A day in the life of an Occupy Wall Street protester

This is just so delicious. Click here.

Hat tip to Jimmy M!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Outside of rock and roll we Tennesseans

have never been known for leading the parade on "social issues" but I am happy to report that we have had our very own protesters for long enough to get the government to pass some rules about who, when and how people can use public areas.

This, as sure as night follows day, yielded this.

The judge released the nutcakes because he claims the law had not been in effect long enough for the people to know they were violating it.

Twenty-nine protesters arrested in Nashville, Tennessee at 3 AM on Friday for refusing to comply with a newly-enacted city rule banning “overnight occupation” have been released after a judge refused to sign criminal trespassing warrants against them.

According to The Tennessean, Night Court Magistrate Tom Nelson explained in an email to Davidson County’s General Sessions judges that “he ordered all of the protesters released from custody because the state had not given the protesters adequate notice that it was changing the rules.”

Link

Of course the Guv disagreed.

It was my understanding that we were going to enforce the curfew from the very beginning," Haslam said after attending a University of Tennessee trustees meeting in Knoxville. "In 14 hours, you should have time to decide whether you're going to stay or not."

Well yes. Yes you should. And everyone but the judge knows that the intent of the protesters was to be arrested. You know, resume enhancement for when they later run as Democrats for some elective office.

Haslam said his administration was responding to complaints from lawmakers and the general public about sanitary conditions and safety on Legislative Plaza.

Link

So the question is, how long will an activist judge be able to let the activists be active???

In the meantime, it seems that we have some actions taking place that are not usually performed in public.

There have been fights, including one relatively vicious slugfest involving brass knuckles, and this week state troopers were dispatched to deal with reports of “public urination and of two individuals committing a sexual act in public,” Safety Department spokeswoman Jennifer Donnals says. The sex act reportedly was taking place beneath a magnolia tree in full view of a state legislator’s office window. No arrests were made.

Ah, the old candy is dandy but magnolia is quicker move.

And only two???? What has happened to our youth?

I understand the legislator had no idea as to what was happening.

But then lack of knowledge is not an unusual thing among our elected officials.

Gomez, a 21-year-old college dropout and drifter from Kansas, concedes things may have gotten a little out of control, but he says that’s the way of forward-thinking movements. Dealing with the “stressed out” homeless has hamstrung Occupy Nashville, which started on Oct. 7, and prevented the protesters from gaining much traction in publicizing their grievances against greedy Wall Street and cash-happy politics, he says.

Link

And don't you just find the mouthing of a 21 year old college drop out just so.....just so....how can I say this....... Enlightening???? Yes. That's it. I always look for 21 year old college drop outs whenever I feel the need to educate myself on economics and taxes.

Doesn't everyone?

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Everyone knows that clouds make the stars disappear

It seems that every day or two I read an article claiming that the earth's temperature is going down or up or is stable or something.

Actually temperature measurements are known as "lagging" indicators and have no real meaning as to what is causing them. Think of your home's thermostat showing "72 degrees." What caused them was either the heating system or the cooling system.

Same for CO2. It is a lagging indicator. It increases AFTER the temperature increases. That means that it is an EFFECT, not a CAUSE.

So when hoaxers mumble over temperature they are like ancient men counting the stars on a cloudy night and then on a clear night. They know that there are more on a clear night but they have no understanding of why. And since they can see fewer on a cloudy night it is obvious to them that clouds cause stars to disappear.

Why it's the clouds. Anyone can see that. And everyone agrees. They have consensus.

But they can't tell anyone why. They can't predict when the clouds will appear. All they can do is claim that everyone agrees.

But the basis for science is this. Theories must be proven by repeatable experiments.

Without that, no matter how many people agree, a theory remains a theory.

And consenus is meaningless.

And only fools will give power and money to people who claim that the stars disappear because the clouds have destroyed them.

But we now have a repeatable experiment.

In this chamber, 63 CERN scientists from 17 European and American institutes have done what global warming doomsayers said could never be done — – demonstrate that cosmic rays can seed clouds, and that the more that cosmic rays reach Earth’s atmosphere, the cloudier it will be. Because the sun’s magnetic field controls how many cosmic rays reach Earth’s atmosphere (the stronger the sun’s magnetic field, the more it shields Earth from incoming cosmic rays from space), the sun determines the temperature on Earth.

Link

That's pretty simple. It is also repeatable. And it has the further advantage of the long held knowledge that volcanoes eruptioning into the atmosphere reflect sunlight and cause cooling. In fact, it was the fear by the anti-war crowd back in the 60's and 70's that numerous massive nuclear explosions would cause so much dust into the air that a nuclear winter would result and wipe out civilization if not all life.

This is is also the basis for the widely held theory that a huge meteor struck the earth ages ago in what is now the Caribbean. The massive explosion tossed so much dust in the air that the resulting temperature drop killed off the reptiles that ruled the earth.

And it was predictable:

Dr. Kenneth Tapping is worried about the sun. Solar activity comes in regular cycles, but the latest one is refusing to start. Sunspots have all but vanished, and activity is suspiciously quiet. The last time this happened was 400 years ago -- and it signaled a solar event known as a "Maunder Minimum," along with the start of what we now call the "Little Ice Age."

Tapping, a solar researcher and project director for Canada's National Research Council, says it may be happening again. Overseeing a giant radio telescope he calls a "stethoscope for the sun," Tapping says, if the pattern doesn't change quickly, the earth is in for some very chilly weather.

During the Little Ice Age, global temperatures dropped sharply. New York Harbor froze hard enough to allow people to walk from Manhattan to Staten Island, and in Britain, people reported sighting eskimos paddling canoes off the coast. Glaciers in Norway grew up to 100 meters a year, destroying farms and villages.

