Off Topic and General Interest
Please post your off-topic and general interest items here.
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Something New
I’m starting to play around with a new site, folks.
It’s still bare bones, and it is a board, not a blog - although I may attach a blog to it later.
Anyway, you’re welcome to take a look, join up if you feel like it, and of course, offer suggestions in the “Suggestions” forum.
The place is here: http://www.survival-preps.com
Surely Not?
“We know what the problem is and we are trying to fix it,'’ said Pound. Asked why recipients would pluck random numbers - 26, 45, 14 - to fill in for their congressional district, Pound replied, “who knows, man, who really knows. There are 130,000 reports out there.'’
But President Obombast assured us that four gazillion, five hundred thirty cartoonian, six twenty three hobollion, four million, seventy ‘leben point two jobs have been saved or created.
With a take accurate to a fraction of one, surely you can’t be telling us that your boss, the Obamster, is blowing it out of his ass are you?
Sorry, That Would Be Too Obvious to Consider….
‘Obama pressure on Gilo shows a continued misread’ | Israel Palestine-Gaza Conflict | Jerusalem Post
US President Barack Obama is an extremely intelligent man surrounded by equally intelligent advisers, many of whom have years of experience dealing with the Middle East. His continued misreading and misunderstanding of the Israeli public is, therefore, somewhat baffling.
Rather than being baffled, have you considered the possibility that Obama is not an extremely intelligent man, and that he is surrounded by anti-semitic ideologues who despise Israel’s very existence, and share the French opinion of that “shitty little country?”
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November 18th, 2009 | #1
It’s being done deliberately to piss off the Israelis. He hopes to push them far enough that they do something stupid to give him an excuse the US public will believe is legitimate when he cuts all US ties with Israel.
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November 18th, 2009 | #2
Which, if so, will be yet another nail in his political coffin - because Israel’s strongest and most numerous supporters in America are not Jewish - they are evangelical and born-again fundamentalist Christians. And not a few of them happen to be Democrats.
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November 18th, 2009 | #3
genes:
… an excuse the US public will believe is legitimate when he cuts all US ties with Israel.
Wow, that might even finally wake up the Jews who reflexively support Democrats. Nah, just daydreaming, I guess.
He’s Everywhere!
Two Dead, 21 Injured in Minnesota Tour Bush Crash
Great gods in heaven. Is there nothing our former President isn’t responsible for?
I wonder, though: Were these poor victims all of the fact-checking, copy-editing folk that make the MSM so superior to the blogosphere?
Why did they expect things to change?
Cuban conditions ‘remain harsh’
Cuba is continuing to violate human rights and is using draconian laws to repress its citizens, according to a new Human Rights Watch report.
The communist country’s shift from Fidel Castro’s leadership to president Raul Castro has not changed conditions according to the report.
The group said that since taking office, Raul Castro had kept abusive laws firmly in place.
They don’t seem to get it. Why would he want to change the system that has kept him in power for years? Fidel’s “retirement” made no difference as Raul had already assumed control.
Libertarians Support Holder on KSM Trial?
How the KSM Trial Will Undermine the Law - Jonah Goldberg - The Corner on National Review Online
. Some day when a guy gets convicted on a two bit federal charge thanks to the KSM rules that will no doubt result from this trial, we will have Eric Holder and his liberal and libertarian enablers to thank.
Huh? “Libertarian enablers?”
What the hell is he talking about?
This?
Libertarian Party urges ‘no’ vote on Eric Holder | Independent Political Report
WASHINGTON, D.C. — America’s third-largest political party urged the Senate Wednesday to reject the nomination of Eric Holder to be Attorney General, citing his record of hostility to Second Amendment rights.
I know that Jonah regards libertarians as a threat to his conservative branch of the GOP, but come on….
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November 18th, 2009 | #1
I usually like Jonah, but maybe he doesn’t get out enough. I don’t a single libertarian who is in favor of staging show trials.
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November 18th, 2009 | #2
Some day when a guy gets convicted on a two bit federal charge thanks to the KSM rules that will
no doubtpossibly, maybe, somehow, someday result from this trial, we will have Eric Holder and his liberaland libertarianenablers to thank.There – IANAL (though I might be willing, for a price, to impersonate one the next time I stay overnight at a Holiday Inn Express), but that has at least some actual semblance of real-world possibility to it.
That’s the basic problem with putting forth verbatim an alleged message “…From an e-friend and lawyer with very relevant government experience… “ which sounds like a rant from an empty-headed flamer – inevitably, you (Jonah) seem to be in approval, and therefore seem like – heh – an empty-headed flamer, as well.
Of course, even that alteration doesn’t make it an entirely sensible statement – just how necessary will it be to use “a two bit federal charge” to convict KSM? Or how likely is it that such a conviction would necessarily form a useful/dangerous precedent?
In addition, especially coming from this supposed “…lawyer with…relevant experience…”, this seems particularly and profoundly stupid:
It is a really bad idea to have a trial where the accused is so vile and dangerous no jury or judge would ever let them off.
Since when is having a virtual slam-dunk case for conviction such a problem for anyone aside from mostly-fictional defense lawyers (i.e., Perry Mason, et.al.) or, in this case, leftist/socialist “fellow travelers” who would love to have some means whereby they can get an “Islamic warrior” off scot-free? Particularly if, as is obviously being assumed/asserted here, this is just a “show trial” anyway (a conclusion with which I happen to mostly agree, at this point)?
If KSM somehow gets off or only gets convicted on some low-rent smack-on-the-wrist lesser charge, doesn’t that come off as a pretty solid argument against trying foreign terrorists as though they were just another “criminal offender”? Either way, chalk up another wimpy lose-lose on The Won’s score sheet.
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November 18th, 2009 | #3
how likely is it that such a conviction would necessarily form a useful/dangerous precedent?
As I have already noted, JB, if KSM is convicted, the dangerous precedent would not only be extremely likely, it would be a dead certainty.
In order to convict KSM, the court will have to ignore the fact that he was waterboarded in the process of obtaining a confession, that he was never given his Miranda warnings, that he was denied his right to a speedy trial, that he won’t be allowed to confront his accusers or those who provided evidence against him…
Would you like to go to trial with the same precedents?
I wouldn’t.
