We knew Obama was a fraud before it was cool...

CONTACT US

 




ENDTIMES CHATTER: CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR STORE
BLOG HEAVEN
Barack Obama's Teleprompter
Olbermann Watch
The Confluence
Alegre's Corner
Uppity Woman
Ms. Placed Democrat
Fionnchu
Black Agenda Report
Truth is Gold
Hire Heels
Donna Darko
Puma
Deadenders
BlueLyon
Political Zombie
No Sheeples Here
Gender Gappers
That's Me On The Left
Come on, Pilgrims
Cinie's World
Cannonfire
No Quarter USA
Juan Cole
Sky Dancing In A Man's World
The Real Barack Obama
Democrats Against Obama
Just Say No Deal
No Limits
The Daily Howler
Oh...my Valve!
Count Us Out
Make Them Accountable
By The Fault
Tennessee Guerilla Women
Sarah PAC




  • March 2005
  • April 2005
  • May 2005
  • June 2005
  • July 2005
  • August 2005
  • September 2005
  • October 2005
  • November 2005
  • December 2005
  • January 2006
  • February 2006
  • March 2006
  • April 2006
  • May 2006
  • June 2006
  • July 2006
  • August 2006
  • September 2006
  • October 2006
  • November 2006
  • December 2006
  • January 2007
  • February 2007
  • March 2007
  • April 2007
  • May 2007
  • June 2007
  • July 2007
  • August 2007
  • September 2007
  • October 2007
  • November 2007
  • December 2007
  • January 2008
  • February 2008
  • March 2008
  • April 2008
  • May 2008
  • June 2008
  • July 2008
  • August 2008
  • September 2008
  • October 2008
  • November 2008
  • December 2008
  • January 2009
  • February 2009
  • March 2009
  • April 2009
  • May 2009
  • June 2009
  • July 2009
  • August 2009
  • September 2009
  • October 2009
  • November 2009
  • December 2009
  • January 2010
  • February 2010
  •  

    Monday, August 31, 2009

    A short letter to God.

    Dear God,

    Please tell me that the promo I just saw for the George Lopez show on TBS (TBS for your sake!!!) did not really include the real President of the United States saying he wants Lopez to change late night cuz "that's change he can believe in."
    God, I ask you, can it get any worse? 8 years of W and now a POTUS who does promos for 2nd rate "entertainers" on basic cable making fun of himself and everyone who bought his crap last year.
    Now he's even mocking the poor, deluded Obots.

    Your response is respectfully awaited,

    John

    PS- Can you speed up the time-space continuum thingy and make it 2012 tomorrow?

    Present and future fires.

    Tonight, after a week long heat wave in Los Angeles that has brought up the rear of a sublimely pleasant summer I thought I'd write about the current strangeness of this city...and by implication, the country. But alas, Kunstler already has. Being a visitor, not a resident, he captures the oddness of Los Angeles very well - which is odder than usual of late.

    The fire, still burning out of control just north of the city, has produced a Hiroshima like plume of smoke and ash visible everywhere for days now. Having commandeered the southeast horizon it seems to be saying "Look over here. This is the entrance to Hell."

    And so it may be. Mount Wilson, where most of the area's radio and television transmitters are perched, is threatened by the inferno. The symbolism is too much. Too easy. Too blunt. The great unifier in a mess of a place like Southern California is the relentlessness of television and radio. What Angelenos do during and after fires, and riots, and earthquakes is watch TV. Lots of it. Contrary to popular myth we do talk to neighbors in these moments...mostly about what we're seeing on TV regarding what is happening around us as it happens. The agitation provided by local news is part of the experience of living here. Watching fires, earthquakes, and car chases is our common arena.

    The harsh reality of Southern California is that 80% of us shouldn't be here. There is not enough water. We borrow and barter for it. So much has been stolen and diverted from other places that a mega metropolis of 15 million - give or take - has erupted in 60 years. This is unnatural.

    The tiny river that gave birth to El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles de Porciuncula has long since been cemented in to control periodic, but severe, floods. The water that the city came by naturally had to be controlled. And L.A. in order to fulfill the dreams of millions of migrants from the east - and now the south - has to obtain the bulk of its water from elsewhere.

    Until WW2 the most important city in California was San Francisco. Now it is not in the top 3 - a fact that still drives some residents of that city around the bend. (L.A., San Diego, and San Jose are all more important to the state and the country. )

    Then a city that couldn't sustain itself without water from elsewhere became a city that chose the unsustainable car culture. I'm old enough to have a slice of memory from that brief period in which the freeway society made sense. One really could get anywhere in 20 minutes. There was truth in the P.R. tag line that one could ski in the morning and surf in the afternoon. It was, very briefly, an American miracle.

    Of course, fossil fuels have a way of

    A. running out

    and

    B. polluting.

    Griping about the air here now is the privilege of those who did not experience the dark brown soup we inhaled in the 70s. The worst days now do not compare to entire summers before pollution controls came into effect.

    Even so the people still came and came and came. With cars. Lots and lots of cars. Until the 80s they mostly came from the east. In the last 2 decades they've come from the south. I also have a memory of when Los Angeles was a white city with a substantial and largely impoverished black minority. In some ways, the Rodney King verdict riots signaled the end of that era. By the second day what we saw on television was the Hispanic underclass openly seizing the moment. LA is now the second largest Spanish speaking city on earth.

    Regardless of how people communicate, the fact is that aside from Phoenix and Las Vegas, Los Angeles is the least sustainable city in the United States. How these places manage the coming energy shocks is any one's guess. Most of us should not be here.

    Not spoken but just under the surface during all fires is this: Those with homes threatened by the flames should not be there in the first place. In this way those residents represent most of us here. Water from elsewhere, land that must periodically burn, all to undergird a suburban car culture that I suspect will baffle future historians. Did they actually think that could continue? will pass the lips of history undergrads everywhere.

    Meanwhile this weekend, the Daytime Emmys were held in the slowly revitalizing downtown and club kids and tourists roamed genuinely revitalized Hollywood -both pockets of the L.A. urban landscape in which people live, shop, and play because mass transit on rail actually exists there. I have no idea why subways and light rail make for a more civilized city whereas buses and cars only corrode it- but they do.

    Of course, an awards show for daytime television is not exactly a hopeful thing. Chat show yappers and soap opera actors being awarded for distracting us with aplomb - while the country's metaphorical house is on fire just over the ridge - is also to blunt a metaphor to ignore.

    The summer is over. While I look forward to my beloved USC Trojans smacking some teams around, and the shorter, cooler days, the Autumn has been commandeered by an ominous sense that the jig is all but up. Hell is on the horizon. There's a pungent whiff in the air of coming chaos. The bear market rally is dead, the President and his men have emptied their bag of tricks in the first 8 months, 20% of the population is under or unemployed, and Israel is done waiting for Iran to cease and desist.

    It is not just L.A. that's on borrowed time. We all are.

    Labels: , , ,

    Is use of the minotaur torture?

    Luncheon at Liberal Rapture

    5 agenda items today.

    1. Sarah be serious.
    Palin headed to Asia to speak to CLSA Investors Forum following in the footsteps of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Alan Greenspan. Watch this woman. She means business. I always saw Palin as being more politically talented then she was given credit for -but, even I, thought she was sunk nationally after the "death panels" facebook....not so...this woman is clearly serious about...something...One has to assume POTUS....Here is who is in her way as of August 31, 2009:

    a. Obama - think she can't beat him by 2012?....hahahahahaha. Look closer. By 2012 it is entirely feasible that I would be able to beat him.
    b. Romeny - He's got to explain the Massachusetts health care plan. The Conservatives in New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina won't be easy on him.
    c. Tim Pawlenty - Palin's real competition.
    d. Newt - Maybe.I think he's done nationally. I could be wrong..
    e. Jindal. Ho ho ho. She'd squish him.

