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Pork Flu

Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I attended the midnight showing of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It was no Ironman, but its a solid contender as a summer movie.

Earlier in this decade, a trilogy was created out of the Marvel Comic book series, the X-Men. The basic premise is that parts of humanity are evolving beyond normal men, and how they deal with their powers and how mankind deals with them.

Logan (To be Wolverine) heals, ridiculously amazingly fast.
Victor (To be Sabertooth) heals, ridiculously amazingly fast.
They are bothers. For over a century, they fight for the US in various wars, only to develop a problem with authority and be tucked away into secret weapon programs. From there, a cornucopia of plot lines emerge, culminating in a fantastic, nuclear-reactor-destroying fight on Three Mile Island, and ultimately Wolverine having no memory of anything, and restarting his life as a enraged weapon of incredible destruction,

Yes, that's a big jump. No, its not unwarranted.
That's how this movie is, a marvelously enjoyable bullet train of comic book sound and fury, tied together with the spit and bailing wire of the marvel universe.

It's special effects are iffy, much of the action is ill paced, and characters don't always behave in believable ways. But where it matters most, the Hugh Jackson's Wolverine rings true once again, as does his love of the girl (name? :/) and his brother Sabertooth.

It's also remarkably clean. No sex, innuendo, drugs, gratuitous blood, and only a spattering of coarse language throughout.

I liked it well enough, 4/10, and I'll probably get the DVD just to round out my collection.

Chrysler is Dead. Long live Chrysler.

Bloomberg: "Chrysler LLC will proceed today with a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing to reorganize into a more viable car maker, an Obama administration official said.
...The president’s staff plans to use the filing to pave the way for Fiat Spa to take a 20 percent stake in the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker, people familiar with the situation said. If Chrysler has to go through bankruptcy, it won’t take long, Obama said yesterday.
“It would be a very quick type of bankruptcy, and they could continue operating and emerge on the other side in a much stronger position,” Obama said. "

As the bitter taste of irony settles from Fiat taking stake in a Fascist car maker, there's some notables here.

The automobile 'bailout' (read:takeover) George W. Bush gave the automakers was to prevent bankruptcy.

The automobile 'bailout' Barrack Hussein Obama gave the automakers was to prevent bankruptcies.

The automobile 'bailouts' have failed.

It has been demonstrated ad nausem by arrogant men in history that a fiat government cannot run private enterprise, nor are they conducive to free enterprise. This is yet another ringing example in an increasingly noisy bell tower, an echo chamber of destroyed liberty.

The Nations Leading Newspapers

How the mighty have fallen.

Positive Growth = BOLD
Negative Loss 0-5% = Yellow
Negative Loss 5-10% = Orange
Negative Loss > 10% = Red

USA TODAY -- 2,113,725 – (-7.46%)
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL -- 2,082,189 -- 0.61%
THE NEW YORK TIMES -- 1,039,031 -- (-3.55%)
LOS ANGELES TIMES -- 723,181 -- (-6.55%)
THE WASHINGTON POST -- 665,383 -- (-1.16%)

DAILY NEWS (NEW YORK) -- 602,857 -- (-14.26%)
NEW YORK POST -- 558,140 -- (-20.55%)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE -- 501,202 -- (-7.47%)
HOUSTON CHRONICLE -- 425,138 -- (-13.96%)
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC -- 389,701 -- (-5.72%)

THE DENVER POST (02/28/2009 to 03/31/2009) -- 371,728 -- N/A
NEWSDAY -- 368,194 -- (-3.01%)
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS -- 331,907 -- (-9.88%)
STAR-TRIBUNE, MINNEAPOLIS -- 320,076 -- (-0.71%)
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES -- 312,141 -- (-0.04%)

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE -- 312,118 -- (-15.72%)
THE BOSTON GLOBE -- 302,638 -- (-13.68%)
THE PLAIN DEALER, CLEVELAND -- 291,630 -- (-11.70%)
DETROIT FREE PRESS -- 290,730 -- (-5.90%)
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER -- 288,298 -- (-13.72%)

THE STAR-LEDGER, NEWARK, N.J. -- 287,082 -- (-16.82%)
ST. PETERSBURG (FLA.) TIMES -- 283,093 -- (-10.42%)
THE OREGONIAN, PORTLAND -- 268,512 -- (-11.76%)
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION -- 261,828 -- (-19.91%)
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE -- 261,253 -- (-9.53%)

It's been rough for the news papers. Blatently obvious reasons include:

• Associated Press Wire articles do not equal investigative journalism.
• Only half the market appreciates left wing news biases

Other Reasons papers will rationalize their failings with:

• Cost of Paper & Production
• Loss of Advertisers & Classifieds due to internet
• People don't want real news!

Also contributory:

• Bloggers (Thats us!)
  
• Proliferation of available news for free

Obama Seeks to exacerbate 'Credit Crunch'

AP:"""I trust that those in the industry who want to act responsibly will engage with us in a constructive fashion, and that we're going to get this done in short order," Obama said, delivering a pointed message to leading executives of credit-card issuing companies after a closed-door White House meeting.

Both the House and the Senate are pursuing bills to give consumers greater protections as an expansion of new rules slated to take effect next year. Obama said his economic advisers will examine the various proposals and work with Congress and the industry, but he made clear he wants to sign a bill into law.

"The days of any time, any reason rate hikes and late fee traps have to end," Obama said."

A credit card is intended to be a very short term loan, easily accessible by individuals and businesses. Its done marvels for speeding up purchasing and allowing flexibility in emergency financial situations people run into.

