, etc, you darned well better be APOLOGETIC!!
Gay - Proud. Gun owner - Apologetic! Poor drug user - Proud. Wealthy conservative - Apologetic!
Muslim with wife in burka behind you - PROUD! Christian sitting with family in church - APOLOGETIC!
and so it goes.
'via Blog this'
I agree with PL, Kate Upton weightless is TRUE innovation!
Isn't it great that on the left, the people they approve of are supposed to be PROUD of WHO THEY ARE!!! Like a "minority" like "women" who are actually a majority, can be PROUD ... well, unless they are too proud of how they look, too "perfect", maybe too white, too wealthy, or too Christian ... or "randomness forbid", conservative!!!
The left is very much like the Amish or the Medieval Catholic Church. If you agree with their dogma, you have a right to "their view of happiness" ... which includes a special kind of scolding pride. If you have any disagreements with their views on everything from eating, drinking, how you look, to where you shop, what you do for a living, what kind of car you drive, etc, etc, you darned well better be APOLOGETIC!!
Gay - Proud. Gun owner - Apologetic! Poor drug user - Proud. Wealthy conservative - Apologetic!
Muslim with wife in burka behind you - PROUD! Christian sitting with family in church - APOLOGETIC!
and so it goes.
'via Blog this'
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Abusing Sub-Human Mongrels
Nugent Apologizes for Calling Obama 'Subhuman Mongrel':
I'm quite certain that "sub-human mongrels" .... whatever they are, and wherever they may be found, were just as put off as Chimps, Nazi's, Shrubs, Village Idiots, Incurious George, Cheney Sock Puppets, Bush Baby's, etc, etc when just about every hollywood personality and media pundit was having a field day beating up on W.
Ted Nugent apologizing?? Seriously? What sort of standard is this? Are going to have Rap Stars, Keith Oberman, Chris Mathews or James Carvelle apologizing for similar or worse statements?
Not likely.
It might be nice if wondrous decorum was the standard of the body politic, but such has NEVER been the case in the US. In fact, unless one is going to set up a Stazi, SS, or KGB there is no hope for such decorum anywhere. Of course if you DO set up such an organization, even if it kills millions and incarcerates millions more, the set of people either saying (or being accused of saying) "something derogatory" is limitless.
Such was the reason that we had a 1st Amendment and formerly BOTH sides of the political spectrum in the US took a VERY dim view of things like the IRS enforcing political will, the NSA doing political snooping, folks that make movies that are not complimentary about "dear leader", or as we saw last week, the FCC deciding to "ask media folks about their biases".
Our left is now in such ascencion that they feel the need to silence those that fail to bow to their majesty -- while of course their own rhetoric is free and even encouraged to be as nasty as whatever whim strikes them at the moment. Does one expect the North Korean leadership to censor their own speech?
Earthy freedom has never been about smooth, nice, tidy and "respectful".
When today's MSM says "the dialogue is coarse", they mean that there are still people that are not on bended knee to their self-declared superior intellect and morals, and deign to say so in direct terms. They have no qualms at all at using the most vile slurs possible against those people, but they definitely want that opposition SILENCED!
'via Blog this'
I'm quite certain that "sub-human mongrels" .... whatever they are, and wherever they may be found, were just as put off as Chimps, Nazi's, Shrubs, Village Idiots, Incurious George, Cheney Sock Puppets, Bush Baby's, etc, etc when just about every hollywood personality and media pundit was having a field day beating up on W.
Ted Nugent apologizing?? Seriously? What sort of standard is this? Are going to have Rap Stars, Keith Oberman, Chris Mathews or James Carvelle apologizing for similar or worse statements?
Not likely.
It might be nice if wondrous decorum was the standard of the body politic, but such has NEVER been the case in the US. In fact, unless one is going to set up a Stazi, SS, or KGB there is no hope for such decorum anywhere. Of course if you DO set up such an organization, even if it kills millions and incarcerates millions more, the set of people either saying (or being accused of saying) "something derogatory" is limitless.
Such was the reason that we had a 1st Amendment and formerly BOTH sides of the political spectrum in the US took a VERY dim view of things like the IRS enforcing political will, the NSA doing political snooping, folks that make movies that are not complimentary about "dear leader", or as we saw last week, the FCC deciding to "ask media folks about their biases".
Our left is now in such ascencion that they feel the need to silence those that fail to bow to their majesty -- while of course their own rhetoric is free and even encouraged to be as nasty as whatever whim strikes them at the moment. Does one expect the North Korean leadership to censor their own speech?
Earthy freedom has never been about smooth, nice, tidy and "respectful".
When today's MSM says "the dialogue is coarse", they mean that there are still people that are not on bended knee to their self-declared superior intellect and morals, and deign to say so in direct terms. They have no qualms at all at using the most vile slurs possible against those people, but they definitely want that opposition SILENCED!
'via Blog this'
No Right to be Shameful (or Shameless)
Opinion: Arizona's shameful 'right to discriminate' bill - CNN.com:
The insanity of "banning discrimination" lets one glimpse the abyss of meaninglessness. If one is unable to discriminate, how would one decide what was discrimination??? If all is the same, with no ability to discriminate, then all is nothing.
In the real world, you would not be able to even conceive of such a fallacy ... you would not be able to discriminate the letters from the white background, and even to write in some language is clearly a choice, and therefore a form of "discrimination".
In the mostly imaginary political world however, it is EASY -- and "productive", in fact, it is the essence of politics prior to the creation of the Constitution, known today as "the Chicago Way". Separate your enemies from your friends and punish the one and reward the other!! Those that think like you, have an "approved color" or creed are naturally immune to "discrimination", or sanctions for discriminating against others!! They have the power, they make the rules!
As this column says, they get to decide what the "right" side of history is, and to sanction those that are in disagreement with their dogma. Simple!
Christianity had it's "Spanish Inquisition", and one would have thought that after all the 20th century ideological examples --- Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, etc, that American leftism could have avoided this path.
Apparently not. Let's ban gravity, pain, death and ugliness as well.
'via Blog this'
The insanity of "banning discrimination" lets one glimpse the abyss of meaninglessness. If one is unable to discriminate, how would one decide what was discrimination??? If all is the same, with no ability to discriminate, then all is nothing.
In the real world, you would not be able to even conceive of such a fallacy ... you would not be able to discriminate the letters from the white background, and even to write in some language is clearly a choice, and therefore a form of "discrimination".
In the mostly imaginary political world however, it is EASY -- and "productive", in fact, it is the essence of politics prior to the creation of the Constitution, known today as "the Chicago Way". Separate your enemies from your friends and punish the one and reward the other!! Those that think like you, have an "approved color" or creed are naturally immune to "discrimination", or sanctions for discriminating against others!! They have the power, they make the rules!
As this column says, they get to decide what the "right" side of history is, and to sanction those that are in disagreement with their dogma. Simple!
Christianity had it's "Spanish Inquisition", and one would have thought that after all the 20th century ideological examples --- Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, etc, that American leftism could have avoided this path.
Apparently not. Let's ban gravity, pain, death and ugliness as well.
'via Blog this'
A Brave Weather Soul
Winter Outlook 2013-’14: Mixed signals, mostly ‘average’ winter overall? | Updraft | Minnesota Public Radio News:
"It takes a brave soul to forecast a colder than average winter overall for Minnesota given the long term trends."
We know why it takes a "brave soul", but WHY do we accept that? We now know that 2013-214 is in the top 10 winters on record for sub-zero nights in MN ... and still piling them up. This "indicator" has been used over and over ... and is used in this article to claim that "MN is the fastest warming state".
We also know that this winter (and to some degree last winter) are not likely to be used as data indicating that longer term predictions may be wrong. While "sub zero nights being rare" was trumpeted as "proof of climate change", we now will just hear silence about those previous strong pronouncements (for at least a year or so).
And for all but "brave souls", even mentioning what we have and are experiencing is a sign that one might be a "denier" ... and one CERTAINLY would not want to be one of THOSE!!!
To deny the sacredness of modern "settled science" is HERESY -- perhaps one will need to be "re-educated".
Man ALWAYS has a religion -- that which he considers sacred and beyond question. The meme that created the most successful civilization in the history of the world was that it was MUCH better to hold matters that are beyond science -- ultimate meaning, purpose, limits of human knowledge, morality, etc in religious awe, so we would be better equipped to just "go with the data", "no bravery required" on issues of short term mortal physical stuff, and save religious awe for that which is truly transcendent!
Hint ... converting temperature to the level of the sacred gives just a tiny hint as to our current degree of "lost".
'via Blog this'
"It takes a brave soul to forecast a colder than average winter overall for Minnesota given the long term trends."
We know why it takes a "brave soul", but WHY do we accept that? We now know that 2013-214 is in the top 10 winters on record for sub-zero nights in MN ... and still piling them up. This "indicator" has been used over and over ... and is used in this article to claim that "MN is the fastest warming state".
