I'd like to believe that any system of belief that proposes that the citizens of a democratic/representative country is the source of its problems is a system of beliefs flailing at toward at its end.
Sen. Bunning, by himself, temporarily put a stop to a short term extension of unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits. He felt the cost of the bill should be covered and not add to our ever growing deficit. He apparently did not disagree with the substance of the bill, only its funding.
Sen. Bunning is not running for a third term, so his stand on this issue could be considered a little wobbly at the knees, but it is a stand on deficit spending all the same.
But, let's see how his actions were characterized in Yahoo (McClatchy News Newspapers) and what the possible ramifications of his actions might be.
Some unemployment benefits could dry up Monday. Newly laid-off workers wouldn't get federal help with health insurance premiums.
Road and transit bills could go unpaid, Medicare payments to doctors would stay high and rural satellite reception could be affected...
What else? How about John Burton piling on....
"More than 200,000 people here in California stand to lose their unemployment benefits when they need them most," said John Burton , the chairman of the California Democratic Party .
This could also occur....
Among the provisions set to expire are the flood insurance program, Small Business Administration loans, a change in Medicare payments to doctors, some transportation funding and, most prominently, help for the unemployed.
And this...
Anyone laid off after March 1 no longer would be able to get federal help to pay health insurance premiums; the program now pays 65 percent of the cost for certain workers.
Rural television watchers could be affected because the bill would extend the copyright used by satellite television companies.
My, as though any of that is likely. But,according to the article, it appears the world may end because Bunning had the audacity to ask that a bill be paid for and not add to the deficit. Mind you, Bunning does not have any fundamental issue with the bill. He only wants it to be paid for. That is why he stopped it.
The article then quickly deteriorated into the expected bashing of a conservative, in this case Bunning.
Last year, he cursed at reporters during a telephone press call and refused to release the results of an internal political poll. The results are "none of your g--d--- business," he said.
That same year, he said U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , who was being treated for pancreatic cancer, would be dead by year's end. He apologized for the statement.
During the 2004 campaign, Bunning said that Democratic challenger Daniel Mongiardo , then a state senator and now Kentucky's lieutenant governor, looked "like one of Saddam Hussein's sons." Mongiardo is an Italian-American. Bunning later apologized for the statement.
By article's end one is left with the distinct feeling Sen. Bunning is a nut for expecting or government to pay its for its bills. Although I believe we should all carry the burden of cutting the deficit, I also believe he could have made his point with a different bill.
I have a daughter and in social situations in which her girlfriends are involved, I am more comfortable when other adults are involved. I don't feel it is wise to be the sole adult chaperon with my daughter and her girlfriends. Why?
Some years ago during a mall visit I made use of the facilities. While I was washing my hands a young boy of 7 or 8 entered the bathroom and disappeared into a stall. We were only two in the bathroom. After drying my hands I exited, nearly opening the door on the boy's mother. She had a look of near panic across her face. She was caught between fear for her child and breaking social norm by entering the men's room. I said two words to her, "He's alone." and her expression immediately fell to utter relief. Why?
In the near future my daughter will step up her push to bring her girlfriends over for sleepovers. I am cautious of this. Even though my wife would be involved during the whole visit, I feel a reluctance. And I wonder what a friend of mine will do under similar circumstances. He is a single father of two, one of which is a girl. I am sure he will be cautious as well. Why?
The answer to these three questions is that all men are guilty of being men and suffer from misantry.
Today, after being painted into a corner on the open debate of issues that never materialized, President Obama shared bully pulpit time with conservatives and the pain of it could be seen across his face every time a conservative spoke.
Detroit, a city built in no small part by what was once 'the big three' has been in decline over decades. During those years our government, when lead by liberals, would burnish its credentials at the expense of the big three by repeatedly boxing them about the ears in one way dialogs. 'See, look the big bad corporations.'
These corporations were the envy of the world. They provided jobs, health care, and built cities and towns across the country, yet our government thought it best to trade their success for grand standing and union empowerment. The big three are not the big three anymore. Are we better off?
The current ongoing spectacle by our congress belies a shallowness I hadn't expected. The arrogance on display is staggering. The berating of a company (that has a history of quality and a history of providing sound productive jobs for our country) without actual conclusive evidence that a problem exists is a true embarrassment to our country. We don't have congressmen, we have sanctimonious bullies lost in a fog of power. Our congress doesn't seem to be aware that it is they who suck from the teat of Toyota's productivity and good character and that, although they may have profited in terms of political capital from the corporate bashing of the 70's and 80's, times have likely changed. Car and Driver did some testing to see it the brakes were able to stop a V6 Camry at speed and full throttle. Result: The Camry stopped.