The price for this convenience?
High, HIGH interest rates. If its paid off in time, then your in the clear, and plenty of people are happy to lend to you again. But avoid or skip a payment, you'll be hurting. But you already knew this.
But because of these interest rates, and the rapid increase in cost to debtor, credit is easily and quickly available for a multitude of responsible Americans. It works well.

But the ponderous hand of government financial intervention, applying pressure or even legislation to lenders is nothing short of disastrous economic policy.

Required Lower Interest rates can only contract the available money pool from lenders, making it more difficult for low income, 'poor' Americans to borrow money for their needs. If the profit incentive for Credit Card companies is reduced, then they lend less, or what they do lend will have a higher base interest rate. Both outcomes are negative for all parties involved.

To borrow or not to borrow should be the decision of the Borrower and the Lender, not society through the savage blows of Federal law. This is economic populism at its worst, and I expected little else from the current administration.

Panem et Circenses

"To use a literary allusion, I think it's called "bread and circuses." You'd think the public would start catching on..." Solameanie of Seventh Sola.

'Bread and Circuses' refers to the idea of political leaders, most notably those in the late days of Rome, giving away bread to appease the crowd. When that failed, we throw circuses and lavish feasts and gladiator combat, and keep the masses full of mirth, and clamoring for more, always more.

Today, we like to think of ourselves as a more refined culture. We don't throw bread off wagons into the teeming masses of Americans. We don't slaughter slaves on sand red with blood. We don't clamor city hall for our next meal.

Yet, in many ways we are the same. The same premise applies, where long term public policy is sacrificed for the sake of political expediency, throwing not bread but money. Subsidies, bailouts, and straight up cash handouts are the flavor of the day, conquering both common sense and all rational reasoning for the future. So how does this end?

In Rome, it was only the most visible symptom of a deep set societal decay, the rotting hulk of a once vigorous empire, destroyed not by enemies from without, but by apathy from within. The United States of America has yet to become an empire, a nation bent on conquest for the exploitation of other nations. While we possess power greater then any nation in the history of mankind, we have no compulsion to use it. That is the defining difference between the US and Rome, the reason for our power.

Where Rome was based upon conquest, the United States has been based on economic power.

Because of this, I don't see this newest round of 'Bread and Circus'-ing as a fatal blow upon a wounded giant. While I am disturbed, even angry about these new economic policies, it is not a direct parallel to the past.

When do the masses realize what has been done to them? I have no answer.

We do know something critical. Conservatism begins, and ends, with the individual. There can be no sweeping movement of societies without individuals being a part of it. Keep on fighting, and know that our labors are not in vain.

Blasphemy of Budget Cuts

AP Spin Meter: "The president gave his Cabinet 90 days to find $100 million in savings to achieve over time.

For all the trumpeting, the effort raised questions about why Obama set the bar so low, considering that $100 million amounts to:

--Less than one-quarter of the budget increase that Congress awarded to itself.

--4 percent of the military aid the United States sends to Israel.

--Less than half the cost of one F-22 fighter plane.

--7 percent of the federal subsidy for the money-losing Amtrak passenger rail system.

--1/10,000th of the government's operating budgets for Cabinet agencies, excluding the Iraq and Afghan wars and the stimulus bill.

Obama only asked his Cabinet secretaries to identify waste in their annual operating budgets, which total a little over $1 trillion. He's leaving out war costs, the economic stimulus measure, the Wall Street bailout and benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare."

Fort Worth Tea party

So I went with some of my family and a friend to the Fort Worth Tea Party tonight.
My first impression was how large it was, I'd guess 3000 people. Gov. Rick Perry was the highlight speaker, but the rest of it was rather dull from that point on.

The lasting impression I'm left with is not an encouraging one. I felt like I was watching an old hound dog gnaw on the remains of a long ago devoured bone. Bitter, insular, resentful, and still defiantly wringing what taste he can out of the bone. No fresh meat is a part of this meal, only insufficient remains of the past.

There were no solutions presented besides a strident call of 'STOP!!'. No drive for a fresh awakening of Liberty in the minds and hearts of my American brethren, only a policy of self congratulations for the patriots present at the rally.

While I imagine the Boston Tea Party was a rather angry event, my particular party was not positive. Friends at other parties report differently, so this may be the start of something. It's still rather mind boggling that these events were organized independently of any party or PAC.
If it happens to the same degree next year, it may even impact the elections.

Tax Day Tea Day

In the US, its tax day. What that really means is beyond me, I paid my first Federal Taxes a few weeks ago. (No income tax in texas!)

But this year, it also means something different. It's a day to protest our tax rates with a tea party, and I'll be at one tonight. To find one near you, click here.

Basically, there are rallies in over 2000 cities today. Its a ground swelling, and without an organization such as MoveOn, or a political party behind it. In fact, the GOP chairman asked to speak at a Chicago rally, and the organizer's declined.

I'll be there, report from this intrepid reporter to be forthcoming.

Change & Reformation

""I knew that there is a manifest, marked distinction, which ill men with ill designs, or weak men incapable of any design, will constantly be confounding,—that is, a marked distinction between change and reformation.
The former alters the substance of the objects themselves, and gets rid of all their essential good as well as of all the accidental evil annexed to them.

Change is novelty; and whether it is to operate any one of the effects of reformation at all, or whether it may not contradict the very principle upon which reformation is desired, cannot be certainly known beforehand. Reform is not a change in the substance or in the primary modification of the object, but a direct application of a remedy to the grievance complained of.

So far as that is removed, all is sure. It stops there; and if it fails, the substance which underwent the operation, at the very worst, is but where it was.""
-Edmund Burke, 1796 (Via Mark Levin's Liberty & Tyranny)

Blazing Arogance

doesn't even cover it.

