In more good news for ASW fans, the Boeing P8A Poseidon was officially rolled out yesterday.
Because the P-3 Orion fleet is aging so fast, the Navy has chosen to get the P-8's out to the fleet as quickly as possible, and then expect to see them get fitted out for multiple missions, etc, etc.
"The P-8A Poseidon program is an outstanding example of evolutionary acquisition at work. We have established a very solid baseline for initial operational capability, while concurrently making upgrade increments for future insertion as technology matures," said Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft Program Manager Capt. Mike Moran.
end...
Friday, July 31, 2009
Navy continues string of successful BMD tests...
And they said it couldn't be done (must've assumed the USAF would get this mission).
The Navy successfully fired an SM-3 from the USS Hooper (CG-70), proving to the North Koreans that we intend to protect Hawaii.
From the Navy's official release:
"During this event, entitled Stellar Avenger, the Aegis BMD-equipped ship, USS Hopper (DDG 70), detected, tracked, fired and guided a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block (Blk) IA to intercept a sub-scale short range ballistic missile."
end...
The Navy successfully fired an SM-3 from the USS Hooper (CG-70), proving to the North Koreans that we intend to protect Hawaii.
From the Navy's official release:
"During this event, entitled Stellar Avenger, the Aegis BMD-equipped ship, USS Hopper (DDG 70), detected, tracked, fired and guided a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block (Blk) IA to intercept a sub-scale short range ballistic missile."
end...
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
US to replace Russia as India's key arms depot.
I love that there's an English language version of Pravda. I doubly love that Naval OpenSource Intelligence is using it as their source for India's decision to primarily use the United States (vice Russia) as their arms supplier.
The Indians. Without them, the Chinese will rule the world.
end...
The Indians. Without them, the Chinese will rule the world.
end...
ASDS Killed, for good this time.
The Navy has axed the Advanced Seal Delivery System (ASDS). After a fire last November caused over $200M in damage, the Navy decided to go ahead and kill the ASDS and not even repair the one delivered. I think over $1B had been spent already on this thing, and it just wasn't working out.
What also wasn't working out was who was going to pay for it and that was always a problem.
According to the Honolulu Advertiser, "Funding has been requested for the Joint Multi-Mission Submersible program to develop an alternate SEAL insertion craft. The online publication Inside the Navy reported in June that $43.4 million was being sought for pre-design work for the mini-sub that would provide 'improved performance' over ASDS."
This supposedly is in the 2010 budget.
So, the SEALS will remain wet for now.
end...
What also wasn't working out was who was going to pay for it and that was always a problem.
According to the Honolulu Advertiser, "Funding has been requested for the Joint Multi-Mission Submersible program to develop an alternate SEAL insertion craft. The online publication Inside the Navy reported in June that $43.4 million was being sought for pre-design work for the mini-sub that would provide 'improved performance' over ASDS."
This supposedly is in the 2010 budget.
So, the SEALS will remain wet for now.
end...
Monday, July 27, 2009
Abortion - more Facebook stupidity
I don't really like to start abortion debates here (they are good for the hit meter, but little else), but, when I posted over on Facebook about how abortions have declined for the last 8 years, and how public opinion is turning against the "choice" side, I got this reply (Facebook is not filled with the greatest debaters):
""Jay,,, since you stated about the great success regarding tighter state restrictions on abortion,,, giving kudos up to George Bush and pollsters,,, and overturning Roe,, within the next decade I am just wondering,,, how do you think Dr. Tiller's family is feeling right now?"
Ok, first, I did note as a success some reasonable restrictions states have been placing on abortions (mostly parental notification laws), and I didn't really give pollsters credit, I was referencing this May 15, 2009 Gallup (you may have heard of them) poll showing a 51%-42% Pro-life vs. Pro-Choice poll, putting the "Life" side ahead for the first time.
I am pretty sure (the whole thread is down now) I didn't suggest Roe would be overturned in the next decade (which it won't barring a GOP victory in 2012), but, I do think Roe's days are numbered, but that's for another post.
What really chaps me in this one, as you can probably guess, is the equation of someone being pro-life (as I freely admit I am), with being pro-murder, when the murder in question is of an abortionist.
I replied to the writer of this post that she was comparing apples to oranges, that my position is that murdering the practitioner of a practice that is legal in this country only serves to help the "choice" movement, as evidenced by this post, since it allows those on that side to try to draw these false moral comparisons, and the simpletons eat it up. Beyond that, to compare the heinous murder of one man, however wrong it is, with the genocide (and, that's what it is) of 30M plus children since 1973, is, well, somewhat one-sided.
