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Saturday, March 5. 2016

Image via American Digest, where there is lots of cool stuff to read

A Gentleman’s Club That Turns Boys Into Me

I will be Helen Mirren when I am 70, goddammit.

Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar Is Getting a Makeover

First makeover in 700 years

PITT STUDENTS ‘IN TEARS’ AND FEELING ‘UNSAFE’ AFTER MILO YIANNOPOULOS EVENT

Revisiting the Financial Crisis

FDR's policies prolonged Depression by 7 years, UCLA economists calculate

The industry that adds jobs throughout a recession, but makes no profits - New numbers show how non-profits staffed up even as everybody else cut back.

Melissa Harris-Perry: The Host Who Cried Racism

Surber: Rest of the world, butt out of our election

Yale University Closes Climate Change Institute

The Most Pro-Sanders Zip Codes

DEMOCRAT LEADERSHIP SUCCESS STORY #70 BAJILLION: 30 Blocks of Ya Gotta See It to Believe It

Roger Stone: $70 Million in Ads Going After Trump in Florida

Four Laws Hillary Appears to Have Broken

Donald Trump and This Week’s Torah Portion

Ingraham: It will be the most brutal, vicious two weeks in GOP primary history — here's what to expect

Mitt Romney Is The Real Super-Fraud: Here’s The Proof, Chapter And Verse

The Donald Turns Into a Pumpkin - Column: Donald Trump's worst debate yet

Former Mexican Leader: Donald Trump Is ‘Absolutely Racist’

Wrong

Air Force Thunderbirds too male, too white, top general warns

McCain's Showdown With the U.S. Air Force Over the A-10

Our Military Is Ready to Write – Not Ready to Fight

Rules of Engagement for the 21st Century Battlefield

The Continuing Battle for Human Rights in Russia

UN PASSES TOUGHLY WORDED PIECE OF PAPER AGAINST NORTH KOREA

Why Islamic State’s Ancient Jihadi Tactics “Shock” the West

HAMAS SUPPLYING ISIS W/BOMBS, GUNSAND COMMUNICATIONS

‘No education toward 2 states in Palestinian textbooks,’ report finds

Implications of Greater Chinese Involvement in the Mideast

Vietnam's Communists Put to the Test as Dissidents Bid for Parliament

Iran’s elections: Hope, but no change

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 04:51 | Comments (46) | Trackback (1)

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the Dennis Millers quote from American Digest . does make one wonder about our 'so called' 2party, political system .

#1 la on 2016-03-05 09:02 (Reply)

"The industry that adds jobs throughout a recession, but makes no profits - New numbers show how non-profits staffed up even as everybody else cut back. "

What does it say when your only growth industry is the industry that isn't taxed? How will government survive?

#2 JK Brown on 2016-03-05 09:11 (Reply)

Pssst... check your wallet.

#2.1 mary on 2016-03-05 09:16 (Reply)

And take a hard look on the compensation to the senior officials of same. Many a "non-profit" (or "not-for-profit" in Canada) is very generous in rewarding its executives, even though the work they do which qualifies them for "non-profit" status is minimal. Think the Clinton foundation.

#2.2 Frances on 2016-03-05 23:04 (Reply)

Great article on turning boys into men. Totally agree with their goal and the dressing up part... Look good, feel good, do good!

Of course it is totally un-PC.

#3 Mark M. on 2016-03-05 09:19 (Reply)

It's sad that AF generals are drinking the diversity kool-aid. They're interested in equal outcomes versus equal opportunity. And, frankly very few fighter pilots are female and/or black. Most are white males. I personally prefer the best pilot (not the most diverse ones) flying high performance jets in challenging aerodynamic maneuvers. It helps keep the pilot and audience alive.
An AF instructor pilot I knew said that in the 90's women pilots were permitted far more latitude in obtaining remedial training. Low performing males would be washed out, while low performing females (not all females to be sure) were allowed more (expensive) flight training to enable them to pass. He said he could teach anyone to fly, but the AF rightly wanted fast learners because they were less expensive to train. In short, we paid extra tax dollars to ensure we had "equal" [strike ]opportunity [/strike ] outcome for women.