Wall Street Journal: "Mr. Wagoner was asked to step down on Friday by Steven Rattner, the investment banker picked last month by the administration to lead the Treasury Department's auto-industry task force. Mr. Rattner broke the news to Mr. Wagoner in person at his office at the Treasury, according to an administration official. Afterward, Mr. Rattner met one-on-one with Mr. Henderson, who will fill in as GM's CEO."

I'll be back on this.

But friends, remember this. Remember this for a long, long time. Remember this to the ballot box in the coming years, as the democrats are moving farther forward in a fascist agenda.

Scathing Rebuttal of Obama/Brown Economic policy

Daniel Hannah tells it like it is to Gordon Brown and the absurd spending plans now being passed.

" Prime Minister, I see you’ve already mastered the essential craft of the European politician, namely the ability to say one thing in this chamber and a very different thing to your home electorate. You’ve spoken here about free trade, and amen to that. Who would have guessed, listening to you just now, that you were the author of the phrase ‘British jobs for British workers’ and that you have subsidised, where you have not nationalised outright, swathes of our economy, including the car industry and many of the banks? Perhaps you would have more moral authority in this house if your actions matched your words? Perhaps you would have more legitimacy in the councils of the world if the United Kingdom were not going into this recession in the worst condition of any G20 country?

The truth, Prime Minister, is that you have run out of our money. The country as a whole is now in negative equity. Every British child is born owing around £20,000. Servicing the interest on that debt is going to cost more than educating the child. Now, once again today you try to spread the blame around; you spoke about an international recession, international crisis. Well, it is true that we are all sailing together into the squalls. But not every vessel in the convoy is in the same dilapidated condition. Other ships used the good years to caulk their hulls and clear their rigging; in other words – to pay off debt. But you used the good years to raise borrowing yet further. As a consequence, under your captaincy, our hull is pressed deep into the water line under the accumulated weight of your debt We are now running a deficit that touches 10% of GDP, an almost unbelievable figure. More than Pakistan, more than Hungary; countries where the IMF have already been called in. Now, it’s not that you’re not apologising; like everyone else I have long accepted that you’re pathologically incapable of accepting responsibility for these things. It’s that you’re carrying on, wilfully worsening our situation, wantonly spending what little we have left. Last year - in the last twelve months – a hundred thousand private sector jobs have been lost and yet you created thirty thousand public sector jobs.

Prime Minister, you cannot carry on for ever squeezing the productive bit of the economy in order to fund an unprecedented engorgement of the unproductive bit. You cannot spend your way out of recession or borrow your way out of debt. And when you repeat, in that wooden and perfunctory way, that our situation is better than others, that we’re ‘well-placed to weather the storm’, I have to tell you that you sound like a Brezhnev-era apparatchik giving the party line. You know, and we know, and you know that we know that it’s nonsense! Everyone knows that Britain is worse off than any other country as we go into these hard times. The IMF has said so; the European Commission has said so; the markets have said so – which is why our currency has devalued by thirty percent. And soon the voters too will get their chance to say so. They can see what the markets have already seen: that you are the devalued Prime Minister of a devalued government."

March of Fascism

Washington Post: "The administration's proposal contains two pieces.
First, it would empower a government agency to take on the new role of systemic risk regulator with broad oversight of any and all financial firms whose failure could disrupt the broader economy.

The Federal Reserve is widely considered to be the leading candidate for this assignment. But some critics warn that this could conflict with the Fed's other responsibilities, particularly its control over monetary policy.

The government also would assume the authority to seize such firms if they totter toward failure.
Besides seizing a company outright, the document states, the Treasury Secretary could use a range of tools to prevent its collapse, such as guaranteeing losses, buying assets or taking a partial ownership stake.

Such authority also would allow the government to break contracts, such as the agreements to pay $165 million in bonuses to employees of AIG's most troubled unit.
The Treasury secretary could act only after consulting with the president and getting a recommendation from two-thirds of the Federal Reserve Board, according to the plan. "

The arrogance of power being displayed by the treasury department over the past decade is astounding. After repeated failures and increases in the federal expenditures of Olympian proportions, this department and this administration pursues even more power. Power truly has corrupted. 10 people would be able to create a seizure.
(1 Tres. Sec + 1 POTUS + 8 Fed. Rsv. Members)

The end result of this proposal would be disastrous. Where Eisenhower warned of the rise of the Military-Industrial complex, this would be an order of magnitude worse. Creation of a Federal-Industrial complex is little different from that of a centrally planned economy, which has been shown time after time to be a dismal failure, lashing the freedom of man to the will of the state, fermenting a toxic brew of equal poverty floundering in corruption and brutality.

Free corporations are free. They are not to be owned by the nation, but to serve the people in a market that thrives on competition. When the real and legitimate threat of federal take over exists, it only exacerbates the hostile business climate that Washington DC seems so intent on creating. When a climate is hostile, business move. An example of unyielding weight can be found in the States of America, most obviously California. Those seeking success will find else where to operate.

It is obscene, literally obscene that any United States President would consider it a right and proper action to seize control of corporations for 'the public good'. When the negative incentive of failure is removed, there is no reason to avoid drastic risk. When these risks perpetuate more failures, the government will comply and again seize and nationalize even more corporations. This only leads to more risks which will necessitate even more nationalizations, as a vicious, snarling tornado of nationalization and free market destruction ensues.

I can find no other explanation for this variety of economic policy other then an intentional attempt at irrevocable damage to the freedoms the United States were based on. As the lackeys in Washington applaud, the liberty of our fathers vanishes before the very eyes of a apathetic public.

