Robert Riech had a Freudian slip and almost no one noticed. But for those of us in the struggle, we hear the code talk. We know what you mean when you say "white male." Because you say it like a dirty word and then say you "got nothin' aginst us."
Tell me Obama, is this stimulus plan separate but equal?
Instead of separate bathrooms and drinking fountains, "white male workers" get separate government programs. We have to ride in the back of the new economic bus.
As explained, there are many ways to keep that damned dirty white males from filthying up the stimulus plan. "We" can have conditions or criteria that will exclude those who have worked hard to become "skilled."
Maybe if I tell 'em that my Grandma was Ethiopian?
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
13 Sets Of Rules And One Outcome For The One
The Obama Administration announced they were going to support letting states go it alone when it comes to auto emission and mileage standards. From CNN.
A new era of States Rights!
No so fast.
Rather than take issues head-on and call them what they really are. Obama and his team play little Orwellian games with language to avoid a tough discussion.
Lets call this backdoor CAFE what it is. chickenshit. They know those controversial standards would not have passed without pissing off his blue-dogs who will lose more jobs to Japanese and Korean auto makers. Rather than make 13 or 14 different models of cars, the automakers will be forced to the toughest of the state standards. Presto, new CAFE without the headache of having to sell the nation on the idea.
Just like the chickenshit socialism being disguised as "stimulus" and chickenshit welfare being called "tax cuts," it seems this administration will be masters at the avoiding fights by selling things under new names.
It takes a willing media.
Of course it does. Without a lapdog White House Press Corps and every newsie gushing about Michelle's latest designer dress, none of this happens. Yeah, the same media that blasted Sarah Palin's nice threads during the campaign, are now praising Michelle's couture closet.
It takes a pretty damn stupid public too.
Of course all of this is obvious. Tax cuts for people who don't pay taxes. Energy independence by taxing energy producers. Stimulus via birth control. An infrastructure focused stimulus plan that spends 5% of it's moneyon infrastructure. If people are either too stupid to recognize the double talk or simply don't care anymore then we are truly fucked as a nation.
On the other hand. If the public is a mass of idiots and the media is in his back pocket, why resort to the games? Just say that paying $4 bucks for gas is good for them and let that be that. I'm not sure. Maybe there is a little nagging doubt about that middle 15% that really decides elections.
Obama is playing the cool kid saying you can do anything. That there is no limit to the money and the party will go on forever. Dissenting voices are being treated like the nerdy high school killjoy.
For now the answer is, print the money and sell the debt as fast as you can. We will all just take the blue pill and spend money in shopping malls until the government checks start to bounce.
President Obama signed a memorandum Monday requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider an application by California to set more stringent auto emissions and fuel efficiency standards than required by federal law.
If the EPA grants a waiver allowing California to set its own emissions standards, the nation's largest state will be allowed to require automakers to produce trucks and cars that get better mileage than what is required under the current national standard. Thirteen other states could take similar action.
A new era of States Rights!
No so fast.
Rather than take issues head-on and call them what they really are. Obama and his team play little Orwellian games with language to avoid a tough discussion.
Lets call this backdoor CAFE what it is. chickenshit. They know those controversial standards would not have passed without pissing off his blue-dogs who will lose more jobs to Japanese and Korean auto makers. Rather than make 13 or 14 different models of cars, the automakers will be forced to the toughest of the state standards. Presto, new CAFE without the headache of having to sell the nation on the idea.
Just like the chickenshit socialism being disguised as "stimulus" and chickenshit welfare being called "tax cuts," it seems this administration will be masters at the avoiding fights by selling things under new names.
It takes a willing media.
Of course it does. Without a lapdog White House Press Corps and every newsie gushing about Michelle's latest designer dress, none of this happens. Yeah, the same media that blasted Sarah Palin's nice threads during the campaign, are now praising Michelle's couture closet.
It takes a pretty damn stupid public too.
Of course all of this is obvious. Tax cuts for people who don't pay taxes. Energy independence by taxing energy producers. Stimulus via birth control. An infrastructure focused stimulus plan that spends 5% of it's moneyon infrastructure. If people are either too stupid to recognize the double talk or simply don't care anymore then we are truly fucked as a nation.
On the other hand. If the public is a mass of idiots and the media is in his back pocket, why resort to the games? Just say that paying $4 bucks for gas is good for them and let that be that. I'm not sure. Maybe there is a little nagging doubt about that middle 15% that really decides elections.
