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Saturday, December 15. 2012

Vanderleun: The Star

Vultures Quickly Gather to Exploit Tragedy in Connecticut

Is Obama Already Politicizing Sandy Hook Shooting?

Is the wind industry entering panic mode?

Taxing the Successful to Death

At the Ivies, Asians are the new Jews

Mead: Liberal, Educated “Experts” Run American Colleges into the Ground

In fifty years, if not much sooner, half of the roughly 4,500 colleges and universities now operating in the United States will have ceased to exist:

This past spring, Harvard and MIT got the attention of everyone in the higher ed business when they announced a new online education venture called edX. The new venture will make online versions of the universities’ courses available to a virtually unlimited number of enrollees around the world. Think of the ramifications: Now anyone in the world with an internet connection can access the kind of high-level teaching and scholarship previously available only to a select group of the best and most privileged students.

Showcase Campuses, Built With IOUs

High-Mileage Cars: Is 200,000 the new normal?

The man who invented the bar code also "perfected a system for delivering elevator music efficiently."

The Doctor Won’t See You Now -American health care is in a bureaucratic death grip.

The view at small businesses

The Real Fairy Tale - California’s second-largest teachers’ union as champion of “social justice”

Where’s Mitt (Cont’d)?

IPCC Admission Has Climate World Buzzing

Jindal Calls for OTC Birth Control Sales

Will China Have the World’s Largest Economy by 2030?

Obama To Troops: Don´t Insult The Taliban

MY SAY: NEWLY DISCOVERED! GENERAL GEORGE PATTON’S GUIDE FOR U.S. SOLDIERS FIGHTING IN WORLD WAR 11

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 06:20 | Comments (27) | Trackbacks (2)

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Weblog: www.thepiratescove.us
Tracked: Dec 16, 09:44

Thoughts On A Sunday
We were fortunate to receive our delivery of firewood early, with two cords being dropped off in front of the garage at The Manse early Friday afternoon. Delivery was originally scheduled for this coming Tuesday, but a couple of...

Weblog: Weekend Pundit
Tracked: Dec 16, 20:23

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High-Mileage Cars: Is 200,000 the new normal?

It has always been normal for me - well, maybe not 200K, but I trade mine, or sell them out right, at 150K or thereabouts. Consider this - I can replace the engine and tranny in my 2005 F-150 for about $8k. To replace the F-150 (Lariat, 4X4, leather interior, all the goodies - and I do mean ALL the goodies - truck is loaded) is about $45K and that's with a very high trade on my current truck.

It's worth keeping the 2005 - it's clean, has a few dings and dents - nothing major that can't be quickly fixed - a good paint job is about $500 with clear coat so for $1k, I can have the dings and dents fixed and painted so it's almost brand new. Effectively, I can have a whole "new" truck for under $10K.

Why buy a new one?

#1 Tom Francis on 2012-12-15 06:45 (Reply)

Why buy a new one?... The new ones have a lot more cup holders.

#1.1 BillH on 2012-12-15 12:49 (Reply)

Good point. I never thought of that. You always need new cup holders.

#1.1.1 Tom Francis on 2012-12-16 08:47 (Reply)

OTC birth control sales. Not a great idea.

I'm wondering if anyone has looked at the racial makeup of school delivery of long term birth control measures such as patches. Could be a new scandal similar to the sterilization scandals of years ago. I would be willing to bet that it's mostly minority kids in inner city schools that are targeted by these programs. Not that I want to see these kids further limiting their future options by having more kids, but chemical sterilization is not the way I would approach it.

#2 lhf on 2012-12-15 06:59 (Reply)

QUOTE:

John Hinderaker: IPCC Admission Has Climate World Buzzing

It's fascinating how such tidbits bounce around the right wing blogosphere who then report "people say" or the "world is buzzing".

In any case, the first clue of a problem is that the papers being cited are at least a decade old, so it is hardly a surprise to the scientific community that there is some tentative evidence of a link between cosmic rays and some aspects of climate or phytology. The other problem is that if cosmic rays had the purported effect, it would be cooling the climate, not warming it.

QUOTE:

John Hinderaker: This is the background: climate alarmism is based in substantial part on the assumption that other causes of global warming can be accounted for, and whatever is left over must be due to human-emitted CO2.