The reality is that the murderer of Dr. Tiller should face the maximum penalty for what he has done - and he will. The murder of Dr. Tiller does nothing to help the pro-life cause. People who really want to see this practice eliminated need to protest peacefully, contact their elected representatives, and speak out on blogs, etc.
Regardless, the pro-life cause will eventually prevail because incremental steps will be taken to reasonably restrict abortion, technologies such as ultrasounds are changing people's conceptions of life, and science will eventually push that "viability" point so far towards conception that eventually many more than 51% of Americans will realize that this practice is morally reprehensible and will seek to outlaw it (with some exceptions that this society will be able to agree upon - thus keeping it safe, sometimes legal, and finally rare). Finally, it will happen because it is the right thing to do.
end...
""Jay,,, since you stated about the great success regarding tighter state restrictions on abortion,,, giving kudos up to George Bush and pollsters,,, and overturning Roe,, within the next decade I am just wondering,,, how do you think Dr. Tiller's family is feeling right now?"
Ok, first, I did note as a success some reasonable restrictions states have been placing on abortions (mostly parental notification laws), and I didn't really give pollsters credit, I was referencing this May 15, 2009 Gallup (you may have heard of them) poll showing a 51%-42% Pro-life vs. Pro-Choice poll, putting the "Life" side ahead for the first time.
I am pretty sure (the whole thread is down now) I didn't suggest Roe would be overturned in the next decade (which it won't barring a GOP victory in 2012), but, I do think Roe's days are numbered, but that's for another post.
What really chaps me in this one, as you can probably guess, is the equation of someone being pro-life (as I freely admit I am), with being pro-murder, when the murder in question is of an abortionist.
I replied to the writer of this post that she was comparing apples to oranges, that my position is that murdering the practitioner of a practice that is legal in this country only serves to help the "choice" movement, as evidenced by this post, since it allows those on that side to try to draw these false moral comparisons, and the simpletons eat it up. Beyond that, to compare the heinous murder of one man, however wrong it is, with the genocide (and, that's what it is) of 30M plus children since 1973, is, well, somewhat one-sided.
The reality is that the murderer of Dr. Tiller should face the maximum penalty for what he has done - and he will. The murder of Dr. Tiller does nothing to help the pro-life cause. People who really want to see this practice eliminated need to protest peacefully, contact their elected representatives, and speak out on blogs, etc.
Regardless, the pro-life cause will eventually prevail because incremental steps will be taken to reasonably restrict abortion, technologies such as ultrasounds are changing people's conceptions of life, and science will eventually push that "viability" point so far towards conception that eventually many more than 51% of Americans will realize that this practice is morally reprehensible and will seek to outlaw it (with some exceptions that this society will be able to agree upon - thus keeping it safe, sometimes legal, and finally rare). Finally, it will happen because it is the right thing to do.
end...
Health Care Debate and Facebook
When you participate in Facebook, and people start political discussions (however benignly) on their sites, you run into real morons.
In a discussion about health care, this gem was a response to something I posted:
"nothing good comes easy,,, Obama and this administration will complete in some form a health care reform plan that was started by Hillary Clinton way back when Bill Clinton was in his first term. The folks on the hill basically threw Hillary under the bus. As they say, "well behaved women rarely make history". I have faith that we will have something,, people like me, uninsured, in our hands by August 8th. At the very least, we should have the same healthcare that we pay for for our congressmen & women to have."
First, this person is stuck under some kind of a rock, since Obama himself has backed off and now only wants something on his desk by the end of the year. It isn't going to happen by August 8th. Sorry.
I don't understand the Hillary references? Is she talking about 1994? I don't know where this person was in 1994, but Hillary pretty much handled the bus throwing on her own. Is she talking about 2008? I dunno...
I have to admit, I have never heard the phrase..."Well behaved women rarely make history." I'd counter and say Mother Theresa was well behaved, she made history (and Sainthood). But, maybe she's the exception. Again, I don't know where people get this stuff.
As for "the same health care that we pay for for our congressmen and women [can't leave out both sexes, that should tell you something about the poster] to have," hmmmmmmmmm, seems no one is proposing that for this go round. As I recall, the Republicans actually proposed that in 1994, but, Hillary was having none of it.
