Tuesday, December 11. 2012
Like the Hannukah reindeer? Ideally, I suppose he'd sport a menorah.
A new war game: Europe 1939-1945.
How Ben Affleck’s Argo Screws History
You Could Tell Santa’s Helper In The UU Church Pageant Was A Drag Queen Because He’s The Only Person In Western Maine That Looks Even Vaguely Feminine
6 Green Lies Threatening to Starve You - It started with the gas in your car. Now the green police are coming after the food in your fridge.
Foodstamps Soar By Most In 16 Months: Over 1 Million Americans Enter Poverty In Last Two Months
“Wage Class War” — well, at least they’re honest about the strategy
Gallup Reports Upper-Income Spending Worst November Ever
New Curricula Will Substitute Government Manuals for Classic Literature
Young Americans Could Experience Shock When medical insurance Exchanges Go Live
One reason to not send your kids to school
At Big Government
A friend from Chicago, involved in Illinois politics who has known Obama since his early days in the Illinois State Senate, told me that two things that trump everything else in Obama’s mind: redistributing the wealth and empowering labor unions. Look at everything the President does, my friend says, and you will find one or the other lurking in the background.
Obama’s Broken Promises to Sandy Victims
Upscale liberal Kentfield discovers that scary phrase “We’re from the government, and we’re here to help”
Conard: Buffett Is Wrong About Taxes
Female Genital Mutilation: An Islamic Crime
Monday, December 10. 2012
When Israel announced that planning would begin for some housing in an area known as E1, the New York Times led the media howling that building there would cut off the northern from the southern parts of a future Palestine in the areas of the West Bank. Despite the Palestinians publicly announcing at the UN their breaking the Oslo Accords, a reason had to be found or created to hold Israel to blame for obstructing peace!
This map (courtesy of Honest Reporting), for example, shows that not to be true.
The New York Times must have bought a map, and just ran two corrections to its prior reporting, if it can be dignified as such. Blind ignorance is blamed on an “editing error.” Yeah, and Delaware is our largest state.
That area has never been offered to Palestinians in any of the many proposals for 98% of the West Bank to be theirs for a state. See this map:
Continue reading "New York Times Sells A Bridge, Then Buys A Map"
I want to highlight this morning's Samuelson link, Is the economy creating a lost generation?
I suspect that many of our readers are seeing this happening around them these days. It is a terrible time to be a graduate, whether of college or of grad school, and this seems unlikely to change any time in the next four years. There will be a glut of job-seekers such that a job - even a job without great career-building prospects - will feel more like a privilege than like an opportunity.
It's sad to see eager talent going unused. What young people in this economy need to do is to ramp up their job-seeking skills to a level of intensity rarely required in the past 40 years, or to make something interesting happen themselves, on their own initiative. Necessity is the mother of invention.
Compared to these youngsters, I feel like I had it easy. And I didn't because I went eight years going from place to place with little kids, never with a real or even semi-permanent home, trying to find my right niche, never making much money at all. Constructing the life or career one dreams of is never easy and often impossible, but it's far more difficult now.
Saturday, December 8. 2012
 None of these are particularly worthy of their own post, but they add up to a fun little collection. Well, except for that horribly sad thing that happened to Bird Dog.
Bring a tissue.
First, some really good news from the political front:
Washington Post Plans a Paywall
That should only eliminate about 90% of this liberal dishrag's readership. Like the NYT, the news will still be open to the public, but to read the op-eds is going to cost a little something, and the only people who'll shell out the bucks are such ardent Lefties that we don't care about them, anyway. But it's a very good thing to keep these creeps away from the average reader.
Next, kind of good news/bad news story. First, the good news:
Johnstown, PA (GlossyNews) – Local and state police scoured the hills outside rural Johnstown, Pennsylvania, after reports of three animal rights activists going missing after attempting to protest the wearing of leather at a large motorcycle gang rally this weekend. Two others, previously reported missing, were discovered by fast food workers “duct taped inside fast food restaurant dumpsters,” according to police officials.
"Something just went wrong," said a still visibly shaken organizer of the protest. "Something just went horribly, horribly, wrong." The organizer said a group of concerned animal rights activists, "growing tired of throwing fake blood and shouting profanities at older women wearing leather or fur coats," decided to protest the annual motorcycle club event "in a hope to show them our outrage at their wanton use of leather in their clothing and motor bike seats."
“In fact," said the organizer, "motorcycle gangs are one of the biggest abusers of wearing leather, and we decided it was high time that we let them know that we disagree with them using it, ergo, they should stop."
According to witnesses, protesters arrived at the event in a vintage 1960?s era Volkswagen van and began to pelt the gang members with balloons filled with red colored water, simulating blood, and shouting "you’re murderers" to passersby. This, evidently, is when the brouhaha began.