Link

So instead of wasting time and money on silly measurements of the temperature on earth, we would be wise to follow the magnetic field of the sun.

Not that we can do anything whatsoever about it.

But at least we would know whether we should buy long underwear or bathing suits.

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

One that you need to have your children and grandchildren watch.

We are here but a moment and then they put you in a box and close it up. While some may speak to millions in a meaningful way, most of us can only do so to our families.

The linked to video by Newt Gringrich needs to be watched by everyone in America. I'm going to make sure my children and grandchild see it.

Link


"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

A one state solution for the Middle East

You know, this makes a lot of sense.

Link

Hat tip to Larry P!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt


"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Yman made me think of this

This is how it use to be. I remember hours of discussions, arguments that were heated but never nasty, and friends who disagreed but respected the rights of others.

"Lord, enlighten thou our enemies…; sharpen their wits, give acuteness to their perceptions and consecutiveness and clearness to their reasoning powers. We are in danger from their folly, not from their wisdom; their weakness is what fills us with apprehension, not their strength."

By contrast, what we are seeing today are liberals trying to stifle free speech with laws in Canada and elsewhere in the West just because they feel safe to suppress upsetting conservative or independent minds: Geert Wilders in Holland, Mark Steyn in the US, Thilo Sarazin and Hendrik Broder in Germany and Andrew Bolt in Australia to name just a few.

Link

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt


"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

On becoming illegal

FORMS ARE GOING FAST- SIGN UP TODAY!
Becoming Illegal (Actual letter from an Iowa resident and sent to his senator)

The Honorable Tom Harkin
731 Hart Senate Office Building
Phone(202) 224 3254
Washington, DC 20510


Dear Senator Harkin ,

As a native Iowan and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service , I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.

My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stems from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out.

Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year.

Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications, as well as 'in-state' tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.


Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative. Thank you for your assistance.

Your Loyal Constituent, (hoping to reach 'illegal alien' status rather than just a bonafide citizen of the USA )

Donald Ruppert
Burlington, IA

Hat tip to Mike L!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Another way to look at the Debt Ceiling

Let's say you come home from work and find there has been a sewer backup in your home and you have sewage up to your ceilings. What do you think you should do?

Raise the ceilings or pump out the crap?

Your choice in 2012.


Hat tip 1o Bill T!









"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Thanksgiving 2022 Fact or fiction?

"Winston, come into the dining room, it's time to eat," Julia yelled to her husband.

"In a minute, honey, it's a tie score," he answered.

Actually Winston wasn't very interested in the traditional holiday football game between Detroit and Washington.

Ever since the government passed the Civility in Sports Statute of 2017, outlawing tackle football for its "unseemly violence" and the "bad example it sets for the rest of the world", Winston was far less of a football fan than he used to be.

Two-hand touch wasn't nearly as exciting. Yet it wasn't the game that Winston was uninterested in.

It was more the thought of eating another Tofu Turkey. Even though it was the best type of Veggie Meat available after the government revised the American Anti-Obesity Act of 2018, adding fowl to the list of federally-forbidden foods, (which already included potatoes, cranberry sauce, and mincemeat pie), it wasn't anything like real turkey.


And ever since the government officially changed the name of "Thanksgiving Day" to "A National Day of Atonement" in 2020, to officially acknowledge the Pilgrims' historically brutal treatment of Native Americans, the holiday had lost a lot of its luster.

Eating in the dining room was also a bit daunting. The unearthly gleam of government-mandated CFL light bulbs made the Tofu Turkey look even weirder than it actually was, and the room was always cold.

Ever since Congress passed the Power Conservation Act of 2016, mandating all thermostats - which were monitored and controlled by the electric company - be kept at 68 degrees, every room on the north side of the house was barely tolerable throughout the entire winter.

Still, it was good getting together with family. Or at least most of the family.

Winston missed his mother, who passed on in October, when she had used up her legal allotment of life-saving medical treatment.

He had had many heated conversations with the Regional Health Consortium, spawned when the private insurance market finally went bankrupt, and everyone was forced into the government health care program.

And though he demanded she be kept on her treatment, it was a futile effort.

"The RHC's resources are limited", explained the government bureaucrat Winston spoke with on the phone. "Your mother received all the benefits to which she was entitled. I'm sorry for your loss"

Ed couldn't make it either. He had forgotten to plug in his electric car last night, the only kind available after the Anti-Fossil Fuel Bill of 2021 outlawed the use of the combustion engines - for everyone but government officials.

The fifty mile round trip was about ten miles too far, and Ed didn't want to spend a frosty night on the road somewhere between here and there.

Thankfully, Winston's brother, John, and his wife were flying in.

Winston made sure that the dining room chairs had extra cushions for the occasion.

No one complained more than John about the pain of sitting down so soon after the government-mandated cavity searches at airports, which severely aggravated his hemorrhoids.

Ever since a terrorist successfully smuggled a cavity bomb onto a jetliner, the TSA told Americans the added "inconvenience" was an "absolute necessity" in order to stay "one step ahead of the terrorists."

Winston's own body had grown accustomed to such probing ever since the government expanded their scope to just about anywhere a crowd gathered, via Anti-Profiling Act of 2022.

That law made it a crime to single out any group or individual for "unequal scrutiny," even when probable cause was involved.

Thus, cavity searches at malls, train stations, bus depots, etc., etc., had become almost routine.

Almost.

The Supreme Court is reviewing the statute, but most Americans expect a Court composed of six progressives and three conservatives to leave the law intact.

"A living Constitution is extremely flexible", said the Court's eldest member, Elena Kagan. "Europe has had laws like this one for years. We should learn from their example", she added.

