Paul Krugman's Tale of Two Moralities appeared in the New York Times a couple of days ago:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/opinion/14krugman.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage
It is, perhaps, the most succinct portrayal of the political divide in America. It just happened to be written by the Nobel economist. Call it the dilemma of the strong and the weak. "When the going gets tough, the weak get screwed."
America's founding fathers never envisioned the less fortunate have-nots (the weak) dictating happiness to the more fortunate achievers (the strong). Never mind the fortunate ones fought and died for what the have-nots insist is their fair share.
The loyalists, back in the day, never gave a hoot for the oppressed. They still don't. They're hanging on to their handout from the King.
The oppressed took up arms against British enslavement. It wasn't enough to leave British oppression behind. Britain brought oppression to the New World where it continues to flourish today. It's called democracy.
Funny how the roles have reversed themselves. Used to be the loyalists were the strong, fighting to keep the king on the throne. Now it's the weak, fighting to keep their entitlements. We call it a fight, but it is rhetoric where lies masquerade as truth. More like charade.
The founding fathers never envisioned Islam, either. Check out the rhetoric of the revered imam Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Revered by whom? Good question. Jerry Jones would be salivating at the turnout.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5YJaFbDe-A
Take a minute and relish Haraketbeydoun and listen to the music. Intoxicating.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S_GLB5i-9E&NR=1
Now, take a look at Lebanese Shiites gathering to celebrate Ashura. This took place a week or so before Christmas a year ago. It's an annual thing with the Shia, never mind. A bit different from Martin Luther and John Wesley.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrkcmFvTU04&NR=1&feature=fvwp
The ritual mutiliation of the scalp is self-inflicted in the case of the adults.
So, how do we reconcile the Ivory Tower and the working man whose livelihood has been outsourced by the taxman?
"We ask them if they're the enemy and if they say 'Yes', we shoot them!"
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Move Over Gen. Petraeus, Joe Biden's On The Way
Harken to yesteryear when Mighty Mouse would save the day.
Today must be the nadir of American leadership, not just in warfare. The 20th Century was bad enough!
If the headlines are to be believed, Joe Biden will save us from ourselves planning the American withdrawal from Afghanistan.
With the Prince of Leaks on point (Biden) and the King of Korruption (Karzai) working things out, we might as well invite the Taliban. What about Secretary Gates and a representative of the Chinese? Why not wheel Gabby Giffords in for the show?
We've managed to turn tragedy into farce. Somehow it doesn't seem destined to play on Broadway.
Today must be the nadir of American leadership, not just in warfare. The 20th Century was bad enough!
If the headlines are to be believed, Joe Biden will save us from ourselves planning the American withdrawal from Afghanistan.
With the Prince of Leaks on point (Biden) and the King of Korruption (Karzai) working things out, we might as well invite the Taliban. What about Secretary Gates and a representative of the Chinese? Why not wheel Gabby Giffords in for the show?
We've managed to turn tragedy into farce. Somehow it doesn't seem destined to play on Broadway.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Gabby, Get Your Gun
People in Congress, wake up!
OK the shooter was a nutball and Gabby just happened to be available.
The issue is that the new Congress is poised to be just as unresponsive to the needs of the people as the one before it.
All this deficit reduction talk and spending cuts is just talk. Our elected representatives are passing out shares of the public treasury to old people and refusing to admit it, much less doing anything about it. Talk about special-interest politics. What happened to the common good? There won't be any common wealth left after Congress is finished redistributing it.
Medicare, Social Security, entitlements in general, are a virulent disease crippling our nation when we need to be lean and nimble. We have lost our way and the Chinese appear indomitable.
It's clear that the system is so broken that there is no solution within the system.
Loughner may be insane. He may be a criminal. He sure ain't no dummy. And what's the response of our enlightened Congress? They're gonna close down. Maybe we should just shoot them all!
Bring our boys and girls home from Afghanistan! Petraeus has betrayed us!
Remember Westmoreland? Remember McNamara?
Speaking of idiots, sending US Secretary of Defense to China is nothing short of provocative. It's clear our leadership has lost touch with reality. Too much time on the beach in Hawaii?
OK the shooter was a nutball and Gabby just happened to be available.
The issue is that the new Congress is poised to be just as unresponsive to the needs of the people as the one before it.
All this deficit reduction talk and spending cuts is just talk. Our elected representatives are passing out shares of the public treasury to old people and refusing to admit it, much less doing anything about it. Talk about special-interest politics. What happened to the common good? There won't be any common wealth left after Congress is finished redistributing it.
