Thursday, July 15, 2010
Differing Realities
for me but not for me
“There is a big difference between a state or locality saying they are not going to use their resources to enforce a federal law, as so-called sanctuary cities have done, and a state passing its own immigration policy that actively interferes with federal law,” Tracy Schmaler, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., told The Washington Times
A state, taking it’s law practically verbatim from federal law using its resources in support of a federal law = Bad Thing.
A locality actively refusing to comply with a federal law = Good Thing.
Is that some twisted federal argument for States’ Rights? Or just hallucinatory consentual-reality slippage?
"For the Justice Department to suggest that they won’t take action against those who passively violate the law who fail to comply with the law is absurd,” said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee and chief author of the 1996 immigration law [Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996]. “Will they ignore individuals who fail to pay taxes? Will they ignore banking laws that require disclosure of transactions over $10,000? Of course not."
...Jim DeMint of South Carolina and David Vitter of Louisiana -- announced that they will introduce an amendment to a bill that would halt the Justice Department lawsuit by denying it federal funding.
That Word DID Mean What We Thought It Meant
the leopard cannot change his shorts
The Cordoba House is now Park51.
The name “Cordoba” has been marketed to gullible Americans as being a place where Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived in harmony and peace, but actually Medieval Muslim Spain enforced the dhimma and systematically oppressed the Jews and Christians, and was the site of a Muslim pogrom against the Jews in the year 1011—1000 years before this mega-mosque is slated to open.
Yes. In 1011. Coinkydinky?
Project developer Sharif el-Gamal] said the vitriol at yesterday’s hearing showed the urgent need for an Islamic center in New York City.*
Hey, Capt. Obtuse: listen up.
"We condemn terrorists. We recognize it exists in our faith, but we are committed to eradicate it,” said Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is leading the charge to build the Cordoba House.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Nooz from Capt. Big Duh
cluebats at the ready
President Obama ... suggested that terrorists see African life as cheap.
Radical Islamists in Africa, he said, believe “any efforts to modernize, any efforts to provide basic human rights, any efforts to democratize are somehow anti-Islam."
uhm… yeah. OK, Capt Bullshit, let’s walk thru this slowly: Democratization means Laws set by Man. To an “Islamist,” that is worng. Sharia means Law set by Allah[PTUI]. To an “Islamist,” that is Right. See how that works?
"And what you’ve seen in some of the statements that have been made by these terrorist organizations is that they do not regard African life as valuable in and of itself,"
Might I remind you, Capt. Oblivious, that “Islamists” don’t set too great a store by the lives of US crackers, either. Nor of US peepole of color. The only thing they’re interested in is the color of one’s dedication to Sharia.
They see it as a potential place where you can carry out ideological battles that kill innocents without regard to long-term consequences for their short-term tactical gains."
uh, yeah. Same as the rest of the freakin’ planet, Capt. Goof-Off.
An administration official backed up Mr. Obama’s comments in an email to reporters, arguing that the “actions of al Qaeda and the groups that it has inspired show a willingness to sacrifice innocent African life to reach their targets."
“...a willingness to sacrifice innocent African European, Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, Indian, Pakistani, South American, Iraqi, Afghani, AmerInd, Israeli, Cracker, Arabian, Shia, Inuit, Carribean, Canine, Indonesian, Martian, Arabic, Moslem life,” in order to establish the Totalitarian World Wide Caliphate [TWWC]
FIFY, Capt. Pipe Dream.
"And we need to make sure that we are doing everything we can to support those who want to build, as opposed to want to destroy."
Hey, Capt. TeeTime! That’s what the TEA Partyers are saying.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Creating Unity
...because he said he would
But maybe not how he intended?
We’d expect sense from Laffer:
Arthur Laffer [Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board (1981–1989)]
The most obvious argument against extending or raising unemployment benefits is that it will make being unemployed either more attractive or less unattractive, and thereby lead to higher unemployment. Empirical research supports this view.
But what about from a speaker at the Aspen Ideas Festival?
yes, you heard me: the “Ideas Festival” at upscale Aspen CO
Harvard business and history professor Niall Ferguson
“The curse of longterm unemployment is that if you pay people to do nothing, they’ll find themselves doing nothing for very long periods of time,” Ferguson said. “Long-term unemployment is at an all-time high in the United States, and it is a direct consequence of a misconceived public policy.”
Hm… a fluke?
Ferguson added: “The critical point is if your policy says you’re going run a trillion-dollar deficit for the rest of time, you’re riding for a fall…Then it really is goodbye.” A dashing Brit, Ferguson added: “Can I say that, having grown up in a declining empire, I do not recommend it. It’s just not a lot of fun actually—decline.”
Ferguson called for what he called “radical” measures. “I can’t emphasize strongly enough the need for radical fiscal reform to restore the incentives for work and remove the incentives for idleness.” He praised “really radical reform of the sort that, for example, Paul Ryan [the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee] has outlined in his wonderful ‘Roadmap’ for radical, root-and-branch reform not only of the tax system but of the entitlement system” and “unleash entrepreneurial innovation.” Otherwise, Ferguson warned: “Do you want to be a kind of implicit part of the European Union? I’d advise you against it.”
Wow. So the Progressives that usually flock to these events—did they riot? Hiss & boo? Fling caviar-nibbles?
“Depressing, but fantastic,” Streisand ... rendering her verdict on the session. “So exciting. Wonderful!”
Someone throw that woman a fish. So was that panel a one-off in a Progressive agenda?
The consensus was similar in an afternoon panel discussion on the decline of the American middle class. “He said jobs were going to be his No. 1 priority—there’s a huge disconnect between Washington and what’s going on out in the country,” nominal Obama supporter Arianna Huffington said. “The president’s economic team kept talking about a ‘cyclical’ problem. Larry Summers said jobs were a lagging economic indicator. All these things are simply wrong. The president put all his trust in the wrong economic team—an economic team that didn’t understand what was happening.”
*sound of worms turning*
*scrabbling rats’ claws exiting*
I guess it’s all “fine, elite mindthoughts” until your portfolio takes a hit.
Rodgie who has more positive nooz
Friday, July 09, 2010
Now & Then
and the difference is?
This:
China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE ) is ... reminding the world about its trillions in dollar-denominated holdings, and that these could be dumped in a heartbeat. Of course, in tried and true Chinese fashion, it is notifying the world it has no intention of using the “nuclear option" which of course is merely a reminder that the nuclear option not only exists but is certainly at the forefront of any “diplomatic” negotiations with the US.
"Nice economy youze got dere… It would be a shame if sumpthin’ was ta happen to it..."
Or This:
Which will cause more deaths? More mayhem? More havoc?
Meanwhile, Teh iWon, Smart Diplomat, continues to astound Teh World with his finesse, in-depth cross-cultural understanding, and silver tongue:
... when confronted with the anxiety that some Israelis feel toward him, Obama said that “some of it may just be the fact that my middle name is Hussein, and that creates suspicion.”
[*clicky* that linky for some of the best comments on Teh IntarWebs]
Monty’s Daily Financial Briefing, which you really oughta be reading. srsly.
Speaking of Being Set Up for a Fall...
...if we can make it *cough* until Fall
[Ivan Seidenberg CEO Verizon Communications Inc.] “By reaching into virtually every sector of economic life, government is injecting uncertainty into the marketplace and making it harder to raise capital and create new businesses."
The Federal Reserve recently reported that America’s 500 largest nonfinancial companies have accumulated an astonishing $1.8 trillion of cash on their balance sheets. By any calculation (for example, as a percentage of assets), this is higher than it has been in almost half a century. Yet most corporations are not spending this money on new plants, equipment or workers. Were they to loosen their purse strings, hundreds of billions of dollars would start pouring through the economy. These investments would probably have greater effect and staying power than a government stimulus.
... [One unnamed CEO] pointed out that between the health-care bill, financial reform and possibly cap-and-trade, his company had lawyers working day and night to figure out the implications of all these new regulations. Lobbyists have been delighted by all this activity. “[Obama] exaggerates our power, but he increases demand for our services,” superlobbyist Tony Podesta* told the New York Times.
Pandering...
grandstanding, snowing, soft-soaping, cosseting, stroking, suckage, honeying up, massaging, babying, bowing, *
"The Justice Department has been closely monitoring the state’s investigation and prosecution,” the department said in a statement.
“The Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the FBI have an open investigation into the fatal shooting and, at the conclusion of the state’s prosecution, will conduct an independent review of the facts and circumstances to determine whether the evidence warrants federal prosecution." ...
Congresswoman Barbara Lee,
DC-Oakland, said she has been in touch with the justice department...."Understandably there is grave concern in the community,” Lee said. “However, during this time our city must come together peacefully so that we can begin to heal."
*
*setting up for a fall.
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Spy -vs- Spy
WTH
So the Cold War is over, eh?
Ten people accused of spying for Russia have tonight pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge, setting up what could be one of the biggest, most unusual and least secret spy swaps known to superpower espionage.
Two Obama administration sources said tonight that the Russian government would release four alleged western agents.
... Igor Sutyagin ...an arms control analyst jailed for 14 years for passing military secrets to a British company the Russian authorities said was a CIA front…
Sergei Skripal, a military intelligence officer jailed in Russia in 2006 for giving information to MI6....
Alexander Zaporozhsky, an SVR operative sentenced to 18 years for espionage in 2003
Hot Town, Summer in the City
isn’t it a pity
[Alton, Ill.] ...a firetruck was dispatched to [the Oakwood Housing Complex to] extinguish a Dumpster fire in the 700 block of Oakwood and was immediately attacked by the crowd shooting and throwing fireworks at them.
...reports stated that in the past, fires have been set to “lure the fire department out so they could be attacked by fireworks.”
...When officers arrived, they too were attacked “by the mob” with bottle rockets thrown from behind buildings.
...Officers left when firefighters were able to extinguish the Dumpster fire but quickly returned to the housing complex because of reports of people shot or injured in the 800 block of Oakwood. Police did not find anyone injured but again were attacked by fireworks and again deployed pepper-ball guns to prevent attacks.
...Officers were attacked a third time in the 700 block of Oakwood when they responded to reports of a truck fire; that turned out to be a box on fire. Officers had to leave when their pepper-ball guns were out of ammunition.
...At 12:29 a.m. July 5, police and fire personnel again were dispatched to the Oakwood Housing complex for a Dumpster fire in the 800 block of Oakwood. Officers were attacked with bottle rockets and again deployed pepper-ball guns.
... said Alton Police Chief David Hayes. “This type of conduct is not supposed to happen in civil society. This was obviously intended to be entertainment for the crowd."
...and Justice for All
well, some. if they’re the right kind...
Some naive redneck might think this is a kind of ...Policy.
...in Rhode Island, illegal immigrants face a far greater penalty: deportation...
Justice Dept: *crickets*
...Missouri immigration law ... bars the state from issuing Missouri driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants and imposes criminal penalties to those who assist illegal immigrants in obtaining driver’s licenses… also requires verification of legal employment status of every public employee; allows for cancellation of state contracts for contractors if they hire illegal immigrants; and enacts provisions to punish bad acting employers who hire illegal immigrants...
Justice Dept: *crickets*
(FAIR) estimates that illegal immigration now costs federal and local taxpayers $113 billion a year. ... average cost to native-headed households of $1,117 a year...
Justice Dept: *crickets*
OR *clicky*clicky*
First 2 Minutes… rly.
Justice Dept: *SQUASH* ...*crickets*
NYT Headline: Arizona Challenge Does Not Focus on Profiling
whaaa?
Justice Dept: Lawyer Who Defended ‘American Taliban’ Now Heads DOJ Suit Against Arizona
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Teh Narrative Uber Alles
*crickets* underlying
[Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona] happens by rotation to be the chairwoman and host of this year’s conference, scheduled for September at a resort in Phoenix. ... all six Mexican border governors wrote to her to say they intended to boycott the gathering to protest the new law ... The Mexican governors had written that they would not step foot in Arizona because they considered the law ... to be “based on ethnic and cultural prejudice contrary to fundamental rights.”
Please. Encourage the rest of your population to do the same.
For some reason [and I use the term reason very very loosely] Eric Holder is not challenging similar laws long in place in CA and MO. Nor many other challenges to Fed Law by states and cities around the country.
Now, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico has stepped into the fray, pledging to salvage the conference by finding a site in another state.
“Governor Brewer doesn’t have the authority to cancel the Border Governors Conference,” Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for Mr. Richardson said. “She may not want to host it for political reasons, but that’s not a reason to sidestep the tough issues that border governors must address, including migration and border violence. Governor Richardson will look for alternative sites to host the conference, with or without Arizona’s participation.”
Is there anything more pathetic than a man person little slug begging to be allowed to join the forces of darkness—and being rejected again and again and again despite growing that little Evil Twin goatee?
A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California… said he also supported moving it.
Like I said…
In completely unrelated news:
The San Francisco Department of Public Health set some of America’s first pot-brownie and -milkshake regulations in response to the growing sector of the medical cannabis industry.
A routine traffic stop has reignited debate about San Francisco’s ability to enforce its sanctuary city policy...
Mr Holder?
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Drip... Drip... Drip...
Creeping Incrementalism
In an e-mail sent to employees last Friday afternoon, the TSA’s Office of Information Technology announced that as of July 1, staff computers would no longer be able to connect to sites in five broad categories the agency deemed “inappropriate for government access.”
The five categories of sites blocked to TSA staff are:
Chat/messaging
Controversial opinion
Criminal activity
Gruesome content and extreme violence, including cartoon violence
Gaming
Buried in the middle of some perfectly reasonable restrictions for the gubbminteat workspaaace: “Controversial opinion”
Without explanation.
Possible Controversies to be Banned by TSA:
St Louis BBQ :: South Carolina BBQ.
Tastes Good :: Less Filling
Dessert Topping :: Floor Wax
Jack Reacher: Dead :: Escaped
Fat Smoking Baby: Freedom :: Stupidity
Body Scanner :: Behavioral Profiling
Shocked...
Amateur Hour -vs- Government Mandated Difficulties, with prior intent
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), top Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has issued a report of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Fedz in the Gulf Oil Spill.
“How the White House Public Relations Campaign on the Oil Spill is Harming the Actual Clean-up"
-- The failure of Administration officials to quickly waive laws preventing necessary foreign assets from reaching the Gulf and other regulations are hampering efforts to clean-up and limit damage from the oil spill. Local officials feel the federal government is making the perfect the enemy of the good in cleanup efforts; ...
-- Local officials strongly believe the President’s call for a drilling moratorium will significantly compound the economic damage caused by the oil spill and will actually increase risk associated with future offshore drilling projects; ...
The White House blog details a number of assets deployed in the region to combat the spill. This includes vessels, boom, and dispersant. The number of assets claimed, however, does not appear to match what is actually in the field. Parish officials maintain that the thousands of vessels cited in the blog are non-existent. One senior official [Deano Bonano, Homeland Security Director, Jefferson Parish LA] refers to them as “phantom assets.” When asked to elaborate, he explained that when he asks the federal government to provide the location of its assets, it either refuses or cannot do so. Daily helicopter search grids performed by the Parish sheriff’s department confirm to him that very few of the assets claimed are deployed. ...corroborated by Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser…
...The Obama Administration has repeatedly asserted that the federal government has been in control since day one and has used military language to describe its efforts.... “the moment this disaster began, the federal government has been in charge of the response effort.” ... referred to the response as a “battle” and his strategy as a “battle plan.” ...
...Rear Admiral Jim Watson, the senior-most official at the Unified Area Command in Robert, LA, ... stated that his command structure is decidedly different than what has been described by the White House. According to Watson, “It is not a war-fighting command and control structure where the Federal government is sending orders to BP. Rather the process on the ground with BP and others is “consensus-based,” where higher-raking officials inject themselves to resolve differences of opinion. In his view, “The framework probably isn’t up to the task.” ...
Reliable information about problems is a prerequisite for an effective response to any major crisis. The Gulf oil spill response effort, however, is being hindered by a self-inflicted disinformation campaign directed by the White House.
A clear pattern has emerged of efforts to control and manipulate information about the oil spill and response efforts ... when in reality a dysfunctional consensus-based system that relies too heavily on BP is in place.
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{/if}
