“The tactical reason for the cooking scale-down is that the people who are assigned to ‘support services’ — such as food workers — ‘need to go home before the people who provide the security which enables those services,’ Gilmore wrote.”
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/31/18592339-the-drawdown-diet-marines-steamed-by-loss-of-hot-meal-at-afghanistan-base?lite
(OK, cooks leave before shooters. That’s understandable. Probably the Corps could have done a better job explaining what was going to happen. That’s the usual way things go south in a unit – somebody didn’t make an adequate explanation. “All right, guys. We’re going to have to tough it out for a while.”)
“’MREs are an alternative for when you can’t get to healthy food. They're supposed to be for desperation,’ said Babette Maxwell, founder and executive director of Military Spouse Magazine, the wife of a Navy pilot and an advocate for service members and their families. ‘These guys have six to nine months left on their deployment. These are highly athletic and highly physical people, toting guns, not working any less now than before — and not working out any less either. Now, they’re short a meal and they don’t have any healthy alternatives.’’
(MREs are an “alternative” to healthy food? So, MREs are not healthy, and also are a “desperation” food? Not to belittle Ms. Maxwell’s service as a Navy wife, nor her aviator husband’s, but I wonder how many MREs aviator Maxwell has eaten?)
Packaged at http://www.ritely.com/
That is one take – Life sucks, especially in Afghanistan, especially in the Corps in Afghanistan. But you raised your and you took an oath, so put on your Big Boy shirt and do your job.
Another take – WTF did Marine Corps leadership think it was doing, taking away a hot meal and relax-talk things out time? USMC leaders took away one of the most important morale aspects. Oh, well. They are Marines.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Poll: What do Brits want?
Term limit on prime minister. OK, 2.42 percent.
A flat tax. Sounds good. 9.11 percent.
Close the child maintenance loophole. 0.97 percent.
Greening of public spaces. Nice. 2.69 percent.
Ban spitting. Oh, yeah. 2.59 percent.
Repeal the ban on handguns. 82 percent.
What? 82 percent?
But ... Guns cause violence, and if only police and soldiers have guns ...
82 percent?
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/3644/britain_wants_its_guns_back
Loaded at www.fark.com
A flat tax. Sounds good. 9.11 percent.
Close the child maintenance loophole. 0.97 percent.
Greening of public spaces. Nice. 2.69 percent.
Ban spitting. Oh, yeah. 2.59 percent.
Repeal the ban on handguns. 82 percent.
What? 82 percent?
But ... Guns cause violence, and if only police and soldiers have guns ...
82 percent?
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/3644/britain_wants_its_guns_back
Loaded at www.fark.com
Wrecked cars wind up in Afghanistan
“American brands don't sell as well as Japanese and are hard to find parts for, said Abdullah, a salesman with Herat's Tamin Ansar Autos who, like many Afghans, uses only one name. ‘I know one guy who sells Fords,’ he said. ‘He sold them very cheap. They use too much gas.’"
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/used/sc-cons-0523-autocover-afghanistan-cars-20130525,0,638602,full.story
(Sales have dropped considerably as date for NATO withdrawal nears. For some reason, people are worried about their safety.)
Double-parked at www.fark.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/used/sc-cons-0523-autocover-afghanistan-cars-20130525,0,638602,full.story
(Sales have dropped considerably as date for NATO withdrawal nears. For some reason, people are worried about their safety.)
Double-parked at www.fark.com
Illegal immigration keeps Mexico from revolution
“The root causes of illegal immigration -- the bulk of them, anyway -- is (sic) governmental and societal dysfunction, incompetence, corruption, and lack of educational and work opportunities in Mexico. The very fact that millions of Mexicans have voted with their feet to trek north testifies eloquently to the failure of Mexico.”
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/immigration_reform_compassion_for_mexican_elites.html#ixzz2UpvePGzn
(The followers of Zapata and Villa now live here.)
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/immigration_reform_compassion_for_mexican_elites.html#ixzz2UpvePGzn
(The followers of Zapata and Villa now live here.)
Military cadets ordered not to wear uniform when on the street
Decision comes after murder of army sergeant by two Muslims.
“MILITARY cadets have been ordered not to wear uniforms on the streets of East Lancashire over terrorism fears.
“Navy and army cadets in Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley have been told to either cover their uniform when walking to cadet detachments, or to change when they arrive.
“The move follows the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in south east London on Wednesday.
“Drummer Rigby, from 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was wearing a Help for Heroes sweatshirt when he was hacked to death in a Woolwich street.”
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/10446364.East_Lancashire_military_cadets_to_wear_plain_clothes__off_duty__in_wake_of_Woolwich_killing/?ref=ms
(Those things labeled “If we do it, the terrorists have won”? This is one.)
“Marilyn Gregson, from Blackburn, whose 16-year-old son Hadyn is in the Blackburn Army Cadet Force said she was shocked when she was advised it was not safe for him to wear his uniform.
"She said: ‘My son was told not to wear his uniform on the streets but to change when he got there instead.
“’I am just stunned that it has come to this because it is such a sad state of affairs. While I am not sorry the cadets are taking precautions, you would think that cadets could wear their uniform with pride in their own country.’”
(Yes, you would think so, but as long as Muslims are allowed to dictate, look for even more-strenuous decisions.)
“MILITARY cadets have been ordered not to wear uniforms on the streets of East Lancashire over terrorism fears.
“Navy and army cadets in Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley have been told to either cover their uniform when walking to cadet detachments, or to change when they arrive.
“The move follows the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in south east London on Wednesday.
“Drummer Rigby, from 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was wearing a Help for Heroes sweatshirt when he was hacked to death in a Woolwich street.”
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/10446364.East_Lancashire_military_cadets_to_wear_plain_clothes__off_duty__in_wake_of_Woolwich_killing/?ref=ms
(Those things labeled “If we do it, the terrorists have won”? This is one.)
“Marilyn Gregson, from Blackburn, whose 16-year-old son Hadyn is in the Blackburn Army Cadet Force said she was shocked when she was advised it was not safe for him to wear his uniform.
"She said: ‘My son was told not to wear his uniform on the streets but to change when he got there instead.
“’I am just stunned that it has come to this because it is such a sad state of affairs. While I am not sorry the cadets are taking precautions, you would think that cadets could wear their uniform with pride in their own country.’”
(Yes, you would think so, but as long as Muslims are allowed to dictate, look for even more-strenuous decisions.)
Thursday, May 30, 2013
I just tho’d a little salt
and some pepper and minced garlic on a piece of cow, and when my wife gets in I’ll cook the steak the way she found on an internet site – crank up the grill or oven to 600 or so degrees and put a cast arn skillet in the oven or on the grill. I’ve got a 12-inch Lodge skillet, heavy enough for two handles, a long and a short, and big enough to take a fair size steak.
When the temperature is reached, crank up a top burner to blast furnace setting, take the skillet from the oven and put it on the burner. Since the skillet’s already hot, you don’t need to wait, but drop in the steak and sear it on both sides. If you do the cooking on a grill, you don’t have to worry about a top burner. When the searing is done – you can sear the sides, too, if you can arrange the steak to stand up – put the steak in the oven or on the grill and close the top.
Cooking time … I forget what it is, something like one minute each side for rare, two minutes for medium rare … Something like that. My wife knows, and I’ll ask her before I start cooking.
That method makes the best darn home-cooked steak ever. It’s even better when you remember to marinate it, or “Soak it in some stuff,” as a friend back in Texas says.
I didn’t intend to get steak yesterday at WalMart, but while getting lean chicken and lean pork, I saw this chunk of red meat on sale, past its sell-by date, but not even close to do not consume, and at half price. So I got it.
WalMart mark-downs reminded me of when I was a doughnut cook at the Sulphur Springs, Texas, WalMart – September 1996 – September 1997. One night when the other cook and I went into the bakery, we found six cheese cakes, still packaged, still sealed, on top of paper in a trash can. The sell-by date was that day. Four of the cheese cakes went out the front door next morning.
Chalmer, the other cook, was also a Pentecostal preacher and had a land clearing business. He, a son and two Mexicans made firewood. My wife and I bought a cord from Chalmer, and it was a full cord.
A few weeks after Chalmer started as a doughnut cook, two of his congregants visited him at home. They said it was unseemly, their preacher a doughnut cook at WalMart. Chalmer said he had the WalMart job for the health insurance. He told the two he would quit if the congregation would start an insurance plan for him and his wife. The congregants said the church couldn’t afford insurance. “Well, there you are,” Chalmer said.
This is later. Priscilla got home, so I stopped writing. We did the steak. I was right about the cook time – one minute each side for rare, two minutes each side for medium rare, and so forth. We had salad and baked beans, too. A good supper.
When the temperature is reached, crank up a top burner to blast furnace setting, take the skillet from the oven and put it on the burner. Since the skillet’s already hot, you don’t need to wait, but drop in the steak and sear it on both sides. If you do the cooking on a grill, you don’t have to worry about a top burner. When the searing is done – you can sear the sides, too, if you can arrange the steak to stand up – put the steak in the oven or on the grill and close the top.
Cooking time … I forget what it is, something like one minute each side for rare, two minutes for medium rare … Something like that. My wife knows, and I’ll ask her before I start cooking.
That method makes the best darn home-cooked steak ever. It’s even better when you remember to marinate it, or “Soak it in some stuff,” as a friend back in Texas says.
I didn’t intend to get steak yesterday at WalMart, but while getting lean chicken and lean pork, I saw this chunk of red meat on sale, past its sell-by date, but not even close to do not consume, and at half price. So I got it.
WalMart mark-downs reminded me of when I was a doughnut cook at the Sulphur Springs, Texas, WalMart – September 1996 – September 1997. One night when the other cook and I went into the bakery, we found six cheese cakes, still packaged, still sealed, on top of paper in a trash can. The sell-by date was that day. Four of the cheese cakes went out the front door next morning.
Chalmer, the other cook, was also a Pentecostal preacher and had a land clearing business. He, a son and two Mexicans made firewood. My wife and I bought a cord from Chalmer, and it was a full cord.
A few weeks after Chalmer started as a doughnut cook, two of his congregants visited him at home. They said it was unseemly, their preacher a doughnut cook at WalMart. Chalmer said he had the WalMart job for the health insurance. He told the two he would quit if the congregation would start an insurance plan for him and his wife. The congregants said the church couldn’t afford insurance. “Well, there you are,” Chalmer said.
This is later. Priscilla got home, so I stopped writing. We did the steak. I was right about the cook time – one minute each side for rare, two minutes each side for medium rare, and so forth. We had salad and baked beans, too. A good supper.
Eton scholarship exam for 12-year-old students
Four questions, two hours. Not like you can take it on-line.
http://www.etoncollege.com/userfiles/file/KS%202011%20General%20Paper%201.pdf
Maggiesfarm posted the link.
http://www.etoncollege.com/userfiles/file/KS%202011%20General%20Paper%201.pdf
Maggiesfarm posted the link.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
We are really doomed
Obama administration policy considers as legitimate “specifically Islamic criticism of the American system of government …”
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/17/homeland-security-guidelines-advise-deference-to-pro-sharia-muslim-supremacists/#ixzz2Tmb1CbyX
“How to” at http://www.scribd.com/doc/141998997/DHS-CRCL-CVE-Training-Dos-and-Donts
At www.maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/17/homeland-security-guidelines-advise-deference-to-pro-sharia-muslim-supremacists/#ixzz2Tmb1CbyX
“How to” at http://www.scribd.com/doc/141998997/DHS-CRCL-CVE-Training-Dos-and-Donts
At www.maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com
We are doomed
A museum in England plans to sell replicas of a Roman one-inch gold phallus, which was discovered in a field two years ago.
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/25428
Three-fourths of the story follows who-what-when-where of news writing. The final quarter, though, is completely amateurish.
The last two paragraphs exhibit ghastly writing.
Link at www.maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com
(If I see someone wearing such a replica, I fear I might blurt “You have a little d!ck around your neck.” Of course, it’s all quite harmless. After all, Romans saw nothing wrong and only good in displaying phalluses throughout their society.
(The author of the article summed up everything quite in the modern scheme: “I think it’s a great idea and I love how cool they are about this.”
(Yes, the Romans were cool.)
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/25428
Three-fourths of the story follows who-what-when-where of news writing. The final quarter, though, is completely amateurish.
The last two paragraphs exhibit ghastly writing.
Link at www.maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com
(If I see someone wearing such a replica, I fear I might blurt “You have a little d!ck around your neck.” Of course, it’s all quite harmless. After all, Romans saw nothing wrong and only good in displaying phalluses throughout their society.
(The author of the article summed up everything quite in the modern scheme: “I think it’s a great idea and I love how cool they are about this.”
(Yes, the Romans were cool.)
The rape was, after all, the 13-year-old girl’s fault
“A Muslim who raped a 13-year-old girl he groomed on Facebook has been spared a prison sentence after a judge heard he went to an Islamic faith school where he was taught that women are worthless.
“Adil Rashid, 18, claimed he was not aware that it was illegal for him to have sex with the girl because his education left him ignorant of British law.
“Yesterday Judge Michael Stokes handed Rashid a suspended sentence, saying: ‘Although chronologically 18, it is quite clear from the reports that you are very naive and immature when it comes to sexual matters.’
…
“Rashid, from Birmingham, admitted he had sex with the girl, saying he had been ‘tempted by her’ after they met online.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2268395/Adil-Rashid-Paedophile-claimed-Muslim-upbringing-meant-didnt-know-illegal-sex-girl-13.html#ixzz2UkSXAHbj
(Not a problem. All religions are equal, and we can’t stigmatize followers of any one religion simply because they are barbaric goat-f***ing bastards.)
Link at www.gatesofvienna.net
“Adil Rashid, 18, claimed he was not aware that it was illegal for him to have sex with the girl because his education left him ignorant of British law.
“Yesterday Judge Michael Stokes handed Rashid a suspended sentence, saying: ‘Although chronologically 18, it is quite clear from the reports that you are very naive and immature when it comes to sexual matters.’
…
“Rashid, from Birmingham, admitted he had sex with the girl, saying he had been ‘tempted by her’ after they met online.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2268395/Adil-Rashid-Paedophile-claimed-Muslim-upbringing-meant-didnt-know-illegal-sex-girl-13.html#ixzz2UkSXAHbj
(Not a problem. All religions are equal, and we can’t stigmatize followers of any one religion simply because they are barbaric goat-f***ing bastards.)
Link at www.gatesofvienna.net
The Prophet don’t do satire
A student newspaper at Australian National U in Canberra published a series of cartoons satirizing different religions. Followers of one (1) religion were pissed. The university forced the newspaper to pull the cartoon and publicly apologize.
Were the pissed off followers: (a) Christian (b) Hindu (c) Jewish (d) Muslim.
Hint: “Professor Young says he was also concerned the satire could have provoked a violent response.
“’There have been a number of cases internationally of satirical cartoons about the Koran which can have some very unfortunate side effects,’ he said.”
Ah, yes. Those pesky very unfortunate side effects when followers of the Prophet of Peace get pissed. Riots, arson, general mayhem and the occasional beheading.
www.gatesofvienna.net
Were the pissed off followers: (a) Christian (b) Hindu (c) Jewish (d) Muslim.
Hint: “Professor Young says he was also concerned the satire could have provoked a violent response.
“’There have been a number of cases internationally of satirical cartoons about the Koran which can have some very unfortunate side effects,’ he said.”
Ah, yes. Those pesky very unfortunate side effects when followers of the Prophet of Peace get pissed. Riots, arson, general mayhem and the occasional beheading.
www.gatesofvienna.net
What to do with the old folks
A neighbor in Sulphur Springs, Texas, told my wife about what happened to an older woman who had lived across the street from our house. One day her son came to visit and during the visit told his mother she should pack a suit case, she was going on a trip. The woman did as her son said, and the son put his mother and her suit case in his car and took her to a nursing home.
The son had power of attorney for his mother’s affairs, and within a short time sold her house.
How horrible, my wife and I said. What a terrible thing to do to your mother.
