Self Made Man

A pox on your Harvard MBA
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This Old House

Old Stuff

Laura's Big Wheel I mentioned this in the way back, but those few of you who remember will forgive this veteran of the charge up San Juan Hill a relapse.  Oh, we're talking about this  portfolio of abandoned houses.  I think all of us will be plaintively reminded of something from our own past, except for young Josh who's still building his. The house in Ringgold, NE  reminds me of hunting for pheasant in Nebraska, just on the Colorado and South Dakota borders. Came across it, and while the others went on, I stayed, and read old catalogs, newspapers, and sorted through scattered family pictures.  Memory says they dated back to c. 1920.  Hardscrabble.  I don't remember the details anymore, just being captivated by this worm hole into the past.  You can smell these houses. That old house smell.  Linoleum. Musty newsprint and curtains.   Have a look.  City people may find Scouting New York more to the task at hand. Nostalgia.

WaTimes WTF?

EXCLUSIVE: Obama wins more cuts in spending than Bush

What am I missing here?

That's a featured story in today's Times. No, not the New York Times.  The Washington Times. I read it, and still don't know what to make of the editor's decision to promote it. “ President Obama notched substantial successes in spending cuts last year, winning 60 percent of his proposed cuts and managing to get Congress to ax several programs that had bedeviled President George W. Bush for years. The administration says Congress accepted at least $6.9 billion of the $11.3 billion in discretionary spending cuts Mr. Obama proposed for the current fiscal year. An analysis by The Washington Times found that Mr. Obama was victorious in getting Congress to slash 24 programs and achieved some level of success in reducing nine other programs. Among the president's victories are canceling the multibillion-dollar F-22 Raptor program, ending the LORAN-C radio-based ship navigation system and culling a series of low-dollar education grants. In each of those cases, Mr. Obama succeeded in eliminating programs that Mr. Bush repeatedly failed to end. ” The key cut was the military's F-22 Raptor program.  Well, stop the presses!  Democrat cuts military spending.  The LORAN-C was made obsolete by GPS, so that was pretty much a no-brainer.  Unless, like me, you think the first casualty of the next big war will be our satellite system.  If that happens, then the drone aircraft that supposedly made the F-22 expendable, and our ability to navigate at sea, will be kaputsky.  Reminds me of DOD brainiacs leaving guns off the  F-4 Phantom - because missiles made them obsolete.  But, too much barking over small bones. Does anyone have a firm figure on how many trillions of dollars Obama has already spent?  Even before adding the trillions of dollars that  he wants to spend on Obamacare?   Well, enough to calculate that it's more than  every previous U.S. President combined!  His proposed, utterly useless, Climate Change bill alone will cost more than the reported spending cuts combined (8 billion v. 6.9 billion). So what am I missing?

2+2=6 !

In Passing

In passing ...

It's a Horror Show for Obamunists

Relief, finally “ Why Treasury chief should be probed and fired Tim Geithner should not only be fired as Treasury Secretary, he should then be investigated for criminal activity -- The 40 Most Obnoxious Quotes Of 2009 #30 -  If I'm corrupt, it's because I take care of my district. -- John Murtha 100 Incredible & Educational Virtual Tours You Don’t Want to Miss I love the Internet Liberals and Conservatives “You know, when the battery fires?” asked the American. “Those two guys off to the side with their arms in the air? What are they doing?” Palin was 'set up to fail' Kathleen Parker wears her best Dixie Chicks face Schumer Goes Gutter I got the message below from Ted Kennedy's widow, Vicki, and I wanted to make sure you saw it. Martha Coakley is running to fill the rest of Ted Kennedy's term, and her opponent is a far-right tea-bagger Republican. It would be bad enough to lose this seat [blah-blah-blah] EDITORIAL: Google jihad Google has been accused of pandering to Muslims by censoring negative search suggestions in its main search box. Type "Christianity is" in the search bar, and Google suggests helpful endings to your query, such as "not a religion," "a lie," "a cult," and so on. ... SEIU-affiliated union endorses…Scott Brown How bad is it, Martha? Sarah Palin admits questions about Sept. 11 Or, rather, concedes that Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. got something right. Palin FNC Ratings Sky High The Nielsen ratings are in and former V.P. hopeful Sarah Palin hit the nearly 4 million viewer jackpot last night for her debut appearance on Fox News's "The O'Reilly Factor" as a Fox News contributor. Quote of the day - Sen. Scott Brown’s daughter Ayla “She even spelled Massachusetts wrong in her original ad which is very embarrassing, I must say as a young woman.” ”

