Braggin' Again

My oldest nephew was given honorable mention for All District Honors in basketball, quite an honor when you consider it was voting by the entire district as well as the regional sports press.

The similarities between him and myself are obvious. :-)

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Penn And Teller On The First Amendment

There are a few "F bombs" but the ideas are dead on...

Gotta Brag

This morning I received the following IM from my sister regarding my nephew who is in the first grade:


the school sent H*****'s progress report. Straight A's but they also sent testing results. He is at 4th grade 4th month in reading & scored a 99% which stated that only 1% of kids his age in the NATION (sic) scored higher. He was at 2nd grade 9th month on math & a 94% on the test. Teacher said that was the highest reading score she has ever had!

That Was An Argument?

In the Sunday edition of the San Diego Union Tribune retired Navy Captain J. F. Kelly, Jr. submitted an op-ed supporting the current policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). If only all opponents to DADT were so weak-minded, this issue would have been concluded years ago and gay men and women would be serving openly. Here is my letter to the editor that I submitted (whether or not it goes beyond this blog I don't know):


That was supposed to be a reasoned argument for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"? Please. The entire opinion piece can be broken down into three parts each of which are easily refuted: First, gays shouldn't serve because "a large proportion of the population and a number o f mainstream religions and cultures find [gay behavior] immortal and abhorrent". Please, "Tailhook" wasn't a gay scandal. Large numbers of people and religions and cultures find divorce abhorrent but how many people in the military are divorced? Bad road to travel down Mr. Kelly. Second, the privacy issue. Mr. Kelly talks about the military having to separate genders and such actions are too costly to do for gays serving openly. How about why we had to create separate quarters. Societal proprieties demanded it, but it was also to protect the women from the men! Are you saying we would need to protect the few gays who would serve openly from the vast majority of heterosexual men? How silly Mr. Kelly. Even sillier would be the notion of our fighting force having men (and women) of such delicate sensibilities as to be intimidated by being in the same shower/bathroom/berthing with gays (which they already do Mr. Kelly). Finally, Mr. Kelly states that the military does discriminate and provides a list, yet does not says why the military discriminates so I will provide the proper commentary for some of them: overweight (because they can't physically do the job), physically impaired (because they can't physically do the job), mentally impaired (because they can't mentally do the job), those with limited intelligence (because they can't mentally do the job). Their inability to do the job makes them unsuited for such positions. How, Mr. Kelly, does being gay make one physically or mentally unable to do the job at hand?


Reading crap like this makes my blood boil. They have the right to make a case against DADT, but if they can't do any better than this then they really need to keep quiet because they simply make their cause look silly. They're much better off saying gays can't serve because we don't like the idea of f*ggots and be done with it.

Same Crap, Different Pile

Here's the opening to an article titled Obama decries earmarks, signs law with 9000 of them:

WASHINGTON — As a candidate, Barack Obama once said that a president has to be able to do more than one thing at a time. Wednesday he proved it, though not in the way he had in mind.

He criticized pork barrel spending in the form of "earmarks," urging changes in the way that Congress adopts the spending proposals. Then he signed a spending bill that contains nearly 9,000 of them, some that members of his own staff shoved in last year when they were still members of Congress .

"Let there be no doubt, this piece of legislation must mark an end to the old way of doing business, and the beginning of a new era of responsibility and accountability," Obama said.

He said, however, that it was crucial for him to sign the $410 billion bill as soon as it arrived at the White House from Congress because it's needed to finance much of the government for the rest of this fiscal year. It was largely written last year but was held back while Republican George W. Bush was president because he opposed it.
...

Must mark an end? If this man had any real fortitude he would not have signed it and said "This piece of legislation is from the old way of doing business. As we are now in a new era of responsibility and accountability I will not sign it. Congress must do better in affirming this pledge to the American People" (or at least something to that effect). Two things to note from the article (besides Obama showing how he is no different than any other politician):

Some of his own staff were responsible for some of the earmarks. Lovely. So much for his pristine, hand-chosen cabinet.

This piece was held back from Bush because he opposed it. Interesting. If Bush was part of the "old way of doing business" and he opposed pork at this level while Obama who signs it is the "new era", I think I would rather have the old way back.

Who Else Would You Expect?

You Are Most Like Ronald Reagan

People tend to think you're a god - or that you almost ruined the country. But even if people do disagree with you, they still fall victim to your charms!

What Modern US President Are You Most Like?

Tough Words Of Common Sense

"The loss of confidence is pervasive. There isn't any magic bullet here that's going to save Citi or Bank of America. The only thing that might save them is if the government comes in and sponsors a bankruptcy," said John Schloegel, a vice president of Capital Cities Asset Management in Austin, Texas.