The giants upon whose shoulders we stand are in very real danger of being knee capped by the neo-fascist policies of Obama and his rotating pack of liberal wolves.

World Baseball Classic

Those of you old timers know I love watching baseball. So this year, I had a blast following the World Baseball Classic, which is essentially the World Cup Soccer for baseball, except the USA team is actually pretty good.

USA was knocked out quite handily in semifinal round.
Last night, Japan continued to win the championship, besting South Korea 5-3 in Los Angeles.

The game was over at 1am after the 10th inning, and it was a spectacular finish. Worthy of the somewhat presumptuous title 'Classic'.

The strangest thing was at the end of the game, when all the Japanese players celebrated in the same fashion as my Cardinals in the World series, with one crucial difference. It was in Japanese, not English (or espanol, this being LA).

Then it struck me... we're all people, the same basic needs, wants and desires. Victory is victory, triumph is triumph, failure is failure, hope is hope, and baseball is baseball. Made me smile and the world was a little brighter in my late night vigil.

Here come's the real problem

This is ridiculous.

Numerical Perspective

www.xkcd.com

President on Leno

So, the band just played a nice mix between Dixie and Hail to the Chief... wow.

EDIT: AIG was just a regular old insurance company???
EDIT: A securitized credit market? Government lending on a large scale???
EDIT: Obama is pluging Plug in hybrids??
EDIT: Obama rolled a 129. Last time I went bowling, i was beat by some pretty blonde girl on crutches.
EDIT: "If you want a friend in washington, get a dog!" (I like it!)

AIG Bonuses, Impending Inflation, Teleprompters... and awesomeness.

I think the employees of AIG have earned their bonuses. The company should be under water right now, liquidating amongst the capitalists of the world. Rather, they managed to swipe billions from the USA. From a corporate view, they've earned their bonuses.

The administration is looking to conjure a bogyman so it can perpetuate a sense of crisis. In the words of Rhambo, never waste a good crisis.
And the printing of $1,000,000,000,000? Three cheers for rampant inflation. It'll be a joy when gas is hitting $5 a gallon, if only because the consumer price index rises due to inflation. You simply cannot just print more money, that is one economic lesson that the chronicles of history scream incessantly.

As for our Fearless Leader Barak H. Obama, he was a busy man on Tuesday.
"Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address in Washington when he realised it all sounded a bit too familiar.

It was. He was repeating the speech President Barack Obama had just read from the same teleprompter.

Mr Cowen stopped, turned to the president and said: "That's your speech."

A laughing Mr Obama returned to the podium to take over but it seems the script had finally been switched and the US president ended up thanking himself for inviting everyone to the party."

In other news... 1000 posts.
Didn't figure I'd break 4 figures this soon. Thanks for reading and commenting. I'm terribly blessed to have grown up in an age where the Internet has come into its own, and it's really amazing how like minds that are thousands of miles apart can still come together in the blogosphere.

Obama and Brown

Newsbusters: "As the visit of the national leader of our closest ally began, the President informed the Brits that he wouldn't be attending the joint press conference that was planned to be held once PM Brown's plane touched down.

This threw the visiting delegation into a tizzy leaving them scrambling to explain the sudden change in plans to the folks back home. Still, meetings were had and things smoothed out. Eventually the visit seemed to right itself... then came the Obama's gift gaffes.

It is well understood that visiting diplomatic delegations come bearing gifts and gift giving is returned in like fashion by the host country. It is an ages old human practice in diplomacy after all. Usually the gifts are valuable, representative of the products of the nations involved, or at least symbolic of the history of those nations.

For his part, PM Brown gave two symbolic gifts and one that expressed national pride. Brown came bearing a pen holder carved from the timbers of the sister ship of that which gave the wood to create the famous "Resolute Desk," the desk that has been in America's charge since 1880. He also gave Obama the framed commission for that famous ship, the HMS Resolute. His third gift was a seven-volume biography of one of England's greatest leaders, Winston Churchill.

So, what did President Obama give the British PM? 25 movies on DVD. Yeah, that's it. Brown gives a symbolic gift like the pen holder fashioned from a famous British warship and Obama responds by sending a staffer to WalMart to pick up a few quick movies.

... Not to be out done in tastelessness by her husband, Michelle got into the act, too. Mrs. Brown came bearing two outfits for the Obama girls from Topshop, one of Britain's trendiest and expensive women's wear retail outlets.
In return, Michelle apparently had a staffer run down to the White House gift shop and grab two toy Marine One helicopter models for the Brown's boys."

This is quite frankly revolting. It would be ill treatment for many Heads of States, but especially so for one of the United Kingdom, a nation which is undoubtedly our staunchest ally in this world.

There absolutely has to be something going on here. For a president who based his foreign policy on winning friends to reject the friends we have makes little sense, especially considering the profusion of appreciation for United States. How can a group of politicians so competent on the campaign trail become so amazingly imbecilic once they are in the White House?

Oh, and the White House response to the situation?
"...The President noted that the pen set is being displayed on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office and the books are in the Presidents personal study adjoining the Oval Office.... "

Monkeying around in Iran

Guardian UK:
"Live television is hardly the most convenient setting in which to be reminded of the age-old proverb that only children and fools speak the truth.

So the father who nicknamed his child's toy monkey after Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, must have been mortified to have his private joke cruelly exposed when the youngster took part in one of the country's most popular TV phone-ins.

