Will money buy the White House? - CNN.com
I'm sure this fine reporter just forgot about 2008, or didn't have the 2 sec it took to google up a number.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=anLDS9WWPQW8
Conservatively, BO spent $740 M, although many place the number closer to $1B because of many of the loopholes he used (eg. not reporting contributions of <$50).
This is a CNN HEADLINE article, and the previous presidential election bears no mention?
Oh, and:
Since 1976, the presidential public financing system included matching funds for small contributions in primaries and equal grants for the two general election nominees. Beginning with George W. Bush rejecting public matching funds in the 2000 primary campaign (and the spending limits that went with them), that system was diminished incrementally until 2008 when Obama's rejection of general election funding spelled its final demise.
Uh, lets "blame Bush". He didm't accept funds for the PRIMARY??? Does CNN even care which Republican gets selected?? Oh, I suppose they DO want to make sure it is the weakest one, and since fundraising is clearly important, I guess W bypassing the primary rule WAS painful for them.
BO spening a Billion??? Not a problem in '08 ... at least we had ONE election in which money in politics was just fine!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
BO Fails to Spell Ohio
Oiho?? I’m Sure It’s One of the 57 States | Power Line
Never mind, he is a brilliant man. Ohio is much harder to spell than "potato".!
Never mind, he is a brilliant man. Ohio is much harder to spell than "potato".!
Praise to Thee Oh Newspeak!! BO Has Gotta Go!!
Niall Ferguson on Why Barack Obama Needs to Go - Newsweek and The Daily Beast
Hats off to NewsWeek! I had written this publication off as sunk permanently in the leftmost ditch, but here they come with a great cover and a SUPERB article by one of my most admired historians! Wow!
Just read it. If you can honestly read this an believe that BO deserves another shot, then you can write yourself up as a solid lefty ideologue, and say goodbye to reason and reality.
Hats off to NewsWeek! I had written this publication off as sunk permanently in the leftmost ditch, but here they come with a great cover and a SUPERB article by one of my most admired historians! Wow!
Just read it. If you can honestly read this an believe that BO deserves another shot, then you can write yourself up as a solid lefty ideologue, and say goodbye to reason and reality.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Gird Your Loins
Articles: Will Obama Keep Power 'by Any Means Necessary'?
The reports of many DOMESTIC government agencies buying 100's of K or millions of rounds of hollow point ammo are very widespread and well sourced enough that I believe there is certainly a major movement of these organizations to prepare to wage war on Americans.
This article doesn't cover the executive orders that allow US government agencies to fly armed drones over domestic airspace. BO has already assassinated US citizens via drone abroad, can doing it domestically be far behind?
This article also doesn't touch on BOs first book. He dedicates the book to Saul Alinsky who openly advocated the overthrow of the US government, and dedicated his book "Rules for Radicals" to Satan. In that book, BO expresses respect for the Black Panthers, lots of distrust of white folks, and finds his mission as a Luo Tribesman to destroy "The Colonial Powers" ... including the US.
"Forward" is a good slogan -- he may already have fatally wounded us, but the hated (by him) Stars and Stripes still flys, so BO's work is not yet complete.
The reports of many DOMESTIC government agencies buying 100's of K or millions of rounds of hollow point ammo are very widespread and well sourced enough that I believe there is certainly a major movement of these organizations to prepare to wage war on Americans.
This article doesn't cover the executive orders that allow US government agencies to fly armed drones over domestic airspace. BO has already assassinated US citizens via drone abroad, can doing it domestically be far behind?
This article also doesn't touch on BOs first book. He dedicates the book to Saul Alinsky who openly advocated the overthrow of the US government, and dedicated his book "Rules for Radicals" to Satan. In that book, BO expresses respect for the Black Panthers, lots of distrust of white folks, and finds his mission as a Luo Tribesman to destroy "The Colonial Powers" ... including the US.
"Forward" is a good slogan -- he may already have fatally wounded us, but the hated (by him) Stars and Stripes still flys, so BO's work is not yet complete.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Solo Wing 2700mi
View Rochester - Austin TX in a larger map
In the years I rode my CX500 back in the early '80s and on occasion during my 24yr hiatus from riding, I tended to think of the "big ride" and what kind of daily distances were doable / enjoyable on a Gold Wing.
I've got my answer. 820 mi Rochester - OK City in coolish temps wasn't too bad, but clearly at my limits for that day. Leg and shoulder stiffness are the items that start to make it unpleasant for me after about that amount of time on the bike ... 12 hours, 7:30AM to 7:30PM.
The next day, to Bertram TX was only 450, but with 102-105 heat most of the way, it took more out of me physically and took from 9am-8pm to accomplish with many hydration stops. Oh, and also an EXCELLENT BBQ stop at "Hard Eight" in Stephenville TX http://www.hardeightbbq.com/
Wed brought zero time on the bike, but good TX Hill Country views, some successful shopping for hot weather motorcycle apparel, and and excellent lunch at Chuys in Austin along with enjoyable time spent seeing some old friends from IBM days.