#4 Mark on 2016-03-05 09:26 (Reply)

See discussion here: http://www.jqpublicblog.com/generals-email-air-force-having-trouble-recruiting-for-thunderbirds/

#4.1 Sam L. on 2016-03-06 18:19 (Reply)

QUOTE:

FDR's policies prolonged Depression by 7 years, UCLA economists calculate

The article and study are from 2004, and has been widely rejected by other economists. Mostly because, well, it's not true.

GDP:
http://www.investmentpostcards.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/NT12.jpg

Industrial Production
https://uneasymoney.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/glasner-ind-prod.jpg

#5 Zachriel on 2016-03-05 09:39 (Reply)

Ah yes, Zack, you lefty-prog weasel, ALL the lefty-prog economists rejected it precisely because it was so CORRECT, but it defamed their idol, FDR!

Even members of FDR's own administration admitted their policies didn't work. See, Morgenthau, Sec Treasury!

All FDR did was double down on the stooped policies of Hoover--- he out-Hoovered 'em!

#5.1 Earl T on 2016-03-05 13:01 (Reply)

Earl T: Even members of FDR's own administration admitted their policies didn't work.

A lot of their policies didn't work, but in the main, increasing aggregate demand led to increased economic activity, as shown in the graphics above.

#5.1.1 Zachriel on 2016-03-05 13:20 (Reply)

Actually, the TVA in particular measurably improved the lives of millions.

But here's the irony: the left and "progressives" don't do that sort of thing anymore.

Too industrial.

#5.1.2 JJM on 2016-03-05 19:52 (Reply)

"#70 BAJILLION: 30 Blocks of Ya Gotta See It to Believe It "

The problem is that we have a new Mafia to replace the old Mafia. A black Mafia. Not really all that new but just now getting on the radar. The black politicians and appointees in these cities exist for one reason only and that is to transfer public funds into private pockets. Recently it was disclosed that a Detroit black city councilman ordered a special $100k Lincoln Navigator paid for by the taxpayers. But when he got it the interior color wasn't quite right. So he kept it but ordered another $100K Lincoln with the right color scheme. All paid for by taxpayers. These cities need a forensic audit and a special prosecutor. A few hundred perp walks and a good dusting and cleaning to get rid of the crooked Democrats. Pay attention NY City. This is coming to you too.

#6 GoneWithTheWind on 2016-03-05 10:00 (Reply)

Anyone who tries to do this will be defamed as a racist. Only someone like President Trump will have the power to take these folks on, because he doesn't care what people say and he is largely immune from attacks to destroy him personally..

#6.1 Jim on 2016-03-06 20:31 (Reply)

The "Pitt students feeling unsafe" link goes to the Sanders zip codes story.

#7 Libertarianette on 2016-03-05 10:05 (Reply)

QUOTE:

If only the GOP had gone after Obama like they're going after Trump!

From the moment Obama was inaugurated, there was a significant and very vocal movement claiming he was not a legitimate president, while Republicans made clear that their first order of business was to undermine the Obama Administration, even if it meant obstructing government functions, or threatening the credibility of American debt.

#8 Zachriel on 2016-03-05 10:07 (Reply)

Yes, poor little thing, he was treated to some skepticism that very occasionally made its way onto the evening newscasts. (The originators may have used harsh words, but the newscasters fell all over themselves disavowing that tone.)

Don't make the mistake of imagining that anything less than kid-glove adulation is the same thing Trump's about to experience--or any conservative is routinely acid-washed by.

#8.1 Texan99 on 2016-03-05 11:12 (Reply)

Texan99: he was treated to some skepticism that very occasionally made its way onto the evening newscasts.

Occasionally? Fox News ran on birtherism for years. Claiming that the first black U.S. president was not a "real 'Merican' is far from mere skepticism. That Republicans embraced truthiness has led to Trumpism, and has been to the country's detriment.