Winston's thoughts turned to his own children.


He got along fairly well with his 12-year-old daughter, Brittany, mostly because she ignored him. Winston had long ago surrendered to the idea that she could text anyone at any time, even during Atonement Dinner.

Their only real confrontation had occurred when he limited her to 50,000 texts a month, explaining that was all he could afford.

She whined for a week, but got over it.

His 16-year-old son, Jason, was another matter altogether. Perhaps it was the constant bombarding he got in public school that global warming, the bird flu, terrorism, or any of a number of other calamities were "just around the corner", but Jason had developed a kind of nihilistic attitude that ranged between simmering surliness and outright hostility.

It didn't help that Jason had reported his father to the police for smoking a cigarette in the house, an act made criminal by the Smoking Control Statute of 2018, which outlawed smoking anywhere within 500 feet of another human being.

Winston paid the $5,000 fine, which might have been considered excessive before the American dollar became virtually worthless as a result of QE13.

The latest round of quantitative easing the federal government initiated was, once again, to "spur economic growth."

This time, they promised to push unemployment below its years-long rate of 18%, but Winston was not particularly hopeful.

Yet the family had a lot for which to be thankful, Winston thought, before remembering it was a Day of Atonement.

At least, he had his memories.

He felt a twinge of sadness when he realized his children would never know what life was like in the Good Old Days, long before government promises to make life "fair for everyone" realized their full potential.

Winston, like so many of his fellow Americans, never realized how much things could change when they didn't happen all at once, but little by little, so people could get used to them.

He wondered what might have happened if the public had stood up while there was still time, maybe back around 2011, when all the real nonsense began.

"Maybe we wouldn't be where we are today if we'd just said 'enough is enough' when we had the chance," he thought.

Maybe so, Winston. Maybe so.

Hat tip to Dave T!


"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

A Male Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, a Prince asked a beautiful Princess, "Will you marry me?" The Princess said, "No!!!" And the Prince lived happily ever after and rode motorcycles and dated skinny long-legged full-breasted women and hunted and fished and raced cars and went to naked bars and dated ladies half his age and drank whiskey, beer and Captain Morgan and never heard bitching and never paid child support or alimony and banged cheerleaders and kept his house and guns and ate spam and potato chips and beans and blew enormous farts and never got cheated on while he was at work and all his friends and family thought he was frikin cool as hell and he had tons of money in the bank and left the toilet seat up.

The End

Hat tip to Bill T!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Why I live here.

That's Bambi1 and Bambi2. They're twins from this year. The doe was off to the right and just as I got the picture she ambled over, bumped one and then they all three left in a flash.

So far they have left my garden alone, as well as the flower beds.

Speaking of my garden the fall veggies are near gone. The green beans out did themselves but I've picked the last and pulled up the plants. The squash has produced like crazy and is still blooming. The cucumbers have been a disappointment, but I got a few off of only three hills so maybe I did better than I thought. And the okra, AKA candy in this house, is still producing.

I'm already planning my 2012 garden. Cabbage and lettuce late March. Then squash and potatoes followed by tomatoes and beans in May. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't garden. A few hours weeding and working and then eating and freezing is worth a $1000 dollars in tranquilizers.

Dinner tonight is okra, green beans, squash and onions, boiled whole potatoes... all from the garden. With some ham slices for the meat. And did I mention homemade yeast rolls?

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Lakota Wisdom

The tribal wisdom of the Lakota Sioux, passed on from generation to generation, says that,
"When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount."

However, in government, education, and in corporate America, more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:

1. Buying a stronger whip.
2. Changing riders.
3. Appointing a committee to study the horse.
4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses.
5. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.
6. Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired.
7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse..
8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.
9. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase dead horses performance.
10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance.
11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.
12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses.
13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position.

Hat Tip to Mike L!


"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

The face of the revolution

Yet we now have people such as this young man.

breitbart

What we have here is a trust fund baby who has never had to do without anything. He has never had to learn the value of anything because he has never had to put anything of value into the acquisition of anything.

So the result is that he seeks approval from those he thinks is worse off than himself by joining with a bunch of other losers who have similar backgrounds.

The phrase use to be "Limousine Liberal." The communists and Marxists used them intensively in the 40's, 50's and during the Vietnam war. Lenin called them "Useful Idiots."

They have no idea that, should there actually be a revolution, they will be among the first killed. Why? Because the revolution won't tolerate anyone who has the resources to leave and start a counter-revolution when the true face of the rulers is shown.

Sad. Because of being given everything he wants to destroy what protects him.


"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." -Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Looks great! Feels bad!

At first blush this looks great. And in fact, it may be great.

A smarter approach to America’s infrastructure crisis is brewing underneath Philadelphia, where an aging “combined sewer system” that collects wastewater and storm water in the same pipes dumps raw sewage into the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers during heavy rains. Engineers have proposed a $9 billion storage tunnel under the Delaware to stop overflows and comply with EPA regulations. But Mayor Michael Nutter doesn’t have $9 billion, and if he did, he wouldn’t want to bury it 150 ft. underground.

Instead, the city has launched a remarkably aggressive campaign to keep storm water out of its sewers in the first place with the help of rain barrels and rain gardens, vegetated green roofs and permeable green roads, new trees and new parks. A green road looks like any other road, but rain that falls on it slowly percolates underground instead of zipping into a storm drain. The eventual goal is to capture runoff from one-third of the city’s impervious surfaces and make 15 sq. mi. of man-made, urban jungle function more like a natural forest.