The embarrassing disclosure was made on Amoo Pourang (Uncle Pourang), a programme watched by millions of Iranian children three times a week on state TV. It came when the unsuspecting presenter, Dariush Farziayi, asked the name of the toy animal his young caller had been given as a reward for good behaviour. "Well, my father calls him Ahmadinejad," the child replied.

Now the father's discomfort has spread to the programme-makers after the state broadcaster, IRIB, responded by withdrawing it from viewing schedules. The final episode will be screened next week after a successful seven-year run.

A conservative website, Jahan News, quoting "reliable sources," said the decision was prompted by the "high financial and spiritual damage" inflicted by live broadcasts. "

Heh. This made my day.

Senate Dives into Omnibus Earmarktacular Budget

It passed yesterday, much to the consternation of all thoughtful citizens.

It also passed on a voice vote, providing little accountability for those elected by the people. Rather then actually taking the time to file a vote on this, we just had 100 old people shout at each other. It was all very civil.

There is a semi-record of the vote, in that there was a Roll Call vote before the vote came up.
Look for your senators, both of mine from Texas voted no.



Meanwhile...
"Absolutely, we need earmark reform. And when I'm president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely"
-Our Fearless Leader Obama, 1st Presidential Debate:

The sad fact though, is that the largest waste is by far the federal spending itself, not the earmarks attached. They really are little more then ears upon an ugly beast.

The Obama Effect

Seattle Times: "The Dow Jones industrial average has fallen 21 percent during Obama's first seven weeks in office. Count back to Election Day and the results are even bleaker: That afternoon, the Dow closed at 9,625. Now it stands at 6,547, a loss of 32 percent.

...

Before Obama, the worst Dow performance for the first seven weeks of a new administration was an 18 percent plunge in 1974 after Gerald Ford was sworn in, during a severe bear market triggered by the Arab oil crisis.

Ronald Reagan presided over a Dow decline of more than 20 percent from April 1981 through the end of the 1982 bear market. And in 2001, George W. Bush's first year in office, the Dow plunged from a peak above 11,000 to a low below 8,300 after the Sept. 11 attacks."

If I can understand this, I know you can understand this, then Washington understands this.

It's increasingly difficult to see why we continue with Fascist government policies. Since the victory of Big Government in the twilight days of 2008, the market has responded as it should. Shrinking away from that which seeks to hurt it, a larger federal government.

More Taxes? Bad Business. More Subsidies? Bad Business. More Protectionism? Bad Business.

On a Personal Note, here's whats been going on.
Mexico went very well, we finished the house in 4 days, fastest I've been a part of yet. Even though we were in the hot spot of the drug war called Reynosa, we saw very little activity. Its there, but we weren't threatened by it.
This time though, I had the good fortune of snagging ol Montezuma's Revenge this past week, so I was out of commission for a few days. I should be back in action as we rapidly approach breaking 1000 posts.

We saw this coming

Obama and his advisers are idiots.

I have to take a shower, but I'll get back to this later.

EDIT:


I can't really do the magnitude of this new proposal justice. It just absolutely boggles the mind. The amount of blithering idiocy, nay, the raw, unvarnished calculating wolves of Fascism have reared their ugly heads in plan view of America and the world.

It is a budget expansion of biblical proportions, and only means a further economic fall from grace for the world's greatest nation. As the bastion of the world economy, when the US has a cold, the world contracts pneumonia.

In the same way the man with a millstone around his neck drowns in the icy depths of the north Atlantic, this 3 stage expansion of the Federal Government and its borrowing off the back of my generation and our offspring will continue to wreak havoc for years and years to come.

Mr. KnightWing, I do trust you are happy with an update.

In Mexico. Again

Just so ya'll know, I'm in Reynosa Mexico on yet another trip. This is for another house, I'll be back saturday night.

In the mean time, i'm liking Bobby Jindal more and more.
" "The way to lead is not to raise taxes and put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians," Jindal said. The plan will "grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt."

"It's irresponsible," Jindal said. "
-Link

Obama's weekly address

2/21/09: Your Weekly Address from White House on Vimeo.

CO2 as a pollutant? EPA to sally forth with decree

International Herald Tribune: "If the environmental agency determines that carbon dioxide is a dangerous pollutant to be regulated under the Clean Air Act, it would set off one of the most extensive regulatory rule makings in history. Jackson knows that she would be stepping into a minefield of congressional and industry opposition and said that she was trying to devise a program that allayed these worries.

"We are poised to be specific on what we regulate and on what schedule," Jackson said. "We don't want people to spin that into a doomsday scenario.""

I'm sure the trees would disagree most vehemently. As will I.
There's an odd juxtaposition, tree huggers and the right wing of the nation joining hands.

I doubt it happens though, I think the environmental movement has sacrificed its soul upon the altar of political expediency and hyperbole for financial expediency.

Composition of the Earths Atmosphere:

• Nitrogen - 78.084%
• Oxygen - 20.95%
• Argon - 0.934%
• Carbon Dioxide - 0.036%

The concept of humans creating pollution with our very breaths is ludicrous, and yet, this is where we find ourselves. Seeing as government agency are merely political hack jobs of whomever is in office, this travesty of ecological and economic management will proceed.

Blackwater changes name to Xe

UPI - "The North Carolina security contractor Blackwater Worldwide has changed its name to Xe, a company memo says.

Company President Gary Jackson said in a memo that the company has been reorganizing for several months to "create unique brand identities for its products and services," The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported Sunday.

As part of its rebranding, the company is jettisoning the name Blackwater and its red-and-black bear-claw logo."

Makes sense. A company that has earned as much ill will in its home country should probably rebrand itself. Just didn't want this to pass without ya'll noticing.
A company called Xe will start showing up on the news soon enough, and now you can impress your posse with this knowledge.

