JAF-Blog

2011-07-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

not enough water....

Per the Huffington Post.

My response:

<posted at Surber>

So – running the numbers that the Huffington Post won’t means 36.5 trillion gallons or approximately 31 cu miles of water to feed America meat for a year.

31 cu miles is approximately 20-25% the volume of Lake Erie. Every 4-5 years Lake Erie is recycled to produce meat for America. (unless my math is wrong)

Something smells. Unfortunately Ms Freston does not link to the reports by NY University Polytechnic Institute Physicist Noam Mohr. This sounds like ‘the glaciers will be gone by 2035!!!’.

As Obama's World Turns

2011-06-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

FDR proved that only a Democrat could get Americans locked in concentration camps.

If a Republican tried it; newspapers would rail against it.

Oy

2011-06-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

Yes - We are screwed.... "link here".

Janitor Justice - Hah!

2011-04-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

In light of the ~ 7,500 votes "found" for Prosser, this Bloomberg Article on 'Janitor Justice' is so much more interesting to read.

Poor Guy

2011-04-06T21:54:00.000-07:00

Poor Alec Baldwin doesn't know where to spend his money.

Maybe Don Surber can help.

Why?

2011-03-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

Why would Kleinman assume that Barack Obama is not a fool: "Since Barack Obama is not a fool, this can only mean that he’s reluctant to countermand Gates and Gates’s subordinates."

Earthquake

2011-03-11T18:32:00.000-08:00

Of course everyone knows of the earthquake - my prayers go to those directly and indirectly affected by it today.

Funding is as Funding Does

2011-03-04T21:31:00.000-08:00

"ANOTHER UPDATE: A reader emails: “At least they haven’t committed the mortal sins in academia of being registered Republicans, evangelical Christians, or vocal opponents of the welfare state! You might say taking money from dictators is a lot more acceptable than praising George Bush.” Well, yeah."

From Instapundit. I just have to say how strange it is to not hear about the Koch brothers when it comes to funding evil...

Email to Insta....

2011-03-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

InstaPundit blogs about Sen Reid and his anti-Prostitution assault here at InstaPundit:

I responded via email:

"I think bluenose morals are about as far as you can get from the truth. Reid was re-elected with the endorsements of both the SEIU and the Casino owners [http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00009922] . That doesn't come easy.

Supply/Demand would (I assume) mean that the demand for prostitutes in Nevada won't change significantly with this law. What changes is the proportion of the johns that are seeking in counties with populations less than 400,000 {I assume Angle heavy counties} to those seeking prostitutes in Reno & Vegas (where the SEIU & big casinos reign). If enforcement doesn't significantly increase in Vegas & Reno with this law - where it is already illegal - then prostitution {and the support industries mentioned in the article you linked} will increase. Why travel to the boonies where not only is it just as illegal, but is easier to enforce (new people being as visible as they are...)

This is naked political payback sure & simple."

Added:
And: - I could care less if I get a link - I don't get traffic or links to this blog; this is for me to air my points of view. I just think that having spent time in Vegas during the election that someone from the east could use some reminders....

And Repeat!

2011-02-11T21:48:00.000-08:00

Klein (Ezra) at the Washington Post thinks that what the housing market needs is more of the Frank-Dodd that pushed it so far out of whack to begin with.

This is all you need to read to know how far the left has gone off the deep end: "The root causes will be fixed -- or not -- in Dodd-Frank."

And, of course, Dodd-Frank is such a great bill because:

"The real action -- the work that could prevent another crisis -- is still in Dodd-Frank, where many of the questions central to how the housing markets works going forward haven't been answered, and where many of the rules that might stop it from blowing up again have yet to be written." (emphasis by JAFAC)

This may be another case of where the bill has to be passed before we will know what is in it.

Seriously - Dodd & Frank are two of the individuals that are the bigger causes of the current housing mess. Only a liberal could view them as having a chance of fixing what is wrong.

New Civility Continues

2011-02-11T20:24:00.000-08:00

Sargent at the Washington Post shows how Nancy Pelosi continues her bridge building to conservatives and Republicans.

"Pelosi added that the unreconcilable philosophical differences between Republicans and Dems on abortion left Dems no choice but to adopt a scorched-earth approach to the war ahead."

New civility indeed.

Good to see her truthfulness has remained as strong as ever.

"She added that Dems would push the message that the GOP push -- which means small businesses could lose tax credits to buy health insurance for employees if they choos a plan that covers reproductive health care -- constitutes a "tax hike on women and small businesses.""

'(R)eproductive health care" - the loss of free abortions is now a loss of reproductive health care? What is this woman on?

Good news though!

"Pelosi added that this fight was a good way to drive home the reality of GOP extremism to women who were not energized last November, a key swing demographic."

Fetus-killing Americans continue to be a key demographic of the Democrat party.

O-flation

2011-02-03T19:54:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to post anything on this - just setting the label for future posts since it appears that with QE2 (and the rumored QE3) the dollar will go into the tank.

Hmm...

2011-02-03T19:51:00.000-08:00

Again via Instapundit - we find that the unemployment rate is rising - contrary to the standard published line that employment is increasing.

Egypt - Inflation & Food

2011-01-31T18:26:00.000-08:00

This post at Instapundit got me thinking -

So, I queried bean prices and got a link to cnn.com's page where there is a nice generator of commodity pricing.

Here is the screenshot of soybean pricing:

A 55% rise in 1 year...

The update at Instapundit's site by the reader that reminded all of the Palin/Krugman spat earlier this year is also spot-on. Now, obviously soybeans are not the beans referred to in the article - but I'm guessing they're a suitable proxy for the information we are looking for.

Inflation is coming. Today it was $100 oil (Brent). While the Brent increase can be blamed on the turmoil in Egypt, it should be remembered that there is a feedback loop. High food prices were a factor in the turmoil in Tunisia and Egypt. The turmoil in Egypt is affecting commodity pricing (oil). Oil increases will further affect commodity pricing.

Hold on to your butts....