Nutter, who has pledged to turn Philadelphia into the greenest city in America, has a nice riff about treating water as a resource instead of a waste product and how it’s fun to convert parking lots into parks. But he isn’t some tie-dyed hippie tree hugger. He wouldn’t be so excited about green infrastructure if he didn’t think it could help him comply with the Clean Water Act for about $7 billion less than a giant tunnel would cost. (See pictures of New York City going green.)

Link
Let's say it could be done for $2 billion.

Okay fine.

But why shouldn't the Mayor and the city father increase their taxes to pay for it?? They cause the problem. They pay for the problem.

You know local government, local control, local solutions.

Instead they want to ship the problem off to Washington and have the rest of us pay for it.

That is typical of the Left.

That feels bad.

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

You may have missed this

Fear in California!

In the wake of Bin Laden's death, radical Muslims are planning to go on a rampage in Los Angeles , killing anyone who is a legal U.S. citizen.

Police fear the death toll could be as high as 23 ...........

We will keep you posted on future developments .............


Hat Tip to Jimmy M!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Amazing how your values change with age

I LOVE THIS WOMAN

An elderly lady was standing at the railing of the cruise ship holding her hat tight so that it would not blow away in the wind.

A gentleman approached her and said, "Pardon me, madam.. I do not intend to be forward but did you know that your dress is blowing up high in high wind?"

"Yes, I know," said the lady. "I need both my hands to hold onto this hat."

"But madam, you must know that you are not wearing any panties
and your privates are exposed!" said the gentleman in earnest.

The woman looked down, then back up at the man and replied, "Sir, anything you see down there is 75 years old. I just bought this hat yesterday!"

Hat tip to Jimmy M!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Ann Barnhardt has a message

Ann Barnhardt is described as "a livestock and grain commodity broker and marketing consultant, American patriot, traditional Catholic, and unwitting counter-revolutionary blogger. She can be reached through her business at www.barnhardt.biz." She has taken on Islam and they have noticed.

Ruth

DEATH THREAT:

To:annbarnhardt

I'm going to kill you when I find you. Don't think I won't, I know where you and your parents live and I'll need is one phone-call to kill ya'll.

----------------------------------------------

ANN'S RESPONSE:

Re: Watch your back.

Hello mufcadnan123!



You don't need to "find" me. My address is 9175 Kornbrust Circle, Lone Tree, CO 80124.



Luckily for you, there are daily DIRECT FLIGHTS from Heathrow to Denver . Here's what you will need to do. After arriving at Denver and passing through customs, you will need to catch the shuttle to the rental car facility. Once in your rental car, take Pena Boulevard to I-225 south. Proceed on I-225 south to I-25 south. Proceed south on I-25 to Lincoln Avenue which is exit 193. Turn right (west) onto Lincoln . Proceed west to the fourth light, and turn left (south) onto Ridgegate Boulevard . Proceed south, through the roundabout to Kornbrust Drive . Turn left onto Kornbrust Drive and then take an immediate right onto Kornbrust Circle . I'm at 9175.

Just do me one favor. PLEASE wear body armor. I have some new ammunition that I want to try out, and frankly, close-quarter body shots without armor would feel almost unsporting from my perspective. That and the fact that I'm probably carrying a good 50 I.Q. points on you makes it morally incumbent upon me to spot you a tactical advantage.

However, being that you are a miserable, trembling coward, I realize that you probably are incapable of actually following up on any of your threats without losing control of your bowels and crapping your pants while simultaneously sobbing yourself into hyperventilation. So, how about this: why don't you contact the main mosque here in Denver and see if some of the local musloids here in town would be willing to carry out your attack for you?

After all, this is what your "perfect man" mohamed did (pig excrement be upon him). You see, mohamed, being a miserable coward and a con artist, would send other men into battle to fight on his behalf. Mohamed would stay at the BACK of the pack and let the stupid, ignorant suckers like you that he had conned into his political cult do the actual fighting and dying. Mohamed would then fornicate with the dead men's wives and children. You should follow mohamed's example! Here is the contact info for the main mosque here in Denver :

Masjid Abu Bakr

Imam Karim Abu Zaid

2071 South Parker Road

Denver, CO 80231

Phone: 303-696-9800

Email: denvermosque@yahoo.com

I'm sure they would be delighted to hear from you. Frankly, I'm terribly disappointed that not a SINGLE musloid here in the United States has made ANY attempt to rape and behead me. But maybe I haven't made myself clear enough, so let me do that right now.



I will NEVER, EVER, EVER submit to islam. I will fight islam with every fiber of my being for as long as I live because islam is pure satanic evil. If you are really serious about islam dominating the United States and the world, you are going to have to come through me. You are going to have to kill me. Good luck with that. And understand that if you or some of your musloid boyfriends do actually manage to kill me, The Final Crusade will officially commence five minutes later, and then, despite your genetic mental retardation, you will be made to understand with crystal clarity what the word "defeat" means. Either way, I win, so come and get it.



Deo adjuvante non timendum (with the help of God there is nothing to be afraid of).

Ann Barnhardt

Hit Tip to Bill T!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Ah, the religion of peace strikes....90 times.

Actress Marzieh Vafamehr has been sentenced to a year in jail and 90 lashes for her role in a film about the limits imposed on artists in the Islamic republic, an Iranian opposition website reported Sunday.

"A verdict has been issued for Marzieh Vafamehr, sentencing her to a year in jail and 90 lashes," Kalameh.com reported.

Link

Ah, the religion of peace strikes....90 times.

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Why am I not surprised?

Higher credit risk buyers who used the government's cash-for-clunkers program last year to buy a new car had higher repossession and late payment rates than those who didn't use the program, a research firm finds.

Gee, ya think?

I always wondered why people who were driving clunkers could suddenly afford a new car if someone (read: Taxpayers) made the down payment.