We also know that this winter (and to some degree last winter) are not likely to be used as data indicating that longer term predictions may be wrong. While "sub zero nights being rare" was trumpeted as "proof of climate change", we now will just hear silence about those previous strong pronouncements (for at least a year or so).
And for all but "brave souls", even mentioning what we have and are experiencing is a sign that one might be a "denier" ... and one CERTAINLY would not want to be one of THOSE!!!
To deny the sacredness of modern "settled science" is HERESY -- perhaps one will need to be "re-educated".
Man ALWAYS has a religion -- that which he considers sacred and beyond question. The meme that created the most successful civilization in the history of the world was that it was MUCH better to hold matters that are beyond science -- ultimate meaning, purpose, limits of human knowledge, morality, etc in religious awe, so we would be better equipped to just "go with the data", "no bravery required" on issues of short term mortal physical stuff, and save religious awe for that which is truly transcendent!
Hint ... converting temperature to the level of the sacred gives just a tiny hint as to our current degree of "lost".
'via Blog this'
Monday, February 17, 2014
Liberty, Mills, and Lying to Ourselves
Three Cheers for the Nanny State - NYTimes.com:
Reading this article reminded me of the old "Everything I say is a lie" ... "I'm lying". Wrestle with that for awhile if you choose, but the lady that wrote this ought to pay more attention. If everything I say is a lie, then me telling you "that was a lie"... but if that is a lie, then ...
But those cheering for the Nanny State certainly DO believe that THEY, and the "proper authorities" have that vision and it is CORRECT! John Stewart Mill, Augustine, Jesus, Moses, Buddha, etc were all wrong, but the Statists are RIGHT! It is amazing how "refined" the human species has become in just a few thousand years. It must be because ONLY the "liberals" have gotten smarter through "natural selection", and the poor folks that don't see their brilliance have been "left behind".
I'm an idiot ... I have doubts. I actually did like the book by Daniel Kahneman and his research partner Amos Tversky, "Thinking Fast and Slow", but next to John Stuart Mill, they are about as profound as Reverend Moon next to Jesus. YES!!!! We have A LOT of "cognitive biases" ... and even WORSE problems ... we are mortal human sinners!!! The really sad part of it is that knowing that is like a guy whose parachute won't open in free fall -- he is totally understanding of his condition, but he is completely helpless to help himself.
If he is in that situation because he and 100 other people fell out of a jet, the the author of the column would be the one proudly yelling, "Hey, you are all in free fall, and I have figured that out!!!!"
Only since the real world lasts longer than free fall even from a jet, she wants to pass laws requiring that we all flap our arms!!
'via Blog this'
Reading this article reminded me of the old "Everything I say is a lie" ... "I'm lying". Wrestle with that for awhile if you choose, but the lady that wrote this ought to pay more attention. If everything I say is a lie, then me telling you "that was a lie"... but if that is a lie, then ...
"We have a vision of ourselves as free, rational beings who are totally capable of making all the decisions we need to in order to create a good life. Give us complete liberty, and, barring natural disasters, we’ll end up where we want to be. It’s a nice vision, one that makes us feel proud of ourselves. But it’s false.""WE have a vision of ourselves" ... well, some of us do. Primarily the folks that are like the lady writing the article. True Christians certainly don't have that vision -- they believe that both their heart and their reason are extremely self oriented and deceitful.
But those cheering for the Nanny State certainly DO believe that THEY, and the "proper authorities" have that vision and it is CORRECT! John Stewart Mill, Augustine, Jesus, Moses, Buddha, etc were all wrong, but the Statists are RIGHT! It is amazing how "refined" the human species has become in just a few thousand years. It must be because ONLY the "liberals" have gotten smarter through "natural selection", and the poor folks that don't see their brilliance have been "left behind".
Mill was wrong about that, though. A lot of times we have a good idea of where we want to go, but a really terrible idea of how to get there. It’s well established by now that we often don’t think very clearly when it comes to choosing the best means to attain our ends. We make errors. This has been the object of an enormous amount of study over the past few decades, and what has been discovered is that we are all prone to identifiable and predictable miscalculations.Yup, Mill was wrong ... err, actually, maybe MOST people have a terrible idea of "how to get there", but if you allow liberty, SOME will figure out ways that work, and they may well be REWARDED because MOST were wrong, but since ALL had liberty, SOME figured out things that worked! In biology it is called "evolution" ... make a lot of tries and the ones that work WIN!
The crucial point is that in some situations it’s just difficult for us to take in the relevant information and choose accordingly. It’s not quite the simple ignorance Mill was talking about, but it turns out that our minds are more complicated than Mill imagined. Like the guy about to step through the hole in the bridge, we need help.Yup, that is A "crucial point" ... in fact the STANDARD "progressive" problem in almost all situations is confusing ends with means and failing to get the means right, then not realizing it and running everything into the ditch. Eventually, they are so pissed and disgusted, they start killing people that disagree with them because they MUST be right!!!!
Of course, what people fear is that this is just the beginning: today it’s soda, tomorrow it’s the guy standing behind you making you eat your broccoli, floss your teeth, and watch “PBS NewsHour” every day. What this ignores is that successful paternalistic laws are done on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis: if it’s too painful, it’s not a good law. Making these analyses is something the government has the resources to do, just as now it sets automobile construction standards while considering both the need for affordability and the desire for safetySee, "The Government" ... you know, the folks that brought us BOcare, the TSA, the NSA, the Vietnam war, 17 trillion in debt, etc, etc, ... THEY ... THOSE PEOPLE, they are the ones that "have the resources"! Why? Well maybe because money stolen from some people buys "real smarts" ... or maybe giving a lot of people cushy but insanely boring bureaucratic jobs somehow makes them "more qualified" than normal humans. Mill was clearly an idiot to think that what we needed was "a lot of attempts", and some mechanism that gave us feedback as to what worked.
I'm an idiot ... I have doubts. I actually did like the book by Daniel Kahneman and his research partner Amos Tversky, "Thinking Fast and Slow", but next to John Stuart Mill, they are about as profound as Reverend Moon next to Jesus. YES!!!! We have A LOT of "cognitive biases" ... and even WORSE problems ... we are mortal human sinners!!! The really sad part of it is that knowing that is like a guy whose parachute won't open in free fall -- he is totally understanding of his condition, but he is completely helpless to help himself.
If he is in that situation because he and 100 other people fell out of a jet, the the author of the column would be the one proudly yelling, "Hey, you are all in free fall, and I have figured that out!!!!"
Only since the real world lasts longer than free fall even from a jet, she wants to pass laws requiring that we all flap our arms!!
'via Blog this'
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Trans-Cocaine
Transgender kids: Have we gone too far? - The Globe and Mail:
I believe it was Robin Williams who said "Cocaine is God's way of telling you that you have too much money".
I'd argue it is Satan's way, but the principle is the same ... it is a bad idea.
The end of this article states:
This condition is always to be the case -- the issue is not that people are now "more accepting", it is that one cultural elite segment holds stronger sway than any used to, and the groups that they accept are both different and MORE restrictive when it comes to actual thought. There used to be more of a competitive market of culture, where religion had a major place at the table, philosophy, classic literature, classic arts, small rural colleges, military colleges, national fraternal organizations, etc, etc
Now it is all Ivy League, Madison Avenue and Hollywood. True, there is Fox news and talk radio, but those views are firmly labeled like a cigarette pack with "these views are hazardous to your social standing". Certainly there are both rebels with and without causes, of which I count myself one (Christian / Conservative) ... but those that understand the game and the costs and are still willing to take the now more real (IRS, NSA, ...) risk of being counted are dwindling.
There is no more of a conservative phrase than "first do no harm". Within it are buried a host of assumptions about humility and the huge value of "things that work", even far short of "perfectly" (whatever that means in this mortal world). The felt in the bones appreciation for "the devil you know vs the devil you don't", and the irrefutable fact that the devil is in the details, details, details ... on to infinity. There is no human "proof" so good that a "Black Swan" can't show it's face at some future time under some unknown condition and undo the best laid plans.
How is a person less than 20, or even 30, ever really "sure" of hardly anything? "Comfortable with your gender?". Every time I see a dance floor, I realize that I'm still not all that comfortable with being 6' 4" and large. Sure, it has it's moments, but it isn't that great for letting you "fit in". It was much more of a problem when I was a weak uncoordinated big kid getting beat up by smaller better developed peers (I didn't turn 5 until the fall of my Kindergarten year). Puberty fixed the "strong" problem, and the final growth spurt put some more distance on the "bigger" front to make me not an "easy target", but still, very easy to see in a group for good and ill.
Maybe we should all be regularized to the same height, weight, rate of development to make us more "comfortable"?