Finally, even if Obama had a bill on his desk on August 8th, most provisions of the House and Senate bills are not going into effect until 2013. Funny how that is AFTER the 2012 election cycle. Let's see, Obama declares victory before anyone actually gets to experience the program before his re-election year.
You see, this is just politics as usual, or, you could call it, "The Chicago Way."
end...
In a discussion about health care, this gem was a response to something I posted:
"nothing good comes easy,,, Obama and this administration will complete in some form a health care reform plan that was started by Hillary Clinton way back when Bill Clinton was in his first term. The folks on the hill basically threw Hillary under the bus. As they say, "well behaved women rarely make history". I have faith that we will have something,, people like me, uninsured, in our hands by August 8th. At the very least, we should have the same healthcare that we pay for for our congressmen & women to have."
First, this person is stuck under some kind of a rock, since Obama himself has backed off and now only wants something on his desk by the end of the year. It isn't going to happen by August 8th. Sorry.
I don't understand the Hillary references? Is she talking about 1994? I don't know where this person was in 1994, but Hillary pretty much handled the bus throwing on her own. Is she talking about 2008? I dunno...
I have to admit, I have never heard the phrase..."Well behaved women rarely make history." I'd counter and say Mother Theresa was well behaved, she made history (and Sainthood). But, maybe she's the exception. Again, I don't know where people get this stuff.
As for "the same health care that we pay for for our congressmen and women [can't leave out both sexes, that should tell you something about the poster] to have," hmmmmmmmmm, seems no one is proposing that for this go round. As I recall, the Republicans actually proposed that in 1994, but, Hillary was having none of it.
Finally, even if Obama had a bill on his desk on August 8th, most provisions of the House and Senate bills are not going into effect until 2013. Funny how that is AFTER the 2012 election cycle. Let's see, Obama declares victory before anyone actually gets to experience the program before his re-election year.
You see, this is just politics as usual, or, you could call it, "The Chicago Way."
end...
Indian SSBN: Pakistan Watch Out!
The Indians' new submarine, the INS Arihant (Sanskrit for "Destroyer of Enemies") is officially in the water.
This Telegraph article includes a nice little plan view of the submarine.
Some details:
This Telegraph article includes a nice little plan view of the submarine.
Some details:
- Will carry a 750km ballistic missile, with a 1500km planned range on the next generation
- 40% indigenous content (i.e. mostly Russian)
- Looks like 12 missile capacity, although some press reports said only 5 (maybe that's all India has in stock)
- One year until her reactor lights off
Friday, July 24, 2009
Obama backpedals on Stoopid Police
If you sleep under a rock, you missed the final question at President Obama's health care newser Wednesday night.
See if for yourself here:
Well, turns out, the question was a plant, and if you're as shocked as I was that the President of the United States would address a local police issue on something he had NO KNOWLEDGE about, you're not alone.
So, after a day of fallout, turns out that pretty much everyone who was there and who is associated with the arresting officer stands by him, and not the Harvard professor and Friend of Barack. This officer was just doing his job, trying to defuse the situation, and this hothead decided to lay into him. Little surprise that a professor of African American studies and a purveyor of the "Blacks are victims" meme, would immediately jump to calling this profiling (although the officer was called to the scene because the guy was breaking into his own house - the facts are not in dispute here, and Grant was arrested for Disorderly Conduct, not B&E).
That the President, with little knowledge of the facts, would take time in his televised press conference, to tout this same pack of lies, should put the lie to anyone who had real thoughts that Barack Obama was some sort of transcendent racial figure. He's a race baiter, just like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, and this had no place in national politics, from a sitting president.
Obama is acting too much like the junior senator from Illinois still, and with his approval ratings continuing their plummet, it won't be long until he's at Bushian levels of approval and Democrats are distancing themselves from him.
It's not too late for him to grab a lifeline that truly stupid Republicans are likely to throw him, probably giving him some sort of "bipartisan" victory on health care, and restoring some of the luster to his presidency. I hope not. I hope the GOP can sense the blood in the water. This presidency, built on the "Cult of Obama" is sinking into the gooey tar pit that is the Pelosi-Reid agenda.
It is said that in politics, when your opponent is committing suicide, the best thing for the opposition to do is to sit and watch.
As for me, I believe I will do that, with a cold beer in my hand.