Just as I always wondered why mortgage companies thought they could loan people money who couldn't qualify for a standard loan and make money by charging them higher interest rates which meant higher payments when they couldn't afford the lower payments??

I figured it out years and years ago. Some people will struggle and make the payments because of improved personal economic conditions. Other people won't. But the mortgage companies found a bigger fool and the government backed them. That would be Fannie and Freddie and the various folks of Wall Street.

The smart people made money as the bubble expanded.

The really smart people made money when the bubble burst.

The Big Short

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Left wing writer attacks government program

The length to which the Left will go to attack the Right continues to amaze even me. Consider this headline from RawStory.

Paul Ryan supports plan to let unemployed work for free
Posted on 09.18.11
By David Edwards
Categories: Featured, Say What?

Wow! I mean the meanie Repub wants people to work for free! Let's march! Let's demonstrate!

Of course that's not what Ryan says. More from RawStory:

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) isn’t a fan of President Barack Obama’s American Jobs Act, but he does like the idea of allowing people who are receiving unemployment benefits to work for free.

The plan is based on a program called Georgia Works which matches job seekers with employers. Under the plan, employers agree to provide up to eight weeks of on-the-job training. Workers, who can only work for 24 hours a week, continue to receive unemployment benefits instead of getting paid.

“The Georgia plan sounds pretty interesting,” Ryan told Fox News’ Chris Wallace Sunday. “I think that’s something we are looking at, which is unemployment reform.”

The facts are different. What you have here is a tax payer funded jobs training program. No one is working for free. The unemployed person is paid, the employer provides the training at no risk and the taxpayers gets their money back through future taxes on the new employees wages.

That is a win, win, win.

Now the author knows that anyone who goes past the headline will be unimpressed, so he decides to attack the program:

According to data the Georgia Department of Labor provided to The Huffington Post’s Arthur Delaney, the program isn’t very successful.

Between 2003 and 2010, only 16.4 percent of people that participated in the program found work, about the same rate as those who were not participating. As of late August, there were only 19 trainees enrolled in Georgia Works.

That has to be a first. A Left wing writer attacking a government program for being unsuccessful.

Hat Tip to Mr Natural over at Talk Left.

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Complaining with a mouth full.

Gene Pool Improvement Opportunity

This comment popped up in my "Who shall pay?" posting. I thought it so instructive of some people I am posting it here with my response.

Anonymous said...
You're absolutely right! We should go where the REAL money is and cut off the ponzi scheme of Social Security for all the geezer welfare queens! No more "free stuff"!

Here we have a guy who was birthed, nurtured, fed, clothed, protected, supposedly educated and doctored by the geezers.

The grandparent “geezers” who fought and destroyed Nazism, imperial Japan and communism are mostly gone. Those who fought the Cold War and finally defeated communism are long in tooth and remember friends left in the cold deeps of the ocean and hot jungles in Southeast Asia.

That he has no sense of inter-generational responsibility is obvious. That he is stupid goes without saying. He has no sense or knowledge of history because he was taught no history and he thinks that complaining and whining without a specific complaint and a plan to correct the problem makes him wise and special.

It does not. It makes him what we called a weenie.

But, like most geezers, I believe in the need to instruct idiots in the hope that they can be taught facts and thus become useful citizens.

So I invite him back. Bring your specifics and let’s talk about solutions.

Or else keep on sucking your Momma’s teats and moaning that the world is not fair. Cause it ain't fair.

Ask Dick Simmons and Pappy Worley and thousands of others who died so you have a free roll and can spend your time pissing and moaning..... what they think of such as you.

But be forewarned. You won't like the answer, believe me.

Our little sponger has replied.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Complaining with a mouth full." @ 10/7 @ 8:57CST

The "Cold War"? That's it? That's why we have to support these old geezers and let them sponge off of us for years or decades after they retire to sit on their fat, lazy asses?

No, thanks. I want my money. I don't need the government taking my money and handing it to some geezer so they can watch Lawrence Welk reruns and go fishing all day. Let 'em get a job like the rest of us. You shouldn't get paid for something you might have done 30 or 40 years ago - more likely some things maybe a few friends or neighbors were responsible for, anyway, not that it matters.

As far as solutions, I just gave you one. Cut the geezers off and give me my money back! People are sick of supporting everyone else, and SS and Medicare is where the $$$ is! SS is the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time, and I'm sick of being forced to pay into it! For the few who are disabled or really can't work (as opposed to don't want to work), there's churches and charities that will help them! For the rest, nothing motivates like a grumbling stomach!

Tell you what. You pay back what it cost to raise you and then we'll talk about social security and medicare.

It can be very expensive to raise a child in the United States. For example, according to one online calculator, it costs almost $200,000 US Dollars (USD) to raise a child from birth to age 18. Other sources estimate the cost at $250,000 USD or more. For parents who put their kids through college, tuition can add as much as $10,000 USD or more to that estimate.

Link

Now given that is only to age 18, and only has $10K for college tuition... (Heck, cost of putting a grammar school student in a private school for a year is over $10K...) I'd say the real number through 5 years of college (no one graduates in 4 anymore) is around $300K. You can send a cashier's check or USPS money order.

Don't have it?? Well golly gee, neither did your parents so they did it one day at a time.... Wanna do it over 20 years... that's says us geezers live to 85 on the average.... which is high which is giving you a break on the payment...

That's only $1600 a month at 5%...now if interest rates go up, say to 8% in two years and you have around $295,000 to pay... pony up $2581 a month...

