Joe Biden got up on his hind legs and raised hell in the Senate today, in a fury he asked if anyone in the body realized the depths of this Administration's ineptitude when they asked for the authorization to use force. That is actually a fair question, the Idjit in Chief hadn't had a chance to make a real hash of much by then. The Wilson/Plame affair should have been a sign post, but DC may kill that kind of vision.
I think the evidence is in now. A person could move backward in time from now and have quite a litany. I think I'll leave it at that, use the Comments button and make or add to a list. I'm tired.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Cal Thomas Will Say Anything
Since disclaimers have become popular, I'll start out with one, I think Cal Thomas is a right wing Republican apologist idiot and a hypocrite. Chances are, I'm not going to write something nice about him and his screed.
"Evangelical Christian Voters Maturing Politically" is the headline and here's what's to be had from Cal. They "have come a long way in a short time," from their "nearly unanimous condemnation of Bill Clinton for his extramarital affairs a growing number of these 'pro-family' voters appear ready to accept several Republican presidential candidates who do not share their ideal of marriage and faith." Do not share?? Rudy had an affair while married to his second ex with the current Mrs, Newt had an affair with his current Mrs while married to his second ex and she was in the hospital with cancer. They're not too hot on Mitt who is a member of a cult and McCain who has said he thinks some of their leaders are "agents of intolerance." That they are even considering these guys is a "sign of their political maturation and of their more pragmatic view of what can be expected from politics and politicians." It gets better.
"...many of them are awakening to at least two other realities - (1) they are not electing a church deacon; and (2) government has limited power to rebuild a crumbling social construct." They come from states where divorce rates are the highest and they overwhelmingly oppose same sex marriage. "Conservative evangelicals have grown up" even though they can't stand once married Methodist Hillary. He actually wrote this stuff and had it published.
There is a Democratic candidate that I'd rather went home, oddly I agree with the god-nuts on her, but for entirely different reasons. I would prefer some seriously tough talk and hard action from the others - at least the ones in office, but generally speaking I'm not ready to revolt. The god-patrol on the other hand has to stand on its head in order to get along with this bunch. They want a theocracy where they get to tell everybody how to be godly and yet this is the bunch they'll support? You'd require back surgery if you flip-flopped as hard as two of these and a couple others have the marital ethics of an alley cat. Now I don't care if they have open marriages or same sex marriages but for this crew to swallow this stuff is ludicrous. I can't tell if ole Cal is propagandizing his audience or actually believes this.
Speaking of propagandizing, I can see all sorts of opportunities for abetting blood-letting during the Republican Primaries for a progressive PAC. I'd think a "Truth in Politics PAC" could stir the pot real well by publicizing some of the goings on of the candidates, each with his own ad. Targeting the ads to the proper programing ought to be easy enough. I believe I could even donate a couple nickels to such a PAC, as long as it was tastelessly done.
"Evangelical Christian Voters Maturing Politically" is the headline and here's what's to be had from Cal. They "have come a long way in a short time," from their "nearly unanimous condemnation of Bill Clinton for his extramarital affairs a growing number of these 'pro-family' voters appear ready to accept several Republican presidential candidates who do not share their ideal of marriage and faith." Do not share?? Rudy had an affair while married to his second ex with the current Mrs, Newt had an affair with his current Mrs while married to his second ex and she was in the hospital with cancer. They're not too hot on Mitt who is a member of a cult and McCain who has said he thinks some of their leaders are "agents of intolerance." That they are even considering these guys is a "sign of their political maturation and of their more pragmatic view of what can be expected from politics and politicians." It gets better.
"...many of them are awakening to at least two other realities - (1) they are not electing a church deacon; and (2) government has limited power to rebuild a crumbling social construct." They come from states where divorce rates are the highest and they overwhelmingly oppose same sex marriage. "Conservative evangelicals have grown up" even though they can't stand once married Methodist Hillary. He actually wrote this stuff and had it published.
There is a Democratic candidate that I'd rather went home, oddly I agree with the god-nuts on her, but for entirely different reasons. I would prefer some seriously tough talk and hard action from the others - at least the ones in office, but generally speaking I'm not ready to revolt. The god-patrol on the other hand has to stand on its head in order to get along with this bunch. They want a theocracy where they get to tell everybody how to be godly and yet this is the bunch they'll support? You'd require back surgery if you flip-flopped as hard as two of these and a couple others have the marital ethics of an alley cat. Now I don't care if they have open marriages or same sex marriages but for this crew to swallow this stuff is ludicrous. I can't tell if ole Cal is propagandizing his audience or actually believes this.
Speaking of propagandizing, I can see all sorts of opportunities for abetting blood-letting during the Republican Primaries for a progressive PAC. I'd think a "Truth in Politics PAC" could stir the pot real well by publicizing some of the goings on of the candidates, each with his own ad. Targeting the ads to the proper programing ought to be easy enough. I believe I could even donate a couple nickels to such a PAC, as long as it was tastelessly done.
DPO Slate
Baker County Democrats' delegates Mike Braymen and myself were in Salem for the DPO reorganization meeting. Four good people ran for Chair and three good people ran for Secretary, a second candidate for male Vice-Chair materialized and both candidates were fine people, Jill Thorn, rockstar candidate for female Vice-Chair ran unopposed. Meredith Wood Smith is Chair, Jill Thorn and Jesse Cornett are Vice-Chairs, and Becky Gladstone is Secretary. Baker County is 4/4 in this one. I'd like you to think about that for a moment, it is not a case of us going along with the big boys, we got who we wanted.
The toughest vote was male V-C, Bill Kroger has been a standout DPO and it was darn hard not to reward that dedication, talent, and ability. Jesse promised to use his youth outreach and his own (relative) youthfulness as counter balance to the rest of the officers took our votes. If you read this Jesse, you know why and that we're paying attention.
Out here in the 2nd Congressional District we face tough sledding, the Republicans are Republicans and the Indies are a pretty shade of pink. Democrats face some real obstacles and the DPO is only a piece of that puzzle but a valuable one. Our plot needs some careful tending over a long term if it is ever to bring in some crops and we need that understanding at the top. We have got to do youth recruitment, there's way too much grey hair (or lack of) at our meetings, there will be no Party without the young people.
We have a good slate of officers, people who have shown an understanding, and while things will be a little disjointed for awhile with recent resignations, we will move ahead. Thanks to all the people who put themselves up for positions, we need their dedication.
The toughest vote was male V-C, Bill Kroger has been a standout DPO and it was darn hard not to reward that dedication, talent, and ability. Jesse promised to use his youth outreach and his own (relative) youthfulness as counter balance to the rest of the officers took our votes. If you read this Jesse, you know why and that we're paying attention.
Out here in the 2nd Congressional District we face tough sledding, the Republicans are Republicans and the Indies are a pretty shade of pink. Democrats face some real obstacles and the DPO is only a piece of that puzzle but a valuable one. Our plot needs some careful tending over a long term if it is ever to bring in some crops and we need that understanding at the top. We have got to do youth recruitment, there's way too much grey hair (or lack of) at our meetings, there will be no Party without the young people.
We have a good slate of officers, people who have shown an understanding, and while things will be a little disjointed for awhile with recent resignations, we will move ahead. Thanks to all the people who put themselves up for positions, we need their dedication.
Republican Funk
It looks like the Republicans don't particularly like the choices they've got so far as Presidential candidates. Nearly 60% of them want more choices, I can't say I blame them, but they have a problem, they've got Republicans to chose from. What they do want is:
More tax cuts
More war
Less abortions
No gay marriages
Not too surprising considering that 76% approve of GeorgeII. Yes, folks, Iraq was the right thing to do, it's being done right, and more is better. The economy is great, by overwhelming number the Repubs support BushCo's management. In fact, these people have pushed the president's approval numbers from 29% to 34%. Now consider that 34% of those polled had a positive view of the Republican Party and these whack jobs start to look a little lonely. The question that goes begging is just exactly why they believe this guy is doing anything right. As BS oriented as Fox is, they show stuff getting blown up in Iraq and even mention our soldiers getting killed and maimed, although the Walter Reed story was blown out of proportion by others ( the usual suspects - liberal media ). If you look at the demographics of the Repubs you have to wonder what two brain cells are talking to each other. Most of these people got squat in tax breaks, their jobs are in jeopardy, their pay is falling, and their kids are getting misused and abused in Iraq and they approve. It's astonishing, the plutocrats are 0.1% of the population and workers are supporting their gains and ignoring their own losses? Queers and baby killers must be powerful mojo, 'cause it sure ain't anything else.
They want Ronnie Reagan back, and frankly if they were to dig him up and stick a pole up his butt they'd have as good as he ever was and a vast improvement over their current "hero." To understand the depths of this stupidity you have to understand that RR killed the Soviet Union, you know, the communism and socialism can never work sort of place; when it didn't work at all it's deux machina - RR as god. What I cannot, in the final estimation, work out; is why so many people over the past dozen years have bought into the Republican mythology. Man, the Democrats must've been real bad.
I'm more than willing to admit that the Democrats have spent some real quality time shooting themselves in the foot and being arrogant while doing it, but holy smokes, the Republicans have taken dead aim at their heads with cannons, stuck their middle finger in the air, and they still believe. This goes beyond ideology, beyond brand identification, all the way to tribalism. No, I don't get it.
More tax cuts
More war
Less abortions
No gay marriages
Not too surprising considering that 76% approve of GeorgeII. Yes, folks, Iraq was the right thing to do, it's being done right, and more is better. The economy is great, by overwhelming number the Repubs support BushCo's management. In fact, these people have pushed the president's approval numbers from 29% to 34%. Now consider that 34% of those polled had a positive view of the Republican Party and these whack jobs start to look a little lonely. The question that goes begging is just exactly why they believe this guy is doing anything right. As BS oriented as Fox is, they show stuff getting blown up in Iraq and even mention our soldiers getting killed and maimed, although the Walter Reed story was blown out of proportion by others ( the usual suspects - liberal media ). If you look at the demographics of the Repubs you have to wonder what two brain cells are talking to each other. Most of these people got squat in tax breaks, their jobs are in jeopardy, their pay is falling, and their kids are getting misused and abused in Iraq and they approve. It's astonishing, the plutocrats are 0.1% of the population and workers are supporting their gains and ignoring their own losses? Queers and baby killers must be powerful mojo, 'cause it sure ain't anything else.
They want Ronnie Reagan back, and frankly if they were to dig him up and stick a pole up his butt they'd have as good as he ever was and a vast improvement over their current "hero." To understand the depths of this stupidity you have to understand that RR killed the Soviet Union, you know, the communism and socialism can never work sort of place; when it didn't work at all it's deux machina - RR as god. What I cannot, in the final estimation, work out; is why so many people over the past dozen years have bought into the Republican mythology. Man, the Democrats must've been real bad.
I'm more than willing to admit that the Democrats have spent some real quality time shooting themselves in the foot and being arrogant while doing it, but holy smokes, the Republicans have taken dead aim at their heads with cannons, stuck their middle finger in the air, and they still believe. This goes beyond ideology, beyond brand identification, all the way to tribalism. No, I don't get it.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Hiatus
I have to take some time off from this Blog to go to the DPO Re-organization meeting this weekend. Considering the distance from Baker City to Salem I'm going to leave early and come back later, so, Friday through Sunday afternoon I'll be away from the keyboard. Most likely, unless I get access to a lap top, I'm sure not dragging a desk top with me just for you people...
It'll be a busy day considering I'm a member of several rather important caucuses - all trying to meet at about the same time.
It'll be a busy day considering I'm a member of several rather important caucuses - all trying to meet at about the same time.
Gonzales - Idiot or Worse?
Remember the sneaky little bit about the Administration being able to appoint replacement federal prosecutors without Senate confirmation? There was that bit about the Appeals Courts doing it being Unconstitutional and tooooooooo time consuming in this era of imminent danger. Apparently now that everybody and their brother is hot about it, The Admin is no longer committed to it, they will no longer oppose legislation limiting the AG's power. After the meeting Sen Arlen Spector had this to say, "One day there will be a new attorney general, maybe sooner rather than later," which might lead one to think he's unhappy and that maybe a little pushing around occurred. This is the same nit picker that stated that because the Constitution only prohibits the suspension of Habeas Corpus in certain circumstances that it's not otherwise a guaranteed right. Now why would anybody talk about replacing such an intellect?
Gonzales also allowed the Senate to call five top level Justice officials involved in the Pearl Harbor, um, Dec. 7th firing of 7 federal prosecutors. For some reason these prosecutors took to heart allegations that their firings had to do with performance issues and began to object. Some people other than the fired ones found it odd that their latest performance ratings were fine. Some Senators are concerned that the firings and the hiring procedure would be used to place political cronies. Karl Rove, one of whose cronies has already been appointed, said these actions are, "normal and ordinary," after the AG's appearance. Someone must've forgotten to tell him. I've heard somebody runs the show over there...
So, how bad does all this stink? Bad enough to get the lap dogs in the Senate stirred up.
Gonzales also allowed the Senate to call five top level Justice officials involved in the Pearl Harbor, um, Dec. 7th firing of 7 federal prosecutors. For some reason these prosecutors took to heart allegations that their firings had to do with performance issues and began to object. Some people other than the fired ones found it odd that their latest performance ratings were fine. Some Senators are concerned that the firings and the hiring procedure would be used to place political cronies. Karl Rove, one of whose cronies has already been appointed, said these actions are, "normal and ordinary," after the AG's appearance. Someone must've forgotten to tell him. I've heard somebody runs the show over there...