#8.1.1 Zachriel on 2016-03-05 11:51 (Reply)

Obama did himself no favors by locking up his college and law school records. Instantly made me think: what is he hiding. That just ratchets up the suspicions.

This is the first president who acted in this manner. So, to complain about the 'birthers' is funny to me...because Obama created them by being so elusive about his past.

#8.1.1.1 MissT on 2016-03-05 12:34 (Reply)

MissT: Obama did himself no favors by locking up his college and law school records.

Obama didn't lock up his school records. School records are confidential by default.

MissT: This is the first president who acted in this manner.

Um, no. For instance, George Bush never released his college records, though they were eventually leaked to the New Yorker. In any case, that doesn't make him ineligible for the Presidency.

#8.1.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2016-03-05 13:18 (Reply)

Z: Obama didn't lock up his school records. School records are confidential by default.

And he did nothing to release them. So do you know who paid for his expensive education? Do you know how he registered? Do you know how somebody who (almost) never published anything became editor of the Harvard Law Review? Are you curious?

#8.1.1.1.1.1 mudbug on 2016-03-05 13:25 (Reply)

mudbug: And he did nothing to release them.

Nor did Bush.

mudbug: Do you know how somebody who (almost) never published anything became editor of the Harvard Law Review?

President of the Harvard Law Review. He was elected by the other editors.

#8.1.1.1.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2016-03-05 13:34 (Reply)

Exactly: propped up as a PC figurehead, with no substance behind his achievement. What did you think we were talking about? And of course he couldn't afford to release any details.

Honestly, it's hard to believe anyone's still butthurt about the supposed grief Obama took on the "birther" movement. Most people never formed a strong conclusion about his origins, but they got the message loud and clear that he was obfuscating like crazy. Later on we got confirmation of this opinion when he began lying to us about everything else. It's not his citizenship, it's his evasiveness and dishonesty. Ditto Clinton. And even so, the newscasters--even at Fox--treated the issue gingerly, never wanting to be associated with anything as declasse as "birtherism." Trump won't get that cushy a treatment. No one will be accused 24/7 of racism for going after Trump.

#8.1.1.1.1.1.1.1 Texan99 on 2016-03-06 10:20 (Reply)

Why does anyone even argue with the Wee Z anymore. He just rattles on with irritating conclusions that contradict reality. Ignore him.

#8.1.1.1.1.1.2 jma on 2016-03-05 14:46 (Reply)

Bulldog summed up his comments months ago: vacuous nitpicking. Occasionally he rises to the level of casuistry or clever sophistry.

#8.1.1.1.1.1.2.1 anon on 2016-03-05 15:22 (Reply)

The inaugural opposition to Obama was far less than the inaugural opposition to Bush. In fact, Republicans have consistently been more willing than Democrats to give a new president a break, including our famous minority-electedX2 president. http://ropercenter.cornell.edu/polls/presidential-approval/

You do realise that it is the job of the opposition to begin strategizing for the next election 15 seconds after the last one finished, don't you? Why is that only some evil unfair thing when it's against your guy?

You remain unable to look at the other side of any balance pans.

#8.2 Assistant Village Idiot (Link) on 2016-03-05 18:36 (Reply)

Assistant Village Idiot: You remain unable to look at the other side of any balance pans.

We're more than happy to look at both sides. There was a great deal of angst among Democrats after Gore won the popular vote, and it appeared that more eligible voters went to the polls in Florida to vote for Gore, but that deficiencies in the process led to Bush becoming president.

However, even though Gore could have continued the legal challenge, he conceded. After 9-11, the vast majority of Americans united around President Bush. He lost support over time due to his presiding over one debacle after another.

The conflation occurs because you want to equate a small and politically weak component on the left with a significant and politically connected segment on the right. The latter tolerated and encouraged truthiness, and consciously unmoored the Republican Party, and the U.S. political system generally, from fact-based reality.

#8.2.1 Zachriel on 2016-03-06 10:34 (Reply)

So you didn't go to the link, just rattled off your preferred narrative. There is no evidence that Democrats rallied around Bush until 9/11. The opposite is true.

