Piling On

This item doesn't come from some hysterical right-wing blog. It comes from Washington DC's other newspaper. The Times is certainly the polar opposite of the Post, but this is brutal for a newspaper in the nation's capitol.

Brutal Week For Bamster

But to be totally honest that, as Walter Cronkite used to say, is the way it was.

I'm Either Drunk or Dumb

Yes, I must be inebriated or stupid. Why? Because I'm conservative according to this survey which finds it really ignorant to embrace concepts such as individual responsibility or to disapprove of oppressive government regulation.

Conservatives Take The Easy Way Out

I guess it is too late for me to get smarter and I probably won't be motivated to sober up any time soon.

Saturday Morning Rocker

Don't Mess With Texas

In a pure and simple slap-down the courts have clearly told the EPA, Lisa Jackson and the Obama-bots that they don't have the authority to make it up as they go along.

Arbitrary Rulings When You Feel the Need Don't Stand

Don't you simply love it?

Obama Becoming Creepy

Peggy Noonan, former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal notes that the bloom is definitely off the rose. People are not terminally dumb. At least not all of them. Some are sentient beings and are noticing that there is a lot of slippage between what the Bamster pontificates and what he produces.

Not-So-Smooth Operator Losing Traction

Whodda thunk it?

How Many Spring Breaks Are There?

Wasn't it two weeks ago that First Daughter Melia went on Spring Break with the family jet, twelve of her homies and a contingent of 25 Secret Service apprentices to Mexico?

I guess that must not have happened, because now she's on Spring Break with Mama Michelle and little sistah to Vegas and other neat places:

Girls Go West in Big Way

Apparently what the Bamster says for the rest of us, doesn't apply to him:

Obama admonished corporations using federal bailout money: "You can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer's dime." A year later, Obama warned families against gambling away college tuition: "You don't blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you're trying to save for college."

No, you don't squander the taxpayer's dime. Not when you're trying to save for college for two daughters and you're going to be unemployed in ten months.

High Crimes and Misdemeanors

The cries for impeachment of any elected official with whom we disagree get tiresome. Losing a policy debate does not then give you recourse to oust a President with whom you aren't aligned. The process won't always give you the result you want, but it is still the process. What constitutes impeachable offense is debatable, but there are some actions which are clearly beyond the pale.

Bolton Accuses Bamster of Undercutting Israeli Plans

Leaking highly classified information regarding the agreements between two allied nations so as to jeopardize or render inoperable their potential action is treasonous. Israel is certainly one of our closest and longest allies in the Middle East. It is a stable, productive and reliable friend in a region which desperately needs stability. Iran is not our ally by any interpretation. It is not about to become our ally. And, it clearly has stated repeatedly an intention to destroy Israel as soon as it can develop the capability.

Azerbaijan is a more recent ally, but holds an incredibly critical position in the region. It is our back door to Afghanistan and an essential alternative to supply and withdrawal of our forces particularly considering the volatility of Pakistan. We shouldn't cavalierly jeopardize their security.

Is Bolton right? Here's the core trigger to the issue:

Foreign Policy Journal Describes The Agreement

Notice the attribution to "senior US officials", "military intelligence officers" and "government sources." That certainly sounds like an administration authorized campaign to pull the plug on this capability. And in the process it undermines an ally, increases probability of failure and inevitably endangers good people.

That is impeachable.

Welcome Home Vietnam Vets Day: March 30

Washington D. C. is a city of beautiful buildings and soaring monuments. The capital dominates with its majestic dome and broad stairways. The Supreme Court similarly rises among the stately trees with strength in its columns and classic façade. The memorials to the greats of our nations are white, broad and tall befitting the stature of the military and political leaders which they honor. But, the Wall is black and buried, a depression in the ground symbolizing the depression of the nation that did not win the war or respect the men who fought it. You can see the Washington Monument from miles away and you won’t need a map to find Lincoln or Jefferson or the World War II memorial, but you could walk within a hundred yards of the Wall and never see it. We seem to want to hide it, maybe hoping that an obligation has been fulfilled but no one wants to admit that the obligation existed in the first place.

The names are listed in a paper directory, dog-eared and dirty from thousands of hands searching through it for a name of a friend or family member who was lost. It’s chained to a plywood pedestal like a small town phone book at a gas station pay-phone, almost as an afterthought by the government that maybe some visitor might want to know where on the wall among the 58,000 names their special person is memorialized. But, they do want to know. They come from across the country to see and to feel and to remember. Some say they come for closure or to heal, but that is only a few. More come for respect and to belatedly honor the fallen. And some come out of guilt that they hadn’t gone or hadn’t done the right thing at the time.

The sidewalk along the brooding black marble wall slopes gradually, there are no steps along the way. It’s almost a metaphor for the gradualism that led us to failure. It marks the descent into the immorality of sending men to die for a cause that the nation wants to ignore. But when you reach the deepest point, the walk rises again and gradually, over time returns to the level of the street and the city. All things pass and maybe this represents a return to normalcy and patriotism and honor; belief in your country’s might and the principles that the other soaring white monuments of Washington commemorate. Maybe.

Children visiting the Wall from the inner cities of America laugh and tussle on the grass, showing little of the solemnity that we might wish for this spot. They don’t know these many years later exactly what this is all about. They don’t make a great distinction between Verdun and Vietnam. But, that guy over there, the one in the dark suit with the sunglasses, he knows the difference. The gray-haired fellow coming down the walk with his grand-son holding his hand, he knows many of these names. The heavy-set fellow in the West Point sweatshirt, sitting on the park bench with the cane by his side was there. The one in the tattered field jacket, with the beard and dirty matted long hair? No, probably not. Odds are he’s ten years too young and simply another poseur and “wannabe.” There are a lot of them these days. You can buy the jacket in any town and the medals can be found on eBay. But, that’s the stereotype; the homeless, drug or alcohol addicted hulk destroyed by the war. The reality is that the great majority of the survivors of the war are just quiet old men, living out their lives and remembering.

Living and Learning

I get Texas Monthly magazine. I don't always read a lot of it. It tends to reflect the very localized political perspective of Austin and over-looks a lot of hard-core conservative Texas. But, there's usually a bit of Lone Star history and often a feature on a mid-sized to small town in the state with some interesting sites to see. I've learned about Texas Rangers, both the ball-playing and the ball-busting kind. I've been exposed to the political musings of Kinky Friedman and I've learned that with good writing you can make mediocre BBQ something to drive three hundred miles for and wait in line.

It's a mixed bag for sure.

This month there's a feature story about the emergence of Outlaw Country music. I've sort of liked Willy for a long time and I had the pleasure of seeing Waylon close-up and personal when he performed at our Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Colorado Springs. Long ago I used to watch Austin City Limits after coming home late at night from a party somewhere. But, I never was into the real distinction between the outlaws and the rest of country. It's a Nashville vs Austin thing, the magazine has explained.

Austin is bare-bones, hard-core and maybe a lot of smoke in the air. Nashville is over-produced, traditonal and more Lynchburg Tea than tequila. I started listing to the Outlaw Country channel on XM. I like a lot of it and there is a lot of cross-over to the R&B and Southern-fried rock of folks like the Allmans, Lynrd Sknyrd and 38-Special.

