Then and Now

Found on Facebook:

But to complain about Rev Al would be......racist.

And over in Greece

Seems that the leftist party Syriza has won control in the recent Greek parliamentary elections. Syriza ran on a platform of anti-austerity and has pledged to reverse the governmental restrictions  that were part of the deal with the IMF and European Central Bank.  Its full on government spending, and guess who's supposed to pay for it.  Yep, its once again OPM.

There's an interesting cycle that I'm seeing, both in the Eurozone and here in America.  Expansive governments overextend themselves, putting economies in peril.  Somehow, there's enough concern expressed, either by the people themselves but more often by the lenders looking out for their investment.  The "adults" get put in charge and try to right the ship of state.

It's not easy making up for the fat-cat years of heady spending.  It's sorta like taking off the pounds you put on with holiday feasts - it can be done but it takes work, effort, time and above all else, the recognition that this isn't fun.  It's the corrective period to make up for the excesses of the past.  But the impatience of the masses doesn't like that they have to have a leaner diet, with some painful exercise.  There's rebellion against Scrooge and the pendulum swings back to Santa Claus.  Except that it swings even further this time to compensate for that awful deprivation "The Bankers" imposed.

The adults of the political world get the blame.  They try to clean up the mess left by the "children" but the public now thinks it's their fault.  They are the party of "no".  They're the parents who say "no you can't eat a pound of chocolate for dinner".   The ones who take your car keys when you have been bad.  The ones who are trying to make you into....an adult.

It's tough being responsible.  It's even worse being a sucker.

La-La land

From Richard Fernandez at PJ Media:

In the other Western hemisphere state of the union speech, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro,  while acknowledging that his government had no money, nevertheless promised to provide more “free” services for everyone.  Free school stipends, free housing. No cutbacks to social welfare. How would the bankrupt state pay for it?  He said , that while “oil will never cost $100 again but God will provide. Venezuela will never do without.”

“God will provide.” Which only goes to show that Marxists aren’t really what people evolve into after they lose their religion. On the contrary religion is what Marxists get after they lose their shirt. But never mind the shirt. There’s a bright future ahead for everyone – and all of it paid for with other people’s money. Free! free! free!

This isn't doubling down...it's out and out desperation.  But notice how Fernandez mentions that wonderful panacea....OPM.

From El Pais come these words:

The president turned his annual report into an electoral campaign pitch. During his almost three-hour speech, he attacked his adversaries and claimed to be the victim of a plot that seeks to topple his government and take advantage of dejected … voters during this election year. …

Starting February 1, the government will increase the minimum wage and pensions by 15 percent. It also plans to more than double the meager scholarships university students receive. … also promised to build 400,000 public housing units. The measures fall under the government’s social investment program.

It's all a plot.  And how do we cure this economic disaster?  Why by even more of what got us there.

We hear this here in America.  The reason the stimulus didn't have the major impact Obama promised wasn't because an artificial stimulus doesn't work...it's because it wasn't big enough.  Obamacare isn't a success because....it doesn't go far enough.  And amazingly, there are hundreds of millions who think that way.  If only the government wasn't constrained by such old-fashioned concepts as the Constitution and the rule of law.

Have we lost sight of reality?

From the Empire State

From an AP report via Fox News:

New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested Thursday on public corruption charges and accused of using his position as one of the most powerful men in Albany to obtain millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks masked as legitimate income. 

Of course, the fact of interest to me is that it isn't until the TENTH paragraph til you read:

As speaker of the Democrat-controlled Assembly, Silver is one of the most influential people in New York state government.

And, you notice, they never say that he himself is a Democrat.  Just that the assembly is controlled by the Ds and you're left to figure out the rest.

Nice that there's some work against corruption by the US prosecutor.  Bad that there's still journalistic bias from the AP.

But what else would you expect.

My Missouri Prediction

From the New York Times comes this story:

WASHINGTON — Justice Department lawyers will recommend that no civil rights charges be brought against the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Mo., after an F.B.I. investigation found no evidence to support charges, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Anyone want to bet on what the reaction will be "on the street"?  I'm gonna go way out on the limb and say that this will be just another excuse for more looting and destruction -- another "no justice" moment to provide the chance to grab free stuff from "The Man".