They also tried shifting the car into neutral and park. This, C&D claimed, was the best solution to any unintended acceleration.
Turning the car off, they found, was the least desirable choice as the loss of power steering and power brakes soon follows.
According to Car and Driver:
In the end.....we found no major deficiencies with the Camry’s ability to defuse an unintended-acceleration situation.
In the end I hope Americans are bothered by the one-way street of respect displayed by our representatives.
Fehrnstrom added, "There's ample evidence that the government is calling the shots at GM, from the Obama administration orchestrating the selection of a new CEO to Rep. Barney Frank pressuring GM to keep open a facility slated for closure. The real issue is that government ought to get out of the auto business and distribute its shares to taxpayers."
Of course there are those within Government Motors and the Obama Administration who disagree. White Hose spokesman Matt Lehrich claims...
We don't, nor have we ever, run the day-to-day operations of GM. Decisions and management are handled by the company alone.
And GM spokesman Greg Martin claimed...
We are free to make the business decisions to restore GM to profitability.
The fact that this question is being debated is awful. The federal government should not be in the business of owning failed businesses. Failed businesses should be allowed to fail.
What our congress is doing to Toyota is an absolute embarrassment. It is a purely political show that could have political ramifications internationally. Intentionally embarrassing the CEO's of Toyota is amateurish.
What can be gained by publicly flogging Toyota, a leader in quality, for a small percentage of defects while at the same time ignoring defect rates 10 time greater in Government Motors?...
It is not as though Toyota is deliberately ignoring a problem as Chrysler did with their Ultradrive line of transmissions. Toyota is actively attempting to remedy the handful of complaints that have come to light over the past 10 years and they are doing so and have been doing so prior to Congress's dog and pony show.
This is just another distraction by our elected leaders from the malaise our country currently finds itself. Congress should be ashamed of their blatant grandstanding and simply get out of washington for a while.
I can not fathom what the man is after. He is driving his party off a cliff. Currently Reid and Pelosi have been fairly silent.
Rush claims it's the result of a long term lust for a thing almost had. In this case a decades long quest for universal health care.
I don't know. A deeply ingrained arrogance fertilized with years of academia fused with a personal history devoid of the lessons of failure seems to have handicapped our president with a tin ear.
The end game still eludes me, though. Do they really think they will succeed? This sort of success will only bring loss this fall.
No surprise. He is still much better than Kennedy was or Coakley would have been.
Oh, and this vote means that there will not be another filibuster to add to the total number of filibusters this year. So the total number of filibusters for the year still stands at 0. That's right, goose egg.
HE knows better than us and being tone deaf to the wishes of the public he serves Obama attempts to revive the democrat charge toward state run health care.
Obama's arrogance has lead him to believe that their health care plan was not obnoxious enough.
Yea, that's what we need---cost controls. They worked so well in the 70's. Yea.
He should let this push for state run health care die and move on with what little political capital he retains. Clinton moved on to success through honest compromise after a similar defeat.
This president appears unable. He has never seen personal defeat and perhaps is unable to identify it. More likely he is simply bound by an absolute arrogance rooted in academia. This sort of absolute arrogance is pissing a lot of Americans off and will lead to a failed presidency.
I have always had a hate--hate relationship with banks. Anger, though, is supplanting that hate at this point and not just for the banks, also our government's handling of the banking crisis. Our country's long run health would have been better served had we let the charlatans fail, but with a government that is unwilling to do what is needed, I will have to do what I can in my small way. Unfortunately I am late in doing this, but my future banking will be done through a local bank and all my future votes will be for politicians that support the failure of businesses that fail.
Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone would like to know (as would I) the answer to a question....
Yahoo, in a story that is intended to define what all the blue lines on the ski slopes during the Olympics is about, has an error. It's a minor thing, but someone doesn't seem to know what the term depth perception means. Here is the passage...
There are also horizontal lines stretching across the course. Those exist to provide depth perception to the racers. Ever stepped into a snowbank that was a lot deeper than it looked? Now try going downhill at 90 mph and doing the same thing.
The blue lines that are horizontal painted on the snow are intended to give depth perception. That means it enhances the 3D effect of reality for the skiers and they can more easily prepare for an upcoming turn or jump. Also and likely more importantly to some is the effect of depth imparted by the lines on TV viewers.
The horizontal lines have nothing to do with telling anyone how deep the snow is.
I guess he deserves a second look. It has become easy for me to paint all rock stars with the same roller, after all, they seem to be stamped from the same political mold over and over. There is a like minded vanilla blandness in the rock world from a political perspective.
Occasionally a rocker will say something, though, that doesn't fit with the accepted tone and strikes a discordant note within the echo chamber of rock music. According to USA Today Kid Rock has done just that with his comments made to Megyn Kelly on Fox News.
"I have nightmares that I'm going to wake up and everyone's driving a Prius and living in a condo and we're all getting health insurance,"
He continues...
"It reminds me of Europe -- everyone driving a Smart car and living a condo and that's not the American dream."
Of course, comments like this stand out against the single political note that has been played incessantly since the sixties from our 'creative' rock world. Like children on a playground who have identified a child impaired by too much individuality, the corrective lashing has started in the press.
Wow. That is a scary thought. Every American saving gas, living modestly and not going deeply into debt if they become seriously ill. Gives us the shivers.
Black Voices... chooses condensation, arrogance and a little rolling around in their pond of smugness by attacking his self deprecating comments and in effect calling him stupid. Playground.
Here's a parting thought that the "cowboy crusader" made which sums it up for me: "I probably shouldn't be talking about politics, when I think about it. I'm not that educated."
'Nough said....
God forbid we have a touch of individuality in the world of rock.
President Barack Obama vigorously defended his $787 billion stimulus on Wednesday, insisting it rescued Americans from the worst of the economic calamity and ripping Republican critics who called it a waste.
And according to our President...
"Our work is far from over but we have rescued this economy from the worst of this crisis,"
The above is an example of our revisionist in chief at work...
The economic crisis occurred before Obama was even president elect. He and McCain were still campaigning for the presidency when it became our apparent that western credit markets were grinding to a halt due to banks being unwilling to lend to one another. Banks knew that other banks didn't have the collateral they claimed in their real estate loan holdings. Banks did not have faith in other banks' assets.
This 'crisis' was dealt with through TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) by the Bush Administration. Obama's stimulus had nothing to do with stemming the crash, TARP did, Bush did. And he did so against his free market biases. If any credit goes to anyone it should be Bush and not our current revisionist in chief.
Lets see how long it takes the world's governments to follow the lead of more nimble corporations.
Snoopy Dance...
Related: Imagine the number of NOVA episodes that are quickly becoming unrerunable. Not just the "climate" episodes, but all the episodes that base some tangential repercussion on the myth of global warming. PBS pain...
But, that didn’t stop these fraudsters from bilking the EU and US for £800,000 ($1,253,624.84) annually for the last 20 years.
Every time I hear a reference to global warming (the assumption being that it is fact) on NOVA I lose more faith in the show. It moves closer and closer to simple entertainment.
Every time I hear a reference to global warming in the mainstream news I wonder where they get their information and could they really be so very dense.
Narrative, narrative The only news is the news they choose. narrative, narrative It's all that matters...
When Biden speaks, punchlines are sure to follow. So when I heard him lay claim to Iraqi successes last Sunday for the Obama administration, my reaction was, so more Biden blabber.
But then Biden was followed up by Gibbs offering support for the position.
Really? This could have been an SnL skit if the writers were not so blinded by ideology. Instead it is reality and the nation is laughing at the claims irregardless. This should be a concern for the administration. Presidents are chided, lambasted, ideologically attacked and resisted, but to be laughed at is simply sad. Of course, what is sadder is that the Obama administration in its utter lack of success feels compelled to steal it from the Bush administration.
First off is the America's Cup race. The first race is over and BMW Oracle won. They are racing the most beautiful trimaran I have ever seen photographed. Apparently it is made entirely of carbon fiber and can hit speeds of around 30 knots. The complete boat is quite strong, but if any one part fails, the entire boat will fail, and, it was hinted, possibly sink. The sail is not a sail, but rather a wing, and stands quite tall.
Secondly is a story from Europe of a couple who had been on vacation and lost their camera, a Nikon D90, in he ocean. The couple instantly gave up on it content to live with the loss. A year and a half later they made contact with a fisherman who had fished the camera back out of the ocean. Amazingly the photos were intact on the memory card. I don't know if credtt should go to the camera maker or the flash card maker. Lucky couple.
My days as student in Chapel Hill exposed me to an entrenched arrogance of thought. There was no room for discussion with these people as they generally resorted to shouting two words when confronted ...racist and stereotype. If in a group they would act as a pack. It was easier to leave them to their sad faux 60s protesting as they were largely ignored anyway.
Heh!! Where-Oh-Where has this stuff been. Global Warming is so ripe for this sort of snark. Even if weather is not climate there is no weather without climate and enough weather does a climate make....
I always enjoyed the original version of this song but the lyrics were absolutely atrocious, to the point of embarrassment. The Frozen Wasteland lyrics are far better than the original age pandering nonsense .
Some of you visit solely for the trip updates, but as polifrogblog has evolved the trip updates have taken on a smaller role.
As a result trip posts have become increasingly more difficult to find, as they are lost in the increasing number of posts that reflect my other interests.
So, in the interests of those of you who visit exclusively for the trip updates I have added a link at the top of the polifrogblog page that consolidates all the trip posts in one place.
Audi's "Green Police" (available on YouTube) depicts an America where citizens are arrested -- roughly -- for even minor environmental infractions. A man at the supermarket asks for a plastic shopping bag and has his head slammed against the counter as he's cuffed by a Green Police officer. "You picked the wrong day to mess with the ecosystem, plastic boy," quips the cop. When officers find a battery in the wrong suburban garbage bin, one big cop yells, "Battery! Let's go! Take the house!"
What's up with the anteater on a leash? Are anteaters greener than dogs or something?
In 1999 Milton Friedman predicted that the euro would fail within 10 years due to just this type of stress.
And here is an article referencing his predictions in more detail.
I am afraid that the euro may not survive as the member states look wistfully at a central banks around the world that can tailor policy particular to their states.
Today was to be our last day in Upper Pines Campground, so I got up early to take a solitary walk around both Upper and Lower Pines Campgrounds. I enjoy campgrounds. The morning smells, sounds and activity take me back to my youth. Some people were leaving while others were preparing for another day. On the way back into our campground I did something I had wanted to do for days. I walked past the gateless guard house and photographed the map of the three campgrounds (we had site 105 in Upper Pines) and the bear information sign. No other campground we visited felt the need to give this depth of information on the bears. Even Yellowstone.
My family was awake and bustling when I returned. Katrina was adding to the campground's breakfast smells and I joined her by doing my part in contributing to the packing noises. The children threw in their lot by working hard to create a general racket. Surprisingly packing didn't take long. Usually, the longer the stay, the longer it takes to pack. Not this time. I blame the bears and the constant cleaning they forced upon us. We were packed and rolling before checkout.
Although we were leaving, we were not leaving Yosemite. We were only moving to another campground within the park. When making the reservations we reserved a single night in Wawona campground near the southern exit. With the extra night there we were able to use day 5 for exploring the southern side of Yosemite before leaving the park the next day. Our drive to Wawona was hilly, smoky and peppered with waterfalls. The park was doing some controlled burns (prescribed burns if into the renaming of the named as most progressive institutions seem to be) that lent something mystical to the air. Although we wished we could experience the views with western crispness, the smoke felt appropriate for Yosemite. Magical pictures ensued.
We made Wawona Campground before noon. Our arrival was earlier than the norm, as more than half the sites were still unoccupied. We had reserved site 53 across from a very squeaky trash dumpster that most users felt required dropping the lid on. It was quiet as we, in all likelihood, broke federal law in feeding a bird an errant potato chip during lunch. At one point the bird was attempting to break the chip into smaller more easily eaten pieces. It appeared the bird was normally adept at this. Our chips, though, were thicker than normal and the bird struggled. At one point the bird was holding the chip down by standing on it while trying to break off a piece in it's beak. No dice. Instead the bird lost balance and rolled over onto its back. : )
After lunch we all swam in the river behind our campsite. We had picked the site 6 months prior due to its proximity to the river. The river was cool, clear and quick. A little farther downstream others were swimming as well. I chose to enter the river upstream from the family. The river there formed an inviting area of rapids as it curled over large smooth, round boulders and on the whole it looked like a fun ride. I thought I would try it before letting the older kids try. It sucked! Fearing the loss of my flops I held them in my hands, so my hands were useless. I struggled in keeping my feet forward to avoid being pounded by the rocks and worried my unshod feet would get impaled on a stick caught on a rock. With my hands otherwise occupied I lost my floppy hat after being forced underwater. I never found it. After the river slowed I joined my children who were already swimming. It seemed best that the children play in the slower currents.
After drying off we drove past Pioneer Yosemite History Center on on the way to Mariposa Grove. Unfortunately the road into Mariposa Grove was closed due to the parking lot within the area being full. We doubled back to the Pioneer Center where a park bus was available for the purpose of ferrying folks to and from Mariposa. There was little information, though, regarding the bus schedule. As a result we weren't sure when the last bus would run. We didn't know how much time we would have in the grove and didn't want to be forced to hoof it back to our car if we were to miss the last bus. Due to the lack of info. we choose to explore Pioneer Center.
I liked it. Old construction holds my attention and there was plenty to entertain the children as well. We were greeted first with a long carriage house holding old horse drawn carriages that were used by the park in the early part of the twentieth century. After crossing a covered bridge built by hand an unknown (by me) number of years ago, we entered the village. There was a group of log cabins and structures of slightly more modern construction. The buildings had been gathered in one place from many places over Yosemite for preservation. As I said the construction was interesting as was the blacksmith. Unfortunately the buildings were all locked which was unsurprising, but while we were wondering around a volunteer historian showed up with keys and a small crowd. He gave us all a walking tour of the structures inside and out. One of the buildings was the Wells-Fargo building. It is still in use, though not as originally intended. Inside we bought a ticket to ride a horse drawn carriage than runs during the summer. More than ever I am glad we don't depend on horses or buggies (as my mother-in-law calls them) anymore. Here is Birrel Maier driving our carriage.
With the ride over we went back down to the trading post and browsed the goods. Our supplies had gotten skimpy over the last few days, so we bought enough sandwich makings to eat a snack. We ate outside on a picnic table warmed by the sun. As Kat and I cleared the table and gathered the left overs to load in the van, Trey noticed bear scratches on a the dumpster as he tossed the trash. With all of us loaded and the time that had passed we decided to check out Mariposa Grove again.
The parking was easy on our second try, but it was getting late and we had to move quickly. Sequoias. There was one in particular that I wanted to find with the family. The Fallen Monarch. It was long dead, but I felt it tied me to the past due to all the pictures I have seen of it. Actually, it was one picture in black and white of cavalry posing along its length that I recalled seeing repeatedly. We found it quickly, as it is close to the parking lot. We got some pics. and pushed forward with the hike. The grove required a long hike up hill. There was once a road to where we were going that the park shut down. I'm sure they had good 'environmental' reasons but the fact is that it is still in use if your willing to pay the park for access. In any event we were able to make it to The Grizzly Giant and another sequoia through which its trunk a sidewalk had been tunneled. On the way back the sun's light was filtering through the trees in the magical way that it does just before it sets, but unfortunately I couldn't coax my camera to catch it. I need lessons.
The day didn't end with demented Mariposa deer in the twilight. It, instead, ended with the Frenchies as Kat and I took to calling them. After dinner, and after the children were in bed, Kat and I were sitting by the dying campfire when a car slowly drove by a couple of times. It stopped, a fellow got out, and wondered through our campsite and both our neighbors' sites. It was dark and hunting for site numbers can be difficult, so we didn't pay him any mind. That is, until he parked in front of our van, started unpacking, and then poking around our site with a flashlight. OK, time to talk. There were three of them, two guys and a gorgeous girl. Katrina agreed that the girl was 'attractive'. : ) They were all visiting from France. The guys both seemed bummy while the girl appeared to be the source of funding. One guy claimed they had reservations but may have shown up a day or week early or late. Later the girl gave a different excuse and most likely the truth. But we didn't know that until morning, so being that things happen and the site was huge we told them to set up camp in our site and make use of the campfire if they wished. We let them know that if they wanted to avoid Ranger the next morning they would have to leave by eight.
Well well, the snow still falls along the Himalayan Mountain chain. We were told by our betters that most Himalayan Glaciers would be gone by 2035. Apparently the claim was based on one man's 'speculation. Peer review? not so much. The real question as to whether the claim was adopted by the IPCC seemed to be, Does this claim fit the narrative?