Here it Comes

2011-01-31T18:08:00.000-08:00

Tax increase in California - Gov Brown is going to ask for it - will Californians vote for it?

What's More Shocking

2011-01-31T17:54:00.000-08:00

(Via Instapundit) - This NH Journal headline "SHOCK: Judge Strikes Down ObamaCare". So what is most shocking?

Whomever devised the headline is apparently so unaware of the situation that he/she didn't know it was possible it would get struck down
That this journal would use what the liberal press refers to as a perjorative "ObamaCare" when most other liberal guides suggested that term no longer be used
That Justice Department Schmaler's defense of "There is clear and well-established legal precedent that Congress acted within its constitutional authority in passing this law and we are confident that we will ultimately prevail on appeal" tells nothing new - news flash for you Ms Schmaler - Congress can pass whatever law it wants. Its constitutional authority grants it the right to pass laws without rhyme, reason, or constitutionality. That is why there is a Supreme Court - to strike down unconstitutional laws that get past the legislative and executive branches.
That the AP story confuses the whole - tax or penalty issue by calling it: "... a tax penalty..."

I've stopped expecting intelligence from the AP. Why the headline writer at the NH Journal expected it is beyond me.

Oh - the AP writer was Curt Anderson in Miami.

Just Remember -

2011-01-31T17:47:00.000-08:00

Mohammed El Baradei; the Muslim Brotherhood's choice for leading Egypt was the head of the IAEA that pushed the story that Iran was not pushing for nuclear weapons during the 2008 election.

The same Muslim Brotherhood that is a front for Iran.

The same Iran that had nuclear weapon (uranium centrifuge) machines disabled by Stuxnet.

If Obama isn't incompetent, he's beginning to look like he's on the other side.

Or Maybe...

2011-01-20T18:32:00.001-08:00

His mother could have taught him and his brother how to brush their teeth.

Crazy how nasty the teeth are in this family. Ezra Klein - this conclusion of yours sucks.

To blame his death on lack of health insurance, when both kids have teeth that are beyond saving is sick. Blame it on his mother, blame it on an addiction to soda, blame it on Medicaid - but don't blame it on the lack of insurance.

Added:
And, by the way, this

"The federal government requires states to provide oral health services to children through Medicaid programs, but the shortage of dentists who will treat indigent patients remains a major barrier to care, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures"

is not going to get better by cutting Medicaid funding as was done to force the CBO to provide a better score Obamacare

Powerlines...

2011-01-18T21:00:00.000-08:00

One of my standard issues with 'Greentech' is that it generally does not allow power to be moved from where it is generated to where it is needed.

This Union-Tribune article demonstrates how impossible it is to get green power from where it is generated to where it is needed.

There are some 10,000 pages of environmental reports and studies available, and yet: the powerlines are alleged to be "a hastily conceived, poorly studied, wildfire inducing and completely unnecessary transmission line."

I'm all for reducing CO2 output - heck, I'd allow a nuclear fission plant in my back yard if they would give me free electricity and daily reports of radiation exposure. But an environmental group not allowing power lines in an area? If lawsuits like this are allowed to continue, I'll need a diesel generator at my back door to keep my power on.

Cleaning

2011-01-18T20:39:00.001-08:00

I've started - and will continue - cleaning up the labels on my posts.

Some will change.

In Which ...

2011-01-18T20:31:00.000-08:00

Obama promises to fix everything but since he won't stop the EPA he changes nothing. (as reported by the WSJ)

From the Wall Street Journal:

"In an article published in the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Obama said he intends to issue an executive order initiating a review to "make sure we avoid excessive, inconsistent and redundant regulation," focusing on rules that "stifle job creation and make our economy less competitive."

As long as the EPA runs wild on CO2 regulation, anything else Obama promises is equal to a promised delivery of Unicorn fur.

Bite Me.

2011-01-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

As Surber says.

I haven't been blogging as long as he has - nor do I have 1 / 10,000 the readership he has. I do agree with pretty much the entire comment.

Local View of 'Carrier Killer'

2011-01-18T18:42:00.000-08:00

The Union-Tribune has an article on the Chinese military buildup news of the last few days - and, sorry to say - it's not much new.

This one sentence may be the most inane sentence in the story: "The carrier, which earned its reputation against Japan during World War II, has been largely unchallenged on the seas in the past decade." Really? The North Koreans, Iraqis, Somalis, and Al Qaeda haven't been able to challenge a $8 billion (or so) ship and air-fleet?

At least the good news is that the 21D has never been tested (as far as we know) and the J-20 is just completing first flight. I wouldn't be the first person to say that I doubt China has the capability of manufacturing quality jet engines for combat aircraft.

Of course it would not be a security news article without a comment from John Pike - formerly of the Union of Concerned Scientists and now running GlobalSecurity.org. And, of course, his usual quest for the perfect 1 sentence sound-bite means he leaves accuracy out of his answers.

"'Anti-shipping cruise missiles were the defining threat of the U.S. Navy ever since World War II. They were driving everything,' he said." - John Pike; which is strange, as the news article above it provides, more accurately, that:

"Soviet cruise missiles capable of being launched from submarines, ships and aircraft started gaining attention in the 1960s and were an abiding concern through the end of the Cold War, said defense analyst John Pike, founder of GlobalSecurity.org." [JAFAC: no quotes in this segment.]

So - what to think?

This is Crazy

2011-01-08T18:38:00.000-08:00

History Channel - the channel of Decoded, Monsterquest, Ancient Aliens, and Stan Lee's SuperHumans will not air a special on the Kennedy Family - because it doesn't fit the History Channel Brand and was produced by a conservative.

Rich.

AZ Shooting

2011-01-08T13:26:00.000-08:00

At this time, it appears that Congresswoman Giffords is still alive - my prayers for her swift recovery and for strength for her family and friends.

Additional prayers for the other shooting victims and their families as well.

Condolences to the family and friends of Judge John Roll.

Tough Minded Approach?

2011-01-07T21:58:00.000-08:00

According to Goolsbee we'll see in several weeks the President's tough-minded approach to LINK cutting... Not sure. Goolsbee just indicates that the President has a tough-minded approach to the budget. Guess we'll see as soon as we're deemed worthy of seeing.