Medicare, Social Security, entitlements in general, are a virulent disease crippling our nation when we need to be lean and nimble. We have lost our way and the Chinese appear indomitable.
It's clear that the system is so broken that there is no solution within the system.
Loughner may be insane. He may be a criminal. He sure ain't no dummy. And what's the response of our enlightened Congress? They're gonna close down. Maybe we should just shoot them all!
Bring our boys and girls home from Afghanistan! Petraeus has betrayed us!
Remember Westmoreland? Remember McNamara?
Speaking of idiots, sending US Secretary of Defense to China is nothing short of provocative. It's clear our leadership has lost touch with reality. Too much time on the beach in Hawaii?
Saturday, January 8, 2011
America A Child Grown Old
Drunk on surfeit, blinded by power, the Romans of the first century feasted on the emptiness of cruelty.
Jesus saw it coming. We Shoot Prophets, Don't We? He told that woman to weep for herself and her children. He knew they would kill him. His suffering would last but a few hours. The cup of sorrow he carried was for the poor, dumb bastards who would suffer for a seeming eternity under guys like Pilate. The sword has its moments. Given the state of Medicare, maybe not a bad way to go.
So, in expectation of greater pleasure, the world becomes a disappointment. Glorious sunshine is overlooked because it's too hot or too cold. The exquisite sensation of wind on the face is ignored 'cause we just got dissed by de boss. Freakin' retards.
Even the vainglorious Number Two (Ian McKellan, aka Gandlalf, in The Prisoner remake) is savvy enough not to have been blinded by his dungeon masters - "The world is not a pretty thing when you look at it too close. We fell in love with atrocity. We make pornography and call it news."
We have lost our collective soul. We have not grown up, we have simply grown old. The tragedy of life is of our own making. We relieve our misery belittling our loved ones.
Alas!
Bring our brothers and sisters home.
Jesus saw it coming. We Shoot Prophets, Don't We? He told that woman to weep for herself and her children. He knew they would kill him. His suffering would last but a few hours. The cup of sorrow he carried was for the poor, dumb bastards who would suffer for a seeming eternity under guys like Pilate. The sword has its moments. Given the state of Medicare, maybe not a bad way to go.
So, in expectation of greater pleasure, the world becomes a disappointment. Glorious sunshine is overlooked because it's too hot or too cold. The exquisite sensation of wind on the face is ignored 'cause we just got dissed by de boss. Freakin' retards.
Even the vainglorious Number Two (Ian McKellan, aka Gandlalf, in The Prisoner remake) is savvy enough not to have been blinded by his dungeon masters - "The world is not a pretty thing when you look at it too close. We fell in love with atrocity. We make pornography and call it news."
We have lost our collective soul. We have not grown up, we have simply grown old. The tragedy of life is of our own making. We relieve our misery belittling our loved ones.
Alas!
Bring our brothers and sisters home.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Wiki, Wiki, Who's Got the Liki?
Does it strike anyone as strange that the messenger just got shot?
Oh, sure, Julian Assange is some kind of rapist. Just like Kobe Bryant.
Why all the interest all of sudden?
Why are we so surprised that Hamid Karzai is no Mr. Rogers?
Looks to me like ole Julian caught a bunch a people with their pants down and they decided to take him down.
It wasn't that long ago that the leak business was the province of mainstream media. Remember the Pentagon Papers, Washington Post, New York Times? I presume the Washington Post has been just as free with the leaked material as the New York Times. Nobody seems to be screaming about the coverage. It seems strange that the big newspapers have sidestepped doing their job while participating in the smear campaign of the guy who stepped up to the plate.
Let's see. There's a major campaign of cyber warfare against WikiLeaks. Then they get snubbed by the cyber community because their internet service providers and money changers are just a bunch of pussies in suits. Then somebody pays off these two hookers to say the WikiLeaks founder assaulted them. What else can we add to this pile of shit?
Chris Rock, where are you when we need you? This is great stuff here.
You mean to tell me that Hamid Karzai is just another warlord bad boy trying to hold it together with a bunch of ruffians and will use whatever money he can find to further his agenda?
What about Joe Biden, the Liki King? Surely he tipped somebody off about the diplomatic traffic. Isn't that what he does?
Did we cozy up to the Chinese to launch the denial-of-service attacks against the WikiLeaks infrastructure? Are the cyber warriors covering up the assault? How can the average Joe, unable to manage his personal computer, understand that cyber warfare even exists much less appreciate how sophisticated and widespread it has become?
Get ready to sit down with the Chinese and every hacker on the planet is after your cyber ass! What does that tell you? Don't forget the new Chinese fighter jets and aircraft carriers, by the way.
Looks like the ship is sinking and the finger-pointing has just begun. We got a tax cut to worry about. Never mind the sinking, we gotta raid the treasury to make the taxpayers think they're gonna be rescued. Call in the Somalian Navy, boys. Surely, we can depend upon them for some help.
Anybody paying attention to the rats?
Chris, help me out here! The stink is so bad is hard to tell where it's coming from.
What is truly disturbing is the impact of Political Correctness on Freedom of Speech. It looks like the former means 'just don't say ANYTHING' and the latter has been pushed aside.
They Shoot Whistleblowers, Don't They? could be the title of the movie about the demise of the American dream. Or should it be They Shoot Prophets, Don't They? Maybe They Shoot Patriots, Don't They? is closer to the truth.
Don't forget, we have young American men and women dying in Afghanistan while the REMFs are debating gay and leak policy. This ain't Denmark, but something's rotten.
Bring our people home, by God!
Oh, sure, Julian Assange is some kind of rapist. Just like Kobe Bryant.
Why all the interest all of sudden?
Why are we so surprised that Hamid Karzai is no Mr. Rogers?
Looks to me like ole Julian caught a bunch a people with their pants down and they decided to take him down.
It wasn't that long ago that the leak business was the province of mainstream media. Remember the Pentagon Papers, Washington Post, New York Times? I presume the Washington Post has been just as free with the leaked material as the New York Times. Nobody seems to be screaming about the coverage. It seems strange that the big newspapers have sidestepped doing their job while participating in the smear campaign of the guy who stepped up to the plate.
Let's see. There's a major campaign of cyber warfare against WikiLeaks. Then they get snubbed by the cyber community because their internet service providers and money changers are just a bunch of pussies in suits. Then somebody pays off these two hookers to say the WikiLeaks founder assaulted them. What else can we add to this pile of shit?
Chris Rock, where are you when we need you? This is great stuff here.
You mean to tell me that Hamid Karzai is just another warlord bad boy trying to hold it together with a bunch of ruffians and will use whatever money he can find to further his agenda?
What about Joe Biden, the Liki King? Surely he tipped somebody off about the diplomatic traffic. Isn't that what he does?
Did we cozy up to the Chinese to launch the denial-of-service attacks against the WikiLeaks infrastructure? Are the cyber warriors covering up the assault? How can the average Joe, unable to manage his personal computer, understand that cyber warfare even exists much less appreciate how sophisticated and widespread it has become?
Get ready to sit down with the Chinese and every hacker on the planet is after your cyber ass! What does that tell you? Don't forget the new Chinese fighter jets and aircraft carriers, by the way.
Looks like the ship is sinking and the finger-pointing has just begun. We got a tax cut to worry about. Never mind the sinking, we gotta raid the treasury to make the taxpayers think they're gonna be rescued. Call in the Somalian Navy, boys. Surely, we can depend upon them for some help.
Anybody paying attention to the rats?
Chris, help me out here! The stink is so bad is hard to tell where it's coming from.
What is truly disturbing is the impact of Political Correctness on Freedom of Speech. It looks like the former means 'just don't say ANYTHING' and the latter has been pushed aside.
They Shoot Whistleblowers, Don't They? could be the title of the movie about the demise of the American dream. Or should it be They Shoot Prophets, Don't They? Maybe They Shoot Patriots, Don't They? is closer to the truth.
Don't forget, we have young American men and women dying in Afghanistan while the REMFs are debating gay and leak policy. This ain't Denmark, but something's rotten.
Bring our people home, by God!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
It's True Your Honor, Dumbitch Just One Word
Maybe in the case of your favorite female canine critter, the word bitch stands alone without an adjective or other modifier. But, just when I thought I had seen everything, along came Madeleine Pickens.
Today marks that day of infamy. Is this what our guys fought for? Did they die just so this idiot could take up space and practice being stupid in the name of the greater good?
Remember T. Boone Pickens? He's the poster boy for Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street. He still thinks his greed is good for everybody and wants the feds to use taxpayer dough to advance his personal agenda for greater wealth. His wealth. "That's the one thing you have to remember about WASPs: they love animals and hate people," said Gekko.
I thought the world to be safe because Boone wouldn't be around much longer.
Along comes what's-her-name with a Pickens-esque plan to save the nation's wild mustangs. Of course, she expects the American taxpayer to cough up the bulk of the money. What does less than one percent of Boone's wealth mean to her? I'll bet she has one of those little yapper dogs, too! Whaddya think, Boone? Has she ever had a thought or did she steal that one brain cell from you?
Puhlease.
If there was ever proof that the intelligence of American women is high on the endangered list, this is it. Must be those hormones forging linkages in the brain that would forever remain dormant, otherwise.
Look at that getup. Looks like she think she's hot; maybe smarter than the rest of us. Check those stupid boots. You can tell by the shine she wears them everyday workin' them ponies she proclaims to love so dearly. Bet Boone would like to get his up. Looks like arrogance to me. Perfect photo for some of Salavador Dali's better work.
Spare us your misplaced sympathies, girl. Go back to the hairdresser where your shit is more likely to fly. You're the one in need of fencing lest you contaminate the rest of the gene pool. Put your head back under that heater and let that thing you call a brain cook a little longer.
Bring our people back from Afghanistan, by the way, and let those ragheads fight it out amongst themselves. Al Gathafi be praised. Let's all do something worthwhile today!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Consent of the Governed Smothered
The last death-rattle of the Pelosi Congress looks to be more spending.
Middle-class tax cuts, deficit-reduction tax increases, more unemployment benefits, reduced health-care for the military, where's any substantive reduction in handouts to the constituents? Will the censure of Charles Rangel finally save us from ourselves?
When did life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness disappear from the national debate? Did we really believe that ratification of the Constitutional Recipe for equality would take care of everything forever?
In the middle of the 18th century in America, the struggle between Loyalists and Revolutionaries came to the fore. The Loyalists were content with their handouts from the King, America exported her precious raw materials to England, and Americans purchased finished goods from England, courtesy of George III. Read the British version of this history and George will be exonerated. It was the cost of managing the colonies in America that caused the taxation that got the Patriots (Revolutionaries) upset. Golly gee!
Here it is holiday time 2010 and there are those Patriots yearning to be free of the burden of the handouts to the politically fortunate, now feeling righteously entitled to their piece of the public treasury.
As a nation, we seem to have lost any sense of duty to those 'yearning to breathe free.' More like a dedication to those 'yearning to get it for free.' Where is there any meaningful debate on a reduction in spending?
It would appear that our government has lost interest in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What we have in stead is the pursuit of the special interest. When was the last time we heard anything about the common good?
What we hear instead is a bunch of rhetoric (read bullshit) about how unemployment benefits will get our fellow citizens back to work. How about some tax credits for companies that insource the work that is now done overseas? How about some teeth in our immigration laws to stop illegals from draining our local governments of cash?
The Declaration of Independence spells out the solution to this state of affairs in no uncertain terms:
...whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it...
Middle-class tax cuts, deficit-reduction tax increases, more unemployment benefits, reduced health-care for the military, where's any substantive reduction in handouts to the constituents? Will the censure of Charles Rangel finally save us from ourselves?
When did life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness disappear from the national debate? Did we really believe that ratification of the Constitutional Recipe for equality would take care of everything forever?
In the middle of the 18th century in America, the struggle between Loyalists and Revolutionaries came to the fore. The Loyalists were content with their handouts from the King, America exported her precious raw materials to England, and Americans purchased finished goods from England, courtesy of George III. Read the British version of this history and George will be exonerated. It was the cost of managing the colonies in America that caused the taxation that got the Patriots (Revolutionaries) upset. Golly gee!
Here it is holiday time 2010 and there are those Patriots yearning to be free of the burden of the handouts to the politically fortunate, now feeling righteously entitled to their piece of the public treasury.
As a nation, we seem to have lost any sense of duty to those 'yearning to breathe free.' More like a dedication to those 'yearning to get it for free.' Where is there any meaningful debate on a reduction in spending?
It would appear that our government has lost interest in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What we have in stead is the pursuit of the special interest. When was the last time we heard anything about the common good?
What we hear instead is a bunch of rhetoric (read bullshit) about how unemployment benefits will get our fellow citizens back to work. How about some tax credits for companies that insource the work that is now done overseas? How about some teeth in our immigration laws to stop illegals from draining our local governments of cash?
The Declaration of Independence spells out the solution to this state of affairs in no uncertain terms:
...whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it...
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