Of course the truth of the matter is that YOU have been enjoying the benefits of Social Security all your life. If your father had died when you were an infant your mother would have received benefits from the fund. That's called insurance. Now, since you don't want any part of social security, then its only fair that you pay back the premiums.... Got your check book handy??? Let's see... that would be around $17000.

Ah, now we come to Medicare. Which, BTW, is not free. Part A hospital stay has a $1162 deduction per stay/per 60 day benefit period plus a 20% co pay.. Let's say someone goes in for a week and the bill is only $12000... That means the "someone" pays only around $3400... Oh, did I mention the $112/month premium for doctor visits???? Say a typical visit is $150. That "someone" writes a check for $30 bucks... and then there's Rx insurance and co pays... hits around $3000... So most geezers have supplemental insurance which pays what medicare does not pay.. Figure premiums of around 250 a month.. Gee that free medicare is costing between $6K and $12K per retired couple..

You sure you wanna come on board for some of that???

Well, since you have been protected via Medicaid for medical treatment all your life if your parents can't pay... How about paying back that $500 or so a month in ghost premiums?? Let's see.... $6000 a year for 18 years..at 5%.....Hey, sponger, when can I expect the $192,000 check????

In the meantime, while you rake up the money to pay so you can get out of the system by paying for your costs to date....

What have you done?? I mean besides going to school and sponging off Mom and Dad... Let me know cause I want to see now you are going to make enough money to replace that Social Security and Medicare you don't want.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Complaining with a mouth full.": 10/7 4:51PM CST. His comments are in italics and quotes.

"Pay back" what it cost to raise me? To who? The government? YOU?!? That's pretty funny, considering that neither you nor the government paid to raise me. I went to private school through high school and to a private university. I paid my own way through college (athletic scholarship and student loans, along with a job). You remember those job things, right? That's where you work for money, rather than using the government to steal it from others and send you a check.

Heh. As someone who started paying Social Security when I was 14 and did so until I turned 65 and retired I find your self imposed kudos laughable. Who do you think paid for that private high school tuition your parents paid?? Oooops! Why your parents who were raised and educated by their parents…. And do you think the tuition actually paid for the cost??? Can you spell donations???? And who do you think paid for the athletic scholarship??? Who built the program?? Certainly not you. Student loans? Well congrats, bozo. I would have died for a loan. My generation didn’t have Mommy Sammy backing my play so I joined the Navy to get my education. What’s worse? Playing a sport and a government backed loan and part time job…. Or flying around the world in military type airplanes doing military type things… Hmmmmm? Anyone ever die from a failed loan? Well, a helluva lot have died from failed planes.

And no, dummy, not to “me.” But pay back to your parents and to those, including me, who made sure your butt was wiped when you were crapping yellow and keeping a bottle stuck in your ungrateful mouth when you couldn’t even focus your eyes.

That’s right, Mooch! This aint no one man show and it sure as hell aint free.

"Ghost premiums"?!? Talk about grasping at straws! My parents never used Medicaid, cause they knew if they wanted health insurance they had to work for it, which they did. I never used Medicaid either, so there's nothing to "pay back". Sounds kinda pricey, too - $500/month for imaginary insurance. Tell ya what though, since it's only an imaginary "premium", I'll send you an imaginary check. Done. "Paid back".

It’s called a “societal safety net” cry baby. And it’s there for everyone and it costs. You want out, fine. Just pay up for you got and won’t get in the future and hit the road.

The co-pays thing made me sad for you, though. You have to pay a whole $3,000-$6000 per couple for a year?!? That would be a dream! I pay almost $1,600 per month for my family's policy, and that's not including deductibles, co-pays and things not covered by my policy - @$8700 last year. Not to mention what Obamacare's gonna do to that. But I'd be happy to trade you, if you'd like.

Like most over educated and under common sense moochers, you can’t read. That’s $6000 - $12000 per couple and it’s after I paid the going rate for years and years for my family’s insurance plus MEDICARE TAXES. It was around $1200/month when I retired, so don’t think you invented anything.

Demanding to be "paid back" for things you never paid for in the first place? Do i get some kind of offset for all of your things I didn't pay for? How about the things I did pay for, like all the years I've been supporting you (and your spouse?) with Medicare and SS?

Hate to break the news to you, but as much as Obama wants to make this a communist country, some of us still believe in capitalism ans paying your own way. If you want something, get off your lazy ass and go earn it, rather than using the tax code to sponge off of me and the other people who work.

Boy, I thought it was the young people who acted as though they were entitled to have everything handed to them. Guess you've proven me wrong, there.

You know, you disappoint me. You want to talk about capitalism and how you want to pay your own way, but you are so stupid you can’t even understand that “paying your own way” would be prohibitively expensive if you actually paid it. Like it or not previous generations built the society you want to use to be successful in. Now it is your turn. Man up. Try your hand at doing something for everyone. Because everyone did something for you.

It's called inter-generational responsibility.

You probably fancy yourself a Libertarian. Think Ron Paul is the cat’s meow. I got news for you, Mooch. Just because someone understands rsponsibility that doesn't mean they think what we have is perfect.

I don’t like our current tax system and I think Obamacare sucks… If you had read some of the blog before you decided to show us how you could open your mouth before engaging brain you would have known that. But unlike you I actually have some solutions for going forward. Now, since you haven’t been able to use that college degree paid for totally by you…. (That’s sarcasm, boy.)… Here’s some thoughts.

You can’t just crash the system. It would wreck the country and solve nothing. That’s what the idiots demonstrating on Wall Street and their dumb ass clones in other places want. They haven’t studied history and they don’t understand what happened to the revolutionaries in the French Revolution. (In case you don’t know, a whole bunch of’em got their heads chopped off.)