Climate science is undergirded by mechanistic theory, not a gap argument. CO2 is a greenhouse gas with a rather direct influence on temperature. The scientific question is the climate sensitivity due to positive feedbacks, the most important of which is increased atmospheric water vapor in the upper atmosphere due to CO2 warming. Current scientific estimates are 2-5°C for a doubling of CO2 with ≈3°C the most likely value.

#3 Zachriel on 2012-12-15 10:05 (Reply)

What I know to be true

http://crimeshots.com/VincentNightmare.html

This mother is Vietnamese the father was "in country" army --sergeant I believe. They both worked in Vegas and had begun the process of reporting to the FBI about the drugs coming out of Nam to Vegas. In the middle of that part of the story their daughter was kidnapped, raped, and mutilated. There was no further interaction between the mother/father and FBI.

We know that that Chicago, Vegas, Seattle, etc. have groups so powerful and so corrupt that they are able to hire thugs. We KNOW THAT--we don't like to talk about it--but, we know it is true. We know that the boys from Chicago helped in some way to assassinate Bobby Kennedy (John too?). Our deepest fear is the one we do not give communal voice to: evil doers can find and encourage the unstable to commit their crimes. I believe, this kid was "encouraged" by someone. I believe that the shooter in Oregon just last week, was encouraged by someone. I BELIEVE This most recent cluster of public gun episodes is to close together to be accidental. This "CLUSTER" coming right after the election and "DURING" the fiscal cliff has been orchestrated to ease on through gun control laws. This CLUSTER is NOT a coincidence.

#4 another one on 2012-12-15 10:41 (Reply)

The cluster of spree attacks is typical. A decade ago a prominent forensic psychiatrist said that if you have non-stop nationwide news coverage, repeat incessantly the name of the perpetrator, show his photograph several times an hour, and have commentators and interviewers talking about his motives, then you are virtually assured of getting a copycat attack within a week. Newtown (#2)has made more of a splash than Clackamas, (#1 in this cluster, but copying earlier events this autumn.)

An article for perusal:
"Imitative suicide on the Viennese subway.
Sonneck G, Etzersdorfer E, Nagel-Kuess S.
Source

Institute for Medical Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria.
Abstract

The number of subway suicides in Vienna increased dramatically between 1984 and mid-1987. In the second-half of 1987 there was a decrease of 75% which has been sustained for 5 yr. This reduction in subway suicides began when a working group of the Austrian Association for Suicide Prevention developed media guidelines and initiated discussions with the media which culminated with an agreement to abstain from reporting on cases of suicide. The characteristics of suicide and attempted suicide on the Viennese subway are discussed and appropriate guidelines for media coverage of suicidal acts are presented."

#4.1 DOuglas2 on 2012-12-15 20:34 (Reply)

That theory makes sense. Too many people are not all there (crazy, psychotic, nuts, loony,cuckoo, etc.) and are stimulated to action because of the "fame" they see the shooter receive. I cringe when I see the MSM overdo the coverage on some crazy crime. But don't hold your breathe expecting our media to try to stop the nutcases by refusing to glorify these crazy acts. It will be 24/7 reporting on this story until the run it into the ground or something else happens. And of course don't be suprised as disgusting politicians and activists use these poor dead people as pawns in their efforts to bring gun control to our country. No doubt even now they are meeting to figure out how to exploit this latest "crisis" rather then let it go to waste.

#4.1.1 GoneWithTheWind on 2012-12-15 21:33 (Reply)

QUOTE:

Ronn Torossian: Taxing the Successful to Death ...Yet today, I am sitting in shock after finishing end of year 2012 taxes of which I will pay more than 50% – 35% federal, 8.25 percent New York State taxes, and 4 percent local taxes.

35% federal? The top marginal tax rate is 35%, meaning most of his income must be above $388,350. Even if he and his wife made twice that, his effective rate would only be 28%. These are about the same rates he's been paying for a decade, with U.S. federal income tax rates at their lowest level in generations.

#5 Zachriel on 2012-12-15 12:00 (Reply)

Torrosian was writing about the taxes his BUSINESS pays, not his personal income tax, as any careful reader could tell from his list of taxes, which includes workers compensation. Individuals do not pay workers comp taxes; businesses do. Zachriel, still spinning his half-truths and still getting it wrong. In my long absence, nothing has changed, so it's au revoir once again.

#5.1 Agent Cooper on 2012-12-15 16:17 (Reply)

Agent Cooper: Torrosian was writing about the taxes his BUSINESS pays

Most people don't use the first person singular when talking about a corporation, unless it is a sole proprietorship.