Obama is playing the cool kid saying you can do anything. That there is no limit to the money and the party will go on forever. Dissenting voices are being treated like the nerdy high school killjoy.
For now the answer is, print the money and sell the debt as fast as you can. We will all just take the blue pill and spend money in shopping malls until the government checks start to bounce.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
You Can't Just Listen To Rush Limbaugh
At the end of an almost perfect week. A week that included more praise and adulation (bordering on worship) than any president in modern history, President Obama took time out of his busy schedule to notice that there was a person in the country not agreeing with him. The President warned Republicans that"You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done." I think this very little incident gives us an interesting glimpse into the man.
Richard Nixon had thin skin too.
Being too aware of your critics is one of the many personality traits that lead Nixon down his path of paranoia and self-destruction. Clinton had his rapid response team. I guess President Obama has a zero-tolerance of disagreement policy. Bush didn't respond to anything. It seems amazing that a President could propose the most massive spending program in history and not expect some dissent. Especially after we learned that the second biggest (the bank bailout known as TARP) become a political slush fund and was used by banks to buy other banks...all without oversight or accountability. But I'm sure this one will be different.
You can't just listen to Barney Frank either.
Barney Frank looks at TARP and stimulus like all of the other incumbents: Fast cash for friends and an easy path to reelection. Barney has the same trouble all politicians have with unlimited funds. From the Wall Street Journal:
In other words. We are letting this congress pick winners and losers based on nothing more than political ties. More of the same old pay to play bullshit.
The answer is called the Resolution Trust Corporation.
The RTC liquidated "toxic" assets without a lot of political interference in the 80's and 90's...like the TARP was supposed to do, but didn't. Why? It's not so hard to figure, there wasn't any money in it for the politicians. When RTC was done, it was dissolved. No one left to lobby, no kickbacks. The damn thing was too fucking efficient. Fast forward 15 years and it became blindingly clear we needed RTC 2, but congress recalled the efficient and unprofitable (for them) way things went before and decide to take a new path, one that morphed a 2 page bill into thousands pages of pork.
Why not just give everyone a check for one million dollars?
Really, how different is that from the philosophy that government can spend it's way out of a recession. Hell, it would probably be cheaper in the long run because it would teach people about basic economics. I can only imagine what a new car would cost by the end of the first week.
Hayek had it right, this is the road to serfdom.
Richard Nixon had thin skin too.
Being too aware of your critics is one of the many personality traits that lead Nixon down his path of paranoia and self-destruction. Clinton had his rapid response team. I guess President Obama has a zero-tolerance of disagreement policy. Bush didn't respond to anything. It seems amazing that a President could propose the most massive spending program in history and not expect some dissent. Especially after we learned that the second biggest (the bank bailout known as TARP) become a political slush fund and was used by banks to buy other banks...all without oversight or accountability. But I'm sure this one will be different.
You can't just listen to Barney Frank either.
Barney Frank looks at TARP and stimulus like all of the other incumbents: Fast cash for friends and an easy path to reelection. Barney has the same trouble all politicians have with unlimited funds. From the Wall Street Journal:
Troubled OneUnited Bank in Boston didn't look much like a candidate for aid from the Treasury Department's bank bailout fund last fall.
The Treasury had said it would give money only to healthy banks, to jump-start lending. But OneUnited had seen most of its capital evaporate. Moreover, it was under attack from its regulators for allegations of poor lending practices and executive-pay abuses, including owning a Porsche for its executives' use.
Nonetheless, in December OneUnited got a $12 million injection from the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. One apparent factor: the intercession of Rep. Barney Frank, the powerful head of the House Financial Services Committee.
Mr. Frank, by his own account, wrote into the TARP bill a provision specifically aimed at helping this particular home-state bank. And later, he acknowledges, he spoke to regulators urging that OneUnited be considered for a cash injection.
In other words. We are letting this congress pick winners and losers based on nothing more than political ties. More of the same old pay to play bullshit.
The answer is called the Resolution Trust Corporation.
The RTC liquidated "toxic" assets without a lot of political interference in the 80's and 90's...like the TARP was supposed to do, but didn't. Why? It's not so hard to figure, there wasn't any money in it for the politicians. When RTC was done, it was dissolved. No one left to lobby, no kickbacks. The damn thing was too fucking efficient. Fast forward 15 years and it became blindingly clear we needed RTC 2, but congress recalled the efficient and unprofitable (for them) way things went before and decide to take a new path, one that morphed a 2 page bill into thousands pages of pork.