    2. Braggin on Friends: Check out the trailer for Motherhood. My friend Javier is in it! (He yells at Uma Thurman toward the end.) This fact I own and freely enjoy: I promote my friends whenever I can...A. Because I am blessed with them. B. Because it makes me seem cooler than I am.
    Plus it does look like a sweet film.


    3. Good Deed: I'm a little thrown by the reaction here to Splendeed. I like the pay it forward aspect. Is there something wrong with "pay it forward"? Haven't made my meal for a homeless person yet but I will this week. I am grateful for the suggestion....Should I be cynical about this? Frankly, doing 1 good deed - or 2 or 3 or 16 - in your personal sphere is a direct counterpoint to all that Hope and Change bullshit from the Obots...Without the element of star fuckery 75% of the "liberals" in America would be M.I.A.

    Interesting thing on the site today - a few people have recounted their experience doing it....fascinating.

    4. Quote: According to the Sutras, evil deeds result in hardships and good deeds result in blessings.

    Bodhidharma

    5. Because I feel like it: Bettie Serveert, Unsound. Have I posted this song? Not sure...I really love it...What's not to like about a song that starts with -

    I took a Tylenol and an hour's drive. And somehow found a reason why I'm still alive...

    Sunday, August 30, 2009

    Let it fail

    Here's a whopper of a story that is getting next to zero play in the MSM: Bloomberg has won it's lawsuit to force the Fed to disclose what banks got our money. Court Orders Fed to Disclose Emergency Bank Loans.

    The Fed and the troubled banks are hardly taking this lying down. In fact, they've threatened to pull the trigger of the entire financial system. Bailed Out Banks Threaten Systemic Collapse If Fed Discloses Information

    The Clearing House Association, another name for all the banks that were bailed out over the past year with the generous contributions from all of you, dear taxpayers, are now threatening with another instance of complete systemic collapse if Bloomberg's lawsuit is allowed to proceed unchallenged, let alone if any of the "Audit The Fed" measures are actually implemented.

    Oh my. Nothing like a call for transparency to get the banking mafia to pull out the big guns. How would this "systemic collapse" occur? The lame banks that needed our money last winter would be compromised in the eyes of the public. This, according to the defendants, would spark bank runs on these lame institutions and allow those that did not take Fed money an unfair advantage. And yes, I almost gagged while typing the word "unfair."

    Does the distorted reality here need elaboration? On Planet Socialism for the Rich, Capitalism for Everyone Else - the prime horror is the revelation that solvent banks exist. My God! Some banks didn't need taxpayer bailouts! How dare they!?!

    Also, it doesn't occur to these sharks that maybe depositors ought to remove their cash from the greedy, myopic institutions that wrecked the economy. It is, in fact, wise. If the system can't survive Bank of America going belly up then we'd better fix the system...not save BofA from its corrupt business practices.

    The threat of "systemic collapse" is bogus. Why? Because the system is already collapsing. As well it should. It's a car wreck in slow motion, but it's still a car wreck.

    A system in which the rich get rewarded for failing because they hold an imaginary gun to our collective heads should fail. A system of wealth conjured with computer screen dollars should fail. A system that must grow regardless of realities on the ground should fail. A system dependant on people spending money they do not have should fail. Its failure ought to be welcomed, not avoided. Our system now is abnormal. It's like a Beverly Hills matron who's had too much plastic surgery. Everyone with any sense sees mutilation - but she gazes into the mirror and casually wonders what part of her face she should cut up next.

    Let the system fail. Spray the disinfectant now before the house we all live in rots further. It will be messy for a while, but what emerges will have a chance of being reality based.

    Labels: , , , ,

    Saturday, August 29, 2009

    Splendeed

    Okay - it's Sunday. Time for a good deed. I came across this new site called Splendeed. Someone out there has taken the time honored practice of the good deed to the cyberspace level. On Splendeed, every Sunday a good deed is suggested. Anyone who wants to take part - does. Then one can check back in on the site to comment on how it went, and to see with others have to say about doing the mitzvah.

    This week's suggested good deed is simple enough - make (or buy) a sack lunch for someone in your community that needs a meal and give it to them. This appeals to my fishes and loaves Christian upbringing. I will be participating.

    This idea is simple and eloquent. And frankly, a relief from the usual assault of online petitions that get nowhere. Simply doing a single good deed is deeply satisfying whether one is spiritually oriented or not. I sure hope this site takes off.

    Labels:

    Israel and Iran

    As we move into the fall a number of big stories loom on the horizon - swine flu, a new banking crisis, and possibly most important of all : Iran.

    Obama will have to come to grips with Iran sooner rather than later. His impulses toward Iran have been confused. We saw this demonstrated after the Iranian election.

    However, Israel is not confused about Iran. It has a history of taking matters into its own hands.

    From the LA Times:
    Iran has until late September to respond to the latest international proposal aimed at stopping the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear weapon...But if diplomacy fails, the world should be prepared for an Israeli attack on Iran's suspected nuclear weapons facilities...If Israel attempts such a high-risk and destabilizing strike against Iran, President Obama will probably learn of the operation from CNN rather than the CIA.

    The danger here is enormous. Yet, if Iran ignores the September deadline, Israel may see little reason for restraint. Many Americans will loudly applaud an attack while Arab nations loudly deplore it. (While quietly expressing relief.)

    Labels: , ,

    Rest in Peace, Ted.

    Fire

    A reader in LA sent this pic of smoke from the Station Fire near Pasadena - now burning out of control.

    Friday, August 28, 2009

    Ron Paul on gay marriage.

    Has anyone seen this interview with Ron Paul? I just came across it. Paul states without equivocation that gays should be allowed to marry. I find myself in agreement with everything he says.

    As many of you know I defend my chosen label of "liberal" but have remarked here a few times that in the end "We'll all be libertarians".

    I say this with tongue not in cheek, as it's clear that the "Chicago way" currently in vogue in D.C.- government for the few, by the few, so that the many will have no say - is not liberalism based in the the idea that government must ensure the common good and expand individual freedom. Ideas that animated the Left in America for decades. The current crop of "liberals" are bought and paid for by an elite as surely as Bush's "conservatives" were before it.

    (The most direct attack on this elite infrastructure would be public financing of all elections.)

    As the Bushbama Government becomes more on invasive I am quite sure that those on the principled Left and those on the libertarian Right will find common cause. Here is a fine example not being reported at all in the MSM many on both sides would agree on: Bill would give president emergency control of Internet.



    One final note, the quote - A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have - is being repeated often of late.

    Please note that this applies most directly to the military industrial complex. Social Security administrators will not be showing up at our doors with rifles and on our streets with tanks when it's time to "take things away." The fear of big government is healthy and as American as it gets. This fear is based not only of its size - but in the knowledge that "our" government is not ours at all. Imagine a Federal Government populated by people who owed corporations and the super rich nothing and was only beholden to the citizens who vote. Now imagine how this year would have looked with THAT government.

    Indictments, not bonuses.

    A Federal Reserve that functioned openly. Or possibly no Federal reserve at all.

    A real debate on health care, not a charade that benefits the few over the many.

    Legislators that read the laws they pass because they function with humility, not arrogance.

    Imagine.

    Labels: , , ,

    Death spiral

    Analyst Howard Davidowitz on the revised Obama deficit figures:

    "We are in the tank forever. As a country we are out of control, we're in a death spiral."

    Watch the interview here.

    Labels: , ,

    Luncheon at Liberal Rapture

    Just 2 items on the agenda today.

    1. Me and Mrs. Noonan got a thing going on:


    Me on healthcare on July 22nd:

    I can explain several pieces of major progressive legislation in one sentence:

    Social Security: To ensure that people have a safety net after their working years.

    Medicare: To ensure health care for people after their working years.
    ..

    Ms. Noonan on healthcare August 20:

    Every big idea that works is marked by simplicity, by clarity. You can understand it when you hear it, and you can explain it to people. Social Security: Retired workers receive a public pension to help them through old age. Medicare: People over 65 can receive taxpayer-funded health care...