"They peed on me!!!" charged one activist. "They grabbed me, said I looked like I was French, started calling me ‘La Trene’ and duct taped me to a tree so they could pee on me all day!"
Still others claimed they were forced to eat hamburgers and hot dogs under duress. Those who resisted were allegedly held down while several bikers "farted on their heads."
Forced to eat hamburgers and hot dogs? The horror!
The bad news is that it's just another urban myth, as Snopes debunks here. It's to note, though, as Snopes does, just how easy it was to believe.
Below the fold, two very similar topics. First, one of the most disgusting, foul-mouthed rappers you've ever heard, then a note on Bird Dog's reputation.
Or what's left of it.
Continue reading "Saturday stuff"
Friday, December 7. 2012
Do you know anyone who uses a computer?
My guess is that you know a very special someone who uses a computer. Someone who's using it right now, in fact, and you'd like to give that special someone a really nice computer gift for Christmas. And, honestly, who knows that special someone's needs and tastes better than you, right? That's why you're the perfect person to make this decision.
Following are twelve gift ideas that I think would spruce up anyone's rig.
1. The Disc Carousel
Find the disc you want in the computer database program, click 'Eject', the carousel spins around and out it slides. Holds 150 discs. Price usually lists for $129, sometimes they go on sale. Home site is here, much more info here.
"Hey, Doc, this 'shopping for someone special' stuff is great! My own special someone is going to be so appreciative!"
That's what giving is all about.
Continue reading "Christmas gift ideas: high-tech to low-tech"
Thursday, December 6. 2012
Wednesday, December 5. 2012
Ace made this. Money for nuthin' and the chicks for free.
Key quote from the latter post: "Government has become the one-stop shop to replace all personal inadequacies." And from poor judgement and poor decision-making, I would add, but I guess they come under the category of personal shortcomings.
 Photo: Buddy took that snap of your Editor on a bird hunting trip in Texas a few years ago
The Plight of the Alpha Female - Women remain scarce in the most elite positions. And it’s by choice.
Our friend TigerHawk retired that website. Here's his new one: The Spirit of Enterprise
'Everyone in US under virtual surveillance' - NSA whistleblower
That is sickening
Biggs and Richwine: The Underworked Public Employee - The cliché is true: Government workers do tend to take it easier than their private counterparts.
Judge Napolitano: Woodrow Wilson ‘was awesome the way Hitler was’
Wilson is up there on my list of bad guys, along with FDR. About Teddy and Lincoln I have mixed feelings. The only cool thing JFK did was to get Marilyn Monroe in the sack.
Nails it: Krauthammer’s Take: Obama Wants to ‘Drive a Stake Through’ GOP in Fiscal Cliff Deal
President Obama’s proposal to Republicans to avoid going over the so-called fiscal cliff — huge tax increases, huge spending increases, and no serious entitlement reform — is risible.
Obama Consults with MSNBC Hosts Sharpton, Maddow on Tax Rates
Cops to Congress: We need logs of Americans' text messages
Clinton-era Tax Team Wants Obama to Tax Middle Class
State Business Tax Climate
“The taxpayer-funded PR blitz for Obamacare”
Using our own money to try to sell us something we don't want
Editorial: Obamacare's new tax on health insurance
We'll pay that tax too
Sorry Libs… The NRA Was There to Help Blacks Defend Themselves From KKK Democrats, Not the Other Way Around
What's The Opposite Of Diversity?
Calif. Teachers Union Releases Cartoon Video Featuring ‘The Rich’ Urinating on the Poor
Kuwait Expels Thousands of Palestinians
Nobody likes Palestinians, it seems, except people who don't know them
Top Official: Abbas Has No Plans to Halt Incitement
Tuesday, December 4. 2012
Most of the most prominent in the West who claim to want peace in the Middle East are, instead, prime facilitators of hate.
By disdaining those Muslims who are closer to Western values, instead pandering to Islamist extremists, or one-sidedly denouncing the defensive measures of the only Western oriented nation in the Middle East, Israel, the claimants of upholding peace have consistently encouraged those who believe and act out of hate.
There are a host of reasons, actually excuses, proffered by those who cloak themselves in plastic doves. At root they shield self-hate for enjoying civilization’s comforts while others purportedly suffer. Their solutions all come down to the same end, take away what has been deservedly earned and give it to those who haven’t earned it. One may argue that many of those supporting this redistribution would also be affected, but in reality they usually shield themselves or are just too blind to realize that until the taker is at their door and their generosity has been squandered or stolen.
I haven’t the slightest care if the above offends anyone who is too effete to speak the truth or so befuddled as to not recognize it or so deceitful as to deny it or so quibbling as to host relative trivia against overriding facts.