In the real world, it would mean the cops could drag you down to the basement, beat a confession out of you, let you sit in a cell for four or five years (or more), then take you off to a rigged show trial and convict you without ever letting you confront your accusers or discover how the state came by the evidence it is using against you.
You don’t think that would be a dangerous precedent to set? Especially under, say, an Obama administration?
Frankly, if this is the outcome, KSM will have managed to do far more damage to American liberties than he ever did with his attacks on 9/11. My guess is he is fully well aware of it, too.
Before that, I’d much rather see him acquitted and freed. Then deport him to Saudi Arabia or some other place where he will be welcomed as he deserves, leaving the battered American civil judiciary intact.
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November 18th, 2009 | #4
Would you like to go to trial with the same precedents?
I just can’t help but wonder how stupid Holder is.
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November 18th, 2009 | #5
Sorry - I went back and reviewed, and saw that I was perhaps pretty unclear as to how I see this thing playing out.
I don’t believe that this is ever going to be any more than a show trial - as such, I see only two likely courses of outcome, either of which is going to be dragged out into as many extra innings as Holder, Obama & Co. can possibly manage:
1) Every single one of the possible charges of which KSM (or, for that matter, the other terrorists to be “tried” in this manner) is actually guilty will be dropped or thrown out, due to “tainted evidence”, “coerced statements”, “unavailable” witnesses or similar, leaving only some low-grade charge(s) of which he will be convicted. He will be subsequently “sentenced” to time-served, and dumped into some location where he will be acclaimed as a “warrior for Allah.”
2) Same scenario, minus the conviction and “sentencing”, but including the deportation.
Unless some phantasmagorical event occurs, and he is remanded to military custody and subsequently tried by a military tribunal (which he, IMHO, richly deserves, and which should have long since taken place - with sentencing and execution soon after), that’s what I see as happening.
It’s a show trial - the “fix” is already in place. As empty a suit as The Obamanation truly is, I have no faith that His Munificence or his handlers really want or are going to allow an evil terrorist a genuine “day in court”.
This way - the way they will paint it - The System and Justice will triumph!! They will be proven right! Yes, We Can use good ol’ American criminal courts to nail those nasty ol’ “suspected terrorists” - just as soon as those mean ol’ interrogators stop using torture and that ugly, old “secret” stuff, and give us some usable evidence and witnesses, we’ll get ‘em on something that actually means something, too…
Either way, this is not going to be a speedy process - all the dodging and weaving required is going to take time, and everyone involved, aside from the terrorists themselves, has no particular reason to hurry things along and can be seen to have some interest in dragging matters out.
I’m not sure if the court will give KSM - or any of his show-trial cohorts who will follow - any opportunity to use the “trial” process as a platform or setting for verbal propaganda. Quite likely not - there will be plenty of time for “revolutionary rhetoric” after he’s gone through “the system” and somewhere else. However, I see virtually zero chance there will be any substantive attempt at trying him for any of the actual horrors of which he is truly guilty.
So - no conviction, or at least none of any substance, no imprisonment/execution, no dangerous precedent - no harm, no foul. Except, of course, the whole thing stinks; he’s a prisoner of war, and should have been treated as such (as stated) long ago.
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November 18th, 2009 | #6
So - no conviction, or at least none of any substance, no imprisonment/execution, no dangerous precedent - no harm, no foul.
You’re leaving one minor detail out of your calculus, JB: If this is the outcome, Obama may well be impeached, and will certainly be guaranteed a loss in 2012. No, I don’t think they can stretch it out that long, and even if they do, that will also more or less guarantee Obama’s defeat.
UPDATE: Let me elaborate: KSM confessed. Even if his confession is tossed - and I can’t see how it can avoid being tossed, given the coercion involved in his questioning - the American people will still know that the guy who admitted being the master planner behind the 9/11 terror atrocities - is going to be either deported or jailed for a while on the equivalent of a jaywalking charge.
I really don’t think they will be amused.
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November 18th, 2009 | #7
I’d guess maybe Goldberg is generalizing based on this sort of crap, and not aware of the difference between Libertarians and small-”l” libertarians?
More Leftists In the Woodpile
The Other McCain: ADL smears Tea Party movement
Got that? If you think Obama’s policies are “socialist” or if you think the Cult of Personality aspect of his leadership has totalitarian overtones, this makes you a potential menace to society, according to the ADL. Ditto, if you took part in the “Town Hall Meeting Disruptions”:
The ADL is (and perhaps always was) nothing more than another megaphone cheering on the Alinskyite/Gramscian leftist march through the institutions.
No wonder they love Obama, and hate and fear real Americans who love their country and their liberties.
Potemkin Trial - But For What?
Are we at war – or not?
For if we are at war, why is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed headed for trial in federal court in the Southern District of New York? Why is he entitled to a presumption of innocence and all of the constitutional protections of a U.S. citizen?
Is it possible we have done an injustice to this man by keeping him locked up all these years without trial? For that is what this trial implies – that he may not be guilty.
And if we must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that KSM was complicit in mass murder, by what right do we send Predators and Special Forces to kill his al-Qaida comrades wherever we find them? For none of them has been granted a fair trial.
When the Justice Department sets up a task force to wage war on a crime organization like the Mafia or MS-13, no U.S. official has a right to shoot Mafia or gang members on sight. No one has a right to bomb their homes. No one has a right to regard the possible death of their wives and children in an attack as acceptable collateral damage.
Yet that is what we do to al-Qaida, to which KSM belongs.
We conduct those strikes in good conscience because we believe we are at war. But if we are at war, what is KSM doing in a U.S. court?
Buchanan comes up with yet another horrifying twist to the possibilities inherent in trying Khalid Sheik Mohammad under the civilian judiciary.
Plus a clear rundown of all the other problems. Read the whole thing.
No Fact Checking In Heaven
AP Turns Heads for Devoting 11 Reporters to Palin Book ‘Fact Check’ - FOXNews.com
Reviewing books and holding public figures accountable is at the core of good journalism, but the treatment Palin’s book received appears to be something new for the AP. The organization did not review for accuracy recent books by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, then-Sen. Joe Biden, either book by Barack Obama released before he was president or autobiographies by Bill or Hillary Clinton. The AP did more traditional news stories on those books.