Thursday AM saw a 6:30 launch with a great 600+ mi ride from Bertram to Beebe AR, just north of Little Rock. Both East TX and AR are areas that I want to return to. Very much like the upper midwest terrain and greenery look, although I realize with a lot more heat in the summer -- but much less winter to deal with as well. A houseboat on one of the big impoundments?
Friday I spent a little too much time wrestling with the GPS on the bike for my liking ... "Shortest Time vs Distance" became an issue. The Wing seems to like routing through "fun motorcycle roads" which is fine, but when interspersed with a constant penchant to go all the way over to I-35 to make time, it can cause an on-bike tiff. Much like dealing with a wife, we worked it out by doing it the Wings way ... I hit I-35 just N of KC. Excitement of the day was a life flight chopper landing on US 13 right ahead of me and having to turn around and make my own "detour".
The biggest disappointment of the trip was pulling off at Albert Lea, less than 100mi from home as it was solid dark and I decided that the risk of tagging a deer the wrong way on that section of highway was just too great after 14 hours in the saddle. So I stayed the night and chipped it at 9AM Sat.
Lots of time to think of "why am I doing this?" and stuff on especially the interstate.
Some thoughts:
* an over 40 rider is 20x as likely to die riding a bike than in a car
* by not drinking when riding I cut that risk in half ... 10x
* by wearing a helmet, hi viz gear and taking a cycle safety class I cut the risk close to in half again ... 5x
* so since I drive about 20k mi a year and ride < 10k, I'm "only" about 2.5x as likely to die on my bike
Which is called RATIONALIZATION!
There is something irreplaceable about the experience of a trip like that. The danger is part of the thrill. Lots of guys are out there with no helmets, ape hangers, and riding "care free". They have a more fatalistic attitude ... But it is the same principle, just a matter of degree. Same with driving our cars and a lot of life activity. A safe life isn't a life. A risk free economy isn't an economy, it is a gulag.
It is a huge blessing to have made it to 55 with good health. The only way to be alive is some level of risk... One person's "reasonable risk" is completely insane for another, but be sure to embrace SOME risk that makes you less than fully comfortable. Lest you fail to have lived while alive.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
I'm An Extremeist
Are You an Extremist? - Bill O'Reilly - Page 1
Worth a read. Wanting your nation to live within it's means and limiting taxation on people to something less than 50% of their income is now "extreme" ... along with being a Christian (but not a Muslim), honoring marriage between a man and a woman as it has always been, supporting the right to beat arms as enumerated in the Constitution and a bost of other things.
It has never been easier to be an "extremist" in America, and I have to say I'm proud to count myself in that group!
Worth a read. Wanting your nation to live within it's means and limiting taxation on people to something less than 50% of their income is now "extreme" ... along with being a Christian (but not a Muslim), honoring marriage between a man and a woman as it has always been, supporting the right to beat arms as enumerated in the Constitution and a bost of other things.
It has never been easier to be an "extremist" in America, and I have to say I'm proud to count myself in that group!
Monday, August 13, 2012
A $222 Trillion US Vision Gap
Great news: The US fiscal gap just jumped $11 trillion … to $222 trillion « Hot Air:
Something over 50% of Americans get to age 50 and throw up their hands realizing that their net worth is negative and they have no time for investment growth to build enough for their retirement even if they DID finally start saving. They "waited for tomorrow" for 3 decades and now it is too late.
They have a lot of company. Something over 90% of americans have no clue about the net present value of the future obligations of the US government which include caring for that 50% that neglected to care for themselves.
Much like worn out tires, siding, roofing, disease, death, etc, the future is most likely to happen. True, we could have a giant earth shattering disaster of the meteor, plague, super volcano sort that would wipe out 100's of millions and essentially cancel the future, but one doesn't really like to focus on such as a "solution".
So we blithely keep rolling up future obligations at a rate that is 10x our actual yearly deficit with over 90% of the population that is supposed to be self-governing being completely unaware.
90% of people need to have the individual responsibility to cover their own retirement with assets left at the end to pass on. We need a complete re-make / return to what we were founded to be -- a nation of FREE PEOPLE, which includes freedom from individual and public debt.
Right now we are a nation of fools where a bloated government hobbles our productivity while promising us "security" as it saddles us with debt to destroy our future.
'via Blog this'
Something over 50% of Americans get to age 50 and throw up their hands realizing that their net worth is negative and they have no time for investment growth to build enough for their retirement even if they DID finally start saving. They "waited for tomorrow" for 3 decades and now it is too late.
They have a lot of company. Something over 90% of americans have no clue about the net present value of the future obligations of the US government which include caring for that 50% that neglected to care for themselves.