    Middling minds do think alike...

    2. Because I feel like it:

    Labels: , ,

    Thursday, August 27, 2009

    Time to stuff the mattress?

    As a follow up to my Bank Holiday? post a week back - check out these three articles in the MSM today:

    Barbarians back at bank gates

    Bank insurance fund down 20 percent in 2Q

    'Problem' Banks Rise to 15-Year High on Bad Loans, FDIC Says

    Maybe it's not so crazy to have a week's worth of cash stuffed into a mattress.

    Labels: ,

    50%

    Obama is now down to 50% approval in the Gallup poll, putting him at 51.8% in RCP's average of the major polling outfits. Even that number is buoyed by the outlier ABC/Wapo poll.

    Strictly for the sake of my ego I don't want him to sink below 50% until September as that is when I predicted it would happen. He'll be doing a eulogy for Senator Kennedy on Saturday. At the risk of being a bit gross let me say: I think he'll get a little bounce.

    The first day after Kennedy's death was about the man. Today it is about the end of an era. (Which for many of us, including me, it is.) A sad finality does accompany the last Kennedy brother's passing. And the media is playing up this angle. Obama does well in moments like this. He'll try like the dickens to pick up the vigor baton. I assume he'll be successful enough to get a few points back in opinion polls. His skill set it perfect for moments like this.

    But it shall not last. Obama is now set to have the third biggest drop off in support of any post war President. Only Ford, who pardoned Nixon causing nationwide disgust, and Clinton who won with only 43%, fell further quicker.

    Labels: , ,

    Luncheon at Liberal Rapture

    5 items on the agenda today.

    1. Battered Obot Syndrome: Anne Lamott, a serviceable, but overrated writer, turns on Obama a bit in today's LA Times. It is interesting to watch rich white liberals contort as they try to keep the abusive love affair with Obi alive - even as he batters and ignores them. She, of course takes the requisite cheap shots at Palin along the way - done with a sort limp wink to her lefty know it all crew...cuz, you know, all the smart people, hate Palin...

    (and most like Lamott secretly hate all successful women... they won't own that little fact unless the women are conservative.)

    Here's my little Bird by Bird writing exercise for the day:


    Dear Ms. Lamott,


    Go fuck yourself.



    Sincerely,

    A real liberal - who did his goddamn due diligence on Obama LAST YEAR - before the election.


    2. The End of the Line: Ethel, who was always....well...Ethel to Jackie's Lucy...is The Last Lady of Camelot.

    3. Today's Featured Product: The featured product of the day is our delicious and subversive False Hope line of products. Check them out here - remember 10% of L.R.'s profits go to the American Breast Cancer Foundation.

    4. Yes, it can get worse: Hidden tax penalties in the House Health Care Bill.

    4. Because I feel like it:

    Labels: , , , , ,

    Obama's legacy will most resemble that of which other president?

    by 'tamerlane'

    As a follow up to his book review earlier this week Tamerlane sent this
    email with a suggestion for a reader poll.


    Rereading the Lincoln book, and how he remained focused throughout so many crises, helped me stay calm while the wildfire bore down on me last week. It also sparked inevitable comparisons in my mind between Abe and BO, and not the ones the obots were making in January.

    As a light follow-on, here's a poll on that theme:

    Labels: , , , ,

    Wednesday, August 26, 2009

    The reform farce

    Though I expected almost nothing from Obama - the health care "debate" has still been distressing. Even by the low standards set by W - this national farce has been...well...a new low. On all sides, Orwell has proven, yet again, to be the central prophet of our time. Everything is its opposite.

    The Right continues to scream "socialism", though they've won the battle. The Left has been gutted and filleted by the extraordinary duplicity of Obama and the Senate Democrats and is now distracting itself with boycotts of Whole Foods and quietly steaming off Obama "hope" stickers from cars, windows and their collective buttocks. And all of it amounts to nothing - except more money for insurance companies.

    The word "reform" itself needs refurbishing. The inversion of its meaning is now complete. War is peace, the status quo is reform. And onward we march.

    What is happening is not reform at all - it is an inflation of the status quo. The one section of "health care" in America that is unnecessary and destructive, insurance, is set to expand under Obama's "reform". Joe Bageant at Deer Hunting with Jesus, Dispatches from America's class war writes what is to me the definitive piece so far on this farce:

    In the end though, health care American style comes down to the preferences of two elite castes, Congress and corporate powers, neither of which can exist without the other. Corporations need the government to sanction their methods of extracting wealth from the public. Congress needs corporations to finance its campaign chariot races.

    Read the rest here.



    The battle cry from the Right and the Left "I want my country back!" seems oddly dated for the first time. What country are crying out for? The multi headed beast of an entitled, deluded, obese in every way population, financial mafias, political mafias, and a nation owned lock, stock and barrel by China and 1% of our population - has made the country we think we want back a mystery. An echo. A bizarre nostalgia. Can we now even recognize a small r republican nation in which the people and their representatives worked for the common good? I doubt it.

    Labels: , ,

    Luncheon at Liberal Rapture

    4 items on the agenda today.

    1. Check out the map of women's suffrage before the passage of the 19th Amendment. Western states had the most liberal laws regarding voting rights for women. Interesting. And I renew my call for a national holiday to be added to the calender in august. Women's rights Day ought to be the third Monday in August to commemorate the passage of the 19th Amendment. (Tennessee ratified the Amendment on August 18, 1920, giving it the 36 needed for adoption.)

    2. Hooray! The "soft" reopening of our merchandise store begins today. The featured items today - various Obama Fraud swag. One of the first - and still the best - riff on the annoying Obama "Hope" poster is a classic around here. Created by Deadenders owner Scott, this design is available on shirts, postcards, mugs, and more. You knew the truth all along....let the world know you knew. Click here to make a purchase. Between now and Sept. 30, 10% of all L.R.'s profits will go to the American Breast Cancer Foundation in celebration of survivor, Beverly, my step mother. More items will be rolling out in the days and weeks ahead.

    make custom gifts at Zazzle

    3. Why GM and Chrysler should not have been saved in a nutshell.

    4. Joan makes it better:

    Labels: , ,

    Senator Kennedy has died.

    Senator Kennedy is dead. He and his brothers are heroes. At 17, the first political campaign I involved myself with was his 1980 bid for the White House. He was one of the greatest senators we have ever had and this country is better because of his life. He made two huge mistakes which will tarnish his legacy, Chappaquiddick and his foolish endorsement of the lying sack of shit Obama.

    Still, the contributions of Senator Kennedy are incalculable.

    From the LA Times tonight:

    Though his most cherished legislative goal of universal health insurance eluded him, Kennedy helped write a number of laws that ranged from making it easier for workers who change or lose jobs to keep their health insurance, to giving 18-year-olds the right to vote, to deregulating the airlines, helping lower airfares.

    He several times spearheaded legislation to raise the minimum wage and, in the early 1970s, wrote the law creating Meals on Wheels, which delivers meals to seniors. He was influential in reforming immigration laws and in expanding Head Start programs.

    In 1982, he helped gain an extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and he was a principal sponsor of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which negated Supreme Court decisions that made it more difficult for minorities to win lawsuits charging job discrimination by employers. In 1990, he worked with then-Sen. Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.) to gain passage of the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act giving disabled Americans greater access to employment, among other things. That same year, he was author of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act providing funds for community healthcare and support services.

    Tuesday, August 25, 2009

    Dust in Your Eyes

    Dust in Your Eyes

    by 'tamerlane'

    The deniers of Global Warming ("GW") like to present themselves as "skeptics" who are merely practicing scientific open-mindedness to the evidence presented by "alarmists". While I question the Deniers' open-mindedness, I make no apologies for raising the alarm about GW. The end result of our unmitigated raising of global temperatures is cataclysmic disruption of our civilization followed by the eventual extinction of all life on Earth.