A caution to Conservatives: Bill Clinton came back. Liberalism came back. We must remain ever vigilant, as there is much work to be done and we can never, ever give up.
end...
See if for yourself here:
Well, turns out, the question was a plant, and if you're as shocked as I was that the President of the United States would address a local police issue on something he had NO KNOWLEDGE about, you're not alone.
So, after a day of fallout, turns out that pretty much everyone who was there and who is associated with the arresting officer stands by him, and not the Harvard professor and Friend of Barack. This officer was just doing his job, trying to defuse the situation, and this hothead decided to lay into him. Little surprise that a professor of African American studies and a purveyor of the "Blacks are victims" meme, would immediately jump to calling this profiling (although the officer was called to the scene because the guy was breaking into his own house - the facts are not in dispute here, and Grant was arrested for Disorderly Conduct, not B&E).
That the President, with little knowledge of the facts, would take time in his televised press conference, to tout this same pack of lies, should put the lie to anyone who had real thoughts that Barack Obama was some sort of transcendent racial figure. He's a race baiter, just like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, and this had no place in national politics, from a sitting president.
Obama is acting too much like the junior senator from Illinois still, and with his approval ratings continuing their plummet, it won't be long until he's at Bushian levels of approval and Democrats are distancing themselves from him.
It's not too late for him to grab a lifeline that truly stupid Republicans are likely to throw him, probably giving him some sort of "bipartisan" victory on health care, and restoring some of the luster to his presidency. I hope not. I hope the GOP can sense the blood in the water. This presidency, built on the "Cult of Obama" is sinking into the gooey tar pit that is the Pelosi-Reid agenda.
It is said that in politics, when your opponent is committing suicide, the best thing for the opposition to do is to sit and watch.
As for me, I believe I will do that, with a cold beer in my hand.
A caution to Conservatives: Bill Clinton came back. Liberalism came back. We must remain ever vigilant, as there is much work to be done and we can never, ever give up.
end...
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Navy on the Military Channel
The Military Channel will air a short mini-series, "At Sea" August 9-11 at 10pm to "allow viewers to experience first hand the revolutionary changes that are currently taking place in the mission, manpower and machinery of this unmatched maritime force." Viewers will get to "dive deep beneath the ocean's surface to explore the latest in attack submarines" among other fun Navy stuff.
Watch it and see for yourself.
end...
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
12 Women Have Dolphins??? Real Dolphins?
I don't have a real problem with women in submarines (I wish they had been onboard in my days), but, I do have a problem with the way this Stars and Stripes article portrays this accomplishment by LCDR Marilisa Elrod ("the distinction of being a submarine-qualified sailor.").
LCDR Elrod is a medical officer and dolphin wearer, and the shocking news (to me) is that there are 11 other dolphin-wearing females.
Upon further review, I suspect (hope) that LCDR Elrod is wearing the special Medical Corps dolphins (the picture isn't of sufficient resolution to tell). Sort of like the Supply Corps' dolphins. Nice achievement, but not really dolphins, of the steely-eyed killer variety.
If she's not wearing those "special" ones, I am going to be pissed.
Comments???
end...
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Health Care - Insight from a Master Strategist
As Obama fights the free fall of his approval numbers (faster than an Apollo spacecraft at re-entry), here are some original thoughts from the master strategist, Dick Morris:
- "How can we cover 50 million more people without any new doctors or nurses? The answer is to ration health care, with the government deciding who'll get hip and knee replacements, heart-bypass surgery and other medical treatments. And what does rationing mean? It means that the elderly will be denied care that they can now get whenever they want."
- "The Obama plan effectively repeals Medicare, putting a Federal Health Board between the elderly and their doctors. This board will instruct public and private insurance carriers on what procedures are to be approved, at what cost and for what patients."
- "We'll have to revisit the idea that the elderly have, in the words of former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm, 'a duty to die.'"
- "The elderly constantly stay in touch with their doctors and medical providers. The curtailment of that access will become immediately apparent -- and in more than enough time for the 2010 elections."
So, my parents will have to die so my kids can afford the taxes to keep the health care system going. Good thing people about my age are drafting this thing, otherwise, I'd be hosed.
Here's hoping it fails.
end...
Monday, July 20, 2009
India gives Hillary (and Obama) the finger on Global Warming
Well, Hillary Clinton was in India this week, again apologizing for the United States' horrible record putting CO2 in the atmosphere, and praising Obama for putting on a course to reduce this horrible pollutant.