Why not just give everyone a check for one million dollars?
Really, how different is that from the philosophy that government can spend it's way out of a recession. Hell, it would probably be cheaper in the long run because it would teach people about basic economics. I can only imagine what a new car would cost by the end of the first week.
Hayek had it right, this is the road to serfdom.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Writing About Killing President Bush Gets You A Movie Deal...Or Two
Do the same about the not-yet-inaugurated Obama. You get arrested. Even if you do it on a website dedicated to aliens and UFO's.
Unfuckingbelievable.
Actually, this rank hypocrisy was easily predicted, but it's nauseating nonetheless.
Here is a clip from the flick that fantasizes about the assassination of Bush.
For web postings that mention killing the Bush, just use google. From Nobel Prize winner Betty Williams to online games and t-shirts, the list is expansive with almost no arrests.
Try to imagine the scenario where a similar movie is made about Obama...not that I would care to see it. But the point is that even if Obama is the worst failure ever, this would never happen.
Either we live in a country where it's acceptable to call for the president's assassination or it's not. Unequal application of justice is not political correctness, it's a form tyranny. Tyranny that is particularly alarming at a time when the government is expanding at the fastest pace ever seen. How long before justice is solely driven by what is acceptable and not what is lawful or unlawful?
Unfuckingbelievable.
Actually, this rank hypocrisy was easily predicted, but it's nauseating nonetheless.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Authorities on Friday arrested a U.S. man on suspicion of threatening to kill President-elect Barack Obama based on statements he posted on a website about UFOs and aliens, the Justice Department said.
Steven Joseph Christopher, in three postings to www.alien-earth.org, said he planned to assassinate Obama in Washington "as a sacrificial lamb," the department said in a statement.
"It's really nothing personal about the man. He speaks well ... . But I know it's for the country's own good that I do this," Christopher reportedly wrote.
Here is a clip from the flick that fantasizes about the assassination of Bush.
For web postings that mention killing the Bush, just use google. From Nobel Prize winner Betty Williams to online games and t-shirts, the list is expansive with almost no arrests.
Try to imagine the scenario where a similar movie is made about Obama...not that I would care to see it. But the point is that even if Obama is the worst failure ever, this would never happen.
Either we live in a country where it's acceptable to call for the president's assassination or it's not. Unequal application of justice is not political correctness, it's a form tyranny. Tyranny that is particularly alarming at a time when the government is expanding at the fastest pace ever seen. How long before justice is solely driven by what is acceptable and not what is lawful or unlawful?
Sunday, January 11, 2009
We Should All Have Wings
After seeing an article in the Jerusalem Post I got a chuckle over a term I have long found ridiculous.
The implication is that Hamas has a peace loving political wing that seeks a mutually beneficial relationship with Israel. In truth, the political wing is probably made up of the smarter guys from the military wing who have a thing about getting shot.
Having a military wing means never having to say you are sorry.
What a great concept. You send in your guys to shoot rockets, strap bombs on their backs or whatever and when bad things happen. Boom. Instant deniability. For, you see, it was our militant wing. And for all good people in the political wing, we just can't control those darn military wing guys.
Yassir Arafat used that militant wing vs political wing game with the PLO movement to great effect for years. I remember the IRA had the same setup. In any case, it's a game played by organizations that don't want total war, but don't want total peace either
It's like it never happened.
Hamas has been sending out their militant wing to shoot something like 3000 rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip during this most recent Egyptian negotiated "cease fire." And peace is assured as long as Israel doesn't shoot back. In fact the constant barrage of rockets became a boring daily event and the media stopped reporting on them, unless there was a body count. It was only when the Israelis started making noise that Hamas was about to get punished, that the world took notice of this again. Obama famously said, "...if someone was shooting rockets into the apartment where my daughters were sleeping...you bet I would shoot back..."
And so Israel has finally responded. Responded against people who don't wear uniforms. Shoot rockets from hospital roofs and school yards and religious sites. Predictably the media starts their "Israel is overreacting" reporting within days because everyone knows these rockets are coming from the "militants" and not the innocent civilians of Gaza.
All kids play this game of proportional retaliation.
When a younger brother tweaks a big brother on the ear after being dominated on the Play Station, he is playing the same game. Little brothers know that big brothers get in trouble for hitting little brothers. Big brothers know that too. But little brothers hate getting beat all the time. So they do the equivalent of firing a few rockets into big brothers' territory.