    The evidence on GW is unassailable. Near-universal consensus exists among the scientific community as to the manmade origin of GW and its dire consequences. The climate data used to arrive at this conclusion is copious, covers hundreds of thousands (in some instances millions) of years, and is entirely self-consistent. The model that was developed to explain this data is robust, and has proven itself highly accurate both in predicting ongoing climate change and at explaining newly discovered historical data. (1)

    GW Deniers attack this evidence by casting doubt on: 1) the consensus; 2) the data; and 3) the model. When exposed to scrutiny, all three attacks are exposed as shameful deceptions.


    1. The Consensus
    Every major scientific organization in the world has issued statements stressing the reality of GW and the urgent need to address it. With one exception-the National Academy of Sciences had its original statement rewritten by the Bush Administration (2)-no legitimate organization has ever expressed any doubt on the subject.

    In reply, the Deniers can only offer an handful of fabricated "petitions":

    Senator James Inhofe's list of 400 "prominent scientists" who doubt GW, including 44 TV weathermen, 84 persons in the employ of the fossil fuel lobby, and 90 persons with no scientific credentials whatsoever (3);

    Statement by Atmospheric Scientists, drafted in 1992 by the oil lobby, with 46 signatories of dubious credentials; rejects GW based on the economic impacts of combating it; suggests sunspots are the cause of GW (4);

    Oregon Petition signed by 17,000 "scientists", defined as anyone holding a B.S. degree; author admits that none of the signatories are climate specialists; claims GW is beneficial to mankind; petition was funded by ExxonMobil; author, Fred Seitz, is a former tobacco industry advisor who has denied the health risks of smoking (5);

    Leipzig Declaration signed by 80 "scientists", including 25 TV weathermen and several coal and oil industry figures; all key data contained in the declaration has been invalidated; rejects GW based on the economic impacts of combating it; author, S. Fred Singer, is a former weather satellite technician, lists spurious credentials on his resume, was dismissed from his teaching position at the U. of VA, has denied acid rain and ozone layer depletion; Singer's activities are financed by Rev. Moon's Unification Church and by ExxonMobil, Shell, Unocal and ARCO (6).


    2. The Data
    Deniers nit-pick at the scientific data while offering shockingly little of their own. The Deniers' refutations of the data are either non-sequiturs or simply incorrect, as outlined by BBC News here.

    The Denier's own data is limited to one study by Roy Spencer, a meteorologist at the University of Alabama. In 1989 Spencer compiled weather balloon readings, concluding that increased CO2 in the atmosphere had a cooling effect. (7) But to extrapolate Spencer's solitary study on short-term, local weather to reject legion of data collected on long-term, global climate, is naive at best. Even worse, Spencer was forced to admit in 2005 that he had fudged his results, and the readings actually showed that CO2 increases local temperatures. (8)

    Relying on Spencer as their champion does not help the Denier's credibility. Spencer is a member of the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance, "a coalition of religious leaders, clergy, theologians, scientists, academics, and other policy experts committed to bringing a proper and balanced Biblical view of stewardship to the critical issues of environment and development." As host of an Intelligent Design radio show, Spencer rejects Evolution outright, and favors the teaching of Creationism in public science classes. Spencer also denies that DDT has any negative environmental impact. (9). Finally, Spencer is a fellow at three think tanks funded by ExxonMobil and the tobacco lobby. In addition to denying GW, these think tanks also deny the health risk of cigarette smoke. (10)


    3. The Model
    Deniers claim that the accepted GW model is invalidated by Spencer's falsified data. The best "alternate model" they can come up with is some sloppy amateur formulas - thoroughly debunked by professional mathematicians - from a Viscount Monckton, whose scientific credentials are limited to a degree in classical literature. (11)

    As a last resort, deniers address the irrefutable link between manmade CO2 and global climate change with the polemic "correlation does not prove causation." That statement is prima facie true. Just because the increases in global temperature precisely match human-driven increases in CO2 doesn't necessarily mean they are caused by them. But it doesn't much help our understanding unless the Deniers offer a plausible alternative: either how increased temps somehow cause increased manmade CO2, or what is the mystery third causation that affects both.


    Healthy Skepticism
    GW Deniers present themselves as "skeptics" who keep an open mind about GW. In truth, they rejected GW from the get-go. They are, as the Skeptic's Dictionary (www.Skepdic.com) defines them, mere "contrarians" - "someone who poses as a skeptic, refusing to accept consensus conclusions...on the ground that there is still some uncertainty." Skepdic notes that "in the vast majority of modern cases, scientific consensus can be expected to hold up under scrutiny precisely because it was reached through a lengthy and rigorous process of professional skepticism and criticism." Contrarian demands for "endless analysis of issues to prevent any action from being taken" only benefit "polluters and anyone else opposed to government regulations..." Skepdic concludes that "the contrarian simply wants to throw dust in people's eyes so they can't see what's really going on..." (12)

    Michael Shermer, director of The Skeptics Society, warns that "some people believe that skepticism is the rejection of new ideas..." Shermer instead sees skepticism as "a method, not a position. Ideally, skeptics do not go into an investigation closed to the possibility that a phenomenon might be real or that a claim might be true." Shermer rejects the Socratic definition of skepticism - "All I know is that I know nothing" - as "sterile and unproductive." Shermer stresses that "modern skepticism is embodied in the scientific method, which involves gathering data to formulate and test naturalistic explanations for natural phenomena. A claim becomes factual when it is confirmed to such an extent it would be reasonable to offer temporary agreement." For Shermer, the "key to skepticism is to continuously and vigorously apply the methods of science to navigate the treacherous straits between 'know nothing' skepticism and 'anything goes' credulity." (13)


    As is plain to see, GW Deniers are not true skeptics applying scientific methodology. They are contrarians, scam artists in the employ of the oil lobby, big tobacco, and biblical literalists. Don't let them throw dust in your eyes any longer.

    (c) 2009 by 'tamerlane.' All rights reserved.


    References
    1) http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/global_warming_101
    2) http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/04-10-08
    3) http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/inhofe-global-warming-deniers-scientists-46011008
    4) http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SEPP_and_the_Statement_by_Atmospheric_Scientists_on_Greenhouse_Warming
    5) http://debunking.pbworks.com/Oregon-Petition, http://www.ecosyn.us/adti/Singer-Seitz.html
    6) http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=65, http://www.marshall.org/article.php?id=415
    7) http://www.ecosyn.us/adti/Singer-Nightline.html
    8) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/12/science/earth/12climate.long.html?ex=1281499200&en=2588a631b8c5cc5d&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

    9) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Spencer_(scientist), http://www.squidoo.com/roy-spencer#module17017422
    10) http://www.desmogblog.com/roy-spencer
    11) http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/nov/14/science.comment
    12) http://www.skepdic.com/climateskeptics.html, http://www.skepdic.com/contrarian.html
    13) http://www.skeptic.com/about_us

    Labels: , ,

    Luncheon at Liberal Rapture

    5 items on the luncheon agenda today.

    #1. Request for book reviews:
    I loved Tamerlane's review of the Lincoln bio last night. Expanding on what he said - we do get a lot of book suggestions in the comments. It would be great to hear your thoughts on what you've read. Write a review! Here are some guidelines your review should contain...

    Title
    Author
    Publisher & Year

    Overview of
    -What does it cover?
    -How is the writing?
    -What type of reader would enjoy it?
    -What do we learn?
    -Is it controversial? Groundbreaking? Inspiring? A bunch of Crap?

    -plus a few limited quotes.

    500 words max.

    Send here: John@liberalrapture.com

    Don't make it homework. Have fun! The community here is consistent and opinionated. Open new vistas for us!

    #2: An alarming chart here. Obama's White House...not so good with numbers.

    #3 We'll always have Kandahar. In all likelihood Obama will be expanding the war in Afghanistan again in the next few weeks. Hmmm...I wonder where the anti-war Left is? Guess they're busy on Facebook drumming up support for the Whole Foods boycott.

    #4: Michael Farr: "The stock market has decided that it's going to be happy no matter what."