Maybe the core problem is this post 60's obsession with "comfort" in all forms. Who was it that decreed that life was to be "comfortable"? How much harm have we already caused in the rather dubious cause of "comfort"?
Perhaps DIScomfort, and even DISagreement with some regularized cultural view is much more likely to produce vibrant, growing, creative and FUN cultures and nations. Perhaps a Republic ruled by a set of laws on the light side that allowed a wide divergence of actual views with true mutual tolerance?
Nah, could never work today. Time for a "benevolent" tyrant that rules by decree! If there are any confused kids, probably better to make a quick diagnosis and roll out the drugs and the surgical instruments. All that better to make you "comfortable"!
'via Blog this'
I believe it was Robin Williams who said "Cocaine is God's way of telling you that you have too much money".
I'd argue it is Satan's way, but the principle is the same ... it is a bad idea.
The end of this article states:
"It’s a mark of social progress that we are increasingly willing to accept people on their terms, for who they are. But maybe we’re manufacturing more problems than we’re solving. If we really want to help people, we should remember the old rule: First, do no harm."We may be "increasingly willing to accept people on their terms" unless they are pedophiles, black conservatives, fundamentalist Christians or rich people that don't state the lefty party line as well as Gates and Buffet ... among of course many others whose "terms" are not meshed with the liberal elite's "most favored peccadillo" status.
This condition is always to be the case -- the issue is not that people are now "more accepting", it is that one cultural elite segment holds stronger sway than any used to, and the groups that they accept are both different and MORE restrictive when it comes to actual thought. There used to be more of a competitive market of culture, where religion had a major place at the table, philosophy, classic literature, classic arts, small rural colleges, military colleges, national fraternal organizations, etc, etc
Now it is all Ivy League, Madison Avenue and Hollywood. True, there is Fox news and talk radio, but those views are firmly labeled like a cigarette pack with "these views are hazardous to your social standing". Certainly there are both rebels with and without causes, of which I count myself one (Christian / Conservative) ... but those that understand the game and the costs and are still willing to take the now more real (IRS, NSA, ...) risk of being counted are dwindling.
There is no more of a conservative phrase than "first do no harm". Within it are buried a host of assumptions about humility and the huge value of "things that work", even far short of "perfectly" (whatever that means in this mortal world). The felt in the bones appreciation for "the devil you know vs the devil you don't", and the irrefutable fact that the devil is in the details, details, details ... on to infinity. There is no human "proof" so good that a "Black Swan" can't show it's face at some future time under some unknown condition and undo the best laid plans.
How is a person less than 20, or even 30, ever really "sure" of hardly anything? "Comfortable with your gender?". Every time I see a dance floor, I realize that I'm still not all that comfortable with being 6' 4" and large. Sure, it has it's moments, but it isn't that great for letting you "fit in". It was much more of a problem when I was a weak uncoordinated big kid getting beat up by smaller better developed peers (I didn't turn 5 until the fall of my Kindergarten year). Puberty fixed the "strong" problem, and the final growth spurt put some more distance on the "bigger" front to make me not an "easy target", but still, very easy to see in a group for good and ill.
Maybe we should all be regularized to the same height, weight, rate of development to make us more "comfortable"?
Maybe the core problem is this post 60's obsession with "comfort" in all forms. Who was it that decreed that life was to be "comfortable"? How much harm have we already caused in the rather dubious cause of "comfort"?
Perhaps DIScomfort, and even DISagreement with some regularized cultural view is much more likely to produce vibrant, growing, creative and FUN cultures and nations. Perhaps a Republic ruled by a set of laws on the light side that allowed a wide divergence of actual views with true mutual tolerance?
Nah, could never work today. Time for a "benevolent" tyrant that rules by decree! If there are any confused kids, probably better to make a quick diagnosis and roll out the drugs and the surgical instruments. All that better to make you "comfortable"!
'via Blog this'
Kansas Through the Looking Glass
The matter with Kansas now: The Tea Party, the 1 percent and delusional Democrats - Salon.com:
Even though OZ is shown for obvious reasons, "Alice" is the right book ... although I can also see Franks saying "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"
Yes, Yes, Reagan won, and we did level out in the '80s, but Government STILL grew like topsy, and our schools and universities still remained reliable left wing propaganda disseminators.
Starting with Carter and moving forth through W, Fanny and Freddy Mae continued to produce cheap loans on homes federally insured -- and some high zoot Democrats on Wall Street did a lot of work with leverage and got bailed out. BO got the most of his BILLION dollars to buy the WH from Wall Street ... 2nd lawyers, and 3rd Unions ... especially teachers. But the '08 crash was all due to "Republicans" when you live through the looking glass.
Remember Billy and Hilly? They were elected as sharper left turn from already left sliding HW Bush of the "No new taxes ... never mind" pledge. Of course they screwed things up enough in only two years to give the Republicans their first ownership of Congress in FIFTY YEARS. Just to show how very "right" this nation has been. Slick "triangulated" both politically and sexually and kept himself in the WH and entertained as R's cut the rate of growth in entitlements from hypersonic to supersonic for which they received massive chastisement and Slick received the credit for the resulting meager surplus as Silicon Valley gave the Dutch Tulip Bubble a run.
W was elected and promptly did a gigantic federal prescription drug benefit. Now THAT is a pretty reactionary part of that "rightward shift"! I think his motto was "Meaner and Harsher" because of the rabid mood of the right, and Gore's was "Kinder and Gentler". Anyway, Gore went on to become a billionaire shaking down business for worthless "carbon credits" (deposit a bunch in my account and I'll say good environmental things about you), and selling his failed cable channel to oil money from the Mideast ... because giving money to the fortune of an "environmentalist" helps them keep their private jet and yacht fueled, plus convinces most of the massage women to provide the right level of "personal service".
People in Kansas certainly have no right to think of folks like Gore, Wall Street Bankers, University Professors making a 100's of K a year in education and consulting income, plus of course MANY government workers making over $100K a year now with super fantastic benefits relative to those hicks in Kansas don't firmly have the rubes in Kansas "best interests in mind"!
It is interesting to read a column like this and understand just how far much of our left has strayed into an alternate universe that exists solidly between their ears. Their faith is as powerful as Muslims flying planes into buildings, and they are just about as ornery toward anyone that doesn't agree with their dogma, or imaginary world view. We have "right turned" through "Gay Marriage", BOcare, skyrocketing poverty and spending and an unprecedented flight from the work force in just the past 5 years under what I assume Frank sees as the masterful leadership of King BO of the royal edict!
Frank concludes his all knowing screed with the following:
See, Kansas is "wrecked", seems easy to check, just compare it with "progressive paradises" like CA, IL and NY on something simple like unemployment.
Kansas 5.9%
California 8.7%
Illinois 9.2%
New York 7.5%
http://money.cnn.com/interactive/economy/state-unemployment-rates/
See, "through the looking glass", those states are wonderful and Kansas sucks. All of those states not only have horried unemployment compared to Kansas, they have huge budget problems, murder problems, and other pathologies. But they are ruled by geniuses and Kansas is "wrecked".
Such is life through the looking glass, and how might one ever communicate reasonably with those that live down the rabbit hole?
'via Blog this'
Even though OZ is shown for obvious reasons, "Alice" is the right book ... although I can also see Franks saying "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"
The main premises of “What’s the Matter With Kansas?” were straightforward enough. First, I pointed out that the great right turn, which began in the 1970s and continues to this day, has not served average people well. Second, that a large and increasing number of those average people were voting for privatizing and deregulating Republicans even as their situation grew worse. From these two points arose the obvious question: Why?Remember that "great right turn" the US took in the '70s? I guess Watergate, followed by Roe V Wade, then Jimmuh Carter, losing Iran, and the hostages started it all. I know those big rightward moves really hit me right between the eyes.
Yes, Yes, Reagan won, and we did level out in the '80s, but Government STILL grew like topsy, and our schools and universities still remained reliable left wing propaganda disseminators.
Starting with Carter and moving forth through W, Fanny and Freddy Mae continued to produce cheap loans on homes federally insured -- and some high zoot Democrats on Wall Street did a lot of work with leverage and got bailed out. BO got the most of his BILLION dollars to buy the WH from Wall Street ... 2nd lawyers, and 3rd Unions ... especially teachers. But the '08 crash was all due to "Republicans" when you live through the looking glass.
Remember Billy and Hilly? They were elected as sharper left turn from already left sliding HW Bush of the "No new taxes ... never mind" pledge. Of course they screwed things up enough in only two years to give the Republicans their first ownership of Congress in FIFTY YEARS. Just to show how very "right" this nation has been. Slick "triangulated" both politically and sexually and kept himself in the WH and entertained as R's cut the rate of growth in entitlements from hypersonic to supersonic for which they received massive chastisement and Slick received the credit for the resulting meager surplus as Silicon Valley gave the Dutch Tulip Bubble a run.