Then again, when the government instills an entitlement mentality that includes public housing, food stamps, free medical care, Obamaphones and more, why shouldn't folks just take whatever they want.
It's "justice".

Patterico's response

Patterico has posted the following about the SOTU:

The GOP has entrusted me with the solemn responsibility of responding to the remarks of the President of the United States in his State of the Union address. My video response is below.

Well put, sir.  Sums it up nice and quick.  Accurate, too.

SOTU

As I get older, I learn to just avoid things that will be painful.  Call it the wisdom of experience.  One thing I avoid is the State of the Union speech - and that's no matter who is in the White House.

Luckily, there are folks out there to watch it for me and give me the after-action report.  From John Hayward over at Big Government:

By the time we hit the lame-duck phase of any two-term presidency, SOTU will inevitably feel like an aging rock band that keeps giving encores nobody asked for, the audience groaning and returning to their seats as each new tune tumbles from the dusty speakers. This is an especially acute problem for Barack Obama, who has essentially been giving the same speech since 2008, with minor topical modifications.

He’s still generous to a fault with other people’s money. He still has a very high opinion of himself, coupled with very thin skin. He remains confident that his supporters can’t remember anything he’s actually done as President, or how any of it worked out. His speechwriters are still cherry-picking out-of-context statistics to make his presidency seem less disappointing. He still over-promises and under-delivers. He’s still the little boy who screams about everyone else’s cookie-eating habits when he gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Most importantly, President Obama has not lost faith in the magical power of his rhetoric. He thinks he can make problems including Yemen, Islamist terrorism, al-Qaeda, and his assorted scandals disappear by not talking about them. While he was busy trying to wish Vladimir Putin away to the cornfield, Russian and Ukrainian forces were exchanging fire. The regime Obama worked hard to install in Yemen is coming down in flames, to be replaced by some miserable combination of an Iranian satellite and an al-Qaeda fortress, but you’d never know it from Obama’s cheery blather about the glories of his “smart power.” By Obama standards, it’s a foreign-policy triumph that the evacuation of the last American from Sanaa wasn’t shown on a split-screen while he was patting himself on the back for his diplomatic skills.

Sounds like our Narcissist-in-Chief hasn't lost a step over the past six years.  It's still all about him and his view of how everything is wonderful thanks to The One.

This wouldn't be so bad if it was the 7th grade class president off on flights of delusion.  But this is the President of the United States of America.  Supposedly the most important man in the world.

From all reports, I saved myself pain and suffering by staying away from SOTU.  But I did enjoy Hayward's column.  You should read the whole thing yourself.

The Good...the Bad...and Three Branches

For your Sunday amusement:

Both stolen from Knowledge is Power.

Klavan on Waterboarding

If only he was on television rather than of Jon Stewart.  Imagine the effect it would have.

Free Speech and More

Quoted in its entirety from Exurban League:

Not to rain on your free-speech parade, but…

Just about a year ago, the Nigerian Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram kidnapped, raped and sold into slavery an entire school of 12-15 year old girls, due in large part to their Christian faith.

The reaction from the Obama administration was swift and self-righteous: It immediately asked millions of Twitter users to express their outrage over Boko Haram’s barbarity and show their solidarity with the kidnapped girls by using the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag on Twitter.

And it was a rousing success: People all around the world felt better about themselves, knowing that they had typed eighteen characters into a text box as a way to make a courageous stand against the rape and subjugation of underage girls.

Rosa Parks would be proud.

Shockingly, all of that self-gratification did wonders for the self-esteem of rich white liberals, but did nothing to free the kidnapped young girls. All the girls from the Chibok school are now dead or trapped in the hell of “marriages” to radical Islamists.

And believe it or not, it gets worse than that. Last Friday, while some free speech advocates were talking a stand against shooting editorial cartoonists (and perversely, some professional journalists were taking a stand against free speech), Boko Haram casually, and with malice a forethought, shot up an entire village and killed up to two thousand people.

That’s right, 2000 (or more) innocent lives lost. This is the worse terrorist attack since 9/11, and yet few people have heard about it or seem to care. What is it with Democratic Presidents ignoring genocide in sub-Sarahan Africa, anyways?

I digress.