    #5 Because I feel like it...Jose Gonzalez sings Lovestain:


    Coming tonight: More from Tamerlane on global warming.

    Wednesday: Astrid Passionfroot's mailbag, and the roll out of a new Liberal Rapture store begins!

    Labels: , , , ,

    Monday, August 24, 2009

    A boycott in faux liberal land.

    A boycott is afoot in faux liberal land. The target this time is none other than Whole Foods Markets. The implosion on the Left since The Lightbringer entered the White House gates really gets no better than this. The Whole Foods Left is boycotting Whole Foods Market. If there is a better example of Brentwood/Huffington/Martha's Vineyard/Let's give lip service to the working stiffs though we secretly hate them asininity in 2009, I can't think of it.

    After years of smugly mincing through the aisles of Whole Foods to purchase their overpriced tofu, "green" shampoo and free range tofurkey did they not know that Whole Foods is non union? Did they not know that next to none of the produce is local? That the owner and CEO is a libertarian?

    No doubt, many of them did. But like the Obama zombies of 2008, principles never entered their arrogant pea brains. Whole Foods, like Obama, makes them feel that all important rush of smug. Like all children- their feelings blot out all facts. John Mackey, the C.E.O. wrote an editorial in the Wall Street Journal in opposition to Obama's fluctuating health care plan. This has caused the affluent, we know better than you, lefties to feel bad. Now they are so wee weeed off that their boycotting.

    My God, how will they eat? Will we catch a glimpse of Ms. Huffington looking baffled and dazed in a Safeway? Will Piggley Wiggly parking lots be overrun by Volvos and Priuses? Will they actually buy local produce from someone who might really be a MEXICAN!!!???

    For many years the Democratic party kept the entitled, fake Left in a box and used them for money. Much like the GOP used to do with the John Birchers. Get 'em to write checks, stuff envelopes and vote party line. The Democrats nearly always kept The Whole Foods wing off the national ticket. Gary Hart, Jerry Brown, Bill Bradley, Howard Dean...each admirable in certain ways - all got stuffed in the primaries by the mainline Democrat -Mondale, Clinton, Gore, Kerry.

    That is until 2008. The Whole Foods wing went koo koo for the inexperienced junior Senator sent from Heaven by way of Chicago. They were so in love they tore up rule book - with some help from Mr. Soros.

    Well guess what? Turns out Obama ain't all that. In fact, no one is quite sure what he is.

    Still.

    He's a socialist, fascist, corporate shill, smooth talking liar...pick your negative modifiers...it's bound to be true for a day or two.


    In psychological terms the Whole Foods Boycott is properly called displacement.

    ...displacement is an unconscious defense mechanism whereby the mind redirects effects from an object felt to be dangerous or unacceptable to an object felt to be safe or acceptable.
    ..

    It's safe to go after Whole Foods, though C.E.O. Mackey merely re-stated views he's already known to have. All one has to do is look at his business model.

    Hmmm, ignoring facts because the lies feel so good...sounds strangely familiar...Why it's 2008 all over again!

    Hey, all you feverishly pushing the Whole Foods boycott - you've been had! But not by Whole Foods Markets.

    Labels: , , , ,

    The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln

    Book Review

    by 'tamerlane'


    The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln
    by Phillip Shaw Paludan
    University of Kansas Press, 1994


    A scholarly and insightful overview of Lincoln's administration and leadership style, Phillip Shaw Paludan's The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln offers an enlightening analysis of the workings of Lincoln's mind while bringing to life the events and personalities that surrounded the president. Paludan's prose is lucid, at times dense with detail but never flounders in minutia.

    Paludan tackles the material chronologically, but takes a refreshing thematic approach to each of the 16 chapters, for example: "Forging the Resources of War: January to February 1862"; "Cabinet Crisis: December 1862" ; "Emancipation and the Limits of Dissent: January to June 1863."

    We see Lincoln balancing conflicting ideals, juggling crises, and managing personnel for maximum effect. Military events are covered in a broad but accurate brush, and Paludan places them in the context of the myriad other concerns facing Lincoln: midterm elections, intra-party rivalries, the threat of foreign intervention, fostering economic growth and expansion. Among a cacophony of competing voices, and with the war both as a backdrop and the catalyst, Lincoln turned his party's vision of a new America into a new version of America:

    "The elections of 1863 asked voters how they felt about entering their future so quickly.... When Democrats offered the old world in 1863, the large majority responded that they were ready to accept a new day."

    Paludan's analysis of the evolution and impact of the Emancipation Proclamation is the clearest and most profound ever encountered. We are given both the broad political, cultural, military, and constitutional milieu, and a probing analysis of the president's thought process:

    "Lincoln did not, as some charged, free the slaves only in places where he could not reach them; he freed the slaves in the only place he could legally reach them - in places that he ruled under presidential war powers. The language of the great deed had to be a lawyer's language because Lincoln was taking legal action. He was placing the great ideal of freedom within the constitutional fabric - the only place that it could have life in a constitutional republic."

    Paludan presents us with a visionary president who successfully melded the competing desires of radical abolition and conservative preservation of the Constitution, by defining it as a document of Liberty. "An older idea of liberty from government was being transformed into a vision of liberty because of government." We also see how Lincoln quickly and deftly learned from his mistakes: to thwart discord among his cabinet; or, after indulging the inert McClellan with excessive patience, he wasted little time on Burnside and Hooker.

    Delegating without ever relinquishing ultimate authority, letting actors and events play out until his intervention was required, Lincoln steered the nation through its greatest peril, while never once losing sight of its founding principles.

    (c) 2009 by 'tamerlane.' All rights reserved.

    Labels: , , , ,

    Sunday, August 23, 2009

    Please take note...

    ...that the one part of the "transformative" Obama Administration that is actually being transformed is the State Department.

    Amid all the distractions, what is Clinton actually doing? Only overseeing what may be the most profound changes in U.S. foreign policy in two decades - a transformation that may render the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush mere side notes in a long transition to a meaningful post-Cold War worldview.

    Read the rest here.

    Labels: , ,

    Looting our money and redistributing it to large corporations is now the one ongoing function of the Federal Government.

    My God, the health care debacle enrages me. It was clear a while ago that the entire "debate" has been, in essence, staged. The public option was never going to be in the final bill. Obama knew it. The Senate Democrats knew it. The Republicans knew it. The only people left flat footed appear to be the House Democrats who - whether they like it or not - no one with real power cares about because, frankly, they don't matter.

    I wrote in December that the Left wing of the Democratic party would be thrown under the bus by Obama. The clearest evidence we have yet of this has occurred in the last two weeks as Obama has backed away from the public option. Glenn Greenwald makes mince meat of the "liberal" journalists here, who are - let's be brutally frank - Obama's pimps. Jonathan Alter gets the prize for being the most brazenly whorish. He is an amoral scumbag who trashed Clinton through out 2008 and has openly flip flopped along with Obama on the public option. The man has no principles, no morality, and probably no soul.

    The final health care bill will almost certainly be nothing more than a forced transfer of wealth from the middle class to large insurance companies. Buy their product or you are breaking the law.

    Looting our money and redistributing it to large corporations is now the one ongoing function of the Federal Government.


    Irony alert: The Healthcare bill without the public option is statism at its rawest. This is fascism if we define it in the traditional sense as the marriage of the state and corporations. So yes, the townhall screamers got it right for the wrong reasons. The Federal government has colluded to make it illegal for most of us to avoid buying health insurance. Further it has colluded to ensure that pharmaceuticals can set any price they like for drugs. This will be law by year's end. The hope and change Presidency is an unmitigated catastrophe for anyone who still holds the quaint notion that we, the people, matter.

    Since 2001 our tax dollars have gone to:

    The airline industry.
    Pharmaceutical giants (Tamiflu)
    Haliburton
    The auto industry.
    The banking sector.
    AIG
    Add your own - I'm sure I've missed some. The government is now a subsidiary of a few corporations. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum this fact ought to enrage you as well. Why do we pay taxes? To bailout corporations. That's why. This is not capitalism.