Eventually big brother hits the little brother, who then runs screaming to mom. Dad is forced to intervene. No matter the punishment, it was worth it to the little brother because it's his only way to release his frustration.
Is it any wonder newspapers are dying?
The media will spend weeks finding out if Sarah Palin was really pregnant two years ago, while a ploy designed by 8 year olds is beyond their comprehension. And once again "world opinion" and editorial pages are insisting that Israel back off. One more time. So we can have a "cease fire" that now seems defined as Israel not shooting back.
This cycle is going to end in one of two ways. Little brother is going to mature and find other things to occupy him or there will be total war.
The question is, what could individuals do with their militant wings? Not pay taxes? Steal? Cheat on their spouses? What about those camera speed traps? We could say, I wasn't driving that day, it was my militant wing. That guy refuses to slow down and your ticket is a total overreaction to me...the law abiding political wing of me.
IDF troops in the Gaza Strip on Saturday targeted Hamas operative Amir Mansi, a senior member of Izzadin Kassam, the group's military wing.
The implication is that Hamas has a peace loving political wing that seeks a mutually beneficial relationship with Israel. In truth, the political wing is probably made up of the smarter guys from the military wing who have a thing about getting shot.
Having a military wing means never having to say you are sorry.
What a great concept. You send in your guys to shoot rockets, strap bombs on their backs or whatever and when bad things happen. Boom. Instant deniability. For, you see, it was our militant wing. And for all good people in the political wing, we just can't control those darn military wing guys.
Yassir Arafat used that militant wing vs political wing game with the PLO movement to great effect for years. I remember the IRA had the same setup. In any case, it's a game played by organizations that don't want total war, but don't want total peace either
It's like it never happened.
Hamas has been sending out their militant wing to shoot something like 3000 rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip during this most recent Egyptian negotiated "cease fire." And peace is assured as long as Israel doesn't shoot back. In fact the constant barrage of rockets became a boring daily event and the media stopped reporting on them, unless there was a body count. It was only when the Israelis started making noise that Hamas was about to get punished, that the world took notice of this again. Obama famously said, "...if someone was shooting rockets into the apartment where my daughters were sleeping...you bet I would shoot back..."
And so Israel has finally responded. Responded against people who don't wear uniforms. Shoot rockets from hospital roofs and school yards and religious sites. Predictably the media starts their "Israel is overreacting" reporting within days because everyone knows these rockets are coming from the "militants" and not the innocent civilians of Gaza.
All kids play this game of proportional retaliation.
When a younger brother tweaks a big brother on the ear after being dominated on the Play Station, he is playing the same game. Little brothers know that big brothers get in trouble for hitting little brothers. Big brothers know that too. But little brothers hate getting beat all the time. So they do the equivalent of firing a few rockets into big brothers' territory.
Eventually big brother hits the little brother, who then runs screaming to mom. Dad is forced to intervene. No matter the punishment, it was worth it to the little brother because it's his only way to release his frustration.
Is it any wonder newspapers are dying?
The media will spend weeks finding out if Sarah Palin was really pregnant two years ago, while a ploy designed by 8 year olds is beyond their comprehension. And once again "world opinion" and editorial pages are insisting that Israel back off. One more time. So we can have a "cease fire" that now seems defined as Israel not shooting back.
This cycle is going to end in one of two ways. Little brother is going to mature and find other things to occupy him or there will be total war.
The question is, what could individuals do with their militant wings? Not pay taxes? Steal? Cheat on their spouses? What about those camera speed traps? We could say, I wasn't driving that day, it was my militant wing. That guy refuses to slow down and your ticket is a total overreaction to me...the law abiding political wing of me.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Emmanuel Jal - War Child
I just finished reviewing a first copy of this young man's life story for Amazon and it was an amazing journey. A real life Long Walk. He is one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, a jenajesh, and was conscripted into the SPLA to fight the Muslim government army during the Sudanese civil war in the 1990's. Most of the 2 million dead were Christians from his home in southern Sudan. He was separated from his family at age 9 and survived countless military attacks, refugee camps and a prolonged military campaign...all before he was 18.
He is now a music artist and his story, detailed in the book War Child will be released in early February.
A sample.
He is now a music artist and his story, detailed in the book War Child will be released in early February.
A sample.
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