Fact check Obama? Don’t be ridiculous! That would be like…like…fact-checking Christ, for god’s sake!
The attraction to Palin doesn’t appear to be partisan, since AP didn’t fact-check recent political tomes by Republicans Rudy Giuliani or Newt Gingrich.
Oh, horseshit. Of course it’s partisan. Neither Gingrich nor Giuliani scared them to death with the prospect that a conservative might actually have a chance at the White House.
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November 18th, 2009 | #1
What’s funny is that people are trumpeting the “lies” that the AP found. Powerline pretty much debunked those lies as utter horseshit.
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November 18th, 2009 | #2
How come Judson hasn’t shown up yet to squall about how much he hopes Palin will run against His Deity Obama (I hope he fails)?
Immortality?
The Methuselah Manifesto - Reason Magazine
Los Angeles, California—If you’re under age 30, it is likely that you will be able to live as long as you want. That is, barring accidents and wars, you have centuries of healthy life ahead of you.
I still might be able to make it in under the wire.
What wire? This one:
“We are very close to the tipping point in human longevity,” asserted Kurzweil to the conferees. “We are about 15 years away from adding more than one year of longevity per year to remaining life expectancy.” This has been labeled by summiteer and life-extension guru Aubrey de Grey as longevity escape velocity. Achieving escape velocity, according to Kekich, would mean that “your projected day of reckoning moves further away from you rather than closing in on you.”
It will be close, though.
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November 18th, 2009 | #1
Forget it Bill. Obama and the Dimocrats will ensure that this will never happen with their war against Big Pharma and the health care industry. And if it does come to pass, despite their best efforts, the treatments required will only be available to the chosen elite. Alas, you and I will not be among that class of people.
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November 18th, 2009 | #2
Obama and the Dimocrats will ensure that this will never happen
The Democrats will no longer be in control after 2010, and if Obama is extremely lucky, he may manage to survive in office without being impeached until 2012 - as a very lame duck for his last two years.
If he is going to wreak all this destruction, he has about six months to get it done - and I don’t think he’s going to be able to do so.
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November 18th, 2009 | #3
I put this under the same category of flying cars - always just a few more years away.
Actually there are already some proven, simple ways that allow people to add a few years to their lifespan, such as maintaining a good weight (not BMI as we all discussed, but a reasonable weight however it is calculated), avoiding certain foods, and so on. A casual walk through an airport will find few people following these few things to increase their lifespan. So maybe most people don’t care about living longer?
Or maybe it’s all back to the old joke - if you avoid alcohol, rich foods and the opposite sex you can live to be 100. But it will seem like 200.
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November 18th, 2009 | #4
I put this under the same category of flying cars - always just a few more years away.
Except, of course, for the minor fact that we have the technological ability to build flying cars today.
In fact, if age-fighting technology was as developed today as flying car tech is, both you and I would be looking forward to lifespans of 300 years plus right now.
Actually there are already some proven, simple ways that allow people to add a few years to their lifespan, such as maintaining a good weight (not BMI as we all discussed, but a reasonable weight however it is calculated), avoiding certain foods, and so on.
Actually, on an individual basis, they aren’t proven at all.
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November 18th, 2009 | #5
flying cars
When you consider how people handle two dimensional driving, adding a third seems insane.
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November 18th, 2009 | #6
Yes, but the air around flying cars is much softer than the ditches, buildings, people, other cars, and such things that 2D drivers run into all the time while looking for the ‘t’ key on their phone and other such stupidities. Getting them up in the air gives them more time to notice that they aren’t where they should be any more and to put their phone away for a few seconds. If they do run into the ground, we don’t have to worry about them any more.
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November 18th, 2009 | #7
When you consider how people handle two dimensional driving, adding a third seems insane.
Well, that’s probably one reason they haven’t become ubiquitous. Mr. Everyday Joe and the Missus aren’t real eager to drive a vehicle that, in the event of sufficient error, might send them into the ground at a few hundred mph.
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November 18th, 2009 | #8
Bill - I hope you are correct, but remember that he and the Dimocrats willl be running against members of the Stupid Party, yannow, the party that gave us Johnny McRINO and supported Scuzzyfava in NY-23. Somehow, I am not as optimistic as you are.
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November 18th, 2009 | #9
I have read Ray Kurzweil and was looking forward to immortality until recently. With the way government is putting the brakes on any innovation I just don’t see this happening. Not just government, but lawsuits. Can you imagine trying to invent the car today, let alone the flying car. If cars did not exist and you told people you wanted to invent a car, fill it with gasoline and drive it down the road at 65 mph, people would be clamboring for laws to ban cars. What if immortality is available but too expensive for poor people? If immortality is possible I think it will be developed outside the US, somewhere with less restrictions, probably some dictatorship with a lot of people to test on and very few moral inhibitions.
Source of Hot, Stinky Air, Too
Via Mike:
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November 18th, 2009 | #1
Yeah, and he does both just about every day, now…
Sometimes, more than once a day.
Term Limits Poster Boy
Congress: Byrd’s milestone - First Read - msnbc.com
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) today becomes the longest-serving member of Congress — ever.
This isn’t a cause for celebration. It is an occasion of disgrace.
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November 18th, 2009 | #1
KLUUUCK! Kluck, kluck, kluck!
Sorry, Bill, darn Klucker got stuck.
Chutzpah
Obama: Too much debt could fuel double-dip recession | Markets | Markets News | Reuters
BEIJING, Nov 18 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama gave his sternest warning yet about the need to contain rising U.S. deficits, saying on Wednesday that if government debt were to pile up too much, it could lead to a double-dip recession.
The hypocrisy is breath-taking, isn’t it?
Whatever could be causing this mysterious surge in American indebtedness? Maybe this is a clue:
It shouldn’t, but the sheer brazen chutzpah of this jug-eared moron in the White House still manages to amaze me every once in a while. How stupid does he think we are?
Stupid enough to have voted for him, apparently.
Blogs that have linked to this post:
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pingback
[…] Whatever could be causing this mysterious surge in American indebtedness? Maybe this is a clue: […]
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November 18th, 2009 | #1
Plenty stupid enough to suit his purposes, obviously. It looks to be the only thing he’s ever been right about his whole life.
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November 18th, 2009 | #2
How stupid does he think we are?