    The perennial debate in this country - what role should the government play in our lives - is now dead. Now the only debate is which multinational corporations get to rape us.

    Every "crisis" is another opportunity to transfer wealth from the middle to the richest. Under the guise of heath care "reform" we are about to see the most successful looting of the middle class yet.

    Oh, and yes, you'll have no other option. Of this you can be sure.

    Labels: , , , ,

    Morning Thought

    I dream of a world where poultry can walk from one side of the street to the other without having their motivations questioned.

    Gabe Fonseca


    Have a great Sunday, everyone! See Y'all on Monday!

    Saturday, August 22, 2009

    Obama is a fraud. Episode 453

    Baby Daddy just linked this clip:


    Money quote: The system is rigged for the wealthy and the powerful and it is rigged against us.

    Labels: , ,

    Next time think before you vote.

    The Hope and Change brigade is cratering. Obama's public ambivalence about the public option seems to have been a tipping point. It forced a moment of clarity on some of the drunkest Obots. They are seeing now that this President's words and deeds often do not match. This has been true his entire career. So many who were belligerently in denial about the man last year now cannot escape this truth.

    As the months ahead unfold there will be many instances of deprogrammed Obots declaiming - as if it's news - that Obama is a fraud, duplicitous, inexperienced, not to be trusted. Do we take them by the collar, shake hard, and scream "WE knew this. WE told warned you about Obama!" Or do we welcome with open arms the prodigals upon their belated return to reality?

    Frankly, the second choice is galling to me. The damage done by the Obama machine last year is incalculable and will last the rest of our lives. The apparatus of the world's oldest political party was overrun by callous elites and the infants they manipulated. Journalism evaporated.

    So much of the criticism of Obama - ignored last year - is becoming par for the course. He's inexperienced, untested, arrogant, all talk, all show, sneaky, awkward without a script, Bush rendered in blue...These critiques are now coming from both sides.

    I read this comment from a liberal yesterday: "Obama is a disappointment, bet let's not kid ourselves that Hillary would have been any better." This is false for one simple reason: Clinton's campaign was not based on a lie about who she actually was. The entire Obama campaign was a fabrication. A hologram in which we were conned into voting for a projection - not a person. This cannot be allowed to happen again. Campaigns must be about vetting and educating - not distracting and deceiving.

    So whether we scream "Told Ya So!" or graciously embrace the kool-aid drinkers as they come to - let's not let the teachable moment slide past. Next time think before you vote.

    Labels: , , , ,

    saturday morning post.

    Friday, August 21, 2009

    Four more banks failed on Friday.

    On being kept in a perpetual state of childishness.

    It's not news for L.R. to insist that there is something fishy about Barack Obama. I've been doing it for over a year now. As this is an opinion blog, not a research blog, other blogs have shown the way in backing up the "fishy" allegations.

    Something ain't right with Obama's narrative - that much is obvious to everyone who skipped the kool-aid. Too much is missing. Something also ain't right with his quick rise up the political ranks. It was too easy and too quick not to arouse suspicions. Alice Palmer and Jack Ryan being the most famous road kill on the Obama trail.

    Cannonfire has been posting on the odd connections between Obama and the CIA over the past few months. The circumstantial evidence of a connection is compelling. The Cannonfire post today recounts this evidence. Please read it. It also contains the clip I've posted below - not to steal any thunder or jump on a bandwagon. I re-post the clip to make a point.

    The speaker, John Pilger, is, in fact, a socialist. Given how willy nilly the word has been thrown about in this country over the summer it seems worth while to post a clip of an actual socialist. The views Pilger espouses in the clip are "far left" by American MSM standards. In most industrialized countries - especially Europe - they would merely be called "Leftist". He is not outrageous or insane. In fact, I suspect Ron Paul would find himself in much agreement with Pilger's criticism (though, there would be little agreement on solutions). With the expection of his view on Iran and Europe - I'm a hawk on Iran- there is nothing in this clip with which I disagree.

    Additionally - and most importantly - his critique of Brand Obama is concise and specific.

    Labels: , , ,

    Lunch Break

    BHO sinking like the Titanic - 45% approval in latest Zogby Poll.

    (Is that a black swan I see overhead?)


    Inspiring: Check out the Mehadi Foundation - one Iraq vet's non profit that gives back to our warriors and the people of Iraq. Click it!

    Don't miss: "Obama is a charming liar" on Air America. Another remarkable quote on the clip: "What if the town hall screamers are right?" - remember this is Air America...not Glenn Beck...

    Bank Holiday a-coming? FDIC adding large fees as reserves deplete.

    Because I feel like it:

    Labels: , , , , , ,

    Obot-o-Scope for August 21, 2009

    By Astrid Passionfroot.


    August 21, 2009

    Life feels complicated today because the Pelosi Moon is fading into the house of Obama as it passes through an asteroid storm of white dwarfs, black holes, and blue dogs. Stress arises when our need to be mindlessly in love with the Barack star triangle of Hope, Change, and Hopeychangyhope - differs from reality yet again. Best to stay at home, sit in a dimly lit room and stare at a photo of Him chanting "Yes, We Can!" until the storm passes.



    Tonight: Cash for Clunkers Party time! Get your Biden on! Happy hour with friends, then smash up your cars for fun. (Remember to wear a seatbelt!) On Monday trade the newly minted "clunkers" in for new cars before the 6 pm deadline! Have fun!

    Labels: ,

    Thursday, August 20, 2009

    Go away!

    Information, (almost all of it useless and driven by personality, not facts or intellect.) is so relentless in our culture that there ought to be a cultural Time Out space in America. If you are a "celebrity" taking part in the bread and circuses distraction gestalt as our nation begins its final decent into second rate status, you should be forced to take periodic time outs. During celebrity timeout you must live in Amish Country or El Centro, CA (your pick) for 1 year. No communication. No forcing yourself on to radio, TV, or youtube, no tweeting, facebook, or sex tapes that are "stolen", no inane career moves to grab a headline, no inflammatory remarks, no faux outrage.

    Silence.

    Also, certain topics are talked about so often and so shallowly that talking about them has become an avoidance method. Like the alcoholic who mistakes going to meetings for working a program...As long as we're yammering on about something we're making progress....right?

    Wrong.


    So my first nominees for a GO AWAY FOR ONE YEAR
    enforced 1 year timeout are:


    The Race "Conversation". We ought to ban it outright for 1 year. I know...I know...free speech etc...it just a game, relax...A chunk of hucksters in this country are absolutely addicted to bringing up race. They are junkies and their drug of choice hurts us all. Let's ban referencing it at all for one year, forcing ourselves to frame social and news narratives through different lenses like say "class" or "personal responsibility". Try is right now. Think about the Crowley/Gates incident in terms of class, not race. What's it about then? Who is the hero(ine) if the entire story, from beginning to end, is reported through the lens of personal and civic responsibility? It won't change everything - but a year with no talk of race would move mountains.


    Brett Favre - Gaaaaaaaawd almighty, retire already. Why do so many of the greats insist on playing until we are forced to watch them breakdown in front of us?

    The free credit report.com slackers - Does anyone question why these manboys have crappy credit? The money intended to pay back student loans was spent on enough pot and munchies to sustain entire months watching Internet porn and Adult Swim. Duh. The only reason their bad credit surprises them in those commercials is because everything surprises them...the sunrise surprises them...people going to work in the morning is a real shocker!

    Joe Biden. His "year away" may need to start at Betty Ford...everything about his gaffes a few months ago screamed "Happy hour starts at 3pm at Number One Observatory Circle!" His exile may have already begun quietly. He's been mostly off stage since the beer summit...at which he drank nonalcoholic Buckler...hmmmm....berry interestin....

    Nancy Grace. Entities that live on the blood of others are usually called vampires.

    Now you:
    Who or what needs to go away from 12 months? You can add your own answer to the poll below.