California Burning

Or at least, the budget is.

Rueters: "California, which is on the brink of running out of cash, will notify 20,000 state workers on Tuesday their jobs may be eliminated...

The layoff notices will affect about 20 percent of state workers, McLear said, adding the cuts would extend to every part of state government.

The positions would be eliminated in June in preparation for California's next fiscal year, which starts in July.

California, America's most populous state and the world's eighth biggest economy, has experienced a dramatic fall in revenues because of the housing downturn, rising unemployment and a sharp pullback in consumer spending."

Who has been running this state for the last two decades? Far left democrats.

Great work, Captain Socialism.

Serious?

"The 1,071 page, 8-inch-thick measure"

It passed the house today.

Every Democrat, sans 7 with a modicum of intelligence voted for it.

Not a single republican voted yes. Well done GOP, well done.

Washington Stock Yards

The Washington DC Stockyards are full of swine.

The House, and Democrats of the Senate, for crafting legislation as non-kosher as an Oscar Mayer Wiener.

The Senate Republicans, for voting in a fowl manner and becoming chickens when the vote came. (I'm looking at you, Arlan Specter and the rest of your ilk.)

And for America? We're going to be chewing the cud on this bill for generations to come. Thank you Mr. Obama for your change and the consequences my generation and my kids are going to be paying for this.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Washington Times: "An Arizona man who has waged a 10-year campaign to stop a flood of illegal immigrants from crossing his property is being sued by 16 Mexican nationals who accuse him of conspiring to violate their civil rights when he stopped them at gunpoint on his ranch on the U.S.-Mexico border.
...
The lawsuit said he then called his wife and two Border Patrol agents arrived at the site. It also said Mr. Barnett acknowledged that he had turned over 12,000 illegal immigrants to the Border Patrol since 1998.
..."This is my land. I´m the victim here," Mr. Barnett said. "When someone´s home and loved ones are in jeopardy and the government seemingly can´t do anything about it, I feel justified in taking matters into my own hands. And I always watch my back.""

I hope this case looses. To bad it's in Arizona. If it had been in Texas, Mr. Barnett could have shot them all and been done with it.


Apologies for the sporadic posting (I'm in computer science lab right now), the laptop I ordered 3 weeks ago has yet to run through UPS systems. I do not recommend using CompuDirect for ordering anything. Ever.

Hyperbole and High Hopes

Reuters: ""The Obama numbers are unprecedented and speak volumes to the global fascination with the new American president, his wife and young family," Payack told Reuters. "Obama is the biggest story of the century so far."
...

That surpassed media interest generated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the global financial meltdown in 2008, the Iraq War in 2003 and the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, Payack said."

Obama's inauguration is the biggest story of this century?

Bigger then September 11? I simply cannot believe that. It certainly will not have as big an impact as the terrorists hijackings.

This kind of excitement and exuberance towards the new administration may wind up being harmful politically to the democrats. There's really no where to go but down from this high, and that kind of crash hurts. The blows will be softened as the mainstream junk journalists provide cushion.

Back-ish

Here's what is going on, and why I haven't posted in a while.

About 20 minutes after I posted the previous announcement, I dropped my laptop and the screen broke. Now, don't mock me because it fell out of my lap while i was trying to catch a remote control for the TV, because it was very important I could press unmute to watch the Dallas Mavericks.

Road trip went very well, came back home with the ladies without a hitch. I'm also back in school this semester as well as working, so my posts may (nay, will) be more sporadic as the spring rolls in.
So, when I reclaim my piece of the computer world with a new laptop, I'll let ya'll know.



In other news, the best political T-shirt I've seen in a while crossed my radar on immaculation, er, inauguration day.
'Rosa Parks Sat so King Could Walk so Obama Could Run'

Road Trip!

So, I'll be gone until Monday morning from the blogosphere. Early Wednesday morning, I'm flying out to Florida with a friend to pick up my girl friend, MaryKate. We're moving her back to Texas. Should be fun, we'll be back Sunday night.

If you remember, pray for a safe drive on the way back.

And now for the imporant stuff:
Steelers win over Baltimore, 17-10
Arizona continues defensive domination, beats Philadelphia 34-23

America...

Famous DC: "Here’s how it went down. [Congressman] Massa drove one fuel cell car while a hybrid SUV towing an additional SUV followed along. Once he got half way, he switched to new fuel cell car. The empty fuel cell was then towed back by the first SUV. As he continued on his journey, the second SUV followed. Once Massa arrived in DC, the second SUV then towed the second fuel cell car back to NY." Environmentally speaking, that makes about as much sense as setting someone's backyard ablaze with 20 gallons of gasoline.


WSFA: "the head of the Alabama NAACP, however, wants Mobile's Azalea Trail Maids to stay home on Inauguration Day, claiming the group reminds him of slavery.

"These are not just regular costumes. These are the costumes that remind someone of the plantation in Gone with the Wind," Edward Vaughn said in a phone interview."

Actually, I agree with this stance. There really is no other time period this goes back to then the Antebellum south, who's wealth was often built upon the backs of black slaves. Whoever set this up for the presidential inauguration wasn't thinking.

FOCA & Hysteria & Reality

(Hat tip to MaryKate for bringing this up)

Email forward: "For those of you who do not know, the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is set to be signed if congress passes it on January 21-22 of 2009. The FOCA is the next sick chapter in the book of abortion. If made a law then all limitations on abortion will be lifted...
...
Perhaps most importantly the government will now have control in the issue of abortion. This could result in a future amendment that would force women by law to have abortions in certain situations (rape, down syndrome babies, etc) and could even regulate how many children women are allowed to have."