Sunday, my mother-in-law moved into an assisted living home. My wife and I know the diagnosed mental and physical deterioration. A doctor said my mother-in-law must not live alone. People at church several weeks ago said to my wife, “Take your mother’s car keys. Do not let her drive.” My wife and I know of illogical decisions, of not remembering what happened five minutes ago or the day before, times when she did not know who my wife was.
Thirty years ago it was easy to say “How terrible. How horrible.”
And, yes, my wife will soon put her mother’s home on the market.
The son had power of attorney for his mother’s affairs, and within a short time sold her house.
How horrible, my wife and I said. What a terrible thing to do to your mother.
Sunday, my mother-in-law moved into an assisted living home. My wife and I know the diagnosed mental and physical deterioration. A doctor said my mother-in-law must not live alone. People at church several weeks ago said to my wife, “Take your mother’s car keys. Do not let her drive.” My wife and I know of illogical decisions, of not remembering what happened five minutes ago or the day before, times when she did not know who my wife was.
Thirty years ago it was easy to say “How terrible. How horrible.”
And, yes, my wife will soon put her mother’s home on the market.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Homeowners, concerned citizens, 'neo-Nazis and football hooligans' defend neighborhoods against rioters
“STOCKHOLM. Faced by another night of terror at the hands of predominantly immigrant rioters, Swedes grown tired of the police’s inability to put an end to the unrest took to the streets Friday night to defend their neighborhoods.
“The vigilantes were described as a motley crew of homeowners and concerned citizens, as well as neo-Nazi activists and football hooligans.
“In the Stockholm suburb of Tumba the police decided to abandon their earlier non-intervention policy as a large group of police officers rounded up and dispersed a group of vigilantes trying to fend off rioters.”
http://www.friatider.se/swedes-take-to-the-streets-to-defend-their-neighborhoods
Link at http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=64589
“The vigilantes were described as a motley crew of homeowners and concerned citizens, as well as neo-Nazi activists and football hooligans.
“In the Stockholm suburb of Tumba the police decided to abandon their earlier non-intervention policy as a large group of police officers rounded up and dispersed a group of vigilantes trying to fend off rioters.”
http://www.friatider.se/swedes-take-to-the-streets-to-defend-their-neighborhoods
Link at http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=64589
It was a Gump of a speech
I watched a few minutes of President Obama’s long speech the other night, just enough to know he was reciting phrases from the Book of Things Said in Previous Speeches and Which Will Satisfy Media and Other Supporters.
The speech was an exercise in dumbassitis, a talk talked for the purpose of talking. What was said did not matter, except that it be said in a manner supporters would support.
P.J. O’Rourke: “Stupid is a great force in human affairs. And the great force has a commander in chief.”
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/stupid_729235.html from http://lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=737503
The speech was an exercise in dumbassitis, a talk talked for the purpose of talking. What was said did not matter, except that it be said in a manner supporters would support.
P.J. O’Rourke: “Stupid is a great force in human affairs. And the great force has a commander in chief.”
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/stupid_729235.html from http://lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=737503
Never really dead in Massachusetts
1,160 dead people were paid $2 million. No figures yet on how many of the dead voted in the state’s last election.
http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=737640
http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=737640
We just don’t know why the soldier was killed
(Murdered. Hacked to death. Beheaded.)
“Footage has emerged showing a man wielding a bloodied meat cleaver and making political statements.”
“The idea that this may be terrorism inspired by some sort of religious extremist belief is quite plausible.”
“There are always going to be these incidents and thankfully they are limited to the death of a few people.”
“We have to learn proportionate lessons from what has occurred.”
“In fairness, we’ve listened to the statements of the individuals involved in this horrific attack and it’s quite clear they’re making political statements.”
“Might it highlight a broader underbelly of discontent with the government?”
http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/timblair/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/nobodys_listening/
At www.maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com
Following the “we don’t know why it happened” attack, 11 not members of that religion of peace were arrested for making “racist or anti-religious” comments on internet sites.
(Pictures of Lee Rigby in days before Muslims murdered him.)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2330809/Lee-Rigby-death-11-people-UK-arrested-making-racist-anti-religious-comments-online-British-soldiers-death.html
“One obvious point, it is completely wrong to blame this killing on Islam.”
http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2013/05/friday-afternoon-roundup-orwell-lives.html
“Footage has emerged showing a man wielding a bloodied meat cleaver and making political statements.”
“The idea that this may be terrorism inspired by some sort of religious extremist belief is quite plausible.”
“There are always going to be these incidents and thankfully they are limited to the death of a few people.”
“We have to learn proportionate lessons from what has occurred.”
“In fairness, we’ve listened to the statements of the individuals involved in this horrific attack and it’s quite clear they’re making political statements.”
“Might it highlight a broader underbelly of discontent with the government?”
http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/timblair/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/nobodys_listening/
At www.maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com
Following the “we don’t know why it happened” attack, 11 not members of that religion of peace were arrested for making “racist or anti-religious” comments on internet sites.
(Pictures of Lee Rigby in days before Muslims murdered him.)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2330809/Lee-Rigby-death-11-people-UK-arrested-making-racist-anti-religious-comments-online-British-soldiers-death.html
“One obvious point, it is completely wrong to blame this killing on Islam.”
http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2013/05/friday-afternoon-roundup-orwell-lives.html
When a coincidence is not a coincidence?
‘Now The Gibson Guitar Raids Make Sense’
“On Aug. 24, 2011, federal agents executed four search warrants on Gibson Guitar Corp. facilities in Nashville and Memphis, Tenn., and seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. One of the top makers of acoustic and electric guitars, including the iconic Les Paul introduced in 1952, Gibson was accused of using wood illegally obtained in violation of the century-old Lacey Act, which outlaws trafficking in flora and fauna the harvesting of which had broken foreign laws.”
…
“Grossly underreported at the time was the fact that Gibson's chief executive, Henry Juszkiewicz, contributed to Republican politicians. Recent donations have included $2,000 to Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and $1,500 to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
“By contrast, Chris Martin IV, the Martin & Co. CEO, is a long-time Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee over the past couple of election cycles.”
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/052313-657569-gibson-guitar-raid-like-tea-party-intimidation.htm#ixzz2Ub5Wjlic
Fretted at www.maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com
“On Aug. 24, 2011, federal agents executed four search warrants on Gibson Guitar Corp. facilities in Nashville and Memphis, Tenn., and seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. One of the top makers of acoustic and electric guitars, including the iconic Les Paul introduced in 1952, Gibson was accused of using wood illegally obtained in violation of the century-old Lacey Act, which outlaws trafficking in flora and fauna the harvesting of which had broken foreign laws.”
…
“Grossly underreported at the time was the fact that Gibson's chief executive, Henry Juszkiewicz, contributed to Republican politicians. Recent donations have included $2,000 to Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and $1,500 to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
“By contrast, Chris Martin IV, the Martin & Co. CEO, is a long-time Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee over the past couple of election cycles.”
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/052313-657569-gibson-guitar-raid-like-tea-party-intimidation.htm#ixzz2Ub5Wjlic
Fretted at www.maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com
New thieving bastards
My snail mail address has made new fiends!
National Veterans Services Fund is the newest group asking for money from my 87-year-old mother-in-law.
I had never heard of these people, but according to a letter, NVSF supports “disabled war veterans and their families.”
Do they now.
I’d say you’re not doing a whole hell of a lot of “support” when 59.18 percent of money raised goes to fundraising, 11.39 percent to administration, 10.97 percent to “education in conjunction with fundraising,” and the remaining 18.46 percent to program services. Last fiscal year, NVSF took in $9.1 million. I’m not going to do the math, but it’s not too difficult to see the big, big difference between dollars spent on actually doing something and total dollars for fundraising/education about fundraising.
NVSF joins a different branch of The Retired Enlisted Association in begging for phone card dollars. A couple of weeks ago, TREA’s Aurora, Colo., unit wanted money for cards to give to personnel in Afghanistan. This week, a branch in Langhorne, Penn., joins in, with this:
“Right now, a Wounded American Hero in a VA Hospital is feeling forgotten and alone.”
And then: “A prepaid phone card could be the best gift you could give this summer!”
The brown and tan camouflage envelop on the back has: “U.S. Armed Forces Iraq and Afghanistan Casualty Appeal.”
What if that “Wounded American Hero” isn’t an Iraq or Afghanistan vet? Has he no “appeal?” Does he not get a prepaid phone card?
All these thieving bastards are the same. But you know, making money on the backs of veterans is much more bastardly than making money by scaring Social Security recipients about Medicare and Medicaid.
There'll be a slow roasting in Hell.
National Veterans Services Fund is the newest group asking for money from my 87-year-old mother-in-law.
I had never heard of these people, but according to a letter, NVSF supports “disabled war veterans and their families.”
Do they now.
I’d say you’re not doing a whole hell of a lot of “support” when 59.18 percent of money raised goes to fundraising, 11.39 percent to administration, 10.97 percent to “education in conjunction with fundraising,” and the remaining 18.46 percent to program services. Last fiscal year, NVSF took in $9.1 million. I’m not going to do the math, but it’s not too difficult to see the big, big difference between dollars spent on actually doing something and total dollars for fundraising/education about fundraising.
NVSF joins a different branch of The Retired Enlisted Association in begging for phone card dollars. A couple of weeks ago, TREA’s Aurora, Colo., unit wanted money for cards to give to personnel in Afghanistan. This week, a branch in Langhorne, Penn., joins in, with this:
“Right now, a Wounded American Hero in a VA Hospital is feeling forgotten and alone.”
And then: “A prepaid phone card could be the best gift you could give this summer!”
The brown and tan camouflage envelop on the back has: “U.S. Armed Forces Iraq and Afghanistan Casualty Appeal.”
What if that “Wounded American Hero” isn’t an Iraq or Afghanistan vet? Has he no “appeal?” Does he not get a prepaid phone card?
All these thieving bastards are the same. But you know, making money on the backs of veterans is much more bastardly than making money by scaring Social Security recipients about Medicare and Medicaid.
There'll be a slow roasting in Hell.
Friday, May 24, 2013
One of many reasons I don’t like NPR
Headline for story: ‘China’s Air Pollution: Is The Government Willing to Act?’
“This may be the best news I've heard about air pollution since I first lived in China 16 years ago. The nation's air problem is profoundly depressing. There were times, even a dozen years back, when I would land at the airport in Beijing, only able to make out the runway 50 feet before we touched down.
“Inevitably, I would wonder: Why am I coming back?” – Frank Langfitt.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/05/24/186246634/chinas-air-pollution-is-the-government-willing-to-act
OK. What’s this story about – air pollution in China, or Frank Langfitt’s trips to China?
What was once taught in journalism school: The reporter is not part of the story. The reporter’s job is to report. What he thinks is not important.
But, journalism is outdated. Colleges now teach “communications.” It seems, though, that the more communication is taught, the less there is.
Found at www.fark.com
“This may be the best news I've heard about air pollution since I first lived in China 16 years ago. The nation's air problem is profoundly depressing. There were times, even a dozen years back, when I would land at the airport in Beijing, only able to make out the runway 50 feet before we touched down.
“Inevitably, I would wonder: Why am I coming back?” – Frank Langfitt.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/05/24/186246634/chinas-air-pollution-is-the-government-willing-to-act
OK. What’s this story about – air pollution in China, or Frank Langfitt’s trips to China?
What was once taught in journalism school: The reporter is not part of the story. The reporter’s job is to report. What he thinks is not important.
But, journalism is outdated. Colleges now teach “communications.” It seems, though, that the more communication is taught, the less there is.
Found at www.fark.com
Here’s a good headline*
‘Pakistan arrested drone-killed American in ‘08’
Pakistani police said they arrested part of the man over there, part of him over there, part of him in what remained of his car …
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2013/may/24/pakistan-arrested-drone-killed-american-0-20130524/
*For the class on how not to write a headline.
Pakistani police said they arrested part of the man over there, part of him over there, part of him in what remained of his car …
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2013/may/24/pakistan-arrested-drone-killed-american-0-20130524/
*For the class on how not to write a headline.
Truck hits bridge support; bridge falls
“For reasons unknown at this point in time, the semi struck the overhead of the bridge causing the collapse.” -- Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste.
(Here’s a guess: The load was too high!)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/state-patrol-i-5-bridge-over-skagit-river-collapses-in-nw-wash-vehicles-people-in-water/2013/05/23/ef618aaa-c41c-11e2-9642-a56177f1cdf7_story.html
(Here’s a guess: The load was too high!)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/state-patrol-i-5-bridge-over-skagit-river-collapses-in-nw-wash-vehicles-people-in-water/2013/05/23/ef618aaa-c41c-11e2-9642-a56177f1cdf7_story.html
Thursday, May 23, 2013
From Norway, praise for murderers of British soldier
“Wonderful news from England. A terrorist pig from the British army has been slaughtered by our brave brothers. Allahu Akhbar!
“May Allah SWT reward their actions and intentions and humiliate the enemies of Islam in the worst possible way.”
www.gatesofvienna.net
“May Allah SWT reward their actions and intentions and humiliate the enemies of Islam in the worst possible way.”
www.gatesofvienna.net
People this stupid should pay a tax for breathing
Don’t anger the Muslims
“The flag of St George will not be flying over Radstock any time soon after town councillors decided it was inappropriate because of its links with campaigns against Islam hundreds of years ago.”
(“Campaigns against Islam”? Could that possibly refer to the centuries-long wars that began after Muslims captured Christian lands in the Middle East? AKA “Crusades,” but you certainly should not say that word, since it offends Muslims even more than the red cross on white background. How long before the Red Cross has to get another emblem? Wait! I know! The International Red Cross can call itself Red Crescent! That won’t piss off any wog Muslims.)
“Councillor Eleanor Jackson (Lab, Radstock), a university lecturer and teacher, said its use during the Crusades of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries could mean the English national flag could be seen by some as offensive.
“She added: ‘My big problem is that it is offensive to some Muslims but even more so that it has been hijacked by the far right. …”
http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Radstock-town-council-rejects-St-George-flag/story-19002784-detail/story.html
Half-masted at www.maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com and www.peekinthewell.net
(In 1749 Thomas Merriman and Thomas Merriman the Younger were transported from England to the Virginia Colony after being found guilty of some heinous crime in England, perhaps pinching a loaf of bread or some such. Thank you, Crown Prosecutor for getting my ancestors out of your country.)
Don’t say bad thins against these people. You might hurt their feelings.
“Five years ago, the sight of Muslim terrorists beheading British soldiers was a horror that could happen in Afghanistan or Iraq. Now it has happened in broad daylight in the capital of the United Kingdom.
“In a decade, 600,000 white Londoners have fled the city. Those are the sorts of numbers you would expect from the Syrian civil war. Their place has been taken by the million Muslims occupying the city.” – Afghanistan Comes to London.
http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/
In Little Rock, a Muslim killed one soldier and wounded another in front of a recruiting station. At Fort Hood a Muslim officer killed a dozen soldiers and a 62-year-old civilian physician attendant and wounded 30.
Don’t say bad things about Muslims.
“The flag of St George will not be flying over Radstock any time soon after town councillors decided it was inappropriate because of its links with campaigns against Islam hundreds of years ago.”
(“Campaigns against Islam”? Could that possibly refer to the centuries-long wars that began after Muslims captured Christian lands in the Middle East? AKA “Crusades,” but you certainly should not say that word, since it offends Muslims even more than the red cross on white background. How long before the Red Cross has to get another emblem? Wait! I know! The International Red Cross can call itself Red Crescent! That won’t piss off any wog Muslims.)
“Councillor Eleanor Jackson (Lab, Radstock), a university lecturer and teacher, said its use during the Crusades of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries could mean the English national flag could be seen by some as offensive.
“She added: ‘My big problem is that it is offensive to some Muslims but even more so that it has been hijacked by the far right. …”
http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Radstock-town-council-rejects-St-George-flag/story-19002784-detail/story.html
Half-masted at www.maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com and www.peekinthewell.net
(In 1749 Thomas Merriman and Thomas Merriman the Younger were transported from England to the Virginia Colony after being found guilty of some heinous crime in England, perhaps pinching a loaf of bread or some such. Thank you, Crown Prosecutor for getting my ancestors out of your country.)