W was elected and promptly did a gigantic federal prescription drug benefit. Now THAT is a pretty reactionary part of that "rightward shift"! I think his motto was "Meaner and Harsher" because of the rabid mood of the right, and Gore's was "Kinder and Gentler". Anyway, Gore went on to become a billionaire shaking down business for worthless "carbon credits" (deposit a bunch in my account and I'll say good environmental things about you), and selling his failed cable channel to oil money from the Mideast ... because giving money to the fortune of an "environmentalist" helps them keep their private jet and yacht fueled, plus convinces most of the massage women to provide the right level of "personal service".
People in Kansas certainly have no right to think of folks like Gore, Wall Street Bankers, University Professors making a 100's of K a year in education and consulting income, plus of course MANY government workers making over $100K a year now with super fantastic benefits relative to those hicks in Kansas don't firmly have the rubes in Kansas "best interests in mind"!
It is interesting to read a column like this and understand just how far much of our left has strayed into an alternate universe that exists solidly between their ears. Their faith is as powerful as Muslims flying planes into buildings, and they are just about as ornery toward anyone that doesn't agree with their dogma, or imaginary world view. We have "right turned" through "Gay Marriage", BOcare, skyrocketing poverty and spending and an unprecedented flight from the work force in just the past 5 years under what I assume Frank sees as the masterful leadership of King BO of the royal edict!
Frank concludes his all knowing screed with the following:
Surveying the wreckage of Brownback’s experiment last year, one Kansas journalist was moved to pen an obituary for the state. But Governor Brownback sees things differently. Thanks to years of passionate work by his army of elite-fighting everymen, Kansas is now “open for business,” he says, under the loving mercantile gaze of a “Big God.”
See, Kansas is "wrecked", seems easy to check, just compare it with "progressive paradises" like CA, IL and NY on something simple like unemployment.
Kansas 5.9%
California 8.7%
Illinois 9.2%
New York 7.5%
http://money.cnn.com/interactive/economy/state-unemployment-rates/
See, "through the looking glass", those states are wonderful and Kansas sucks. All of those states not only have horried unemployment compared to Kansas, they have huge budget problems, murder problems, and other pathologies. But they are ruled by geniuses and Kansas is "wrecked".
Such is life through the looking glass, and how might one ever communicate reasonably with those that live down the rabbit hole?
'via Blog this'
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Understanding Aristocracy
Opinion: We need a vibrant middle class - CNN.com:
America was founded as a Constitutional Republic rather than a Democracy because our founders understood something that the columnist doesn't. Those that have been successful in a country, want to have families that carry on their values and have invested actual wealth ... maybe for generations, have a LOT more at stake in a nation than a minimum wage worker, undocumented Democrat, or the "politician de jour".
So we have 2 Senators per state and we once had Senators appointed in the states rather than elected by popular vote prior to the 17th amendment in 1913. Many of our founders wanted more control by the aristocracy, and it seems pretty clear that they were right.
When people that have invested their lives and their futures SUCCESSFULLY in a nation, they are not likely to allow unborn future generations to be saddled with debt due to benefits voted to the current generation.
Do we "need" a "vibrant middle class"? Probably, but certainly not "at all costs", and there would seem to be pretty strong evidence that whatever policies BO thinks are going to achieve that goal (if in fact that is actually what he wants to do), it certainly isn't working. Guess what. The same policies worked equally as badly under Carter.
Much like driving through some stressful snowy roads to get to warmer weather (which I did Friday), there is often some risk / stress / work / uncertainly required to get to worthwhile objectives ... say cruising the Caribbean with a beverage in hand (just to name a random case). Remove the "challenges" and things do "change", but most likely in the direction of "stasis" rather than "growth" ... getting in shape, getting educated, getting rich, getting to FL, etc all require effort. Stating that "we need a vibrant middle class", and calling the rich "clueless" really doesn't move the ball forward.
The "rich" may be oh so "clueless" as the link from the main page claims, but much in the same vein as "If Einstein is so smart, how come he is dead", if the rich are "clueless", how come they are rich and you aren't?
That is ALWAYS a question that pisses off the left, but why? Pro golfers play way better golf, swimsuit models tend to look better than the rest of us, and I definitely can drink the author of the article under the table. So? Actually I'd like to lose enough weight so such a test might be in question, but right now it isn't .
It is absolutely certain that every rich person passed up, and continues to pass up the ability to be poor. The inverse is not true -- nor CAN it be true! Figuring that out would go a long way to helping the author of column understand the real world.
'via Blog this'
America was founded as a Constitutional Republic rather than a Democracy because our founders understood something that the columnist doesn't. Those that have been successful in a country, want to have families that carry on their values and have invested actual wealth ... maybe for generations, have a LOT more at stake in a nation than a minimum wage worker, undocumented Democrat, or the "politician de jour".
So we have 2 Senators per state and we once had Senators appointed in the states rather than elected by popular vote prior to the 17th amendment in 1913. Many of our founders wanted more control by the aristocracy, and it seems pretty clear that they were right.
When people that have invested their lives and their futures SUCCESSFULLY in a nation, they are not likely to allow unborn future generations to be saddled with debt due to benefits voted to the current generation.
Do we "need" a "vibrant middle class"? Probably, but certainly not "at all costs", and there would seem to be pretty strong evidence that whatever policies BO thinks are going to achieve that goal (if in fact that is actually what he wants to do), it certainly isn't working. Guess what. The same policies worked equally as badly under Carter.
Much like driving through some stressful snowy roads to get to warmer weather (which I did Friday), there is often some risk / stress / work / uncertainly required to get to worthwhile objectives ... say cruising the Caribbean with a beverage in hand (just to name a random case). Remove the "challenges" and things do "change", but most likely in the direction of "stasis" rather than "growth" ... getting in shape, getting educated, getting rich, getting to FL, etc all require effort. Stating that "we need a vibrant middle class", and calling the rich "clueless" really doesn't move the ball forward.
The "rich" may be oh so "clueless" as the link from the main page claims, but much in the same vein as "If Einstein is so smart, how come he is dead", if the rich are "clueless", how come they are rich and you aren't?
That is ALWAYS a question that pisses off the left, but why? Pro golfers play way better golf, swimsuit models tend to look better than the rest of us, and I definitely can drink the author of the article under the table. So? Actually I'd like to lose enough weight so such a test might be in question, but right now it isn't .
It is absolutely certain that every rich person passed up, and continues to pass up the ability to be poor. The inverse is not true -- nor CAN it be true! Figuring that out would go a long way to helping the author of column understand the real world.
'via Blog this'
Thursday, February 13, 2014
To Soothe Is Not My Inclination
The Arrogance of Mitt - Mark Bowden - The Atlantic:
The author clearly thinks that it is a foregone conclusion that Mitt is wrong -- wrong and "arrogant". One could suggest that ANY predictions about the future, 5 years, 50 years or 100 years are "arrogant", but we all make them. We start a career, a family, an education, reading a book -- assuming that it isn't futile for a myriad of reasons. Our death, the death of a family member or dear friend that "changes everything", war, pestilence, economic collapse, hemorrhoids, inflation. All things great and small can and will affect or even devastate our puny predictions.
Does a man like Mitt run for President for any other reason than to serve and to do a better job than the current occupant of the White House? I find it hard to believe he does ... unlike BO, he has accomplished much, and his eyes are set on eternal issues, not merely the next 4, 8, or 80 years of America in this mortal coil.
What about BO? is not "arrogant"? Two autobiographies before age 50? Does his picture show up under "narcissist in the dictionary as it should yet? For a Jr Senator whose only real "experience" outside of law school was as a "community organizer" -- a rabble rouser, a man worshiping Saul Alinsky who dedicated the manual for "community organizers" to Lucifer to reach for the presidency of the former "greatest nation on earth"?
We know from BO's books, the company he keeps and his actions in office that BO really does intend to destroy the nation that used to be America. Mitt is right. We set ourselves up. BO may have a different ultimate goal than the rest of the folks trying to take rather than make, but deep down they all know that their path is corrupt. They may or may not be dimly aware that it is the standard path to "Greece" of "once great nations", but there is a sense that taking rather than making can't last for long.
So we go down. Babylon, Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome, Britain ... and now America. Only God is sovereign, our puny nations are but tares to the fire.
'via Blog this'
“To soothe is not my inclination,” says Mitt, who sees Obama as a certain disaster. “This is really serious, guys. This is really serious. I cannot believe that he is an aberration in the country. This is following the path of every other great nation, which is we’re following greater government, tax the rich people, promise more stuff to everybody, borrow until you go over a cliff. We have a very high risk of reaching the tipping point sometime in the next five years.” He frowns and shrugs."I find that paragraph and the title to be very informative.