Much like worn out tires, siding, roofing, disease, death, etc, the future is most likely to happen. True, we could have a giant earth shattering disaster of the meteor, plague, super volcano sort that would wipe out 100's of millions and essentially cancel the future, but one doesn't really like to focus on such as a "solution".
So we blithely keep rolling up future obligations at a rate that is 10x our actual yearly deficit with over 90% of the population that is supposed to be self-governing being completely unaware.
90% of people need to have the individual responsibility to cover their own retirement with assets left at the end to pass on. We need a complete re-make / return to what we were founded to be -- a nation of FREE PEOPLE, which includes freedom from individual and public debt.
Right now we are a nation of fools where a bloated government hobbles our productivity while promising us "security" as it saddles us with debt to destroy our future.
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
BO Recovery Worst Since WWII
GDP Data Show Obama's 'Recovery' Has Been Worse Than Any Postwar President's - Investors.com:
Don't expect to see this make the news much ... but it would be helpful to the ability of americans to govern themselves if it did.
'via Blog this'
Don't expect to see this make the news much ... but it would be helpful to the ability of americans to govern themselves if it did.
'via Blog this'
Democrats and Media Protect Pedophile
Reid puts GOP in a bind over Romney's taxes - CNN.com:
Gee CNN is really worried about the Pedophile Majority Leader "putting Republicans in a bind".
Oh, you didn't hear that Harry Reid is a Pedophile?? Well, I have it FROM A VERY GOOD SOURCE that I'm not able to share at this time that the charge is 100% true!
Oh, you don't think that is "fair"? Hmm, then why is there a story on Reid's unsubstantiated accusations "causing Republicans problems" vs a story on how his fellow democrats, media, liberal organizations are ALL demanding he immediately cease and desist from this calumny and apologize, or be removed from his post???
Unbelievably, Pedo Harry is Senate Majority Leader -- not talk radio, not Fox News, not Huffpo, not even some first term back bencher in the House.
Is ANYONE going to deny that the MSM would be raising holy hell if the source of this was from the right and the target was on the left??
'via Blog this'
Gee CNN is really worried about the Pedophile Majority Leader "putting Republicans in a bind".
Oh, you didn't hear that Harry Reid is a Pedophile?? Well, I have it FROM A VERY GOOD SOURCE that I'm not able to share at this time that the charge is 100% true!
Oh, you don't think that is "fair"? Hmm, then why is there a story on Reid's unsubstantiated accusations "causing Republicans problems" vs a story on how his fellow democrats, media, liberal organizations are ALL demanding he immediately cease and desist from this calumny and apologize, or be removed from his post???
Unbelievably, Pedo Harry is Senate Majority Leader -- not talk radio, not Fox News, not Huffpo, not even some first term back bencher in the House.
Is ANYONE going to deny that the MSM would be raising holy hell if the source of this was from the right and the target was on the left??
'via Blog this'
Friday, August 03, 2012
Wingvana
Haven't been doing nearly enough posting on my motorcycle. Here it is, pretty much the way I purchased it.
Wing as purchased
Had I not added the Kury pegs, http://wingstuff.com/products/27625-switchblade-highway-peg-w-mini-arms?from_search=1 I would have never been able to make the 1800 miles out to the Black Hills and Gillette WY and back (I'm 6'4" tall).
Here are some pictures from the trip ... a really good ride. http://www.flickr.com/photos/67173429@N00/sets/72157630412159566/
The trip convinced me that I needed to do something more, so I added Kury boards including the wide brake pedal ... BIG improvement! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yTBRzM0cQyYAyambcxwpsaEu3piSopWgtluch9Wsgbo?feat=directlink
Why Honda doesn't make floorboards standard on the Wing is beyond me. Lots of tweaking and setting to get them just right, but once I got it done, it is hard to imagine how I rode without them.
On the trip I also was bothered by a lot of wind buffeting. In general it was windy, there were a lot of trucks and since I am tall and wear a helmet, a lot of the time my helmet was up in the turbulent air. I did a lot of web / Gold Wing forum searches and decided that the Laminar Lip was the way to go https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/VNXxOGhqXfsiu6aF7SeIi6Eu3piSopWgtluch9Wsgbo?feat=directlink at least to start. I've put a couple hundred miles on the bike since installation, and so far I'm VERY impressed. It produces a very quiet pocket of air behind the windshield that seems to be exactly what I was looking for.
After reading a number of the forums I decided that a real fork brace was something that I ought to add, so I added the Kury Gen II, WOW ... huge low speed "wander" improvement, but more solid at all speeds. Very hard to understand why Honda doesn't put a solid brace on from the factory.
Wing as purchased
Had I not added the Kury pegs, http://wingstuff.com/products/27625-switchblade-highway-peg-w-mini-arms?from_search=1 I would have never been able to make the 1800 miles out to the Black Hills and Gillette WY and back (I'm 6'4" tall).