In Which ...

2010-11-21T05:27:00.000-08:00

I post at Althouse.

The Left...

2010-10-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

Really needs to settle down. Reading these comments - 'fire Schachtman!', 'You're becoming FOX news!' eh. These people need to get on their meds.

In Which I Channel My Inner Chris Matthews:

2010-10-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

At Balloon Juice.

Let's see how tolerant they are. I don't think it will last.

Obama is

2010-10-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

the Democratic Party's Lawn Jockey.

See Here:

Best of luck to him...

In Which I ...

2010-10-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

Go Beyond the Reasonable:

Obama is the Democratic Party's Lawn Jockey.

Let's see if I generate any outrage.

Just to Agree with the RCP Headline

2010-10-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

"Does the Term 'Bigot' No Longer Mean Anything?" Real Clear Politics lists the headline as such. The Atlantic doesn't. I disagree with Juan Williams so much I don't even blog about it. Why 'NPR' - they of the 'How to Speak to a Teabagger' video - dropped him is beyond the pale - unless they're taking orders from the Democrats. Only under that scenario does his firing make sense. What was the other reason he was not renewed for? - Saying Michelle Obama dressed funny and was an albatross around Barack's neck?

This is the previous complaint: "Williams is controversial among NPR listeners because of his long-standing contract with Fox News". (GoTo) Well - Alicia - how about you? We know what you think about Mr Williams: "Williams brings a valuable viewpoint to NPR. Sometimes it is that of an African-American, but..." I leave out the rest cause - damn - I don't know anyone who doesn't think of NPR as either liberal or neutral.

NPR is publicly funded (more than the US Chamber of Commerce is foreign-funded) but they can force a neo-liberal view on the US and be beyond reproach?

Update: Alicia - I'm not sure you make a good ombudsman. Objectivity?

"Bill Clinton wasn't as fortunate with the way the political dice rolled. Imagine how history might have been altered if the Democrats instead of the Republicans had controlled Congress when the president misbehaved in the Oval Office in 1995-1996 with his young intern Monica Lewinsky and then lied to his wife and the rest of the country. There would have been no impeachment hearings in the House in 1998."

Hardly a disinterested party:

"If either the House or the Senate really does investigate Bush's handling of the war, will there be a Butterfield? Who will it be? And will it matter to the parents, spouses, siblings and children of the 3,000 men and women who are no longer among us?"

In Which -

2010-10-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

I agree with the New York Times. Foreign money is fungible and is going to get into our elections - it needs to be identified, tracked, and minimized - but it is going to get in.

Perhaps someone who did not take so many contributions from Gaza or from Mickey Mouse - Obama - should not be making such a big deal about this. [Notice in the WaPo article that they again deflect against the Republicans - As Mr Robert Bauer says: "I have not seen the McCain compliance staff ascending to heaven on a cloud.".] Mr Bauer is - of course - currently the White House Counsel. His spouse is currently Anita Dunn - a contributor for NBC News / MSNBC / CNBC. [leaning forward - indeed...]

Apparently -

2010-10-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

BP doesn't count in Mr Reich's world. Oh - wait - they donated heavily to Obama; they actually don't count.

Wait - what does 'BP' stand for again? 'British Petroleum'? No - oh 'Beyond Petroleum'. What kind of 'Mickey Mouse' or 'ASDF JKLLU' type columnist is Mr Reich?

The Issue...

2010-10-06T18:26:00.000-07:00

The issue I have with Progressives, Socialists, Liberals, Communists, Democrats, Fascists, and etc is that they all believe they have the requisite knowledge to determine what something should cost.

Item 1: Healthcare should be free!! I'm not going to post a link to anything for this - there are too many examples to count.

Item 2: The minimum wage should be $x.xx. Yep - I'm not going to post any links to anything on this either. You've either figured out by now that the aforementioned groups want to control this by now - or you're one of them.

Item 3: Mean old industry should not be allowed to charge this much for their product. Credit Cards for example.

They don't understand markets. This is further evidenced by the entire idea of 'Carbon Markets'. In a carbon market, the political class controls both the supply and demand of a product. They control the supply by rationing or allotting to specific industries or regions a specific quantity of carbon dioxide emissions (not counting their workforce...). They control the demand by alternately adding or removing specific groups or industries for political gain (imagine the State of West Virginia - with too many Democratic Senators; coal-generated electricity is not protected, but with enough Republican Senators coal-generated electricity is protected.)

In Which Harry Belafonte Attacks Tom Friedman

2010-10-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

At Gateway Pundit - a post on committed Communist Harry Belafonte attacks Tea Partiers (including Tom Friedman?) for "... moving towards villainous ends."

Of course with Tea Partiers being as diverse as Tom Friedman, Mo Tucker (I really have no idea who she is...), and Glen Beck, it's hard to see how they could be moving in any coherent direction - let alone towards villainous ends.

Apparently Duke University...

2010-10-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

Does Not Educate Their Students Well.

Seriously - what did she think was going to happen?

Emailing anything out is equivalent to posting it on a town message board - it may be ignored, it may be read by a few, or it may be copied and sent to every other towns' message board.

Sender Be Ware

Terrorist Gets Invite Limbaugh & Beck Never Would

2010-10-01T19:45:00.001-07:00

Via Gateway Pundit is this Politico story about an "activist" who's home was raided by the FBI who also had an invite into the White House.

An Arab-American activist who attended an outreach session at the White House complex in April had his Chicago home raided by the FBI last week and appears to be a focus of an unfolding federal terrorism-support investigation.

Hatem Abudayyeh, who serves as executive director of the Arab-American Action Network, took part in a meeting for Arab-American leaders held in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on April 22, according to appointment data posted on the White House website.

Now I'm sure Glen Beck or Rush Limbaugh would never be invited to the White House during this Administration - but an actual terrorist was.

What Is -

2010-09-30T21:17:00.001-07:00

the New Normal?