    Labels: , , ,

    This is silly, but irresistible.

    BHO is headed to Martha's Vineyard over the weekend to start his vacation. Guess what else may be showing up on at the same time? Hurricane Bill. If the next named storm is "Clinton" and it also follows the Prez we'll know something is up...

    Ah, the little jokes God plays....

    Morning Thought

    This used to be a government of checks and balances. Now it's all checks and no balances.


    Gracie Allen

    Wednesday, August 19, 2009

    going it alone

    Pathetic.

    In sitting down to post, yet again, on Pelbama's inept shepherding of health care - even with a huge majority in both houses of Congress and control of the Executive Branch - I realized I could type:

    Pathetic.

    and be done with it.

    But Matt Taibbi, who roasted Goldman Sachs and the administration recently, is back with an upcoming piece on health care reform in Rolling Stone. His post Obama's Pre-emptive Health Care Surrender is a teaser complete with a photo in which the light bringer looks every bit as smug as W on his most arrogant day. Taibbi takes no prisoners. Why should he - or any of us? The Pelbama is busy writing a law that amounts to a massive infusion of money for health insurance companies. Want to know why? Look here.

    As I said before I could have handled the White House's health care P.R. better from a phone booth in Fresno wielding only stubby pencil and cursory notes on 1993. Which isn't saying much. Half the country would have coached the WH better than Axelrod and Rahm.

    The talking point of the day is that Democrats plan on going it alone on Health care. The implication being that the party of Jefferson and FDR are finally growing a set. Of course when one reflects on this for 2.3 seconds the obvious question is: Hey Dems, did you honestly think you weren't going it alone already? It's not like the GOP has been showing up with casseroles and neighborly good intentions. 30 years after Reagen clocked Carter, Democrats still haven't learned that conservatives always play to win - an admirable trait even when I disagree -which is most of the time.

    The first question is followed quickly by : Which faction of the Democratic party now intends to go it alone? The argument is between Democratic factions and has been for some time. Are the Progressives going to go it alone? Or the Blue Dogs? Are they going to go it alone separately?

    This entire debate has been distorted from the beginning. The moment single payer was taken "off the table" the "debate" became a World Wrestling Entertainment match. A conjured smack down in which all contestants go along with the false spectacle - including, most importantly, the audience. Single payer may have failed to get enough votes in the end. That is not relevant. An alternative that everyone over 65 already has - was not even allowed to be discussed. When one side is not allowed to make its strongest case it's not a debate. It's a sideshow.

    Pelosi and Obama handed over the health care Sudetenland and now feign surprise as the rest of Czechoslovakia is gobbled up.

    All of this leads to another question: Was the plan all along to neuter health care reform?

    It sure looks that way.

    How many two by fours to the heads of liberals will Obama mete out before they get it?

    Obama is a fraud.

    Labels: , , ,

    Midday post cornucopia

    It's midday and I've got nothing to say ...so here's a spaghetti against the wall post:

    1. Let's wish President Clinton a Happy Birthday! as Nelson Mandela does here. Also on the Clinton Foundation page check out the featured Zagat guide to Harlem. Looks great. Amongst the zillion things the Clintons have helped moved forward - the revival of Harlem is one of the more unsung. Riverdaughter has the Big Dog's birthday covered here.

    2. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly here - where I post to escape the occasionally onerous first word in the title of this blog....Today: Milwaukee mayor/good Samaritan, 10 year girl old busted for lemonade stand, gays being murdered in Iraq.

    3. Yikes! Wages and salaries fell 4.7 percent in the 12 months through June, the biggest drop since records began in 1960...

    4. Because I feel like it:

    Morning Thought

    You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

    Mae West

    Tuesday, August 18, 2009

    Rep. Weiner

    Please head over to Cannonfire and watch Congressman Weiner discuss the haps in the health care fight. He's great.

    Labels: ,

    Numbers, numbers, numbers

    According to RCP's average of major polls Obama's job approval now stands at 52%. It's been a on slow, downward slope since March.

    Given that he was elected with 54% of the vote, and given that Americans, being fair minded with new employees, like to give their President's a honeymoon, I originally predicted that Obama would fall below 50% in June. Sometime in March or so I amended my prediction to September, which I'll stick with. I love to give a political prognosis. But I'm queasy about direct predictions and attempt to avoid them unless they're irresistibly obvious and my ego wants on the "told ya so" bandwagon.

    This leaves room for:

    A. Surprises. Bush was drifting lower and lower in the polls in August of 2001...and then...
    B. The fact that I am not, and have no interest in being, a soothsayer.
    C. A big, bellowing "No thanks!" when the crow gets passed my way.
    D. Surprises. Leaders can surprise. Things change. Sometimes for the better. After a bad first year in the polls Clinton retrenched and 7 years later left office with remarkably high approval ratings.

    Few circumstance can push Obama's numbers back upward in the next 6 weeks. Arrogance and inexperience have boxed him in on health care. Perhaps for the first time in his political career when he's having to pay for his arrogance and inexperience in the public arena.

    I've made a prediction. I want to have some fun with it. On my Obama approval number prediction - let me tighten my own noose:

    Obama's approval will fall below 50% in September. That means - he will be below 50% in RCP's average of the polls for 14 consecutive days. The days cannot start before Sept. 1 and end after Sept. 30. If he falls below 50% in August it doesn't count until September. Conversely, if he sinks below 50% on September 20 and stays there until the 30th - I will also count myself incorrect.

    Now you - predict where Obama will be in the RCP average on one day - September 30.

    Labels: , , ,

    Not only do we already have rationing. We already have death panels.

    I've been wondering when this would come up in the MSM: Free-Market Death Panels -

    Having already lost precious time confronting this cancer, we simply rushed to Deaconess. On hearing the story, the head of the chemo program told us: "HMOs don't care whether you live or die. They just want to save money.

    Labels: ,

    Celente

    Celente on money junkies, the real mafia, The Presidential Reality Show , the Wall Street casino, Angela Merkel, and the need for a third party - here and here.

    Labels: , ,

    Annie Wells - From An Arm's Length

    Annie Wells in a survivor of breast cancer. She is a Pulitzer prize winning photojournalist. She is also a friend.

    When she was diagnosed in 2002 she turned her photography skills inward. Taking pictures of herself and her breast throughout her treatment. This, in turn, became the genesis of a feature length documentary, From An Arm's Length, now in post production. On the film's site is a clip from the film - which looks like it will be inspiring, challenging, and honest. Much like Annie's photography.

    Check it out. Pass the site around. Nearly all of us know someone who has dealt with breast cancer.

    Labels: , , ,

    Monday, August 17, 2009

    Time for all good liberals to ditch the health care dinner party.

    Single Payer was taken off the table before the dinner party began. Over the weekend the public option began to be eased off the menu. Now the main course is a "co-op" plan - which sounds like a place in Santa Monica one might buy hemp rope from a hippie and stop in for a vasectomy on the way out.

    Of course, the co-op will probably be removed before anyone gets to dine. Leaving us with a small assortment of reform turd sandwiches being passed off as dinner. Let's face it, Democrats are rotten hosts. Without the public option there is no "dinner party" (to stretch the metaphor beyond reason).

    Wapo reports the possibility of 100 House Dems bolting and joining all the Republicans in voting no. This would kill any bill out right. Regretfully, I must say - I hope they do revolt.

    It would be better for all if what is now being called reform is dragged in front of a death panel for a quick coup de gracie. If this "reform" gets passed it ends any chance for real reform - probably forever. (This may have been the point all along.) However, if nothing gets passed reform advocates can continue the fight. Preferably with real leaders - say Senator Feingold. Forcing the the feckless, fly fishing lightbringer on a loooooong trip to scavenge a burger will also be in order. Or perhaps Bush in Blue and Michelle can go on an extended shopping trip for empty suits. Leaving policy to the grown ups - with experience.

    At any rate - if the liberals with principles - few and far between, I admit- raise enough hell to keep the public option alive into the Fall - my bet is on the inevitable black swan event to snap its gasping neck.