Here are some pictures from the trip ... a really good ride. http://www.flickr.com/photos/67173429@N00/sets/72157630412159566/
The trip convinced me that I needed to do something more, so I added Kury boards including the wide brake pedal ... BIG improvement! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yTBRzM0cQyYAyambcxwpsaEu3piSopWgtluch9Wsgbo?feat=directlink
Why Honda doesn't make floorboards standard on the Wing is beyond me. Lots of tweaking and setting to get them just right, but once I got it done, it is hard to imagine how I rode without them.
On the trip I also was bothered by a lot of wind buffeting. In general it was windy, there were a lot of trucks and since I am tall and wear a helmet, a lot of the time my helmet was up in the turbulent air. I did a lot of web / Gold Wing forum searches and decided that the Laminar Lip was the way to go https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/VNXxOGhqXfsiu6aF7SeIi6Eu3piSopWgtluch9Wsgbo?feat=directlink at least to start. I've put a couple hundred miles on the bike since installation, and so far I'm VERY impressed. It produces a very quiet pocket of air behind the windshield that seems to be exactly what I was looking for.
After reading a number of the forums I decided that a real fork brace was something that I ought to add, so I added the Kury Gen II, WOW ... huge low speed "wander" improvement, but more solid at all speeds. Very hard to understand why Honda doesn't put a solid brace on from the factory.
Christ Muslims Gays Double Standards
Radical imam OK but not Chick-fil-A - BostonHerald.com
There is only one true radical, the risen savior, Christ Jesus. All questions ultimately come down to Christ.
Case in point. Boston Mayor Tom Menino had no trouble assisting a Muslim in development of a mosque as well as speaking at its ribbon cutting, even though the official position of Islam, stated by one of the leaders of that mosque is that Gays must be put to death.
We all know of his comments on Chick-fil-A, and the comments of many on the left about a Christian owned business that clearly practices what it preaches by being closed on Sunday, yet is the highest profit per store fast food outlet.
WHY is this true and what does it mean???
I could go on, but the REAL issue here is that a "christian / conservative / true liberal / libertarian / fact based / transcendent / etc" world view is not actually able to understand the inconsistencies of a "statist / atheist / progressive / vision based / materialist" world view. And of course, vice-versa!!
Which means that we generally CAN'T just "all get along" unless we actually decide that facts are more important than visions, or liberty is more important than "fairness", etc.
But if liberals were going to make those changes, then they would no longer be "liberals". Or conservatives would just have to decide that God is dead and facts don't matter.
Two things are "hopeful" -- aging tends to move people to the right, as do massive disasters -- natural, political, financial. "Reality has a way of creeping up on you", or "liberalism only seems to work until you run out of other peoples money" to say it even more simply.
There is only one true radical, the risen savior, Christ Jesus. All questions ultimately come down to Christ.
Case in point. Boston Mayor Tom Menino had no trouble assisting a Muslim in development of a mosque as well as speaking at its ribbon cutting, even though the official position of Islam, stated by one of the leaders of that mosque is that Gays must be put to death.
We all know of his comments on Chick-fil-A, and the comments of many on the left about a Christian owned business that clearly practices what it preaches by being closed on Sunday, yet is the highest profit per store fast food outlet.
WHY is this true and what does it mean???
- It is strong evidence of the primacy and radical effect of Jesus and Christian teachings / life. What the Gays, atheists and left hate is not "religion", or even "radical violent fundamentalist religion". What they really hate is CHRIST and CHRISTIANS!! The left's willingness to "forgive and forget" Muslim violence, doctrine and treatment of women is limitless. The swiftness and vehemence of their anger and intolerance to any display of Christian belief or doctrine is a strong proof of the primacy of Christ.
- "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". Many of the left mostly secretly mourned the loss of the USSR. They WANT the power of US to be "counter balanced" and reduced, at least to extent that the US is seen as "a Christian Nation". Todays counter balances are Islam and China, but China is less loved by the left than most communist nations as it has embraced a lot of capitalism and competition. Capitalism and competition mean individual initiative and differential outcomes. The left demands that individual lives be meaningless and only the "state collective" matter. Christ, capitalism, competition and the Constitution ALL celebrate the dignity and meaning of the life of the individual. This is anathema to left-statist-collective thought.