After reading that, I had my interest piqued. Any time there is mass hysteria amongst the Christian Right, its often times disproportionate to the issue at hand.

A bill of this caliber is simply too hot to pass both houses and be signed into law, its like shooting your own political kneecaps.

After spending nearly a quarter hour finding any useful information on FOCA, I found this article from the Wall Street Journal:
""Our No. 1 concern would be the FOCA bill," said Connie Mackey, senior vice president of Family Research Council Action, a conservative group that focuses on social issues. "We have to appeal directly to the American public."

The opponents of this legislation appear more eager for a debate over it than the proponents do, perhaps knowing it is a strong way to rally their supporters early in the administration....
Among them is the "right of conscience" regulation that is expected to be published this week. It will take effect 30 days after being issued. That means that if the Bush administration issues the regulation this week, it will become final before Mr. Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20, and his administration won't be able to undo it easily.

For decades, federal law has said that doctors and nurses can't be compelled to perform abortions. The new regulation broadens that to make clear that all health-care workers may refuse to provide information, such as a referral, to patients looking for an abortion. The Department of Health and Human Services estimates the regulation would affect 584,000 hospitals, doctor's offices, pharmacies and other entities."

So for the time being, the Pro-life forces have the upper hand, courtesy one last favor by W. I think FOCA will remain a bill tabled in congress to placate the ornery proponents of murder on the left, while being entirely to controversial to ever pass the bi-cambial legislature.

Employment news

AP: "For all of 2008, the economy lost 2.6 million jobs. That was the most since 1945, when nearly 2.8 million jobs were lost, although the number of jobs in the U.S. has more than tripled since then. ...

Even with a new government stimulus, the unemployment rate is expected to keep rising this year. Some think it could hit 9 percent or 10 percent at the end of this year."

So, the perceived downside to refusing the Economic Stimulus plan? Jobs would be lost. The potential upside to accepting the Economic Stimulus plan? Jobs would be lost. Would the masters of mediocrity please step forward. I'm talking to you, National Republican Party and George W. Bush.

Admittedly, this isn't even that bad in historical terms. In recent history it is, but its been a while since we had a bust phase in our economy. Normally these phases clear out the fetters of industry, and the surviving companies are more efficient and productive with their capital.
Not so this time. In the wisdom of Washington, we are keeping bungling companies afloat to garner votes.

Why the World Needs Jesus

UK Times (Matthew Paris)"

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

I used to avoid this truth by applauding - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it.
...
In the city we had working for us Africans who had converted and were strong believers. The Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world - a directness in their dealings with others - that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall...."


This is one of the themes that is lost in the streams of the rise and fall of civilizations, the pathway of Christianity through mankind. It's a faith that simultaneously takes the individual and removes him from the equation, and yet instills freedom and a sense of direction in any circumstance.
To be like Christ, to stand tall and apart in a world that is filled with Darkness is what Christianity is about.

Its not really a surprise then, that even those who wrongly believe in the absence of a deity would recognize the benefits of Christianity. At its roots, it truly is a 'Religion of Peace', propagated not by the sword or the spear, but by the love and communication of Christians.

What is the main difference between the Western school of political thought, and the rest of the world? Men have rights endowed by God for Life & Liberty, and are not owned by the state.
That is the natural outgrowth of Christianity, where the power to choose life and death rests in the hearts of each and every man.
At it's core, freedom is the ability to choose. This choice is the ultimate expression of freedom, and that gives men reason to stand tall in the face of a fallen world.

Franken's last laugh

Wall Street Journal: "Mr. Franken started the recount 215 votes behind Senator Coleman, but he now claims a 225-vote lead and suddenly the man who was insisting on "counting every vote" wants to shut the process down. He's getting help from Mr. Ritchie and his four fellow Canvassing Board members, who have delivered inconsistent rulings and are ignoring glaring problems with the tallies.
...
Minnesotans like to think that their state isn't like New Jersey or Louisiana, and typically it isn't. But we can't recall a similar recount involving optical scanning machines that has changed so many votes, and in which nearly every crucial decision worked to the advantage of the same candidate. The Coleman campaign clearly misjudged the politics here, and the apparent willingness of a partisan like Mr. Ritchie to help his preferred candidate, Mr. Franken. If the Canvassing Board certifies Mr. Franken as the winner based on the current count, it will be anointing a tainted and undeserving Senator."

I thought this was wrapped up a couple of weeks ago... figures though, that in a game of dirty politics the Dems will win.

I blame the squirrels

El Paso Times:
"A U.S. Army War College report warns an economic crisis in the United States could lead to massive civil unrest and the need to call on the military to restore order.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Nathan Freir wrote the report "Known Unknowns: Unconventional Strategic Shocks in Defense Strategy Development," which the Army think tank in Carlisle, Pa., recently released.

"Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities ... to defend basic domestic order and human security," the report said, in case of "unforeseen economic collapse," "pervasive public health emergencies," and "catastrophic natural and human disasters," among other possible crises."

This in conjunction with 20,000 US Troops stationed in the USA on active duty?
Frightening prospect indeed. I'm not one given to hyperbole of fear, but this is likely to have negative consequences.
It was not the barbarians that destroyed Rome, rather the actions by those within. I still thing America's best days are ahead of us, but in no way can a socialist nation with lackluster foreign policy, punishing economic environments and a populace coerced by the military lead the world.

The Blagman Strikes Back

" His choice of Burris, Illinois' first African-American elected statewide, presents senators with the dilemma of saying no to a replacement for Obama, who was the nation's only black senator.