There may never be peace in the Middle East so long as, as usual, Muslims hate each other and their rulers are primarily concerned with filling their foreign bank accounts. There certainly will not be peace in the Middle East as long as they use Israel as a distraction from their own fetid culture and politics. To now, the only periods of peace have been when Israel soundly thrashed its attacking enemies, and that has only been temporary as the despoiling hatred of the Arabs reblooms and is watered and nourished by the Western morons who confuse payoffs for hate with peace.
Sophistry that masks surrender with endless compromises that are unrequited by the haters is unacceptable.
Homeland Security was one of Bush's dumb moves. Totally unnessary expansion of non-functional federal bureaucracies. Whenever government screws something up, they find a way to hire 10,000 more people to complicate it even worse. That's called "doing something."
Re the TSA, The TSA as we know it is dead - here's why. (h/t Insty).
We recently posted about the Trusted Traveler program. But isn't a US Passport an indication of a "trusted traveler"?
Related, Kimball on Why Kafka Would Like FEMA
 Mead on Advent:
For Christians, and nobody else really has much business thinking about Advent or observing it, there is something else. If there is no Christmas, there is no Cross, no answer to the problems of sin, separation, failure and pain. Advent is a time to think about what life would be like if we didn’t have faith in a Redeemer, a Savior who was ready, willing and able to complete the broken arc of our lives, forgive what is past and walk with us step by step to help us build something better in the time that is left.
Middle Class Net Worth Collapses to 1969 Levels
As Americans face a fiscal cliff, the Obamas make do with 54 Christmas trees
Imagine if Bush had done that
Polls: Nation that re-elected Obama wants more spending cuts than tax hikes, still hates Obamacare
2011 Physician Survey: Attitudes on Health Reform and the Future of Medical Practice
Amsterdam to create´scum villages´
Ridiculous WaPo headline + photo combination
Sandy was not a hurricane when she made landfall
Sandy-ravaged communities dealing with cold and lack of housing while FEMA trailers sit idle in PA
Driving while stoned
The Many Ways Cities Are Trying to Make Uber Illegal
Washington Post: “Know Who Benefits From Charitable Giving? Only The Rich”
The new ethanol that voids your car's warranty
"...the youth of America just chose to make themselves poorer and more indebted"
Iraqi refugee arrested for bombing Arizona Social Security office with IED, media silence ensues
The Democrat-Media Complex
Media Hype Comparisons of Obama to Lincoln
Obama Official: With Republicans, The Way Politics Are Today, There Would Still Be Slavery
Obama Administration Silent After Egyptian Constitution Restores Slavery
Pollution: Blame China First
Rahe blames the sexual revolution
Men Find Careers in Collecting Disability
IRS aims to clarify investment income tax under healthcare law - 156 pages of tax law
Obamacare’s regulatory surtax on exchange insurance plans
Morning Bell: What IS the Fiscal Cliff?
Feinstein: ‘Well Over 200′ Threat Warnings Against Benghazi Mission at Time of Attack
Why Christian Persecution Is Islam's Achilles' Heel
Judicial Reach: The Ever-Expanding European Court of Justice
In Gaza, surge of support for Hamas starts to fade
Iran Sanctions Could Harm Rice’s Portfolio
Egypt’s New Constitution: Laying the Basis for an Islamist, Sharia State
Monday, December 3. 2012
 I think you'll find this somewhat interesting. Fellow bloggers, take note: the readership delivered a real message in a few of the responses.
Preview:
— There were 400 responses, our PollDaddy limit
— Bird Dog's guess on one issue totally nailed it
— Ditto my guess on another
— Two common MSM memes were totally dismantled
— And there are three surprises
The envelope, please!
Continue reading "Maggie's Farm survey results"
Saturday, December 1. 2012
Friday, November 30. 2012
 Barro at Bloomberg makes the case for government redistribution. Dems want more government-controlled redistribution and less voluntary redistribution.
For better or worse, we in the US have had extensive government-controlled redistribution for generations in myriad forms. The real issue is not redistribution, it's how much, from whom, to whom, in what form? Further, it's a question of at what point forced, as opposed to voluntary, redistribution interferes with freedom, growth, initiative, and opportunity for all.
My favorite form of redistribution is the one I practice daily: I voluntarily buy things and services from other people. I buy a fish taco from a food truck in mid-town Manhattan, and I buy my work shirts at Brooks Brothers, made in the USA. I give generous tips, and big tips in December. It's a pleasure. During Christmastime I do most of my charitable giving too, while ramping up my redistribution of my "wealth" in exchange for material things to give to others.
Over the course of a year I redistribute a heck of a lot of my income. Last year, according to my Quicken, it was around 85% including taxes. Greedy Capitalist Pig that I am, I did fail to redistribute 15% of it to preserve for my future wants or needs to minimize the likelihood that I might have to humiliate myself to desire redistribution to myself someday. I put that filthy un-redistributed 15% in the solicitous care of Vanguard but, even to them, I am required to redistribute some small % of it.