So, how bad does all this stink? Bad enough to get the lap dogs in the Senate stirred up.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Do You Know Who K. Lee Blalack II Is?
First if you want to use his services you'd better have lots of money, lots, and then judging from his client list powerful friends and high position yourself. (in other words, not you, reader) People like Bill Frist, the Dukester, and now Sen Domenici get his lawyerly council. Those three are Republicans and seem to have difficulties in ethical matters, but I don't know it it's an exclusive club. You could probably make a pretty good living as a lawyer representing only crooked Republicans. Frist played fast and loose with health care stocks and the law, the Duke liked bribes, and Sen Domenici seems to make phone calls to a federal prosecutor, later fired federal prosecutor, federal prosecutors that wouldn't hurry up a politically sensitive investigation - in time for elections - Democrat investigation - Republicans take a loss election.
Wasn't it the Republicans who told us we had nothing to fear from the government's new investigative powers? Wasn't Domenici one of the Senators who scoffed about it? An ethics committee is nothing new, so why's he so worried? Surely the specter of Scooter getting a fair trial couldn't weigh on him. So why does he need one of the highest powered attorneys in DC? Do you get the feeling I don't like the way these jerks stomp all over the rest of us and try to buy their way out if somebody looks askance at their peccadillo's?
It really is time to seriously clean house, folks.
Wasn't it the Republicans who told us we had nothing to fear from the government's new investigative powers? Wasn't Domenici one of the Senators who scoffed about it? An ethics committee is nothing new, so why's he so worried? Surely the specter of Scooter getting a fair trial couldn't weigh on him. So why does he need one of the highest powered attorneys in DC? Do you get the feeling I don't like the way these jerks stomp all over the rest of us and try to buy their way out if somebody looks askance at their peccadillo's?
It really is time to seriously clean house, folks.
Fox - Confused
Sometimes reality takes a little zig and people like Fox News zag and the result is an alternate reality. Fox banner : Libby Not Guilty Of Lying To FBI. Uhuh, guilty of 4 other counts of lying, but the big news is... Britt Hume, et al: Oh no the jurors were confused, that's a big problem, that's what happened. Nice job of cherry picking boys, you didn't bother to finish with, confused as to why the rest of Fox's hero rat bastards weren't in court as well.
The big problem Fitz faced on the disclosure of Plame's identity prosecution is the wiggle phrase "deliberately and knowingly." Had this involved liberals or Democrats or other verminous lefties the Faux Noise machine would've battered your ears bloody over "technicalities" and sloppy justice. Padilla tortured with sensory deprivation and isolation while deprived of Habeas Corpus is just an example of stern measures to secure us, Libby's lies are an oops and witchhunt.
Let's be clear about something, Plame's cover in weapon's proliferation was blown, along with anybody who ever had contact with her. WMgodamnD proliferation, Fox, you know the basis for all your cheerleading during "Shock&Awe," America the Insecure. People's lives are screwed because your Dear Leader had to lie and his hit patrol had to whack those who exposed him. Then the shit hit the fan and all your "heroes" had to cover their asses. Is the Scoot just a cowardly liar like the rest or is he an idiot standup fall guy?
The alternate reality? Here's the outfit who, along with fatboy Rush, jump up and down bemoaning the "free passes" criminals get from weak-kneed judges and appeals courts trashing a successful prosecutor and no-nonsense judge. But then Rush was persecuted as a doper and BillO was hounded as a sex predator and that was all bullshit, too.
If you watch any of their junk, you're helping finance this crappola.
The big problem Fitz faced on the disclosure of Plame's identity prosecution is the wiggle phrase "deliberately and knowingly." Had this involved liberals or Democrats or other verminous lefties the Faux Noise machine would've battered your ears bloody over "technicalities" and sloppy justice. Padilla tortured with sensory deprivation and isolation while deprived of Habeas Corpus is just an example of stern measures to secure us, Libby's lies are an oops and witchhunt.
Let's be clear about something, Plame's cover in weapon's proliferation was blown, along with anybody who ever had contact with her. WMgodamnD proliferation, Fox, you know the basis for all your cheerleading during "Shock&Awe," America the Insecure. People's lives are screwed because your Dear Leader had to lie and his hit patrol had to whack those who exposed him. Then the shit hit the fan and all your "heroes" had to cover their asses. Is the Scoot just a cowardly liar like the rest or is he an idiot standup fall guy?
The alternate reality? Here's the outfit who, along with fatboy Rush, jump up and down bemoaning the "free passes" criminals get from weak-kneed judges and appeals courts trashing a successful prosecutor and no-nonsense judge. But then Rush was persecuted as a doper and BillO was hounded as a sex predator and that was all bullshit, too.
If you watch any of their junk, you're helping finance this crappola.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Scooter Takes One For the Team
So, Scooter, 4 of 5 isn't so hot. You could get 20 years, we all know 1-2 would be a real whack, though. If you can drag out sentencing and muck about with appeals long enough, GeorgeII will be headed out the door in time to hand you your pardon. That's taking one for the team.
Funny how nobody in the political end of this administration ever has to take responsibility, yes the Scooter is a fall guy for Cheney and Rove, but it won't cost him more than this trial. You know there's a good Republican employer for Scooter and other people have paid for his lawyering up and like any good criminal he'll work the appeals system so in the end run the only harm is to his reputation, and who is that hurt with? I'll just bet he gives a rat's patoot that the opposition to the current regime thinks he's pond scum.
So in the world of Republican politics all is well, Cheney isn't looking any worse than ever, Rove still has his job, and the Prez hasn't fired all those "leakers." Everybody gets to walk away. I strongly suggest that none of my readers try it, though, you might find the game is played a little differently for you.
Funny how nobody in the political end of this administration ever has to take responsibility, yes the Scooter is a fall guy for Cheney and Rove, but it won't cost him more than this trial. You know there's a good Republican employer for Scooter and other people have paid for his lawyering up and like any good criminal he'll work the appeals system so in the end run the only harm is to his reputation, and who is that hurt with? I'll just bet he gives a rat's patoot that the opposition to the current regime thinks he's pond scum.
So in the world of Republican politics all is well, Cheney isn't looking any worse than ever, Rove still has his job, and the Prez hasn't fired all those "leakers." Everybody gets to walk away. I strongly suggest that none of my readers try it, though, you might find the game is played a little differently for you.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
The Welcome Mat
Maybe someone will explain to me just exactly how this (New Haven Welcomes a Booming Population of Immigrants, Legal or Not ) will reduce the numbers of people coming to the US illegally. Now, or at any time in the future. Let's just assume for a second, for the sake of argument, that we solve the illegal alien problem by an instant amnesty. Hurry down to the local PD & register and you're good, as of today. Nobody after today is good. There's the nice, nice solution.
New Haven makes it clear that the numbers of immigrants make it imperative that they be nice, so what is going to happen in another 5 years? Will the numbers again make it imperative to be nice? Why would anybody who wants to come on in, not come on in? You certainly are not going to suggest that the stuff won't need picked, houses won't be built, or are you?
Now, splitting the differences 12 million/30 million, you've already added 17 million illegal workers to the labor pool and gotten today's suppression of wages, what is going to happen when you add another 7-10 million to the bottom of the wage pool? Then, just for giggles, toss in the outsourced job losses, although as wages plummet it might slow. It will stop happening when there's no difference between 3rd world wages and our own. I'd rather pull them up, than us rush down, but that apparently is racist xenophobia. Ah hell, throw out the welcome mat, those of us old enough to remember labor as an honest way to support a family will all be dead soon, anyhow. It does pay to remember that when the worker bees ain't got any money to spend, your jobs become superfluous also.
I'd really like to go one week without this issue getting rammed in my face...
New Haven makes it clear that the numbers of immigrants make it imperative that they be nice, so what is going to happen in another 5 years? Will the numbers again make it imperative to be nice? Why would anybody who wants to come on in, not come on in? You certainly are not going to suggest that the stuff won't need picked, houses won't be built, or are you?
Now, splitting the differences 12 million/30 million, you've already added 17 million illegal workers to the labor pool and gotten today's suppression of wages, what is going to happen when you add another 7-10 million to the bottom of the wage pool? Then, just for giggles, toss in the outsourced job losses, although as wages plummet it might slow. It will stop happening when there's no difference between 3rd world wages and our own. I'd rather pull them up, than us rush down, but that apparently is racist xenophobia. Ah hell, throw out the welcome mat, those of us old enough to remember labor as an honest way to support a family will all be dead soon, anyhow. It does pay to remember that when the worker bees ain't got any money to spend, your jobs become superfluous also.
I'd really like to go one week without this issue getting rammed in my face...
More Money, More Money
The White House is embarrassed, not to ask for more money for Iraq, but because Congress already said they'd 'lowballed' the escalation costs. The AP Story makes it pretty clear another $2 billion or so needs to be added to the $93.4 billion requested to run the show through September.
You needn't be bothered by that number, it certainly won't cause taxes to go up, and you won't be expected to pay it. Your children will be stuck with the bill, or grand kids. At some point this mess will hit a brick wall, called interest on the debt. That's awhile down the pike, but here's the bad news, we are fast approaching the point where we will not be able to tax ourselves out of the collision. Grover Norquist may have gotten his wish to drown the system in the tub.
You needn't be bothered by that number, it certainly won't cause taxes to go up, and you won't be expected to pay it. Your children will be stuck with the bill, or grand kids. At some point this mess will hit a brick wall, called interest on the debt. That's awhile down the pike, but here's the bad news, we are fast approaching the point where we will not be able to tax ourselves out of the collision. Grover Norquist may have gotten his wish to drown the system in the tub.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Try To Understand the Problem
Inmates Will Replace Migrants in Colorado Fields is a New York Times piece regarding the scarcity of illegal migrant workers in Colorado. Since the serfs won't come around law enforcement another serf labor force must be found.
Does anybody understand the consequences of business behavior that crushes wages to this level? Why, exactly, is it racism and xenophobia to oppose this direction in the US? The fact that the tools of this repression of labor happen to be primarily of one race and one nationality has absolutely not one thing to do with the merits. It would make no difference to the issue if these people were green Martians.
This is the logical outcome of work that pays serf wages, it is the only outcome possible. No guest worker, path to citizenship, amnesty, or other policy that does not address wages will accomplish one thing, other than flood the country with those willing to be serfs. If you want a country with a population of serfs then you have no problem with the direction we're headed in.
This is old news, if you aren't aware that in previous times (Robber Barons?) immigrants have been used to crush the working class then you are neither informed nor competent to have an opinion. If you are aware of this and support its continuation it is fairly obvious where you stand in regard to those who work with their hands. I'm sorry, your sympathy for the green Martians is immaterial to the problem. You either support the plutocrats or you do not.
Does anybody understand the consequences of business behavior that crushes wages to this level? Why, exactly, is it racism and xenophobia to oppose this direction in the US? The fact that the tools of this repression of labor happen to be primarily of one race and one nationality has absolutely not one thing to do with the merits. It would make no difference to the issue if these people were green Martians.
This is the logical outcome of work that pays serf wages, it is the only outcome possible. No guest worker, path to citizenship, amnesty, or other policy that does not address wages will accomplish one thing, other than flood the country with those willing to be serfs. If you want a country with a population of serfs then you have no problem with the direction we're headed in.
This is old news, if you aren't aware that in previous times (Robber Barons?) immigrants have been used to crush the working class then you are neither informed nor competent to have an opinion. If you are aware of this and support its continuation it is fairly obvious where you stand in regard to those who work with their hands. I'm sorry, your sympathy for the green Martians is immaterial to the problem. You either support the plutocrats or you do not.
Zumbo and the New York Times
I don't expect the NYT to get much right on guns, gun owners, and the 2nd Amendment, but I would about half expect them to get journalism a bit better. The NYT has had its own problems with journalists and fired them. They get this much almost right,
"He of all people should have known that “ban” is the mother of all fighting words to gun zealots."
Zealots is an unfortunate word, pretty loaded and dismissive, for people who care about a right that is enumerated second in the BOR. You begin to get a feeling about where this is coming from, but what the Times is ignoring is that first part of the sentence about him knowing and the journalistic aspect of his statement,
“Excuse me, maybe I’m a traditionalist,” he wrote, “but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity.” He added: “To most of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying thing. Let’s divorce ourselves from them. I say game departments should ban them from the prairies and woods.”
The statement is not only inflammatory it is basically inaccurate. I have to wonder how long the NYT would keep a journalist around who publicly advocated the suppression of publication of news critical of government and used false information and analogies to present it.
"One or two say that instead of cementing their reputations for reflexively enshrining gun ownership above everything, they might have asked Mr. Zumbo what he was talking about. They might even have had a healthy debate. But they shot first."
So, the NYT would like to have a nice healthy debate about their right to publish on the basis of a false and inflammatory piece by one of their own? The NYT fires people for this kind of story. But that's about the news, not guns, thus sacrosanct. I did notice that a previous Editorial put a great deal of emphasis on governmental infringements of liberty and justice.
"He of all people should have known that “ban” is the mother of all fighting words to gun zealots."
Zealots is an unfortunate word, pretty loaded and dismissive, for people who care about a right that is enumerated second in the BOR. You begin to get a feeling about where this is coming from, but what the Times is ignoring is that first part of the sentence about him knowing and the journalistic aspect of his statement,
“Excuse me, maybe I’m a traditionalist,” he wrote, “but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity.” He added: “To most of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying thing. Let’s divorce ourselves from them. I say game departments should ban them from the prairies and woods.”