I'm Just Going to Say -

2010-09-30T21:12:00.001-07:00

That it is awfully weird to hear someone equate the time it took to free the slaves as reason for further patience for enslavement to the government.

Really?

2010-09-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

At RCP, a post by E.J. Dionne with the headline 'Rallying Progressives is the Right Strategy'. Really?

How could it possibly become better for Obama if he were to become more partisan, more anti-Fox, more anti-Beck and etc? Has he not alienated enough independents for the professional left? When will they end his political death-march?

Maybe -

2010-09-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

Maybe he's not helping them promote their causes because that's not the job of a news organization.

Well Then...

2010-09-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

Via Instapundit is this NRO article - about putting a former boardmember of Citigroup in charge of the economy.

With her record of accomplishment at Xerox and her employment with Target, I have to wonder why she is even being considered by this administration. I mean - OK - she's a female which is sometimes their only qualification, but she's not an academic which seems to be a pretty big disqualifier to this administration.

Another Liberal Whines..

2010-09-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

The Rules Don't Apply When I Don't Want Them To!

Way to go Mitch! You go on arguing that it should only be what it feels like at this moment that determines a catch.

I'm sure that Chicago - and their fans - all agree that their team should be robbed of a victory because you feel so.

UPDATE 9/30: I take some of it back; Chicago should have been robbed of a victory if for no other reason than to knock that smirk off Cutler's face.

This is a Surprise Why?

2010-09-14T18:33:00.000-07:00

Reggie Bush gives it back.

I'm not surprised at all - the only surprise is that up to now he kept publicly saying he was able to keep it.

I'm also not surprised by the fact that he intends to work with "the Heisman Trust to establish an educational program to help prevent other student athletes and their families from making "some of the mistakes I made."". I thought he kept protesting his innocence. What mistakes could have been made?

With self-responsibility like this he probably votes Democrat.

Still Don't Know -

2010-09-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

That complaints go up.

At VDH - Obama continues to complain down the line.

Anyone in business or who served in the army knows - "Gripes go up"

Live by the Liberal Control; Die by the Liberal Control...

2010-09-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

Continued Leftist Craig Newmark from Craigslist is facing congressional inquiries into his business practice.

Serves him right - he pushes liberal politicians onto us - now he has to face their wrath.

The Internet is....

2010-09-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

The internet is the greatest deflationary device ever created.

Why you ask? The internet has - in 1 decade - reduced the cost of most knowledge to almost nothing. What formerly required an expert - be it general education, news, specific knowledge, retail, or whatever - the internet has deflated prices beyond all economists' worst nightmares.

Education - it started with Phoenix and ITT. Now it is unprecedented. Let's start with the Kahn Academy. Online education for so many topics - and free of charge. Next - let's go to MIT - with its free of charge courseware. This is only the start of free education. Next - look at what a set of Encylopedia Britannica costs (hint: $1,349.00) - and now look at the cost of Wikipedia (hint: only internet access is required). Which would you use?

General knowledge: Let's see how to:

All of the above requires specific knowledge - and all of that knowledge is available for free on the internet. (Disclaimer: I did not actually look at these specific links - while there may be errors, I've yet to see the percentage of errors via internet vs errors via incompetent contractor documented. That is one reason why I chose links from different domains.)

Books - they used to have to be purchased or borrowed from a library. Now - visit books.google.com and many of the worlds' books and magazines are available for free.

General news reporting: Let's see: news.ask.com; news.google.com, news.bing.com. (ok - bing.com/news....) How many more do you need? All for internet access costs only.

Cookbooks? Go to Allrecipies.com.

What is more deflationary than that?

The internet is the greatest deflationary device ever created.

Period.

Still No Love

2010-09-02T19:41:00.000-07:00

From Surber - I think I've posted this comment twice - but nothing ...

"The miners came in ‘49;
The prostitutes in ‘51.
They pitched their tents together
to make Sacramento run."

More Good News

2010-08-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

From the UK Telegraph:

Equity investors learned this week that they had misjudged the risk of a relapse as fiscal stimulus wears off, and misread the willingness of the US Federal Reserve to respond.

Yeah - there's no more to respond with - starting in FY 2008 the Dems really started to spend and now it is gone. Time to blame Bush I guess.

CNN Does It Again

2010-08-24T21:28:00.001-07:00

Defending Shirley Sherrod CNN writes:

"... web publisher released an edited video clip that seemed to show her recounting racist behavior on her part."

Not true - the edited video showed her recounting racist behavior; it showed the NCAACP members listening to her recounting of it agreeing with it. The edit did not show her acting later to undo her racism. She was not Breitbart's target. Never was. The NAACP was. It was The White House that fired her because they didn't look at their email. CNN - Quit blaming Breitbart for what the White House did.

2 Comments

2010-08-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

for this CNN Post about Pres Carter and North Korea:

CNN continues to unabashedly re-write Pres Carter's story to include more success than there actually was
Seriously - you want traction with North Korea? Don't send Carter.... Send W.

Another Reason to Switch to Linux

2010-08-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Windows DLL attack path. Yep - time to switch to Linux.

Let Me See If I Understand This

2010-08-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

We shouldn't vaccinate our children against polio, mumps, or the whooping cough... (your mileage may vary)

We should vaccinate our food supply against salmonella.

Over-Write

2010-08-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

Not sure if that title is the most explanatory - but - here goes.

At the Washington Examiner - scientists identified 7 new planets around a star; ok - so far, so good.

Where did they find it? At a star over 100 light years away. Equivalent to "spotting a dim candle in front of a raging forest fire."

How did they do it? They used the wobble method (190 measurements over 6 years).

Now - to the title of this post. Is this bad reporting? Or is it over-writing?

"They are made essentially of rocks and ice. They have a solid core. But on top of that is a layer of gas, of hydrogen and helium most likely," he said. "They are probably not habitable."
The sixth is possibly a Saturn-like planet, while the seventh, the smallest, would be so close to its star that its "year" would take just over a day."

OK - how does the wobble method detect the cores of the planets? It doesn't. It can be used to calculate the mass of the planet and the orbital period - not much else. The scientists are making a conjecture that either they did not convey to the reporter, the reporter ignored, or that got left on the editing room floor. Bad form.