Coakley's Thugs

President Kennedy Runs Into Bullets As he Drives Through Dallas - AP

This is just as silly, but it's real.   BOSTON – A reporter trying to question the Democrat seeking to replace Edward Kennedy in the Senate has been involved in a scuffle with one of her advisers. John McCormack of the Weekly Standard fell Tuesday night near Attorney General Martha Coakley. He was audiotaping her while trying to pass a metal grate on a Washington sidewalk. Photos and video show Coakely adviser Michael Meehan trying to help McCormack up. (LOL) What the heck, they haven't even tried to hide their bias for several years, although this does seem a bit far to port.  Gateway has tons on this, here, here2, and here3.

Ted's Seat

SPLAT!

Just last week I read that the DNC was urging House democrats to run with Obama when they go home to campaign.  Unless.   Unless his poll nunbers should fall into the low 40s, at which point it's every man for himself.  Ahem. Twitter / West Wing Report: Latest Obama polls: 45% ap ... While dismissing any real possibility that Martha Coakley will lose the "Kennedy" senate seat. Rick Klein [The Note] affirms that Mass Democrats are terrorized by the closeness of the race.  “ And, asked whether she’s asked President Obama to campaign for her, Coakley told reporters: “I haven’t.” ” And this ... Desperate Dems try to Palinize Massachusetts Senate race “ Frantic over the possibility that a Democrat might lose the race to replace Sen. Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts, the Democratic National Committee has sent its top spinner, Hari Sevugan, to the aid of Democratic candidate Martha Coakley, who appears to be rapidly losing ground to Republican Scott Brown. But what can Sevugan do to shore up Coakley's struggling campaign? Well, he spent his first day on the job trying to tie Brown to Sarah Palin. Early Monday afternoon, Sevugan sent out an email to reporters featuring a link to a story on the lefty website TPM. The headline: "Is Sarah Palin Avoiding Mass Senate Race?" The story quoted a Democratic strategist saying that "it's interesting" that Palin is "nowhere to be found in this race." TPM conceded that GOP sources say there has been "no talk" about Palin visiting Massachusetts. But that didn't stop Sevugan, who is quoted declaring that Palin's supporters "are anxious for her to weigh in." At the top of his email to journalists, Sevugan wrote, "Come on, Sarah, why are you being so shy?" ” Ain't this fun?

I NEED - Please, Pay Pal now

Today's Mobility Scooter

Top Ten

Top Ten Reasons to go to work naked

1. Your boss is always yelling, "I wanna see your ass in here by 8:00!" 2. Can take advantage of computer monitor radiation to work on your tan. 3. "I'd love to chip in, but I left my wallet in my pants." 4. To stop those creepy guys in Marketing from looking down your blouse. 5. You want to see if it's like the dream. 6. So that with a little help from Muzak you can add "Exotic Dancer" to your exaggerated resume. 7. People stop stealing your pens after they've seen where you keep them. 8. Diverts attention from the fact that you also came to work drunk. 9. Gives "bad hair day" a whole new meaning. 10. No one steals your chair.

When crooks investigate themselves

CRC report on ACORN

DIY Kit:  study commissioned by John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.)

Here's a snippet. from Report On ACORN An Incompetent Whitewash Not surprisingly, the new Congressional Research Service report on ACORN continues the Democrats’ coverup of President Obama’s favorite advocacy group. The CRS report commissioned by House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) –both longtime ACORN allies– is a whitewash. The first finding Conyers and Frank crow about in a press release is this:     There were no instances of individuals who were allegedly registered to vote improperly by ACORN or its employees and who were reported “attempting to vote at the polls.” This is demonstrably false.  Darnell Nash of Cleveland, Ohio, was registered to vote nine times by ACORN. After fraudulently casting a ballot, he was convicted of both vote fraud and voter registration fraud and sentenced to six months imprisonment. ACORN remains under investigation .... ”

The beginning of nothing

The beginning of nothing

Aside from sneering at a certain "religion" started by a science fiction writer, on a bet, and which depends on scare tactics, and endless litigation to squelch discussion of  their cult, and pointing out that Islam is a cultural desert, hate machine, and mortal enemy of free men everywhere, I avoid, other than philosophically, religious discussion on this blog.  Live and let live is my motto.  Anyway, this does fall under the philosophical rubric, because we, all of us, have asked ourselves this same question at one time.  Or, so you'da thunk.  Disclosure: I was born a Baptist, raised as, and am still, a Catholic.  I believe that the Blessed Mother would not wear patent leather shoes, nor chew gum. Additionally, I was ordained  a  minister (now Bishop) in the Universal Life Church (so I can marry people and give ad hoc funeral eulogies).

One crack lawyer

In Passing

In Passing ...

Quick - pull her finger

Helllooo “ The Devil Scott Brown raises $1.3 million in a day.  Average donation $77.00 Martha Coakley goes to a fundraiser with her "bundlers" raising at least $10,000 per person, and the party is full of registered lobbyists. NEWSDAY: Sarah Palin's 1st night on FNC Sarah Palin's TV career began on "The O'Reilly Factor" last night,  and now, time for a grade:    C.   OK, C +. David Gergen's (Future) Epitaph To paraphrase Mary McCarthy on Lillian Hellman, every word that comes out of his mouth is a cliche, and that includes “the,” “but,” and “and.”  Almost nothing he says is ever original, insightful or thoughtful, although he delivers his empty phrases in a professorial honk that seems to convey authority.  If you want to know what everybody else within the Beltway is thinking, Dave is your go-to guy.(Michael Walsh) Agent looking for 'Climategate' insiders re Penn State's Michael Mann Former CIA agent Kent Clizbe sent letters to 27 Penn State faculty members ... "As an intelligence collector targeting foreign or enemy government, we recruit an insider," said Clizbe. New York Mag's hilarious Edwards scandal art At the terminal, the couple fought in the passenger waiting area. They fought outside in the parking lot. Elizabeth was sobbing, out of control, incoherent. As their aides tried to avert their eyes, she tore off her blouse, exposing herself. “Look at me!” she wailed at John and then staggered, nearly falling to the ground. Steel Worker Union Guy: Yeah, Coakley's Campaign Paid Me Fifty Bucks to Stand Here Holding a Coakley Sign, But I'm Voting for Brown California's Proposition 71 Failure Five years after a budget-busting $3 billion was allocated to embryonic stem cell research, there have been no cures, no therapies and little progress. So supporters are embracing research they once opposed. ”

Stuff Obama can't do

11 years old; no teleprompter

Reagan Health Care Bite

The best 60 second sound bite you'll hear all day

Direct Access

MoSup

Gold Hill, OR

Free AKs

Culture Clash: CNN Anchorette Wants to Know Why Truck Dealer's Motto Is "God, Guns, Guts, and American Pick-Up Trucks," and Why He's Giving Away a Free AK-47 With Every Truck —Ace

"Her distaste and apprehension is palpable.'

Cable Guy

No wonder sound comes out of my nose

The Cable Connector Quiz Score: 70% (7 out of 10)

Bacon Salt

Mmmmm... Bacon

Just got my WOOT purchase of J&D's Bacon Lover's Survival Kit.  When I ordered it I thought all salts, but not so.  The big jar  is bacon spread.  It taste's an awful lot like bacon fat and mayonnaise, which means it's really good, but I wouldn't go paying any $14.29 for it, which is what Amazon sells it for, and what I paid for this whole kit. One TBSP=80 cal seems pretty good though, wot?  Of course, there are occasions when you want something to taste extra scrumptious, and this is awfully convenient.  Ahem. The Lip Balm was a total surprise.  What a hoot.  And yes, it is a balm, and yes, it tastes like bacon.  The salts too, which is where I see the real value.  Should be great on salads and bacon.

More South America Lessons

That George Santayana Thing

From Marc M Rodge ... More from South America. Lee Rogers read this on his morning show today.I Googled this to find the author, not sure but it's all over the net.First time I've heard the story and comparison. - m    http://www.ksfo.com/Article.asp?id=1656320&spid=10828   I can see why - here's an excerpt ... “ In 1916, a new president was elected. Hipólito Irigoyen had formed a party called The Radicals under the banner of "fundamental change" with an appeal to the middle class.  ("Fundamental change"... now where have I heard that?) Among Irigoyen's changes: mandatory pension insurance, mandatory health insurance, and support for low-income housing construction to stimulate the economy. Put simply, the state assumed economic control of a vast swath of the country's operations and began assessing new payroll taxes to fund its efforts.  (Beginning to sound more familiar?) With an increasing flow of funds into these entitlement programs, the government's payouts soon became overly generous. Before long its outlays surpassed the value of the taxpayers' contributions. Put simply, it quickly became under-funded, much like our Social Security and Medicare programs.  (And, more!) The death knell for the Argentine economy, however, came with the election of Juan Perón. Perón ”  Doug Ross had this picture essay last year.