The statement is not only inflammatory it is basically inaccurate. I have to wonder how long the NYT would keep a journalist around who publicly advocated the suppression of publication of news critical of government and used false information and analogies to present it.
"One or two say that instead of cementing their reputations for reflexively enshrining gun ownership above everything, they might have asked Mr. Zumbo what he was talking about. They might even have had a healthy debate. But they shot first."
So, the NYT would like to have a nice healthy debate about their right to publish on the basis of a false and inflammatory piece by one of their own? The NYT fires people for this kind of story. But that's about the news, not guns, thus sacrosanct. I did notice that a previous Editorial put a great deal of emphasis on governmental infringements of liberty and justice.
A Truly Sad State of the Union
When a New York Times Editorial runs a 'to do' page for restoration of civil liberties in the United States of America there is a serious problem. Whatever your view of the political leanings of the NYT it seldom runs a laundry list in regard to the government. Here's their dirty laundry:
Restore Habeas Corpus
Stop Illegal Spying
Ban Torture, Really
Close the C.I.A. Prisons
Account for ‘Ghost Prisoners’
Ban Extraordinary Rendition
Tighten the Definition of Combatant
Screen Prisoners Fairly and Effectively
Ban Tainted Evidence
Ban Secret Evidence
Better Define ‘Classified’ Evidence
Respect the Right to Counsel
You'd think they were referring to Soviet Russia, or Pinochet, or..., not the USA. This is not a moonbat lefty hired in to create ink, this is the unsigned Editorial Board position of one of the leading papers in the country. At any other time in the last half century this would be an atomic bomb, during the lifetime of the Framers this stuff would probably have resulted in either imprisonment or armed insurrection. The NYT talks about fixing the acts foisted on us by the REPUBLICANS, I'm a bit more reactive, this junk should be shitcanned and then addressed in a meaningful and reflective manner. You don't deal with dog poo by sticking an artificial flower in it, spraying perfume on it, and calling it a ROSE.
Those of you around for my Democratic Primary run will remember that I was hopping mad about this stuff then and I still am. I stated then and I'll restate it now, this is more important than getting us out of Iraq. The war in Iraq is the President's mess and short of shutting the government down the Democrats are pretty much out of luck. This is a Congressional mess, this junk came almost exclusively from their club. Our Congress put their foot on the neck of American liberty and justice and they're sitting around on their hands. The Republicans can get on board or be made to pay very publicly.
Restore Habeas Corpus
Stop Illegal Spying
Ban Torture, Really
Close the C.I.A. Prisons
Account for ‘Ghost Prisoners’
Ban Extraordinary Rendition
Tighten the Definition of Combatant
Screen Prisoners Fairly and Effectively
Ban Tainted Evidence
Ban Secret Evidence
Better Define ‘Classified’ Evidence
Respect the Right to Counsel
You'd think they were referring to Soviet Russia, or Pinochet, or..., not the USA. This is not a moonbat lefty hired in to create ink, this is the unsigned Editorial Board position of one of the leading papers in the country. At any other time in the last half century this would be an atomic bomb, during the lifetime of the Framers this stuff would probably have resulted in either imprisonment or armed insurrection. The NYT talks about fixing the acts foisted on us by the REPUBLICANS, I'm a bit more reactive, this junk should be shitcanned and then addressed in a meaningful and reflective manner. You don't deal with dog poo by sticking an artificial flower in it, spraying perfume on it, and calling it a ROSE.
Those of you around for my Democratic Primary run will remember that I was hopping mad about this stuff then and I still am. I stated then and I'll restate it now, this is more important than getting us out of Iraq. The war in Iraq is the President's mess and short of shutting the government down the Democrats are pretty much out of luck. This is a Congressional mess, this junk came almost exclusively from their club. Our Congress put their foot on the neck of American liberty and justice and they're sitting around on their hands. The Republicans can get on board or be made to pay very publicly.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Waste and Sacrifice
There has been a bit of a storm lately about what word describes the deaths and injuries of our soldiers in Iraq. The first assumption in the argument is whether Iraq is something the US should be doing or or is a mistake. Most of America believes it is a mistake, by a wider margin than virtually any other political issue. This said and allowed as a basis leaves another point, the feelings of those who've been harmed by this issue. The families and friends of soldiers and others killed and injured certainly have good reasons to not like the term 'waste' applied to their own.
Rep Barney Frank (D) and others have made the point that you do not gain ground in an argument by harming or offending those you are speaking for or attempting to persuade. There is a great deal of truth in this statement, words carry loading and for some people in this issue there has been great harm.
I'd like to change the ground under this argument, all of our soldiers are volunteers. These individuals have made a choice to serve the United States of America, they do not serve George Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Paul Wolfson, or any other individual. Their commitment is to their country and their unit. I do not care how pointless and stupid this war is, I do not care how stupid and pointless GWB is, this country and their fellow soldiers are not a stupid pointless commitment. Loss of life and injury is not a good thing, but it can occur for good reasons and devotion to country and fellows is good reason. I do not like the term waste applied to such a venture, Iraq is a waste in political, military, and social terms, what the soldiers have done is not. Sacrifice is the term used for a giving of oneself, it's better to let it go as that.
Rep Barney Frank (D) and others have made the point that you do not gain ground in an argument by harming or offending those you are speaking for or attempting to persuade. There is a great deal of truth in this statement, words carry loading and for some people in this issue there has been great harm.
I'd like to change the ground under this argument, all of our soldiers are volunteers. These individuals have made a choice to serve the United States of America, they do not serve George Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Paul Wolfson, or any other individual. Their commitment is to their country and their unit. I do not care how pointless and stupid this war is, I do not care how stupid and pointless GWB is, this country and their fellow soldiers are not a stupid pointless commitment. Loss of life and injury is not a good thing, but it can occur for good reasons and devotion to country and fellows is good reason. I do not like the term waste applied to such a venture, Iraq is a waste in political, military, and social terms, what the soldiers have done is not. Sacrifice is the term used for a giving of oneself, it's better to let it go as that.
Calling Names
Faggot. There it is, the 6 letters that apparently are the Conservative Action Political Conderence version of a swear word. Ann Coulter, poster girl of the rabidly right, says John Edward is one and got applause. She seems to like to call male Democrats fags since that was her description of former VP Al Gore on the 6/27 Hardball show, well, "total fag," to be accurate. I'm not real sure what Ann's problem with Democratic men is, or gay men is, but she seems to be pretty public with it. If it's like a, um, a personally disappointing experience maybe it's something about Ann...
The thing I'm unsure of is what its political relevance is in regard to these guys. Since there haven't been any man on man dancing photos or other scandals regarding these guys and they don't have any particularly outrageous mannerisms, I just don't get it. Does opposing the war make a man gay? If so, my wife will be unhappy. Does being gay make someone a leftytoon? It seems to me I've run across a couple instances of gay Republicans - Log Cabin I believe. Does faggot mean something I've completely missed?
You know Ann, those two guys probably gave it a dismissive chuckle, but there is a whole group of people that you're using as some kind of swear word and I think it's pretty damn unfortunate. I've read some of your writing and I've heard you speak, you're a bush league wordsmith and a third rate intellect. You aren't too bad as a self-publicist, though. You kind of remind me of the Gay Pride Parade in SF, it's just so over blown and flat out goofy that people pay attention. But the thing about that parade is that it's naughty, not mean and nasty like you are. In fact, I have the idea that despite your intentions, being called a faggot by you should be taken as a badge of honor.
The thing I'm unsure of is what its political relevance is in regard to these guys. Since there haven't been any man on man dancing photos or other scandals regarding these guys and they don't have any particularly outrageous mannerisms, I just don't get it. Does opposing the war make a man gay? If so, my wife will be unhappy. Does being gay make someone a leftytoon? It seems to me I've run across a couple instances of gay Republicans - Log Cabin I believe. Does faggot mean something I've completely missed?
You know Ann, those two guys probably gave it a dismissive chuckle, but there is a whole group of people that you're using as some kind of swear word and I think it's pretty damn unfortunate. I've read some of your writing and I've heard you speak, you're a bush league wordsmith and a third rate intellect. You aren't too bad as a self-publicist, though. You kind of remind me of the Gay Pride Parade in SF, it's just so over blown and flat out goofy that people pay attention. But the thing about that parade is that it's naughty, not mean and nasty like you are. In fact, I have the idea that despite your intentions, being called a faggot by you should be taken as a badge of honor.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Hannity's Swift Boat
Thanks to Bob Geiger for catching this, I never watch Faux News. Sean Hannity got his knickers in a knot over Sen Kerry wanting to know what Sam Fox thought he was doing donating to a 527 that Sam considers evil. I'm pretty sure we all have an idea what he thought he was doing, but he's clueless. I don't know, even Belgium could use an ambassador who knew what he meant to do. But Hannity is not happy so he had John (swiftboat) O'Neill on,
SH: "John, first of all, your reaction to the overreaction and this real bitterness of Senator Kerry?"
(really?)
J O'N : "Sean, he just won't let it go. You know, he spent 37 years obsessed with three-and-a-half months in Vietnam. Everybody else went about their business, had jobs, you know, did other things...."
(we know how that Kerry guy laid up feeling sorry for himself and just disappeared...)
SH: "Well, I want to ask you this, because you talk about the politics of personal destruction. Clearly, you're the victim of this here."
(yep, he was sought out by martians while hiding in a basement)
SH: "John Kerry smeared the good character, the good name of Vietnam vets like yourself, and he lied about them, and he made accusations that they were murderers, and that they were terrorizing people, and cutting off head and arms and limbs, et cetera."
(it is a matter of record actually and sadly, but then Sean listens to the echo in his head)
SH: "...he now is using his position, or misusing his position, to take revenge. Is that what you saw in this?"
(I'll be darned if I saw revenge, too bad that was never on the campaign trail)
J O'N: " Exactly" (there's more about how many people donated, but this is the answer given in all detail)
SH: "...really, really important, if we're going to get to the bottom of whether or not Kerry is allowed to use or misuse his position here."
(huh?)
Alan Colmes: (disagrees)
SH: "I don't know if George Bush would have won re-election but for you guys telling the truth. And as far as I'm concerned, you're all heroes. John O'Neill, you're a great American."
(gack)
I couldn't really put it all up, I have more respect for my readers than that. There's something so Mad Hatter Orwellian about Hannity that leave me so reality deprived after I've heard or read him that I'm unsure if the Earth is still in its orbit. I really don't mind that people don't agree with things I think, but when I'm not sure we're in the same universe something is amiss.
I suppose that what I don't understand is how the "other side" is served by this kind of nonsense. It makes as much sense as a little kid sticking his fingers in his ears and yelling, "noooo!" I've seen the same kind of nastiness occasionally by lefties, but it seems to be a right wing trait. Could it be that all news into the White House is run through this same filter? If they're getting their news and opinion from the Hannitys then maybe it's understandable that they're so screwed up.
SH: "John, first of all, your reaction to the overreaction and this real bitterness of Senator Kerry?"
(really?)
J O'N : "Sean, he just won't let it go. You know, he spent 37 years obsessed with three-and-a-half months in Vietnam. Everybody else went about their business, had jobs, you know, did other things...."
(we know how that Kerry guy laid up feeling sorry for himself and just disappeared...)
SH: "Well, I want to ask you this, because you talk about the politics of personal destruction. Clearly, you're the victim of this here."
(yep, he was sought out by martians while hiding in a basement)
SH: "John Kerry smeared the good character, the good name of Vietnam vets like yourself, and he lied about them, and he made accusations that they were murderers, and that they were terrorizing people, and cutting off head and arms and limbs, et cetera."
(it is a matter of record actually and sadly, but then Sean listens to the echo in his head)
SH: "...he now is using his position, or misusing his position, to take revenge. Is that what you saw in this?"
(I'll be darned if I saw revenge, too bad that was never on the campaign trail)
J O'N: " Exactly" (there's more about how many people donated, but this is the answer given in all detail)
SH: "...really, really important, if we're going to get to the bottom of whether or not Kerry is allowed to use or misuse his position here."
(huh?)
Alan Colmes: (disagrees)
SH: "I don't know if George Bush would have won re-election but for you guys telling the truth. And as far as I'm concerned, you're all heroes. John O'Neill, you're a great American."
(gack)
I couldn't really put it all up, I have more respect for my readers than that. There's something so Mad Hatter Orwellian about Hannity that leave me so reality deprived after I've heard or read him that I'm unsure if the Earth is still in its orbit. I really don't mind that people don't agree with things I think, but when I'm not sure we're in the same universe something is amiss.
I suppose that what I don't understand is how the "other side" is served by this kind of nonsense. It makes as much sense as a little kid sticking his fingers in his ears and yelling, "noooo!" I've seen the same kind of nastiness occasionally by lefties, but it seems to be a right wing trait. Could it be that all news into the White House is run through this same filter? If they're getting their news and opinion from the Hannitys then maybe it's understandable that they're so screwed up.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
"Guest" Workers
More like indentured servants if the NYT has its facts in order. Here's the scam, recruiters charge people in foreign countries large sums to get temporary work in the US. After these workers get to the US they suddenly find that 3 years of work is really 3 months or none at all. And where there is work the conditions are abominable. These workers may not like the way they're being treated, but once their erstwhile employer has their passport and they have no money, they're kind of screwed. (not to mention being on the wrong side of a large ocean)
It doesn't take a heck of a lot of brains to see how this could happen, in fact it wouldn't take a heck of a lot of brains to see it coming before setting this system up. What you have to remember is this is work that Americans won't do (cough). While that is the rationale, the actual case is that it is work Americans won't do for that kind of money. Think about this for a second, if they are going to pay to import workers from Thailand, half way around the world, and send them back and still pay them here, there's a lot of money on the table. Unless, of course, there's some serious cheating going on.