Here's an example:

Repudiation

Leadership is usually a situation where an individual with bold vision and a compelling presentation will muster support for a task and motivate his followers to act in unison and achieve remarkable things.

We have a President who is seeking re-election based on his leadership.

The nation is in a fiscal crisis. We have seen the national debt explode from $6 trillion in 2009 to $11 trillion in just three years. All estimates for the next decade indicate annual deficits of more than one trillion dollars per year. Knock off some zeros to size that sort of budgeting for your own household and think about the inevitable outcome.

So the President submits a budget to Congress. He's leading. How is that working out?

414-0 on Budget--Not What Bamster Wanted

The secondary proposal, the Bowles-Simpson based budget failed nearly as badly. That was an outgrowth of the Great Leader's debt reduction bi-partisan committee which he established and then totally ignored.

Someone needs to tell the Messiah where we are going as a nation, so he can take his preferred position of leading from behind.

Still Ahead of Canada

Yes, it is easy to despair in America. We've sunk into political correctness and frivolous litigation more deeply than anyone could have imagined. But at least we can look to our once semi-frontier neighbor to the North and feel a bit superior.

Albino Rhino Beer Makes Bubbi Feel Badly

The white rhino is a beastie from Africa. A pale beer with a whimsical name isn't an attack on your self-esteem. A word is a word.

Message to Ikponwosa Ero, if that really is your name:

1. You don't have to visit the pub. 
2. You don't have to drink the beer.
3. You don't have to be offended by terms like "white" which are generic and common.
4. You are not a rhinoceros. 
5. You are a Nigerian who chose to leave your homeland and move to Canada.
6. Since you are in Canada, the ritualistic killing of albinos in Nigeria is not a problem.
7. There have been no reported ritualistic killings in the pub. 
8. This is not your ticket to instant wealth. 

And one last point; if this succeeds for you, there is a winery in California that makes a delightful, refreshing Albarino which they label Albino Rhino as a play on Albarino. 

If you bring suit against them, I want a finder's fee. 

This Is A Congressman

Yes, he's also a gang-banger veteran, a gun-law violater, a former felon and racist. But he's a congressman. This is where our Republic has gone:

Actions Have Consequences

Unsatisfied with law enforcement and civil recourse, the usual suspects have taken to vigilantism. You see, it is patently wrong for a Neighborhood Watch group to protect their home, their families and their community by patrol, signs or even observation. That is bad.

But if the chosen arbiters of racial justice do it, then it is commendable, reasonable and justified.

George Zimmerman may have been in the wrong. He may have gone too far. He may also have been totally reasonable in his actions. He may have complied with the 9-1-1 dispatcher's advice to stand down. He may have been attacked and acting in self-defense. That needs to be determined by examination of facts by our legal system.

This is not our legal system:

Black Panther Bounty

The New Black Panther Party is not law enforcement. It is not their legal prerogative to offer bounties for "arrest" and to encourage a street gang of 10,000 black men to enforce their view. That is anarchy.

But here's where it gets interesting:

Spike Lee Tweets Wrong Address 

Got that? Some ass in California Tweets an address in Sanford FL claiming he's uncovered the location of Zimmerman who quite reasonably has retreated into hiding. Spike Lee, grand poobah of movie hyperbole about down-trodden minorities and season ticket-holder of court-side Laker seats, like a mindless boob, retweets to his 240,000 mouth-breathing followers.

What is Lee's expectation?

You know as well as I do. He expects "justice" to ensue. He expects somebody among that quarter of a million idiots to grab his homies, his nine, and his hoodie then roust poor George out into the street and pop a cap in his head. That's what Mr. Lee expects.

The only catch is that the address isn't to Zimmerman's hiding place. It is the home of an innocent, elderly couple.

I'm not sure, but I have a reasonable belief that Mr. Lee has broken the law and recklessly endangered these folks. He has knowingly acted to incite violence against innocent people, whether the McClain's or George Zimmerman. He should be arrested and charged.

More importantly, I believe the McClain's have a civil case against Mr. Lee. And you've got to know that Mr. Lee has deep pockets.

This could make the golden years of that Sanford couple quite golden indeed.

Centrifuge Spinning

Today starts the third day of argument at the Supreme Court. What do we know about the case so far?

We know that 26 states have challenged Obamacare. For Democrats and the folks in Rio Lindo, that's more than half of the states.

We know that the court is ideologically split. There are four conservative justices and four liberal. The ninth and clearly "swing" vote is Justice Anthony Kennedy who was a Reagan appointee, is an objective voice on the court and not in lockstep with either ideological base.

We know that the commentary so far has seemed to indicate a fairly strong aversion to the argument that the individual mandate is justified under the commerce clause. Most people shorthand the commerce clause as authority to regulate interstate commerce. The actual wording is: "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes."


So, is the mandating of individual A to purchase insurance from company B by government C to underwrite a grandiose public healthcare entitlement reasonable under a concept of limited government? If the transaction takes place within the state, and only because the world is a singular entity impacts other economic activity under the concept of a "butterfly effect" is that interstate commerce?


Among the semi-facetious comments yesterday were queries regarding whether this was precedent to mandate purchase of burial insurance, cell phones or broccoli in some dystopian future. 


The stammering counter from an arguably ill-prepared Solicitor General was that healthcare was significantly different because everyone needs it. Of course everyone needs burial eventually. And everyone must eat. Probably not a good rationale, but who knows. 


The pundits are all at high RPM. Everyone finds a quote du jour which supports their preconceived notion of slam-dunk for their side. The government expansionists are jubilant. It will stand!


The individual responsibility, free market supporters are ecstatic. They've got it in the bag!


The politicos are interpreting the future and the very significant impact on the election in November. What does it mean either way? Republican candidates are running on repeal. Will this emasculate them? Democrats are running on what a great job Obamacare is doing, without bothering to note that few have gained healthcare yet but all have had tax impacts. 


Frankly, I don't see the argument being raised that a shutdown of the individual mandate can help the Bamster at the polls. It would seem to be a classic example of the will of the people expressed through a majority of the states in a federal system protesting imposition of an unwanted program. My view is that it would be a precursor of major defeat for the incumbent. 


But, the Supreme Court is seldom transparent in their deliberation. What they say during argument is not what will be debated behind closed doors. The opinion which will emerge in June may be what has been telegraphed in these three days or it may be significantly different. The only thing we can be certain of is that it will be a detailed and probably narrowly focused decision which will leave doors open for revision, modification or replacement of a healthcare program. 

Just a Sweet Little Boy

One could almost credit a masterful campaign on this. Watch patiently as the predictable indignation arises. Wait for the usual suspects to make their travel arrangements, organize their protests, and print up their high dudgeon rally signs. Let the mainstream media take their usual high ground demanding justice.

Then let the entire herd of cats out of the bag.

Trayvon's Sordid School Troubles

Schadenfreude. That's what it is.