The author clearly thinks that it is a foregone conclusion that Mitt is wrong -- wrong and "arrogant". One could suggest that ANY predictions about the future, 5 years, 50 years or 100 years are "arrogant", but we all make them. We start a career, a family, an education, reading a book -- assuming that it isn't futile for a myriad of reasons. Our death, the death of a family member or dear friend that "changes everything", war, pestilence, economic collapse, hemorrhoids, inflation. All things great and small can and will affect or even devastate our puny predictions.
Does a man like Mitt run for President for any other reason than to serve and to do a better job than the current occupant of the White House? I find it hard to believe he does ... unlike BO, he has accomplished much, and his eyes are set on eternal issues, not merely the next 4, 8, or 80 years of America in this mortal coil.
What about BO? is not "arrogant"? Two autobiographies before age 50? Does his picture show up under "narcissist in the dictionary as it should yet? For a Jr Senator whose only real "experience" outside of law school was as a "community organizer" -- a rabble rouser, a man worshiping Saul Alinsky who dedicated the manual for "community organizers" to Lucifer to reach for the presidency of the former "greatest nation on earth"?
We know from BO's books, the company he keeps and his actions in office that BO really does intend to destroy the nation that used to be America. Mitt is right. We set ourselves up. BO may have a different ultimate goal than the rest of the folks trying to take rather than make, but deep down they all know that their path is corrupt. They may or may not be dimly aware that it is the standard path to "Greece" of "once great nations", but there is a sense that taking rather than making can't last for long.
So we go down. Babylon, Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome, Britain ... and now America. Only God is sovereign, our puny nations are but tares to the fire.
'via Blog this'
Fahrenheit 9/11 Was Illegal
Taking down D’Souza | Power Line:
Prior to Citizens United, Corporations couldn't do explicitly political propaganda like F - 9/11, Moore OUGHT to have been CONVICTED!
We live in the surreal universe. The people that HATE Citizens United LOVE things like F - 9/11, and since consistency is NOT an issue with them, laws simply do not exist in their world.
and their world has won!
'via Blog this'
Prior to Citizens United, Corporations couldn't do explicitly political propaganda like F - 9/11, Moore OUGHT to have been CONVICTED!
We live in the surreal universe. The people that HATE Citizens United LOVE things like F - 9/11, and since consistency is NOT an issue with them, laws simply do not exist in their world.
and their world has won!
'via Blog this'
I Wonder Why Katrina Cleanup Was Slow?
Guess What Word These News Anchors Forgot When Reporting On Mayor's Bribery Convictions? | Independent Journal Review:
Of course we all KNOW that answer. George W Bush!!! Incompetence, no care for Black people, etc.
Naturally, the fact of a Cat 5 storm in an area below sea level with known incompetent local and state government and now a proven corrupt mayor had NOTHING to do with it!
BO WITH a cheerleading MSM is having trouble keeping distance between himself and his OWN disaster of BOcare.
W OTOH had as much to do with Katrina as BO does to do with a cold winter and snowstorms or increased petroleum production, but that didn't stop the MSM from hanging Katrina around W's neck as an albatross, or allowing BO to take credit for oil production going up when he has tried to stop it at every step!
We largely live in a media created "reality".
'via Blog this'
Of course we all KNOW that answer. George W Bush!!! Incompetence, no care for Black people, etc.
Naturally, the fact of a Cat 5 storm in an area below sea level with known incompetent local and state government and now a proven corrupt mayor had NOTHING to do with it!
BO WITH a cheerleading MSM is having trouble keeping distance between himself and his OWN disaster of BOcare.
W OTOH had as much to do with Katrina as BO does to do with a cold winter and snowstorms or increased petroleum production, but that didn't stop the MSM from hanging Katrina around W's neck as an albatross, or allowing BO to take credit for oil production going up when he has tried to stop it at every step!
We largely live in a media created "reality".
'via Blog this'
Free Thinking Black = "Uncle Tom"
A Day After Clarence Thomas Says We're Too Race-Conscious, Lawmaker Calls Him 'Uncle Tom' | Independent Journal Review:
Looks like Clarence Thomas has been immediately proved right yet again. First there was Slavery, then there was Jim Crow, now there is Race Industry Ideological Purity requirements.
The ability of man to be free REQUIRES LIMITED Government!!! If Government is not strictly limited, man is in bondage!
Note, it is "liberal" to demand that all Blacks think alike! That is why I hate the theft of that term by the left. "Socialist", "Statist", "Totalitarian" (what else would one call demands against how you are allowed to think?). All those terms are basically correct ... "liberal" and "progressive" are both complete lies!
'via Blog this'
Looks like Clarence Thomas has been immediately proved right yet again. First there was Slavery, then there was Jim Crow, now there is Race Industry Ideological Purity requirements.
The ability of man to be free REQUIRES LIMITED Government!!! If Government is not strictly limited, man is in bondage!
Note, it is "liberal" to demand that all Blacks think alike! That is why I hate the theft of that term by the left. "Socialist", "Statist", "Totalitarian" (what else would one call demands against how you are allowed to think?). All those terms are basically correct ... "liberal" and "progressive" are both complete lies!
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Let's Abort Google Engineers
Protesters show up at the doorstep of Google self-driving car engineer | Ars Technica:
When the moorings with God, History, Culture, and common human decency are lost, then "the abyss is the limit".
Here we have some Berkley folks that don't like the way a Google engineer is living ... so they write screeds that make it sound like "aborting his life" would be just fine. I mean, if you have no qualms at all about aborting completely innocent human lives by the hundreds of millions for the sake of convenience, why not? There is no "judge" except "how you feel", and it seems that the right amount of weed, drugs, or whatever ought to do a good enough job to satiate your conscience.
Bleeding out from Ebola or AIDs sounds pretty damned "degrading" to me, but then death is one of those things for which "dignity" is just a fabrication, much the same as "dignified defecation".
People die, that is certainly a constant. Sooner, later, etc, if it has meaning, then it is a lot better than all the meaningless lives of all the non-thinkers everywhere on the planet. "The flies of summer" ... one may as well mourn for them.
'via Blog this'
When the moorings with God, History, Culture, and common human decency are lost, then "the abyss is the limit".
Here we have some Berkley folks that don't like the way a Google engineer is living ... so they write screeds that make it sound like "aborting his life" would be just fine. I mean, if you have no qualms at all about aborting completely innocent human lives by the hundreds of millions for the sake of convenience, why not? There is no "judge" except "how you feel", and it seems that the right amount of weed, drugs, or whatever ought to do a good enough job to satiate your conscience.
"There are men and women in the Congo, slaving away in giant pits in order to extract gold and other precious metals from the earth. "You have to love the combination of hubris and selective thinking that goes into this. Yes, no doubt some of them will die in mines ... but probably preferably to those that just die of AIDs, or bleed out from Ebola or many other sundry diseases in the jungle of "nature".
Bleeding out from Ebola or AIDs sounds pretty damned "degrading" to me, but then death is one of those things for which "dignity" is just a fabrication, much the same as "dignified defecation".
People die, that is certainly a constant. Sooner, later, etc, if it has meaning, then it is a lot better than all the meaningless lives of all the non-thinkers everywhere on the planet. "The flies of summer" ... one may as well mourn for them.
'via Blog this'
Too Sensitive About Independent Thinking
Clarence Thomas says people are too sensitive about race nowadays - Salon.com:
Salon is pretty derisive about the idea that "a slight is a slight" ... after all, they and everyone on the left actually hates Justice Thomas for not following in the role they have defined on their liberal plantation that over 90% of blacks have the good sense to follow.
Of course Salon does too ... in the current liberal dogma, in the lack of any God and the ultimate meaninglessness of existence, in their current mental superiority over other people based on ... well, based on their fealty to current liberal dogma!
To contrast, even a non-Christian conservative would base the meaning of the oath and the Constitution on as much as they can humbly learn of thousands of years of human wisdom. The left dare no reference that, because it clearly shows the horror of their "project".
We need to work out a "liberal" oath. "I swear my allegiance to whatever a poll of current liberal elites says I should think today, so help me randomness and meaninglessness".
Salon and Satan no doubt find it quite delicious that BO and every member of Congress swore to uphold the Constitution, yet in the SOTU address when BO said he was going to break it by passing law without Congress, all the Democrats got up and cheered, thus breaking their oaths as well.
I suspect that Satan, Salon, and the other minions feel about like many of us on the right do when we hear "Iraqi suicide bomb instructor blows up class", as they watch a scene like Democrats applauding BO breaking the law he is sworn to uphold. "Evil cynical pleasure". The best that Satan and his minions can hope for, since true joy is reserved for Christians.
Salon is pretty derisive about the idea that "a slight is a slight" ... after all, they and everyone on the left actually hates Justice Thomas for not following in the role they have defined on their liberal plantation that over 90% of blacks have the good sense to follow.