Just exactly how brain dead do you have to be to not have a problem with THE WEALTHIEST NATION ON EARTH unable to pay its own people to PICK CUCUMBERS!!!??
In the morning I will go out in the snow and probably mud and start putting together the sticks on a new house. I'll spend a few days mucking around with my crew laid off because I can't afford to pay them for the messing about that it will take and it would mess up their UE checks late in a work week/benefit week. I'll do alright from the house, they'll do...ok if somebody else in their household makes up for what their wages are. Alright for me is skidding around the edge of disaster on a consistent basis, the guys are just teetering on that edge. This is so wrong on so many levels I don't have time to write it - or you to read it.
We keep sending our jobs overseas and giving tax breaks for doing it, our manufacturing, our tech work, and for pete's sake when was the last time you got a cold call from a Sam whose real name was Sam and not Jamilwabberjonkey. Do you have any idea how bad cold calling in this country paid? The jobs we don't send overseas (outsource) we insource. I'm not trying to kick anybody because of where they come from, but I'm real tired of watching the really fat cats of this country get fatter and sell out the workers of this country. There is actual unemployment in this country and then there is the segment that is no longer counted and then there's the segment that isn't about to go out into a job market that will just starve them. I'm not talking about lazy no good lay about drug dealing pimping wastes of skin, I'm talking about the folks that take one look at what they can realistically expect to earn and decide to stay home because it's ridiculous to go do it for that kind of money. Yes, we could do the good Republican thing and yank the safety net out from under them and say, "work or starve," so they'd go work and starve. What are you going to get from a Catch 22 scenario? A Yossarian solution, take your clothes off and quit.
Do I have a good answer? No. I have a partial answer, take away all the abilities to game the damn employment system, no guest workers, no illegal hires, a real wage bottom - tied to a lower "in school minimum." Oh yes, no games, full time students only. Get caught outside the rules, fines and jail time to make a hardened criminal sweat. The labor market will force wages up, it does not do so now because it is not a market, it is seriously gamed by the damn plutocrats. Just to make sure things are getting paid for fairly, a tax code that doesn't favor the plutocrats. Unless you're a tax accountant or use one, you have no idea how favored they are. By the way, if you happen to be illegally working, you can go home and we'll see if we can't work out a way to bring you in first, legally, and as needed. (as an alternative - see illegal employers)
Sound draconian? I'll tell you what's draconian, the life of trying to make it on the scraps off the table - in the wealthiest nation in the world.
It doesn't take a heck of a lot of brains to see how this could happen, in fact it wouldn't take a heck of a lot of brains to see it coming before setting this system up. What you have to remember is this is work that Americans won't do (cough). While that is the rationale, the actual case is that it is work Americans won't do for that kind of money. Think about this for a second, if they are going to pay to import workers from Thailand, half way around the world, and send them back and still pay them here, there's a lot of money on the table. Unless, of course, there's some serious cheating going on.
Just exactly how brain dead do you have to be to not have a problem with THE WEALTHIEST NATION ON EARTH unable to pay its own people to PICK CUCUMBERS!!!??
In the morning I will go out in the snow and probably mud and start putting together the sticks on a new house. I'll spend a few days mucking around with my crew laid off because I can't afford to pay them for the messing about that it will take and it would mess up their UE checks late in a work week/benefit week. I'll do alright from the house, they'll do...ok if somebody else in their household makes up for what their wages are. Alright for me is skidding around the edge of disaster on a consistent basis, the guys are just teetering on that edge. This is so wrong on so many levels I don't have time to write it - or you to read it.
We keep sending our jobs overseas and giving tax breaks for doing it, our manufacturing, our tech work, and for pete's sake when was the last time you got a cold call from a Sam whose real name was Sam and not Jamilwabberjonkey. Do you have any idea how bad cold calling in this country paid? The jobs we don't send overseas (outsource) we insource. I'm not trying to kick anybody because of where they come from, but I'm real tired of watching the really fat cats of this country get fatter and sell out the workers of this country. There is actual unemployment in this country and then there is the segment that is no longer counted and then there's the segment that isn't about to go out into a job market that will just starve them. I'm not talking about lazy no good lay about drug dealing pimping wastes of skin, I'm talking about the folks that take one look at what they can realistically expect to earn and decide to stay home because it's ridiculous to go do it for that kind of money. Yes, we could do the good Republican thing and yank the safety net out from under them and say, "work or starve," so they'd go work and starve. What are you going to get from a Catch 22 scenario? A Yossarian solution, take your clothes off and quit.
Do I have a good answer? No. I have a partial answer, take away all the abilities to game the damn employment system, no guest workers, no illegal hires, a real wage bottom - tied to a lower "in school minimum." Oh yes, no games, full time students only. Get caught outside the rules, fines and jail time to make a hardened criminal sweat. The labor market will force wages up, it does not do so now because it is not a market, it is seriously gamed by the damn plutocrats. Just to make sure things are getting paid for fairly, a tax code that doesn't favor the plutocrats. Unless you're a tax accountant or use one, you have no idea how favored they are. By the way, if you happen to be illegally working, you can go home and we'll see if we can't work out a way to bring you in first, legally, and as needed. (as an alternative - see illegal employers)
Sound draconian? I'll tell you what's draconian, the life of trying to make it on the scraps off the table - in the wealthiest nation in the world.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Dr Rice - Quack PoliSci
Finally someone has had the nerve to call-out Condi. Now there are things that require either stupidity or lying if you have a PhD in PoliSci. You see, recent history is a part of the curriculum because you cannot understand politics if you do not understand the events of the time. (I typed this last very slowly in case she's reading it) Strangely enough it was Keith Olberman who called BS.
Just to back up in time, shortly after Bhagdad fell and insurgents started killing people and the bodies were piling up pretty fast, the good Doctor likened them to the Wolfenstein in post-war Germany. These dead enders are officially credited with 32 killings, maybe more, maybe less since gangland killings were also going on - black market gangs. At that time there were several hundred dead in Iraq and no sign of a slow down. I don't have a PhD and I knew about it, but she said it. I bring this up because these folk like to bring up Hitler and WWII and say stuff that putting its best face on it is wrong. There's been talk of appeasers, of Churchillian Bush, of just about any appeal to that war imaginable in the face of the Iraq debacle. And they're back at it again in the most ignorant fashion possible.
Olberman:
'If Congress were now to revise the Iraq authorization, she said, out loud, with an adult present, "…It would be like saying that after Adolf Hitler was overthrown, we needed to change then, the resolution that allowed the United States to do that, so that we could deal with creating a stable environment in Europe after he was overthrown." '
***
'Invoking the German dictator who subjugated Europe; who tried to exterminate the Jews; who sought to overtake the world — is not just in the poorest of taste but in its hyperbole, it insults not merely the victims of the Third Reich, but those in this country who fought it. And defeated it.
Saddam Hussein was not Adolf Hitler.
And George W. Bush is not Franklin D. Roosevelt — nor Dwight D. Eisenhower.
He isn't even George H.W. Bush, who fought in that war.'
***
' "The resolution that allowed the United States to" overthrow Hitler?
On the 11th of December, 1941, at 8 o'clock in the morning, two of Hitler's diplomats walked up to the State Department — your office, Secretary Rice — and ninety minutes later they were handing a declaration of war to the Chief of the Department's European Division. The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor four days earlier and the Germans simply piled on.'
***
'If you want to compare what we did to Hitler and in Germany, to what we did to Saddam and in Iraq, I'm afraid you're going to have to buy the whole analogy.
We were an occupying force in Germany, Dr. Rice, and by your logic, we're now an occupying force in Iraq.'
***
'But then there's this part about changing "the resolution" about Iraq, that it would be as ridiculous in the Secretary's eyes, as saying that after Hitler was defeated, we needed to go back to Congress to "deal with creating a stable environment in Europe after he was overthrown."
Oh, good grief, Secretary Rice, that's exactly what we did do!
We went back to Congress to deal with creating a stable environment in Europe after Hitler was overthrown!
It was called the Marshall Plan.'
***
'Twelve billion, 400 thousand dollars to stabilize all of Europe economically — to keep the next enemies of freedom, the Russians, out, and democracy, in!
And how do you suppose that happened? The President of the United States went back to Congress, and asked it for a new authorization, and for the money.
And do you have any idea, Madame Secretary, who opposed him when he did that?
The Republicans!'
I've cut Keith's admirable prose to pieces for this little exercise, the logic is still there but the elegance is gone. If you'd like the whole thing go over to MSNBC and get it.
The level of intellectual dishonesty needed to say this crap is astonishing. If it were coming from one of the right wing nutblogs it would just be pathetic, but this is the Secretary of State of the USA and supposedly one with a doctorate in political science. It must have specialized in Orwellian politics. So far in this country, history is not in the hands of the government, knowledge will take them down, knowledge and nerve.
According to KOS, the history they do have in their hands is disappearing, Cheney's interviews from 2004 forward are going away - you know "last throws," that kind of stuff is g o n e... These people have been given so much leash with their framing, spinning, lying, defaming, ... that they have lost all sense of proportion, all recognition that they can be caught and kicked in the teeth for it. They only get away with what we tolerate, don't.
Just to back up in time, shortly after Bhagdad fell and insurgents started killing people and the bodies were piling up pretty fast, the good Doctor likened them to the Wolfenstein in post-war Germany. These dead enders are officially credited with 32 killings, maybe more, maybe less since gangland killings were also going on - black market gangs. At that time there were several hundred dead in Iraq and no sign of a slow down. I don't have a PhD and I knew about it, but she said it. I bring this up because these folk like to bring up Hitler and WWII and say stuff that putting its best face on it is wrong. There's been talk of appeasers, of Churchillian Bush, of just about any appeal to that war imaginable in the face of the Iraq debacle. And they're back at it again in the most ignorant fashion possible.
Olberman:
'If Congress were now to revise the Iraq authorization, she said, out loud, with an adult present, "…It would be like saying that after Adolf Hitler was overthrown, we needed to change then, the resolution that allowed the United States to do that, so that we could deal with creating a stable environment in Europe after he was overthrown." '
***
'Invoking the German dictator who subjugated Europe; who tried to exterminate the Jews; who sought to overtake the world — is not just in the poorest of taste but in its hyperbole, it insults not merely the victims of the Third Reich, but those in this country who fought it. And defeated it.
Saddam Hussein was not Adolf Hitler.
And George W. Bush is not Franklin D. Roosevelt — nor Dwight D. Eisenhower.
He isn't even George H.W. Bush, who fought in that war.'
***
' "The resolution that allowed the United States to" overthrow Hitler?
On the 11th of December, 1941, at 8 o'clock in the morning, two of Hitler's diplomats walked up to the State Department — your office, Secretary Rice — and ninety minutes later they were handing a declaration of war to the Chief of the Department's European Division. The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor four days earlier and the Germans simply piled on.'
***
'If you want to compare what we did to Hitler and in Germany, to what we did to Saddam and in Iraq, I'm afraid you're going to have to buy the whole analogy.
We were an occupying force in Germany, Dr. Rice, and by your logic, we're now an occupying force in Iraq.'
***
'But then there's this part about changing "the resolution" about Iraq, that it would be as ridiculous in the Secretary's eyes, as saying that after Hitler was defeated, we needed to go back to Congress to "deal with creating a stable environment in Europe after he was overthrown."
Oh, good grief, Secretary Rice, that's exactly what we did do!
We went back to Congress to deal with creating a stable environment in Europe after Hitler was overthrown!
It was called the Marshall Plan.'
***
'Twelve billion, 400 thousand dollars to stabilize all of Europe economically — to keep the next enemies of freedom, the Russians, out, and democracy, in!
And how do you suppose that happened? The President of the United States went back to Congress, and asked it for a new authorization, and for the money.
And do you have any idea, Madame Secretary, who opposed him when he did that?
The Republicans!'
I've cut Keith's admirable prose to pieces for this little exercise, the logic is still there but the elegance is gone. If you'd like the whole thing go over to MSNBC and get it.
The level of intellectual dishonesty needed to say this crap is astonishing. If it were coming from one of the right wing nutblogs it would just be pathetic, but this is the Secretary of State of the USA and supposedly one with a doctorate in political science. It must have specialized in Orwellian politics. So far in this country, history is not in the hands of the government, knowledge will take them down, knowledge and nerve.
According to KOS, the history they do have in their hands is disappearing, Cheney's interviews from 2004 forward are going away - you know "last throws," that kind of stuff is g o n e... These people have been given so much leash with their framing, spinning, lying, defaming, ... that they have lost all sense of proportion, all recognition that they can be caught and kicked in the teeth for it. They only get away with what we tolerate, don't.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Gun Violence
In a comment in the Zumbo article I stated that I wanted to move a discussion about gun violence to another forum and then emailed my thoughts. It was rightfully pointed out to me that much of these discussions is carried on out of sight. So I've put it up. I thought this format leads to long delays and missed communications, particularly since I'm ordinarily unavailable most of the day. We'll try it.
Regarding gun violence, that’s not what we’re actually talking about, we’re talking about violence committed with a deadly weapon, violence by a human being. You can pass all the laws in the world and not affect a gun; it will just lay there doing nothing. The problem is that people pick things up and do things to other people, guns, knives, bats, chains, hammers, etc and that’s what needs to be addressed. We will lock up dopers for long terms and kick loose people who’ve used weapons, this is ridiculous. I have no sense of humor about people who commit crimes with weapons, remember this, I shoot and I hunt; I do postmortems (field dressing and butchering) on large animals killed with gun shots. I know exactly what exploded lungs, shot off limbs, etc look like; it’s no joke. I’m an advocate of long hard time for crimes of that nature, murder or not. We let it go, and then we blame a thing for what we do. What do we tell the criminal world when it’s worse to get caught dealing than to shoot somebody? The law is an idiot.
There is not a single statistic that makes gun owning more dangerous than owning a swimming pool, doctors will kill more people than guns this year (not just die on them, kill them). (Docs against guns got real quiet after those numbers came out) We talk about a thing, we don’t do education, we don’t do actual have a real job, we don’t do punishment, and we don’t do rehabilitation. We don’t do shit about people. Take away all guns and drive-bys will get pretty rare, but up close and personal stuff, nope. Knives are wickedly fast and lethal, and so are a number of other things. It takes time and premeditation to use a gun in a crime, you have to get one and then you have to use it, it’s not a case of just snapping – that involves a beating almost always.
There’s nothing to say people can’t disagree about things, and treat each other with respect. But it pays to remember that gun owners aren’t trying to do something to other people, gun banners are. I can take the most hardcore staunch 2nd A stance and not be trying to do anything to anyone, the reverse cannot be said about even “reasonable” people. What does this current government think is dangerous? The 1st Amendment is dangerous to your security, that’s exactly the same argument broached regarding the 2nd. The government doesn’t get to piss around with the BOR, it’s not their rights, and we have them despite the government. Any other road is counter to the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of the Constitution and those guys understood exactly what it means. They’d just fought a war, they knew how dangerous to government these ideas are, and that’s what they wanted. They fought a bloody war against their natural government, the government they’d known all their lives and for generations and had every reason to believe was their own and they set our government up to be overthrown. That’s the meaning of the BOR, we get to have our freedom despite our government, we can preach, write, yell, get together, and finally shoot them if they don’t get it. It’s a dangerous set up. It’s supposed to be dangerous, just getting to shoot off your mouth is a dangerous idea, back it up with all the rest and you’ve got a hell of a deal.
Safety is a goddamn illusion, here’s how I’m so sure. I was 16 and to take my DL test on Monday, Sunday I’d asked my Dad to let me drive the family home from our boat, he thought about it, said another time, and we set off on our 2 ½ hr drive. Fifteen minutes from home a Semi crossed the center line and hit us, 60 mph each. I was sitting behind the driver’s seat, asleep, with my head against the headliner. For some reason I woke and saw the truck jump the line, it hit the car behind the front wheel well and started coming in, I’d moved my head about 6 inches and the bumper missed it by about an inch. I ate all kinds of glass and impact and body crush. I was minding my own business, asleep, my Dad was driving perfectly reasonably, so was the trucker, he had a mechanical failure at just the right moment to get us. Everybody did everything right and I got to see death from 1 inch, because I woke up, still asleep – dead. If I’d been driving we wouldn’t have been there. It’s not safe, no matter what, it isn’t. Yes you can invite bad things, but you don’t have to and it’s still risky business. People refuse to admit it.
There are criminals in the world, they will be criminal, they won’t care about laws, they’ll do what they want to and find ways to do it. There are guns all over NYNY in the hands of criminals; hell the city licenses criminals (money and influence talks). The who doesn’t have guns is law abiding citizens. That’s how it works; if you don’t care or have money and power you’ll have a gun. Same thing happens in DC.
The government and its enablers will prey on fear and insecurity to have their way with you. I don’t care if it is a D or R Admin, the risk remains. Power and influence are what they are and some are susceptible to it, always have been and always will be. Never ever give unmitigated power to another entity.
*Ok, if you've got something to say please do. But don't troll, you'll waste your time because I'll trash it. Please give yourself a name or handle, Anyoldmouse gets tough after a couple.*
Regarding gun violence, that’s not what we’re actually talking about, we’re talking about violence committed with a deadly weapon, violence by a human being. You can pass all the laws in the world and not affect a gun; it will just lay there doing nothing. The problem is that people pick things up and do things to other people, guns, knives, bats, chains, hammers, etc and that’s what needs to be addressed. We will lock up dopers for long terms and kick loose people who’ve used weapons, this is ridiculous. I have no sense of humor about people who commit crimes with weapons, remember this, I shoot and I hunt; I do postmortems (field dressing and butchering) on large animals killed with gun shots. I know exactly what exploded lungs, shot off limbs, etc look like; it’s no joke. I’m an advocate of long hard time for crimes of that nature, murder or not. We let it go, and then we blame a thing for what we do. What do we tell the criminal world when it’s worse to get caught dealing than to shoot somebody? The law is an idiot.
There is not a single statistic that makes gun owning more dangerous than owning a swimming pool, doctors will kill more people than guns this year (not just die on them, kill them). (Docs against guns got real quiet after those numbers came out) We talk about a thing, we don’t do education, we don’t do actual have a real job, we don’t do punishment, and we don’t do rehabilitation. We don’t do shit about people. Take away all guns and drive-bys will get pretty rare, but up close and personal stuff, nope. Knives are wickedly fast and lethal, and so are a number of other things. It takes time and premeditation to use a gun in a crime, you have to get one and then you have to use it, it’s not a case of just snapping – that involves a beating almost always.
There’s nothing to say people can’t disagree about things, and treat each other with respect. But it pays to remember that gun owners aren’t trying to do something to other people, gun banners are. I can take the most hardcore staunch 2nd A stance and not be trying to do anything to anyone, the reverse cannot be said about even “reasonable” people. What does this current government think is dangerous? The 1st Amendment is dangerous to your security, that’s exactly the same argument broached regarding the 2nd. The government doesn’t get to piss around with the BOR, it’s not their rights, and we have them despite the government. Any other road is counter to the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of the Constitution and those guys understood exactly what it means. They’d just fought a war, they knew how dangerous to government these ideas are, and that’s what they wanted. They fought a bloody war against their natural government, the government they’d known all their lives and for generations and had every reason to believe was their own and they set our government up to be overthrown. That’s the meaning of the BOR, we get to have our freedom despite our government, we can preach, write, yell, get together, and finally shoot them if they don’t get it. It’s a dangerous set up. It’s supposed to be dangerous, just getting to shoot off your mouth is a dangerous idea, back it up with all the rest and you’ve got a hell of a deal.
Safety is a goddamn illusion, here’s how I’m so sure. I was 16 and to take my DL test on Monday, Sunday I’d asked my Dad to let me drive the family home from our boat, he thought about it, said another time, and we set off on our 2 ½ hr drive. Fifteen minutes from home a Semi crossed the center line and hit us, 60 mph each. I was sitting behind the driver’s seat, asleep, with my head against the headliner. For some reason I woke and saw the truck jump the line, it hit the car behind the front wheel well and started coming in, I’d moved my head about 6 inches and the bumper missed it by about an inch. I ate all kinds of glass and impact and body crush. I was minding my own business, asleep, my Dad was driving perfectly reasonably, so was the trucker, he had a mechanical failure at just the right moment to get us. Everybody did everything right and I got to see death from 1 inch, because I woke up, still asleep – dead. If I’d been driving we wouldn’t have been there. It’s not safe, no matter what, it isn’t. Yes you can invite bad things, but you don’t have to and it’s still risky business. People refuse to admit it.
There are criminals in the world, they will be criminal, they won’t care about laws, they’ll do what they want to and find ways to do it. There are guns all over NYNY in the hands of criminals; hell the city licenses criminals (money and influence talks). The who doesn’t have guns is law abiding citizens. That’s how it works; if you don’t care or have money and power you’ll have a gun. Same thing happens in DC.
The government and its enablers will prey on fear and insecurity to have their way with you. I don’t care if it is a D or R Admin, the risk remains. Power and influence are what they are and some are susceptible to it, always have been and always will be. Never ever give unmitigated power to another entity.
*Ok, if you've got something to say please do. But don't troll, you'll waste your time because I'll trash it. Please give yourself a name or handle, Anyoldmouse gets tough after a couple.*
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Zumbo, Details Count
I'm going to steal quoted material from Jeff Alworthy in order to disagree with him about a Blue Oregon post . Have no fear, I think Jeff is one of the better writers in blogging and I can usually follow how he got where he went, even when we disagree. This time, nope. If you think I don't respect Jeff, back up, he's one of the people who backed me politically, even with some disagreements. I admire how he got there and appreciate it.
Zumbo wrote in part this regarding "assault weapons":
"Sorry, folks, in my humble opinion, these things have no place in hunting. We don't need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them, which is an obvious concern. I've always been comfortable with the statement that hunters don't use assault rifles. We've always been proud of our "sporting firearms."
This really has me concerned. As hunters, we don't need the image of walking around the woods carrying one of these weapons. To most of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying thing. Let's divorce ourselves from them. I say game departments should ban them from the prairies and woods."
I'm sorry about you losing your jobs for this, but really, you deserved to. Many jobs have serious to deadly consequences of actions this stupid. I beat nails for a living, if I screwed up this bad a building would fall down. There is so much wrong with this piece of nonsense that it's not just a matter of a slip of the tongue, this is basic.
First:
An assault weapon is a military short rifle capable of large capacity and full automatic fire. These things aren't generally available, not since the 1930s. This is a machine gun.
Second:
The things Zumbo is referring to are "assault rifles" in appearance and ammunition capacity. They are NOT assault rifles, they are semi-automatic rifles. Semi-automatic refers to the fact that the weapon auto-loads, each firing loads another round in firing position.
Third:
Most states have hunting regulations regarding ammunition capacity, making an "assault rifle" no different than any other semi-automatic except in appearance. Well, too small a round and too little power for some hunting purposes, but that's an individual decision.
Fourth:
The Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting other than tangential references to its utility in hunting. It's not about hunting, it's not about bad guys in your living room, it's about your right to be armed for the security of a free state. Your state of freedom, not the US or Oregon, or ... The other stuff follows in those heels.
Now, if you think getting fired is overkill, let's take a real look at this. This writer stuck out in front of people the idea that what a gun looks like has some bearing on its legitimacy. Now that would be laughable except that the Congress of the US banned guns on that basis, California did so and then confiscated them. NYNY and DC have blatantly unfair and unevenly enforced rules regarding firearms. This guy knows all this and still handed to the opponents of the 2nd Amendment a gift. He knows what the game is, he knows who the players are, and he knows what the stakes are; then he chose to write this. Do you want me to build your house like this? Would you care if I put the roof on top like everybody else does? What does the appearance of terrorist weapons have to do with anything at all? Looks is everything? So a shiny paint job on a car makes it faster? Or it means it looks good while it can't get out of the driveway?
Most hunting rifles are deadlier than "assault rifles." Sorry, it's a fact. Very little body armour will stand up to a 30-06 round much less some of the other stuff used for hunting. I have no doubt that Zumbo owns and shoots stuff that would make kindling out of advanced body armour, I certainly do.
Yep, I'm a gun totin' drag racin' Leftie and I think the NRA is stupidly right wing when it should be concentrating on the 2nd, gun safety, and shooting issues, but on this one, there is no middle ground. And yes, I'm a long time NRA member. There is not one piece of the Bill of Rights that the people espousing the middle ground would tolerate getting the abuse the 2nd gets.
The Democrats have gotten back from the woods (a little) which shows that Parties can recover, Rights on the other hand do not. People know this, they will vote against their own economic and social interests for this reason. The Religious Right is a very apt example of people voting against their own economic interests, almost completely against. I'm not willing to watch the Democrats sacrifice the welfare of this nation over something this ridiculous and they'll get put back into the woods if they go there. Pay attention to details.
Zumbo wrote in part this regarding "assault weapons":
"Sorry, folks, in my humble opinion, these things have no place in hunting. We don't need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them, which is an obvious concern. I've always been comfortable with the statement that hunters don't use assault rifles. We've always been proud of our "sporting firearms."
This really has me concerned. As hunters, we don't need the image of walking around the woods carrying one of these weapons. To most of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying thing. Let's divorce ourselves from them. I say game departments should ban them from the prairies and woods."
I'm sorry about you losing your jobs for this, but really, you deserved to. Many jobs have serious to deadly consequences of actions this stupid. I beat nails for a living, if I screwed up this bad a building would fall down. There is so much wrong with this piece of nonsense that it's not just a matter of a slip of the tongue, this is basic.
First:
An assault weapon is a military short rifle capable of large capacity and full automatic fire. These things aren't generally available, not since the 1930s. This is a machine gun.
Second:
The things Zumbo is referring to are "assault rifles" in appearance and ammunition capacity. They are NOT assault rifles, they are semi-automatic rifles. Semi-automatic refers to the fact that the weapon auto-loads, each firing loads another round in firing position.
Third:
Most states have hunting regulations regarding ammunition capacity, making an "assault rifle" no different than any other semi-automatic except in appearance. Well, too small a round and too little power for some hunting purposes, but that's an individual decision.
Fourth:
The Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting other than tangential references to its utility in hunting. It's not about hunting, it's not about bad guys in your living room, it's about your right to be armed for the security of a free state. Your state of freedom, not the US or Oregon, or ... The other stuff follows in those heels.