Stuff Fighter Pilots DON'T Say

Checks and Balances

The Framers constructed a delicate network of interdependencies to insure that there was always a control over ambition and a constraint on outrageousness. No branch of government, no elected official can be too extreme in their action without being reined in by the other branches or at the limit, by the people.

There was once a small period in a chief executive's tenure when that constraint was removed. A congress as well had a brief period where the need to be considerate of the public will was limited. We dubbed them "Lame Duck" and by tradition the incumbents who were ousted and had just a few weeks remaining exercised restraint.

Then "we the people" lost our way and surrendered to emotionalism. We forgot that we have the power in every election to vote the bums out. We were convinced that we were too stupid to make a decision against an incumbent. We needed a no-judgment alternative. We needed term limits. A president can only serve two full terms in his life.

That was unnecessary from 1789 until 1940. Every president until FDR had followed the unselfish lead of George Washington and willingly surrendered power after a maximum of eight years. Then Roosevelt broke the tradition and then shattered it for all time with a fourth election.

With presidential term limits we now face a full four years of unconstrained power. Now we get this:

Trust Me and Tell Vladimir

Have no doubt that Medvedev and Putin know very well the nuances of our electoral system. They don't need to be reminded that a re-elected Obama will be unconstrained.

Why then does the Bamster feel the need to do the "wink-wink, nudge-nudge"? What is he underlining to them with regard to the future? It clearly isn't that he will be tougher in support of American security and economic interests.

Be very afraid.

Long Ago and Far Away

Not Robert Browning

How shall I beat thee, let me count the ways....

And, if I'm too bloody stupid to deal with my life partner in a civilized manner, I can pop into the book store and get a few pointers.

Sticks and Stones May Break Her Bones But She Shall Remain "Tidy"

I'm afraid that wouldn't play too well in my household. Nor does it need to.

Alice in Wonderland

This is a story about going down the rabbit hole. It's got a Cheshire Cat, a Mad Hatter, a White Rabbit and maybe even a Bandersnatch. It certainly shouldn't have a basis in common sense, responsible government or a rational society.

Tax Dollars Fund School For Squatters

"You got to have your tools...."

"You remove the chains and padlock..."

That sounds an awful lot like breaking and entering. It doesn't matter whether the property is owned by the City of New York, First National Bank, Fannie Mae, or Joe Bagadonutz. If it is locked and chained that means it isn't open to the public.

This scam needs to face legal penalties. And they really don't need any more vacations in Brazil on the tax-payers dime.

Poetry in Color

Sharpton, Jackson, Obama and Post-Racial America

Isn't this the first truly post-racial presidency? Didn't they tell us that it was a new dawn of equality and justice, understanding and kumbaya?

Why then when a Latino from a mixed race family goes off the tracks and kills a black teen-ager in a racially diverse neighborhood do we get all of the ambulance chasers from the top tier out on the stump shouting for justice, revenge and violence?

Black Panthers Issue "Wanted Dead or Alive" Posters

Jackson Claims Blacks "Under Attack"

Farrakhan Threatens "Law of Retaliation"

And just so you understand how to calm things down take a lesson from the peaceful rhetoric of Minister of the Lord, Sharpton:



Haven't we outgrown this sort of race-baiting inflammatory crap?

Saturday Morning Rocker

Rock and Roll Genius in Action:

Soaring Rhetoric

A nicely turned phrase will capture the imagination in a speech. An unusual metaphor, a striking image, a carefully crafted alliteration will stick with the listener for a long time.

But using it again and again mires the art and leads it to cliche.

Noting That the Speech-Writers Are in a Rut

Who would have suspected that a reporter might delve into the archives of Bamster speeches and find that when everyone in a weight class is punching above their weight then you may have mis-under-estimated the punching average of that class.

Polite listeners will not point out the level of snobbishness in telling these European Scandinavian countries that they are somehow in a lower class of competition among first tier nations.

Wings Over Akron

At the airshow:

They Are Evil, My Rant is Good

Is there a double standard here regarding what inflames and what doesn't?

Politically Correct Idiocy

I've ranted about it before: the foolishness of circumlocution in which everyone clearly know what you are saying but you maintain some sort of facade of respectability because you haven't said what everyone knows you said.

I'm talking about the "n-word" or should that respectfully be the "N-word" indicating the nearly divine resemblance to Yahweh whose name cannot be uttered by a true believer.

Read this "news" piece:

CNN Reporter Chastised For Quoting

At least he acknowledged that three white guys dragging a black man behind a truck and then running over him is a bit different than the Trayvon Martin shooting regarding "hate crime" definition.

You may already recall that Trayvon looks quite a bit like Obama's son, if Obama had a son. Or at least that's what the Messiah says.

Primary Season is Officially Over

Someone now needs to pull the plug. Put a fork in them, they are done. The winner of the Republican Presidential nomination is Mitt Romney. QED.

Sure, I understand that nobody has officially conceded. And I realize that there are going to be several more contested primaries. And surely the delegates will not be swept totally by Romney.

But realistically we have all known and understood since at least 2004 that Ron Paul was not a credible candidate. There are probably 25,000 dedicated, mouth-breathing, Federal Reserve hating, 1890 isolationist, pot-legalizing, college age sycophants eager to travel the countryside on a pilgrimage for Ron. But the rest of the 160,000,000 voters in America aren't interested.

Newt is intelligent. Newt is articulate and a great debater. Newt is experienced. Newt is also out of the running. Newt is egotistical. Newt is having a fantasy. Newt is seeking revenge for being outspent and trashed by Romney. Newt is now recognized as not the one. Somebody tell Newt.

If it had become a two person contest three weeks ago, maybe Santorum would have been competitive. But it didn't and Rick isn't. Increasingly Santorum is committing unforced errors. He is demonstrating how an incumbent senator in a leadership and very visible position can be defeated. There is a good chance he won't carry his home state primary. He is so eager to demonstrate his uber-social-conservative bona fides that he offends mainstream voters repeatedly. His pronouncements are the stuff that opposition research teams stockpile for future use.

Now he has gone way too far. He has forgotten what the essential goal is and he has resorted in his campaign rhetoric to speaking what is inconceivable.

Santorum Seems to Prefer Four More Years

Let's get serious. Whether you are a Romney supporter or not there is not way that any responsible American can really say such a thing.

And get over the Etch-a-Sketch thing. Simply get over it. It's worn out.

My, My, My Delilah

So, the questions have been bouncing around for a while on how it could be done. It would be a difficult mission and it would expose the aircrews to incredible risk or maybe not...

Remotely Guided, Fully Controlled, Cruiser

What's a Watch List?

It ended and when it all shakes out, who is surprised? Seven people were killed by this young man who immigrated to a country and then rather than assimilating and embracing the culture, he chose to radicalize and kill people in the name of his religion of peace.

Mohammad Dies in Blaze of Gunfire

If you read around the web, you find out that young Mohammad was an immigrant from Morocco. He had traveled several times to Afghanistan and Pakistan to join with the jihadists. He had been apprehended by US military with the assistance of Afghan security forces and turned over to the French. He was returned to France and put on a terrorist watch list.