He’s hoping stupid enough to get a second term. Obivously stupid enough to get a first.
I have to admit that I’m cautiously optimistic at the backlash against the leftist policies throughout this country. However, my optimism is tempered somewhat by just how stupid and easily swayed the average person is. We already know that the MSM will go to any lengths to prop up Dems. Add in the fact that average uninformed swing voters makes up his mind based on who looks or sounds prettier and you’ve got a recipe for, well, now.
Frankly, things have gotten so bad and the Dems are polling so poorly, I’m beginning to fear that the left will go all in and ram through health care “reform” and cap and economic destruction, simply because they see that the sands in the hourglass have almost run out. At that point, a GOP takeover of Congress would mean diddly. Barry would simply veto each and every attempt to reform/repeal his boondoggles and then turn around and blame the GOP for the mess we’re in.
My point is that I’m extremely nervous about the future right now. I predicted that the Democrats would self destruct. That was predictable because, like the scorpion, it’s in their nature. However, I hadn’t considered applying the cornered rat theory of politics to the Democrats once they knew that they were going down in 2010. In retrospect, that was a huge flaw in my analysis.
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November 18th, 2009 | #3
Obama’s remarks are also the setup for the “regrettable but necessary” massive tax hikes that we’re going to get by next year.
Of course, the notion of cutting spending (except for defense) will be a nonstarter.
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November 18th, 2009 | #4
I think that’s probably right, Claymore. And that was one additional factor I left out of my calculus of doom for Dems next year.
Big tax hikes ought to really help with the economy, eh?
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November 18th, 2009 | #5
Big tax hikes ought to really help with the economy, eh?
And don’t forget, they’re popular in their own right.
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November 18th, 2009 | #6
And don’t forget, the Bush tax cuts have an expiration date. Congress doesn’t even have to vote on a huge tax bill. They can just sit on their hands and it’ll happen automatically.
I’m Sorreeee, So Sorreee…
Goldman Sachs boss says sorry over financial crisis | Business | guardian.co.uk
The head of Goldman Sachs has apologised for the Wall Street titan’s role in helping to create the financial crisis.
I wonder which one of his Washington masters demanded he prostrate himself in this manner?
What’s next? Commie-style self-criticism circles?
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November 18th, 2009 | #1
What’s next?
A revolver with one bullet in it left on his nightstand beside the bed.
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November 18th, 2009 | #2
And a chopped-off horse’s head on the pillow next to him.
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November 18th, 2009 | #3
The head of Goldman Sachs has apologised for the Wall Street titan’s role in helping to create the financial crisis.
How nice - but does this mean he’s going to help everyone get a refund? Starting with a personal contribution of his own of, say, his entire present (and future) net worth?
Otherwise: Apology not accepted - come back when your words actually mean something. Groveling doesn’t feed the bulldog; it just annoys him.
A Clue….
RealClearPolitics - GOP Dark Horses for 2012 - South Dakota Senator John Thune
Like Mitt Romney, the Junior Senator from South Dakota is straight out of central casting for the role of president. Intelligent, articulate, handsome, with a winning smile and an easy going disposition - it’s hard to locate anything missing from the prototypical presidential check list.
Only a moron could write a paragraph like that.
The primary qualifications for President are “Intelligent, articulate, handsome, with a winning smile and an easy going disposition…?”
Notice what is missing from that graph: Principles, ability, competence, experience….
You get the drift.
Sure, this nitwit goes on to say:
Throw in a 100% rating from the American Conservative Union in 2006, and a home base next door to all important Iowa, and you can construct a very plausible case for Thune emerging as a legitimate contender for the Republican nomination.
Yeah, throw in some evidence of principle, probably as an afterthought, and, why, you’re great to go directly to the White House!
No wonder the establishments of both parties are so out of touch. They live in an entirely different world, one several clicks due south of reality. America just elected one of these empty suits. How do you like him?
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November 18th, 2009 | #1
Note that they said the role of President. And unfortunately, when it comes to getting elected, as opposed to doing the job, their list of qualifications might not be that far off.
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November 18th, 2009 | #2
Forget all that. Like David Brooks, all I want to know is this: Are Thune’s pants perfectly creased, like Obama’s?
That’s all that any sophisticated individual needs to know to determine whether someone is qualified for the Presidency.
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November 18th, 2009 | #3
Intelligent, articulate, handsome, with a winning smile and an easy going disposition -
Sounds like strong qualities for a used-car salesperson - or a broker of bad mutual funds - but not necessarily the best starting point for a POTUS, unless you really looove you some “professional politickers”, like, say, The Won we’ve got now.
…all I want to know is this: Are Thune’s pants perfectly creased, like Obama’s?
Creased which way?
Based on recent performance, The Won seems to have an ever-increasing need for horizontal creases - especially at the front of the waist area.
Next up: Shiny, uncreased knees and a dried-out tongue…
Darn Those Unruly Kids….
Reset Button | The New Republic
There have been other curious rhetorical flourishes. Speaking again about North Korea, Clinton likened the country to an “unruly teenager” who throws periodic tantrums.
Odd. I don’t know very many “unruly teenagers” who are responsible for slaughtering three million people.
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November 18th, 2009 | #1
Not too many of them who tend to repeatedly shake a nuclear-powered fist in your face, either.
In case of accidental poisoning.
The linked slide show should help: MICHELLE OBAMA: FIRST LADY OF FASHION.
If it doesn’t induce vomiting, you won’t mind dying.
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November 18th, 2009 | #1
You can see the family resemblance in the eyes.
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November 18th, 2009 | #2
Y’know, genes, I invariably know that clicking the link will be bad for my (mental) health and blood pressure, but just can’t help myself.
Today I’m checking out DP from work.
I’m. Not. Going. There.
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November 18th, 2009 | #3
I looked at all 23 slides. It’s not too bad - no bikini shots. I’m in no way qualified for a fashion critiques, so I asked my sister.
She said it’s common for tall women to use a high waistline to allow draping dress fabric to obscure their, um, large caboose. My sister also thinks there’s not enough length - she shows too much leg, but that’s common with tall women too. She describes Michelle’s pastel color combinations as “unusual”, and thinks she should do what other First Ladies have done and stick to basic colors and one hairstyle.