Now, if you think getting fired is overkill, let's take a real look at this. This writer stuck out in front of people the idea that what a gun looks like has some bearing on its legitimacy. Now that would be laughable except that the Congress of the US banned guns on that basis, California did so and then confiscated them. NYNY and DC have blatantly unfair and unevenly enforced rules regarding firearms. This guy knows all this and still handed to the opponents of the 2nd Amendment a gift. He knows what the game is, he knows who the players are, and he knows what the stakes are; then he chose to write this. Do you want me to build your house like this? Would you care if I put the roof on top like everybody else does? What does the appearance of terrorist weapons have to do with anything at all? Looks is everything? So a shiny paint job on a car makes it faster? Or it means it looks good while it can't get out of the driveway?
Most hunting rifles are deadlier than "assault rifles." Sorry, it's a fact. Very little body armour will stand up to a 30-06 round much less some of the other stuff used for hunting. I have no doubt that Zumbo owns and shoots stuff that would make kindling out of advanced body armour, I certainly do.
Yep, I'm a gun totin' drag racin' Leftie and I think the NRA is stupidly right wing when it should be concentrating on the 2nd, gun safety, and shooting issues, but on this one, there is no middle ground. And yes, I'm a long time NRA member. There is not one piece of the Bill of Rights that the people espousing the middle ground would tolerate getting the abuse the 2nd gets.
The Democrats have gotten back from the woods (a little) which shows that Parties can recover, Rights on the other hand do not. People know this, they will vote against their own economic and social interests for this reason. The Religious Right is a very apt example of people voting against their own economic interests, almost completely against. I'm not willing to watch the Democrats sacrifice the welfare of this nation over something this ridiculous and they'll get put back into the woods if they go there. Pay attention to details.
This Is Impressive...ly Stupid
Evidently one of Al Sharpton's ancestors was owned by an ancestor of Strom Thurman. His great grandfather was owned a woman whose grandfather was Strom's great, great grandfather.
A guy 3 generations removed from somebody whose relationship with that person is 5 generations removed from the other guy and evidently not even in a straight line. That only puts 26 different lines of people between them, holy mackerel at that division a large portion of 300million people could claim relations. So what?
Let's stop and think for a minute, virtually the entire world is related to somebody who was a slave at some time to somebody. Stupid.
A guy 3 generations removed from somebody whose relationship with that person is 5 generations removed from the other guy and evidently not even in a straight line. That only puts 26 different lines of people between them, holy mackerel at that division a large portion of 300million people could claim relations. So what?
Let's stop and think for a minute, virtually the entire world is related to somebody who was a slave at some time to somebody. Stupid.
And Now, Secondary Virginity
When you're really stuck because your stuff isn't working you set up a do-over. Surely you remember this as a kid, three strikes and I'm not out because I suck - worked well then, didn't it. Grover Norquist (are you surprised) brought this one to the table at the secretive Council for National Policy where the Christian Right was struggling to find a candidate. Their problem is that all the available ones had unsatisfactory stands when they ran previously and needed moderate voters. Apparently nobody has the Right stuff without Grover's "Secondary Virginity," where a high schooler gets to be be a virgin again if they say, "oops." I guess that since I had no desire to retain my virginity in high school I find this idea odd.
Here's the deal in basic terms, the candidate gets to say, "I like to screw," when it's in their benefit, when it's not, "I don't like to screw and you don't get to, either." Now in order to perform these kinds of gymnastics there must be something driving it, Paul Wyerich, Chairman of the Free Congress Foundation put it this way, “There is great anxiety, there is no outstanding conservative, and they are all looking for that.” If the candidates didn't speak for pro-choice or gay tolerance they violated other terms of the deal, like raised taxes, supported BushCo immigration amnesty, opposed the Plutocratic Freetrade, or just don't have any money. These people's problem is that they cannot count. They hang around each other in their tight little club and think they are a voting power bloc. Yes, they can raise money and yes for some reason the media caters to to them, but that's not votes.
I'm a left wing Democrat, I have no hope that the registered Democrats and Independents are going to go for my stuff whole cloth, but I can have hopes of pushing them towards my point of view if I am reasonable and persuasive. I also can look at things from a wider perspective than a narrow one size fits all dicta. The thing that works against these folks is their idea that their correct view must apply to all of us, their "morality" is exactly right in all cases. "Sacred" books have their problems in the real world and these people just cannot see it.
Their greatest fear is that the Republicans are going to go their own way, in fact James Dobson has made a point of mentioning that he voted third party rather than pull a lever for Bob Dole. I wish them much luck with threatening the Republicans, if they succeed they'll get their butts kicked most places and if they fail they will have alienated that Party. The Republicans may be headed for a small minority position until they learn the electoral lessons and if the Christian Right goes down the tubes, I won't much complain.
Here's the deal in basic terms, the candidate gets to say, "I like to screw," when it's in their benefit, when it's not, "I don't like to screw and you don't get to, either." Now in order to perform these kinds of gymnastics there must be something driving it, Paul Wyerich, Chairman of the Free Congress Foundation put it this way, “There is great anxiety, there is no outstanding conservative, and they are all looking for that.” If the candidates didn't speak for pro-choice or gay tolerance they violated other terms of the deal, like raised taxes, supported BushCo immigration amnesty, opposed the Plutocratic Freetrade, or just don't have any money. These people's problem is that they cannot count. They hang around each other in their tight little club and think they are a voting power bloc. Yes, they can raise money and yes for some reason the media caters to to them, but that's not votes.
I'm a left wing Democrat, I have no hope that the registered Democrats and Independents are going to go for my stuff whole cloth, but I can have hopes of pushing them towards my point of view if I am reasonable and persuasive. I also can look at things from a wider perspective than a narrow one size fits all dicta. The thing that works against these folks is their idea that their correct view must apply to all of us, their "morality" is exactly right in all cases. "Sacred" books have their problems in the real world and these people just cannot see it.
Their greatest fear is that the Republicans are going to go their own way, in fact James Dobson has made a point of mentioning that he voted third party rather than pull a lever for Bob Dole. I wish them much luck with threatening the Republicans, if they succeed they'll get their butts kicked most places and if they fail they will have alienated that Party. The Republicans may be headed for a small minority position until they learn the electoral lessons and if the Christian Right goes down the tubes, I won't much complain.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Readership Trends
Since you're here I thought you might be interested in your fellow readers. I'm not shocked, having tracked this over the last six months, but I thought you might be a little surprised.
Traffic is going up steadily each month, this far into February it has surpassed January, the previous best with 1050, by about 400. Blue Oregon drove an additional 80 visitors with a story link (by daily avg). This traffic is coming in from all around the US and the world. I discount the odd word searches that have nothing to do with this site when I evaluate source countries and states. There are some nations showing up for politics that are not "open" to the kind of stuff that goes on here, and they are direct hits - ie here deliberately. One article was linked by a blog in a country where that behavior would cost you freedom if not your life. I find it encouraging, not that these people are reading criticsm of our government, I don't care about that, but that they're getting a concrete example of what we have, here.
Some of you may wonder about the gun reviews, I like doing them. I like sharing them with the progressives (liberals, lefties) who like guns and the folks who like guns. I also have long believed that many guns are very nearly works of art - too bad I'm not a better photog. Cars are here for the same reasons. Here is something I don't believe I've shared with my readers, of my traffic entering by URL the breakdown goes like this: main blog & political articles 50%, guns 40%, various entries 10% - these tend to include old political, specialized, and oops sort of word searches. About 15% of the gun entries go on to politics and best I can tell have provided about 10% of regular readership of full blog from outside OR.
Some tendencies of mine cut down hits from searches, one is my titles. If I were to use the "principals" names in titles I'd get hit more often. I don't write news stories and I'm not trying for an A-list Blog, I like my titles. People get here how they do and that's cool. One reason the guns drive so many hits is that their specific titles place them up Google's list. That specificity can have odd results, my short review of Jon Swift places above his blog, I hope he appreciates the irony of being referenced by a reference to a fictional character's site.
Very early AM hits tend to be foreign nations, most of you regulars come at expected hours, 8-10AM, 12-1PM, 6-8 PM, 10 PM, I sincerely hope your bosses don't mind... OR leads the list by far, followed by CA, after that it gets pretty scattered FL, GA, (heavily guns) MA, ME, NY, IL, MI, MO. UK and CA are leading foreign, S Korea, India, Thailand, Germany follow, a couple very repressive countries, then Australia and Austria, New Zealand, Finland. Some more are pretty isolated hits and mostly word search countries. Universities and Educational Organizations are big hitters, the US House is a regular. Military hits are usually guns, a couple have bled over to politics.
My commenters are a really decent bunch, especially in comparison to some other sites. The couple trolls that were around have left. I'm a pretty fortunate blogger, I have a widely varied, intelligent, polite audience. That's saying a lot. Thanks, I hope this was of interest.
Traffic is going up steadily each month, this far into February it has surpassed January, the previous best with 1050, by about 400. Blue Oregon drove an additional 80 visitors with a story link (by daily avg). This traffic is coming in from all around the US and the world. I discount the odd word searches that have nothing to do with this site when I evaluate source countries and states. There are some nations showing up for politics that are not "open" to the kind of stuff that goes on here, and they are direct hits - ie here deliberately. One article was linked by a blog in a country where that behavior would cost you freedom if not your life. I find it encouraging, not that these people are reading criticsm of our government, I don't care about that, but that they're getting a concrete example of what we have, here.
Some of you may wonder about the gun reviews, I like doing them. I like sharing them with the progressives (liberals, lefties) who like guns and the folks who like guns. I also have long believed that many guns are very nearly works of art - too bad I'm not a better photog. Cars are here for the same reasons. Here is something I don't believe I've shared with my readers, of my traffic entering by URL the breakdown goes like this: main blog & political articles 50%, guns 40%, various entries 10% - these tend to include old political, specialized, and oops sort of word searches. About 15% of the gun entries go on to politics and best I can tell have provided about 10% of regular readership of full blog from outside OR.
Some tendencies of mine cut down hits from searches, one is my titles. If I were to use the "principals" names in titles I'd get hit more often. I don't write news stories and I'm not trying for an A-list Blog, I like my titles. People get here how they do and that's cool. One reason the guns drive so many hits is that their specific titles place them up Google's list. That specificity can have odd results, my short review of Jon Swift places above his blog, I hope he appreciates the irony of being referenced by a reference to a fictional character's site.
Very early AM hits tend to be foreign nations, most of you regulars come at expected hours, 8-10AM, 12-1PM, 6-8 PM, 10 PM, I sincerely hope your bosses don't mind... OR leads the list by far, followed by CA, after that it gets pretty scattered FL, GA, (heavily guns) MA, ME, NY, IL, MI, MO. UK and CA are leading foreign, S Korea, India, Thailand, Germany follow, a couple very repressive countries, then Australia and Austria, New Zealand, Finland. Some more are pretty isolated hits and mostly word search countries. Universities and Educational Organizations are big hitters, the US House is a regular. Military hits are usually guns, a couple have bled over to politics.
My commenters are a really decent bunch, especially in comparison to some other sites. The couple trolls that were around have left. I'm a pretty fortunate blogger, I have a widely varied, intelligent, polite audience. That's saying a lot. Thanks, I hope this was of interest.
I Suppose You Can Say This Stuff
...but it really might help if it had anything to do with anything. VP Dick Cheney was in Australia and apparently the change in magnetic field disrupted something in the part that controls his mouth.
"a remarkable achievement" describes the War in Iraq. I'm pretty sure quite a few Iraqis disagree and some Americans might disagree, in fact Speaker Pelosi's opposition would "validate the al-Qaida strategy."
Just to make sure nobody thought his eyesight was failing (other than shooting Texas lawyer as a quail) he noted, "You get some waves, and then you get some other waves. And that goes with living in a democracy..." I guess that one finger salute can count as a wave.
"a remarkable achievement" describes the War in Iraq. I'm pretty sure quite a few Iraqis disagree and some Americans might disagree, in fact Speaker Pelosi's opposition would "validate the al-Qaida strategy."
Just to make sure nobody thought his eyesight was failing (other than shooting Texas lawyer as a quail) he noted, "You get some waves, and then you get some other waves. And that goes with living in a democracy..." I guess that one finger salute can count as a wave.
Ruger No.1 Rifle in 45-70 Government
The Ruger No.1 is a falling block , under-lever, single shot rifle which follows some of the Farquharson design characteristics but contains features never previously found in rifles of this type. The No.1 buttstock is mortised onto the receiver with a bolt passing through the stock into the receiver. The forearm is attached to a heavy steel extension from the receiver. The hammer is concealed and retracted by the first opening motion of the lever and can never strike the firing pin unless the breech block is fully elevated. The swinging transfer block virtually locks the firing pin forward against gas pressure during firing.At the top rear of the receiver is a sliding ambidextrous safety which can only be moved to safe with the hammer cocked. Loading and unloading can be accomplished in the safe position.
This rifle loads from the breech, or rear of receiver and ejects rearward as well. Fast operation of the lever can throw hot brass onto the shooter, the standard ejector mechanism can be modified easily to only partially eject cartridges. Directions are included in the manual.
This is one of the strongest actions available in a rifle and has been known to handle outrageous
pressures. This is not a recommended policy. Within the safe operating pressures high performance loads can be accomplished, loading data for 400gr bullets show muzzle
velocities of 2100fps and 500 gr bullets at 1900 fps.