- "Liberalism - Progressivism" are of course both lies. "Liberal" is in fact a label of the RIGHT, which is LIBERTARIAN. "Progressive" is allusion to the myth that "newer is better / modern is smarter / old is bad / etc". The USSR, Nazi Germany and Maoist China ought to have been enough to bury these foolish thoughts forever, but "false hope springs eternal". The left thinks that we are "better / smarter" than what has gone before and that there is an "arrow of evolution" that is "upward / better". Some tiny creature that just consumes organic matter, breeds prodigiously, is resistant to extermination and consumes the entire biosphere leaving only a "gray goo" would be the ultimate, but species costly "we told you so" rebuttal. If evolution means that we are just getting better, how did we end up with Obama/Carter/Franken/Pelosi/etc ... or for the lefties Bush/Reagan/Bachmann/Palin ... Seems like we ought to be able to easily determine the fallacy of the progress myth very easily without exterminating ourselves ... but maybe not.
I could go on, but the REAL issue here is that a "christian / conservative / true liberal / libertarian / fact based / transcendent / etc" world view is not actually able to understand the inconsistencies of a "statist / atheist / progressive / vision based / materialist" world view. And of course, vice-versa!!
Which means that we generally CAN'T just "all get along" unless we actually decide that facts are more important than visions, or liberty is more important than "fairness", etc.
But if liberals were going to make those changes, then they would no longer be "liberals". Or conservatives would just have to decide that God is dead and facts don't matter.
Two things are "hopeful" -- aging tends to move people to the right, as do massive disasters -- natural, political, financial. "Reality has a way of creeping up on you", or "liberalism only seems to work until you run out of other peoples money" to say it even more simply.
Monday, July 30, 2012
More Democrats! Or Voter ID?
Democrats' Ideal Voter: Illegal Alien, Single Mother, Convicted Felon - Ann Coulter - Page 1
Sometimes Ann gets one right. This one is worth the read.
Sometimes Ann gets one right. This one is worth the read.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Dangerous Data
Revenge of the Sociologists | The Weekly Standard
Nial tends to be wordy, basically this the old news story of "don't mess with the shibboleths of the the dominant culture". Gay has been decided to be good, gays raising kids was summarily judged to be good, maybe even better than "traditional families". End of story, woe unto all that would dare to question that "settled science".
For those of us of a certain age, we well recall when "divorce had no negative impact on children, and may even be positive because of the reduction of tensions". Much like the requirement to delay an hour after swimming to avoid cramps, this view has been "reassessed". Naturally the reassessment came well after any chance of deciding to "make do" or "work it out for the kids" was far from as stupid as we were told in the 60's and 70's. I'm still sore about the swimming I missed.
In the '70s, the energy crisis was caused by the FACT that we were OUT of oil -- today, the reserves are many times larger than they were then. The climate was cooling in the '70s ... well known, but not as "settled" as the warming, er, "change" today. Change would seem to cover it.
In the '70s when EO Wilson questioned the Blank Slate, he was a bigot, a neanderthal, a zealot. Today, the Blank Slate is considered absurd -- nature seems to have the strange idea that success breeds more than failure, and carrying along a few tendencies that turn out to be adaptive in the DNA is beneficial.
I'm not so concerned about "content" here -- it seems likely to me that when two sexes are required for procreation, and the idea of a "family" being one man and one woman having been by far the norm for at least a couple thousand years, the outcomes for children MIGHT be better in that situation, but I certainly can't prove it. I'm sure we will see much more evidence on at least the opposite view, with maybe some on the "common sense side" depending on the ability of the dominant culture to suppress pro man/woman family results vs Man-Man, Woman-Woman, etc. But that isn't the point here.
The point is the danger of massive politicization of research, science and common sense, and the sort of environment that is engendered by that course. When the price of having and stating beliefs, hypothesis, data, statistics, results, etc that are in disagreement with "the dominant elite culture position" becomes too high, many people shut up, claim to believe what they don't, or even just throw up their hands and actually switch sides. I seem to be one of the very few that actually enjoys being stupid.
If you are aligned with the dominant culture view, your response to this thought is likely "good, I don't really care how the fools that disagree with us get on board, but they have to!".
All well and good, but just try to recall the discomfort you may have had after 9-11 when 80-90% of the population was in support of attacks on terrorist bases in Afghanistan, and nearly the same numbers were behind the removal of Saddam Hussein under the suspicion of WMDs. When radio stations were told by their listeners to stop playing the "Dixie Chicks" after they disparaged the president overseas. When Tim Robbins didn't get some invite to a forum after one of his anti-Bush screeds. Remember how quickly the spectre of Nazi Germany and Hitler was raised by the left elites at that point?
Please realize that the real problem in Nazi Germany was UNlimited Government -- the kind that you get when you allow the government to say, force you to buy a product -- say, insurance. The kind you get when THE GOVERNMENT tells you that certain kinds of speech are "hate speech", or that certain kinds of religion are "not our values" indicating that you ought not hold those religions views (Rahm Emanuel , Chicago, Chick-Fil-a). The kind that you get when you are penalized for what you DON'T do ... today, "buy insurance', then "Heil Hitler". The kind where the government tries to remove you from your tenured university position because they don't like what your research shows. You know, the kind of government our Constitution was supposed to guard against.