I read a book about German art during the Nazi era, and it was pointed out that critics developed a new lexicon to describe it, probably to keep from getting shot. I expect Womens’ Wear Daily, et al, to follow suit.
More facts about Jihadi Nidal Hasan.
From oddly enough ABC news. Accused Fort Hood Shooter Was a Regular at Shooting Range, Strip Club
In the weeks before the massacre at Fort Hood, accused shooter Major Nidal Malik Hasan was a regular not only at his office and his mosque, but a strip club, a shooting range and a Killeen, Texas restaurant where he spent much time with an 18-year-old convert to Islam who seemed to share his contempt for the U.S. Army.
No “special training” just lots of time at the range. 200 rounds just two days before Jihad.
The FBI is also investigating Hasan’s regular dinner meetings at the Golden Corral restaurant in Killeen with two men, who seemed close to him.
One was an older bearded man who always wore traditional Muslim garb, according to a restaurant employee.
Vera Brooks, the night manager at the Golden Corral, said while Hasan was quite friendly, the older man, who usually wore a white robe, hat and shoulderbag, was abrupt. “He refused to answer when I asked him where he was from,” Brooks said.
The other man is an 18-year-old convert to Islam named Duane Reasoner Jr., whose parents have reportedly worked at Fort Hood.
His handler and a new pervertconvert? Just so you know Duane damaged is this guy.
“I’m not going to condemn him for what he did,” Reasoner told the BBC. “I don’t know why he did it. I will not, absolutely not, condemn him for what he had done though. If he had done it for selfish reasons I still will not condemn him. He’s my brother in the end. I will never condemn him.”
The BBC reporter suggested to Reasoner that many might find his statement shocking.
“Well, that’s the way it is,” Reasoner answered. “I don’t speak for the community here, but me, personally, I will not condemn him.
he’s a little lying sack of excrement, he knows damn well what his buddy plotted. He also said this.
Said Reasoner, “In the end, they were troops who were going to Afghanistan and Iraq to kill Muslims. I honestly have no pity for them.” “It’s just like the majority of the people that will hear this,” he continued. “After five or six minutes they’ll be shocked, after that they’ll forget about them and go on their day.”
Again he’s lying they’re going to be remembered for a long time.
The mystery teenager has remained secluded in his parents’ home, where his mother ordered ABC News off the property this weekend.
I have to admit, I’d order ABC off my property to and my kids aren’t possibly conspiring to commit terrorist acts.
More on Hasan’s little Jihadi wannabe buddy here. Friend of Accused Shooter Called Himself “Extremist,” Watched Al-Qaeda Videos One of his photobucket pics.
Ever since he told a British reporter that he felt “no pity” for the victims of the Fort Hood massacre, Duane Reasoner Jr., an 18-year-old Muslim convert who frequently dined with accused shooter Major Nidal Malik Hasan and attended the same mosque, has ducked the media. His parents ordered ABC News off their property over the weekend and on Monday, Reasoner again dodged ABC — this time by using a pass to drive onto the Fort Hood Army base, home of the soldiers for whom he said he felt no pity.
What bothers me about this is that a possible accomplice of Hasan’s is still allowed on base. And why isn’t he being held for questioning?
In the months leading up to the Fort Hood shooting, Reasoner and Hasan ate dinner together often at the Golden Corral restaurant, apparently after prayer services at the Islamic Community Center of Greater Killeen. It is not known what they discussed.
It might not be known what they discussed, but I can make a fair guess. One is a Jahadi wannabe and the other is a Jahadi.
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November 18th, 2009 | #1
HOW TO PREVENT FUTURE NIDAL HASANS
We have read with concern the many signs Major Hasan provided which would indicate an unstable and potentially dangerous frame of mind. Our concern is that those who actually saw and heard the signs and those to whom the signs were reported did not act upon them. From Hasan’s contact with a radical imam, to the initials SoA (Son of Allah) on his business card, to his comment that he was a Muslim first and a soldier second – there is no doubt the signs that he was potentially dangerous were there for all to see.
Furthermore, he was under surveillance by two Terrorist Task Forces, one with Department of Defense oversight and the other with FBI oversight. So why wasn’t he stopped?
The answer is quite simple – The military does not have an objective and culturally neutral system that collects information and evaluates it to determine the degree (or level) of aggression an individual is displaying, nor has it people who have a clear responsibility to observe and report this information within an objective system nor a team who is responsible to evaluate it and respond. The military does not have the AMIS solution and it desperately needs it! Major Hasan has illustrated out vulnerable we are, learn more about the problem and the solution by reading our Blog: http://Blog.AggressionManagement.com
The Death Star Speaks
The worst is yet to come: Unemployed Americans should hunker down for more job losses
Based on my best judgment, it is most likely that the unemployment rate will peak close to 11% and will remain at a very high level for two years or more.
The weakness in labor markets and the sharp fall in labor income ensure a weak recovery of private consumption and an anemic recovery of the economy, and increases the risk of a double dip recession.
As a result of these terribly weak labor markets, we can expect weak recovery of consumption and economic growth; larger budget deficits; greater delinquencies in residential and commercial real estate and greater fall in home and commercial real estate prices; greater losses for banks and financial institutions on residential and commercial real estate mortgages, and in credit cards, auto loans and student loans and thus a greater rate of failures of banks; and greater protectionist pressures.
The damage will be extensive and severe unless bold policy action is undertaken now.
Nouriel Roubini has been more right, more often, on the economy than any other analyst I can think of.
Obama will be lucky to escape impeachment after the GOP retakes both houses of congress in 2010.
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November 17th, 2009 | #1
after the GOP retakes both houses of congress in 2010.
That statement presupposes that the GOP won’t be stupid next year. Based on recent activity in NY-23, I’m not certain that that will be the case.
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November 17th, 2009 | #2
I’m sure it won’t be the case, PG. And, damn it, I’m not really looking forward to the huge GOP win I see coming, because they aren’t going to be big winners because they’ve suddenly become good. They’ll win because Obama and the Dems are so ungodly awful.
But when we go to the polls at a time when the country is “enjoying” 13% unemployment, (and unemployment plus partial employment plus “given up” is over 20%) a stock market that has crashed again, and banks collapsing like dominoes, and with jihadis celebrating in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the GOP could run Chimpy McHitler and Dede Scuzzyface for every position, and still win in a walk.
This is the year that “vote for us because we’re not quite as bad as the Dems” will be viewed as insanely smart strategy by the GOP establishment, because it will seem to work so well in 2010.
I’ll still refuse to vote for RINOs and other such riff-raff, but folks like me will be a tiny, (and probably much-despised) minority.
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November 18th, 2009 | #3
This is the year that “vote for us because we’re not quite as bad as the Dems” will be viewed as insanely smart strategy by the GOP establishment, because it will seem to work so well in 2010.
Control system engineers call this behavior “limit cycling”.
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November 18th, 2009 | #4
This is why the primaries are going to be so important this year.
I recognize that there will be a bunch of R hacks who benefit from the Dems’ fecklessness, but if we can get a substantial number of good ones along with them, we might still attain a “critical mass” of principled, competent Congressmen and Senators to drag the hacks along the right path.
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November 18th, 2009 | #5
“Obama will be lucky to escape impeachment after the GOP retakes both houses of congress in 2010.”
That would be a wonderful trend setting action, all Democrat presidents get impeached.
Maybe it is finally bad enough some Independents can get some traction in Congress.
Where All Boodle Goes to Die
The site also shows $1,471,518 going to New Hampshire’s 6th congressional district, $1,033,809 to the 4th congressional district and $124,774 to the 27th congressional district. In fact, New Hampshire only has two congressional districts; inviting confusion about where the money listed for the 00, 4th, 6th and 27th districts is going.”
Reader David Kirkham emails: “Must be in one of those 57 states somewhere…”
Yeah. Chicago….
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[…] Where All Boodle Goes to Die The site also shows $1,471,518 going to New Hampshire’s 6th congressional district, $1,033,809 to the 4th congressional district and $124,774 to the 27th congressional district. In fact, New Hampshire only has two congressional districts; inviting confusion about where the money listed for the 00, 4th, 6th and 27th districts is going.” […]
Congress might do the right thing for once. Maybe.
Obama Loses, Fort Hood Victims Win
Rep. Judge Stone (R-TX) seems to have defeated early dem leadership efforts to kill this. Obama has got to fuming - it opens the door for greater scrutiny of the terrorist-act-committed-by-a-nonterrorist.
Here’s the press release:
WASHINGTON, DC) – Army and civilian personnel who were wounded or killed in the shooting attack on Fort Hood would be granted the same legal status as combatant casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, if bipartisan legislation introduced today by U.S. Representative John Carter (R-TX31) passes into law. Carter was joined by U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX10) for a news conference unveiling the bill in the House Radio-TV Gallery in the U.S. Capitol this afternoon.
“Our Fort Hood casualties should receive the same benefits and recognition as other combat casualties,” says Carter, who represents the Fort Hood area in the House, “as this was a planned terror attack on U.S. military personnel. It should make no difference in our care for the wounded and the families of the slain whether it occurred on an Army base in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Texas.”
While many military and survivor benefits are the same regardless of the status of the casualty, combatant status allows military personnel to receive the Purple Heart, and civilians to receive the equivalent award, the Secretary of Defense Medal of Freedom. Combatant status would also guarantee that the beneficiaries of all military personnel who lost their lives in the attack would receive the maximum life insurance available, extended family housing privileges, and other benefits.
“This bill is not about investigations or assigning blame,” says Carter. “It is about taking care of our troops and their families first. That’s why we have such strong support from both sides of the aisle, and why we hope and expect this to move quickly.”
Over 30 House Members nearly evenly split between parties joined Carter as original co-sponsors on the legislation. Carter is Co-chairman of the House Army Caucus for the 111th Congress, and is Secretary of the House
They even used the “T” word. Now if they can get it passed and a similar bill in the Senate…
There’s something about that name, John Carter, but I can’t put my finger on it.
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November 17th, 2009 | #1
but I can’t put my finger on it.
I don’t even have to look it up. Who could ever forget the mighty Warlord of Barsoom?
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November 17th, 2009 | #2
Some people are too young to have read the Classics.
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November 17th, 2009 | #3
There’s joking around, there’s deliberately provocative statements, and then there’s just talking stupid shit.
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November 17th, 2009 | #4
It’s also Charlton Heston’s real name.
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November 18th, 2009 | #5
Some people are too young to have read the Classics.
Yes, well, they may not need to do so, genes - it seems there’s a certain film being made…
Hmmm…Dave, does that mean that C.H. was actually (secretly) married to Deja Thoris?
Meanwhile, back (more or less) on-topic - I certainly hope this legislation passes, and promptly goes into effect. It would be extremely offensive for ol’ horsefaced Johnny Ketchup to have received three Purple Heart awards (only one of which was even remotely justifiable), and for the dead and wounded in the Fort Hood terrorist attack to be denied one such award or the civilian equivalent.
Yes, We Did
Christian charity means taking money by force, apparently | Samizdata.net
The Archbishop of Canterbury seems to be of the view that somewhere in the Bible, it says “take the wealth of others by force and give it to people best able to work the political system”. Just another statist thug, but then we already knew that.
He has counterparts here in the U.S., too, starting with Mike Huckabee.
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November 17th, 2009 | #1
I think increasing taxes is a fine idea. Let’s begin by taxing all Church of England property and revenues.
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November 17th, 2009 | #2
Let’s begin by taxing all Church of England property and revenues.
Won’t happen. That would be like the Crown taxing itself.
life imitates art.
Age of cyber warfare is ‘dawning’
Cyber war has moved from fiction to fact, says a report.
Compiled by security firm McAfee, it bases its conclusion on analysis of recent net-based attacks.
Analysis of the motives of the actors behind many attacks carried out via the internet showed that many were mounted with a explicitly political aim.
It said that many nations were now arming to defend themselves in a cyber war and readying forces to conduct their own attacks.
While definitions of what constitutes cyber war are not shared, it was clear that many nations were preparing for a future in which conflict was partly conducted via the net.
“There are at least five countries known to be arming themselves for this kind of conflict,” said Greg Day, primary analyst for security at McAfee Europe.
The UK, Germany, France, China and North Korea are known to be developing their own capabilities.
Of course net denizens have seen this kind of activity for years. Now it seems as if more countries have found ways to get hackers working for them. Maybe access to the latest gear, set their own hours and immunity for what they do on their own time.