The 45-70 Government cartridge is the oldest rifle cartridge chambered in modern firearms. It is a straight taper rimmed cartridge and the bullet, although a 45 is a .458 diameter bullet vs the modern 45 Colt which is .451-.452. Commonly available bullets are 250, 300, 350,
400, and 500 grain. For comparison's sake typical 30-06 rounds are 150, 180, 200, and 220 grain. Loading data for the Ruger No.1 show muzzle velocities of 2100fps with 400 gr and 1900 with
500 gr. A typical 30-06 muzzle velocity is 2600 fps. This is an extremely powerful rifle and is capable of hunting anything that walks the earth. The cartridge and un-cased bullet shown are .458 Speer Jacketed Flat Nose 400 grain which were loaded for Model 1895 Marlin.With all that power comes significant recoil. This gun will hit the shooter quite hard and with big game loads is not for the faint of heart or small of stature.
Due to the relatively low speed of the rounds serious drop occurs over distance so the shooter must allow for an occurrence that is not common in smaller high velocity rounds. It is of very real importance to remember that rounds suitable for the Ruger No.1 are not suitable for other rifles chambered in 45-70 and serious care must be taken with vintage arms to not use rounds that even a Model 1895 Marlin is capable of using, that rifle is considerably stronger than the old Springfields.
From my first exposure to the 45-70 Govt, which was a Marlin Model 1895, I have wanted a Ruger No. 1 in 45-70. Today it arrived, the rifle you are seeing is unfired and anticipation is killing me - it is also not nice out today, mixed snow, rain and wind.
RIGHT CLICK PHOTOS FOR FULL SIZE
Update
This thing kicks like a mule, I ran some 400gr 1900 fps loads for my 1895 Marlin (57gr IMR4895) through it and am quite sure this thing is never getting the very nice scope rings, that came with it, attached. I will very soon begin a hunt for a nice peep sight and update when I have located something worthy of this firearm. At full load with 500gr I don't want anything near my face and the factory leaf sights are inadequate. This post is about a tie with the Ruger Vaquero post for top popularity. There's some good lefty politics on here as well, check out the main.
Regarding Ruger No1 peep sights.
Hot Rodded Loads
If You're Not Here, You Need To Know This
This is old news and of little import to most of my readers, but I've developed a following in some odd places which for good reasons I will not name.
In the body of work that composes this Blog you will find some heated complaints, some accusations, and some outright yelling (and some cool pictures). I get to do that. The reasons I get to be the way I am are right Here , the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. There are some concepts involved that are damn near completely missed, even by people in this country. It is of the utmost importance to understand that these documents are based on the Declaration of Independence and the concept that certain rights precede all forms of government, that government has no sway over them.
Many Americans have gotten so used to having these rights that they don't notice when they get messed about. Most Americans would create a real fight if they saw real evidence there was a problem happening with these. There is no really good way to understand Americans' relationship with their government without experiencing quite a bit of it, heck, it's not that easy for those of us really involved with it.
I hope that some day you will be able to exist in the same ways in regard to those freedoms that I do. I hope that on the way you remember that these apply to all, not just those who are "correct."
Good luck & thanks for stopping by,
Chuck
In the body of work that composes this Blog you will find some heated complaints, some accusations, and some outright yelling (and some cool pictures). I get to do that. The reasons I get to be the way I am are right Here , the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. There are some concepts involved that are damn near completely missed, even by people in this country. It is of the utmost importance to understand that these documents are based on the Declaration of Independence and the concept that certain rights precede all forms of government, that government has no sway over them.
Many Americans have gotten so used to having these rights that they don't notice when they get messed about. Most Americans would create a real fight if they saw real evidence there was a problem happening with these. There is no really good way to understand Americans' relationship with their government without experiencing quite a bit of it, heck, it's not that easy for those of us really involved with it.
I hope that some day you will be able to exist in the same ways in regard to those freedoms that I do. I hope that on the way you remember that these apply to all, not just those who are "correct."
Good luck & thanks for stopping by,
Chuck
So You Think Having Walden Is Bad?
(LINK REPAIRED)
I'd said irony and satire are dead, replaced by reality mocking itself, I can only laugh when I'm that right. Minnesota is a nice place, sure they've got B52 mosquitoes and Canadian Blackflies (I'm sure Canada appreciates that one) and other nuisances, but it is pretty and the folks are nice. I'm not too sure how this happened, but it did, and some Democrats have to take the fall. What happened is Michelle Bachman (R) MN. Some folks aren't too happy, Dump Bachman , and I'd tell you about it but I like my credibility.
When that site opens, I want you to put down the soda and swallow, carefully; make sure the floor is clear of sharp objects; and finally, if it's late and large snorting sounds would wake the kiddies, close your door.
Hey, I didn't make this up.
BTW: DFL means Democratic Farm Labor Party = Democratic Party of MN
I'd said irony and satire are dead, replaced by reality mocking itself, I can only laugh when I'm that right. Minnesota is a nice place, sure they've got B52 mosquitoes and Canadian Blackflies (I'm sure Canada appreciates that one) and other nuisances, but it is pretty and the folks are nice. I'm not too sure how this happened, but it did, and some Democrats have to take the fall. What happened is Michelle Bachman (R) MN. Some folks aren't too happy, Dump Bachman , and I'd tell you about it but I like my credibility.
When that site opens, I want you to put down the soda and swallow, carefully; make sure the floor is clear of sharp objects; and finally, if it's late and large snorting sounds would wake the kiddies, close your door.
Hey, I didn't make this up.
BTW: DFL means Democratic Farm Labor Party = Democratic Party of MN
Friday, February 23, 2007
DPO Chair Election
In other places and here I have set out my rationale for support. I'll do so again with a recommendation.
DPO is the activist arm of the Democratic Party, this is not the electorate except in a very narrow range, amounting to less than 1% of the registered Democrats in most places. This percentage is a reflection of who the membership is, these are the people who care deeply, deeply enough to attend monthly County meetings, work on candidates' behalf, donate money, and study issues. This is way outside the norm and places the membership outside the norm. We are a fractious lot, this is the expected outcome of dedicated, involved, and intelligent people. Agreement is achieved through hard work and an understanding of the players. This is in relation to County Parties, once you reach the level of State Central Committee Delegates you've gotten to the hardcore political junkies.
SCC Delegates must understand their Counties' positions, the functions of DPO Central Committee, and then be willing to make the financial commitment to travel and lodging. Along with this goes Committee memberships, Caucus memberships, informal caucuses, and general informal study groups. While the Executive Director takes care of day to day operations, the direction and functions of DPO are in the hands of the SCC headed by the Chair. The Chair's job is not just to set a tone, make public statements, and run a gavel at meetings, the Chair is the most influential voice inside DPO. It should never be assumed that all that goes on at DPO happens in meetings, there is a very great deal of personal interaction going on.
The Chair is responsible for keeping the Party unified and on a successful track, whatever momentary interests or passions come up. Due to the nature of the people who involve themselves in SCC things can get pretty sticky pretty quickly, or get stuck in a rut and get ignored. The Chair is the person who has to reach out to the right people at the right times in the right ways when these conditions occur. It requires some serious personal knowledge and real political skills to be able to do this. This is a real tough job with very real consequences, I may understand it but I sure wouldn't want it.
I believe we have a wonderful group of people interested in being Chair, the vision and personal quality of each is impeccable. There is that one thing that is of such importance that is held by one candidate, that is Meredith Wood-Smith's experience and DPO track record. Meredith knows the people, has worked to know the Counties, and has demonstrated her dedication and abilities within DPO. I have watched and listened closely at DPO and I know that Meredith listens - actually listens - and keeps an open mind, whether she is in agreement or not. Meredith has the capacity to bring together the elements that are in disagreement and achieve a consensus. She has visited the distant counties, talked to them, and listened to them. She has been to Baker County several times, and she is a welcome and popular visitor here.
The approaches Meredith has outlined on Blue Oregon are the things she's shown she cares about through the years. These are not new to this election, this is an ongoing commitment. There are people in this election who are my friends and I respect all of them so it is with more a little reticence that I endorse one over the others. I only make this endorsement because I believe that Meredith is clearly the best choice for Chair and that it matters that I do endorse. There is no wrong candidate for Chair, these are all able, intelligent, dedicated people; I just believe that Meredith Wood-Smith is an outstanding candidate and our best choice.
DPO is the activist arm of the Democratic Party, this is not the electorate except in a very narrow range, amounting to less than 1% of the registered Democrats in most places. This percentage is a reflection of who the membership is, these are the people who care deeply, deeply enough to attend monthly County meetings, work on candidates' behalf, donate money, and study issues. This is way outside the norm and places the membership outside the norm. We are a fractious lot, this is the expected outcome of dedicated, involved, and intelligent people. Agreement is achieved through hard work and an understanding of the players. This is in relation to County Parties, once you reach the level of State Central Committee Delegates you've gotten to the hardcore political junkies.
SCC Delegates must understand their Counties' positions, the functions of DPO Central Committee, and then be willing to make the financial commitment to travel and lodging. Along with this goes Committee memberships, Caucus memberships, informal caucuses, and general informal study groups. While the Executive Director takes care of day to day operations, the direction and functions of DPO are in the hands of the SCC headed by the Chair. The Chair's job is not just to set a tone, make public statements, and run a gavel at meetings, the Chair is the most influential voice inside DPO. It should never be assumed that all that goes on at DPO happens in meetings, there is a very great deal of personal interaction going on.
The Chair is responsible for keeping the Party unified and on a successful track, whatever momentary interests or passions come up. Due to the nature of the people who involve themselves in SCC things can get pretty sticky pretty quickly, or get stuck in a rut and get ignored. The Chair is the person who has to reach out to the right people at the right times in the right ways when these conditions occur. It requires some serious personal knowledge and real political skills to be able to do this. This is a real tough job with very real consequences, I may understand it but I sure wouldn't want it.
I believe we have a wonderful group of people interested in being Chair, the vision and personal quality of each is impeccable. There is that one thing that is of such importance that is held by one candidate, that is Meredith Wood-Smith's experience and DPO track record. Meredith knows the people, has worked to know the Counties, and has demonstrated her dedication and abilities within DPO. I have watched and listened closely at DPO and I know that Meredith listens - actually listens - and keeps an open mind, whether she is in agreement or not. Meredith has the capacity to bring together the elements that are in disagreement and achieve a consensus. She has visited the distant counties, talked to them, and listened to them. She has been to Baker County several times, and she is a welcome and popular visitor here.
The approaches Meredith has outlined on Blue Oregon are the things she's shown she cares about through the years. These are not new to this election, this is an ongoing commitment. There are people in this election who are my friends and I respect all of them so it is with more a little reticence that I endorse one over the others. I only make this endorsement because I believe that Meredith is clearly the best choice for Chair and that it matters that I do endorse. There is no wrong candidate for Chair, these are all able, intelligent, dedicated people; I just believe that Meredith Wood-Smith is an outstanding candidate and our best choice.
We Still Have A White House
You may have noticed that I've tried pretty hard to come up with some kind of uplifting post. It's been difficult, but a little practice at getting my rose colored glasses on correctly is helping. So in that spirit, Libby Jury Still Out. And why is that good? The story is not yet dead and the BushCo pardon must wait.
But see the especially good part is that there is still a White House Administration. You might remember that our Defender of Democracy had Scott McClelland promise that anybody involved in the "outing" of Valeri Plame would be fired. So far that's about 10 top people, including the Dick, um, VP Cheney. Now since the VP is supposed to have a boss (a direct superior) that person would also be involved as well as all the little busy bees who wrote memos and placed calls and ... that would mean that there'd be no BushCo left. How're we supposed to run a country with no White House? Good news that jury has not yet come in with a guilty verdict, because if all those reporters didn't just make up the story about Valeri and an innocent verdict could be rendered; we need some time to get things organized for all the firings.
I've been worried for two days now that we'd be suddenly bereft, rudderless in a sea of terrissss. We still have a White House.
But see the especially good part is that there is still a White House Administration. You might remember that our Defender of Democracy had Scott McClelland promise that anybody involved in the "outing" of Valeri Plame would be fired. So far that's about 10 top people, including the Dick, um, VP Cheney. Now since the VP is supposed to have a boss (a direct superior) that person would also be involved as well as all the little busy bees who wrote memos and placed calls and ... that would mean that there'd be no BushCo left. How're we supposed to run a country with no White House? Good news that jury has not yet come in with a guilty verdict, because if all those reporters didn't just make up the story about Valeri and an innocent verdict could be rendered; we need some time to get things organized for all the firings.
I've been worried for two days now that we'd be suddenly bereft, rudderless in a sea of terrissss. We still have a White House.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Middle East Brinkmanship
You'd have to live in a deep hole high in the mountains to have missed the pushing and shoving between the US and Iran. The rhetoric is hot and heavy, leading many to believe that an armed conflict is just around to corner. It is the usual suspects with the usual lines of attack. What has everybody squirrelly is of course the idea that one war isn't enough for BushCo and that the Iranians are loons. Well, actually that everybody involved is a loon.
The loon part of it is most easily dismissed, the strategic and tactical realities of a war between the US & Iran are very obvious to all the players. The US is currently short of ground troops which Iran has lots of, the US would own the skies. Iran has some fairly modern weaponry and the US has piles and piles of state-of-the-art equipment and a real and large Navy. Finally when it comes to actual punching power the US is not developing nukes, it has lots of them - not just lots - but also a demonstrated track record with them. We've used them, two times, on lots of civilians.
The US cannot take and hold ground in Iran, we can blow things up and then rearrange the debris in case we weren't noticed. Iran cannot do more than tweak the US in Iraq, the Arabs are not going to be dominated by the Persians, Shia or no. Iran is somewhere around five years out developing nukes, a game that is costing them badly - now. The US has its hands full with Iraq and Afghanistan (and an exorbinent debt) and Iran's economy isn't just swimming along.
So why all the over-heated rhetoric from both sides?
Has anybody noticed the fear level rising, here and there? Who has anything to benefit from increased tensions? Weak political leaders certainly have something to gain. There is no question BushCo is suffering from bad ratings and opposition in government, and apparently so is the Iranian President Ahmadinejad. There is a sort of cement in fear, something to glue together a show that's falling apart. Iran has for years stoked the internal fears of the US, but in a virtually ritualistic manner, this is something newer. BushCo can harken back to the Axis of Evil fear mongering - equally ritualistic. The idea then was, "look, there are bad guys out there," now it's "these people are going to kill you." They both have problems selling the new story, the Iranians in general have no real problem with the US, not that they really like the US government, but it's a sort of disdain; Americans still bear a grudge for the Hostage takings but it has been an equally lower level sort of disdain. Yes, there is an American affection for Israel, but other than in narrow centers it is a mild affair and stoking up warlike enthusiasms over Israel is a tough sale. 9/11 isn't last month, or last year, the smoke has cleared and most of the bodies have been buried, it's a tougher reach now to crank up the fear and anger quotient.
We've watched the fear game for over five years, it's hard to keep emotions strung up that high, and doubts and rejections have multiplied here. In Iran watching the Americans struggle in Iraq is considerably more appealing than having their bombs on your head. These guys aren't going to be able to sell war, now what we can hope is that neither miscalculates in their propaganda games.
The loon part of it is most easily dismissed, the strategic and tactical realities of a war between the US & Iran are very obvious to all the players. The US is currently short of ground troops which Iran has lots of, the US would own the skies. Iran has some fairly modern weaponry and the US has piles and piles of state-of-the-art equipment and a real and large Navy. Finally when it comes to actual punching power the US is not developing nukes, it has lots of them - not just lots - but also a demonstrated track record with them. We've used them, two times, on lots of civilians.
The US cannot take and hold ground in Iran, we can blow things up and then rearrange the debris in case we weren't noticed. Iran cannot do more than tweak the US in Iraq, the Arabs are not going to be dominated by the Persians, Shia or no. Iran is somewhere around five years out developing nukes, a game that is costing them badly - now. The US has its hands full with Iraq and Afghanistan (and an exorbinent debt) and Iran's economy isn't just swimming along.
So why all the over-heated rhetoric from both sides?
Has anybody noticed the fear level rising, here and there? Who has anything to benefit from increased tensions? Weak political leaders certainly have something to gain. There is no question BushCo is suffering from bad ratings and opposition in government, and apparently so is the Iranian President Ahmadinejad. There is a sort of cement in fear, something to glue together a show that's falling apart. Iran has for years stoked the internal fears of the US, but in a virtually ritualistic manner, this is something newer. BushCo can harken back to the Axis of Evil fear mongering - equally ritualistic. The idea then was, "look, there are bad guys out there," now it's "these people are going to kill you." They both have problems selling the new story, the Iranians in general have no real problem with the US, not that they really like the US government, but it's a sort of disdain; Americans still bear a grudge for the Hostage takings but it has been an equally lower level sort of disdain. Yes, there is an American affection for Israel, but other than in narrow centers it is a mild affair and stoking up warlike enthusiasms over Israel is a tough sale. 9/11 isn't last month, or last year, the smoke has cleared and most of the bodies have been buried, it's a tougher reach now to crank up the fear and anger quotient.
We've watched the fear game for over five years, it's hard to keep emotions strung up that high, and doubts and rejections have multiplied here. In Iran watching the Americans struggle in Iraq is considerably more appealing than having their bombs on your head. These guys aren't going to be able to sell war, now what we can hope is that neither miscalculates in their propaganda games.
Kicking the Democratic Middle?
Rep Ellen Tauscher (D) CA is having some problems with the "left blogosphere" over some votes. What they don't like in a nutshell is:
supporting legislation to scale back the estate tax
tighten bankruptcy rules
promote free-trade agreements
served as vice chair of the pro-business Democratic Leadership Council
voted for Authorization (with caveats & complained about execution of war)
She's since removed from her website pictures of her with Bush and with Lieberman.
Children's Defense Fund and League of Conservation Voters giver her high marks
NRA straight Fs
She's brought jobs to her district, including the C17.
I just don't know. The WaPo article seems balanced and while there are dangers in trying to push out an incumbent Democratic Representative, I also have to wonder exactly what that (D) behind her name means. That first list contains some stuff I have a real hard time seeing as anything other than hardcore plutocratic corporatism and I don't like it. Solid Fs from the NRA isn't endearing to me either, somehow it looks like the worst of the elitists stands. Let's just say for a second that Pelosi actually steps off the Right Middle, is there a Tauscher vote there? Or might it just as well be an (R)?
As a DPO it's not my job to work against a sitting Democrat. I don't have a problem with supporting some other Democrat for the job in a Primary election and I don't have a problem with calling BS on anybody. I will have you note that I have not and will not work against Hillary as a NY Senator, but, oh boy, that ain't the Dem nomination for President.
The Democrats ain't gonna vote or stand with me on a whole lot of things, I understand being a minority in a Party, as well as nationally, but there are limits to my patience, also. I'll just be darned if I'm going to turn into a Republican to satisfy a (D).
supporting legislation to scale back the estate tax
tighten bankruptcy rules
promote free-trade agreements
served as vice chair of the pro-business Democratic Leadership Council
voted for Authorization (with caveats & complained about execution of war)
She's since removed from her website pictures of her with Bush and with Lieberman.
Children's Defense Fund and League of Conservation Voters giver her high marks
NRA straight Fs
She's brought jobs to her district, including the C17.
I just don't know. The WaPo article seems balanced and while there are dangers in trying to push out an incumbent Democratic Representative, I also have to wonder exactly what that (D) behind her name means. That first list contains some stuff I have a real hard time seeing as anything other than hardcore plutocratic corporatism and I don't like it. Solid Fs from the NRA isn't endearing to me either, somehow it looks like the worst of the elitists stands. Let's just say for a second that Pelosi actually steps off the Right Middle, is there a Tauscher vote there? Or might it just as well be an (R)?
As a DPO it's not my job to work against a sitting Democrat. I don't have a problem with supporting some other Democrat for the job in a Primary election and I don't have a problem with calling BS on anybody. I will have you note that I have not and will not work against Hillary as a NY Senator, but, oh boy, that ain't the Dem nomination for President.
The Democrats ain't gonna vote or stand with me on a whole lot of things, I understand being a minority in a Party, as well as nationally, but there are limits to my patience, also. I'll just be darned if I'm going to turn into a Republican to satisfy a (D).
Colt Commander .45 ACP Light Weight
Based on the venerable 1911A1 the Commander is one of the smallest of that family with a 4.5 inch barrel. As with the entire family it is a recoil operated auto-loader and is single action. This is the Light Weight Model, little known and somewhat dismissed as weak in the frame due to its alloy composition. This prejudice prevented the pistol from gaining wide acceptance and over time has proved fallacious. Continuous firing of hot heavy loads will cause frame wear eventually, but failures due to such loads have had no press. This pistol has fired thousands of rounds of target loads, 230gr hardballs with 4.5 gr Bullseye and several hundred heavy load 200gr JHP (jacketed hollow point) with 7.2 gr Unique. A 30 yd shot just behind the heart killed a 150 lb field dressed mule deer. While it did not pass through it broke a large rib and shredded the lungs. I no longer hunt with this pistol because the lack of through and through made tracking very difficult.
The magazine shown is an eight shot magazine, in carry configuration - one in the chamber, full mag, cocked and locked you have 9 rounds, the 200gr JHP are very serious self-defense rounds. While the alloy frame cuts weight that many rounds are not light. This pistol can be easily aimed by a smaller woman but the recoil with those rounds is significant and compounded by the inertia of the slide.The bluing on this pistol is quite worn from holster carry and use and while not nearly as pretty as new, its functions are unimpaired. It is accurate, quick to point, and with proper rounds never mis-feeds. I have never been able to use wad cutters with any reliability, but it happily feeds hardballs and hollow points.
Other than plinking or competitions involving this weapon type; this gun's duty is self-defense. This pistol meets and exceeds the demands of self-defense, especially in safety mechanisms. For those unfamiliar with this family of pistols these are the safeties: grip safety below hammer must be depressed by the hand, safety lock at left rear of slide-locks trigger, half cock hammer position, slide in any back position trigger lock. This pistol does not have a transfer bar and it is therefor unsafe with hammer down on a loaded chamber. The pistol's ease of use and intimidation factor are huge pluses, it looks exactly like what it is and each trigger pull fires a shot without the trigger drag of double action revolvers and there are nine of them. The rounds it fires are of some consideration, the heavy bullets will penetrate thick clothing and break large bones, but the lack of velocity reduces the chances of over penetration - shooting through a body and then through other things not desired or with a miss of shooting through several walls and so on. These are very realistic considerations for a self-defense weapon and of real importance in the horrid conditions involved in an actual use.
The disassembled picture is field stripped condition, all that is required for a complete cleaning and a basic inspection. Field stripping is easily accomplished in one minute with a little practice. The eight round magazine is Colt manufactured after market.
I've had a love affair with Colt autos for most of my life, for some reason, and this was the first pistol I purchased. I've put a lot of miles on this gun, but I still enjoy the heck out of shooting it. I have more powerful revolvers that are more accurate that are very nice shooters but this remains my favorite.
Right click pictures for full size.
Positive News Post
These days it's been difficult to bring forward a post with a positive message. Hillary's got lots of money, other than Obama most Democratic candidates are nearing invisibility, there's still Iraq, civil liberties questions, half the economic scale losing ground, Cheney is still talking, Vets are getting screwed - still, and ... well, you get the idea. Some pop celebrities (alive and dead) are still providing news - mostly silly and sad.
Hey, good news. The jury is still out on Scooter.
Darn, I missed a piece of particularly good news, Dick is glad the British can leave Iraq. huh?
Hey, good news. The jury is still out on Scooter.
Darn, I missed a piece of particularly good news, Dick is glad the British can leave Iraq. huh?
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Chaparral "Winchester Model 1873 in .45 Colt-Cowboy Action
This is a 22 inch octagonal barrel rifle in .45 Colt, Charter Arms and Chaparral Arms joined together in this production. It is an historically accurate reproduction of the Model 1873 Winchester lever action saddle gun with case hardened receiver and butt plate, brass case lifter and brass front blade sight.The rifle being an accurate reproduction does not utilize modern "safes." The hammer down rests on the firing pin and half-cock can be overridden with a blow, therefor it should not be carried with an unspent round in the chamber. The rifle was designed for the black powder .45 Colt cartridge and is unsuited to higher power smokeless cartridges.
The lever incorporates a trigger locking pin which disables the trigger unless the lever is closed to the stock, requiring pressure. When the hammer is in half cock the trigger is also disabled. These safeties are of modest utility in preventing accidental discharge. The receiver has a dust cover which can be manually closed to keep dust and debris from the receiver, it is opened by either drawing it back with fingers or opening the lever. At the rear of the lever is a toggle for locking the lever against the stock.
It is available in the following calibers: WCF 38-40, WCF 44-40, .45 Colt, .357, and .44 Special. Because this is a tubular magazine rifle only flat nose or soft lead round nose ammunition should be used.
The rifle is considered unserviceable by the consumer and there is no exploded drawing with the manual. It is warranted for one year.
The rifle is quite pretty, fit and finish is outstanding and it fairly comfortable to shoulder. You can expect to pay close to $900 for this gun. The 1873 Winchester is a popular Cowboy Action Shooting rifle, which is my intended use for it.
Right click picture for full size
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Surrender Monkeys
You've got to love it, there is Red State online for your amusement. Lately they've entered the self-immolation mode. With little further ado, how to make friends and influence people Republican style.
" those 24 Republicans in the House and Senate who sided with the Democrats on the policy of defeat and surrender."
"I would very much like it if every single one of you would call each of these dirty two dozen and ask if they might now be interested in starting a Congressional Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey Caucus in light of their vote to slowly bleed our troops to death and surrender our country into the hands of those who'd kill us all."
If you want to write or call those "monkeys" and give them a thanks, go over there and get the list. Heck, if you want to make their day, tell'em you're a Dem.
Just so you have an a feel for their idea of capitalism,
"One of their arguments is that some state run airlines would come in and compete. Well, you know, if I could get Singapore Air's service between Atlanta and Washington, I'd be all for it! Especially if Singapore's taxpayers are subsidizing my flight!" Now that's what I'd call a free trader... I get so confused anymore, wasn't it the conservative wing who yelled, "Buy American," awhile ago? I've looked and looked but I can no longer find irony in my dictionary, or in the Republican Party...
" those 24 Republicans in the House and Senate who sided with the Democrats on the policy of defeat and surrender."
"I would very much like it if every single one of you would call each of these dirty two dozen and ask if they might now be interested in starting a Congressional Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey Caucus in light of their vote to slowly bleed our troops to death and surrender our country into the hands of those who'd kill us all."
If you want to write or call those "monkeys" and give them a thanks, go over there and get the list. Heck, if you want to make their day, tell'em you're a Dem.
Just so you have an a feel for their idea of capitalism,
"One of their arguments is that some state run airlines would come in and compete. Well, you know, if I could get Singapore Air's service between Atlanta and Washington, I'd be all for it! Especially if Singapore's taxpayers are subsidizing my flight!" Now that's what I'd call a free trader... I get so confused anymore, wasn't it the conservative wing who yelled, "Buy American," awhile ago? I've looked and looked but I can no longer find irony in my dictionary, or in the Republican Party...
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