Don’t say bad thins against these people. You might hurt their feelings.
“Five years ago, the sight of Muslim terrorists beheading British soldiers was a horror that could happen in Afghanistan or Iraq. Now it has happened in broad daylight in the capital of the United Kingdom.
“In a decade, 600,000 white Londoners have fled the city. Those are the sorts of numbers you would expect from the Syrian civil war. Their place has been taken by the million Muslims occupying the city.” – Afghanistan Comes to London.
http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/
In Little Rock, a Muslim killed one soldier and wounded another in front of a recruiting station. At Fort Hood a Muslim officer killed a dozen soldiers and a 62-year-old civilian physician attendant and wounded 30.
Don’t say bad things about Muslims.
Warehouse 13
While watching Claudia and Steve attempting to find the cause of adrenalin depletion of jockeys on Warehouse 13 the other night, my wife said, “Remember Steve’s first appearance, and they made so much of his homosexuality?” I said I did remember, and I did, because at the time I wondered why writers or producers decided the show needed a homosexual, except maybe so as not to have more of what pop psychology calls “sexual tension,” as is evident between Myka and Pete, and to some degree between Artie and Leena, even though Artie killed her, but I have an idea he didn’t really, that she will make a comeback somewhere and the plot will be Artie was under the spell of an artifact and Leena was on a special mission, so that is why she was gone so long.
Maybe writers decided not to have more sexual tension; maybe one set of tension was enough. Or … Maybe writers and producers or people who put pressure on TV shows, no matter how disguised, maybe somebody decided, “You know, we need a gay character.” And the show got a homosexual character.
My wife said, “They haven’t mentioned that he is gay since his first appearance.”
I said, “You’re right. But, most science fiction fans are traditionalist.”
Besides, working with Allison Scagliotti every day would make a gay man straight.
Maybe writers decided not to have more sexual tension; maybe one set of tension was enough. Or … Maybe writers and producers or people who put pressure on TV shows, no matter how disguised, maybe somebody decided, “You know, we need a gay character.” And the show got a homosexual character.
My wife said, “They haven’t mentioned that he is gay since his first appearance.”
I said, “You’re right. But, most science fiction fans are traditionalist.”
Besides, working with Allison Scagliotti every day would make a gay man straight.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Meanwhile, 18-year-old American girl builds super-fast phone charger
Esha Khare has created “a device that can charge a cellphone super fast in 20 seconds.”
“Called super-capacitor, the device can do up to 10,000 cycles, as against 1,000 that conventional battery chargers do.”
http://newseastwest.com/indian-american-girl-esha-khare-invents-device-that-charges-cellphone-in-20-seconds/
As for the myth that pretty girls don’t like math, science and technology …
“Called super-capacitor, the device can do up to 10,000 cycles, as against 1,000 that conventional battery chargers do.”
http://newseastwest.com/indian-american-girl-esha-khare-invents-device-that-charges-cellphone-in-20-seconds/
As for the myth that pretty girls don’t like math, science and technology …
‘Immigrant youths’ are at it again, spreading good will and religion of peace
Riots and burning cars in Sweden, while two others hack to death a British soldier 200 yards from an army barracks.
All at http://vladtepesblog.com/
Go somewhere else if you can't abide blood, fire and the truth about Islam.
All at http://vladtepesblog.com/
Go somewhere else if you can't abide blood, fire and the truth about Islam.
Senator Boozman replies
On May 7 I blogged: “Thieving bastard group uses senator’s name without permission,” about the Emergency Committee to Save Medicare and its using Sen. Boozman’s name in a fund-raising letter.
Today I got a snail-mail reply from Sen. Boozman.
“Thank you for contacting me about ‘Emergency Committee to Save Medicare” using the names of several Senators to solicit funds.”
“I did not authorize the letter. The letter is deceptively using my name along with the names of other Senators, to lend credence to their fundraising operation.”
Sen. Boozman’s letter then says, “Thank you for contacting me … visit my website at … I look forward to hearing from you …” etc. and etc.
Thank you, Sen. Boozman for your reply.
Now, let’s look at Paragraph Two of the senator’s reply: “The letter is deceptively using my name …”
Doesn’t deceptive use constitute mail fraud?
That was Thought #2.
Thought #1: OK, Senator. I, a constituent, gave you a copy of the letter. You determined the letter deception. What are you going to do now?
A guess: Someone from Sen. Boozman’s office will contact the thieving bastards at Emergency Committee to Save Medicare and tell them to stop using the senator’s name.
I would prefer a postal service investigation. I sent on-line forms to USPS, but got only a “Thank you for contacting us” and “We will let you know if we decide mail fraud has been committed.”
Today I got a snail-mail reply from Sen. Boozman.
“Thank you for contacting me about ‘Emergency Committee to Save Medicare” using the names of several Senators to solicit funds.”
“I did not authorize the letter. The letter is deceptively using my name along with the names of other Senators, to lend credence to their fundraising operation.”
Sen. Boozman’s letter then says, “Thank you for contacting me … visit my website at … I look forward to hearing from you …” etc. and etc.
Thank you, Sen. Boozman for your reply.
Now, let’s look at Paragraph Two of the senator’s reply: “The letter is deceptively using my name …”
Doesn’t deceptive use constitute mail fraud?
That was Thought #2.
Thought #1: OK, Senator. I, a constituent, gave you a copy of the letter. You determined the letter deception. What are you going to do now?
A guess: Someone from Sen. Boozman’s office will contact the thieving bastards at Emergency Committee to Save Medicare and tell them to stop using the senator’s name.
I would prefer a postal service investigation. I sent on-line forms to USPS, but got only a “Thank you for contacting us” and “We will let you know if we decide mail fraud has been committed.”
Thieving bastards never stop
Of course not. Perseverance in lying and threatening keeps them wealthy.
Today brought nine letters.
No return address. “Copy of certified letter enclosed.” Copy of certified letter? That’s a lie. If you don’t sign for a letter, it isn’t “certified.”
United States Health Congress. “Your official health care registration is enclosed.”
American Criminal Justice Center. “Emergency Communication.” In red, all caps.
Retirement Security Task Force. “Nationwide survey enclosed. Response requested.” All caps. In the address window: “Census recipient:” and then my mother-in-law’s name and address.
Alan Keyes: “America’s Islamic ‘Trojan Horse’ Operates Out Of The White House.” **
Decide America -- Ambassador John Bolton Founder and Chairman: “Emergency National Security Citizen Opinion Poll: Issue – National Security Policy and Domestic Terrorism.”
United States Health Congress: “Sit Down And Take A Deep Breath And Brace Yourself But Know That You Are Not Alone.”
United States Investigative Unit: “Two Air Delivery Envelopes Enclosed For Two Crucial Reasons – Please Return Without Delay.”
** The real Alan Keyes would not do "Islamic" and "Trojan Horse."
(These thieving bastards would keep on lying to old people and stealing Social Security and retirement even if I could find a physical location and leave something for Joe Turner to find, or do a Red John on the office people. A week, max, the office would be reconstituted.)
Today brought nine letters.
No return address. “Copy of certified letter enclosed.” Copy of certified letter? That’s a lie. If you don’t sign for a letter, it isn’t “certified.”
United States Health Congress. “Your official health care registration is enclosed.”
American Criminal Justice Center. “Emergency Communication.” In red, all caps.
Retirement Security Task Force. “Nationwide survey enclosed. Response requested.” All caps. In the address window: “Census recipient:” and then my mother-in-law’s name and address.
Alan Keyes: “America’s Islamic ‘Trojan Horse’ Operates Out Of The White House.” **
Decide America -- Ambassador John Bolton Founder and Chairman: “Emergency National Security Citizen Opinion Poll: Issue – National Security Policy and Domestic Terrorism.”
United States Health Congress: “Sit Down And Take A Deep Breath And Brace Yourself But Know That You Are Not Alone.”
United States Investigative Unit: “Two Air Delivery Envelopes Enclosed For Two Crucial Reasons – Please Return Without Delay.”
** The real Alan Keyes would not do "Islamic" and "Trojan Horse."
(These thieving bastards would keep on lying to old people and stealing Social Security and retirement even if I could find a physical location and leave something for Joe Turner to find, or do a Red John on the office people. A week, max, the office would be reconstituted.)
The line to take
"He was just a Muslim. That was his mistake, I guess."
From completely speculative story, based on hearsay and such and need to post something incendiary.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/22/justice/florida-fbi-shooting-boston/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
(I am gagging. Everybody knows what to say when TV folks hoist a microphone.)
From completely speculative story, based on hearsay and such and need to post something incendiary.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/22/justice/florida-fbi-shooting-boston/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
(I am gagging. Everybody knows what to say when TV folks hoist a microphone.)
Need more spies, need more spies!
“There’s lots of work for everybody.” – Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) on why DOD needs agents who would focus on intelligence that is “unique to the Department of Defense or otherwise unmet; and provide unique capabilities to the intelligence community….”
http://breakingdefense.com/2013/05/21/hasc-intel-panel-puts-gentle-kibosh-on-dod-spy-service/?utm_source=Breaking+Defense&utm_campaign=15146d34e7-
(Defense Clandestine Service … Oh.)
And you have to appreciate this bit of bureaucraticspeak on the difference between CIA and DIA: “The primary difference lies in each organization’s customer base.”
http://www.smartwar.org/2013/03/the-dias-new-defense-clandestine-service/
“Customer base.” Back when I was in MI (all of almost three years), “customer base” didn’t exist. Stuff came in. We looked at it, “Hmmm”d a lot, and sent out maybes and perhapses and other guesses, “based on the Russians’ present strength and previous courses of action …” to the brigade commander, who decided which of our guesses he agreed with. With OPORD produced and disseminated to battalions, map war began, and we stymied the commies’ push into various parts of Germany and once foiled an attack from North Fort Hood to Main Post. The commies must have been after the commissary and main PX.
http://breakingdefense.com/2013/05/21/hasc-intel-panel-puts-gentle-kibosh-on-dod-spy-service/?utm_source=Breaking+Defense&utm_campaign=15146d34e7-
(Defense Clandestine Service … Oh.)
And you have to appreciate this bit of bureaucraticspeak on the difference between CIA and DIA: “The primary difference lies in each organization’s customer base.”
http://www.smartwar.org/2013/03/the-dias-new-defense-clandestine-service/
“Customer base.” Back when I was in MI (all of almost three years), “customer base” didn’t exist. Stuff came in. We looked at it, “Hmmm”d a lot, and sent out maybes and perhapses and other guesses, “based on the Russians’ present strength and previous courses of action …” to the brigade commander, who decided which of our guesses he agreed with. With OPORD produced and disseminated to battalions, map war began, and we stymied the commies’ push into various parts of Germany and once foiled an attack from North Fort Hood to Main Post. The commies must have been after the commissary and main PX.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
If you believe
the government believes it knows what is best for you (all of us), the road to liberation stretches before you.
Bureaucrats, faceless and otherwise; governments local, state and federal; officials elected and appointed; law makers and enforcers of laws newly made – Some one at some time from at least one of those governments in place or in support … Some one has let you know by statement or look or glance, “I know what is best for you. I am a professional. You are not.”
In a graduate school course in public administration, my wife said, part of the instruction was the belief that the public exists to pay for government. That’s it. Your reason for being is to pay for government. And, instructors said, the first rule of anyone who has a government job is, make your job irreplaceable. The second rule is, expand your job so you can hire helpers who can take more money from the suppliers.
Bureaucrats, faceless and otherwise; governments local, state and federal; officials elected and appointed; law makers and enforcers of laws newly made – Some one at some time from at least one of those governments in place or in support … Some one has let you know by statement or look or glance, “I know what is best for you. I am a professional. You are not.”
In a graduate school course in public administration, my wife said, part of the instruction was the belief that the public exists to pay for government. That’s it. Your reason for being is to pay for government. And, instructors said, the first rule of anyone who has a government job is, make your job irreplaceable. The second rule is, expand your job so you can hire helpers who can take more money from the suppliers.
Springbuck at 1,099 yards
The Army and the USMC have shooters who can do that using a rifle priced somewhat less than the $22,000 TrackingPoint system.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu2EqO1qbrQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu2EqO1qbrQ
An opinion on everything
This morning the president commented on the tornado in Oklahoma. He felt bad about it.
When did news people begin expecting the president to comment on every bad thing that happens – tornadoes, shootings at schools, a police officer arresting a man in Massachusetts?
On Aug. 1, 1966, Charles Whitman killed 17 people and wounded 32 in Austin, Texas. Did President Johnson go on national television and tell relatives of the dead and wounded, “I feel your pain”?
Chet Huntley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTU5lPzKvjI
No hysterics from reporters, no speculation, just statements of what was known at the time.
When did news people begin expecting the president to comment on every bad thing that happens – tornadoes, shootings at schools, a police officer arresting a man in Massachusetts?
On Aug. 1, 1966, Charles Whitman killed 17 people and wounded 32 in Austin, Texas. Did President Johnson go on national television and tell relatives of the dead and wounded, “I feel your pain”?
Chet Huntley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTU5lPzKvjI
No hysterics from reporters, no speculation, just statements of what was known at the time.
Maggiesfarm called these ‘Pics which will make your stomach drop’
AKA dumba$$ things people do really high up and often vertical.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/these-photos-will-make-your-stomach-drop
http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/these-photos-will-make-your-stomach-drop
SECDEF ranks recruiters with sexual deviants, says retraining needed
OK, Chuck Hagel didn’t exactly say that, but militarydotcom gives a rambling, incoherent … something. Sort of similar to what Hagel might have said, to wit:
“Amid a spate of allegations of criminal behavior by military recruiters and servicemembers involved in the Defense Department's efforts to prevent sexual assaults and help that crime's victims, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the services to retrain, re-credential and rescreen all sexual assault prevention and response personnel and military recruiters. Hagel was informed recently about allegations of criminal behavior against an Army sergeant first class who was a sexual assault prevention and response coordinator at Fort Hood, Texas. The Army Criminal Investigation Command is investigating the Fort Hood soldier for pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault and maltreatment of subordinates.”
http://www.military.com/military-report/recruiters-among-those-to-be-retrained?ESRC=miltrep.n
(Say again all after “Amid.” I got lost around “spate of allegations.”)
For more rambling, see: http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=16006
(Anybody who takes advantage of his/her position to coerce sex or anything else from a subordinate should get maximum punishment. But DOD has reacted sort of in hysterical mode to these crimes.)
“Amid a spate of allegations of criminal behavior by military recruiters and servicemembers involved in the Defense Department's efforts to prevent sexual assaults and help that crime's victims, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the services to retrain, re-credential and rescreen all sexual assault prevention and response personnel and military recruiters. Hagel was informed recently about allegations of criminal behavior against an Army sergeant first class who was a sexual assault prevention and response coordinator at Fort Hood, Texas. The Army Criminal Investigation Command is investigating the Fort Hood soldier for pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault and maltreatment of subordinates.”
http://www.military.com/military-report/recruiters-among-those-to-be-retrained?ESRC=miltrep.n
(Say again all after “Amid.” I got lost around “spate of allegations.”)
For more rambling, see: http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=16006
(Anybody who takes advantage of his/her position to coerce sex or anything else from a subordinate should get maximum punishment. But DOD has reacted sort of in hysterical mode to these crimes.)
Monday, May 20, 2013
Let’s hear it for the good guys!
Air Force specialist mechanics save service $1 million a year.
“A microwave amp out of a C-130 is small, a rectangular box several inches long. To replace the unit would cost $10,000. In a couple weeks, the repairmen use microscopes and tools similar to ones dentists use to repair the amp for only $190.”
“An APQ-180 circuit card, with a replacement value of more than $11,600, is another common repair. Replacement parts are not available at all across the Air Force, but can be repaired at the shop for about $300.”
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/military/top-story/four-specialized-mechanics-save-air-force-millions-1.145658
Repaired from www.fark.com
“A microwave amp out of a C-130 is small, a rectangular box several inches long. To replace the unit would cost $10,000. In a couple weeks, the repairmen use microscopes and tools similar to ones dentists use to repair the amp for only $190.”