QUOTE:

Ronn Torossian: I will pay more than 50% – 35% federal, 8.25 percent New York State taxes, and 4 percent local taxes.

New York State has a flat corporate tax rate of 7.1%.
http://www.tax-rates.org/new_york/corporate-income-tax

Without more detail, it's hard to form a clear picture, and there are a large number of legitimate deductions that make effective rates much lower than nominal rates for most corporations. Nevertheless, tax rates are at historic lows.

#5.1.1 Zachriel on 2012-12-15 16:48 (Reply)

re NEWLY DISCOVERED! GENERAL GEORGE PATTON’S GUIDE FOR U.S. SOLDIERS FIGHTING IN WORLD WAR 11

Hmmm..... substitute a name or two and it becomes good advice for conversing with Dems.

#6 feeblemind on 2012-12-15 12:44 (Reply)

Written by "General George Patton" eh? I think a name or
two has already been substituted. Problem is, that "bird dog's" sense of humor (via blogger "ruthfully") may be taken
seriously by too many zealots and just plain dummies ready
to believe whatever agrees with their POV. Certainly amongst the 7% that believe Lee Harvey Oswald shot
Abraham Lincoln.

#6.1 rock on 2013-01-13 16:47 (Reply)

On the 14th of December 2012, a primary school attack resulted in 20 pre-teen children

oh, wait, it is knives that should be banned, not guns.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/14/world/asia/china-knife-attack/index.html

Yes indeed, follow the example of the City of Rome, which banned the carrying of knives outside the home. Without that ban, it would have been so much easier to kill Julius... Oh, wait...

#7 John A on 2012-12-15 15:22 (Reply)

That argues against your position. The knife attack victims were only wounded, while the recent gun attack left the children dead.

#7.1 Zachriel on 2012-12-15 16:18 (Reply)

I think that you missed the point. The attacker in China used a knife and could have killed all those victims. For whatever reason he choose to wound them. A knife is a dangerous weapon just as a gun or a baseball bat is. But there is something else in the political stew when a gun is used. The left wants to ban guns just as Lenin, Hitler and Mao wanted to ban guns. This is a common thread for all left wing dictators and would-be left wing dictators. If you believe for a second this is about the deaths of these people then you simply don't understand the far left mind. Illegal aliens kill on average 3000 people in this country every year and I have never heard a left wing politician push to deport illegal aliens for this reason. To the left this is nothing more then a "crisis" that must not be wasted in their steamroller effort to convert us to a dictatorship. They MUST get rid of the 2nd amendment. It is impossible for them to take over a country that has citizen ownership of guns. THAT is their fixation with guns and not the deaths of innocents.

#8 GoneWithTheWind on 2012-12-16 10:16 (Reply)

GoneWithTheWind: The attacker in China used a knife and could have killed all those victims. For whatever reason he choose to wound them.

Knives leave more time to flee, are less likely to kill, take more time to wield, require closer contact with the victim, and it is quite possible to close against someone wielding a knife and at least deter or delay the attacker, but extremely unlikely against someone with a loaded weapon. There's a reason why militaries primarily use guns, not knives.

He didn't kill them. You should simply admit your example was not a good one. It actually argues against your position.

GoneWithTheWind: llegal aliens kill on average 3000 people in this country every year and I have never heard a left wing politician push to deport illegal aliens for this reason.

Most everyone agrees that criminal aliens should be punished then deported.

#8.1 Zachriel on 2012-12-17 07:53 (Reply)

Zach your trademark is being obtuse but seriously if he was able to stab all those people that kind of destroys your theory about being able to "flee". And once they are stabbed he could have easily either slashed them where major arteries are close to the skin or stab them in the heart. But you obtusely totally missed the point; should knives be banned in China? If not why not? Should baseball bats be banned? If not why not?

Interesting when it comes to some crimes you don't want to ban the instrument of death. Deport the criminals after they kill someone, you say? So why not punish a shooter after the crime? Why punish 300 million innocent people BEFORE a crime???

#9 GoneWithTheWind on 2012-12-17 09:59 (Reply)

It's quite obvious that your example didn't support your position. The severity and the deadliness of the China attack was far less than the recent attack in the U.S. Not sure why you continue to argue otherwise.

GoneWithTheWind: should knives be banned in China?