Getting outraged over the killings at Charlie Hebdo magazine is a good thing, because it’s making people realize the greatest threats to our social freedoms don’t come from some bluenose Puritan Christian carrying a Bible, but rather from an Islamic jihadist with a suicide vest carrying an AK47.

Get outraged, but get active, because when we have foes who would use more than just words to eliminate free speech, free speech must be defended with more than just words.

Words matter.  Actions, even more so.

Today's quote

From Philip K. Dick:

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.

How true.

Calling a spade

Senator Ted Cruz:

Lifted from 90 Miles From Tyranny

Money Money

From Fox News:

Taxpayers could see delays in getting their refunds this year -- as well as "unacceptable" customer service -- as the IRS commissioner warns budget cuts are forcing the agency to cut back.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, in an email sent to workers and obtained by Fox News, predicted a messy tax season on several fronts. 

"The effect of these cuts will hurt taxpayers and our tax system," he wrote. 

He said the cuts could force the IRS to shut down operations for two days later this year, resulting in unpaid furloughs for employees and service cuts for taxpayers. 

But in the near-term, the commissioner said cuts in overtime and temporary staff hours could cause delays in refunds. 

What government has come down to....a blackmail operation.  They don't get a big enough budget, so they are going to hurt the ordinary citizen -- unless us chumps pay up.

Remember, Koskinen is the party hack who said that they couldn't find ANY of Lois Lerner's emails. Who said there wasn't any targeting of conservatives and conservative groups.  Another Democrat thug, using the power of the government as a club.

Will the public remember come 2016?

#29 Quote

Continuing with the 30 best quotes of 2014 from Right Wing News:

It used to be that your rights were infringed upon if the government punished or threatened you for expressing your sincerest beliefs. Now, your rights are infringed upon if you want something but someone refuses to buy it for you. —  Matt Walsh

How true.  Modern progressives have turned the whole notion of rights on its head.  Rights went from being prohibitions on government to becoming claims upon government and fellow citizens.  Listen to progressives talk and you'll catch on....when they say rights, just replace it with the word "claim".

Two images for your consideration:

Obama and the March

Stolen from Powerline - a few graphics for your enjoyment:

Yes, the prime minister of Denmark...maybe Michelle had a say after their last encounter.
 

One down

The OC had a bit of a medical hiatus, but all is on the road to recovery.  News about the Sixteeners:

Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee in 2012, told NBC News in an interview Monday that he will not seek the presidency in 2016.

“I have decided that I am not going to run for president in 2016,” Ryan said in a phone interview, noting that he is “at peace” with the decision he made “weeks ago” to forgo a bid for the White House.

Though Ryan isn't my top choice for the presidency (his immigration statements are almost enough to disqualify him), he would have brought the fiscal arguments to the fore.  Unfortunately, a number of candidates further down my list still want the job.

Will Republicans get this one right. My own odds are less than 50-50.

French courage?

More news from the attack:

Benoit Bringer, a journalist from the agency Premieres Lignes Tele, whose offices are next door, told the Telegraph he took refuge on the building's roof.

"Three policemen arrived by push bike, but they left naturally as the attackers were armed," he said.

Three policemen left??  You mean, if you're armed, the police leave?  This is the most disgusting thing I've read in a long time.  Turn in your badge, you don't deserve the respect.

Wake up, world

Word this morning that members of the Religion of Peace (tm) demonstrated how peaceful they are in Paris:

BREAKING: Black-clad gunmen stormed the Paris offices of a satirical publication known for lampooning Islam early Wednesday, killing 12 and injuring as many as 15 before escaping, French officials said.

As many as three Kalashnikov-toting shooters were being sought after the attack at Charlie Hebdo, the publication known for challenging Muslim terrorists with a 2011 caricature of Prophet Muhammed on its cover and which recently tweeted a cartoon of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Two policemen and several journalists - including the cartoonist behind the weekly publication's provocative images, were among the dead.

“We’ve avenged the honor of the prophet!” the killers shouted, according to witnesses who spoke to Sky News. The gunmen spoke French without any accent, according to Le Monde.

When will the West recognize that this is not just terrorism, not just random acts of violence, but it is WAR.

Especially telling will be the response of those millions of supposedly "moderate" Muslims.  Silence is assent.