Which raises the question: what the hell good is a terrorist watch list if nobody is watching until the individual completes his action?

And are we going to stop listening to this religion of peace at least until the peaceful adherents start policing themselves?

Telling Moment

I'm not sure this wasn't a set-up. The questioner sounds way too "Valley Girl" but it certainly is within the realm of possibility in modern America. What makes me more confident that it is real is the somewhat negative crowd reaction at Romney's statement that he isn't about free stuff. How cruel!

Hypocrisy

Iran repeatedly says that its intention is to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. There is ample evidence that Iran is aggressively pursuing a policy of intensive uranium enrichment in increasingly hardened facilities. Iranian news regularly displays tours of their centrifuge complexes and launches of various rocket systems suitable for intermediate range delivery of weapons. It is difficult to rationalize this as something other than what it proudly states it is.

So, we've got a long-time ally who faces a point of no return. Our response is to broadly establish a policy of intense economic sanctions to compel Iran to act like a responsible member of the community of nations. Intense sanctions! We have the sincere pronouncements of the Bamster in that regard.

Waivers for Major Customers of Iran

Yep. That should really ratchet up the pressure. We've united the major oil importers of Iranian oil and gotten them to do a little bit as they slowly wean themselves or maybe not.

I guess the important thing was to say we would do it. Not to actually do it.

Make It Up

We live in a society which no longer has a capacity for shame. The cultural center of America eagerly embraces a story because it fits quite nicely into their warped perspective. It is a lie, but that isn't apparent initially. It seems to be what they expect so they wrap their well-toned arms around it and shower the lie with accolades.

Then it unravels. Like most lies it falls apart in the bright light of day. But that doesn't make a difference because even if proven to be a lie, it still fits the world-view of the elite.

The Sweatshop That Wasn't

Sad, isn't it?

College Student Expectations

This is not unusual. As someone who faces a college class several times a week I'll confirm that this professor's experience is not different than mine. Students at Valencia College in Florida are no different than what I see in North Texas.

Unclear on Several Concepts

Let's read this and then compile a list of things that are wrong about it:

Spring Time for Malia In Mexico

Now, the list:

1. Spring break is a rite of passage for COLLEGE students not 13-year olds
2. It involves drinking, acting like a fool, getting sunburned, and probably sexual activity
3. Mexico is a country on a list NOT RECOMMENDED for tourist travel
4. You do not foot the bill for 12 friends simply because you have a bag of tax-payer dollars
5. Shutting down a hotel for your 13 year old's convenience is gauche
6. Parents letting a 13-year old go without parental supervision is inappropriate
7. Twenty-five Secret Service agents are not baby-sitters
8. Flaunting your plundering of the public treasury for personal extravagances in an election year is ill advised

This can be viewed as nothing more than abuse of power. Will the main-stream media notice and acknowledge that? Somehow I doubt it.

UPDATE:

This just out: Magnitude 7.4 Earthquake Rocks Oaxaca

And that is just one good reason why you don't send a 13-year-old on spring break without a parent along. 

Finding the Real Problem

In almost any management program there will come a time in which you must develop the ability to solve problems. Most students will laugh at the concept until they actually start to grapple with the process. The default response is, "everyone knows what the problem is, we've got to figure out how to fix it."

That sounds logical, but with a good professor you soon learn that you can't fix anything without clearly understanding what the real problem is. Most quick fixes are band-aids for symptoms. Rub some analgesic on the pain. Take two aspirin and call me in the morning. That won't deal with the actual infection. Until you figure out what is really wrong you will fail at solutions.

Until you recognize the core problem your solutions will do nothing. And when you define your actual problem you may find that your solution is obvious and may be extremely effective.

Don't you love the voter ID pseudo-debate? States increasingly are apprehensive about ineligible individuals casting votes and skewing elections. For border states, that inevitably devolves to a suspicion that undocumented aliens, i.e. illegal immigrants, are casting votes. For other states it is a question of multiple voting, unregistered voters, restricted voters, or non-citizens voting.

You need a photo ID for at least a dozen common tasks in modern life. Why not voting?

The counter-argument is that a requirement for voter ID is discriminatory against minorities, the elderly and the poor. Ignore for the moment that they can get registered to vote but can't get out to make a one-time trip to get a free ID card.

Read what Jonah Goldberg has to say and notice what he identifies as the REAL problem needing a solution. There's a place where we could really get some bi-partisan support to help Americans. But that wouldn't be what they want, would it?

Recognizing and Fixing the Digital Divide

Of course that would assume that the Democrats really want to do something to improve the quality of life of the minorities, the elderly and the poor wouldn't it?

A Moment of Candor at a Prez Fundraiser

You expect political speeches to be dishonest or at least evasive. It is rare indeed for a presidential fund-raiser to speak plainly and let us know exactly what he thinks of us, but here it is:

Ce Lo Pumps Up the Crowd for the Messiah

Yep, that says it all. Can you imagine Jefferson or Lincoln or Roosevelt or Eisenhower or Reagan or any of the previous 43 incumbents letting that go on the platform?

No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

Consider this in relation to the Fluke testimony. Remember that sad story? She looks vigorous and healthy, but she requires a minimum of $1000 per year in healthcare handouts for her birth control alone. I recall being her age. I don't recall imposing any healthcare costs on anyone for my birth control. So, she's a woman and I'm a man.

How does insurance work?

C'mon, I'm almost embarrassed to ask. But, it appears that most Americans don't really understand the concept of pooled risk. They seem to believe that it is a magical bean sort of situation in which you chip in a bean or two and it grows magically into a huge beanstalk of golden egg-laying geese that drips money into doctors and hospitals. There is no asset/liability computation involved.

That's not true, of course.

Healthy people pay a premium so that a small proportion of people needing medical service can have the cost defrayed. If only the elderly or high risk people subscribed to the insurance then rates would be outrageously high. Risk determines rate. QED.

Women Pay More For Healthcare Insurance Than Men

Why does the NYT think that is newsworthy? Can't they apply basic Flukonomics? Women consume a lot more healthcare at an age that men do not.

Birth control, mammograms, Pap smears, PMS medications, pre-natal care, OB/GYN services, etc. etc. What do men use at the same age? An ace bandage for a softball game induced ankle sprain?

Do You Feel Safer?

No comment:

Enabling Act

This is long and detailed, but if you read with just the slightest bit of paranoia lurking in the back of your mind it should scare the hell out of you. If you put the language in context with review of the incumbents who fill those empowered positions, it will terrify you. If you view it historically and can smell a whiff of smoke from a burning Reichstag, you might not sleep well at night. If you take a literary perspective and consider Ayn Rand, you might be digging out a map of Colorado and looking for that secluded valley.

National Defense Resources Preparedness

The spin will be that this is merely a periodic update of a long-standing policy. The rationale will be that such authority must be in place before it is necessary. The terror will be that this sword will be hovering just above our society and the government is not as benevolent as we might wish to believe.

Freedom and Conservatism Defined

This gentleman has seen what I've seen and apparently even though his exposure comes 40 years later, he reaches pretty much the same conclusion. Consistency of results over time usually defines truth.