No, because they are much less deadly than semi-automatic weapons, and have far more uses.

#9.1 Zachriel on 2012-12-17 17:14 (Reply)

Your response doesn't make sense. It appears that you are saying if the shooter in CT had killed 5 or 6 then the comparison would be valid. I don't see how this matters unless you think it is imp[ossibe to kill multiple people with a knife or a club or other weapon. I am fairly certain that indeed a knife can be used multiple times on multiple victims. I actually think that your focus on the number killed in CT is because you are using the emotional arguement. So if the shooter had instead used a baseball bat and killed 26 people then the emotional appeal dictates we should ban baseball bats. I think you have committed semi-automatic fallacies in your arguement.

In fact You are just as dead when you are shot to death by a single shot or bolt action as you are when shot by a semi-automatic. Again I think you are committing the appeal to emotion fallacy.l

#10 GoneWithTheWind on 2012-12-17 19:23 (Reply)

GoneWithTheWind: I don't see how this matters unless you think it is imp[ossibe to kill multiple people with a knife or a club or other weapon.

It's much more difficult to kill multiple people with a knife or club than with a semiautomatic weapon. Guns are much hard to defend against or avoid.

#10.1 Zachriel on 2012-12-18 07:23 (Reply)

Then you are saying that 5 or 6 deaths are no problem and we don't need to change any laws but more deaths then that and we need to punish the innocent by taking away god given rights to defend themselves. It still does not make sense. If a person or a gang decided to take a SUV and drive it into a crowd of people and killed 50 should we ban SUV's? After all SUV's are much hard to defend against or avoid.

The point is this isn't about the deaths or the risk, it is about gun control pure and simple. The left wing politicians and MSM are literally drooling in anticipation of using this tragedy to finally get their long time goal of gun control accomplished. Why? It isn't because gun control makes us safer because all the stats prove that is false. It isn't simply that politicians are doing the peoples will to get reelected because I can guarantee you that at local and national levels any politicians who votes for gun control will be targeted next election by the millions of people who believe in the constitution. This is the radical left wing agenda to disarm American citizens. And why??? What is the long term goal for those who would disarm honest citizens???

#11 GoneWithTheWind on 2012-12-18 11:05 (Reply)

GoneWithTheWind: Then you are saying that 5 or 6 deaths are no problem and we don't need to change any laws but more deaths then that and we need to punish the innocent by taking away god given rights to defend themselves.

According to what you've been arguing, a knife or a club is equivalent to a semi-automatic gun, so you can still defend yourself.

#11.1 Zachriel on 2012-12-18 17:42 (Reply)

Wrong. I am not making an equivalence arguement I am pointing out hypocrisy and the reason for it. That is all weapons are deadly, I can kill you with a hammer, a 2x4 a cane, a knife, 2" of paracord, a car, a chair, ad infinitum. But for the left who have an anti-gun agenda all deaths are politically meaningless unless it was as a result of a gun. The reason this is true is that the left "needs" gun control, they live and brerath gun control, when they dream they dream of gun control and in this way they are exactly like Lenin, Hitler and Mao

Anyway it is great fun to watch you dissemble as you attempt to deny the obvious. Gun control does not work! The shooter broke over 40 laws to commit this crime and not a single one of those laws prevented it. Gun control laws are not intended to protect the innocent or prevent more deaths like this they are intended to keep the citizens from being armed. The facts and statistical data do not support gun control yet the left immediately demands gun control. Why? They want gun control so bad they can taste it. Why? In my opinion the left, the socialist, the Marxist/Leninists need it before they can fundementally change America.

#12 GoneWithTheWind on 2012-12-18 18:01 (Reply)

GoneWithTheWind: That is all weapons are deadly, I can kill you with a hammer, a 2x4 a cane, a knife, 2" of paracord, a car, a chair, ad infinitum.

The difference in effectiveness is certainly important. For instance, most countries ban private ownership of cannon and nuclear missiles.

#12.1 Zachriel on 2012-12-19 08:15 (Reply)

Well this isn't most countries, we have a constitution. "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

#12.1.1 GoneWithTheWind on 2012-12-20 00:44 (Reply)

GoneWithTheWind: Well this isn't most countries, we have a constitution. "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

So, in your country, they allow private ownership of artillery and nuclear missiles?

#12.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2012-12-20 07:21 (Reply)

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Saturday, December 15. 2012

Saturday morning links