Thankfully, the Indians told Hillary:
“There is simply no case for the pressure that we, who have been among the lowest emissions per capita, face to actually reduce emissions,” Jairam Ramesh, India’s environment minister told Mrs Clinton. “And as if this pressure was not enough, we also face the threat of carbon tariffs on our exports to countries such as yours.”
In other words "Hey Hillary, Obama, F-off!"
Good for the Indians and good for civilization.
If we really wanted to do something about awful greenhouse gasses - we'd concentrate on something that really contributes to global warming, like this dastardly molecule.
end...
Thankfully, the Indians told Hillary:
“There is simply no case for the pressure that we, who have been among the lowest emissions per capita, face to actually reduce emissions,” Jairam Ramesh, India’s environment minister told Mrs Clinton. “And as if this pressure was not enough, we also face the threat of carbon tariffs on our exports to countries such as yours.”
In other words "Hey Hillary, Obama, F-off!"
Good for the Indians and good for civilization.
If we really wanted to do something about awful greenhouse gasses - we'd concentrate on something that really contributes to global warming, like this dastardly molecule.
end...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Sotomayor - Pretty Much Standard Liberal Fare
Sonia Sotomayor has said repeatedly, "'I would hope that a wise Latina woman, with the richness of her experiences, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."
Investors Business Daily editorializes (how they read MY mind, I don't know) that her statement at her confirmation hearings, "What I was talking about was the obligation of judges to examine what they're feeling as they're adjudicating a case and to ensure that that's not influencing the outcome," is the kind of liberal "I meant the opposite of what I actually said" speak that we have come to expect from liberal, activist judges.
For what it's worth, her statements at the hearings are all we need to know about how she will approach her job from the bench. Like all Liberal judges, she'll read the words in the Constitution, consider them, then decide it means whatever the hell she wants it to mean right now.
Fair enough? We get what we paid for.
end...
Investors Business Daily editorializes (how they read MY mind, I don't know) that her statement at her confirmation hearings, "What I was talking about was the obligation of judges to examine what they're feeling as they're adjudicating a case and to ensure that that's not influencing the outcome," is the kind of liberal "I meant the opposite of what I actually said" speak that we have come to expect from liberal, activist judges.
For what it's worth, her statements at the hearings are all we need to know about how she will approach her job from the bench. Like all Liberal judges, she'll read the words in the Constitution, consider them, then decide it means whatever the hell she wants it to mean right now.
Fair enough? We get what we paid for.
end...
Friday, July 10, 2009
Obama Approval Numbers Enter Free Fall
Maybe Americans are starting to realize that the economy is not improving, that we own a mess of a car company, that banks are still not lending money, and that none of those shovel-ready projects are actually causing people to pick up shovels, but are instead causing state governments to take bailouts.
Maybe Americans are also trying to send a signal that government run health care is not something they are interested in, that they don't want to be taxed in a scheme to "save" the environment, and that they really don't believe anymore that 95% of them are getting a tax cut.
Maybe.
Anyway, Rasmussen has the Strongly Disapproves at 38% and the Strongly Approves at 30%, so, -8.
Take it for what it's worth, that your neighbors perhaps are willful dunces, but not complete idiots.
end...
Maybe Americans are also trying to send a signal that government run health care is not something they are interested in, that they don't want to be taxed in a scheme to "save" the environment, and that they really don't believe anymore that 95% of them are getting a tax cut.
Maybe.
Anyway, Rasmussen has the Strongly Disapproves at 38% and the Strongly Approves at 30%, so, -8.
Take it for what it's worth, that your neighbors perhaps are willful dunces, but not complete idiots.
end...
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Indians to launch own nuke sub; Sub Blogger glorifies us all
The Indians are set to launch their first, indigenously built, nuclear submarine soon. This in addition to taking delivery of their bad luck Akula from the Russians and the former Admiral Gorshkov (POS) carrier also from the Russkies.
Now, love him or hate him, let's hope the Obama administration follows through on one Bush policy that should be continued - the continued closer cooperation with our friends in India. This, along with Bush's Africa policy, are important foreign policy choices that we need to continue.
In other news - the dean of Submarine bloggers, Joel Kennedy, was recently in the news himself. Stop over at The Stupid Shall be Punished and read Joel's take on it, then go read the interview your own self!
end...