What was being called "Fascism" in '02-'08 was private citizens making decisions on who they listened to on the radio or invited to some event. It wasn't the government or government officials. In a free country, people used to be allowed to hold even very unpopular views. The idea was that freedom of thought and speech went together and needed to be heavily protected. ESPECIALLY unpopular speech!
That was the law, but more importantly it was part of the shared mores of a free country. Tolerance of free thinking may have even been the American "Prime Directive" for you Trekkers. Oh, POPULAR speech sometimes needs to be controlled according to the left as well -- if it looks like a Republican might win, then the amount of speech (money) they are allowed must be curtailed.
It was once expected, even considered honorable that your brother, your dad, your neighbor, your boss, the guy at work or down the street would have some crackpot and maybe even really bad ideas ... racism against Blacks, Jews, Irish, Italians, Orientals, Polish, etc. Lots of folks thought that Communism was "inevitable" (pretty much up to '89 MANY DID, some still do), Socialism was clearly the answer -- right up to when "National Socialism" took a very bad turn in Germany under Hitler. Eugenics suffered a similar fate -- it was a really good idea for the left elite (Margret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood for example), and then, uh, not so much.
Wouldn't it be great if we could "educate" everyone to be a BO Democrat, or maybe a Christian ... or a Buddhist, or a Capitalist, or a Minimalist ... or ??
Why don't we just ostracize, marginalize, harangue the people that don't line up with our view of "correct"? Oh wait, I guess many DO do that now ... but we didn't used to do it as much. It was considered to be against our shared values as Americans. Even when the subject was ACTUAL sympathy and working with a foreign sworn enemy with nuclear weapons pointed at us, pushing to hard on that was considered a "dark period in American history" ("McCarthyism). My how far we have come with Chick-Fil-a and the whole Gay Marriage issue!
or is it just the ever present problem of it VERY much depends on whose Ox is being gored?
Nial tends to be wordy, basically this the old news story of "don't mess with the shibboleths of the the dominant culture". Gay has been decided to be good, gays raising kids was summarily judged to be good, maybe even better than "traditional families". End of story, woe unto all that would dare to question that "settled science".
For those of us of a certain age, we well recall when "divorce had no negative impact on children, and may even be positive because of the reduction of tensions". Much like the requirement to delay an hour after swimming to avoid cramps, this view has been "reassessed". Naturally the reassessment came well after any chance of deciding to "make do" or "work it out for the kids" was far from as stupid as we were told in the 60's and 70's. I'm still sore about the swimming I missed.
In the '70s, the energy crisis was caused by the FACT that we were OUT of oil -- today, the reserves are many times larger than they were then. The climate was cooling in the '70s ... well known, but not as "settled" as the warming, er, "change" today. Change would seem to cover it.
In the '70s when EO Wilson questioned the Blank Slate, he was a bigot, a neanderthal, a zealot. Today, the Blank Slate is considered absurd -- nature seems to have the strange idea that success breeds more than failure, and carrying along a few tendencies that turn out to be adaptive in the DNA is beneficial.
I'm not so concerned about "content" here -- it seems likely to me that when two sexes are required for procreation, and the idea of a "family" being one man and one woman having been by far the norm for at least a couple thousand years, the outcomes for children MIGHT be better in that situation, but I certainly can't prove it. I'm sure we will see much more evidence on at least the opposite view, with maybe some on the "common sense side" depending on the ability of the dominant culture to suppress pro man/woman family results vs Man-Man, Woman-Woman, etc. But that isn't the point here.
The point is the danger of massive politicization of research, science and common sense, and the sort of environment that is engendered by that course. When the price of having and stating beliefs, hypothesis, data, statistics, results, etc that are in disagreement with "the dominant elite culture position" becomes too high, many people shut up, claim to believe what they don't, or even just throw up their hands and actually switch sides. I seem to be one of the very few that actually enjoys being stupid.
If you are aligned with the dominant culture view, your response to this thought is likely "good, I don't really care how the fools that disagree with us get on board, but they have to!".
All well and good, but just try to recall the discomfort you may have had after 9-11 when 80-90% of the population was in support of attacks on terrorist bases in Afghanistan, and nearly the same numbers were behind the removal of Saddam Hussein under the suspicion of WMDs. When radio stations were told by their listeners to stop playing the "Dixie Chicks" after they disparaged the president overseas. When Tim Robbins didn't get some invite to a forum after one of his anti-Bush screeds. Remember how quickly the spectre of Nazi Germany and Hitler was raised by the left elites at that point?