Obviously -

2010-08-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

this means we need to continue to dump oil in the gulf to allow this lifeform to flourish.

Awestruck

2010-08-24T20:18:00.001-07:00

I'm awestruck and dumbfounded that Mr Valliere could post an article about the "Limbaugh/Becks" "demonizing the President (President Obama). Actually - the whole article is a series of bits pushing the liberal 'do not think of treating Obama like we treated Bush'.

This article at The Street where the complaint is voiced: "... the Limbaugh/Beck crowd refuses to accept the facts.".

Mr Valliere is - of course - a former journalist as evidenced by his bio at The Potomac Group:

Mr. Valliere co-founded The Washington Forum in 1974, serving as Chief Political Analyst and editor of the group’s publications, and ultimately as Research Director. He began his career in 1972 at “F-D-C” reports, a trade publication monitoring the pharmaceutical industry. Mr. Valliere earned his bachelors degree in Journalism from The George Washington University. He is an exclusive commentator for CNBC, appearing regularly on network programs such as “Squawk Box,” “Power Lunch,” “The Closing Bell,” and “Kudlow & Company.”

Oh - and for bonus points - he's a regular on CNBC.

Now for the highlights:

"The drumbeat of doom and gloom has been incessant from talk radio -- high deficits will lead to hyper-inflation and soaring interest rates (the exact opposite has happened), and the economy will head off a cliff"

"If you keep repeating, every day, that the economy is in free-fall, people eventually will believe it." - Yep.

"... his opponents will say anything to destroy him, just as Bill Clinton's opponents said with utter sincerity that he and his wife were responsible for dozens of deaths, including that of Vince Foster." - Or like the 35% of Democrats that believe Bush had something to do with 9-11.

Why It Won't Get Any Better

2010-08-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

From Yahoo Finance:

"Without a boost in job creation, (buyers) just won't have the confidence to step in and buy a new home," David Katz, principal at Weiser Capital Management said.

Maybe we need to start talking about new taxes to add...

Home Sales Plunge - As If You Didn't Know

2010-08-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

(un)Expectedly - Home sales plunged in July.

From Yahoo Finance:

It is abundantly clear to me from the graph that the tax credit did almost no net good at all in stimulating home sales. All it did was shift the timing of the sales that would have otherwise occurred. Most of the activity actually happened in the first wave, and the extension and expansion did very little good. Expanding the program so that existing homeowners could participate was particularly stupid, since that does not even reduce the inventory on balance. Help for first-time buyers at least accomplished that, albeit by increasing the rental vacancy rate.

Yep - good thing there was a first-time home buyer credit. If these yahoos understood anything about markets - they would have started the first-time homebuyers' credit in August of 2009 and had it end in October or November of 2010 so they could push the line of what a great program it was. Now - pundits get 3 months to pick it apart for the failure it was.

Speechless -

2010-08-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

Just saw the full-on assault to the Obama administration from InstaPundit.

Damn.

NON-OUTRAGE OUTRAGE:

YADA, YADA:

THE FIERCE MORAL URGENCY OF CHANGE (CONT’D):

ANDREW SULLIVAN FIGURES OUT WHO THE RUBES ARE:

Obama has also flip-flopped on releasing the “torture” photos.

Indefinite Detention Weighed.

Previously: “You were expecting a Chicago machine politician to show an enthusiasm for civil liberties?”

In the comments at Politico, limited sympathy for Andrew’s plight. My favorite: “Gee, it seems like I’ve lived through this before.”

White House Mum On Legislation That Would Nix Bush “State Secrets Privilege”.

MEET THE NEW BOSS, YADA YADA: TPM: “Obama Mimics Bush on State Secrets”.

Question: “Wouldn’t it have saved a lot of time if Obama had just asked W to be his War-on-Terror czar?” Meet the new boss, yada yada.

GOOD THING THE ERA OF BUSH IS OVER! Obama Administration Invokes State Secrets Privilege in Anti-Torture Lawsuit.

I'm just going to stop here....

Suburban Decline & Hollywood

2010-08-20T18:06:00.001-07:00

This 2008 article (link from the Surber Scoreboard) at the Atlantic was good reading until it went here:

"These days, when Hollywood wants to portray soullessness, despair, or moral decay, it often looks to the suburbs—as The Sopranos and Desperate Housewives attest—for inspiration. "

Really? I'm to look to Hollywood for information on long-term housing trends?

Welcome Back Carter

2010-08-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

The "malaise" continues - guess that's what happens when you elect a talker instead of a doer.

We haven't made complete progress yet - it's only the Yahoo headline instead of the AP story itself. But it does seem as if the patient is making progress.

Maybe sometime later I'll post on the interesting turn-around between those who were harping every bad datapoint in 2005-2007 as proof of the doom to come vs their current stance about how great everything is. Maybe.

Update 5:50 pm:

Oh - from the same article:

"Mark Luschini, chief market strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, said companies are also reluctant to hire because of worries about taxes and government programs like the health care reform passed earlier this year."

Maybe it's catching on. I think it will be worse coming up though. I work at a small-medium publicly held company with well over 50 employees. This portion of the law does not seem to have taken affect at my company yet (via the Society for Human Resource Management):

An employer shall provide:

(A) a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year after the child’s birth; and

(B) a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.

Many employers will be hit with additional hidden costs like this that given the hurried nature of passage and signage that are not well known (I think). While I personally agree with this portion of the bill - there are many costs that are not well know or modeled yet. It's gonna hurt.

Lying?

2010-08-15T17:40:00.000-07:00

At Planet Gore - this post about the results of a Marist Poll:

76% of Americans believe they do their part to help the environment. Included here are 36% who do a fair amount, 23% who do a good amount, and 17% who do a great deal. However, when thinking about how they live and the items they buy, 24% of residents nationally do very little or nothing at all to protect the environment.

Why does the post assume people are lying? Compare to the likes of Al Gore, George Clooney, John Travolta, Ashton Kutcher, and others - most people are doing their part.