Now, love him or hate him, let's hope the Obama administration follows through on one Bush policy that should be continued - the continued closer cooperation with our friends in India. This, along with Bush's Africa policy, are important foreign policy choices that we need to continue.
In other news - the dean of Submarine bloggers, Joel Kennedy, was recently in the news himself. Stop over at The Stupid Shall be Punished and read Joel's take on it, then go read the interview your own self!
end...
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Biden Speaks, the Left cringes...
Even crazy old Joe Biden (did you know he's Vice President now? Neither did I! Wow!!) thinks the government is run by a bunch of amateurs (himself, excluded).
"The truth is, there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited," said Biden to ABC's George Snuffalufagus.
In another sign of just how wise Biden is becoming, even he thinks Paul Krugman is a partisan hack, and a leftist, lunatic economist as he downplayed calls from (long ago) Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman this week that a second stimulus will be needed.
I always knew I liked Joe Biden for his candor...
end...
"The truth is, there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited," said Biden to ABC's George Snuffalufagus.
In another sign of just how wise Biden is becoming, even he thinks Paul Krugman is a partisan hack, and a leftist, lunatic economist as he downplayed calls from (long ago) Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman this week that a second stimulus will be needed.
I always knew I liked Joe Biden for his candor...
end...
Friday, July 3, 2009
Great men knew the dangers of tyranny. They wrote these Words.
These are two pretty important paragraphs in our Nation's history. Read them and consider what they mean to you this weekend.
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
The authors went on to list a series of abuses perpetrated on them, and signed off thusly:
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
end...
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
The authors went on to list a series of abuses perpetrated on them, and signed off thusly:
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
end...
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Obamafascism
As I hope people will some day soon figure out, Obama and the Dems are engaged in the largest government takeover of our economy ever attempted.
And, they are doing it with the acquiescence of much of corporate America. As I posted previously, Wal-mart has decided to back Obamacare. For good selfish reasons, large corporations like much of what Obama is promising.
But, Jonah Goldberg, who wrote the book on Liberal Fascism, tries to make it clearer for those dense of mind. Read his post, but I'll highlight for you:
Before long, no matter who you work for, you'll be a quasi-government employee (minus all the great benefits, which they of course will retain as the rest of us are hustled off into government-mandated programs).
That's the future. We'll be more messed up than France.
And, they are doing it with the acquiescence of much of corporate America. As I posted previously, Wal-mart has decided to back Obamacare. For good selfish reasons, large corporations like much of what Obama is promising.
But, Jonah Goldberg, who wrote the book on Liberal Fascism, tries to make it clearer for those dense of mind. Read his post, but I'll highlight for you:
- "In the last two election cycles, big Wall Street firms gave more to Democrats than to Republicans. Democrats also led in most other big-business sectors."
- "On health care, insurance companies and others repeat the mantra that they want to be 'at the table rather than on the menu,' all the better to be positioned as a tax collector of the welfare state."
- "General Motors and Chrysler have gone from being pimped-out prostitutes of the state to outright chattel more akin to the leather-bound gimp in Pulp Fiction, eager to do the bidding of the president and the UAW."
- "Once-proud companies like GE have become seduced by global-warming schemes because they recognize that there’s more money to be made selling white elephants to Uncle Sam than there is selling competitive products consumers want. Indeed, cap-and-trade taxes promise to deliver precisely the protectionist industrial policies the Left has dreamed of for decades, only under a “progressive” label."
- "This week, Philip Morris, the biggest of the big tobacco companies, supported and won passage of an “anti-tobacco” bill that will make it easier for Philip Morris (a subsidiary of Altria) to sell cigarettes by making it harder for smaller, more innovative firms to compete."
Before long, no matter who you work for, you'll be a quasi-government employee (minus all the great benefits, which they of course will retain as the rest of us are hustled off into government-mandated programs).
That's the future. We'll be more messed up than France.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tiger Woods blasted by Jim Brown
Jim Brown lambasted Tiger Woods because Woods is "terrible" on social change issues.
I appreciate that Brown was a fantastic (perhaps best ever) running back, and during the turbulent '60's. He felt a need to speak out then, and he does so to this day. Good for you, Jim.
However, my suspicion is that Tiger is likely slightly more conservative in his politics than he may want to let on, and he has chosen to funnel his significant charitable contributions in more traditional ways, vice becoming a polarizing figure for "social change," whatever that is.