“The worst I have been treated was by northern liberal elites,” Thomas said. “The absolute worst I have ever been treated. The worst things that have been done to me, the worst things that have been said about me — by northern liberal elites, not by the people of Savannah, Georgia.”In leftist minds the slavery of 150 years ago, and the Jim Crow (run my Democrats, but that part is to be forgotten) ought to be enough of a "slight" to lock blacks on their reservation for at least the next 50 years. Guys like Thomas call their whole progrom into question, so he must be belittled, derided and marginalized at every turn.
“I quite frankly don’t know how you do these hard jobs without some faith. I don’t know. Other people can come to you and explain it to you,” he said. “I have no idea. I don’t know how an oath becomes meaningful unless you have faith. Because at the end you say, ‘So help me God.’ And a promise to God is different from a promise to anyone else.”Thomas is way too much of an independent thinker for the folks at Salon. The gall! To think that just because "swearing on the Bible" for an oath before God ought to mean something! Even worse, he admits he has faith!
Of course Salon does too ... in the current liberal dogma, in the lack of any God and the ultimate meaninglessness of existence, in their current mental superiority over other people based on ... well, based on their fealty to current liberal dogma!
To contrast, even a non-Christian conservative would base the meaning of the oath and the Constitution on as much as they can humbly learn of thousands of years of human wisdom. The left dare no reference that, because it clearly shows the horror of their "project".
We need to work out a "liberal" oath. "I swear my allegiance to whatever a poll of current liberal elites says I should think today, so help me randomness and meaninglessness".
Salon and Satan no doubt find it quite delicious that BO and every member of Congress swore to uphold the Constitution, yet in the SOTU address when BO said he was going to break it by passing law without Congress, all the Democrats got up and cheered, thus breaking their oaths as well.
I suspect that Satan, Salon, and the other minions feel about like many of us on the right do when we hear "Iraqi suicide bomb instructor blows up class", as they watch a scene like Democrats applauding BO breaking the law he is sworn to uphold. "Evil cynical pleasure". The best that Satan and his minions can hope for, since true joy is reserved for Christians.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Creepy Conservatives
Pew Study Makes More Conservative Voters: Ross Douthat Column | New Republic:
One of the primary views of "progressives" is that humans are infinitely malleable in any way they deem to be "correct". "Gender Stereotyping" is BAD ... you know, like women give birth, pay more attention to their hair, tend to shop more for shoes, watch less football, etc. (YES, I DO realize that there are exceptions ... there are ALWAYS exceptions, That is why we sometimes get hit by something coming from our blindspot! Generalization means USUALLY correct!) That is BAD ... "real diversity" is like transgender lesbian bi-sexuals that cross dress! That is GOOD! Any sort of natural difference between humans is BAD!
I grew up in a Fundamentalist Baptist Church whose philosophy was pretty much "we don't do anything Catholics do!" ... candles, statues, liturgy, vestments, infant baptism, the Lords Prayer, etc) The church was defined as much as being anti-Catholic as by anything positive from Christ.
"Progressives" are pretty much the same ... if God likes it, they hate it! They are defined by being UNnatural ... and they are amazed that people just being people don't have the good sense to realize that being yourself is CREEPY!
The basic motto of "progressivism" is REPEAL REALITY!! ... or at least any sort of fixed sense of same. Men thinking that they ought to protect their wives, daughters and sisters? We must be Neanderthals, right? I mean, not even being EMBARRASSED about thinking such a backward thought? CREEPY!
They probably feel as much at home in a NW WI beer joint as I do in a trendy Vegan reseraunt, although I'm guessing that if most of them feel the need to sneer, they may be less confident there. They can always hope that their female companions feel the same way!
'via Blog this'
One of the primary views of "progressives" is that humans are infinitely malleable in any way they deem to be "correct". "Gender Stereotyping" is BAD ... you know, like women give birth, pay more attention to their hair, tend to shop more for shoes, watch less football, etc. (YES, I DO realize that there are exceptions ... there are ALWAYS exceptions, That is why we sometimes get hit by something coming from our blindspot! Generalization means USUALLY correct!) That is BAD ... "real diversity" is like transgender lesbian bi-sexuals that cross dress! That is GOOD! Any sort of natural difference between humans is BAD!
I grew up in a Fundamentalist Baptist Church whose philosophy was pretty much "we don't do anything Catholics do!" ... candles, statues, liturgy, vestments, infant baptism, the Lords Prayer, etc) The church was defined as much as being anti-Catholic as by anything positive from Christ.
"Progressives" are pretty much the same ... if God likes it, they hate it! They are defined by being UNnatural ... and they are amazed that people just being people don't have the good sense to realize that being yourself is CREEPY!
The basic motto of "progressivism" is REPEAL REALITY!! ... or at least any sort of fixed sense of same. Men thinking that they ought to protect their wives, daughters and sisters? We must be Neanderthals, right? I mean, not even being EMBARRASSED about thinking such a backward thought? CREEPY!
They probably feel as much at home in a NW WI beer joint as I do in a trendy Vegan reseraunt, although I'm guessing that if most of them feel the need to sneer, they may be less confident there. They can always hope that their female companions feel the same way!
'via Blog this'
Tehran Prepares to "Negotiate"
American flags burned as 10,000 Iranians protest on US Embassy siege anniversary - NBC News.com:
Nice to see that BO's "negotiating partner" is burning him in effigy. I'm sure he would be happy to join them in burning the flag of the "great imperialist Satan", but maybe they have not read "Dreams From my Father" and understand that his mission and theirs are one in the same!
All both BO and Iran want is PEACE! Indeed, once Israel lies in nuclear ash and the whole world is on bended knee to Allah and Sharia Law, the world will finally be at peace ... well except for a few little "frictions" between Shia and Sunni, but never mind.
Ah, the "pursuit of earthy peace". At least it is one that we will all reach, in the tomb. With BO's help, blessed rest may be much quicker than many of us would have thought, but still just a millisecond change next to eternity.
'via Blog this'
Nice to see that BO's "negotiating partner" is burning him in effigy. I'm sure he would be happy to join them in burning the flag of the "great imperialist Satan", but maybe they have not read "Dreams From my Father" and understand that his mission and theirs are one in the same!
All both BO and Iran want is PEACE! Indeed, once Israel lies in nuclear ash and the whole world is on bended knee to Allah and Sharia Law, the world will finally be at peace ... well except for a few little "frictions" between Shia and Sunni, but never mind.
Ah, the "pursuit of earthy peace". At least it is one that we will all reach, in the tomb. With BO's help, blessed rest may be much quicker than many of us would have thought, but still just a millisecond change next to eternity.
'via Blog this'
Succeeding in Using the IRS
The most dangerous woman in America | Power Line:
Nixon ENDEAVORED to use the IRS to "screw his political opponents". BO SUCCEEDED and here we have a lady with the goods. I certainly hope her security systems are excellent, her life is in grave danger.
'via Blog this'
Nixon ENDEAVORED to use the IRS to "screw his political opponents". BO SUCCEEDED and here we have a lady with the goods. I certainly hope her security systems are excellent, her life is in grave danger.
'via Blog this'
El Presidente BO
Yes! We Have More Bananas | Power Line:
The latest encyclical from his eminence on his "signature achievement", BOcare is worthy of the tinniest of tin pot dictators, but as PowerLine correctly says, there is no chance of impeachment, which is the only legal remedy available for a president that thumbs his nose at the Constitution and says "I can do anything I want".
If Nancy Reagan had set a couple of dogs down to a fine table setting with jewelry on, the MSM would have went more ballistic than a Saturn IV!
Surrealism is all that makes sense in an insane world.
'via Blog this'
The latest encyclical from his eminence on his "signature achievement", BOcare is worthy of the tinniest of tin pot dictators, but as PowerLine correctly says, there is no chance of impeachment, which is the only legal remedy available for a president that thumbs his nose at the Constitution and says "I can do anything I want".
If Nancy Reagan had set a couple of dogs down to a fine table setting with jewelry on, the MSM would have went more ballistic than a Saturn IV!
Surrealism is all that makes sense in an insane world.
'via Blog this'
The Superhighway to Serfdom
Random Thoughts - Thomas Sowell - Page 2:
A very good and wise column by Sowell. It is a crying shame he could not have been our first black president. All well worth the read if you have the time.
A very good and wise column by Sowell. It is a crying shame he could not have been our first black president. All well worth the read if you have the time.
"With his decision declaring ObamaCare constitutional, Chief Justice John Roberts turned what F.A. Hayek called "The Road to Serfdom" into a super highway. The government all but owns us now, and can order us to do pretty much whatever it wants us to do."'via Blog this'
Monday, February 10, 2014
Democrats, The Real Anti-Government Party
The End of Government | RealClearPolitics:
The usual case of Democrat policy is to create more of what they claim to be reducing, and less of what they claim to be increasing.