    (Yes, I am THAT guy. The one who believes some major cataclysms are manufactured. And yes I smashed inevitable and black swan together to make a point.)

    Bank Holiday?

    One of the many rumours just under the surface during the summer interlude is of an impending bank holiday.

    (The phrase "bank holiday" itself being the best piece of marketing since the Department of War changed it's name to the Department of Defense. A bank holiday would be anything but a holiday for anyone with money in banks.)

    The bank holiday rumour got a bit more salient with news Friday of 5 more bank failures. The markets dropped 2-3% today. A new season of economic spookiness may be here.

    The summer bank holiday rumor got its initial "legs" with a report in June that American embassies were being instructed to hoard local currencies. This credible - sort of - report set off a wave of chatter among the usual suspects: FEMA camp, gun confiscation worriers, Prison Planet types. It's worth noting that the same people spent much of 2008 preparing for a Bush bank holiday.

    Frankly, my economic knowledge is a mile wide and an inch deep. My views in this area are a mix of what appears to me to be common sense and a glancing understanding of the basics. And my internal sense of morality comes into play on policy matters.

    I see circumstances brewing that may entice the government to force the banks to close for a week or more. The banks are, themselves, still hoarding.

    The last gasp of faith in the government has been shattered in the last 6 months. Anxiety that was palpable all spring has now turned to outright anger in the summer. It's under the heading "health care" - but its about everything. If we get collectively spooked this fall like we did last fall, bank runs are feasible. Which makes a bank holiday feasible.

    While the population is distracted with health insurance cabal's retrenchment...I mean health care battles... the new depression marches on.

    Labels: ,

    No balls.

    Could the Obama admin have less than zero balls? Could it have negative balls? Anti-matter balls? Opposite world balls?

    From FireDogLake: The Obama Justice Department filed another defense of the Defense of Marriage Act in court this morning,

    What's the Hopey Changey progress Obama can claim this time? He didn't call all gay people child molesters in the Justice department brief. Whoo hoo! A transformative president! A real leader! A man-god! The light bringer! His Justice dept does not think 10% of the population are perverts! Wow! I have a tingle going up my leg!

    (Or is that a homo who wants to grab the goods because he is blind and thinks i am 14???)


    I am SO glad the Left is waking up. (Though I will continue to yell TOLD YA SO! for a good, long while. Perhaps forever. The Obots deserve a long season in Hell for what they did last year.

    Labels: , , ,

    green shoots or black holes?

    Open poll on the economy...What are your views today? Vote here.

    A personal hero of mine keeps marching on.....

    ...the tears they saw glistening in her eyes Tuesday as she talked to rape victims and heard their horrendous stories of suffering, including a woman who was raped while pregnant and who lost her baby...

    Read the rest.

    Labels: , , ,

    comments

    For some reason most of the comments on Xax's last post on global warming have been deleted. I did not do this. I apologize. Something is up with Haloscan.

    I will look in to this on Monday.

    Please let me know if other comments on other posts have gone missing via email: john@liberal rapture.com

    Sunday, August 16, 2009

    Katy Abram and what's wrong with the Left.

    Katy Abram has become a star on the Right for the confrontational question she asked Senator Spector at a town hall. Of course, on the Left she is being roundly and loudly called "stupid". What passes for liberals in this country now are a sorry lot still often unaware that they are they're own gravediggers.

    Abram then appeared on Hardball. The clip (and some editorializing within the clip) is below. The first thing that needs to be stated is that Ms. Abram does not appear "stupid" at all. She appears quite normal and reasonably well spoken for a person with no experience on television. Her shallow view of the Constitution is unfortunate but the norm. (Without knowing it she's talking about the Articles of Confederation, not the Constitution. Or just doesn't understand the amendment process.) With one exception, that you'll see in the clip, Lawrence O'Donnell makes fair points. Medicare is socialized single payer health care. That is a fact. However, O'Donnell is either misinformed or lying about Obama's previous statements regarding single payer. (Who is stupid now?)

    Ms. Abram was written about here in the Washington Monthly. Which is really the prompt for this post. When I read it, all but one of the comments after the piece were from liberals. About 70% of those called Abram stupid in one way or another. Of those that disagreed with her but did not insult her personally- I agreed with much. The rampant condescension is what interests and concerns me. I've come to believe that it is the main reason even slight progressive reform fails so often though it is often logical and would benefit the majority.

    My comment there with minor adjustment is below:

    I agree with much that is stated in the comments here. However, the "screw the dummies, we don't need them" meme is dangerous and - in fact - dumb. We do need them. We need a narrative that carries weight and resonates with them. Believe it or not, there was a time before Rush L. There were once liberals who claimed the high ground AND spoke to the Abrams of America. Watch Harry Truman stumping in 1948.

    The nasty thread that courses through most liberal talking head's talking points is condescension. Though I agree with much of Air America's policy views, I can't stomach the arrogance. Bill Mahr is often nothing but smug. Why should anyone who hasn't the time to invest in the complications of public policy listen to people who overtly call them stupid? Certainly not because he's funny. He's not.

    Further: What liberals need to own up to is what is truthful in Abram's subtext: A real fear that the Government is controlled by monied interests that care not about the "little people." She is easy to manipulate not because this is false - but because it is true. On some level she knows it. We all do. Obama has not changed that. Today it looks like he's caving on the public option because some well connected senators from tiny states are obstructing. Why? Insurance money. The moment Obama flip flopped on public financing liberals everywhere should have put up their guards.

    The adulation of Obama during the campaign was every bit as stupid and uninformed as Abram's riff on the Constitution. More so actually. At least Abram has a glancing understating of the need for check and balances. Watching Obama supporters last year one could easily see them trying to make him an American Caesar. Liberals too often mistook their projections on to Obama for reality of Obama.

    Liberals shoot themselves in the foot as often as conservatives hijack the conversation with deceits.

    One final note: Shut up about Palin. I disagree with her politics. But "Palin" is now code for "stupid" in the liberal blogosphere. Calling the millions of people who voted for her stupid relentlessly is bringing about a GOP backlash. Besides Palin in not stupid. It seems clear now that she is most likely finished on the federal level. Be satisfied with that and move on.

    The health care debate proves one thing: We need the Abrams in this country to affect real change. The initial town halls may have been rigged, the polls on health care reform are not. Let's stop ceding all the Mrs. Abrams to Rush L. and the Right by calling them stupid.


    Labels: ,

    The Saving the Health Insurance Cabal Act of 2009.

    I want to remind my loyal audience here that long before the slugs at Kos and Huffington got wound up about Obama abandoning the public option this little blog knew he would buckle. I said the health care debate was over on August 8th because he would surely shelve the public option, which makes "reform" laughable. Indications today are that the public option is dead because 3 Senators from tiny states don't like it and Obama doesn't have the stones to stand up to them.

    Now it is August 16th. Before this is through one has to wonder what will be left that can be called reform? This bill should now be called the Saving the Health Insurance Cabal Act of 2009.

    My hope now - though chances are slim - is for House progressives to join with Republicans and kill this rump reform bill entirely. The only aspect worth saving is the ban on denying those with pre-existing conditions. That can be a separate bill passed without the dishonest label "health care reform."

    Labels: , , ,

    Morning thought in which I use: Hufpo/Geffen/Olbermann/Whole Foods pot heads

    I interrupt this sabbath for a morning thought prompted by a comment on the last thread.

    Obama has already sold us out to Big Drug companies. Is the public option about to be flushed? Looks like it. Gotta ask, how is this guy better than Hillary again?

    The Hufpo/Geffen/Olbermann/Whole Foods pot heads went rabid last year on the Clintons like the far right did in the 90s. And for what? This half baked narcissist who is in bed with gay bashers, Goldman Sachs, and Big Pharma. Good call, Liberals!

    Labels: , , , , , ,

     

     
    Website-Hit-Counters
    Website-Hit-Counters