That point was driven home at the news conference by Democratic U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush of Chicago, who said it's a matter of national importance that an African-American replace Obama in the Senate.

"Let me just remind you that there presently is no African-American in the Senate...this is just not a state of Illinois matter," Rush said.

...Burris said he spoke with Blagojevich Sunday night about the appointment.

"I was asked if he would appoint me would I accept and the answer is yes," said Burris, who offered no comment on the governor's legal situation.

Blagojevich praised Burris for his "unquestioned integrity" and "extensive experience," calling him a senior statesman.

"To not fill the vacancy would be to deprive the people of Illinois of their appropriate voice" in the U.S. Senate, Blagojevich said."

And yet, the most telling component to this:
"Burris has given more than $20,000 to Blagojevich's campaign fund on his own and through his consulting and law firms, state campaign finance records show. Burris' consulting company received about $290,000 in state contracts with the Illinois Department of Transportation a few years ago, according to state comptroller records."

Best as I can tell, this is a legit appointment. I hope for no other reason then sheer joy of political folly and historical oddities that it goes through. Really though, I think we'll have a difficult time finding a more liberal senator then Obama to replace Obama in the senate. Might as well the token black man in the house of arrogant politicians bent on socialism.

Say it ain't so...

Merry Christmas Ya'll

Review: Seven Pounds

This is one of those rare movies that leaves me thinking, leaves me in wonder, and leaves me in a state of emotional turmoil.

I say rare, because rarely in my life have I seen film turned it such a remarkably dull, overwhelmingly pretentious, and discombobulated piece of cinema.

The premise for the film is that Ben Thompson (Will Smith) has it within his power to radically alter the lives of 7 people, and he chooses to do so. The story chronicles the end of his quest, in the most curious of fashions.

Opening with Thompson calling 911 for his own suicide, and then proceeding to, without warning, flash across a plethora of timeline and events that have occurred in this mans life. There's lovely beach house, a lovely woman, a career as an Aerospace salesman, car wreaks, jelly fish, moving into a motel, mocking a blind man over the phone, stalking a woman with heart failure, handing out IRS extensions, punishing evil doctors, feeding dogs meat, talking to his brother, dealing with his best friend, falling in love, donating bone marrow, and countless other events.

If that didn't make any sense, don't worry about it. The movie amounts to about the same thing, a sequence of events that hardly seem connected. In the end, it really doesn't matter if they are or not, as the ending was predictable by two of my friends within the first half hour.

That all being said, if you're read to the end of this review, and were remotely interested by anything contained in the above paragraphs, then this has been more entertaining then Seven Pounds.

I do not want to see this movie ever again. Not because it is offensive or horrifying, but because it is a stupefyingly dull film with almost no payoff at the end. I want my 2 hours back.

Auto's bailed

Wall Street Journal: ""Under ordinary economic circumstances, I would say 'this is the price that failed companies must pay' and I would not favor intervening to prevent the auto makers from going out of business," the president said. "But these are not ordinary circumstances."

The deal would extend $13.4 billion in loans to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC in December and January, with another $4 billion likely available in February. It also would provide the government with non-voting warrants, although the exact amount was unclear immediately. Ford Motor Co. has said it doesn't need short-term assistance.

The deal is contingent on the companies' showing that they are financially viable by March 31. If they aren't, the loans will be called and all funds must be returned, officials said."

Two thoughts:

1. Thank you, Mr. Bush. You can leave now. No, really. It's not a moment to soon.
If now isn't the time for free market capitalism, then you no longer deserve the mantle of Republican.

2. The Federal government is just the organization I want determining the long term viability of a business. Because, ya know. They're good at stuff like that. Nope, its not a porky spending layout at all.

W on his economic strategy

"I feel a sense of obligation to my successor to make sure there is not a, you know, a huge economic crisis. Look, we're in a crisis now. I mean, this is -- we're in a huge recession, but I don't want to make it even worse."

Herbert Hoover, meet your successor. George W. Bush.

I blame global warming

Greece in Turmoil

Times UK: "Police sources said their riot squads had fired 4,600 tear gas canisters this week as rioters torched hundreds of banks and shops and occupied their campuses, where police after forbidden by law from entering.
...The demonstrations started a week ago after a police officer shot dead a 15-year-old boy, claiming he had fired a warning shot in the air as youths threatened him and a fellow officer. The two policemen are in detention, with their defence lawyer claiming that an as yet unreleased ballistics report shows the boy was killed by a ricochet rather than by direct fire.

But the anger unleashed by the killing has acted as a lightning rod for smouldering discontent at a variety of social ills, from unemployment to police brutality and government corruption.

Left-wing demonstrators today chanted “Cops are murderers” and carried placards saying “Bullets in the kids, money in the bank” and “Down with the government of property and privatization”..."

Now, I wasn't around for the Rodney King riots, but for those venerable readers, was it like this?

Reading about this, it seemed to be over-reaction run amok. But that last line sorta highlights the whole thing, people with out minds protesting because they desire their liberty to heisted.
Communist plants? Marxist holdovers? The encore performance of the World Trade meetings in Seattle? (This is Sparta?)

Fraud of epic proportion

Investors scrambled to assess potential losses from an alleged $50 billion fraud by Bernard Madoff, a day after the arrest of the prominent Wall Street trader.

Prosecutors and regulators accused the 70-year-old, who was chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market in the early 1990s, of masterminding a fraud of epic proportions through his investment advisory business, which managed at least one hedge fund.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Madoff-alleged-50-billion-rb-13819411.html

Batteries dying, be back on this later.