Thus, programs to decrease poverty increase it, BO has claimed that he wants to reduce income inequality, but has made a record increase in it, Democrats always claim to be the party of "jobs, jobs, jobs", yet the results of their policies show a REDUCTION of 1.5 million from the last expansion, even 5 years into the vaunted reign of BO.
So here we have this. The Ponzi Scheme of FICA plus the vote buying extravaganzas of Medicare and now BOcare are running on autopilot and consuming the entire government.
Thank goodness we know all about Justin Beiber, Miley Cyrus, etc.
'via Blog this'
The usual case of Democrat policy is to create more of what they claim to be reducing, and less of what they claim to be increasing.
Thus, programs to decrease poverty increase it, BO has claimed that he wants to reduce income inequality, but has made a record increase in it, Democrats always claim to be the party of "jobs, jobs, jobs", yet the results of their policies show a REDUCTION of 1.5 million from the last expansion, even 5 years into the vaunted reign of BO.
So here we have this. The Ponzi Scheme of FICA plus the vote buying extravaganzas of Medicare and now BOcare are running on autopilot and consuming the entire government.
Over the next decade, all the government's projected program growth stems from Social Security and health care, including the Affordable Care Act. By 2024, everything else will represent only 7.4 percent of national income (gross domestic product), the lowest share since at least 1940, says Douglas Elmendorf, head of the Congressional Budget Office.Even more not amazing, most Americans have no idea this is even a problem!
Thank goodness we know all about Justin Beiber, Miley Cyrus, etc.
'via Blog this'
New Harley Divine Glide
Bonhams To Auction Off The Pope's Harley-Davidson - Forbes:
I thought of a number of potentials ... some get sacrilegious (maybe all?) ... "Vatican Edition", "Dyna Pope", CCLXVI ... 266, the number of pope he is, kinda spoof on Harley's model numbers, eg Heritage Classic is an "FLSTC"
'via Blog this'
I thought of a number of potentials ... some get sacrilegious (maybe all?) ... "Vatican Edition", "Dyna Pope", CCLXVI ... 266, the number of pope he is, kinda spoof on Harley's model numbers, eg Heritage Classic is an "FLSTC"
'via Blog this'
Subversion for the Rest of Us! (maybe)
Is The LEGO Movie The Most Subversive Pro-Liberty Film Ever?:
Interesting column. I'm not going to buy it as correct yet, because I've not seen the movie myself, it IS delicious to even POSSIBLY see Michael Moore getting confused about what is up here because of his knee-jerk reaction to the evil president being "President Business" is just too rich.
Good column, 2nd invocation of "immanentize the eschaton" in a couple weeks!
'via Blog this'
Interesting column. I'm not going to buy it as correct yet, because I've not seen the movie myself, it IS delicious to even POSSIBLY see Michael Moore getting confused about what is up here because of his knee-jerk reaction to the evil president being "President Business" is just too rich.
Yes, I really mean this: “The Lego Movie” is hilarious, smart, satirical/political (the President’s name is “President Business”) & fun. GO!
“All I’m asking for is total perfection!” bringing in “micromanagers” to help out. It was that scene’s call to immanentize the eschaton, by the way, that convinced me the FOX panelists hadn’t seen the film before critiquing it. President Business actually gives a character a choice between fealty to him or “a tea party with your mom and dad.”
'via Blog this'
The Woven Contribution of the Collective
Opinion: Jerry Seinfeld, wrong on diversity - CNN.com:
"It's an invitation to appreciate the woven contribution of the collective."
For those familiar with the "Borg Collective" on "Star Trek the Next Generation", the other line is "You WILL be assimilated" -- which is the motto of PC, LZ Granderson, and the socialist collective in whatever form it rises up.
The often self-appointed spokespeople for the collective will FORCE you to see things their way if you are too stupid, or lack the "good sense" to cow to their demands. Assimilation is NOT a choice!
America was founded by people who were willing to risk their lives to NOT be assimilated ... into the State Church, or their assigned Class / Slot / role in a much more collective society in Europe. America was a place where you could be YOU, brands of you that just didn't exist in Europe -- fur trapper, explorer, pioneer farmer, river boat gambler, cowboy ... etc.
The fact that Seinfeld is Jewish is never mentioned by LZ. It turns out that down through the ages Jews have suffered a lot of "discrimination" as well, and still do -- often from blacks, especially Muslim blacks.
Is PC in America going to deal with that? Nope, Blacks are even even more of a reliable voting block for the collective than Jews, and while Jews will often get a pass from a lot of the collective on the PC thing, apparently LZ hasn't got that memo.
Focus on what is funny? That is like focusing on quality, or the product, or making a product, or winning games. America isn't about that any more, America is about "fairness", "diversity", "PC" ... sure, if a few products of some sort happen to fall off some line somewhere, that is OK, but that is NOT our focus! No, we are BETTER THAN THAT!
'via Blog this'
"It's an invitation to appreciate the woven contribution of the collective."
For those familiar with the "Borg Collective" on "Star Trek the Next Generation", the other line is "You WILL be assimilated" -- which is the motto of PC, LZ Granderson, and the socialist collective in whatever form it rises up.
The often self-appointed spokespeople for the collective will FORCE you to see things their way if you are too stupid, or lack the "good sense" to cow to their demands. Assimilation is NOT a choice!
America was founded by people who were willing to risk their lives to NOT be assimilated ... into the State Church, or their assigned Class / Slot / role in a much more collective society in Europe. America was a place where you could be YOU, brands of you that just didn't exist in Europe -- fur trapper, explorer, pioneer farmer, river boat gambler, cowboy ... etc.
The fact that Seinfeld is Jewish is never mentioned by LZ. It turns out that down through the ages Jews have suffered a lot of "discrimination" as well, and still do -- often from blacks, especially Muslim blacks.
Is PC in America going to deal with that? Nope, Blacks are even even more of a reliable voting block for the collective than Jews, and while Jews will often get a pass from a lot of the collective on the PC thing, apparently LZ hasn't got that memo.
Focus on what is funny? That is like focusing on quality, or the product, or making a product, or winning games. America isn't about that any more, America is about "fairness", "diversity", "PC" ... sure, if a few products of some sort happen to fall off some line somewhere, that is OK, but that is NOT our focus! No, we are BETTER THAN THAT!
'via Blog this'
Saturday, February 08, 2014
Failing the 11th Commandment
Articles: Memo to Conservatives: Republicans Aren't Your Friends:
and Reagan said: "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican".
The linked article completely fails at that commandment, as are MANY failing that on all sides in the current Republican party. We need a "Luther" to tell us "What does this mean"?
The article rightly points out that there is a lot of dissension in the Republican party right now, this is correct, but it is NOT new! Republicans are the party of "Conservatism", which means basic fundamental PRINCIPLE .. rule of law, the carrying on of the culture and tradition so that men are more than "the flies of summer" in Burke's words.
To be conservative is to "put principle above politics", BUT, it is ALSO to understand the extreme limitations of politics. Politics is "war by other means" ... the "other means", selling, cajoling, forming coalitions, and yes COMPROMISE. Republicans are to be BOTH principled but also very pragmatic, just like Christians. The situation of conservatism int he world is much like Paul expounds for us in 1 Corinthians 9
19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
"We serve a higher power". In the US, that used to be The Constitution (and it's under-girding wisdom and documents), the Truths that we once ALL agreed were "self evident". Conservatives still do believe that.
The Democrat Party are not "our enemies" as the article says, although we are often THEIR enemies. Conservatives believe in "first do no harm", and the humility of understanding that no one person, no group, no generation, or even no small set of generations contains anything CLOSE to the "wisdom of the ages", and that is WITHOUT taking the Divine into consideration -- which a large majority of conservatives also believe to be critical as well.
Democrats are perfectly willing to do what they see as "short run harm", with BOcare being only one of a whole myriad of examples. Indeed, their signature modern program, Social Security, was put in place as a known Ponzi scheme to buy the votes of the present with the sweat of future generations.
The MOST dangerous path at this time is for people that want to think of themselves as "conservative" is to demand "drastic change RIGHT NOW", even if that change would be in "the correct direction". As in life, we can't turn the nations clock back to "1900" and "restart". A number of very erroneous changes have been made, but they can't be UNmade via short term politics, and it isn't conservative to believe that they can.
There is no other way but "forward" in time, which is TOTALLY different than "progress", which is FAR from assured. It is the meaning and understanding of cultural, religious, political and even artistic wisdom that conservatives use to temper the hubris of "change". Time will pass without our help, and it definitely will "wound all heels" as well as at least partially "heal all wounds". Let's not be heels.
Conservatives need and should encourage strong and open discussion of what the basic principles of economics, human nature, real science, history, etc mean in the current context, and make CORRECT predictions of what the errors of hubristic strident "liberal" policies will result in. Reagan calling the end to the USSR and turning us from an economic situation nearly as bad as the current BO hole to a period of boom did more for the standing of conservatives than any current words or fighting will. BUT, he had to WIN politically to be able to do that!