Tough Assignment

OK, class, this isn't going to be easy but it will be instructive. Overcome your knee-jerk reaction to the names Bill Maher and Alexandra Pelosi (daughter of Nancy). Watch the video and tell me what you might learn.



Isn't the convolution of the liberal mind an incredible thing to observe. Want a bit more insight into how that works? Read this little piece:

Atlantic Finds Her Confusing

Here are some things I learned:

1. Bill Maher is incapable of communicating without resorting to street language. He thinks it makes him cute and hip.
2. Children of the incredibly wealthy can gain fame without skills or intellectual grounding. They are accepted based on who they are rather than what they do. 
3. Finding uneducated, unsophisticated, ignorant people is just as easy in backwater Mississippi as in New York City. 
4. Anecdotal sampling without statistical support of prevalence of an attitude makes it possible to prove anything. 
5. The true-believer can over-look the venality of a society in favor of ridiculing their opposition. 
6. Sensationalism can trump ideology if it means publicity and exposure. 

What did you learn? 

24-Year Old Protege Dupes Messiah

Everyone thought it was a mistake to make the kid a four-star general without an ounce of military training. They thought he was thrust into national leadership before he had the necessary experience. It could only lead to disaster for his nation.

But he seems to be smart enough to snooker the most intelligent man to have ever lived, our President; and the most experienced woman to have ever served as SecState. He asked for food aid. He promised to suspend nuclear weapon development and ICBM testing in return. The leaders of the free world locked him into an iron-clad agreement.

How's That Working Out for Ya?

What better way to celebrate the anniversary of the beloved leader than with a rocket launch, a nose-thumbing and a big bowl of rock soup?

It Just Wasn't Enough

Pharmacopeia

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I'm not Irish, but I did graduate from St. Patrick's High School, Class of 1960.

Erin Go Bragh

Another Opportunity

It looks as though things are setting up for another one of those USAF procurement debacles. You know the drill, a competition is established, proposals are submitted, comparisons are made, contract is awarded and then protracted propaganda war ensues and nothing gets to the field.

When I think of how long ago I went to pilot training, I'm astonished. It's a Satchel Paige sort of memory, "If I'd known I was going to live this long..." It was 1964 that I reported to Willy Air Patch. At the time USAF had eight pilot training bases and six of them had converted from the T-33 to the new supersonic white rocket, the T-38 Talon. It was a thrilling time.

Seventeen years later in 1981, I reported to Holloman AFB for duty in the AT-38B, a modified version of those T-38s. They were still serving reliably but they suffered incredible stress and abuse. Engines that used to cruise comfortably in the '60s at 40,000 feet and higher now could not be depended upon to run reliably very much above FL 330. Still, they were a thrilling ride.

Last December I visited Sheppard AFB where the guys headed to fighters were training in the T-38C. It's a glass-cockpit, GPS, INS, HUD, computer intensive high-tech system installed in those very same 1960's airframes. The technology is incredible, but you can only put so much lipstick on the pig before the oink peeks through. The metal is incredibly old and it can only flex so many times.

Here are the contenders for the replacement:

T-50 Golden Eagle: Supersonic ROK Proven

Lock-Mart is the major player, so look for them to have the high ground in the battle. This is like Beech-Hawker v Embraer on the COIN aircraft or Boeing v Northrop-EADS for tankers.

T-100 Italian Transonic Newer

I guess sequential numbering is no longer in play.

No Wonder Latino Voters Are Confused

As the debate on requirements for a photo ID at polling places in the United States heats up, it would be good to understand why Latino voters in the US might be confused and unable to comprehend our requirements.

Here is what they are getting and what they have had in the past in Mexico:



So, inquiring minds might ask why we don't check to see if we can acquire the old equipment that Mexico is replacing?

Pre-Thinking a Better Option

The idea of the three branches of government is that legislation is deliberated by a body of representatives. The debate discusses pros and cons, alternative policies and possible unintended consequences. Along the way research may be conducted, public input may occur and when a decision is made, it is moderate. Hopefully this leads to good policy.

The executive branch is supposed to implement the policies and enforce the legislation. That would be in an ideal world. Today we have an executive branch which has assumed huge and far-reaching regulatory power. Is this a usurpation? It might be, but if we look hard at the situation we find that it is a response to a demand by a populace that wants action now and can't tolerate being denied. We force the executive to regulate us into poverty lest we might inadvertently inconvenience one of the whiners. Ten thousand loggers out of work is not too great a price to save one spotted owl.

What is bothersome is the recent trend to regulate without consideration of outcomes. The trend is to act aggressively and then wait to see if anybody notices. Push the envelope. See how much you can get away with. Once the regulation is in place it will be too late for correction and the administration will have seized more power in the war against a republic.

I've got to ask now, how stupid are these people?

Can't they think through a policy before hand and isn't there anybody in the room with the common sense to ask a question? Wouldn't it be better to pre-think outcomes rather than flaunt a continual parade of ridiculous ideas then re-think and back-track looking like a herd of buffoons?

Pool Policy Treads Water While Costs Considered

Put yourself in the decision-making loop. Someone says, "my poor cousin is in a wheelchair and can't get in and out of the pool at the Holiday Inn." Clearly government intervention is required for all of the poor disabled in the nation to be empowered to dive right in immediately.

Solution? Every pool outside of a private home backyard must have TWO means of accessibility at least one of which must be a lift or elevator. So, a simple ramp is too...simple.

How many pools are involved? How many handicapped people want to go swimming? How much cost is involved? How many pool elevator companies are there in America? Will handicapped people gain access or will the rest of America lose pools?

Is this a proper role of a limited government?

See how easy it was to come up with a logical response and not look like an idiot?

Would He Lie to You?

Remember the contentious healthcare debate? Our very own President told us that in a bit of legerdemain resembling something with loaves and fishes providing lunch for a multitude, he was going to provide better than Medicare benefits to everyone, not just those over 65, and do it for less money. The mouth-breathing masses marveled at the genius of the proposal.

As the war raged on, it was pointed out that the budget estimates for this wondrous achievement used various methods of double-accounting, not the least of which was providing a ten-year cost estimate that employed the blatant mechanism of using ten years of tax collection to provide six years of benefits.

Well, now we're at a point where ten years of program means ten years of revenue on one side of the ledger and ten years of expenditure on the other. Guess what?

Obamacare Not $900B! Now $1.76 TRILLION and Rising

But fear not, we are still two years away from the 2014 benefit implementation date. It's going to get a lot more expensive.

Stimulating Their Friends

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) seems like a very supportable idea. The goal is to eliminate the barriers which handicapped people encounter in everyday life.That's why we see curb-cuts at street corners, hear bells counting down time to cross at intersections, feel Braille nubs on elevator control panels. But when does reasonable get surpassed by outrageous? How about Braille buttons on a drive-up ATM?

Here's our trusty DOJ making America safe for democracy by making more people criminals and affixing a Damoclean sword over thousands more heads.