“An APQ-180 circuit card, with a replacement value of more than $11,600, is another common repair. Replacement parts are not available at all across the Air Force, but can be repaired at the shop for about $300.”
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/military/top-story/four-specialized-mechanics-save-air-force-millions-1.145658
Repaired from www.fark.com
Fark asks: How many people does it take to 'rescue' a naked college girl out for a hike high on mushrooms? a: 10, b: 20 or c: 35
Answer from The Smoking Gun: “Collegian, 21, Is Rescued Off Colorado Mountain After Getting High On Mushrooms, Stripping Off Her Clothes”
“Powers, a communications major, has not commented on her weekend adventure on her Facebook page (which includes hiking and skiing photos).”
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/naked-woman-on-mushrooms-rescued-784532?35
“Powers, a communications major, has not commented on her weekend adventure on her Facebook page (which includes hiking and skiing photos).”
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/naked-woman-on-mushrooms-rescued-784532?35
What a maroon!!!
(I can’t say d’ck in a headline.)
“Honesty and directness are the best tools for ever so gently shattering your children's assumption that our planet is a safe and secure place. And if this sometimes makes them feel that their lives on Earth are somehow less meaningful -- hey, welcome to the club.”
(Horseshit! Make your kids “feel that their lives on Earth are somehow less meaningful”? Where TF did this d’ck learn how to be a parent? You don’t scare your kids. Ever. Those videos of people popping out of boxes or wearing masks and jumping at their kids? Those parents should be horsewhipped. And so should that d'ck. Raise your kids to be morally and mentally strong, able to face the world. Do not scare them.)
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/05/what_to_tell_your_kids_about_the_end_of_the_world_according_to_the_new_york_times.html
“Honesty and directness are the best tools for ever so gently shattering your children's assumption that our planet is a safe and secure place. And if this sometimes makes them feel that their lives on Earth are somehow less meaningful -- hey, welcome to the club.”
(Horseshit! Make your kids “feel that their lives on Earth are somehow less meaningful”? Where TF did this d’ck learn how to be a parent? You don’t scare your kids. Ever. Those videos of people popping out of boxes or wearing masks and jumping at their kids? Those parents should be horsewhipped. And so should that d'ck. Raise your kids to be morally and mentally strong, able to face the world. Do not scare them.)
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/05/what_to_tell_your_kids_about_the_end_of_the_world_according_to_the_new_york_times.html
Washington politicians do not like the military
“Do sexual assaults occur in the uniformed services? Absolutely. Just like they do in every other sphere of the civilian world. Do they happen in higher proportion? Absolutely not. In fact, the numbers prove the opposite. Yet with no understanding of military life and culture, Washington politicians and journalists have condemned American servicemen as savages and sexual predators without digging into the facts.
…
“The Pentagon's study noted that 30 percent of women experienced sexual assault prior to entering the military, compared to the 6 percent within it. Yet Senator Gillibrand and dozens of liberal commentators excoriated Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh for stating this exact point. But in the end, no matter how many rules are placed on service members or how much training they receive, the Armed Forces will always reflect society's values because its people are drawn from society. In fact, one of the primary arguments for encouraging diversity in the military is to ensure that it continues to accurately reflect society.
…
“The real question is why none of the outraged politicians and journalists bothered to look at the facts. Perhaps because the notion of military men as savages and sexual predators better fits their preconceptions, and they simply needed a reason to show their true feelings towards those in uniform.”
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/savages_sexual_predators_and_their_defenders_how_the_washington_establishment_really_views_the_milit.html
(The officer makes factual points. For some politicians, the U.S. military forces are an impediment to the redistribution of American wealth.)
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/savages_sexual_predators_and_their_defenders_how_the_washington_establishment_really_views_the_milit.html
…
“The Pentagon's study noted that 30 percent of women experienced sexual assault prior to entering the military, compared to the 6 percent within it. Yet Senator Gillibrand and dozens of liberal commentators excoriated Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh for stating this exact point. But in the end, no matter how many rules are placed on service members or how much training they receive, the Armed Forces will always reflect society's values because its people are drawn from society. In fact, one of the primary arguments for encouraging diversity in the military is to ensure that it continues to accurately reflect society.
…
“The real question is why none of the outraged politicians and journalists bothered to look at the facts. Perhaps because the notion of military men as savages and sexual predators better fits their preconceptions, and they simply needed a reason to show their true feelings towards those in uniform.”
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/savages_sexual_predators_and_their_defenders_how_the_washington_establishment_really_views_the_milit.html
(The officer makes factual points. For some politicians, the U.S. military forces are an impediment to the redistribution of American wealth.)
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/savages_sexual_predators_and_their_defenders_how_the_washington_establishment_really_views_the_milit.html
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Boston wouldn't accept an Irish Catholic baseball player?
Sometimes you run across things and you say, “What? Where did he leave his brain?”
On Jim O’Rourke: “When the Boston Red Stockings signed him in 1873, the manager told him the 'Puritans' in Boston would not tolerate an Irish Catholic player and insisted O'Rourke change his name to Rourke. He refused and the manager backed down.” – Washington Post columnist Les Carpenter, April 21, 2006.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=orouji01
Who were the baseball players and Boston fans in 1873 – lowborn Irish, or well-to-do Protestant Puritans? The idea that Boston would not accept an Irish Catholic player … Just look at the 1876 Red Stockings roster.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1876&t=BS4
On Jim O’Rourke: “When the Boston Red Stockings signed him in 1873, the manager told him the 'Puritans' in Boston would not tolerate an Irish Catholic player and insisted O'Rourke change his name to Rourke. He refused and the manager backed down.” – Washington Post columnist Les Carpenter, April 21, 2006.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=orouji01
Who were the baseball players and Boston fans in 1873 – lowborn Irish, or well-to-do Protestant Puritans? The idea that Boston would not accept an Irish Catholic player … Just look at the 1876 Red Stockings roster.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1876&t=BS4
Talk about more stupid
It’s in Houston. Texas. Look at the houses. Those people own guns. More than one for each household.
“Oh, please, Mr. Burglar! Don’t throw me in that closet over there!”
The one where the homeowner keeps at least one gun.
Final score: Legal gun owner 1; screaming, whining, crying, bullet-in-the-leg burglar 0.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325629/Dumb-house-burglar-shot-locking-homeowner-inside-GUN-CLOSET.html
“Oh, please, Mr. Burglar! Don’t throw me in that closet over there!”
The one where the homeowner keeps at least one gun.
Final score: Legal gun owner 1; screaming, whining, crying, bullet-in-the-leg burglar 0.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325629/Dumb-house-burglar-shot-locking-homeowner-inside-GUN-CLOSET.html
Baseball Hall of Fame
Walter Alston elected to the Hall in 1983.
Major league player summary: Sept. 27, 1936, St. Louis Cardinals, 1 game, 1 at bat, 1 strikeout.
Two total chances at first base, one error, .500 fielding percentage.
Cardinals pitcher Dizzy Dean that day lost to the Cubs, 6-3, but gave up only 2 earned runs. He also went 3-3 batting, with 2 doubles, and scored a run.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=193609270SLN
Major league player summary: Sept. 27, 1936, St. Louis Cardinals, 1 game, 1 at bat, 1 strikeout.
Two total chances at first base, one error, .500 fielding percentage.
Cardinals pitcher Dizzy Dean that day lost to the Cubs, 6-3, but gave up only 2 earned runs. He also went 3-3 batting, with 2 doubles, and scored a run.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=193609270SLN
Frogs and whippoorwills
From another letter my wife's Uncle Murray Raley wrote but never sent. The area is northeast of DeQueen, Ark.
I had come to believe the frogs had gone the way of the passenger pigeon and the dodo bird, but a Sunday or two ago I was lollygagging about the countryside and stopped at an old pond to look and listen. Uncle Louis and his family had lived in a house at the back of this pond back in the thirties and the pond and surrounding country was Chester’s, and mine, playground.
The house is long gone now and the present owner of the property has it posted. Suddenly, as I stood in silence, with my memories, contemplating the scene before me, across the pond and on the backside, a frog croaked. Then three more from different positions about the pond answered.
It was comforting to know that at least four frogs still lived.
The reason I have no frogs at home could be pollution. The spring branch that crosses my property, where the frogs would live if there were any, heads on property adjoining mine. The former owner of the property subdivided and sold it for home sites. There are several families living over there. Most of the effluent from their homes and the runoff from their yards, fertilizers, pesticides, etc., eventually find their way into this spring branch.
But the whippoorwills remain silent. … The whippoorwills disappeared over a period of two or three years. One year there were so many they came right up to the house. The next year it sounded like there was maybe half as many and the third year only one lonesome sounding whippoorwill so far off I could barely hear him.
What happened to them? Where did they go? No one I have talked to has an answer. Most haven’t enough interest in the matter to even have an opinion, but a few will hazard a guess of which the most plausible (to me) is that the whippoorwill is a migratory bird, spending its winters in Central and South America and that due to the massive amount of clearing for agriculture being done, there its habitat has been destroyed – and with the habitat destroyed, the bird is destroyed.
But as I already said, this is little more than an opinion: there is no official line on the matter that I know of.
I had come to believe the frogs had gone the way of the passenger pigeon and the dodo bird, but a Sunday or two ago I was lollygagging about the countryside and stopped at an old pond to look and listen. Uncle Louis and his family had lived in a house at the back of this pond back in the thirties and the pond and surrounding country was Chester’s, and mine, playground.
The house is long gone now and the present owner of the property has it posted. Suddenly, as I stood in silence, with my memories, contemplating the scene before me, across the pond and on the backside, a frog croaked. Then three more from different positions about the pond answered.
It was comforting to know that at least four frogs still lived.
The reason I have no frogs at home could be pollution. The spring branch that crosses my property, where the frogs would live if there were any, heads on property adjoining mine. The former owner of the property subdivided and sold it for home sites. There are several families living over there. Most of the effluent from their homes and the runoff from their yards, fertilizers, pesticides, etc., eventually find their way into this spring branch.
But the whippoorwills remain silent. … The whippoorwills disappeared over a period of two or three years. One year there were so many they came right up to the house. The next year it sounded like there was maybe half as many and the third year only one lonesome sounding whippoorwill so far off I could barely hear him.
What happened to them? Where did they go? No one I have talked to has an answer. Most haven’t enough interest in the matter to even have an opinion, but a few will hazard a guess of which the most plausible (to me) is that the whippoorwill is a migratory bird, spending its winters in Central and South America and that due to the massive amount of clearing for agriculture being done, there its habitat has been destroyed – and with the habitat destroyed, the bird is destroyed.
But as I already said, this is little more than an opinion: there is no official line on the matter that I know of.
Message to Saudi women: Air conditioner could lead to sexual immorality
“A man who claimed to be a Salafist-Wahhibist cleric put the word out on Twitter that women should not flip on air conditioners at home because it sends the signal they’re home and that could lead to moral depravities.
“The cleric said ‘turning on the cooler ventilator is prohibited for women in the absence of their husbands [because] the woman’s act is very dangerous, and may bring about immorality in the society. When she turns the cooler on, someone may notice her presence home, and this might bring about immorality,’ International Business Times reported.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/17/saudi-cleric-prohibit-women-using-air-conditioning/#ixzz2TkyZIIcZ
Found at www.gatesofvienna.net
(So, women of Saudi Arabia, sweat in the heat, just like your mothers and grandmothers did. It is your fault if you run the air conditioner and a strange man enters your home and you.
(But ... Why are Saudi women reading Twitter when their husbands are not at home?)
“The cleric said ‘turning on the cooler ventilator is prohibited for women in the absence of their husbands [because] the woman’s act is very dangerous, and may bring about immorality in the society. When she turns the cooler on, someone may notice her presence home, and this might bring about immorality,’ International Business Times reported.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/17/saudi-cleric-prohibit-women-using-air-conditioning/#ixzz2TkyZIIcZ
Found at www.gatesofvienna.net
(So, women of Saudi Arabia, sweat in the heat, just like your mothers and grandmothers did. It is your fault if you run the air conditioner and a strange man enters your home and you.
(But ... Why are Saudi women reading Twitter when their husbands are not at home?)
IRS: We aren’t political; we’re stupid
We’re terribly, terribly sorry, but we just didn’t know what we were doing.
We were understaffed. We were underinformed. We weren’t trained for what happened. Good Lord, we’re only human. People make mistakes. We did the best we could. We tried our hardest, and that’s what counts, right?
“For months, the Tea Party cases sat on the desk of a lone specialist, who used ‘political sounding’ criteria — words like ‘patriots,’ ‘we the people’ — as a way to search efficiently through the flood of applications for groups that might not qualify for exemptions, according to the I.R.S. inspector general. ‘Triage,’ the agency’s acting chief described it.”
And although there are lots and lots of gaps in the IRS story, the plain truth is, a bunch of muddled, alienated, undirected agents staffed the IRS office in Cincinnati office, and that’s where all the problems were. Not in Washington. It all was in Cincinnati.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/us/politics/at-irs-unprepared-office-seemed-unclear-about-the-rules.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&_r=0
The BOLO for “Tea Party” had nothing to do with delays and questionable practices.
From www.hotair.com
Question at hotair: “Has the Syrian civil war fallen victim to media fatigue?”
As in media ADHD? If it ain’t pretty and murderous, it won’t last long. Or, if Nancy Grace can’t stretch it into a year-long story, fugettaboutit.
We were understaffed. We were underinformed. We weren’t trained for what happened. Good Lord, we’re only human. People make mistakes. We did the best we could. We tried our hardest, and that’s what counts, right?
“For months, the Tea Party cases sat on the desk of a lone specialist, who used ‘political sounding’ criteria — words like ‘patriots,’ ‘we the people’ — as a way to search efficiently through the flood of applications for groups that might not qualify for exemptions, according to the I.R.S. inspector general. ‘Triage,’ the agency’s acting chief described it.”
And although there are lots and lots of gaps in the IRS story, the plain truth is, a bunch of muddled, alienated, undirected agents staffed the IRS office in Cincinnati office, and that’s where all the problems were. Not in Washington. It all was in Cincinnati.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/us/politics/at-irs-unprepared-office-seemed-unclear-about-the-rules.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&_r=0
The BOLO for “Tea Party” had nothing to do with delays and questionable practices.
From www.hotair.com
Question at hotair: “Has the Syrian civil war fallen victim to media fatigue?”
As in media ADHD? If it ain’t pretty and murderous, it won’t last long. Or, if Nancy Grace can’t stretch it into a year-long story, fugettaboutit.
Dog bites
My mother-in-law’s dog is a vicious little bastard. It’s a poodle-chihuahua mix, with all the bad characteristics of a chihuahua and not one good aspect of a poodle.
It is aggressive and it drops fur in clumps. Few poodles are aggressive. Poodles have hair, not fur, and they do not shed. And while most chihuahuas cannot break skin, Mrs. R’s can. And does.
Mrs. R got the vicious little bastard (VLB) from a woman she did not know, in the parking lot at a shopping center. The woman said her husband was ill, she could not properly care for him and for the dog, and would Mrs. R please take the dog and give it a good home?
Mrs. R took the dog home. She named it Rascal, for what she at first considered its feisty personality. It is a generational name. People from her generation sometimes referred to spirited dogs and children as “a little rascal.” A rascal had to be small; no one referred to a dog or child of size as a rascal. The term carried the idea of liveliness, of one who was often in trouble, but not of the serious kind. Rascal dogs and kids got away with things because they were so cute.
There is nothing Spankyish or Alfalfaish about the vicious little bastard Mrs. R brought home. If the VLB was near The Little Rascals, Petey would take its head off.
A week ago, Priscilla and I were at Mrs. R’s house. I had let our two big poodles into the back yard. When returning to the den, I saw the VLB lying in the chair I had vacated. I told the VLB to get up. It snarled. I said, “You need to get up.” It snarled.
When I reached to move the dog, it bit me. Three times. Hard, harder and put two big holes in my left hand. I picked it up and put it outside. I then washed the bites – two small scrapes, two small holes and two quarter-inch-wide punctures – with soap and hot water. Mrs. R had only small circle first aid adhesive things. Priscilla put one on each of the larger holes.