Look, Jim, it's not 1968 anymore. Just because Tiger's mixed race includes black, doesn't mean he has to be a poster boy for anything the ossified black leaders decree. Tiger was clearly raised to be his own man, and he'll do what he wants. I hope Tiger doesn't see fit to give these babies the time of day.
end...
I appreciate that Brown was a fantastic (perhaps best ever) running back, and during the turbulent '60's. He felt a need to speak out then, and he does so to this day. Good for you, Jim.
However, my suspicion is that Tiger is likely slightly more conservative in his politics than he may want to let on, and he has chosen to funnel his significant charitable contributions in more traditional ways, vice becoming a polarizing figure for "social change," whatever that is.
Look, Jim, it's not 1968 anymore. Just because Tiger's mixed race includes black, doesn't mean he has to be a poster boy for anything the ossified black leaders decree. Tiger was clearly raised to be his own man, and he'll do what he wants. I hope Tiger doesn't see fit to give these babies the time of day.
end...
More on Wal-mart and Obamacare. Or, why you should be scared, very scared...
David Suderman explains better than I why Wal-mart would support Obamacare.
"Wal-Mart, the nation's largest employer, can afford the costs imposed by an employer mandate. Smaller competitors are likely to find it harder -- and they're not too happy about Wal-Mart's announcement"
All these are messes. Someone will have to clean them up.
end...
"Wal-Mart, the nation's largest employer, can afford the costs imposed by an employer mandate. Smaller competitors are likely to find it harder -- and they're not too happy about Wal-Mart's announcement"
David Brooks explains why Congressional leadership (as opposed to Executive) on policy and lawmaking, as we have witnessed with Porkulus, Cap 'n Tax, and Obamacare, is bad for the country, but good for some corporations.
All these are messes. Someone will have to clean them up.
end...
Obamacare: Watch Large Corporations Jump On
Wal-mart is signing on to Obamacare.
This should really come as no surprise, as there are lots and lots of good reasons for Wal-mart, and other large corporations to sign on to a government run health care system.
The shifting of health care costs from employers to government (read: taxpayers, i.e. YOU) is a natural boon for large employers. It makes even greater sense to large employers with massive unionized workforces, or for those threatened by unionization.
For largely union shops, this essentially levels the playing field for these companies against upstarts. For established companies, health care costs are one of their largest costs of employment, and the rate of increase in health care costs throw much uncertainty into these company's planning processes. So, they see a government run system as a way to make these costs the same for everyone, and to take them off their hands and shift them to ours. They also see them as a way to shelter them from competitors, especially non-union competitors, who have lower costs structures.
For Wal-mart, some certainty has to be in order, and, I expect this is an attempt to buy protection from unionization themselves. If Wal-mart can say, "Why do our employees need a union when there is a government run health care system for them to participate in?"
The groups I can't understand why they are behind Obamacare are unions. Of course, I fully expect the health care benefits that are collectively bargained for to be exempted from any government run plan. Unions will not sit by and stand for employers telling their rank and file to join the government run system, when they have pretty generous, bargained-for benefits.
Anyway, my point is - any health care plan is going to be shaped more by Democratic party politics than actual health care needs.
End...
This should really come as no surprise, as there are lots and lots of good reasons for Wal-mart, and other large corporations to sign on to a government run health care system.
The shifting of health care costs from employers to government (read: taxpayers, i.e. YOU) is a natural boon for large employers. It makes even greater sense to large employers with massive unionized workforces, or for those threatened by unionization.
For largely union shops, this essentially levels the playing field for these companies against upstarts. For established companies, health care costs are one of their largest costs of employment, and the rate of increase in health care costs throw much uncertainty into these company's planning processes. So, they see a government run system as a way to make these costs the same for everyone, and to take them off their hands and shift them to ours. They also see them as a way to shelter them from competitors, especially non-union competitors, who have lower costs structures.
For Wal-mart, some certainty has to be in order, and, I expect this is an attempt to buy protection from unionization themselves. If Wal-mart can say, "Why do our employees need a union when there is a government run health care system for them to participate in?"
The groups I can't understand why they are behind Obamacare are unions. Of course, I fully expect the health care benefits that are collectively bargained for to be exempted from any government run plan. Unions will not sit by and stand for employers telling their rank and file to join the government run system, when they have pretty generous, bargained-for benefits.
Anyway, my point is - any health care plan is going to be shaped more by Democratic party politics than actual health care needs.
End...
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