We now need to "call the ball" as to what current policies are and will result in. This is relatively easy -- the principles don't change, so the "change agents" always screw up. We will have continued economic flat-line to decline, the continuation of the disaster that is BOcare, the continued decline in the family and the social fabric due to "gay marriage", abortion, and other destructive policies.
We need to provide sober reality based CLEAR statements of REAL AND OBSERVABLE consequences of the current failed policies AND the alternatives. This ought to be "easy", the Reagan example is only 20-30 years old. Within the lifetime of MUCH of our population, and in the lived memory of many. The principles never changed, we just failed to follow them.
It is easy to "lose faith" so that the Republicans in power move to "Democrat lite", forgetting that principles really matter even on the timid side, and others "go zealot" as the Tea Party is wont to do, DEMANDING an entire loaf of IMMEDIATE change or they are going to take their votes and go elsewhere. The linked article thinks it is a "good time for civil war" in the Republican party, but right now, I don't see it as a time that we can WIN the war!
The South fired the first shots in our Civil War. Had they not, and had they not made the aggressive but failed advance that ended at Gettysburg, they would likely have "won" ... in that secession would have happened, they would have probably controlled a lot of at least Mexico and South America, and a whole other raft of "maybes". Slavery would still be gone as the dying institution it was, but States Rights would still be alive!
"Democrat Lite" is WAY less damaging than "going zealot" and LOSING a war. Going zealot exposes conservatives to the same failings as "progressives" -- the supposedly brilliant "quick fix", "big change". Countries and cultures are most successful with incrementalism IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!
With limited humans acting in the limited domain of politics, "the lesser of two evils" is OFTEN (if not ALWAYS, which I virtually never say) is the best that can be hoped for. Shoot for "pure best", and one gets Slick Willie over HW, BO over McCain, and BO over Romney. Significant movement in the WRONG DIRECTION over potential "holding the line", or incremental change in a positive direction.
YES, we need to "police our own" ... if Chris Christie wants to hug BO a couple weeks before the election, he is either a RINO at heart, or so narcissistic, clueless, or Machiavellian that we certainly don't want him as a presidential candidate even if he can win ... the bridge just seals the deal. Not going to war with your fellow Republicans is not the same as having no standards as long as there is an "R" on the label. The conservative life, like the Christian life is not simple -- it is a constant battle of reference to principle, thought, meditation, considered action, and yes, prayer!
It is "D" that means that you sign up explicitly to have NO STANDARDS other than total and completely firm D loyalty, no matter how hypocritical or inconsistent the position. Thus, human babies, kill them all whenever for any reason, ... snail darters, owls, etc, preserve them at all costs; deficit under R, scandalous, destructive, "unsustainable ... 5x the deficit under D, too small, great policy; Guns, terrible, destructive, ought to be banned ... Drugs? Doesn't the Constitution declare a CLEAR right to them in the prenumbra of the privacy clause right next to abortion? ... and on it goes.
"Thinker" needs to do some more studying and THINKING relative to their views in the linked article. As we all do, always. The "D" way is the human way, into which we fall without prayer and grace.
'via Blog this'
and Reagan said: "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican".
The linked article completely fails at that commandment, as are MANY failing that on all sides in the current Republican party. We need a "Luther" to tell us "What does this mean"?
The article rightly points out that there is a lot of dissension in the Republican party right now, this is correct, but it is NOT new! Republicans are the party of "Conservatism", which means basic fundamental PRINCIPLE .. rule of law, the carrying on of the culture and tradition so that men are more than "the flies of summer" in Burke's words.
To be conservative is to "put principle above politics", BUT, it is ALSO to understand the extreme limitations of politics. Politics is "war by other means" ... the "other means", selling, cajoling, forming coalitions, and yes COMPROMISE. Republicans are to be BOTH principled but also very pragmatic, just like Christians. The situation of conservatism int he world is much like Paul expounds for us in 1 Corinthians 9
19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
"We serve a higher power". In the US, that used to be The Constitution (and it's under-girding wisdom and documents), the Truths that we once ALL agreed were "self evident". Conservatives still do believe that.
The Democrat Party are not "our enemies" as the article says, although we are often THEIR enemies. Conservatives believe in "first do no harm", and the humility of understanding that no one person, no group, no generation, or even no small set of generations contains anything CLOSE to the "wisdom of the ages", and that is WITHOUT taking the Divine into consideration -- which a large majority of conservatives also believe to be critical as well.
Democrats are perfectly willing to do what they see as "short run harm", with BOcare being only one of a whole myriad of examples. Indeed, their signature modern program, Social Security, was put in place as a known Ponzi scheme to buy the votes of the present with the sweat of future generations.
The MOST dangerous path at this time is for people that want to think of themselves as "conservative" is to demand "drastic change RIGHT NOW", even if that change would be in "the correct direction". As in life, we can't turn the nations clock back to "1900" and "restart". A number of very erroneous changes have been made, but they can't be UNmade via short term politics, and it isn't conservative to believe that they can.
There is no other way but "forward" in time, which is TOTALLY different than "progress", which is FAR from assured. It is the meaning and understanding of cultural, religious, political and even artistic wisdom that conservatives use to temper the hubris of "change". Time will pass without our help, and it definitely will "wound all heels" as well as at least partially "heal all wounds". Let's not be heels.
Conservatives need and should encourage strong and open discussion of what the basic principles of economics, human nature, real science, history, etc mean in the current context, and make CORRECT predictions of what the errors of hubristic strident "liberal" policies will result in. Reagan calling the end to the USSR and turning us from an economic situation nearly as bad as the current BO hole to a period of boom did more for the standing of conservatives than any current words or fighting will. BUT, he had to WIN politically to be able to do that!
We now need to "call the ball" as to what current policies are and will result in. This is relatively easy -- the principles don't change, so the "change agents" always screw up. We will have continued economic flat-line to decline, the continuation of the disaster that is BOcare, the continued decline in the family and the social fabric due to "gay marriage", abortion, and other destructive policies.
We need to provide sober reality based CLEAR statements of REAL AND OBSERVABLE consequences of the current failed policies AND the alternatives. This ought to be "easy", the Reagan example is only 20-30 years old. Within the lifetime of MUCH of our population, and in the lived memory of many. The principles never changed, we just failed to follow them.
It is easy to "lose faith" so that the Republicans in power move to "Democrat lite", forgetting that principles really matter even on the timid side, and others "go zealot" as the Tea Party is wont to do, DEMANDING an entire loaf of IMMEDIATE change or they are going to take their votes and go elsewhere. The linked article thinks it is a "good time for civil war" in the Republican party, but right now, I don't see it as a time that we can WIN the war!
The South fired the first shots in our Civil War. Had they not, and had they not made the aggressive but failed advance that ended at Gettysburg, they would likely have "won" ... in that secession would have happened, they would have probably controlled a lot of at least Mexico and South America, and a whole other raft of "maybes". Slavery would still be gone as the dying institution it was, but States Rights would still be alive!
"Democrat Lite" is WAY less damaging than "going zealot" and LOSING a war. Going zealot exposes conservatives to the same failings as "progressives" -- the supposedly brilliant "quick fix", "big change". Countries and cultures are most successful with incrementalism IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!
With limited humans acting in the limited domain of politics, "the lesser of two evils" is OFTEN (if not ALWAYS, which I virtually never say) is the best that can be hoped for. Shoot for "pure best", and one gets Slick Willie over HW, BO over McCain, and BO over Romney. Significant movement in the WRONG DIRECTION over potential "holding the line", or incremental change in a positive direction.
YES, we need to "police our own" ... if Chris Christie wants to hug BO a couple weeks before the election, he is either a RINO at heart, or so narcissistic, clueless, or Machiavellian that we certainly don't want him as a presidential candidate even if he can win ... the bridge just seals the deal. Not going to war with your fellow Republicans is not the same as having no standards as long as there is an "R" on the label. The conservative life, like the Christian life is not simple -- it is a constant battle of reference to principle, thought, meditation, considered action, and yes, prayer!
It is "D" that means that you sign up explicitly to have NO STANDARDS other than total and completely firm D loyalty, no matter how hypocritical or inconsistent the position. Thus, human babies, kill them all whenever for any reason, ... snail darters, owls, etc, preserve them at all costs; deficit under R, scandalous, destructive, "unsustainable ... 5x the deficit under D, too small, great policy; Guns, terrible, destructive, ought to be banned ... Drugs? Doesn't the Constitution declare a CLEAR right to them in the prenumbra of the privacy clause right next to abortion? ... and on it goes.
"Thinker" needs to do some more studying and THINKING relative to their views in the linked article. As we all do, always. The "D" way is the human way, into which we fall without prayer and grace.
'via Blog this'
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