That afternoon, I drove home. The bites were bleeding, so I took off the circle things and put on a large piece of gauze and three long adhesive strips.
Mrs. R is going into an assisted living home in a week. She has Alzheimer’s and cannot live alone.
The vicious little bastard … It’s going somewhere else.
No, I’m not going to kill it. Priscilla and I will find a rescue place, maybe one specifically for vicious little bastard dogs.
It is aggressive and it drops fur in clumps. Few poodles are aggressive. Poodles have hair, not fur, and they do not shed. And while most chihuahuas cannot break skin, Mrs. R’s can. And does.
Mrs. R got the vicious little bastard (VLB) from a woman she did not know, in the parking lot at a shopping center. The woman said her husband was ill, she could not properly care for him and for the dog, and would Mrs. R please take the dog and give it a good home?
Mrs. R took the dog home. She named it Rascal, for what she at first considered its feisty personality. It is a generational name. People from her generation sometimes referred to spirited dogs and children as “a little rascal.” A rascal had to be small; no one referred to a dog or child of size as a rascal. The term carried the idea of liveliness, of one who was often in trouble, but not of the serious kind. Rascal dogs and kids got away with things because they were so cute.
There is nothing Spankyish or Alfalfaish about the vicious little bastard Mrs. R brought home. If the VLB was near The Little Rascals, Petey would take its head off.
A week ago, Priscilla and I were at Mrs. R’s house. I had let our two big poodles into the back yard. When returning to the den, I saw the VLB lying in the chair I had vacated. I told the VLB to get up. It snarled. I said, “You need to get up.” It snarled.
When I reached to move the dog, it bit me. Three times. Hard, harder and put two big holes in my left hand. I picked it up and put it outside. I then washed the bites – two small scrapes, two small holes and two quarter-inch-wide punctures – with soap and hot water. Mrs. R had only small circle first aid adhesive things. Priscilla put one on each of the larger holes.
That afternoon, I drove home. The bites were bleeding, so I took off the circle things and put on a large piece of gauze and three long adhesive strips.
Mrs. R is going into an assisted living home in a week. She has Alzheimer’s and cannot live alone.
The vicious little bastard … It’s going somewhere else.
No, I’m not going to kill it. Priscilla and I will find a rescue place, maybe one specifically for vicious little bastard dogs.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Muslim thugs in Australia
“(T)he Syrian civil war seems to have been imported to Australia, where tribal loyalties and grudges are being acted out within the Muslim-dominated areas of the city.”
The Syrian Civil War Comes to Australia
http://gatesofvienna.net/
The Syrian Civil War Comes to Australia
http://gatesofvienna.net/
Ending crime on campus
Federal Department of Education requires colleges and universities report crime on campus.
I ran across the Clery Act while reading a story on UT-Arlington fined by DOE for underreporting crime.
http://collegeinsurrection.com/2013/05/u-of-texas-arlington-fined-for-improper-crime-reports/
After searches:
“The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Security Statistics Act is the landmark federal law, originally known as the Campus Security Act, that requires colleges and universities across the United States to disclose information about crime on and around their campuses. The law is tied to an institution's participation in federal student financial aid programs and it applies to most institutions of higher education both public and private. The Act is enforced by the United States Department of Education.”
Of course the law “is tied to an institution’s participation in federal student financial aid programs.” That’s how the federal government influences what happens at colleges and universities. Whoever controls the money controls everything.
Golly, gee, it’s a great law! So says http://clerycenter.org/summary-jeanne-clery-act
“Jeanne Clery Act Training at Oklahoma Christian University...what a great group!”
“We are training in Lynchburg, Virginia and Oklahoma this week! Join us for one of our future events!”
There is training Aug. 8-9 in Nashville, Tenn., for only $445.
Clery Center for Security On Campus does most training.
I searched “who funds clery center for security on campus” but did not get any good hits. So – Who funds the center? Campus crime seminars and training programs are part of the government industry. Each time the federal Congress passes a new law, an industry is created.
Here’s an idea that will stop attacks on campus: Somebody is tried and found guilty of on-campus murder, rape, intentional manslaughter or similar crime, he/she is taken to an open area near the administrative center, where all students gather. The college/university president reads charge and verdict. Guilty party kneels and is executed with a single pistol shot to the back of the head. Doesn’t matter whether the executed is a student; the only consideration is that the crime occurred on campus.
Friday, May 17, 2013
‘McDonald’s seen overhauling U.S. menu’
I had an image of Ronald with a menu on a hydraulic lift and he’s working away with pneumatic wrenches.
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2013/may/17/mcdonalds-seen-overhauling-us-menu/
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2013/may/17/mcdonalds-seen-overhauling-us-menu/
Somebody writing something about which he/she knows less than nothing
President Obama tells Marines to fetch a couple of umbrellas. “I am going to go ahead and ask folks, why don’t we get a couple of marines – they’re going to look good next to us."
Writer:”… the soldiers will not be punished, even though the Marine Corp Manual specifically states that a soldier's uniform dress code does not allow the carrying of an umbrella and 'no officer or official shall issue instructions which conflict with, alter, or amend any provision without the approval of the Commandant of the Marine Corps.'”
Hey, USMC White House dude. What do you think about being called a “soldier”?
And, an editor was really paying attention … “the Marine Corp Manual” and in the same sentence … “Commandant of the Marine Corps.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4380954,00.html
Writer:”… the soldiers will not be punished, even though the Marine Corp Manual specifically states that a soldier's uniform dress code does not allow the carrying of an umbrella and 'no officer or official shall issue instructions which conflict with, alter, or amend any provision without the approval of the Commandant of the Marine Corps.'”
Hey, USMC White House dude. What do you think about being called a “soldier”?
And, an editor was really paying attention … “the Marine Corp Manual” and in the same sentence … “Commandant of the Marine Corps.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4380954,00.html
Delivered in three hours, or …
Maybe four. Five if Gaza gunmen interfere.
(ANSAmed) — GAZA, MAY 16 — A growing number of Gazans have been ordering Kentucky Fried Chicken takeaway meals from Egypt’s northern Sinai over the past few weeks.
The ‘fast food’ is smuggled through tunnels crossing into Gaza from Egypt’s Sinai, tunnels previously used as supply lines for weapons, explosives and munitions trafficking. Now they are instead employed to bring a whiff of Western lifestyles to Gazans, in the shape of buckets teeming with KFC delicacies. A Gaza-based company specialising in delivery services, Al-Yamama, hit on the idea in early May. It calculated that it would take about four hours to get the precious buckets of fried chicken from the nearest KFC fast food joint in Al Arish to Gaza’s urban areas. For security reasons, night deliveries are not offered. The issue of prices was dealt with next. A sit-down KFC meal in Al Arish will set the customer back some three euros, but the relay over desert routes, through tunnels with their requisite tolls and the sending of the buckets to inside of Gaza results in a price six times higher than its original. Al Yamama initially wondered whether there would really be enough demand to justify the service. A bit of word-of-mouth and television ads did the trick.
Orders started rolling in, with Gazans “hungry for a sense of normality”. For security reasons, none of the large international fast food chains (such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Dominos) has an outlet in the Gaza Strip. And so the chance to sink one’s teeth into the famous KFC ‘finger-lickin’ good’ chicken worked its magic on many a family in Gaza — even if by paying such a hefty price they could instead treat themselves to a more refined dining experience in one of the city’s best restaurants. And so, with the entrance of KFC buckets has come a bit of reprieve from the strict lifestyle Hamas has imposed on Gaza. No local politician has yet spoken out against the service, and some say that among them there may even be fans of the tasty American-style morsels.
www.gatesofvienna.net
(ANSAmed) — GAZA, MAY 16 — A growing number of Gazans have been ordering Kentucky Fried Chicken takeaway meals from Egypt’s northern Sinai over the past few weeks.
The ‘fast food’ is smuggled through tunnels crossing into Gaza from Egypt’s Sinai, tunnels previously used as supply lines for weapons, explosives and munitions trafficking. Now they are instead employed to bring a whiff of Western lifestyles to Gazans, in the shape of buckets teeming with KFC delicacies. A Gaza-based company specialising in delivery services, Al-Yamama, hit on the idea in early May. It calculated that it would take about four hours to get the precious buckets of fried chicken from the nearest KFC fast food joint in Al Arish to Gaza’s urban areas. For security reasons, night deliveries are not offered. The issue of prices was dealt with next. A sit-down KFC meal in Al Arish will set the customer back some three euros, but the relay over desert routes, through tunnels with their requisite tolls and the sending of the buckets to inside of Gaza results in a price six times higher than its original. Al Yamama initially wondered whether there would really be enough demand to justify the service. A bit of word-of-mouth and television ads did the trick.
Orders started rolling in, with Gazans “hungry for a sense of normality”. For security reasons, none of the large international fast food chains (such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Dominos) has an outlet in the Gaza Strip. And so the chance to sink one’s teeth into the famous KFC ‘finger-lickin’ good’ chicken worked its magic on many a family in Gaza — even if by paying such a hefty price they could instead treat themselves to a more refined dining experience in one of the city’s best restaurants. And so, with the entrance of KFC buckets has come a bit of reprieve from the strict lifestyle Hamas has imposed on Gaza. No local politician has yet spoken out against the service, and some say that among them there may even be fans of the tasty American-style morsels.
www.gatesofvienna.net
An Apple a day ...
I left the computer on and closed the office door when going to fix breakfast this morning. White Dog likes to pick up mail from the desk and bring it to Priscilla, wherever she is sitting. White Dog does that with a “Look what I found” demeanor. He’s showing off. The rest of the thought is, “I could have eaten this if I wanted. Instead, I brought it to you.” That’s why I close the door.
When I opened the door a few minutes ago, an Apple logo stared from the PC screen. It went away quickly when sensing my presence. There was no screen saver; just an Apple logo.
When I opened the door a few minutes ago, an Apple logo stared from the PC screen. It went away quickly when sensing my presence. There was no screen saver; just an Apple logo.
Prosecutorial misconduct, or a personal grudge?
On the afternoon of Election Day 1897, John Dreifort rode his mule from the southern part of Red River County to the sheriff’s office in Clarksville to report a crime.
Dreifort told Sheriff Daniel West and Chief Deputy J.D. Wilson he had witnessed a man and a young woman engaged in a carnal act just south of Cuthand Creek. He said he saw the pair in a buggy that crossed the creek on the new bridge. The man turned left on a connecting dirt road and then stopped when not far along the road. The man and the woman left the buggy and walked through a small clearing, Dreifort said. The woman leaned against a tree and the man stood against her and the two began fornicating, Dreifort said. He saw all that from 30 yards away, through the limbs and branches of a large oak tree that had fallen the night before during a long rain.
At some point, the woman saw Dreifort. She spoke to her companion. She rearranged her dress, Dreifort said, and she and the man returned to the buggy and drove away. The man, Dreifort said, was G.W. Stewart; the young woman was Ophelia Gray, Stewart’s step-daughter.
Next day, West and Wilson rode to Stewart’s farm and arrested him on a charge of incest. Stewart was arraigned in Clarksville. Within two days, prosecutor Thomas Stout convinced a grand jury to indict Stewart for incestual relations with his step-daughter. At Stout’s behest, the grand jury also indicted Ophelia Gray.
Records do not say, but you have to wonder: Upon what system of law did prosecutor Stout attain indictment against the young woman? If Ophelia was a minor (court records do not list her age), then she could not have committed incest. Stewart, not Ophelia, would have made that decision. And if Ophelia had attained majority, incest would not be the crime allegedly committed. The crimes would have been adultery, on Stewart’s part, and fornication for him and Ophelia.
Law does not always follow logic, though, especially law rendered by local authorities, so Stewart and Gray both found themselves in Sixth District Court within two weeks of their escapade near Cuthand Creek.
Then, prosecutor Stout sprang a surprise: He was dropping charges against Gray, if she would agree not to testify for the defense. She agreed, presumably at the suggestion of Stewart.
The trial took two days, from opening arguments to verdict. The prosecution produced witnesses who identified Stewart as owner of a farm in southeast Red River County, as arriving in Texas from North Carolina two years before, as married to Miriam Gray Stewart, and as step-father to Ophelia Gray. Other witnesses said they saw Stewart in Clarksville on Election Day, and that he and Ophelia arrived together in a buggy and left together in the same transport.
Dreifort testified in the same manner with which he gave his initial statement to Sheriff West and Deputy Wilson. He had witnessed the crime, he said, and Stewart had committed the crime.
Defense attorney A.J. Dumont challenged just about every witness, questioning especially if any had knowledge of a wedding between Stewart and Miriam Gray. None had, since the marriage presumably occurred in North Carolina. Witnesses also said Ophelia’s father was said to have gone to California several years before, leaving Miriam in North Carolina to raise their daughter.
Dumont’s arguments took this tenor: “All you people say my client is married to the young woman’s mother. … Prove it. Show me a marriage license. Somebody bring to this courtroom a legal document proving the marriage of G.W. Stewart to Miriam Gray. Prove such a marriage exists. Prove it!”
Dumont’s arguments failed to convince members of the jury. After only a short deliberation, the jury found G.W. Stewart guilty of the crime of incest.
Dumont appealed, of course, and in 1902, five years later, the state appeals court in Tyler said in effect to the county prosecutor: “You better try this case again.”
Stout declined. Instead, he recommended the state drop charges against Stewart.
You have to wonder, why did the prosecutor take the case to trial? Did he have a personal grudge against Stewart? Court records do not reveal an answer.
(This was an actual case tried in Sixth District Court in 1897. Names have been changed.)
Dreifort told Sheriff Daniel West and Chief Deputy J.D. Wilson he had witnessed a man and a young woman engaged in a carnal act just south of Cuthand Creek. He said he saw the pair in a buggy that crossed the creek on the new bridge. The man turned left on a connecting dirt road and then stopped when not far along the road. The man and the woman left the buggy and walked through a small clearing, Dreifort said. The woman leaned against a tree and the man stood against her and the two began fornicating, Dreifort said. He saw all that from 30 yards away, through the limbs and branches of a large oak tree that had fallen the night before during a long rain.
At some point, the woman saw Dreifort. She spoke to her companion. She rearranged her dress, Dreifort said, and she and the man returned to the buggy and drove away. The man, Dreifort said, was G.W. Stewart; the young woman was Ophelia Gray, Stewart’s step-daughter.
Next day, West and Wilson rode to Stewart’s farm and arrested him on a charge of incest. Stewart was arraigned in Clarksville. Within two days, prosecutor Thomas Stout convinced a grand jury to indict Stewart for incestual relations with his step-daughter. At Stout’s behest, the grand jury also indicted Ophelia Gray.
Records do not say, but you have to wonder: Upon what system of law did prosecutor Stout attain indictment against the young woman? If Ophelia was a minor (court records do not list her age), then she could not have committed incest. Stewart, not Ophelia, would have made that decision. And if Ophelia had attained majority, incest would not be the crime allegedly committed. The crimes would have been adultery, on Stewart’s part, and fornication for him and Ophelia.
Law does not always follow logic, though, especially law rendered by local authorities, so Stewart and Gray both found themselves in Sixth District Court within two weeks of their escapade near Cuthand Creek.
Then, prosecutor Stout sprang a surprise: He was dropping charges against Gray, if she would agree not to testify for the defense. She agreed, presumably at the suggestion of Stewart.
The trial took two days, from opening arguments to verdict. The prosecution produced witnesses who identified Stewart as owner of a farm in southeast Red River County, as arriving in Texas from North Carolina two years before, as married to Miriam Gray Stewart, and as step-father to Ophelia Gray. Other witnesses said they saw Stewart in Clarksville on Election Day, and that he and Ophelia arrived together in a buggy and left together in the same transport.
Dreifort testified in the same manner with which he gave his initial statement to Sheriff West and Deputy Wilson. He had witnessed the crime, he said, and Stewart had committed the crime.
Defense attorney A.J. Dumont challenged just about every witness, questioning especially if any had knowledge of a wedding between Stewart and Miriam Gray. None had, since the marriage presumably occurred in North Carolina. Witnesses also said Ophelia’s father was said to have gone to California several years before, leaving Miriam in North Carolina to raise their daughter.