The overall popular vote is meaningless, as Gore himself said before the election. We don't award the World Series to the team that...

Oh hell, why do I bother?

#8.2.1.1 Assistant Village Idiot (Link) on 2016-03-06 13:55 (Reply)

Assistant Village Idiot: So you didn't go to the link

Indeed we did, and responded accordingly. You then ignored our comment.

You asked that we consider both sides, which we did. Then we pointed out an important distinction, that right-wing birtherism and other truthiness attempts to undermine Obama had large currency within the Republican Party and right-wing media, while left-wing whines about Bush had little political influence. Conservative entertainment of truthiness has led us to a place where the Republican Party looks like WWF wrestling, and while there are serious issues of concern to the U.S., the main point of contention at the last Republican debate was the size of Trump's anatomy.

#8.2.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2016-03-06 16:38 (Reply)

Careful, you're beginning to betray a very human exasperation, not to say desperation.

#8.2.1.1.1.1 Texan99 on 2016-03-06 23:30 (Reply)

Surber article on Butt out of our Election:

What would Trump wrought? He is a wrecking ball and has already exposed the Chattering class for their indifference toward the Middle and their willingness to deflect and subordinate the will of the voter to their own benefit.
What happens when the foreign Scam Artists, I mean Dignitaries, are exposed and subjected to ridicule?
Do we think that clown cars are just American?

#9 Exasperated on 2016-03-05 10:07 (Reply)

QUOTE:

Note to the rest of the world: Butt out of our presidential election. You know nothing about us, our wants, our needs, and our desires.

The problem with that position is that what the U.S. does affects the rest of the world. Just consider U.S. intervention in the Middle East, the resulting destabilization of the region, and the current refugee crisis. When Caesar dies, the world holds its breath.

#10 Zachriel on 2016-03-05 10:13 (Reply)

By that logic we should have a say in other countries' elections. Maybe we should vote to get England out of the EU, depose Communist dictators in China, reform immigration laws in Mexico.

#10.1 mudbug on 2016-03-05 13:13 (Reply)

mudbug: By that logic we should have a say in other countries' elections.

By the logic, Americans are less concerned with events in England than the English are with events in the U.S. And, it turns out, Americans are generally ignorant of events outside their own country. Sadly, this is true, even when it is important that they be aware.

mudbug: Maybe we should vote to get England out of the EU, depose Communist dictators in China, reform immigration laws in Mexico.

No one suggested other people should have a vote in U.S. elections, however, the U.S. does concern itself with events outside the U.S.

People have a right to their opinion. Feel free to ignore their advice, and call them Freedom Fries.

#10.1.1 Zachriel on 2016-03-05 13:25 (Reply)

"Just consider U.S. intervention in the Middle East, the resulting destabilization of the region..."

You mean before the US stumbled onto the scene the Middle East was stable?

Huh.

#11 JJM on 2016-03-05 10:40 (Reply)

JJM: You mean before the US stumbled onto the scene the Middle East was stable?

Far more stable than it is today. That doesn't mean that the U.S. doesn't have a role to play, but the U.S. has made a series of unforced blunders that have wreaked havoc in the region.

#11.1 Zachriel on 2016-03-05 11:47 (Reply)

Yeah, if only Bush hadn't collapsed all those countries in the Middle East in 1177 BC.

#11.1.1 Assistant Village Idiot (Link) on 2016-03-05 19:02 (Reply)

"Yeah, if only Bush hadn't collapsed all those countries in the Middle East in 1177 BC."

And don't forget all the behind-the-scenes stuff with Pilate and the Sanhedrin that he and Cheney were involved in.

#11.1.1.1 JJM on 2016-03-05 19:45 (Reply)

I flew in and out, and layed over throughout the ME in the '50s-'60s. It was very stable, except for the occasional Israli-[insert foe] war which never lasted long. I'm not saying it was a democratic liberal heaven, but it was stable.