So Social Security has to be phased out, or any changes have to. Someone with the numbers can work out a fair plan. But let’s say the end result is a government mandated based with additional investment/savings as desired by the worker bee. Bush proposed something similar in 2005 but the Demos shot it down and Bush’s heart really wasn’t in it.

Now, healthcare. Like it or now our present system has failed. It is destroying the economy by taking an ever increasing share of income from the pie yet many people are under insured, etc., etc.

So we need Medicare for all. Paid for by all with a national sales tax. And no, not a VAT, a point of sales tax. That way we’ll have the dope dealers, illegal aliens, etc., etc., pay for what they get. Since it’s Medicare you get to pick your own doctor, etc, etc. In other words, it ain’t like England. It’s just like we have now except the medical care providers bill the government who gets the money from everyone.

Just think. All of a sudden no more insurance bills. That $12,000 your paying now, assuming you spend $60,000, is $10,200.

Got a better idea?? Let me know.

Now, the progressive income tax. Simple. Let’s do a flat tax. Several plans to talk about. Don’t like that? Do a national sales tax. Several ways that would work.

But don't tell me how you be the Lone Ranger and will just take care of you and yours. Hell Mooch, you ain’t even Tonto.

A very smart science fiction writer wrote this about 1952.

TANSTAAFL

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

So be ready to pay for the one someone else made for you.

Moocher won’t quit while is behind. He just wants to make it worse. He’s in italics and quoted.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Complaining with a mouth full.": 10/7 @ 8:57CST

Funny - I don't remember you "wiping my butt" or paying my high school tuition. Maybe that's because you didn't do it. Yes, I owe my parents a great deal for raising me and educating me properly. Of course, I don't owe you or any other anonymous geezer jack $hit, because you didn't do it. My parents did, and they wouldn't have bothered to have children if they expected the government or strangers to be responsible for them - this isn't the Soviet Union.

Of course I did it. And so did your parents and so did a lot of other people for you as others did it for me and your parents.
Watch my lips. It is called “inter-generational responsibility” and is one of the basic tenets of civilization. Without that we would be no better than the Plains Indians who expected their gezers to just go off and die. How did that work out?

Simpler. If I cannot expect you to honor my work and my efforts on your behalf, why should I bother? Face it. Kids and infrastructure cost a lot. If I am expected to just go off and die when I become elderly, why should I bother with family and kids? Perhaps I should be like a tom cat and just kill all the baby males. Is that what you think civilization should be like?

And you keep on talking about the Soviet Union. We’re not talking that here. We are talking about the basic concepts of civilization. Did you ever study history?

As far as college, I paid my way. You got your way paid by the government, and that's the bargain you made. You got your college paid for, a nice paycheck, and no student loans to boot. So now you act like you're owed even more than you bargained for? Nope. You got what you were supposed to get, including some very nice GI benefits. Someone you know died in the military? part of the bargain. Stop your whining and quit acting like you're entitled to eternal gratitude for a job you did a million years ago. I am starting to understand your sense of entitlement, though. Why is it that bureaucrats who've fed on the government tit for most of their lives always feel entitled to more? Worse yet are you military bureaucrats who think you're entitled to eternal government benefits and gratitude from every stranger because of something they did (or imagined they did) when they were younger. It was a job - you got your paycheck - get over it.

No. You did not “pay” your own way. You paid part of it, just as I paid part of it. Your school could not exist without donations as well as tuition. And if was a state “land grant” school it was formed on public land procured by the state for the school. My bargain? Yes, I did and I kept my part of it but don’t tell me about a “nice pay check.” Wages were barely above minimum and the benefits laughable. And quit complaining about those student loans. No one made you borrow.

Benefits? Let me see. I could buy a house with a no money down GI loan if I could prove that I met a demanding credit check and stringent income requirements. My generation had no housing bubble because we understood we were expected to pay back the loan.

"Intergenerational responsibility"? Hah! Bullshit. I owe my parents for what they did for me, not that they expect anything from me, but I'd gladly help them if needed. I owe my children a safe home and as many opportunities as I can provide them without spoiling them. I owe it to my wife and myself to save enough so that we're not leeching off our kids or the government. (FYI - It's not "prohibitively expensive" to pay your own way if you're actually productive and you make enough money, which I do). Anyone else? Nope - particularly some anonymous geezer who feels entitled to feed at the taxpayer trough their whole life. But that's a nice way of justifying your sense of entitlement; claim credit for what others have done and then act like it's "owed" to you because you happen to be part of the same generation. Sorry, but just because you didn't "man up" and make enough money to support your family properly into geezerhood doesn't mean the rest of us should be forced to foot the bill so you can sit on your lazy @ss.


Keep trying to sell that argument. Maybe someone will buy it someday. There's a lot of stupid people out there.

Well, we’ve established that you have the conscience of a Mongol raider and an understanding of human history that is, a best, below ignorant. So I’ll just give up on trying to explain responsibility and hope that there are enough of my children and grandchildren to take care of you and yours because there are no way you can do it by yourself.

But you make a lot of dumb ass assumptions. You have no idea as to my financial condition are how well I took care of my family while paying taxes to help take care of you. I mean we are charged to take care of the stupid else they hurt themselves and others.

And looking back and looking now and looking forward I did a damn fine job of that.

Too bad you will never measure up.

BTW - Thanks Yman for dropping by. Kinda dull Friday night. Gotta go now. This thread is closed.


"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Hank and ESPN

So ESPN has decided to part ways with Hank Jr.

Okay fine. Williams said it:

In the Monday morning interview, Williams said of Obama’s recent golf outing with House Speaker John Boehner: “It’d be like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu.”