Dumont’s arguments took this tenor: “All you people say my client is married to the young woman’s mother. … Prove it. Show me a marriage license. Somebody bring to this courtroom a legal document proving the marriage of G.W. Stewart to Miriam Gray. Prove such a marriage exists. Prove it!”
Dumont’s arguments failed to convince members of the jury. After only a short deliberation, the jury found G.W. Stewart guilty of the crime of incest.
Dumont appealed, of course, and in 1902, five years later, the state appeals court in Tyler said in effect to the county prosecutor: “You better try this case again.”
Stout declined. Instead, he recommended the state drop charges against Stewart.
You have to wonder, why did the prosecutor take the case to trial? Did he have a personal grudge against Stewart? Court records do not reveal an answer.
(This was an actual case tried in Sixth District Court in 1897. Names have been changed.)
Thursday, May 16, 2013
How many famous people can a town of 350 have?
Moe Drawbosky, pitcher for eight major league teams, was born July 21, 1935, in Ozanna, Poland. Wikipedia says the village of Ozanna “lies approximately 5 kilometres (3 mi) east of Kuryłówka, 7 km (4 mi) east of Leżajsk, and 47 km (29 mi) north-east of the regional capital Rzeszów.” By the last census, 350 people live in Ozanna.
The “Notable Persons” listing has one name – Moe Drabowsky, who, Mike Royko alleges, "is still considered the best pitcher that Ozanna, Poland, ever produced."
The “Notable Persons” listing has one name – Moe Drabowsky, who, Mike Royko alleges, "is still considered the best pitcher that Ozanna, Poland, ever produced."
About that vortex to another dimension in Brighton
“I was recently walking my affenpinscher (a toy breed of dog) around the Hanover area of Brighton when I noticed that a wormhole or vortex has opened up on Montreal Road.
“On closer inspection it seems to be some kind of portal to other times, places and dimensions.
“I would have investigated further but I was concerned my little dog would be sucked into it.
“Is this meant to be there? At first I believed it might be part of the Brighton Festival but I believe it could be a hazard to the general public. I look forward to your response.”
The council notes: “We welcome reports through any means residents choose and as a council provide many ways through which residents can raise issues directly ranging from post, online or by telephone.”
http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/10414195.Vortex_to_another_dimension_reported_in_Brighton/?ref=fbrec
“On closer inspection it seems to be some kind of portal to other times, places and dimensions.
“I would have investigated further but I was concerned my little dog would be sucked into it.
“Is this meant to be there? At first I believed it might be part of the Brighton Festival but I believe it could be a hazard to the general public. I look forward to your response.”
The council notes: “We welcome reports through any means residents choose and as a council provide many ways through which residents can raise issues directly ranging from post, online or by telephone.”
http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/10414195.Vortex_to_another_dimension_reported_in_Brighton/?ref=fbrec
‘Men who are physically strong are more likely to have right wing political views’
‘Weaker men more likely to support welfare state and wealth redistribution’
“Men who are physically strong are more likely to take a right wing political stance, while weaker men are inclined to support the welfare state, according to a new study.
“Researchers discovered political motivations may have evolutionary links to physical strength.
“Men's upper-body strength predicts their political opinions on economic redistribution, according to the research.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2325414/Men-physically-strong-likely-right-wing-political-views.html
Two “psychological scientists” conducted research/studies in the United States, Denmark and Argentina. Most conclusions lead to “And you’re surprised?”, while another leads to “You’d be short some smart fuses if you thought otherwise.”
This conclusion: “In line with their hypotheses, the data revealed that wealthy men with high upper-body strength were less likely to support redistribution, while less wealthy men of the same strength were more likely to support it.” Oh. I am rich and I am strong and I will fight against government taking my money and giving it to someone else, and you researchers are surprised.
Found at http://thisainthell.us/
Sort of like A History Lesson?
Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.
Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement.
Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokehistorylesson.htm
“Men who are physically strong are more likely to take a right wing political stance, while weaker men are inclined to support the welfare state, according to a new study.
“Researchers discovered political motivations may have evolutionary links to physical strength.
“Men's upper-body strength predicts their political opinions on economic redistribution, according to the research.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2325414/Men-physically-strong-likely-right-wing-political-views.html
Two “psychological scientists” conducted research/studies in the United States, Denmark and Argentina. Most conclusions lead to “And you’re surprised?”, while another leads to “You’d be short some smart fuses if you thought otherwise.”
This conclusion: “In line with their hypotheses, the data revealed that wealthy men with high upper-body strength were less likely to support redistribution, while less wealthy men of the same strength were more likely to support it.” Oh. I am rich and I am strong and I will fight against government taking my money and giving it to someone else, and you researchers are surprised.
Found at http://thisainthell.us/
Sort of like A History Lesson?
Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.
Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement.
Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokehistorylesson.htm
‘How I became Islamaphobic’
One excerpt: “I was sitting in class one day, near the back of the room. The lecturer had finished talking and now we were told to discuss amongst ourselves the things we’d heard. A group of Muslim men just across from me were apparently uninterested in the lecture that day as they commenced to discuss videos they’d been emailing each other instead. It took me a short while, but I came to understand that these were decapitation videos. After hearing words and descriptions that I never want to repeat, I nervously looked over at the faces of the men and saw sick, sadistic smiles curling up their bearded faces.”
http://defendthemodernworld.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/how-i-became-islamophobic/
Also found at gatesofvienna, which had unusually good postings today.
http://defendthemodernworld.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/how-i-became-islamophobic/
Also found at gatesofvienna, which had unusually good postings today.
Before there was Babel …
“The ancestors of people from across Europe and Asia may have spoken a common language about 15,000 years ago, new research suggests.
“Now, researchers have reconstructed words, such as ‘mother,’ to pull’ and ‘man,’ which would have been spoken by ancient hunter-gatherers, possibly in an area such as the Caucuses or the modern-day country of Georgia.”
http://news.yahoo.com/babel-ancient-mother-tongue-reconstructed-191035358.html
Also gatesofvienna.
Caucasus, Georgia, eastern Turkey might be locale of our beginning.
“Now, researchers have reconstructed words, such as ‘mother,’ to pull’ and ‘man,’ which would have been spoken by ancient hunter-gatherers, possibly in an area such as the Caucuses or the modern-day country of Georgia.”
http://news.yahoo.com/babel-ancient-mother-tongue-reconstructed-191035358.html
Also gatesofvienna.
Caucasus, Georgia, eastern Turkey might be locale of our beginning.
Citizenship for illegals will push black Americans to the back of the bus
“Wall Street Journal Republicans love to sneer that immigrants are doing the jobs ‘Americans just won’t do,’ but I notice they’re not lobbying to bring in a lot of immigrants to compete for jobs as editorial writers at The Wall Street Journal.” – Ann Coulter – ‘Here’s That Dynamic Scoring You Asked For, Senator’
http://www.humanevents.com/2013/05/15/coulter-heres-that-dynamic-scoring-you-asked-for-senator/
At gatesofvienna.
If the Federal Congress approves an amnesty program and gives citizenship to 11 million (or 33 million) illegals, that will push black Americans into the background, and Progressive Democrats will no longer have to hide their inherent racism.
http://www.humanevents.com/2013/05/15/coulter-heres-that-dynamic-scoring-you-asked-for-senator/
At gatesofvienna.
If the Federal Congress approves an amnesty program and gives citizenship to 11 million (or 33 million) illegals, that will push black Americans into the background, and Progressive Democrats will no longer have to hide their inherent racism.
And now for something entirely different
Part of Western Australia says it is independent
Off the beaten path from Australia’s wildlife preserves and pristine beaches is a little-known country that has quietly prospered for 43 years. The Principality of Hutt River sits on 75 square kilometers of land five hours north of Perth in Western Australia. Its stark landscape is not unlike a stretch of Nebraska farmland, except for the occasional stray marsupial and the wild roadside melons, scattered like hundreds of abandoned softballs. The country’s stamps, passports, and currency all bear the likeness of its ruler, Prince Leonard.
http://reason.com/archives/2013/05/14/prince-of-the-outback
From gatesofvienna.
Off the beaten path from Australia’s wildlife preserves and pristine beaches is a little-known country that has quietly prospered for 43 years. The Principality of Hutt River sits on 75 square kilometers of land five hours north of Perth in Western Australia. Its stark landscape is not unlike a stretch of Nebraska farmland, except for the occasional stray marsupial and the wild roadside melons, scattered like hundreds of abandoned softballs. The country’s stamps, passports, and currency all bear the likeness of its ruler, Prince Leonard.
http://reason.com/archives/2013/05/14/prince-of-the-outback
From gatesofvienna.
It’s a good thing Islam gives women so many rights
Of almost 200 events at UK universities campuses over the past year, “over a quarter have been 'segregated' by gender - with female students being forced or encouraged to sit separately from their male colleagues.”
“Forty-six of the events in question at 21 separate universities around the country, were found to have either explicitly promoted segregation by gender, or implied that this would be the case, with six of these cancelled before taking place. All 21 of these institutions have equality and diversity policies which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of gender, as well as a legal responsibility to do so under the Equality Act 2010.
“The events in question have been primarily hosted by Islamic societies on campuses, who often use separate telephone numbers for men and women to book their attendance, and either advertise each individual event as segregated, or have blanket policies enforcing the move.”
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/3508/uk_universities_fall_victim_to_campus_segregation_trend
Found at www.gatesofvienna.net
“Forty-six of the events in question at 21 separate universities around the country, were found to have either explicitly promoted segregation by gender, or implied that this would be the case, with six of these cancelled before taking place. All 21 of these institutions have equality and diversity policies which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of gender, as well as a legal responsibility to do so under the Equality Act 2010.
“The events in question have been primarily hosted by Islamic societies on campuses, who often use separate telephone numbers for men and women to book their attendance, and either advertise each individual event as segregated, or have blanket policies enforcing the move.”
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/3508/uk_universities_fall_victim_to_campus_segregation_trend
Found at www.gatesofvienna.net
Gender-neutral PT
Right next to a story on gender-neutral PT, military.com has:
http://www.military.com/video/forces/tribute/military-women-of-the-world/662240352001/
(Tribute? OK. Tribute to really, really, exceptionally pretty military women of the world. Not that I’m complaining …)
And: http://www.military.com/video/forces/tribute/military-women-leos-of-the-world/665070375001/
Just the name – gender-neutral PT – sounds un-Army-like.
Videos are … pleasant.
http://www.military.com/video/forces/tribute/military-women-of-the-world/662240352001/
(Tribute? OK. Tribute to really, really, exceptionally pretty military women of the world. Not that I’m complaining …)
And: http://www.military.com/video/forces/tribute/military-women-leos-of-the-world/665070375001/
Just the name – gender-neutral PT – sounds un-Army-like.
Videos are … pleasant.
Sergeant needs to remember she is a sergeant
Here is a not-pleasant story about a soldier who has undergone harassment because her name sounds Muslim-like, SFC Naida Hosan.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/05/09/soldier-says-she-was-harassed-over-muslim-name.html?ESRC=army-a.nl
A couple of things: First, soldiers can be d_cks. There is no getting around that. Second, she is a sergeant first class and should know how to handle d_ck remarks. In her progression from E1 to E7, she should have had several classes on hardassness; she should have learned right-this-f’n-second-counseling when somebody – anybody – makes a denigrating remark. Fix the problem when the problem happens.
But then, maybe I’m thinking like an old NCO; at least a 4th Infantry Division brigade commander would think so. No more informal, up-against-the-wall, close quarters counseling. That kind of corrective action is now “hazing.”
From The Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Files
http://thisainthell.us/
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/05/09/soldier-says-she-was-harassed-over-muslim-name.html?ESRC=army-a.nl
A couple of things: First, soldiers can be d_cks. There is no getting around that. Second, she is a sergeant first class and should know how to handle d_ck remarks. In her progression from E1 to E7, she should have had several classes on hardassness; she should have learned right-this-f’n-second-counseling when somebody – anybody – makes a denigrating remark. Fix the problem when the problem happens.
But then, maybe I’m thinking like an old NCO; at least a 4th Infantry Division brigade commander would think so. No more informal, up-against-the-wall, close quarters counseling. That kind of corrective action is now “hazing.”
From The Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Files
http://thisainthell.us/
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The hits just keep on coming
IRS stole 60 million medical records, law suit claims.
“According to a report by Courthousenews.com, an unnamed HIPAA-covered entity in California is suing the IRS, alleging that some 60 million medical records from 10 million patients were stolen by 15 IRS agents. The personal health information seized on March 11, 2011, included psychological counseling, gynecological counseling, sexual/drug treatment and other medical treatment data.”
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/irs-face-lawsuit-over-theft-60-million-patient-health-records
"After being put on notice of the illicit seizure, the IRS agents refused to return the records, continued to keep the records for the prying eyes of IRS peeping toms, and keep the records to this very day. The records may concern the intimate medical records of every state judge in California, every state court employee in California, leading and politically controversial members of the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild, and prominent citizens in the world of entertainment, business and government, from all walks of life."
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/03/14/55707.htm
Found at maggiesfarm.
With a verdict for plaintiffs, compensatory damages would start around $250 billion.
“According to a report by Courthousenews.com, an unnamed HIPAA-covered entity in California is suing the IRS, alleging that some 60 million medical records from 10 million patients were stolen by 15 IRS agents. The personal health information seized on March 11, 2011, included psychological counseling, gynecological counseling, sexual/drug treatment and other medical treatment data.”
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/irs-face-lawsuit-over-theft-60-million-patient-health-records
"After being put on notice of the illicit seizure, the IRS agents refused to return the records, continued to keep the records for the prying eyes of IRS peeping toms, and keep the records to this very day. The records may concern the intimate medical records of every state judge in California, every state court employee in California, leading and politically controversial members of the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild, and prominent citizens in the world of entertainment, business and government, from all walks of life."
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/03/14/55707.htm
Found at maggiesfarm.
With a verdict for plaintiffs, compensatory damages would start around $250 billion.
Another stupid question
Basic training, 1964, Fort Polk, Louisiana. D Company sitting in stands at hand grenade range, listening to instructor describe the M26 hand grenade. At the conclusion of his class, the sergeant asked: “Are there any questions on what I have covered this morning?” Pv1 Dufus stood. “Yes, Sergeant. What is the angle of deflection when the hand grenade detonates?” Sgt: “Pardon?” Pv1 Dufus repeated the question. Sgt: “The grenade detonates in 360 degrees.” Pv1 Dufus: “Thank you, Sergeant.” He sat down. “The angle of deflection.” After 49 years, I still do not know what Dufus meant. Neither did the sergeant, but he gave an answer that sounded reasonable. Dufus didn’t want an answer, anyway; he just wanted to hear his voice.
There is no stupid question
Want to bet?
‘How Do Wind Turbines Kill Birds?’
http://news.yahoo.com/wind-turbines-kill-birds-190145748.html
‘How Do Wind Turbines Kill Birds?’
http://news.yahoo.com/wind-turbines-kill-birds-190145748.html
It ain’t a sports car dodging a bus
Bridge audio from USS Porter’s (allegedly) bad turns and then attempt at flank speed to miss tanker’s bow.
http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2013/05/five-short-lets-go.html
From http://xbradtc.com/
http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2013/05/five-short-lets-go.html
From http://xbradtc.com/
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
This is a pencil; this is a gun
This is for writing; this is for going to the principal’s office because I scared the bejeezus out of every other kid and adult at school and there was a lockdown and police SWAT arrived and then counselors were made available …
Second grade kid points pencil at another kid.
“In the ‘description of incident’ section, the teacher wrote: ‘Christopher pointed his pencil at another student as if it was a gun and made shooting sounds. I told him to stop and he did.’"
End of incident? HAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Which country and which century do you live in?
http://jewishworldreview.com/0513/skenazy051513.php3
You have to love this part:
“Bethanne Bradshaw, a spokeswoman for Suffolk Public Schools, the school district in which the pencil pointing happened, told a Fox reporter that when an object is accompanied by verbal ‘gun noises’ (or at least the universal stand-in for real gun noise — the word ‘Bang!), ‘some children would consider it threatening, who are scared about shootings in schools or shootings in the community. ... They think about drive-by shootings and murders.’"
