Why Y2K may have been a good thing

I went up to our local party store the other day. It sells lottery tickets, a variety of scratch off tickets, beer, and cigarettes and related and whiskey and its variants. A truly sinful place.

I went to purchase my weekly piece of the “Fuckallofyou” dream because “I am now rich! Rich!!!” that the state foists on its suckers….er “citizens.” Plus a bottle of VO. Yes, this southern boy favors a touch of the Canadian rye. Jack has always been too much for me and Mark lost its mark when the new owners took over. Stoly is okay from time to time but the last Bombay gin martini I savored was in Phoenix after Tennessee had just whipped the men of Florida State and been crowned National Champions. But I digress.

Picking up my purchase I strode to the checkout point while artfully cutting off an elderly lady caring a bottle of wine but losing to guy who had a bottle of scotch in his grasp. Just as he presented his purchase, “The computer’s down,” came from the clerk.

And then much confusion. Two clerks and one of the owners shared head scratching and general commiserating. Minutes passed. The other owner shows up while one of the clerks is calling whoever is supposed to be in charge of fixing the computer. More minutes pass. Finally owner number two mans up, opens the cash draw with a key, lays down a tablet and announces.

“We’ll do it manually until they fix it.”

And grabbing a calculator he writes down the name of the scotch, the size, the price and then asks, “How much is the sales tax?”

Obviously he is not in charge of bookkeeping.

“9.75% said one of the clerks,” and he used it and added $2.54 to the price of the scotch.

“What’s that?” asked the customer.

“Sales tax,” said the owner.

“That’s almost 10%,” opined the customer.

“Hmmm, you’re right,” said the owner.

“You add 10% to everything?” asked the customer.

Sensing that the sheeple behind were getting restless the owner replied with a finality in his tone, “Yes. It’s the law.”

“10%?”

“No, 9.75%.”

“Why didn’t it show before??”

“The 9.75% is shown on the receipt. You just haven’t looked.”

“That’s too much.”

“It’s the law.”

“Way too much.”

“Call the mayor.”

“Shit,” said the now departing customer, “keep it.”

Now you know why they deduct payroll taxes before you get the check.

I mean, a bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.





"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

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

On stupid and such

Kathleen Parker had a nifty column the other day. All about free speech etc and etc and she made the following point.

"Do they have the right to express them? Absolutely, but the obvious consequences make my point. This isn’t a matter of government oppression of free speech but of private citizens condemning their neighbors for expressing thoughts that have been historically harmful."

The problem is this.

It is easy to walk down the street and apologize. Or it is easy to just say, "No I won't apologize."

Either way the situation is a small ripple in the pond.

But these are not neighbors

When the remarks are analyzed, commented on and amplified and then used to destroy someone for “speaking their mind” then we have the government who has condemned such remarks by supporting diversity and a host of other “rights” effectively instituting censorship. How? By insuring that we all must always carefully consider what we say PRIOR to speaking/writing and then using words that will not offend anyone.

That’s censorship.

Now you may claim that this is helpful. Society is merely expressing its rules and enforcing them. But don’t go around bragging about how we have free speech.

We don’t.

And while the Left celebrates the rights of an author to write a book that is flooded with the F word and thus draws the ire of a school board, it goes nuts over the comments of an elderly white man opining that he doesn’t want his black girlfriend showing up with black males.

To paraphrase Mark Cuban: I don’t want stupid people shut up. I want them to talk so I can know who’s stupid.

There should be a conclusion someplace in there. Maybe I’ll come back and tell you dumber ones what it is. And then maybe I won’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

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

And a little child shall lead them

Well, our Liar In Chief, also known as POTUS, has been at it again. Give him our lives or the world will end.


"WASHINGTON – Get ready, Tennessee. Climate change means more heat stress and violent storms — but less water overall — immediately ahead."

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2014/05/09/climate-report-rough-weather-ahead-tennessee/8917639/?fb_action_ids=516529605124063&fb_action_types=og.comments&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

I think this covers his lies quite well:

"Global warming alarmists point to wildfires in the western United States and say, “This is what global warming looks like.” They are right. This is what global warming looks like. According to a recently published paper in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, wildfires in the western United States are currently at a 3,000-year low. Similarly, data from the National Interagency Fire Center show the number of U.S. wildfires is on a 35-year downward trend. Alarmists point to the few times and places where wildfires have recently occurred and scream, “The sky is falling!” Objective, real-world data, however, tells an entirely different story. Yes, Reggie, this is what global warming looks like.

Global warming alarmists point to drought in the western United States and say, “This is what global warming looks like.” They are right. This is what global warming looks like. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports, “A number of tree-ring records exist for the last two millennia which suggest that 20th century droughts may be mild when evaluated in the context of this longer time frame.” Several peer-reviewed studies (see, for example, studies here, and here ,and here) reach the same conclusion. Alarmists point to the few times and places where drought has recently occurred and scream, “The sky is falling!” Objective, real-world data, however, tells an entirely different story. Yes, Reggie, this is what global warming looks like.

Global warming alarmists like Al Gore point to current crop conditions and proclaim, “This is what the climate crisis looks like.” He is right. This is what the climate “crisis” looks like. As I have documented in prior columns, global warming is creating ideal weather that is producing record crop yields. Alarmists point to the few times and places where crop failures occur and scream, “The sky is falling!” Objective, real-world data, however, tells an entirely different story."

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamestaylor/2012/07/18/yes-reggie-this-is-what-global-warming-looks-like/


"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

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Monica Redux

 

 

You know, it’s hard to feel sorry for a young lady who got caught passing out blow jobs and acting as a cigar humidifier. Not that I don’t , mind you.  I mean Bill Clinton captured her like a hungry python snares a mouse dropped into its cage and then didn’t have the courage or character to just say:

“Hey! There we were in the Oval Orifice… oops I mean Office… and the next thing I knew she had me in a Full Nelson with my pants around my ankles and well… things do  come up, don’t you know…”

And before you claim I’m just another Rabid Right Wing Conservative I'll remind you I have long said it was wrong but really not our business to condemn on a personal level. That was Hillary's.  And yes, while it takes two to tango the thought of Monica lashing Bill to a chair while taking advantage of him leaves me wondering if those who claim it was all her fault has advanced beyond the 16th year in emotional development.

Finally, I will remind you that feminists have long, and accurately, noted that a "boss," be h/she a manager at MacDonald's, the CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation, or POTUS, is a power figure and should never never never enter into a sexual relationship with a subordinate. It is just wrong on so many levels. And in the commercial world it often results in the firing of the senior person.

Bill escaped by telling lie after lie although he did lose his law license for 5 years in, I think it was, Arkansas for perjury. The punishment doesn't seem to have bothered him.

As to why, "now?" I think it is simple. Back then Hillary and her troops destroyed Monica as effectively as they had other members of the "Bimbo Eruptions."

Monica's actions are called pay back. Will it work? No. Bill escaped and Hillary has played the cookie baking faithful forgiving wife to a lovable rascal while Monica remains wounded with her emotional life permanently damaged.

Now that's a shame. 

And in case you don’t know it, any political party who would defend the Suckee In Chief for claiming that blow jobs aren’t sex will have…in fact have had….no problem telling lies about health care, the economy and Benghazi.  In fact, they have.

 Adapted from a comment in Talk Left..... http://www.talkleft.com/

"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

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Another attack on the evil Dan Quale

Ah, since the cold of my last post spring has finally leaped forth..... about a month late.

Damn that Man Made Global Warming.  And the politicial BS has became just so thick it's hard to choose. But one thing doesn't change. That's the attacks by the Left on.... are you ready for this????

Dan Quale. Yes, I kid you not. They are so desperate to change the subject they are picking on Quale.

"As president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, I have seen private equity firms plunder company after company, taking rich fees for themselves and cutting costs until there's nothing left to cut. Time and again I've seen their reckless behavior drive companies to declare bankruptcy. When the dust settles, you can count on Wall Street contracts being honored. And you can be pretty sure contracts with workers will be abrogated."

That's non other than Jimmy Hoffa lecturing us about ethics. Wow. I am so impressedd He goes on:

"That's pretty much what's happening with World Airways, a passenger and cargo carrier that sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2013. The airline shut down on March 27, 2014 because it had no money. All employees were fired that day.

World Airways was a profitable company until another private equity firm, MatlinPatterson, came along and loaded it with debt. They collected handsome fees and interest until Cerberus -- run by former Vice President Dan Quayle and former Treasury Secretary John Snow -- threw the airline in the trash along with its employees. Many of the flight attendants and pilots had served their country and company since the Vietnam War."

Actually World Airways served during the war. But I shouldn't be picky. 

But I will be picky about who did what and when. Let's review.

"Global Aviation Holdings Inc. (Global) is the parent company of World Airways, Inc. (World), and North American Airlines, Inc. (North American), headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia.^[1] World and North American are Part 121 U.S.-certified air carriers providing customized air transportation services for major international passenger and cargo carriers, international freight forwarders, the U.S. military, international leisure tour operators, and international corporations. The company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 15, 2012 and emerged from bankruptcy on Feb. 13, 2013. On Nov. 12 2013 the company announced that it is once again filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Aviation_Holdings

 What all of that means is that MatlinPatterson took control on 2/12/12 and dumped it in 11/12/13. Then what happened.

 "World Airways Inc. ceased operations on Thursday after its bankrupt parent was unable to secure necessary funding to keep the charter operator airborne.

 Peachtree City, Ga.-based Global Aviation Holdings Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 protection last November, had attempted for months to raise capital to fund its full reorganization.

 Global, in February, won approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to implement a plan support agreement with postpetition lender Cerberus Business Finance LLC. As part of the deal, Cerberus would enter a credit-bid for the debtor's new equity, with Global to solicit competing offers in hopes of creating an auction. But there appeared to have been little interest in the company."

http://www.thedeal.com/content/restructuring/world-airways-shuts-down.php#ixzz30lk0SJMC

They filed again in 11/13. They couldn’t obtain any financing for operation BUT they did, with the approval of the Court, borrow  money from Cerberus.

When they couldn’t find any interest in the company, Cerberus took whatever assets, including cash in accounts. That  would include health care IF it was company funded. Since the claim is they took it then that appears to be the case.

 So let’s summarize. They went bankrupt. A hedge fund stepped in and kept’em going for about a year until 11/13. They filed again for Chapter 11. No one would but Cerberus would finance them and allow them to remain in operation and look for financing. That failed. Cerberus enforced the contract.

Life is cruel.  Now, what would you want Cerberus to do?? If they had done nothing World would have been out of business in November. They would have been Chapter 7 and all assets, including the cash for company funded health care insurance would have been gone.

Instead Cerberus made a deal. We'll give you a chance to find a White Knight. If you don't we'll take what you would have lost anyway.

(Partially posted in TalkLeft.)


"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

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine