14/08: Totally Erroneous
Death Panels?
Totally ludicrous. There is no such thing as a "death panel." They are a figment of someone's despicably vile imagination. Any person who traffics in that brand of misleading gutter politics should be drawn and quartered. In fact, it is exactly that sort of imprecise and insidious speech that makes this country such a breeding ground for neo-Nazi, right-wing conservative kooks.
And, aside from that, the Senate has pledged to omit the passage (that doesn't actually exist--in section 1233 of the House bill) from its own plan.
They didn't do it. But if they did, they promise not to do it anymore.
Sarah Palin sure is dumb.
Totally ludicrous. There is no such thing as a "death panel." They are a figment of someone's despicably vile imagination. Any person who traffics in that brand of misleading gutter politics should be drawn and quartered. In fact, it is exactly that sort of imprecise and insidious speech that makes this country such a breeding ground for neo-Nazi, right-wing conservative kooks.
And, aside from that, the Senate has pledged to omit the passage (that doesn't actually exist--in section 1233 of the House bill) from its own plan.
They didn't do it. But if they did, they promise not to do it anymore.
Sarah Palin sure is dumb.
Category: American History and Politics
Posted by: an okie gardener
Camille Paglia, my favorite lesbian-feminist-Democrat commenator, absolutely tears the Democrats in power.
Excerpt:
Having said that, I must confess my dismay bordering on horror at the amateurism of the White House apparatus for domestic policy. When will heads start to roll? I was glad to see the White House counsel booted, as well as Michelle Obama's chief of staff, and hope it's a harbinger of things to come. Except for that wily fox, David Axelrod, who could charm gold threads out of moonbeams, Obama seems to be surrounded by juvenile tinhorns, bumbling mediocrities and crass bully boys.
Case in point: the administration's grotesque mishandling of healthcare reform, one of the most vital issues facing the nation. Ever since Hillary Clinton's megalomaniacal annihilation of our last best chance at reform in 1993 (all of which was suppressed by the mainstream media when she was running for president), Democrats have been longing for that happy day when this issue would once again be front and center.
But who would have thought that the sober, deliberative Barack Obama would have nothing to propose but vague and slippery promises -- or that he would so easily cede the leadership clout of the executive branch to a chaotic, rapacious, solipsistic Congress? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whom I used to admire for her smooth aplomb under pressure, has clearly gone off the deep end with her bizarre rants about legitimate town-hall protests by American citizens. She is doing grievous damage to the party and should immediately step down.
And she's just getting started.
What I don't get is her cognative disconnect: in her last few columns she has lambasted the Dems, including the Administration, but continues to believe Obama himself is the sober, deliberative Barack Obama.
In another sign that the tide may be turning irrevocably against Obamacare: from last night's Conan O'Brian
President Obama says he will not support a healthcare plan where the government gets to decide to “pull the plug on grandma.” Apparently Obama’s plan calls for the much quicker “pillow option.”
Excerpt:
Having said that, I must confess my dismay bordering on horror at the amateurism of the White House apparatus for domestic policy. When will heads start to roll? I was glad to see the White House counsel booted, as well as Michelle Obama's chief of staff, and hope it's a harbinger of things to come. Except for that wily fox, David Axelrod, who could charm gold threads out of moonbeams, Obama seems to be surrounded by juvenile tinhorns, bumbling mediocrities and crass bully boys.
Case in point: the administration's grotesque mishandling of healthcare reform, one of the most vital issues facing the nation. Ever since Hillary Clinton's megalomaniacal annihilation of our last best chance at reform in 1993 (all of which was suppressed by the mainstream media when she was running for president), Democrats have been longing for that happy day when this issue would once again be front and center.
But who would have thought that the sober, deliberative Barack Obama would have nothing to propose but vague and slippery promises -- or that he would so easily cede the leadership clout of the executive branch to a chaotic, rapacious, solipsistic Congress? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whom I used to admire for her smooth aplomb under pressure, has clearly gone off the deep end with her bizarre rants about legitimate town-hall protests by American citizens. She is doing grievous damage to the party and should immediately step down.
And she's just getting started.
What I don't get is her cognative disconnect: in her last few columns she has lambasted the Dems, including the Administration, but continues to believe Obama himself is the sober, deliberative Barack Obama.
In another sign that the tide may be turning irrevocably against Obamacare: from last night's Conan O'Brian
President Obama says he will not support a healthcare plan where the government gets to decide to “pull the plug on grandma.” Apparently Obama’s plan calls for the much quicker “pillow option.”
Category: American History and Politics
Posted by: an okie gardener
Here in Oklahoma we have had the tolls raised on our toll roads. To us it's a big deal because for a state our size we have a lot of toll roads.
The rates are going up because toll revenues are down. People have been driving less on the toll roads. Less overall, or less on the toll roads? I haven't seen that question addressed. As someone who lives on a highway that can be used as an alternative to a nearby toll stretch of I-44, I suspect that some folks are choosing to bypass the pay-for-use roads.
A private business, faced with declining purchases from customers, would try to upgrade service, perhaps even cutting prices. Not so government. Whatever the revenue source, and whatever the justification--think taxes on tobacco--once government develops an income it will not give it up voluntarily.
The outcome, I am guessing, may be more traffic on my highway, because even government cannot escape the laws of economics completely.
The rates are going up because toll revenues are down. People have been driving less on the toll roads. Less overall, or less on the toll roads? I haven't seen that question addressed. As someone who lives on a highway that can be used as an alternative to a nearby toll stretch of I-44, I suspect that some folks are choosing to bypass the pay-for-use roads.
A private business, faced with declining purchases from customers, would try to upgrade service, perhaps even cutting prices. Not so government. Whatever the revenue source, and whatever the justification--think taxes on tobacco--once government develops an income it will not give it up voluntarily.
The outcome, I am guessing, may be more traffic on my highway, because even government cannot escape the laws of economics completely.
10/08: Guilty Pleasure Reading
Category: American History and Politics
Posted by: an okie gardener
In a recent post I noted a new book that I found disturbing and interesting: an inside account of those protected by the Secret Service resulting from interviews with (not so) Secret Service members. Disturbing because it could cause future protectees to separate themselves from their detail, interesting because, well, who doesn't like to read about the lives of celebrities--in my case political figures.
Newsmax has been doing summaries of the book's content as teasers, and today's material mostly is on Reagan. And also some on Gary Hart who was even more of a tomcat than we knew.
According to the Secret Service, Reagan was the same affable, courteous man in private that he was in public. He treated those around him like he appreciated their work. Nancy? Well, let's say the Secret Service members were not her fans.
Newsmax has been doing summaries of the book's content as teasers, and today's material mostly is on Reagan. And also some on Gary Hart who was even more of a tomcat than we knew.
According to the Secret Service, Reagan was the same affable, courteous man in private that he was in public. He treated those around him like he appreciated their work. Nancy? Well, let's say the Secret Service members were not her fans.
08/08: Religion of Peace? Not.
Muslim fanatics continue to kill Buddhists in southern Thailand, as well as moderate Muslims, in an effort to create a sharia state.
Buddhists are even more vulnerable in Islamic theology because they lack the protection of second-class citizenship given to Christians and Jews in a state run by Islamic law.
Once more, Islam's bloody borders.
Story.
Islam has been at war with everyone else since its founding, with occasional cool spells and hot spells. We are in the midst of another hot spell. When might it burn itself out?
Buddhists are even more vulnerable in Islamic theology because they lack the protection of second-class citizenship given to Christians and Jews in a state run by Islamic law.
Once more, Islam's bloody borders.
Story.
Islam has been at war with everyone else since its founding, with occasional cool spells and hot spells. We are in the midst of another hot spell. When might it burn itself out?
Category: American Christianity
Posted by: an okie gardener
Very interesting essay.
Is this the inevitable result of a belief in the individual conscience before God?
That is a disquieting question for Evangelicals—especially for Evangelicals. Evangelicals believe wholeheartedly in the individual conscience before God. We preach individual salvation, believing that each person will have a conversion experience. We encourage people to read and interpret the Bible for themselves regardless of age or education. We make it clear that every Christian is responsible for his or her spiritual life and that each can trust the internal leading of the Holy Spirit. We talk about feeling close to or far from God who, from time to time, “lays” someone or something “on my heart.” In short, we have a faith with a large subjective component.
That is why the Episcopalians’ problem could become our problem. Unless we protect the individual conscience before God from the run-away individualism and subjectivity that are rampant in our culture, we risk following the Episcopal Church to the cul de sac.
Is this the inevitable result of a belief in the individual conscience before God?
That is a disquieting question for Evangelicals—especially for Evangelicals. Evangelicals believe wholeheartedly in the individual conscience before God. We preach individual salvation, believing that each person will have a conversion experience. We encourage people to read and interpret the Bible for themselves regardless of age or education. We make it clear that every Christian is responsible for his or her spiritual life and that each can trust the internal leading of the Holy Spirit. We talk about feeling close to or far from God who, from time to time, “lays” someone or something “on my heart.” In short, we have a faith with a large subjective component.
That is why the Episcopalians’ problem could become our problem. Unless we protect the individual conscience before God from the run-away individualism and subjectivity that are rampant in our culture, we risk following the Episcopal Church to the cul de sac.
04/08: Disturbing--and Interesting
Category: American History and Politics
Posted by: an okie gardener
There is a book coming out supposedly based on interviews with Secret Service agents that reveals the "behind closed doors" character of the people being guarded.
Disturbing: those being protected, such as presidents, need to be able to trust that they never will be talked about by the Secret Service. Otherwise the trust is lost, and the temptation to ditch the protection increases. I would, however, make an exception to the secrecy for felonies.
Interesting: if the material is to be believed: Nixon and LBJ may have been even weirder than I knew, and I already thought they were odd; Carter was not likable; and the Obamas are OK so far, though Barak is lying about not smoking.
Story.
Disturbing: those being protected, such as presidents, need to be able to trust that they never will be talked about by the Secret Service. Otherwise the trust is lost, and the temptation to ditch the protection increases. I would, however, make an exception to the secrecy for felonies.
Interesting: if the material is to be believed: Nixon and LBJ may have been even weirder than I knew, and I already thought they were odd; Carter was not likable; and the Obamas are OK so far, though Barak is lying about not smoking.
Story.
Category: American Culture
Posted by: an okie gardener
*the selections of tea in the coolers of our local "convenience stores" (today's high in SW Oklahoma 101 F) has been reduced to make more room for "energy drinks." What kind of a culture is it when a significant chunk of the population feels the need (addiction) for massive amounts of caffeine and sugar?
*we are now called a "service economy." But, I now notice good customer service because it does not seem the norm.
*buying simple items that are not "Made in China" turns shopping into some sort of scavenger hunt. This is the nation that suppresses its own people, is exerting increasing power into the "third world," supports nasty dictatorships around the world especially if oil is involved, destroys its own environment and that of anywhere it touches, is our most likely national military enemy in the 21st century, and is able to assert increasing influence over us because it holds a big chunk of our national debt.
*the representatives in our "representative government" acknowledge that they do not have the time to read and digest a massive bit of legislation that supposedly must be passed quickly.
* we spend ever-increasing amounts of money on public education, try new methods of education annually that promise to be The Solution, and anyone who has taught for over 25 years can tell you that today's students cannot handle the academic rigor of the recent past. (my first teaching job began 30 years ago this month)
*the latest entertainment fad is to hook up to an electronic system indoors and pretend to be running, playing tennis, golfing, shooting, instead of going outside and doing those activities.
*people pay to lay in tanning beds when sunshine is free
Yes, I have been off my meds for a few days but should be able to refill them tomorrow.
*we are now called a "service economy." But, I now notice good customer service because it does not seem the norm.
*buying simple items that are not "Made in China" turns shopping into some sort of scavenger hunt. This is the nation that suppresses its own people, is exerting increasing power into the "third world," supports nasty dictatorships around the world especially if oil is involved, destroys its own environment and that of anywhere it touches, is our most likely national military enemy in the 21st century, and is able to assert increasing influence over us because it holds a big chunk of our national debt.
*the representatives in our "representative government" acknowledge that they do not have the time to read and digest a massive bit of legislation that supposedly must be passed quickly.
* we spend ever-increasing amounts of money on public education, try new methods of education annually that promise to be The Solution, and anyone who has taught for over 25 years can tell you that today's students cannot handle the academic rigor of the recent past. (my first teaching job began 30 years ago this month)
*the latest entertainment fad is to hook up to an electronic system indoors and pretend to be running, playing tennis, golfing, shooting, instead of going outside and doing those activities.
*people pay to lay in tanning beds when sunshine is free
Yes, I have been off my meds for a few days but should be able to refill them tomorrow.
03/08: Religion of Peace (my a**)
Category: America and the World
Posted by: an okie gardener
Muslims riot, killing Christians in Pakistan because of rumors of the burning of a Q'uran. Story.
Paramilitary troops patrolled the streets of a town in eastern Pakistan yesterday after Muslim radicals burned to death eight members of a Christian family, raising fears of violence spreading to other areas.
Hundreds of armed supporters of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed Islamic militant group, burned dozens of Christian homes in Gojra over the weekend after allegations that a copy of the Koran had been defiled.
The mob opened fire indiscriminately, threw petrol bombs and looted houses as thousands of frightened Christians ran for safety. “They were shouting anti-Christian slogans and attacked our houses,” Rafiq Masih, a resident of the predominantly Christian colony, said. Residents said that police stood aside while the mob went on the rampage. “We kept begging for protection, but police did not take action,” Mr Masih said.
Islam is inherently a supremacist religion. Officially, it tolerates two other faiths--Judaism and Christianity--but only as second-class citizens who must be made to "feel themselves subdued." Islam divides the world into two parts--the realm of submission (that which is Islamic) and the realm of war (that which is not Islamic but must be made so). Islam understands itself as the supreme, culminating revelation which is to displace all other faiths by any means necessary, including violence. No tolerance is given to those who mock the "true faith."
Paramilitary troops patrolled the streets of a town in eastern Pakistan yesterday after Muslim radicals burned to death eight members of a Christian family, raising fears of violence spreading to other areas.
Hundreds of armed supporters of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed Islamic militant group, burned dozens of Christian homes in Gojra over the weekend after allegations that a copy of the Koran had been defiled.
The mob opened fire indiscriminately, threw petrol bombs and looted houses as thousands of frightened Christians ran for safety. “They were shouting anti-Christian slogans and attacked our houses,” Rafiq Masih, a resident of the predominantly Christian colony, said. Residents said that police stood aside while the mob went on the rampage. “We kept begging for protection, but police did not take action,” Mr Masih said.
Islam is inherently a supremacist religion. Officially, it tolerates two other faiths--Judaism and Christianity--but only as second-class citizens who must be made to "feel themselves subdued." Islam divides the world into two parts--the realm of submission (that which is Islamic) and the realm of war (that which is not Islamic but must be made so). Islam understands itself as the supreme, culminating revelation which is to displace all other faiths by any means necessary, including violence. No tolerance is given to those who mock the "true faith."
Category: America and the World
Posted by: an okie gardener
Jihadwatch links to an article from The Telegraph (UK) on efforts by the Obama administration to establish links with dictatorships in central Asia who might be helpful against the Taliban. He here exceeds GWB in "realism."
From The Telegraph:
President Barack Obama is resurrecting relations with some of the world's worst human rights abusers in Central Asia as he attempts to secure new allies in the fight against the Taliban.
Mr Obama has brought a new pragmatism to foreign policy In a repeat of the 19th Century "Great Game", when the Russians and British competed for relations with Muslim leaders on the outposts of their empires, Mr Obama's envoys are scuttling between the palaces of Central Asia's post-Soviet dictators.
In the last three months, Mr Obama has cut deals with Presidents Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan. Mr Karimov has been accused by a former British ambassador of ordering two opponents boiled alive. One of Mr Bakiyev's critics was recently stabbed 26 times in the buttocks by unknown assailants.
From The Telegraph:
President Barack Obama is resurrecting relations with some of the world's worst human rights abusers in Central Asia as he attempts to secure new allies in the fight against the Taliban.
Mr Obama has brought a new pragmatism to foreign policy In a repeat of the 19th Century "Great Game", when the Russians and British competed for relations with Muslim leaders on the outposts of their empires, Mr Obama's envoys are scuttling between the palaces of Central Asia's post-Soviet dictators.
In the last three months, Mr Obama has cut deals with Presidents Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan. Mr Karimov has been accused by a former British ambassador of ordering two opponents boiled alive. One of Mr Bakiyev's critics was recently stabbed 26 times in the buttocks by unknown assailants.