Markets are geniuses at redistributing wealth in exchange for some sort of value-added.
Stashing away 15% was not easy to do, since my redistributed city, state, and federal taxes already approach 50% of my fairly-decent but far-from-wealthy salary this year. I do it because, while I enjoy my more immediate pleasures and indulgences - boat, dinners out, girl friends, beer, theater, travel - I have ambitious plans for my future too which will cost money to try to make happen. Sometimes I wonder how much wealth is redistributed from parents to kids, directly.
I am, and will be, one of the proud work horses pulling this big government wagon. No choice. Nobody has ever said "Thanks." I also help carry the free enterprise wagon, and am happy to be able to do so in whatever ways I can, within reason.
Thursday, November 29. 2012
The recent Wal-Mart strike on Black Friday seems to have galvanized the labor movement. To what outcome, we shall see, but I suspect they are operating with some huge misconceptions.
As I drove to the train station, I heard an interview with one of the leaders in today's strike of fast-food workers here in NYC. He has a pleasing workers' story which he is spouting about 'living wages' and the need for workers at these companies to make trade-offs between a Metrocard and dinner. I'm all for 'living wages', but I think people have to remember when they take a job they need to determine if it's going to require them making tough choices. If I live so far from work that the cost of getting there deprives me of a meal, then maybe I need to find something closer to where I live.
Continue reading "The Economic Consequences of the Election"
Cuba to Tax Citizens for the First Time in a Half-Century
Overwhelmed by his children’s constant whining, retired British submarine captain Nick Crews snapped: Nick Crews, Meet David Brooks
Why Hamas Forced Me to Leave Amherst College
The Latest Sexual Tyranny from the Southern Poverty Law Center
Two-thirds of millionaires left Britain to avoid 50p tax rate
WSJ: "Most-Racial America: Antiwhite bigotry goes mainstream"
So why are private unions in decline and government unions still strong?
Wage War: Government Employees vs. Everybody Else
The Coming Middle Class Tax Hike - Neither Republicans nor Democrats eager to argue for extending payroll tax rate
Let’s Face It… Obama Has No Intention to Cut Spending – He Doesn’t Even Have a Plan
Conservatives Must Learn the Dark Arts of Image Manipulation:
It's not at all clear why no effort has been put into combating leftist image manipulation and stereotyping. I suspect it has to do with the faux elitist roots of old guard -- the aping of an imaginary WASP ruling class that one still finds among Northeastern conservatives. Answering, or even giving attention to such insults is considered to be in bad taste and evidence of poor breeding, something beneath the notice of true gentlefolk. We simply don't do that kind of thing, you see.
Well, we'd better resign ourselves to getting our seersucker rumpled and start doing that kind of thing. Inaction may have been excusable fifty years ago, when the major papers, the two newswires, and all three networks were owned and operated by convinced liberals. In the age of the internet and social media, it is excusable no longer. There are vast resources that remain unused in the image wars. We need to learn how to use them.
The value of deterrence cannot be overlooked. Conservatives should select one or more representative leftist icons and Palinize them.
Gallup: Majority opposes federal health-care guarantee for first time
Oliver Stone's "History" as Propaganda
Morning Bell: Disabilities Treaty Just Another U.N. Power Grab
Former Arab League Head Amr Moussa: 'Egypt Has Never Been in Such a Critical State'
Wednesday, November 28. 2012
Tuesday, November 27. 2012
Fox News is a little behind the curve on this one:
A painting that features President Obama posed as Jesus Christ crucified on is on display at a community college art gallery in Boston. The painting by Michael D’Antuono is part of a larger exhibit called “Artists on the Stump – the Road to the White House 2012.” It’s on display at the Bunker Hill Community College Art Gallery until Dec. 15th. The painting is called “Truth” – and shows the president with his arms outstretched. A crown of thorns rests on his head.(link)
Of course, Maggie's Farm featured the original artwork back in 2009. It's much less offensive and blasphemous and trite than Fox suggests, and it's got a beat and you can dance to it. The seventies had much better music than the 2010s, and we can only dream of Carter-era levels of commerce at this point, but a bunch of sons of the desert dragging Americans out of our embassies really puts me in that nostalgic mood.How about you? Just like old times.
I wonder if Ted Koppel will show up on TV late tonight?
From last weekend's Jets-Patriots game.
Three touchdowns by the Pats in 52 seconds of game play:
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Real estate investing, small scale: 
My pic is a Nantucket "3/4 house." December is a good time to throw on a sweater and a scarf and stroll the streets of downtown Nantucket to admire the early 19th C. architecture with the leaves off the trees and the limousine Liberal vacationers off the streets.
Gov. Lincoln Chafee: 
Today is 
Pic is the 