Fixed Lifts For Water Features Mandated For Schools

About twenty years ago when I was on the Board of Trustees of the Pikes Peak Library District we had an historic Carnegie library in Old Colorado City. The branch was in a congested but historic district and was always difficult to access because of parking in the area. When two dilapidated houses next to the library became available we learned that we could buy them both for about $80k  and raze them to clear a parking lot. Total cost with paving, driveway and area lighting for night was about $150,000. It seemed like a bargain to deal with the problem.

To ease access the architect proposed a new door in the side of the library to provide direct entry from the parking lot.This was preferable to walking to the front and climbing the Greco-Roman stairway to the columned entry. That was until we got the word from the lawyers on ADA compliance.

You see the doorway was a modification to the existing structure. An existing public structure was exempt from ADA until ANY modification is made. At that time the building must be brought into full compliance.

That meant that the parking lot door needed to be supplemented by a proper grade wheelchair ramp.The doorway must be wide enough for access. The bathrooms throughout the building must all be modified for handicapped access.The 1890's wrought iron circular staircase to the lower level needed to be augmented by an elevator.The doors, light switches, computer desks, etc. all needed to be modified to ADA standard.

And suddenly the very affordable parking lot morphed into a half-million dollar major construction project.

Picking Off the Money Tree

Economics is simple. Government economics is simpler yet. Government has money. They distribute that money to do all of the things that we really, really like to have done. They don't make money or produce a product. They give things to us. They pay for it by taking from millionaires and billionaires who have too much and owe the rest of us. Easy, isn't it?

Read this carefully. Note the caveats imposed by the candidate on the original statements and then the spoiled brat attitude of the DNC rebuttal:

Reduce the Debt By Cutting Extras

Particularly egregious in the skewed argument is the assertion that generic women's healthcare is threatened.

To accept that you must accept that:

1. Women's healthcare can only be provided by Planned Parenthood
2. That Planned Parenthood is not an independent non-profit
3. That Planned Parenthood is totally funded by the government
4. That all other doctors, clinics, practitioners, insurances, etc. do not offer women's healthcare
5. That imposing more obligation to China is beneficial to America
6. That millionaires and billionaires could reasonably support that financial burden without collapsing the economy

Somehow I don't get there. I also don't see a reason for funding NEA, NEH or even the Department of Education. I don't see a reason for subsidizing windmills or electric cars either. 

Sign of the Times...A Bad Sign

The SecDef dropped in for a surprise visit to Afghanistan and this is what happened:

Troops Can't Be Trusted Apparently

I've got a feeling that I would probably have taken my weapon out of the tent and would not have returned myself. This is a very dangerous combat zone and the threat to our troops even within the secure areas has been reinforced repeatedly. To suggest that they would point their weapons inward to threaten Panetta more readily than they would point them outward to defend him is very telling of the situation.

Not What We Do, It's What We Say

I haven't reminded recently about the basic rule for interpreting the statements of the administration. As a refresher, let us once again note that whatever they say, you should understand that they mean exactly the opposite. Whatever they indicate is the course of action is precisely the opposite of what they actually will do.

With that in mind, check out this performance:

Once I Did, But Now I Don't, Sort Of...

I really got a warm fuzzy feeling as he mumbled through that last bumbling statement about how rising gas prices could...mumble...possibly...mumble...this...sort of rising...mumble...recovery...blah, blah.

Drill in ANWR. Drill on the Continental Shelf. Build Keystone XL. Stop hampering car makers with ridiculous CAFE standards and plug-in cars that nobody wants. Get out of the way and watch the price of gas plummet.

Then we will believe you, Mr. Nobel-laureate.

Dirty Harry Redux

Now, this is really stupid. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Have no doubt however, that someone will be eager to buy it.

The Details

And I thought the Rhino was ugly!

No Evidence to Justify ID Requirement

No, you don't need an ID to vote. It's always been that way. It was that way when I grew up in Chicago under Mayor Daley, pere, as he delivered the state to JFK. It was traditional.

In those days the way it worked was through the precinct captains of the Democratic Party. The taverns were all closed on voting day until the time when the polls closed. The regular habitues would be blissfully unaware of election day and would report for entry to their favorite emporium only to find the door locked. As they milled around outside wondering how to spend their day in unexpected sobriety, the precinct captain would come forward with his list of recently deceased voters.

The agreement was take a proferred list of candidates down to polling place, indicate your name is the late Casimir Kozlowski, and vote. The reward would be a free drink when the bar opened. Make the trip several times to different polling places and you could drink all night.

We should be a lot wiser today. But apparently the Department of Justice isn't, with their ruling that asking for any of a half-dozen forms of picture identification cards would be discriminatory against minorities.

A core aspect of the argument is that there is little evidence that there is any fraud currently occurring. Nope, no elephants around here.

Remember James O'Keefe? He's the young man with a video camera who gathered the goods on ACORN by posing as a pimp and seeking funds to set up his business. He's at it again and still doing a good job:



It isn't very hard. Notice that he's an equal opportunity discloser. He shows that it doesn't really matter which party you seek to vote for in a primary, all you have to do is read the obits and show up looking innocent.

No Longer Acceptable Word...

Which word is it that is not acceptable in polite society, Mr. Former Vice-President?

Should we overlook a total non-scientist attempting to discredit actual degreed scientists who dare to disagree with his pseudo-empire?

Gore Goes Ballistic at SWXS

That's pretty much the way intellectual discussion goes today. If someone has data which conflicts with your data, simply declare it "Bulls***" in a loud and offended voice and demand that they be silenced.

And, be sure you don't say CLIMATE in a crowded theater.

Double Talk Duplicity

Ridden on an airline recently? How many times did you need to display a picture ID before you boarded? Opened a bank account? Did you need identification? Cash a check? Pick up a package at the post office? Drive a car?

You are required by a wide range of laws to present identification when requested by a lawful authority.

How about when exercising the most critical power bestowed upon citizens in a democracy? Shouldn't you be required to do something more than simply state to the election judge, "I'm Joe Bagadonutz"?

The counter-claim is that in this singular instance, the requirement for identification is discriminatory against minorities, the poor and the elderly.

What does it cost to get a state issued ID card even if you don't drive? They are free.

How do you claim medicare and Social Security if you are elderly without identifying yourself at some point with a valid ID and/or birth certificate? Did you never drive, get married, have children, buy a house or register for the military? How do you get old without anyone ever asking you to prove who you are?

What makes an ethnic minority any different than a Caucasian when it comes to being able to get your lazy butt down to the courthouse or driver's license bureau to get an ID card?

Now, take a look at this tortured reasoning:

DOJ Stops Texas From ID Check

Some of the math in that absolutely defies logic.

"According to the state's own data, a Hispanic registered voter is at least 46.5 percent, and potentially 120.0 percent, more likely than a non-Hispanic registered voter to lack this identification," Perez wrote.

In a binary situation you either do or do not have identification. How can you be more than 100% likely to not have identification? Does that mean you don't have ID more than someone who is only 100% likely to be without?

How did we let Jose register in the first place without identification? Does that sound like a version of an ACORN drive?