Please realize that the real problem in Nazi Germany was UNlimited Government -- the kind that you get when you allow the government to say, force you to buy a product -- say, insurance. The kind you get when THE GOVERNMENT tells you that certain kinds of speech are "hate speech", or that certain kinds of religion are "not our values" indicating that you ought not hold those religions views (Rahm Emanuel , Chicago, Chick-Fil-a). The kind that you get when you are penalized for what you DON'T do ... today, "buy insurance', then "Heil Hitler". The kind where the government tries to remove you from your tenured university position because they don't like what your research shows. You know, the kind of government our Constitution was supposed to guard against.
What was being called "Fascism" in '02-'08 was private citizens making decisions on who they listened to on the radio or invited to some event. It wasn't the government or government officials. In a free country, people used to be allowed to hold even very unpopular views. The idea was that freedom of thought and speech went together and needed to be heavily protected. ESPECIALLY unpopular speech!
That was the law, but more importantly it was part of the shared mores of a free country. Tolerance of free thinking may have even been the American "Prime Directive" for you Trekkers. Oh, POPULAR speech sometimes needs to be controlled according to the left as well -- if it looks like a Republican might win, then the amount of speech (money) they are allowed must be curtailed.
It was once expected, even considered honorable that your brother, your dad, your neighbor, your boss, the guy at work or down the street would have some crackpot and maybe even really bad ideas ... racism against Blacks, Jews, Irish, Italians, Orientals, Polish, etc. Lots of folks thought that Communism was "inevitable" (pretty much up to '89 MANY DID, some still do), Socialism was clearly the answer -- right up to when "National Socialism" took a very bad turn in Germany under Hitler. Eugenics suffered a similar fate -- it was a really good idea for the left elite (Margret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood for example), and then, uh, not so much.
Wouldn't it be great if we could "educate" everyone to be a BO Democrat, or maybe a Christian ... or a Buddhist, or a Capitalist, or a Minimalist ... or ??
Why don't we just ostracize, marginalize, harangue the people that don't line up with our view of "correct"? Oh wait, I guess many DO do that now ... but we didn't used to do it as much. It was considered to be against our shared values as Americans. Even when the subject was ACTUAL sympathy and working with a foreign sworn enemy with nuclear weapons pointed at us, pushing to hard on that was considered a "dark period in American history" ("McCarthyism). My how far we have come with Chick-Fil-a and the whole Gay Marriage issue!
or is it just the ever present problem of it VERY much depends on whose Ox is being gored?
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Understanding Leviathan
George Will: Blowing the whistle on Leviathan - The Washington Post
Good column by George. I've read "2 Felonies a Day", a very good and sobering book.
The statutes are already in place for the government to declare you a felon any day they want. Without even having a thought in your head of committing a crime, you have run afoul of some statute ... maybe a claim on your taxes, maybe some chemical that you use ... for cleaning, for crafts, for lawn care. Maybe your religious views somehow crossed the line to "hate speech" ... or somebody is willing to testify that they did. Maybe you transported the wrong thing ... or person across state lines. The list is endless.
The list is way too long and getting longer every day. For now, the government can only TAX you for not buying the proper type of heath insurance. But the slope is greased -- the path to criminalizing what you DON'T do is well established.
Face it, get on the wrong side of the wrong people and you are CURRENTLY a criminal.
Oh, you trust the government? What if the "other side" wins ... do you trust Mittens? Do you trust Boehner? Michelle Bachmann? No?? As you applaud the adding of more and more government power, remember you have NO guarantee of what idiot will wield it.
That is why our founders specified LIMITED government. They thought that EVERYONE could see the dangers in UNLIMITED government and that limiting government would be a bipartisan AMERICAN issue.
But we don't understand that, do we??
Good column by George. I've read "2 Felonies a Day", a very good and sobering book.
The statutes are already in place for the government to declare you a felon any day they want. Without even having a thought in your head of committing a crime, you have run afoul of some statute ... maybe a claim on your taxes, maybe some chemical that you use ... for cleaning, for crafts, for lawn care. Maybe your religious views somehow crossed the line to "hate speech" ... or somebody is willing to testify that they did. Maybe you transported the wrong thing ... or person across state lines. The list is endless.
The list is way too long and getting longer every day. For now, the government can only TAX you for not buying the proper type of heath insurance. But the slope is greased -- the path to criminalizing what you DON'T do is well established.
Face it, get on the wrong side of the wrong people and you are CURRENTLY a criminal.
Oh, you trust the government? What if the "other side" wins ... do you trust Mittens? Do you trust Boehner? Michelle Bachmann? No?? As you applaud the adding of more and more government power, remember you have NO guarantee of what idiot will wield it.
That is why our founders specified LIMITED government. They thought that EVERYONE could see the dangers in UNLIMITED government and that limiting government would be a bipartisan AMERICAN issue.
But we don't understand that, do we??
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Why Guns?
Fear drives opposition to gun control - CNN.com
Frum seems really certain that it is fear.