Chickens at Harvard

I was inwardly chuckling when I read this from a story on Powerline:

Many conservatives are chuckling over this New York Times story about the impact Obamacare is having on Harvard’s health care plan: “Health Care Fixes Backed by Harvard’s Experts Now Roil Its Faculty.” Heh. It was easier to promote Obamacare when they thought it was only going to apply to others:

For years, Harvard’s experts on health economics and policy have advised presidents and Congress on how to provide health benefits to the nation at a reasonable cost. But those remedies will now be applied to the Harvard faculty, and the professors are in an uproar.

Members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the heart of the 378-year-old university, voted overwhelmingly in November to oppose changes that would require them and thousands of other Harvard employees to pay more for health care. The university says the increases are in part a result of the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act, which many Harvard professors championed.

I remember something in my youth about sauce for the goose.

So now Harvard’s professors, pretty much all of whom voted for Obama and supported Obamacare, are learning the hard way, from experience, what they apparently were not able to learn by analysis. Lots of conservatives enjoy this, because they don’t like Harvard. I am not in that category. I got my law degree from Harvard, and, while Harvard is no Dartmouth, I liked the law school about as much as anyone likes any law school. But the current controversy illustrates an all too common phenomenon. Liberals are great at telling other people what to do, but it rarely occurs to them that someday, they might have to live under the rules that they advocate for the rest of us. 

The chickens have come home to roost. But not to worry. Remember...they are our betters and know how we should live.  Or so they keep telling us.

Harry me boy

Well, it seems as though Harry Reid is at it again.  No, not causing mischief in the US Senate, but in his war with exercise.  From Breitbart:

A statement released to reporters from Senator Harry Reid’s office claims Reid spent much the first day of the new year in the hospital after suffering a nasty accident while exercising.

The statement asserts that “a piece of equipment Senator Reid was using to exercise broke, causing him to fall and break a number of ribs and bones in his face.”

Reid was reportedly first brought to St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson to treat the injury before he was transferred to the University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where he remained overnight.

But this isn't the first time Harry has fought exercise equipment and lost.  From the Daily Mail:

Thursday marked Reid’s second exercise-related mishap in three years.

He dislocated his shoulder and bumped his forehead in May 2011 when he slipped and fell during a morning jog in the rain.

Reid leaned on a wet car near his home in Washington, D.C.’s Ritz-Carlton hotel and tumbled to the ground.

That fall left him with a contusion just below his left eye, but he was back in action later that night at a fundraiser for California Sen. Barbara Boxer.

Coincidence or just a convenient excuse for....who knows what.  You be the judge.

Start 2015 by looking back

Ok....2015 will be the make or break year.

The OC was away from the internet for big chunks of 2014, which made blogging sporadic.  And when I wasn't in the routine, it was easy to get away from posting.  New Years Resolution #1:  Diligent posting.

So let's start with a great list of quotes from 2014.  Compiled by Right Wing News, it sums up a great deal of the differences between progressives and conservatives.  Let's start with #30.

30) What really bugs me as I watch all this process unfold, is the men and women of the CIA did exactly what we wanted to have them do in terms of taking on this program. We’ve got Khalid Sheikh Mohammed who’s the mastermind of 9/11, who has killed 3,000 Americans, taken down the World Trade Center, hit the Pentagon. He is in our possession, we know he’s the architect, and what are we supposed to do? Kiss him on both cheeks and say, “Please, please, tell us what you know”? Of course not. We did exactly that needed to be done in order to catch those who were guilty on 9/11 and to prevent a further attack, and we were successful on both parts. — Dick Cheney

Exactly.  We wanted to be "safe" and it didn't matter what we did to achieve that.  Cheney nails it -- how only in the light of hindsight do progressives raise issues of "torture".  Dianne Feinstein knew what was happening at the time, and was quite happy to let it proceed.  Only as her tenure as head of the Senate Intelligence Committee comes to a close does she decide that....oooh, now it's torture.

Hypocrisy....thy name is Progressiveism.  Or maybe the modern corruption of Liberalism.

I'll be running through the whole list in future posts, but if you just can't wait, you can find it HERE.

H/T to House of Eratosthenes for the pointer.