Fighter Porn

Cow Town Comes Through--Barely

I split my big city visits between Dallas and Ft. Worth. One is money, oil, big hair and glitz. The other is cows, bluejeans, buckles and boots. Between the two, I tend to prefer Cowtown.

Yet, there are moments when I have to question whether it is really Texas. I mean Lonesome Dove, Texas with Rangers and longhorns and reality rather than effete pinky raised political correctness.

Then I encounter this:

Impasse Ends as Council Rules. Vaquero Has a Gun

Where did they find some idiot to leverage enough political clout to stymie the statute for all this time? Who would reasonably argue that a vaquero would not be armed when living on the range for extended periods?

The good news is that the poofs got over-ruled and the statue will finally be displayed and generations will know that at some point in time the gun was a part of our history. It really was.

First Amendment Refresher Required

Yet more from the "can't make this stuff up" folder. Ambulance Pursuit Specialist Gloria Allred desperately needs to get some updating with regard to the First Amendment and its very explicit protection of free speech, particularly as it relates to political expression and public figures.

Allred Wants Limbaugh Persecuted

When a 30-year old woman with a background as an aggressive activist speaks before Congress on the issue of her activism she becomes a public figure and can certainly be the "victim" of satirical characterizations even if we might find the language distasteful and a bit over-the-top.

Meanwhile the left continues to refine their practice of podiacide with encouragement of a sponsor boycott to punish Limbaugh in the pocketbook. They encourage sponsors to protect themselves from avoidance of their products by dropping sponsorship of Limbaugh. As the sniveling knee-jerks react predictably, the marketplace doesn't.

Stock Drops on Fleeing Sponsor and Customers Bail

Isn't it amazing how that all shakes out?

Beyond The Bounds Of The First Amendment

You see, we've got the First Amendment in America to protect our freedom of speech. But we all know how that works when it comes to political correctness. Just ask Rush Limbaugh and Bill Maher. You've really got to be outside the limits of American media jurisdiction to be able to speak unfettered truth.

Calling a Fluke a Fluke

Mark Steyn certainly has a way with words. There is no beating around anybody's bush.

All of us are born with the unalienable right to life, liberty, and a lifetime supply of premium ribbed silky-smooth ultrasensitive spermicidal lubricant condoms. No taxation without rubberization, as the Minutemen said. The shot heard round the world, and all that.

That pretty much wraps it up and ties it with a bow.

Saturday Morning Rocker

Proving white boys got soul:

A Song For the Times

A Car For Chu

Since he doesn't own a car and he's big into plug-in electrics, this looks like the ideal vehicle for a man of his high stature:

Consumer Reports Evaluates Fisker Karma

Well, they really didn't evaluate it. It was a bad karma day for their Karma. "This is the first time in memory that we have had a car that is undriveable before it has finished our check-in process."


I guess that means a bad rating. 

Not News

This is the sort of news that should never see the light of day:

Bunker Busters and Gas Passers on Request

No "official on condition of anonymity" should ever make such a statement. No press secretary who is a loyal American should ever say more than "no comment." No news agency should publish such a nebulous story.

No one should doubt that such events are very much within the realm of probability. But nothing should be said until after events. Nothing.

New Version of Old Joke

Remember that old joke where the guy asks the Pope about the church's views on sex and the punch line is, "You no play da game, you no make da rules."

If you don't engage in an activity it is implicit in that arrangement that you are detached from the details of the endeavor. You are remote and hence have no skin in the game.



That's why this little tidbit is important. This powerful but petty little man doesn't own a car yet he regulates to force you into an over-priced little electric gizmo heavily subsidized with tax dollars while he simultaneously conspires to see the price for your vehicle fuel at the local retail outlet double on the way to Euro-incredible pricing.

Oooops!

So, how's that recovery coming along, Mr. President? Better fire up the ol' campaign jet and get out there and start spinning the message before anybody notices. 

Job Creation

I've long contended that government doesn't "create" jobs. It is entrepreneurship, free enterprise and private business that creates employment. The only thing government can realistically do is stay out of the way. Keep regulation to the minimum necessary to safeguard the public then let market forces control success or failure. Deliver a quality product at a competitive price and you will see demand rise. Then you will create a job to meet demand.

Government establishes positions. The positions are filled by people who receive a stipend for their time, but they seldom produce a product and they aren't in the business of making a profit.

Yet, I have been known to be in error. Maybe there is a job creation engine at work in the Bamster's administration. This report certainly seems to indicate that a number of individuals have obtained highly remunerative positions through the efforts of the Bamster himself:

Bundlers Reap Benefits From Hard-Work and Support

Those of us who went to school back in the years when there was study of actual history may recall that the issue was supposedly addressed aggressively in the days of Andrew Jackson when his abuses of the "spoils system" became intolerable. The creation of an apolitical civil service system supposedly addressed the problem of reward for political support by friends and cronies. Apparently it hasn't worked. The abuse merely waited for a large enough government structure to house all the friends and a President willing to sublimate any moral qualms about pay-offs and kick-backs.

And we should remember that it was Andrew Jackson who is largely viewed as the true father of the Democratic Party and the very essence of Jacksonian Democracy.

Racist Chant

In what may be the hands-down champion for incredible events we get this story from San Antonio this morning:

Students Chastised for Racist Chanting After Victory

Did you get that? The team wins the game and in a moment reminiscent of the Miracle on Ice in the 1978 Winter Olympics they break out in the chant of "USA, USA, USA...."

Can't let that sort of racist thing happen in America. No way!

Are you kidding me? Are these people serious?

News Below The Fold

If you get down into the details of yesterday's primary results, past the outcome of the Republican primary contests you will find this little item:

Weirdest Congressman Gets Walking Papers

There are few people serving in the House of Representatives that are as far out in left field as Kucinich. It would be hard to figure out what makes him tick or what his vision of America would render if he had his way.

Particularly enlightening in that news story is the hypocrisy he demonstrates with regard to his opponent. Once he praised her highly, but now with a gored ox he can't even muster the courtesy to graciously concede and offer congratulations.

I wonder what he's going to do now to make a living.

Meanwhile, maybe I ought to fire off a check to Joe the Plumber.

Shattered Innocence

Just a poor girl struggling through law school on scholarship and various government hand-outs trying to keep from having babies...Well, apparently a bit more:

Long Time Activist Seeks Government Gender Reassignment Rights

It seems that Ms Fluke doesn't really give a rodent's rear about her law degree. It's all about the activism.

Failure to Focus

One of the most difficult tasks in debate is defining the issue. America no longer seems able to define an issue. We quickly lose focus and scatter our energy into meaningless hyperbole. The result is confusion, emotionalism, and failure to effectively grapple with societal problems.

We've got a perfect example before us with the Limbaugh/Fluke dust-up.

This isn't accidental. Framing the debate on the terms that benefit your side of the argument isn't a bad tactic. The Left is masterful. The Right is bumbling. The military cliche that the best defense is a good offense is apparent. The Left has grabbed the offensive.