#11.2 BillH on 2016-03-05 12:59 (Reply)

Laura Ingraham argues that small-government conservatives should rally behind Trumpist populism because it's the only way to break the iron grip of the GOPe and ensure that the GOP is no longer where genuine conservative ideas go to die. She acknowledges that many conservatives fear Trump is an unprincipled closet liberal, but counters that all the ostensible conservatives we've managed to elect are the same. Cruz might be different, yes, but he should let Trump pave the way and then hope he can get in there somehow and have his ideas heard for a change. Finally, she argues that supporting populism is kinda sorta congruent with small-government conservatism, even if populism has to be implemented by big-government policies, because populism is about increased opportunity instead of the status quo.

I don't find any of this persuasive. The real question is, though, whether I find it more persuasive than the idea that we should either stay home or (gag) vote for Clinton.

#12 Texan99 on 2016-03-05 11:09 (Reply)

I guess the question is does Trump really champion the everyday regular American against the special interests? I don't know. I don't remember who posted this but they wrote "if you are drowning, you don't care who throws you a rope."

What do I know, maybe we regular folks are being played. I wonder if being cerebral and refined and predictable makes it impossible to break through the stranglehold of the entrenched powers and special interests. It is kinda stunning that the GOPe has been so ineffectual against this populism, if that is what it is. It has become apparent that there are quite a substantial number of voters who are now aware of their numbers. Won't this undermine both parties?

#12.1 Exasperated on 2016-03-05 11:45 (Reply)

I was pointed to an old Playboy article with Trump from 25 years ago. Everyone should read it. It might calm you all down about who the man is. Really has not changed much since then. Also proved to me he is a conservative and not some underground Dem operative or Clintonite.

I would suggest all who are on the fence should read it. The accusation has been from certain people that Trump is a 'con man' and lying to the American public. I think this article shuts that down.

He's pretty much the same person.

https://thecorporateculture.com/2015/playboy-interviewed-donald-trump-25-years-ago/

#12.1.1 MissT on 2016-03-05 12:38 (Reply)

I grew up at the endless dining table business meetings headed by my grandfather, who had to drop out of school at age 12 when his father died, and who made sufficiently successful deals to support a series of wives and children in reasonable style and with a great respect for budgeting. Trump's personality reminds me of him -- the bluster, the braggadocio, the very specific rules about return on investment, but the overwhelming kindness to those around him. And he engendered trust. Despite how anyone else might go in and out of our lives changing the rules at whim, he was endlessly trustworthy.

I have followed The Donald since the late 1970s/early 1980s when his investing and verbose style made him a topic of cocktail party conversation among bankers, venture capitalists and real estate doyens. The survivors still admire him and have few, if any, criticisms of his efforts. And, the average voter on the street seems to trust him to cut the c$$p that's costing the U.S. worker his hope of making a middle class living.

We need to pull up that yellow brick road to the Emerald City called Washington D.C. and expose the charade of OZ characters behind the curtain that has become our U.S. political system run by a mafia far more destructive than the Capone Gang.

#12.1.1.1 jma on 2016-03-05 17:18 (Reply)

Thanks for that link, MissT. I agree with your assessment of it.

#12.1.1.2 XRay on 2016-03-06 09:37 (Reply)

I agree: that is a useful interview in terms of dispelling the weird feeling that he's a chameleon without a core. Thanks for posting, I'll circulate it to others as well. I'll still support Cruz in the primaries, but I'm coming around to a better feeling about Trump's likelihood of winning.

Because honestly, Clinton is just not an option. She should be in jail, to say nothing of her execrable politics.

#12.1.1.3 Texan99 on 2016-03-06 10:29 (Reply)

"A Gentleman’s Club That Turns Boys Into Me"

I think one Bird Dog is enough...

#13 EarlW on 2016-03-05 11:30 (Reply)

We NEED more Gwynnies; he knows so many nice young females.

#13.1 Sam L. on 2016-03-06 18:22 (Reply)

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Saturday, March 5. 2016

Saturday morning links