Deflation is Good!

2010-08-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

There are many economists (including Krugman if memory serves) that argue for increased taxes on the rich and on business.

Most of these same economists (especially Krugman) argue that deflation is bad and must be stopped - even if it puts the US into an inescapable hole of debt.

So - increasing the taxes on a group of people decreases their purchasing power (think of how much less John Kerry can purchase now that he's paid the taxes on his yacht [maybe that's a bad example...]) The small business owner who made $400k last year will see his purchasing power decrease based on these tax increases. The same amount of work producing less purchasing power = deflation.

So - the solution per these economists - is to increase the amount of deflation on those specific people and groups that are most able to change their decisions to avoid this deflation. Brilliant!!

Update (Aug 20): I should add that this targeted deflation might make sense if there is an equally strong belief in a multiplier effect - but the government multiplier effect only counts if people are hoarding. I don't see rich people as hoarders - namely because to hoard in this day and age - you actually have to stuff cash under a mattress. Gates, Soros, Heinz/Kerry, Kohl, Rockefeller, Walton(s), Jobs, and etc do not strike me as the type to put cash under a mattress. Buying a $20 million yacht, of a $100 million jet, buying artwork, or leaving cash in a bank - most everything they do has a multiplier effect greater than what can be obtained from government spending. Except in the short term - where tax increases of (example) $1.00 lead to spending increases of $1.25 (ie Government borrowing).

Not the Way to Do It

2010-08-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

He just doesn't get it - Alvin Greene that is - you must blame Bush! (From CNN Via RCP)

"I'm innocent until proven guilty. ... I'm concentrating on my campaign issues: jobs, education and justice," he said in a recent interview. He refused to answer any more questions regarding the allegations."

Rep Waters - please show us how this is done (Via FoxNews.Com):

"The question at this point should not be why I called Secretary Paulson, but why I had to," she said. "The question at this point should be why a trade association representing over 100 minority banks could not get a meeting at the height of the crisis."

Yep - The Devil Made Me Do It. (Although it must be said that there are enough voters in her district to believe that line.)

So - The Circle is Complete

2010-08-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

(At InstaPundit & Ed Driscoll)

Yglesias argues that it's OK to use dishonesty to combat dishonesty. I disagree - but - OK. The problem arises when the professional left claims something that is truthful is a lie - then they use lies to try and defeat it. Using this as a point of reference for when it is OK to lie to make a point, the average liberal would always claim it is OK to lie.

He Doesn't Get It

2010-08-07T06:53:00.000-07:00

Via Real Clear Politics - Poor Greg Mitchell has written articles, a film, and a book and people still won't buy his kool-aid about Hiroshima. Maybe it's because your point of view is wrong?

Regarding Hiroshima Day

2010-08-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

My Father was born in 1942 - and died some time ago. I never asked him what he thought about the atom bomb being dropped on Hiroshima.

My Dad's Father (Paternal Grandfather) was born in ~1910 in Germany. He was raised from ~1920 on in the US - spoke fluent German. He fought for the US in WWII. He passed on in the late 80's - I was in elementary school and never asked him about his experience in WWII. I don't know if he would have been sent to Japan for an invasion.

I'm glad Truman ordered the bomb to be dropped. I'm glad Tibbetts and his crew dropped the bomb. Why? 1) I'm damn glad my grandfather didn't have to fight to occupy Japan (even & especially since my Dad was already born). 2) I'm glad so many others' grandfathers didn't have to fight in that mess. 3) I'm glad that the native Japanese surrendered before the US Army & Marines stormed the beaches.

Happy Hiroshima Day!

2010-08-06T21:24:00.000-07:00

The War to End All Wars (Mark II) started to end on this day - 1945.

Login to PJTV for the Bill Whittle highlight.

If Man Were Such a Large Factor -

2010-08-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

Why is the decreased economic output of the Great Recession / Depression Mark II not visible?

Here is the longer term view.

The USA has increased unemployment from ~ 5% to ~10% (not including those looking for work but counted as not in the job market). CO2 levels continue to increase unabated. Man's influence seems weak if these charts are to be believed.

http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/

3 Links

2010-08-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

Trying something new; 1 sentence (declarative or interrogative) posts based solely on the title of a linked article. I'll see what I can do for consistency.

1: "True Compass: With a bold position on Afghanistan, John Kerry could rightly claim Ted Kennedy’s mantle as the conscience of the U.S. Senate."
Is this before or after he figures out his taxes?
2: "America's Peculiar Amnesia: People have already forgotten how George W. Bush and the Republican Congress expanded government spending."
Why do liberals always seem to assume Kerry & Gore would have been deficit hawks?
3: "Welcome to the Recovery."
Imagine the outrage on the left if a conservative was pushing the recovery that the left now pushes...

Interesting ...

2010-08-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

This post at TheBlogProf has some interesting takes on Article 1, Section 10 of the US Constitution.

"No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay." (emp by TheBlogProf)

Unless actually invaded - what defines an invasion? 10 people a year? 100 people a year? Good thing this question won't go before the 9th Circuit. Obama will - however - continue to display his executive shortcomings (at best) or incompetence (middle) or anti-America leanings (worst case) throughout this process - America will suffer. Hopefully we become stronger.

Catchy -

2010-07-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

Barker Law -

"as the political thought content increases, the critical thought content approaches zero" - Jim Barker

Got Me Thinking...

2010-07-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

Reading Watts Up With That blog on the Jupiter temperature I followed a link to a NASA site. Something jumped at me:

"Ancient astronomers named Jupiter after the king of the Roman gods. "

Why did they? Ancient astronomers called the planets planets because they were wandering stars. They didn't know planets were orbiting the sun; they didn't know Jupiter was the largest planet orbiting the sun. The brightest wanderer was Venus. Jupiter - the second brightest planet - was named after the king of the Roman gods? Wouldn't the brightest planet be named after the king of the Roman gods - and the second brightest named after his wife? What did the ancients know?

What's Up With That?

2010-07-31T20:04:00.000-07:00

Commenter Tim Lambert posts to an WUWT blog posting:

"An ideal gas (which is what Goddard’s equation describes) remains a gas at any temperature."

Yep - it does. Not sure if he knows that there is no such thing as an ideal gas. PV=nRT is an approximation that works in the normal world - mostly.

Reading Lambert's site - Deltoid - at ScienceBlogs - I see he is not too literate on science or facts. He does alot of mudslinging.

More interesting to me - does a computer scientist at a university think he qualifies as a climate science? Is it because he repeats the right rhetoric?

Hmm...

2010-07-31T19:47:00.000-07:00

Who knew the NAACP was not focused solely on approving of reverse discrimination of white farmers.

The NAACP awarded 3 military men for their contributions to equal opportunity.

Strangely - I figured Lt General Bostick would have been booed by the NAACP for bringing minorities into the army while there are two immoral, illegal (formerly), and minority-killing wars going on. Live & learn I guess.

Article review

2010-07-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

Where to start:

'Tipping Point' -Check
'Unknown Elements in Favor of Global Warming' - Check
'Unexplained by current modeling' - Check
'Collapse' -Check

Yep - must be an article illustrating how clearly we're doomed by man-made CO2 induced Global Warming.

Spaceweather

2010-07-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

Another reason why I do not like Spaceweather.com.

He continually desires to dump existing measures of solar activity for other measures that currently show more activity that the old measures (Like X-ray). Look at the 'Deja Vu Eruptions' article.

Here's the quote:

"Neither eruption produced a bright flash of X-radiation. For that reason, solar activity on July 28th and 29th was officially classified by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center as "low" to "very low." It might be time to change the classification scheme. X-rays have long been used as a key measure of solar activity, but SDO is revealing many forms of activity that do not emit strong X-rays."

If you want to develop a new metric - fine. But discarding an old metric because your flavor of the month metric shows more activity and you're a 'Solar Cycle 24 will be huge!!!' fanatic is very unscientific.

Climate Hysteria -

2010-07-30T17:40:00.000-07:00

At the Financial Times (courtesy of Icecap.us - no permalink available) is this story on new indicators since the 2007 IICP

"Seven indicators were rising, he said. These were: air temperature over land, sea-surface temperature, marine air temperature, sea level, ocean heat, humidity, and tropospheric temperature in the “activeweather” layer of the atmosphere closest to the earth’s surface. Four indicators were declining: Arctic sea ice, glaciers, spring snow cover in the northern hemisphere, and stratospheric temperatures."

Why is sea level rise always taken as a measurement of warming? Why do scientists assume that the volume of the sea bed is constant? Dec 26 2004 Indonesian earthquake raised a significant volume of sea floor causing the giant tsunami. Would one not expect the sea level to rise after that? El Nino - a period of elevated temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. Would one not expect the sea level to rise during an El Nino year?

Why is it these 'Environmental Correspondents' are always so one sided in their reports? Fiona Harvey - Environment Correspondent. I wonder if she has ever written anything anti-global warming.

Let's see:

Nope - I don't think so... If she always writes the same story again & again - why pay her?

It's Almost Like They Have Gibbs Speaking For Them

2010-07-28T21:57:00.001-07:00

The Iranians that is - as posted at Wizbang: It was "[P]robably the earthquake has caused such an incident."

Video of the Day

2010-07-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

Midwest Girls Represent!

I'm Not a Lawyer...

2010-07-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

but couldn't Righthaven be counter-sued for the example of AboveTopSecret.com in this article at Wired?

Righthaven claims to be an expert in DMCA law - that's how they sell themselves to newspapers. The lawsuit against AboveTopSecret.com seems to be against the DMCA - no takedown notice was filed. Not a lawyer here - but doesn't that define a frivolous lawsuit?

Late update:
Also - if the money stream promised by Righthaven fails to materialize for the Las Vegas Review-Journal; could they sue Righthaven for fraud based on multiple examples such as this?

Next - what happens if someone stretches this out? Takes Righthaven to the long-school, full trial and etc. Assume a 1 story blogger with big pockets from other income sources. Does Righthaven still make a profit if they win the lawsuit? If Righthaven avoids these types of suits (example - Righthaven does not sue a blog site - hypothetically Poweraxis.com - but does sue the blogger at Me_and_my_pajamas.com) - does that affect the outcome?

Finally - what if during discovery the records show that the Las Vegas Review-Journal got many more hits (or even just more hits) than normal? How does the Las Vegas Review-Journal show damages then?

(Original story via InstaPundit.)

Nannyism

2010-07-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

The nanny-staters are everywhere - even, as Darleen links to the WSJ article, in our bathtubs.

So - the feds have to stay out of our bedrooms - but not our bathrooms?

What happens when Sarah Palin or Jeb Bush are in chargeof the feds? While they still control the showerheads?

Hayek 2010

2010-07-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

"The most effective way of making everybody serve the single system of ends toward which the social plan is directed is to make everybody believe in those ends. To make a totalitarian system function efficiently, it is not enough that everybody be forced to work for the same end. It is essential that the people should come to regard them as their own ends."

From Chapter 11 - "The End of Truth". The End of Truth - sounds like Journolist - or ObamaCare(tm).

UPDATE: 11:15 pm - Instapundit has a reader, Barry, who responds with THIS. Ditto is all I can say.

And the Quoted Line Is:

2010-07-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

At JustOneMinute:

And the quoted line is this:

“John McCain picked someone to help him politically, Barack Obama picked someone to help him govern,”

My response is, of course, the Republicans picked someone ready on Day One, the Democrats picked someone who may be ready by 2012.

I Can't

2010-07-20T18:18:00.000-07:00

stop laughing after reading this at Slate about Elena Kagan. Ms Lithwick does it again.

Only a Rich Society Can Exist

2010-07-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

Polyandry - disappearing (via Instapundit).

Only a rich society can destroy the old ways of living. Would that we had an administration (regime) that would allow us to be prosperous again.

ICE, ICE Baby!

2010-07-17T15:21:00.001-07:00

So instead of ICE actually enforcing the border security they are charged to do - they close down 73,000 blogs instead.

Yep - this action follows their tasking:

Formed in 2003 as part of the federal government's response to the 9/11 attacks, ICE's primary mission is to protect national security, public safety and the integrity of the U.S. borders through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.

Go Bama!!!

Of course - the strangest thing is that people who probably voted for Obama (and his cohorts elected from the media elite) are now complaining.

It's Only a Matter of Time

2010-07-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

Reading the financial news today - and Obama's reaction to it - I figure it is only a matter of time until he orders all employers to hire everyone back to their 2007 job & salary to fix the mess we're in.

Immigration and This Administration

2010-07-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

The guilty go free -

as I say at Surber's.

Statistically speaking - error is definable. With any choice there is (classically defined) a type I error and a type II error. Type I is where the innocent are convicted and type II is where the guilty go free. (there are some other types of error that are not generally accepted.)

Type I is alpha error - where an innocent man is convicted or in manufacturing is called the producer's risk.

Type II is beta error - where a guilty man goes free or in manufacturing is called the consumer's risk.

This administration does not care that the small percentage of crime commiting illegal immigrants is given the same deference as the large proportion of those illegal immigrants wanting a better life.

Al Gore - Too Perfect

2010-07-09T18:45:00.001-07:00

Al Gore is (apparently) too perfect, too beige, too skinny (I kid you not) and was also "denied the presidency".

I can't help myself - this article is too trashy to not quote profusely:

For years, he was belittled for being so annoyingly right all the time; Gail Sheehy once criticized him for having no discernable body fat. "He tries too hard to be perfect,'' she wrote in "Flawless, But Never Quite Loved,'' a 2000 opinion piece in The New York Times. "Perfection is a serious flaw for a modern politician. Mr. Gore has suffered from it all his life." Maureen Dowd pegged him as a "goody-goody . . . locked into the Good Son Role," "the Tin Man: immobile, rusting, decent," and "so feminized and diversified and ecologically correct he's practically lactating."

Damn - I'm out.

Strangely - or not - like Bubba, he's got a history of this type of thing:

"A journalistic colleague I had no reason to doubt told anyone who would listen that Vice President Al Gore had tried to stick his tongue down her throat out of nowhere at a New Year's Eve party in the mid-'90s, when all she'd been expecting was a friendly peck."

One would think this would have come out before - heaven knows we can't go a week without the press reporting on Sarah Palin's tiniest transgressions (or her children....). Al Gore (and Bubba) apparently get a free pass. I wonder what is different about them that these transgressions against feminists are so easily dismissed and Sarah Palin's transgressions against feminists (being Governor,having 5 children, running for Vice-President of the US, and etc) get such wide coverage?

QUICK UPDATE: I read a brief portion of the NY Times article linked above - besides the fact that having been written on Nov 12, 2001 it completely omits the news media recounts that confirmed Bush won - the article is a bit of tripe as well. Blacks, hispanics, and elderly voters had more ballots rejected - but the article seems to forget that the ballots are a local issue - the ballots were created by the localities where the voting occurred. Therefore - stupid is as stupid does rules - just like the Detroit School Board. It's not a vast conspiracy against black people (or people assumed to vote democrat no matter the candidate). Its dumb people creating ballots dumb people can't use.

News You Need

2010-07-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

The Mojoceratops. (via the UK Telegraph) Named over (during) beer - go figure.

Why Indeed

2010-07-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

Pam Geller posts at Big Peace about the mad dash to build a mosque near the 9-11 WTC site.

As a right-wing nutjob like myself, she posts pictures of a building that was denied landmark status (the Burlington Coat Factory building) vs one that was granted landmark status on 311 Broadway. Both are apparently the same style of building - if you ask me, the Burlington Coat Factory building is more visually appealing - but it's been denied same protections as the building on 311 Broadway. One more hurdle for it to be torn down and rebuilt as a mosque has been cleared.

Why is the Planning Commission for the City of New York so desperate to tear down a building with direct connections to 9-11 and build a mosque on its site?

Nuts (but not Bastogne Nuts!)

2010-07-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

What is Levi's sister thinking? And why is Gawker linking any of it - she's posted nothing of substance (at least that got copied into the linked article.) Is Gawker trying to out Andrew Sullivan Andrew Sullivan? If so - may God have mercy on us all.

I Beg to Differ -

2010-07-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

How do we know that Pres Obama has failed in job creation worse than this: "Oh, dear. Bless his heart! Do you know what the worst part is, though? The saddest part is that Alvin Greene’s job creation idea is still better than any that President Obama, or any of the current Democratic leaders, have offered." How many jobs were created at the Collectibles Mint for his commemorative plate?

I think we need to add all the jobs created at mints like the Collectibles Mint and The Paper Plate Mint to accurately describe the job creation under his administration. (And certainly don't forget 'Victory Plates'!)

Good Thing -

2010-07-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

there are protections against this in ObamaCare.

Resets are Good!!!

2010-07-08T22:21:00.001-07:00

So - we give Russia 10 spies; they give us 4. (Via Times of India). Obama must be in office. All of our relations with Russia are reset and they win by default again - 'Reset' can either take you to before G. W. Bush, or it can take you to before Reagan. (BR?) Either way - their point is made.

Let's Not be Evil

2010-07-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

Google continues to not be evil. They can continue to operate in China (most likely). Yay!

Interesting Green Tech

2010-07-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

A new company claims to have a process for creating a spray-on solar panel process. This is interesting - but, as usual, what is their definition of low-cost, what are their panels' efficiencies, and what is the material used - is it a rare earth that is not really practical? The article describes the metal used as a metal oxide from the transition metals - which could be relatively common like iron, nickle, copper, silver, or gold - or more rare like rutherfordium, tantalum, molybdenum, or yttrium.

Not enough information to get excited.

Engineering at Work

2010-07-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

In the UK - a new study about capping offshore wells. I'm not investigating where the funding is coming from - direct from the taxpayer or from the petroleum companies - but it's a good idea. 'There is a Problem' - 'Let us solve it'.