Today we are focused on Limbaugh, the blustering entertainer of the Right Wing Radio genre that progressives love to hate. They've got him on his heels. He's been forced to apologize profusely. He's hemorrhaging sponsors. It's now about him.

But it isn't about him at all. Remember where this started?

Georgetown University, a Jesuit institution, seeks to tailor their healthcare coverage for students to avoid violation of their core religious principles. That means they specify that their insurance contract will not provide contraception and abortifacient drugs.

The administration demands that birth control be incorporated in the plans. The position is that "women's health" is a greater concern than the First Amendment religious freedoms.

Notice that medically indicated hormone therapy for conditions such as acne or ovarian cyst therapy is covered. The exemption the Jesuits seek is regarding provision of birth control drugs.

Shaping the debate has meant that the Left has pushed the publicity well into the realm of poor, down-trodden, females desperate for help in dealing with gender specific problems that men, particularly Republican men, cannot possibly understand. They trot a singular witness into a Democrats-only kangaroo "hearing" where she wails that it costs her $1000 per year to keep her fecundity in check. She is surrounded by squalor, desperation, depression, and oppression on a campus where hundreds of blank-stare women weep and wail about their lack of birth-control. Only Obamacare can lift her out of this medieval torture.

First Amendment? Not on the table. Women's health and the entitlement is what we are talking about.

The issue which we have over-looked, the one that is core here, the item that we aren't talking about, but which is the crux of the matter is FREE MARKET CHOICE.

This whole tempest is really about the fact that we are leaping into a brave new world in which we no longer will have choices in a marketplace. We are embracing a society in which government is going to prescribe what we MUST have and what we CAN NEVER have.

In a free market we wouldn't have a mandate for private institutions to provide healthcare. We wouldn't have universities required to provide healthcare for students. We wouldn't have businesses required to provide healthcare with workers. If a business sought to attract employees they could make a choice to offer benefits which competitors did not offer.

Insurance companies could offer cafeteria plans. Do you want these services? That will cost this premium. Do you want more? Company A offers more. Can you do with less? Company B offers a plan that is economical but doesn't cover some services.

Choosing where to go to school? This school offers this quality of education, these facilities, these opportunities and these student services. Don't want to go there? Then look to that institution over there.

Does your religion oppose birth control? Don't fund it for your employees. There are companies in the market-place that offers assistance plans but the religious institution doesn't have to compromise their moral position.

It's not about Rush Limbaugh. It's not about oppressing women. It's not even about the First Amendment. It's about a free market and the sundry advantages of letting competitive companies offer alternatives.

Can we just focus?

Make Expenses Tax Deductible

Anybody who has read When Thunder Rolled understands the importance to a fighter pilot of a quality mustache. It is essential to preservation of your life and your combat effectiveness. It isn't simply an affectation. Take away a mustache and the probability of combat loss goes up exponentially. We have the statistical data to prove it. That makes the care and development a fully qualified business expense in anybody's interpretation. Unfortunately that may not be recognized by the IRS without a detailed legislative affirmation.

Million Man March for Mustaches

When we can afford to subsidize windmills, solar panels and plug-in cars that nobody wants, why do we ignore the impact on the economy of the mustaches?

This is simple justice.

Too Little Too Late

The buzz for the coming week is the release of the highly anticipated iPad 3...or maybe it will be the iPad HD...or based on the last phone version, maybe this will be the iPad 2S. Whatever. It will be huge. It will be covered in depth including the mandatory video clips and interviews of hundreds of goons camping out on the street in front of Apple stores to be in line for the first boxes delivered.

I don't know what they can do to make it dazzling. The OS isn't updated yet so there won't be new core features. A higher definition display might appeal to some, but at that screen size I'm not sure where that gets me. Regardless, it will be a major media event.

Along the way to this gala, we largely overlooked Microsoft's gasping effort at relevance. Last week the software giant released a development beta of their upcoming Windows 8. The history is that MS tends to over-promise and under-deliver, usually well beyond the scheduled release. When it does come out, there is often as much negative blogosphere commentary as a Republican primary race.



I don't see the touch screen feature as being compelling for the core MS constituency. Yes, an OS to power tablets, ultrabooks and phones will be a shot at MS grabbing some 'Droid and iOS users, but the package for Windows has always been about corporate and desktop environments. To get a touchscreen into that population you will have a couple of years of conversion time for equippage and possibly an even longer period of user adaptation.

I'm thinking this will be an uphill climb.

Setting Low Standards...

...and consistently failing to meet them.

The free market is a brutal force. In a society such as America marginally remains, it is possible to choose between products. We don't buy a Lada or Yugo because we have a choice and we tend to choose value, style, quality, and performance. Our auto market remains competitive and across the nation the demand in America is for dependable pickup trucks, practical cross-over SUVs and high-performance muscle cars. Fill the gaps with practical family sedans and there is not remaining space for an over-priced novelty that requires a heavy-duty extension cord, an $8,000 subsidy and an escorting fire engine.

GM Announces Silencing of Volt Line

When nobody buys your product, it makes no sense to keep building it. Take your corporate capacity and use it to produce product that will sell and make you a profit. That is economic but apparently not political sense.

Will this last longer than five weeks? They aren't saying, but eighteen months into the production of the electric lemon the market surge hasn't yet occurred and there is little reason to think it's going to come this month.

Last year the goal was 10,000 units and they fell 30% short. For 2012 the target was originally 60,000 which was then modified to 45,000. Now there is no target specified but with less than 2000 sold in the first two months and almost 4000 units clogging inventory it would be reasonable to think this is going to be very much a collector's vehicle.

Sort of like a mint 1958 Edsel.

More You Couldn't Make Up...

When did it become the standard that individuals could demand isolation from inconvenience? When did we determine that everyone needs to be accommodated to their personal preferences even despite an individual's resistance to actually taking responsibility for themselves? When did it become an issue of law for private institutions to be liable for making folks happy?

No Private Room, No Relief From Depression, No Love

I would be a bit sympathetic, possibly after a counseling session to get in touch with my Alan Alda side, except for some facts like this:

Blankmeyer suffered from depression and Attention Deficit Disorder when she enrolled at Stonehill in September of 2007. She said she wanted to see how she would perform in school “without any sort of additional help in the form of a reasonable accommodation.”

So, she was mentally distressed and she understood that accommodation was possible, but she choose to ignore her illness and resist help. All of this was prior to her enrollment. Well, duh!

Blankmeyer was given additional housing options, which did not meet her satisfaction. She and her parents asked if she could have her old dorm room back minus her roommate. 

Not only does she demand a particular room, she further demands that it is the roommate who is inconvenienced. And the parents are full partners in the enabling.

Blankmeyer eventually moved to a hotel, but left the “increasingly isolated environment.” She was eventually able to complete her final semester of school while home in New York. 

They wouldn't give the poor disturbed baby her special room and binky, so she moves into a hotel room. How is evacuating the campus and the society of her classmates for a hotel room leaving an "increasingly isolated environment"? Finishing her final semester (how did she survive the previous seven semesters in this environment?), from home sounds like just the ticket. She should plan on a vigorous adult life and professional career as well from the comfort of her parent's back bedroom.