In the last 10 years motorcycle sales have skyrocketed http://www.bts.gov/publications/special_reports_and_issue_briefs/special_report/2009_05_14/html/entire.html
The biggest growth area is riders over 50. Since I've bought both an assault rifle and a motorcycle in the last 10 years, and Frum points out that this group is also the biggest gun purchasers, perhaps he is missing a factor or two?
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that people over 50 are aware that motorcycles are dangerous. Even the many that ride without a helmet are aware that motorcycles are dangerous.
Somewhere around 50 it becomes clear that one is not going to live forever, and in fact, your time to do things you might like to do in life is far more limited than mere age of death demographics would suggest. As parents and others age and pass on, it becomes very clear that your quality of life for the last decade or two of your potential life span is likely to be much less than you are used to and might have hoped for.
Guns go bang. Some of them go bang a lot of times. Being able to keep them on a target at all can be challenging -- when it gets less challenging just add more targets, time the firing, put the targets farther away, make them smaller ... you get the idea.
Guns are male jewelry. Especially handguns. They are a combination of beauty and power, yes, with some danger mixed in. (See motorcycles). Guys like Frum and a lot of others that "know better" don't like them and want them banned. There are a lot of folks that have a lot of similar ideas about motorcycles.
Sauce for the goose. You may or may not have had some rebellious tendencies when you were a teen, but by the time you are 50 the idea of some supposedly brilliant somebody having power over your choices is completely different. When you are 20, you are likely to do something just because someone says you can't ... or even just because someone else (eg your parents) does or doesn't.
After 50 years, you have no doubt spent a lot of time making or being forced to make choices on the basis of things like "gotta raise the kids", "gotta keep a job", "wife won't let me" (maybe for some of those reasons), "no time, too much work, kid raising, etc... ". Some of those very real considerations start to lift in the 50s and you realize you can reasonably make some different choices ... and that the time when you can is not likely to last a whole lot longer.
You have also seen the clay feet of the "elite". Like all people, while they are telling you what to do, it turns out they have their own problems --- wine, women, weight, gambling, smoking, drugs, ... the list is long. Likely you yourself have wrestled with one or more tendencies, maybe you still are and always will be. "The brilliance of man" often tends to fade somewhat as age advances. Turns out that none of us are nearly as smart as we once thought we were.
Twist the throttle, pull the trigger -- as long as you are still breathing, life can go on, and guys like Frum? Well, they can still get their jollies still being certain that they have the world all figured out.
Frum seems really certain that it is fear.
In the last 10 years motorcycle sales have skyrocketed http://www.bts.gov/publications/special_reports_and_issue_briefs/special_report/2009_05_14/html/entire.html
The biggest growth area is riders over 50. Since I've bought both an assault rifle and a motorcycle in the last 10 years, and Frum points out that this group is also the biggest gun purchasers, perhaps he is missing a factor or two?
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that people over 50 are aware that motorcycles are dangerous. Even the many that ride without a helmet are aware that motorcycles are dangerous.
Somewhere around 50 it becomes clear that one is not going to live forever, and in fact, your time to do things you might like to do in life is far more limited than mere age of death demographics would suggest. As parents and others age and pass on, it becomes very clear that your quality of life for the last decade or two of your potential life span is likely to be much less than you are used to and might have hoped for.
Guns go bang. Some of them go bang a lot of times. Being able to keep them on a target at all can be challenging -- when it gets less challenging just add more targets, time the firing, put the targets farther away, make them smaller ... you get the idea.
Guns are male jewelry. Especially handguns. They are a combination of beauty and power, yes, with some danger mixed in. (See motorcycles). Guys like Frum and a lot of others that "know better" don't like them and want them banned. There are a lot of folks that have a lot of similar ideas about motorcycles.
Sauce for the goose. You may or may not have had some rebellious tendencies when you were a teen, but by the time you are 50 the idea of some supposedly brilliant somebody having power over your choices is completely different. When you are 20, you are likely to do something just because someone says you can't ... or even just because someone else (eg your parents) does or doesn't.
After 50 years, you have no doubt spent a lot of time making or being forced to make choices on the basis of things like "gotta raise the kids", "gotta keep a job", "wife won't let me" (maybe for some of those reasons), "no time, too much work, kid raising, etc... ". Some of those very real considerations start to lift in the 50s and you realize you can reasonably make some different choices ... and that the time when you can is not likely to last a whole lot longer.
You have also seen the clay feet of the "elite". Like all people, while they are telling you what to do, it turns out they have their own problems --- wine, women, weight, gambling, smoking, drugs, ... the list is long. Likely you yourself have wrestled with one or more tendencies, maybe you still are and always will be. "The brilliance of man" often tends to fade somewhat as age advances. Turns out that none of us are nearly as smart as we once thought we were.
Twist the throttle, pull the trigger -- as long as you are still breathing, life can go on, and guys like Frum? Well, they can still get their jollies still being certain that they have the world all figured out.
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