Asked to clarify, Williams said: “They’re the enemy,” adding that by “they” he meant Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Anchor Gretchen Carlson later said to him, “You used the name of one of the most hated people in all of the world to describe, I think, the president.”

Williams replied, “Well, that is true. But I’m telling you like it is.”

Nasty? Yes. Over statement? Yes. Hank’s right? Yes.

“After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision. By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It’s been a great run.” -- Hank Williams Jr.

But there is a second part. The Constitution protects us against the government restricting our speech. Not an employer saying what an employee can say. So unless Hank had a contract allowing him to say what he wants ESPN was within their rights.

The statement from ESPN this morning read: ""We have decided to part ways with Hank Williams, Jr. We appreciate his contributions over the past years. The success of Monday Night Football has always been about the games and that will continue."‬‬

Link

But ESPN is as wrong as Hank. At one time the show was about the game. That started to end with the forcing out of Howard Cosell and was brought to the terminal stage by the firing of Limbaugh and the subsequent prevention of Limbaugh buying part of a pro football team.

ESPN has made the game political. That is their right. Especially since they are a cable network and not reaching viewers over commonly owned frequencies as the over the air networks are. But once you make politics part of it, don’t be surprised if it spreads.

Just think of all those college athletes playing in a farm system for a billion dollar industry without a contract that protects them and being paid with a measly scholarship while the schools, the coaches and the NFL gets rich.

Time to unionize? You betchya!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Who should pay?

The folks who are getting the free stuff, don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff,

Because the folks who are paying for the free stuff,
Can no longer afford to pay for both the free stuff and their own stuff,

And,
The folks who are paying for the free stuff,
Want the free stuff to stop.
and the folks who are getting the free stuff,
Want even more free stuff on top of the free stuff they are already getting!

Now... The people who are forcing the people who Pay for the free stuff,
Have told the people who are RECEIVING the free stuff,
That the people who are PAYING for the free stuff,
Are being mean, prejudiced, and racist.

So... the people who are GETTING the free stuff,
Have been convinced they need to hate the people who are paying for the free stuff,
By the people who are forcing some people to pay for their free stuff,
And giving them the free stuff in the first place.

We have let the free stuff giving go on for so long that there are
Now more people getting free stuff than paying for the free stuff

Now understand this. All great democracies have committed financial suicide somewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. The reason?
The voters figured out they could vote themselves money from the treasury by electing people who promised to give them money from the treasury in exchange for electing them.

The United States officially became a Republic in 1776, 231 years ago. The number of people now getting free stuff outnumbers the people paying for the free stuff. We have one chance to change that in 2012. Failure to change that spells the end of the United States as we know it.

This was all over the place. Here's one.

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Global warming.... bought and paid for????

"To capture the public imagination, we have to offer up some scary
scenarios, make simplified dramatic statements and little mention of any doubts one might have. Each of us has to decide the right balance between being effective, and being honest."

- Leading greenhouse advocate, Dr Stephen Schneider
( in interview for "Discover" magagzine, Oct 1989)

Link

As it waits for the resolution of its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit ( http://bit.ly/nnKpxS ) against the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which seeks the outside employment permission records of global warming activist Dr. James Hansen, American Tradition Institute’s Environmental Law Center has received the belatedly filed 2010 public financial disclosure of the renowned director of the NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

ATI obtained Dr. Hansen’s Form SF 278, which is required to be filed annually, also under the Freedom of Information Act. The disclosure revealed that Dr. Hansen received between $236,000 and $1,232,500 in outside income in 2010 relating to his taxpayer-funded employment, which included:


• Between $26,008 and $72,500 in honoraria for speeches;
• Between $150,001 and $1.1 million in prizes;
• Just under $60,000 in the form of in-kind income for travel to his many outside-income generating activities

The travel reporting marked the first time Hansen detailed such “in-kind” benefits, which included apparent first-class travel for him and his wife on trips to Australia, Japan, and Norway. The new detail raises the question of whether Dr. Hansen wrongly submitted forms in previous years, which he left blank and attested “none” in the space where he is required to report travel expenses taken as part of his outside employment, all in years in which he was busy with numerous paid outside activities of the same sort as he was in 2010.

Snip

As ATI detailed in its current lawsuit against NASA in federal court in Washington, Dr. Hansen admits this income began after he escalated his public – and often political – global warming advocacy, for which outside parties have spectacularly rewarded him.

Link

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Gotta be Obama voters

Hat tip to PJ!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

al-Awlaki, Knox and Schaivo

Well, the killing of al-Awlaki has been superseded by the release of Ms Knox and boyfriend. Which, I rush to note, neither thrills or bothers me. I paid scant attention to the case so I make no claim of insight. I’m just happy to accept the verdict of the court and note that the wheels ground fine and three years or so, slowly.

One of the things though that I do note is that in Italy, apparently an Appeals court can look at old and new evidence. Hey, that works for me. But in our system the Appeals process can examine legal issues, but not evidentiary issues. They cannot retry the case, which is what happened in Italy. What I find amazing about this that so many on the Left thought the Italian process wonderful in the case of Ms Knox but didn’t think it should be done during the appeals process in the Schaivo affair.

Goose… Gander, but I digress.

Speaking of the Left, many have moaned that we killed the poor man without trying to capture him. I wonder do they actually believe we didn’t try to capture him? I think we were trying to capture him for years before Obama said capture or kill.

And then we have the issues raised that condemn us for not respecting other countries borders. Does this mean they have seen the light and are for closing ours and deporting all illegal immigrants who have not respected ours? Somehow I think not.

Catch a clue, people. We are now starting to face the ultimate question, is the Constitution a document that can be used against us by letting our enemies do what they want? Or shall we, in some cases, ignore it and kill?

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson