Sneakin’ A Peek at ALIENS!!!

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African American, conspiracy theories, Elena Kagan, GOP, immigration, Left, Nazism, Politics, poverty issues, SCOTUS, socialism, South Carolina, voters

At great peril to moi, I have put my sanity on the line for you.

I mean, day in and day out, I link you up to bewitching sites that offer up all manner of intellectual tidbits and naughty amusements to keep you in the know.

But, there are days, when little strikes my professional palate and I, horror of horrors, have nary a thoughtful philosophical insight to prod you with.

What to do? Well, I determined that it was time to return you, kicking and screaming if I must, to the real world. This ladies and gents is why we continue the good fight. For the enemy is all around. It nips at our heels and smacks its lips in anticipation of destroying our right to freedom.

Yikes, that sounded a bit teabaggerish did it not?

But frankly, although they claim freedom as their aim, in reality they would have us adhere to a set of principles defined by them as “Judeo-Christian” in origin. I say origin, since they have interpreted it in their own selfish fashion to support what makes them comfortable in their homophobic, work ethicy, racist, bigoted symbolistic way. And just in case you weren’t aware, the use of Judeo is only offered as lip service since we all know the only good Jew is one who is trying hard to bring about that Armageddony thingie by which the Christian Kingdom of God will descend.

So, with no little trepidation and packing on of extra undies (Depends, I need Depends!), I have with military precision entered into the realm of the nuttier than a fruitcake and retrieved a few symbols of their insanity. All so, you will be renewed in your vigilance, and ever ready to defend our way of life.

Victor David Hansen lambastes the Obama administration for its failures to uphold the law on immigration and swears we are on the verge of civil insurrection.

Other states and even cities are now marching in lockstep to boycott Arizona. Meanwhile, the president of Mexico recently blasted Arizonans from the White House Rose Garden, no less, apparently counting on the president of the United States to go along with this demonization of one of his own states. All this is eerie; it has a whiff of the climate of the late 1850s, when the federal government was in perpetual conflict with the states, which in turn were in conflict with one another, and which often appealed to foreign nations for support.

Jonah Goldberg informs us that it’s just our imagination that the poor are suffering more today than before. Why HDTV’s and IPods and all that junk are coming down fast! The only real areas where costs are going up?

So, what has gotten more expensive? According to St. Lawrence University economist Steven Horwitz, there are only four areas that have become more expensive over the last century as measured in their “labor price”: housing, cars, higher education, and medical care. With the arguable exception of a college degree, all are marked with wildly improved quality. And the main reason for rising medical and college costs (and to a lesser degree housing costs) is that the government has distorted the market by “helping.”

Abigail Thernstrom is all agog over the fact that South Carolina recutelicans nominated a BLACK man to run in the November elections for Congress. See, she says, we are so reformed her, not a bit of racism in us! But then she said this:

The site [the candidates] also contains a video of Scott talking to voters. Not a trace of a southern accent — in sharp contrast to the state’s GOP gubernatorial candidate, Nikki Haley. Indeed, just listening to him, not knowing his color, one might think he was a northern white. His race- and region-neutral voice will likely be an asset should he seek higher office in the future.

Thomas Sowell tells us that democracy is being destroyed apparently because Obama is reaching out to Americans who have often not participated in the political process. They are dangerous says Sowell:

When Adolf Hitler was building up the Nazi movement in the 1920s, leading up to his taking power in the 1930s, he deliberately sought to activate people who did not normally pay much attention to politics. Such people were a valuable addition to his political base, since they were particularly susceptible to Hitler’s rhetoric and had far less basis for questioning his assumptions or his conclusions.

Pete Winn reports that over 800 Orthodox Rabbis say Elena Kagan is “Not kosher” and thus not fit to sit on any court.

. . . that she will function as a flame-throwing radical, hastening society’s already steep decline into Sodom and Gomorrah,” the rabbis said in the statement. [. . .]We’re waiting for the more courageous, decent senators – whether it’s a (Sen.) Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) or a (Sen.) Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) or a (Sen.) Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) – we’re looking for them to stand up and filibuster this embarrassing endangerment of a nomination,” Levin said.

And WND tells us what the sneaky left has really been up to!

Indeed, today in the age of Obama, millions of Americans are “waking up” to the stealth infiltration and subversion of their beloved country and are appalled at what they see: Not only is their government in the hands of the left, but virtually all of our nation’s major institutions – from the public education system to our colleges and universities, from the news media to the entertainment industry, from the unions to our major philanthropic foundations, even many of our churches – have also been captivated by this same destructive ideology.

Phew, I but scratched the surface and I think I’m contaminated, so I got hose off now with plenty of vinegar and baking soda. My eyes burn and I’m feeling queasy. I am hoping that a strong dose of Rachel Maddow or Keith will revive me. But if you see a VOTE REPUBLICAN sign at my drive, well, you know I’ve paid the ultimate price. Be kind. Kill me quick!

Short Takes on the Day 10/30/08

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astronomy, autumn, Barack Obama, cake, Crafts, dessert, economy, Election 2008, evolution, feminism, fruit, GOP, Neo-cons, paleontology, Sarah Palin, socialism, voters

The Obama campaign has been astounding in its breath. By that I mean, it’s desire to redraw the lines in America, and draw from groups long thought to be in the Republican column, never to budge. This is not so, as a report from AlterNet suggests today. In fact, Evangelicals, rurals, and Jewish voters are breaking for Obama this year in numbers that have made red states start to look more blue. This may indeed forecast a total restructuring and realignment of the parties, leaving the Republicans will little more than the deep South and the far West. Read this fascinating article that talks about the changing landscape in America. This may have a huge impact on the ability of Obama to govern from a position of extraordinary strength across the country.

We’ve been talking a bit about the economy and what makes a successful country, one that makes it citizens happy and prosperous. Slip by DistributorCap NY today and read an excellent post on the social fabric of our country versus that of others, and how we far on the success index.

If you are a Garrison Keillor fan, then your fix is right here. As might be obvious, the issue is the election, and Mr. Keillor true to form, pulls no punches with his smart sparkling talk. Enjoy.

Digby over at Hullabaloo has a nice report on feminism and Sarah Palin. Of course you haven’t missed, I’m sure, the new/old tack being used to defend Sarah. She’s just the victim of a misogynistic media after all. Nobody else would be treated this way. She’s a feminist so she says, or doesn’t. Role model and all that jazz right? Read the article and decide.

It will soon be Thanksgiving and you know that is the time to be thankful for all our blessings, both real and surmised. In These Times takes a break and thanks all those wonderful folks who have lead us to this point in time, when (hold your breath and cross your fingers) we are about to elect Barack Obama to be president of the US of A, and return this land to the column of sanity. The list is predictable, but it’s nice to reminisce about the “bad old days.” Wouldn’t you like to personally thank some of these bozos yourself? I sure would.

And if you want pure unadulterated fun, don’t miss Maureen Dowd’s column today. It is a blame hoot, a screen play entitled “And the Maverick wears Prada.” Don’t miss it if you need a laugh. This is one of the more telling events of the campaign season. When your running mate becomes the fodder for serious journalists’ foray into dramatic writing, you know you are in deep doo-doo.

Only five more days to go! Keep up the good work everyone, vote and never stop campaigning until the very end. We are almost there!

A nice fall dessert recipe from Simply Recipes. It’s called, Mrs. Paxton’s Raw Apple Cake. Be sure to look at the comments, since there are alternations that people tried and they worked out, so enjoy.

Uncommon Artistic Endeavors has a neat project for making candle holders from corn husks. She bought her husks at Walmart, but us farm folks find that slightly laughable since husks are strewn everywhere from the wind. Take a look and make a cute cheap decoration for the fall and Thanksgiving. Plenty of pics to help you see how to construct them.

If you spend time every day wondering how planets form, then Live Science has some new information for you. The study of old meteorites help scientists flesh out the actions of all that primordial soup that ended up in our solar system. Knowing where we came from is about the only way to know where you are, so dutifully trot over there and find out this stuff!

A significant fossil discovery has been made in Utah. Utahnians must be thrilled to say the least. The rocks there show evidence of the earliest Jurassic flora known in the western US. This takes us back 200 million years folks, when I at least was still unborn. No doubt the news is very exciting all over the state, where hoards of brainiacs and other nerdish types have descended with pens and pen protectors in tow. (I made that last part up). But hey, presumably, local business does an up tick when all those science types show up!

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Socialism

Tags

banking, corporations, economics, government, socialism

A citizen at a McCain mob rally yesterday exploded in anger. “I’m really angry,” he shouted, “and it’s not about the economy. We have got to stop this before ‘they’ turn our country into a socialist state.” Well, it brought a chuckle, since this buffoon obviously doesn’t know a thing about economics or what is going on presently in this country. Worse yet, he hasn’t a clue what is going on in his own party.

Now let me preface all by saying, I know little about economics. I don’t say that with any sense of pride. To the contrary, it is a deeply shameful thing to me at this point. I am more than willing to mea culpa myself to death. I owe myself and my fellow citizens more. I, as a functional adult in the US of A have a responsibility to understand at least the basics of all this stuff.

But it seems to me, given my limitations, that the bailout and others that have preceeded it over the decades (remember Chrysler back in the 80’s or 90’s?), are governmental assumption of bad debt. It seems to me, and please tell me if I am wrong, that the government is now in the business of banking. I’m told that the Bush administration is now considering buying actual shares in these failing banking institutions as a way to control and stabilize them.

Now I may be a tad rusty here folks, but last time I recall reading a definition of socialism, it included “government ownership of the means of production.” Does that not include financial institutions? I mean they are the ones who finance the actual means of production, such as steel and oil and other such tangible touchable industry.

If that is so, then government, thanks to the Republican party is engaged in socialism all ready. And I submit, it appears that the government has been doing this for some time, across more than one administration, Republican or Democratic.

Now our mobster at the rally, seems either not to know this (shame on him) or he only means socialism as it pertains to social programs such as health care and social security (gosh was that socialism?) medicare, Veterans health and education benefits, food stamps and on and on.

In any event, it seems that with regulation or not, the “private sector” seems intent on greed as its central mantra to the exclusion of morals, common sense, or any of the regular expectations that we as humans expect of institutions run by humans. Thus, periodically, the government seems called upon to step in and take on burdens and clean up messes caused by over-reaching humans bent on acquiring until they burst at the seams from their gluttony. The bursting of course spews sewer bilge across this fair land and we have to pay a hefty price as taxpayers to clean ourselves up.

It begins to beg the question. While every politician continues to spout that “free markets are good” much as Gecko spouted that “greed was good,” maybe it ain’t so. If free markets are incapable of maintaining their addiction at a level they can control, and frequently overdose, requiring heroic medical help in the form of bailouts, then perhaps, just perhaps, the rehab approach isn’t working.

Once upon a time, most markets were pretty much confined to the USA. If we sent goods overseas, as I recall, it was pretty much a one way street. There was plenty of competition at home. No more. Today’s markets are global, competition is pretty much gone, having been supplanted by ginormous mega-corporations which sell fertilizer alongside medical supplies, along side dog food, in addition to 5,000 other goods and services.

Big business is not big, its merging into ever greater and greater conglomerates. The recent demise of so many banking institutions will only increase the size of the remaining players. These institutions are now global, having their fingers in more pies than little Jack Horner.

Worse, regulation fails I suspect, to dent their practices. After all, for the most part they are in full control of the “regulatory” agencies. That’s just for starters. They operate, and often headquarter, in places that protect them from regulation and taxation. They buy and sell congress persons at will.

In the end, they behave like the typical toddler who is obedient as long as you are there supervising their every move, but leave the room for five minutes and they are back at doing exacting the opposite of what they were instructed to do. If we are going to have to stay on top of the typical corporation so that it doesn’t start playing with matches, then perhaps it’s just better to own the things outright and protect the other residents of the house from conflagration.

What we have now witnessed, is a group of smart little asses, who figured a way to make a lot of money by playing some game with mortgages. It is all a lot of hocus pocus with risky investments that now every major CEO claims nobody really understood in the first place. And the upshot of all this teenage exuberance, is that the finances of the entire freaking world are toppling into the abyss of hell.

So, I say, maybe it’s time to re-examine this whole socialism thing. Maybe we need to own those industries that are directly tied to the very success or utter failure of a society. The nuts and bolts of what it takes to make a civilization operate. Things like energy and banking, and the raw materials of production.

Maybe the world needs to exhibit a little tough love. “Son you can’t be trusted with the keys, you keep wrecking the car.” Maybe we need to restrict “business” to making golf clubs and cheerios. I dunno, I’m just like you, looking for an explanation and a solution.