If it doesn’t work for one thing it might for another.
‘Female Viagra’ discovery claim
A drug that failed tests as an antidepressant is being hailed as “Viagra for women” after surprising but not unpleasant side effects.
In three separate trials, the drug flibanserin did wonders for women’s flagging sex drive despite doing nothing to lift mood.
Somehow I suspect they’ll make more money off the unexpected side effect. But don’t try slipping it to some cutie in a bar. It doesn’t work that way.
The women in the studies who took 100mg of the drug once a day for their low libido reported significant improvements in their sexual desire and satisfactory sexual experiences, he said.
If this drug makes it to the market, I expect to hear of women suing for divorce after finding out their husbands replaced their vitamins with it. Might try it with the hottie at work. I wonder how stable it is at coffee temps? Not that I would do such a thing(no hotties at my job)
What World Do They Live In?
In response to my earlier remark that “I suspect that sex between an adult woman and a 17-year-old boy is much less likely to be emotionally or physically damaging than sex between an adult man and a 17-year-old girl,” some commenters asked why I thought this.
Maybe it’s my geezerhood showing (are teen males in America so much more wimpy these days?), but I find it hard to imagine any 17 year old boy considering himself to be “damaged” by having sex with an adult woman.
More like shooting off fireworks of glee and triumph.
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November 17th, 2009 | #1
in our society today females are still more likely to feel used and degraded as a result of a sexual relationship that has not gone as they had hoped, and in particular that involved less emotional commitment from the other person than they had hoped
14 year old girls are initiating non-committal sexual relationships with men in their twenties and thirties. When found out they let the man take all the blame. my daughters, it turned out, were both sexually active at twelve. The older one admitted to starting a relationship with an older man and had no trouble seeing him go to jail. The younger one seems to be having trouble making up her mind between boys and girls. Looks to me like it will be girls.
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November 17th, 2009 | #2
“…shooting off fireworks of glee and triumph.”
So to speak. Ahem.
Okay, Bill set me up, and I couldn’t resist. But ultimately, I blame Boooosh.
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November 17th, 2009 | #3
is sex damaging when both parties consent to it? that seems to go against human nature and lean more towards an irrational belief.
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November 17th, 2009 | #4
If a 17-year-old girl is damaged by sex with an adult, it’s only because she believes she should be. Assuming said sex was consensual.
And if it’s damaging because at 17 she’s too young to make a consenting decision to have sex (which isn’t something I completely subscribe to), then that same rule should apply to boys, who, it’s generally said, mature slower (which also isn’t something I completely subscribe to).
He’s Not My President - I Want Him To Fail
Opinion: Obama Has Failed the World on Climate Change - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
US President Barack Obama came to office promising hope and change. But on climate change, he has followed in the footsteps of his predecessor George W. Bush. Now, should the climate summit in Copenhagen fail, the blame will lie squarely with Obama.
And this “failure” is especially heartwarming, isn’t it?
pResident Obama has failed in taking us one more step down the road to starving in the cold and dark. Call the waaahhhhhmbulance.
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November 17th, 2009 | #1
But I thought the seas quit rising and the planet began to heal when he secured the nomination. That’s what he told us and we all know the Obamessiah wouldn’t lie to us.
Shhh….Don’t Wake the Rubes…
Instapundit » Blog Archive » GM PAYING BACK TAXPAYERS?
Mickey Kaus isn’t buying it. “But of course it’s paying back that debt to taxpayers with money from … taxpayers.
The technical term for this is “Ponzi Scheme.” In a Ponzi Scheme, the fraudsters pay some “investors” with money from later “investors.”
When Bernie Madoff did this, and stung a few hundred rich people, he was called a monster and sent to jail for life.
When the government does it, know-nothing rubes cheer their lungs out. (cf. social security as well).
Of course, our entire government has become a gigantic Ponzi Scheme.
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[…] GM Paying Back Taxpayers? […]
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November 17th, 2009 | #1
It always was. That is what it is designed to do. As long as future receipts and rising taxes keep pace with current debt, it works. Sort of. Now, we are spending money so fast that I cannot see how any future cash flow can ever pay current liabilities unless there is a very handsome inflation rate indeed.
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November 17th, 2009 | #2
It always was. That is what it is designed to do.
I’m not sure. Post the Federal Income Tax Amendment, probably. But before….?
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November 17th, 2009 | #3
True. I guess I distinguish between what used to be our government and the confiscators who abducted it.
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November 17th, 2009 | #4
Nemo:
It always was. That is what it is designed to do.
Nope, it was designed much differently. Its original design was abrogated in 1913 by passage of the Federal Reserve Act plus ratification of 16 & 17.
Bill:
I don’t believe 16 alone suffices; the other two elements contributed mightily. And almost as important as 16 itself was enacting withholding under FDR in 1943 IIRC. Before that, everybody had to write a check to Uncle four times a year. FDR & congressional allies formalized stealth as a mainstay of liberal policy.
Repeal 16 & 17 and the Federal Reserve Act!
All Propaganda Puts on the Full-Court Lie
AP Buries Inconvenient Results of Latest Healthcare Poll
AP, our “objective, unbiased” news syndicate, has one of its rigged polls blow up in its face, so they did what all such left-wing objective, unbiased news services do:
They lied their heads off.
Yes, a lie of omission is still a lie.
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November 17th, 2009 | #1
Hey Bill, you’ve got an unclosed strikethrough tag in this post, apparently starting around the word “such”.
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November 17th, 2009 | #2
I don’t think it’s unintentional. I like it.
I’ve Got Your Medical Care Rationing Right Here
Mammogram guidelines: New mammogram guidelines fuel contradiction, confusion — baltimoresun.com
In a change of existing guidelines, an influential government panel said Monday that women do not need mammograms in their 40s and discouraged teaching breast self-exams - decisions that have sparked controversy and confusion among some breast cancer specialists and patient advocates.
Remember that old lefty adage, the one they’ve used to force all sorts of expensive, intrusive, controlling programs down our throat? The one that goes, “If it saves one life…?
Well, how about if it saves hundreds, or thousands, of women’s lives?
How about if it is a long established recommendation of the American Cancer Society and your own doctor?
Even so, forget about it. Because in the new Obamacare Socialized Medicine world, we have to ration health care that “costs too much.”
So out of 1900 foregone mammograms, one woman will die. Thanks, women, for being the first on the firing line to sacrifice your lives on the altar of socialized medicine in order to help Barack Obama give free medical care to illegal aliens.
UPDATE from Don Surber:
So the federal government task force is saying a woman’s life in her 40s is not worth $380,000.
Nuts.
I wonder if “women’s” groups will fight as hard for mammogram coverage as they do abortion.
Bill,
You are running an HORRIFICALLY old version of Wordpress. You should upgrade.
If you need help. Just ask. I can help.
-Pat
Pat - our sysadmin Clayton has rewritten half the code, especially the database stuff. It may look old, but it’s not really.
It seems to function okay, and we have extremely little spam making it through to the pages. Is there something specific that we should look at upgrading for?
The Wordpress authors do not understand databases, and their more recent versions have worsened, not improved, database performance. If I abandoned my optimizations to install the latest Wordpress, Daily Pundit would spend more than half its time serving up “CPU Exceeded” pages.
I’ll take the experience on Daily Pundit to vanilla Wordpress any day of the week. Since we switched to Wordpress on QandO, I curse it all the time. Unfortunately, Dale just didn’t have the time to maintain his custom blog software that QandO was founded on.
And besides, rather a lot of WP releases are motivated by the discovery of security holes in the off-the-shelf versions. Exploits of those holes likely won’t work here, simply because the database code is so different.
I have relatively few problems with WP, but then I have about one-fifth the traffic Daily Pundit has.
Traffic is only part of the problem, CGHill. The big problem is the data volume. Next month Daily Pundit will have been up for eight years. That’s 36,318 posts,
130,987130,988 comments, and 54,859 post-to-category associations right now. As long as the database is small, all those defects in the Wordpress code and database design that turn what ought to be quick indexed lookups into table sweeps can be overlooked. When the blog history is as deep and large as it is here, table sweeps are hideously expensive.How big a database is this, megabyte-wise? I’m currently shuffling around 6500 posts and around 19,000 comments, which takes up a good 24 MB. (I have the latest WP; then again, I was hit by the recent exploit that prompted the latest WP.)
Right now it’s sitting at 187.2MB. The real killers are monthly and category archive pages; as long as you don’t expose those you shouldn’t get slammed too hard by the default Wordpress code. It’ll still be doing a lot more work than necessary, but nothing really ridiculous.
Perhaps I should add, your 24MB and our 187.2MB aren’t really commensurable. I’ve altered and added a number of indices on the existing Wordpress tables, and also added several new tables, so Daily Pundit consumes more space than it would if it were vanilla Wordpress. 6.4MB, for example, is consumed by a denormalized copy of the post2cat table that gathers all the predicate columns of a category archive page query in one place so that I can index them.
I am properly impressed, not least because my database knowledge is, um, not all it could be.
Thanks for the Accumulated Wisdom.
Bad news in Saranac Lake - at 12:35 A.M. Eastern, Stacy McCain reported concession speech by Doug Hoffman.
Apparently, Scuzzyflava and the RNC managed to screw things up just enough to give Owens an undeserved win.
Morning all.
I have been following the election results like everyone else, but there is one set of races that I haven’t seen discussed here yet. So, I thought I’d bring them to your attention.
Last week, I read somewhere in the blogosphere (sorry, but I don’t remember where), a story about an election for a Supreme Court Judge in PA. The story indicated that this election was important because this race would tilt the PA Supreme Court either R or D. And re-districting happens next year.
Anyway, I was trying to follow up on this and I found a posting by Michael Barone (via Instapundit), that had this link - http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/#Top.
It seems that the news is pretty good. With 98.93% of the votes in –
Supreme Court (one seat) R leading.
Superior Court (4 seats) 3 R & 1 D (D leading by 10K votes out of 1.4 Million cast)
Commonwealth Court (2 seats) R leading both
Interesting.
DCP.
China’s state-owned energy firm buys U.S. off-shore leases
Here is a new twist on Government Extortion from:
http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2009/11/its-all-in-name-of-safety.html
and:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/2009/11/05/shameless-revenue-generating/
A very funny statement with regards to a semi dumping its load of beer over at:
http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/
“Coincidence” in the comments..?
and…
Gee, almost like someone sent out a memo, innit?
A potential fly in the ointment for Atkins-style dieters… Good & Bad News for Low-Carb High-Protein Dieters. Not yet confrmed but something to keep an eye on.
Hey, your RSS feed doesn’t work. Good blog!
Another unintended consequence of SF supervisors’ decision making process - the ruination of fine dining:
Because I don’t know if anyone here follows my Twitter, but I do know there’s much dog love, I am reposting this:
Sweetest Veterans’ Day link ever. Doggies greeting their soldiers who’ve come home:
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/40324
AceOfSpades pointed me to JammieWearingFool who hosted a comment by mrt that pointed out that the Democrat’s still have a powerful fund-raising strategy available to them.
Morning all.
Just FYI - www.Redstate.com is all over the Crist - Rubio primary fight (US Senate) in Fl. Crist’s campaign is showing signs of severe stress, Jeb Bush’s two sons are holding a fundraiser for Rubio, etc.
He seems to be covering the race quite well.
DCP.
Also checkout The Other McCain re FL GOP doings here.
[…] Today’s blogroll additions […]
Broken link to Daily Pundit now fixed. Sorry about that.
Once is happenstance; twice is coincidence…
I wonder how the NYT will explain this time that this is not a bow.
Via American Thinker:
In this article (Honduran elections to be honored by Ω adminitration) is the following:
This looks like a job for … ACORN!
I realize that this is the Onion and all, but frankly it’s too close to reality to be a parody.
A small sign of possible sanity in a blue state. Sure, eliminating a few councilmen in a town government isn’t exactly a revolution, but this was the first time that residents in these towns even got the chance to vote on something like this. And the response was: less is better. Earlier articles quoted voters as saying, “I know it’s not much, but it’s a start.”
And of course, there’s this. Both of these developments are a shot glass of hope in my usual 55 gallon drum of cynicism, but hey, it’s nice to see signs of some sort of response…
Oops. Dumbass manually enters tags in post. Should I try again? (That’s what I get for posting while sober…)