Horseshit.
Kids don’t think about those things until adults tell them they should think about those things.
Second grade kid points pencil at another kid.
“In the ‘description of incident’ section, the teacher wrote: ‘Christopher pointed his pencil at another student as if it was a gun and made shooting sounds. I told him to stop and he did.’"
End of incident? HAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Which country and which century do you live in?
http://jewishworldreview.com/0513/skenazy051513.php3
You have to love this part:
“Bethanne Bradshaw, a spokeswoman for Suffolk Public Schools, the school district in which the pencil pointing happened, told a Fox reporter that when an object is accompanied by verbal ‘gun noises’ (or at least the universal stand-in for real gun noise — the word ‘Bang!), ‘some children would consider it threatening, who are scared about shootings in schools or shootings in the community. ... They think about drive-by shootings and murders.’"
Horseshit.
Kids don’t think about those things until adults tell them they should think about those things.
You won't find a more real
“A professor with a PhD in English and tenure at a major university once said to me, ‘I never realized Daniel Boone was a real person; I thought he was a creation of folklore.” – Robert Morgan, Boone: A Biography.
In 1975, at the newspaper office of Arkansas State University, I heard two early-20-somethings talking about the movie The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean.
From the comments, I determined the yoots thought Bean was a fictional character. I walked over and said, “What part of Texas are you from?”
One yoot said, “Uh, Little Rock.”
“I said, “Oh. Far East Texas.” I then gave enough information so the yoots understood the inaccuracies if their previous statements.
One said, “You mean he was a real person?”
In 1975, at the newspaper office of Arkansas State University, I heard two early-20-somethings talking about the movie The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean.
From the comments, I determined the yoots thought Bean was a fictional character. I walked over and said, “What part of Texas are you from?”
One yoot said, “Uh, Little Rock.”
“I said, “Oh. Far East Texas.” I then gave enough information so the yoots understood the inaccuracies if their previous statements.
One said, “You mean he was a real person?”
Britton Johnson of Texas
JOHNSON, BRITTON (ca. 1840–1871). Britton (Britt) Johnson was born about 1840, probably in Tennessee. He became a legend on the West Texas frontier after the summer of 1865, when he went out onto the Llano Estacado in pursuit of Indians who had kidnapped his wife and two children in the Elm Creek Raid of October 1864.
Johnson was a slave of Moses Johnson, a landholder in the Peters colony. Since he ran freight and his own wagon team after the Civil War, he probably had at least a minimum of reading, writing, and math skills.
Although he was legally a slave, he served Moses Johnson as a sort of foreman of the Johnson ranch, with unlimited freedom to perform his duties. He was also allowed to raise his own horses and cattle.
After the Elm Creek Raid, Johnson returned to find his son Jim dead and his wife and children taken, along with other captives. He spent until the summer of 1865 looking for Mary Johnson and his two daughters at reservations in Oklahoma and at scattered forts throughout the Texas frontier.
Sources differ as to the rescue of the captives, who included Johnson's family and Elizabeth FitzPatrick. Some sources claim that in the spring of 1865 Johnson went to live with the Comanches and managed to arrange for a ransom. But most likely, his family was ransomed and rescued in June 1865 by Comanche chief Asa-Havey as part of ongoing peace talks. Mrs. FitzPatrick was rescued by United States troops in November 1865.
After his adventures among the Comanches and Kiowas, Johnson moved his family to Parker County, where he served as a freighter and teamster hauling goods between Weatherford and Fort Griffin.
On January 24, 1871, about twenty-five Kiowas attacked a wagon rain manned by Johnson and two black teamsters four miles east of Salt Creek in Young County.
A group of nearby teamsters from a larger train of wagons reported that Johnson died last in a desperate defense behind the body of his horse. Teamsters who buried the mutilated bodies of Johnson and his men counted 173 rifle and pistol shells in the area where Johnson made his stand. He was buried with his men in a common grave beside the wagon road.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fjo07
Johnson was a slave of Moses Johnson, a landholder in the Peters colony. Since he ran freight and his own wagon team after the Civil War, he probably had at least a minimum of reading, writing, and math skills.
Although he was legally a slave, he served Moses Johnson as a sort of foreman of the Johnson ranch, with unlimited freedom to perform his duties. He was also allowed to raise his own horses and cattle.
After the Elm Creek Raid, Johnson returned to find his son Jim dead and his wife and children taken, along with other captives. He spent until the summer of 1865 looking for Mary Johnson and his two daughters at reservations in Oklahoma and at scattered forts throughout the Texas frontier.
Sources differ as to the rescue of the captives, who included Johnson's family and Elizabeth FitzPatrick. Some sources claim that in the spring of 1865 Johnson went to live with the Comanches and managed to arrange for a ransom. But most likely, his family was ransomed and rescued in June 1865 by Comanche chief Asa-Havey as part of ongoing peace talks. Mrs. FitzPatrick was rescued by United States troops in November 1865.
After his adventures among the Comanches and Kiowas, Johnson moved his family to Parker County, where he served as a freighter and teamster hauling goods between Weatherford and Fort Griffin.
On January 24, 1871, about twenty-five Kiowas attacked a wagon rain manned by Johnson and two black teamsters four miles east of Salt Creek in Young County.
A group of nearby teamsters from a larger train of wagons reported that Johnson died last in a desperate defense behind the body of his horse. Teamsters who buried the mutilated bodies of Johnson and his men counted 173 rifle and pistol shells in the area where Johnson made his stand. He was buried with his men in a common grave beside the wagon road.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fjo07
Survivors on Texas frontier were tough people
While reading about Britton Johnson, I ran across the story of Elizabeth Ann Clifton.
CLIFTON, ELIZABETH ANN CARTER (1825–1882). Elizabeth Ann Clifton, rancher, merchant, and Indian captive, was born on March 29, 1825, in Alabama. In 1842, when she was sixteen, she married Alexander Joseph Carter, a free black. The couple had two children and lived with Carter's parents, Edmund J. and Susanna Carter, in Red River and Navarro counties before moving west to Fort Belknap in Young County, where they began raising stock and farming.
Elizabeth Carter managed the ranch, soon as a full partner, while her husband and father-in-law ran a cargo transportation business. Though she was illiterate and epileptic, she also ran a boarding house, the Carter Trading House.
In 1857 her husband and father-in-law were both mysteriously murdered. When Carter's estate was finally settled, his remaining assets were divided between his two grandchildren, Elizabeth Carter's married daughter and her young son. Mrs. Carter was not, however, made guardian of her son's property.
In 1858 Elizabeth Carter was briefly married to Lt. Owen A. Sprague, but Sprague disappeared eight months later.
Elizabeth continued to be one of the most successful women on the frontier. The Trading House prospered after the Butterfield Overland Mail began stopping in Fort Belknap in 1858, and she still managed the ranch.
When she was thirty-six years old, she married Thomas FitzPatrick, one of three Carter ranch cowhands, on August 26, 1862. FitzPatrick was murdered eighteen months later.
Elizabeth endured further calamity when her Young County ranch was attacked in the Elm Creek Raid of October 13, 1864, and she was taken captive by Plains Indians led by Comanche chief Little Buffalo. Elizabeth's daughter Mildred Susanna Durkin and Mrs. Durkin's infant son were murdered. The Indians took captive Elizabeth FitzPatrick, her thirteen-year-old son, and Elizabeth's two surviving granddaughters, Charlotte Durkin (Lottie), age 5 years, and Mildred Durkin (Milly), age 2 years. The son was killed shortly after his capture.
Mrs. FitzPatrick was held twelve months and twenty days in Kiowa chief Sun Boy's camp on the Arkansas River in northwestern Kansas. Her granddaughter Milly and several other children held in Comanche chief Iron Mountain's camp apparently froze to death early in 1865, though Elizabeth believed that Milly remained alive in captivity. The other grandchild, Lottie, spent nine months as captive of Comanches who tattooed her arms and forehead before releasing her.
Elizabeth was rescued on November 2, 1865, by Gen. J. H. Leavenworth and subsequently held at the Kaw Mission at Council Grove, Kansas. There she took care of another recently released woman, who was pregnant and in poor health, and the woman's two children. For the next ten months, Elizabeth was paid three dollars a week to nurse, cook, and sew clothes for a growing number of recently released captives. She complained on the released captives' behalf that they were not receiving adequate care, that arrangements for safe transportation to their homes were taking far too long, and that more should be done to free others still in captivity.
On August 27, 1866, almost two years after her capture, she and several others began the six-week trip home. Elizabeth FitzPatrick was reunited with her previously released granddaughter in Parker County. In 1869 Elizabeth married a Parker County farmer and widower, Isaiah Clifton. They moved to Fort Griffin with Lottie and Clifton's youngest four children in order to manage what remained of landholdings inherited by Lottie Durkin after her mother's death.
Elizabeth Clifton remained at Fort Griffin until her death on June 18, 1882. She was buried beside Isaiah Clifton, who predeceased her in 1880, in the oldest cemetery in Shackelford County. As late as 1877 she had wired the Office of Indian Affairs in Washington to report a rumor that her granddaughter, Milly Jane, might be living with a Kiowa woman named Ama. Elizabeth Clifton died penniless.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcl50
CLIFTON, ELIZABETH ANN CARTER (1825–1882). Elizabeth Ann Clifton, rancher, merchant, and Indian captive, was born on March 29, 1825, in Alabama. In 1842, when she was sixteen, she married Alexander Joseph Carter, a free black. The couple had two children and lived with Carter's parents, Edmund J. and Susanna Carter, in Red River and Navarro counties before moving west to Fort Belknap in Young County, where they began raising stock and farming.
Elizabeth Carter managed the ranch, soon as a full partner, while her husband and father-in-law ran a cargo transportation business. Though she was illiterate and epileptic, she also ran a boarding house, the Carter Trading House.
In 1857 her husband and father-in-law were both mysteriously murdered. When Carter's estate was finally settled, his remaining assets were divided between his two grandchildren, Elizabeth Carter's married daughter and her young son. Mrs. Carter was not, however, made guardian of her son's property.
In 1858 Elizabeth Carter was briefly married to Lt. Owen A. Sprague, but Sprague disappeared eight months later.
Elizabeth continued to be one of the most successful women on the frontier. The Trading House prospered after the Butterfield Overland Mail began stopping in Fort Belknap in 1858, and she still managed the ranch.
When she was thirty-six years old, she married Thomas FitzPatrick, one of three Carter ranch cowhands, on August 26, 1862. FitzPatrick was murdered eighteen months later.
Elizabeth endured further calamity when her Young County ranch was attacked in the Elm Creek Raid of October 13, 1864, and she was taken captive by Plains Indians led by Comanche chief Little Buffalo. Elizabeth's daughter Mildred Susanna Durkin and Mrs. Durkin's infant son were murdered. The Indians took captive Elizabeth FitzPatrick, her thirteen-year-old son, and Elizabeth's two surviving granddaughters, Charlotte Durkin (Lottie), age 5 years, and Mildred Durkin (Milly), age 2 years. The son was killed shortly after his capture.
Mrs. FitzPatrick was held twelve months and twenty days in Kiowa chief Sun Boy's camp on the Arkansas River in northwestern Kansas. Her granddaughter Milly and several other children held in Comanche chief Iron Mountain's camp apparently froze to death early in 1865, though Elizabeth believed that Milly remained alive in captivity. The other grandchild, Lottie, spent nine months as captive of Comanches who tattooed her arms and forehead before releasing her.
Elizabeth was rescued on November 2, 1865, by Gen. J. H. Leavenworth and subsequently held at the Kaw Mission at Council Grove, Kansas. There she took care of another recently released woman, who was pregnant and in poor health, and the woman's two children. For the next ten months, Elizabeth was paid three dollars a week to nurse, cook, and sew clothes for a growing number of recently released captives. She complained on the released captives' behalf that they were not receiving adequate care, that arrangements for safe transportation to their homes were taking far too long, and that more should be done to free others still in captivity.
On August 27, 1866, almost two years after her capture, she and several others began the six-week trip home. Elizabeth FitzPatrick was reunited with her previously released granddaughter in Parker County. In 1869 Elizabeth married a Parker County farmer and widower, Isaiah Clifton. They moved to Fort Griffin with Lottie and Clifton's youngest four children in order to manage what remained of landholdings inherited by Lottie Durkin after her mother's death.
Elizabeth Clifton remained at Fort Griffin until her death on June 18, 1882. She was buried beside Isaiah Clifton, who predeceased her in 1880, in the oldest cemetery in Shackelford County. As late as 1877 she had wired the Office of Indian Affairs in Washington to report a rumor that her granddaughter, Milly Jane, might be living with a Kiowa woman named Ama. Elizabeth Clifton died penniless.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcl50
Saudi says ‘I don’t know’ too many times; feds say, ‘You are under arrest’
“Al Kwawahir told officers he did not know how the page was removed from the passport.
“Al Kwawahir said he brought the pressure cooker for his nephew because the devices are not sold in the United States, according to the complaint.”
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130513/METRO01/305130415
From www.gatesofvienna.net
(The dude does not seem the brightest oil lamp in the tent. The story ranks with, “It was a wedding celebration and we were firing into the air in joy.” With RPKs and RPGs. Go figure.)
“Al Kwawahir said he brought the pressure cooker for his nephew because the devices are not sold in the United States, according to the complaint.”
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130513/METRO01/305130415
From www.gatesofvienna.net
(The dude does not seem the brightest oil lamp in the tent. The story ranks with, “It was a wedding celebration and we were firing into the air in joy.” With RPKs and RPGs. Go figure.)
What’s the use in having all that money if you don’t use it?
Rich moms hire disabled in order to buck lines at Disney World.
How prevalent? Who knows.
“’My daughter waited one minute to get on ‘It’s a Small World’ — the other kids had to wait 2 1/2 hours,’ crowed one mom, who hired a disabled guide through Dream Tours Florida.”
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/disney_world_srich_kid_outrage_zTBA0xrvZRkIVc1zItXGDP
Found at http://ace.mu.nu/
How prevalent? Who knows.
“’My daughter waited one minute to get on ‘It’s a Small World’ — the other kids had to wait 2 1/2 hours,’ crowed one mom, who hired a disabled guide through Dream Tours Florida.”
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/disney_world_srich_kid_outrage_zTBA0xrvZRkIVc1zItXGDP
Found at http://ace.mu.nu/
Hey, let’s get a wind turbine!
Dead seagulls drop into school yard.
“Mr. McLeod said he worried about the impact on the birds and his pupils, who got upset when deaths happened during playtimes and lunchtimes.”
“’We’ve tried so hard to be eco-friendly but now we can't turn it on.’”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/7870929/Primary-school-forced-to-turn-off-wind-turbine-after-bird-deaths.html
(It’s OK, Mr. McLeod. You tried, and that’s the important thing. As long as we do our best.)
“Mr. McLeod said he worried about the impact on the birds and his pupils, who got upset when deaths happened during playtimes and lunchtimes.”
“’We’ve tried so hard to be eco-friendly but now we can't turn it on.’”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/7870929/Primary-school-forced-to-turn-off-wind-turbine-after-bird-deaths.html
(It’s OK, Mr. McLeod. You tried, and that’s the important thing. As long as we do our best.)
Monday, May 13, 2013
Not everybody's history is PBS
My wife’s Uncle Murray Raley, in an undated letter written to a cousin, but never mailed:
“I can barely remember the way it was in the early thirties when daddy was trying to feed us raising cotton on rented land. The dirt was so poor and wore out that it wouldn’t have made much of a crop with plenty of rain which it didn’t get.
“That was the years that part of the state of Oklahoma blew away and the inhabitants of that bleak and desolate region migrated enmasse to California thereby causing that state some severe economic problems.
“I didn’t know the extent of what was happening until years later when I watched some TV documentaries on P.B.S. that dealt with that particular period of history and read the novel ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by Steinbeck about the tribulations and triumphs of the Joad family.