"Until we have some meaningful discussion about doing the right things instead of just throwing money at things like AIG and General Motors, we're not going to solve the crisis we're in."

About $170 billion into AIG so far. To quote Leon from Blade Runner, "Wake up! Time to die!"

When You Look At What He Said...

Some quick hits about President Obama's speech from Factcheck.org:

President Obama's first speech to a joint session of Congress was stuffed with signals about the new direction his budget will take and meant-to-be reassuring words about the economy. But it was also peppered with exaggerations and factual misstatements.

* He said "we import more oil today than ever before." That's untrue. Imports peaked in 2005 and are substantially lower today.

* He claimed his mortgage aid plan would help "responsible" buyers but not those who borrowed beyond their means. But even prominent defenders of the program including Fed Chairman Bernanke and FDIC chief Bair concede foolish borrowers will be aided, too.

* He said the high cost of health care "causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds." That's at least double the true figure.

* He flubbed two facts about American history. The U.S. did not invent the automobile, and the transcontinental railroad was not completed until years after the Civil War, not during it.

* He claimed that his stimulus plan "prevented the layoffs" of 57 police officers in Minneapolis. In fact, it's far more complicated than that, and other factors are also helping to save police jobs.

Follow the link at the top, check the details.

I Miss Swagger

Let's face it, yes some corporate executives did pad their pockets and were more interested in their own bottom line than the bottom line of their company, but definitely not all. Did anyone here Obama's address where he painted all corporate CEOs with the same brush of how they supposedly took taxpayer money to host lavish parties and increase their personal wealth? Personally, I would like to see proof of that, I want to see where CEOs said "Oh look, government money! I'll reinstate my mind-boggling raise and then use what is left of this money to throw a big party!" President Obama, shame on you... you should know better. And shame on those blowhards in Congress who for the most part have NEVER produced anything but bills taking people to task for making money. Hey, with all this "share the pain" talk from the party on the left, where is the salary reduction and perk reduction for you pompous Caesars? Why aren't you "sharing the pain" with the rest of us? Even more so, where are the entrepreneurs telling the truth to these government officials?

Note to Obama and the Democrat Congress: Please stop talking about helping the middle class. None of you have any idea what it means to be middle class and you have no idea how to really help. Why don't you take a real job and just see what it means to be a middle-class American?

Obama's Non-State of the Union Address

Funny, I was told all day long that President Obama's speech was to be on the economy. What I heard sounded more like a state of the union address where the first 10 minutes of the 55 minute speech was making sure no one could ever think that his policies were the problem, that it was ALL former President Bush's fault.

* sigh *

He sounded like a little kid saying "Don't blame me. I didn't do it."

Fine, we get it. You're the new kid, but you have to start taking responsibility. You have to also start listening to your own rhetoric. Disagreeing with you is not the same as partisan politics unless you truly believe you already know all the answers in which case stop playing around and trying to fake consensus.

Spot The Humor

The following is a quote from an "analyst" about Obama's extra $275 billion plan for mortgages announced this morning:

"This plan is good, but it is unnecessarily complicated," said Michael Cheah, senior portfolio manager at AIG SunAmerica Asset Management in New Jersey.

Did ya find it?

Taxifornia

Results                          
Estimated additional sales taxes...................$  374    
Estimated additional income taxes..................$  634
Estimated additional VLF fees......................$   50
Estimated additional gas taxes.....................$   81
Estimated loss in dependent tax credits............$    0 
Total annual personal cost of proposed budget......$1,139 

Lovely. The country is dropping further and further into hard times and those geniuses in Sacramento want to raise my taxes by an estimated $1,139 per year. To find your impact you can play the game here. Not even a tax credit for lubrication for this screwing we're about to get. If the Republicans cannot hold the line it's time to seriously rethink my allegiance to this party. There are ways out of the mess without forcing the hardworking citizens of this state to even more taxes. What's even worse, with the Obama money coming from the federal government they are not going to reduce the burden on the taxpayer but rather put even more spending into the budget.

Anyone outside of CA looking for a pretty damned good technical manager can just email me the offer directly.

Valentine's Day

My beau and I were lucky to get to spend Valentine's Day together. After his lovely present for my birthday (which I blogged about here) it was my turn to spoil him a bit. We got gussied up and had a wonderful dinner at Laurel. The atmosphere, the wine, the food, the time together was magical. After a two-hour dinner we bundled up and walked up the street to Top of the Park for a nightcap and one of the best views of downtown San Diego.

Today he texted me and thanked me for a wonderful evening. I told him that what made the night wonderful was that two people who love each other spent it together. I believe that with all my heart.

How Much Is That Stimulus In The Window?

At least $3.27 trillion...

Yes, trillion, with a "t"

Who believes that these programs, once initiated, will ever be pared back much less eliminated?


Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) asked the Congressional Budget Office to estimate the impact of permanently extending the 20 most popular provisions of the stimulus bill. What did the CBO find? As you can see from the table below, the true 10 year cost of the stimulus bill $2.527 trillion in in spending with another $744 billion cost in debt servicing. Total bill for the Generational Theft Act: $3.27 trillion.


Details here.

Figuring Out The "Stimulus" Package

I think I got it. As with most things the government does it was a simple oversight. Once I made the correction it all makes perfect sense. Obama's speech writer simply omitted one word, but once that word is inserted it became crystal clear...

Instead of simply saying "stimulus package" President Obama meant to say "negative stimulus package". Really Barack, for someone of such supposed rhetroical skills you should have read your speech much more closely before delivering it, it creates too much confusion.

When "god" Speaks

Obama must really believe himself divine, his word is sacred and not to be questioned. This man, who has never been tested in any sense in his adult life, seems to think that honest differences in though are not to be discussed, especially when it differs from his own omniscience. Our earth-bound divine leader recently said "We can't expect relief from the tired old theories that, in eight short years, doubled the national debt, threw our economy into a tailspin, and led us into this mess in the first place". So honest discussion and debate about a second multibillion dollar "stimulus" package is not on the table, we are just to trust him? Right, sorry, I forgot he expects unwavering faith.

I really wonder if he even hears himself or if he thinks that whatever he says must be right? Funny, people said they hated this aspect of Bush yet here it is again (just that the leader is a "D" rather than an "R"). If Obama REALLY took his own words seriously he would think about where this money is coming from (but it's hard to expect that from someone who never really worked). If he wanted to do away with the "tired old theories" of the last eight years (of which a quarter of that lead by the Democrats) he would:

Cut spending

Let people who work keep more of their money by lowering tax rates rather than those stupid little tax credits they propose

If they want to give away money, take a portion of this humongous spending package and distribute it to those who work so they (that is, the worker) can start to stimulate the economy. This will work faster than any of that central planning BS they contemplate now

Make a good-faith effort toward the American people by cutting out all the crap that has been put into the package. A sizable chunk has nothing to do with "stimulus" efforts but looks more like a "Here's our chance to buy more votes under the guise of doing some good".

If our Economist-in-chief wants to stimulate business, cut or repeal the corporate income tax. Corporate income tax has never made good sense because if you think about it such income often gets taxed two or three times as it travels through the system. Why slap on an additional 35%?

Interestingly enough, this administration doesn't seem to know that to encourage sustainable growth they should eliminate bad policy, not add new layers.

Just What Is Obama Sorry For?

Just when I get my hopes up with his ethics requirements he turns into another politician. At least one of his appointees withdrew her nomination because of taxes (how is it that the party who thinks we worker bees should pay taxes seem to have so many problems paying them?). Then during his "I messed up" speech what it sounds like the problem was had to do with the message rather than it actually being wrong. He was upset that they appeared to be sending the message that there were two sets of standards. Appeared to be? There were two sets of standards and Obama himself built in that two-tiered system by allowing for wavers from the ethics requirements. If you listen to what he said in his mea culpa, it isn't he was sorry for giving his full support to people who had such problems but the image it created.

For a man swept in by "change" it sure looks like business as usual.

Generational Differences

Of course, I am Drew Carey (guess Tio Ely is Mimi).

Weekend of Celebrations

My birthday weekend was wonderful and the fact that two dear friends shared their anniversary makes the it even more so (congratulations Cory and Elbert, may you have many more). Friday night Cory and Elbert took me to dinner at Cafe Bleu where we were joined by Heather for food, wine, and conversation (I'll critique the restaurant and wine on my other blog). My beau was unable to join but I was soon with him for the rest of the night where he presented me with a candle-topped carrot cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to me.

The next morning we bucked the trend of newly-found austerity, picked up our friend Sarah, and met Cory, Elbert, and Heather at Orfila Winery to start a day of wine tasting (I'll review the wines at the other blog). A stretch limo picked us up for a ride to and around Temecula to spend the day at various wineries (again, see other blog for details). After a day of drinking, er, tasting and laughing we had dinner at Buca di Beppo in Mira Mesa where we were joined by Gabe and filled out the evening with good food and embarrassment for your truly as I had to stand on a chair holding a candelabra while the place sang "Happy Birthday". After dropping Sarah off it was time for my beau and I to head home and relax (being the old men that we are).

Sunday was sunny and relaxing. After breakfast at Shades we saw Gran Torino where I had a good cry, then it was off to Hillcrest for lunch, walking around, and relaxing. Cory and Elbert celebrated their anniversary Sunday so we pretty much left them alone, content to spend our time together and talking about the future.

So thanks to everyone who made the weekend special for me. You will never truly know how much such friendship is valued.