“My personal memories of the dust bowl era, however, have nothing to do with the exodus or the economies of state governments. Instead they are of standing at the edge of a field on a cold, dry spring day and looking skyward at the sun – barely visible through a thick cloud of dirt and/or dust hanging high above the earth (troposphere).
“It was so thick a cloud that the sun didn’t shine through it but I could see its outline. I could look directly at it without even squinting. Didn’t seem to give much more light than a full moon.
“This went on day after day for what now seems like weeks. It eventually took on an eerie, foreboding quality; I wondered if it was sort of a prelude to the end of the world. In spite of it all we made the usual bale plus a little over that year.
“Looking back it seems almost miraculous that we did so well.”
“I can barely remember the way it was in the early thirties when daddy was trying to feed us raising cotton on rented land. The dirt was so poor and wore out that it wouldn’t have made much of a crop with plenty of rain which it didn’t get.
“That was the years that part of the state of Oklahoma blew away and the inhabitants of that bleak and desolate region migrated enmasse to California thereby causing that state some severe economic problems.
“I didn’t know the extent of what was happening until years later when I watched some TV documentaries on P.B.S. that dealt with that particular period of history and read the novel ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by Steinbeck about the tribulations and triumphs of the Joad family.
“My personal memories of the dust bowl era, however, have nothing to do with the exodus or the economies of state governments. Instead they are of standing at the edge of a field on a cold, dry spring day and looking skyward at the sun – barely visible through a thick cloud of dirt and/or dust hanging high above the earth (troposphere).
“It was so thick a cloud that the sun didn’t shine through it but I could see its outline. I could look directly at it without even squinting. Didn’t seem to give much more light than a full moon.
“This went on day after day for what now seems like weeks. It eventually took on an eerie, foreboding quality; I wondered if it was sort of a prelude to the end of the world. In spite of it all we made the usual bale plus a little over that year.
“Looking back it seems almost miraculous that we did so well.”
Friday, May 10, 2013
One book leads to another
At the conclusion of The End of Empire: Atilla The Hun and The Fall of Rome, author Christopher Kelly says: "At the end of a history of Atilla and the Huns, we should be gently encourged to think about more than the decline and fall of the Roman Empire."
A snarky dig at Gibbon, perhaps. Kelly's own work fails to tell as much about Atilla as his title suggests. He spends many more words on Romans than he does on Atilla. Maybe that's because we still don't know much about the Hun.
I bought Decline and Fall at the same time as Kelly's work on Atilla. So, disregarding Kelly's admonition, I will go into Decline.
A snarky dig at Gibbon, perhaps. Kelly's own work fails to tell as much about Atilla as his title suggests. He spends many more words on Romans than he does on Atilla. Maybe that's because we still don't know much about the Hun.
I bought Decline and Fall at the same time as Kelly's work on Atilla. So, disregarding Kelly's admonition, I will go into Decline.
‘The budget-strapped University of California squanders millions on mindless diversity programs’
But it makes everybody feel good!
“Maria Sobek, UC Santa Barbara’s associate vice chancellor for diversity, equity, and academic policy and a professor of Chicana and Chicano studies, provides a window into how UC Two thinks about its mission. If a faculty hiring committee selects only white male finalists for an opening, the dean will suggest ‘bringing in some women to look them over,’ Sobek says. These female candidates, she says, ‘may be borderline, but they are all qualified.’ And voilà ! ‘It turns out [the hiring committees] really like the candidates and hire them, even if they may not have looked so good on paper.’ This process has ‘energized’ the faculty to hire a woman, says Sobek. She adds that diversity interventions get ‘more positive responses’ from humanities and social-sciences professors than from scientists.”
http://www.city-journal.org/2013/23_2_multiculti-university.html
At maggiesfarm.
“Maria Sobek, UC Santa Barbara’s associate vice chancellor for diversity, equity, and academic policy and a professor of Chicana and Chicano studies, provides a window into how UC Two thinks about its mission. If a faculty hiring committee selects only white male finalists for an opening, the dean will suggest ‘bringing in some women to look them over,’ Sobek says. These female candidates, she says, ‘may be borderline, but they are all qualified.’ And voilà ! ‘It turns out [the hiring committees] really like the candidates and hire them, even if they may not have looked so good on paper.’ This process has ‘energized’ the faculty to hire a woman, says Sobek. She adds that diversity interventions get ‘more positive responses’ from humanities and social-sciences professors than from scientists.”
http://www.city-journal.org/2013/23_2_multiculti-university.html
At maggiesfarm.
Just what we need – another ‘fairness’ act
“Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has just introduced a new bill, the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act, to offer student loans at the same rates that the Federal Reserve charges big banks through its discount window lending program. At the moment, that rate is about 0.75%. The rates on federally guaranteed student loans, meanwhile, is set to double to 6.8% this summer.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/09/elizabeth-warren-wants-the-fed-to-get-into-the-student-loan-business.html
(I thought Progressive Democrats put a wooden stake through that Bush-engineered doubling student loan interest. It was in all the news last year. OK. Search says Congress delayed doubling down until 1 July this year. Pass it on, pass it on. No decision to see here.)
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/09/elizabeth-warren-wants-the-fed-to-get-into-the-student-loan-business.html
(I thought Progressive Democrats put a wooden stake through that Bush-engineered doubling student loan interest. It was in all the news last year. OK. Search says Congress delayed doubling down until 1 July this year. Pass it on, pass it on. No decision to see here.)
With heads stuck at the government trough, some people will never get it
Detroit is broke. Detroit does not have enough police on patrol. Detroit has dilapidated houses.
Detroit also has neighborhood people doing neighborhood things.
"’When the system fails us, you have to become the system,’ said Mitch Logan, a 48-year-old film producer who is part of a self-dubbed ‘Mower Gang’ that mows neighborhood parks after they've finished their own yards.
“In addition to the landscaping, a church group is boarding up vacant houses in the Brightmoor neighborhood, one of the city's most distressed, to keep criminals out. And several neighborhoods are now hiring security to patrol their streets, supplementing an undermanned police department.”
http://reason.com/blog/2013/05/09/spontaneous-order-experiments-take-hold
Some people see DIY neighborhoods and private funding a threat.
"There are certain functions that you want government to perform that should not be at the whim of individuals or charities." -- Katherine McFate, Center for Effective Government.
Stuff it, McFate.
At http://ace.mu.nu/
Detroit also has neighborhood people doing neighborhood things.
"’When the system fails us, you have to become the system,’ said Mitch Logan, a 48-year-old film producer who is part of a self-dubbed ‘Mower Gang’ that mows neighborhood parks after they've finished their own yards.
“In addition to the landscaping, a church group is boarding up vacant houses in the Brightmoor neighborhood, one of the city's most distressed, to keep criminals out. And several neighborhoods are now hiring security to patrol their streets, supplementing an undermanned police department.”
http://reason.com/blog/2013/05/09/spontaneous-order-experiments-take-hold
Some people see DIY neighborhoods and private funding a threat.
"There are certain functions that you want government to perform that should not be at the whim of individuals or charities." -- Katherine McFate, Center for Effective Government.
Stuff it, McFate.
At http://ace.mu.nu/
Put down that taco!
“An open letter to the Northwestern University community from the student government president and leaders of a Hispanic/Latino campus club admonished students not to eat tacos or drink tequila on Cinco de Mayo – but the effort prompted a backlash from some students from Mexico who said they were offended by the notion and that the request didn’t represent their beliefs.”
http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/13430/
Celebrate like it’s 1862 all over again! Kill some French soldiers!
“Cinco de Mayo—or the fifth of May—commemorates the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867). A relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations. Cinco de Mayo traditions include parades, mariachi music performances and street festivals in cities and towns across Mexico and the United States.”
http://www.history.com/topics/cinco-de-mayo
Maggiesfarm.
http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/13430/
Celebrate like it’s 1862 all over again! Kill some French soldiers!
“Cinco de Mayo—or the fifth of May—commemorates the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867). A relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations. Cinco de Mayo traditions include parades, mariachi music performances and street festivals in cities and towns across Mexico and the United States.”
http://www.history.com/topics/cinco-de-mayo
Maggiesfarm.
More wussification
“A fifth-grader in Cupertino, California was suspended and threatened with expulsion for bringing a small Swiss Army knife on a school-sponsored, science-oriented camping trip (to Marin Headlands)....Braden's particular model contains a can opener, tweezers, a toothpick, a nail file, a tiny pair of scissors and a small blade.”
‘Camping with progressives’
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/camping-with-pr.html
Comments: “From the article:
"’Consequently, Bandermann told TheDC, school officials forced Braden to serve a one-day suspension at camp. He was allegedly isolated in a teacher’s lounge area from all the other children. He was forced to eat meals by himself. He was forced to sleep in an area separate from all the other children. He missed an entire day of activities.’"
The whole story is here: http://news.yahoo.com/fifth-grader-suspended-overnight-nature-012034230.html
Including ID of the principal, Brandi Hucko.
Brandi???
Houston, we found the cause of the problem.
Look, who with any sense carries the name “Brandi” into professional life? Other than pole dancers, et al. You have a school headed by Brandi, you have a wussified school.
From maggiesfarm.
‘Camping with progressives’
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/camping-with-pr.html
Comments: “From the article:
"’Consequently, Bandermann told TheDC, school officials forced Braden to serve a one-day suspension at camp. He was allegedly isolated in a teacher’s lounge area from all the other children. He was forced to eat meals by himself. He was forced to sleep in an area separate from all the other children. He missed an entire day of activities.’"
The whole story is here: http://news.yahoo.com/fifth-grader-suspended-overnight-nature-012034230.html
Including ID of the principal, Brandi Hucko.
Brandi???
Houston, we found the cause of the problem.
Look, who with any sense carries the name “Brandi” into professional life? Other than pole dancers, et al. You have a school headed by Brandi, you have a wussified school.
From maggiesfarm.
Note with wind chime
Warning
“Solder joints and/or lead came on this product contains detectable amounts of lead. … One should avoid prolonged handling of lead products … and should not place these items in mouth or other bodily orifice.”
Not to worry, lead products person. I will not stick those items in either of my ears or either of my nostrils.
It's good to know the lead contains detectable amounts of lead.
“Solder joints and/or lead came on this product contains detectable amounts of lead. … One should avoid prolonged handling of lead products … and should not place these items in mouth or other bodily orifice.”
Not to worry, lead products person. I will not stick those items in either of my ears or either of my nostrils.
It's good to know the lead contains detectable amounts of lead.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Wussification
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week that nearly one-fifth of high school-age boys have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Doctors eventually medicate two-thirds of them. The diagnoses represent a 41 percent increase over the last decade.”
http://www.peekinthewell.net/blog/
‘Junk Degrees and the Gender Divide’
You know why that is, why there is a 41 percent increase diagnosis? First, somebody might be diddling the numbers.
More likely, though, it’s because high school boys are f’n bored! Schools don’t do boy stuff. Schools have become wussified, probably more so than any other part of American society.
Think about it. What is the ratio of women/men teachers in public schools? What is the ratio of women/men students in college? What percentage of boys are raised by an unmarried mother?
Do you see any influence by men in education?
http://www.peekinthewell.net/blog/
‘Junk Degrees and the Gender Divide’
You know why that is, why there is a 41 percent increase diagnosis? First, somebody might be diddling the numbers.
More likely, though, it’s because high school boys are f’n bored! Schools don’t do boy stuff. Schools have become wussified, probably more so than any other part of American society.
Think about it. What is the ratio of women/men teachers in public schools? What is the ratio of women/men students in college? What percentage of boys are raised by an unmarried mother?
Do you see any influence by men in education?
I like the Moonbattery approach
‘Portraits in Moonbattery: Stephen Hawking’
“Stephen Hawking is the media’s favorite scientist. It could be because a great mind striving beyond the confines of a body crippled by Lou Gehrig’s disease tugs on our heartstrings and inspires us to overcome our own limitations. Or it could be because Hawking is a moonbat, willing to place irresponsible left-wing malice before science:
“’British physicist Stephen Hawking has dropped plans to attend a major international conference in Israel in June, citing his belief that he should respect a Palestinian call to boycott contacts with Israeli academics. …
“’The Israeli Presidential Conference, now in its fifth year, brings together statesmen and leading experts in various disciplines to discuss ways to address the world’s problems. The goal, organizers say, is to identify challenges and propose solutions.”’
http://moonbattery.com/
“Stephen Hawking is the media’s favorite scientist. It could be because a great mind striving beyond the confines of a body crippled by Lou Gehrig’s disease tugs on our heartstrings and inspires us to overcome our own limitations. Or it could be because Hawking is a moonbat, willing to place irresponsible left-wing malice before science:
“’British physicist Stephen Hawking has dropped plans to attend a major international conference in Israel in June, citing his belief that he should respect a Palestinian call to boycott contacts with Israeli academics. …
“’The Israeli Presidential Conference, now in its fifth year, brings together statesmen and leading experts in various disciplines to discuss ways to address the world’s problems. The goal, organizers say, is to identify challenges and propose solutions.”’
http://moonbattery.com/
'Medical home' and your/my future
While researching information for the posting immediately below this one, I ran across an Arkansas bureaucracy that has to do with disabled care and gazillions of dollars.
“Patient centered medical home (PCMH): Within 3-5 years, nearly every Arkansan will have access to a medical home, which will provide comprehensive, team-based care, with a focus on chronic care management and preventive services. The medical home will support patients in their own self-management and help them engage with their extended care team of specialists, hospitals, and other providers. The medical home will bear responsibility for coordinating the complete health needs of a population.”
http://www.arkansasddpa.org/Medicaid%20Transformation/Summary%20of%20Arkansas%20application%20Sep%2013%202012.doc
You might say, “Well, we need to plan for these things.”
Do we?
“Of course we do! Each one of us will reach a time when we’ll need more care than we can get at home.”
Ah, there’s the rub. We will need more care, and who better to provide that care than privately owned care facilities, paid for with federal taxes. Federal because most states will never have enough tax money to pay for the facilities, and the wealthier states are not likely to raise taxes in the necessary amounts. But the federal government has an unlimited income base from which it can raise money.
Take a look at the organization’s web page:
http://www.arkansasddpa.org/
Everything … all of the proposals and on-going programs … are predicated on taxes.
“Caring for” physically disabled and mentally disabled and old people is a huge multi-multi-billion-dollar industry. Since we Baby Boomers constitute such large numbers, we will populate old folks homes, assisted living facilities, group homes as has never before been imagined. Our children will work to pay for our final years, and that payment will be in higher taxes, until we die in such great numbers that the government will roll back the taxes as no longer needed. Right.
Our children and grand-children might be better off putting us on the ice flow.
“Patient centered medical home (PCMH): Within 3-5 years, nearly every Arkansan will have access to a medical home, which will provide comprehensive, team-based care, with a focus on chronic care management and preventive services. The medical home will support patients in their own self-management and help them engage with their extended care team of specialists, hospitals, and other providers. The medical home will bear responsibility for coordinating the complete health needs of a population.”
http://www.arkansasddpa.org/Medicaid%20Transformation/Summary%20of%20Arkansas%20application%20Sep%2013%202012.doc
You might say, “Well, we need to plan for these things.”
Do we?
“Of course we do! Each one of us will reach a time when we’ll need more care than we can get at home.”
Ah, there’s the rub. We will need more care, and who better to provide that care than privately owned care facilities, paid for with federal taxes. Federal because most states will never have enough tax money to pay for the facilities, and the wealthier states are not likely to raise taxes in the necessary amounts. But the federal government has an unlimited income base from which it can raise money.
Take a look at the organization’s web page:
http://www.arkansasddpa.org/
Everything … all of the proposals and on-going programs … are predicated on taxes.
“Caring for” physically disabled and mentally disabled and old people is a huge multi-multi-billion-dollar industry. Since we Baby Boomers constitute such large numbers, we will populate old folks homes, assisted living facilities, group homes as has never before been imagined. Our children will work to pay for our final years, and that payment will be in higher taxes, until we die in such great numbers that the government will roll back the taxes as no longer needed. Right.
Our children and grand-children might be better off putting us on the ice flow.
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