With Politicians Like These...

So Bill Clinton wants to resettle Detroit with Syrian refugees...

Why the heck not?  Detroit has a lot in common with the place they left.

Saadallah Photo: Zyzzzzzy

 

Packard Plant Photo: Albert duce

With politicians like these... who needs enemies?

Jerome Silberman R.I.P

June 11, 1933 - August 29, 2016

better known by his stage name

Gene Wilder

 

When offered the role of Willy Wonka by Mel Stuart Wilder agreed with one condition:

When I make my first entrance, I'd like to come out of the door carrying a cane and then walk toward the crowd with a limp. After the crowd sees Willy Wonka is a cripple, they all whisper to themselves and then become deathly quiet. As I walk toward them, my cane sinks into one of the cobblestones I'm walking on and stands straight up, by itself... but I keep on walking, until I realize that I no longer have my cane. I start to fall forward, and just before I hit the ground, I do a beautiful forward somersault and bounce back up, to great applause.

Stuart asked why and Wilder's reply was:

"Because from that time on, no one will know if I'm lying or telling the truth."

Preppers

Don and Jonna Bradway recently cashed out of the stock market and invested in gold and silver. They have stockpiled food and ammunition in the event of a total economic collapse or some other calamity commonly known around here as “The End of the World As We Know It” or “SHTF” — the day something hits the fan.
Washington Post 

Rabbits truly are the “one-size-fits-all” preppers domestic livestock and after reading the reasons why raising rabbits could be ideal for any prepper, we think you will agree.  Believe it or not, rabbits actually are the most efficient of all livestock in converting feed to muscle mass. That basically means that it is going to take less pellets/grass/weeds per pound of meat to raise a rabbit to butchering size than for any other animal, including chickens. At the same time, rabbits are also faster at reaching butchering size than chickens.  The Prepper Journal 

Prepper-oriented organically maintained farmstead of 8.63 Blue Ridge mountain acres, surrounded by larger farms/ranches and the Jefferson National Forest.  This farm is situated between two Appalachian mountain ranges, so is quite secure, and in a collapse situation it would be difficult for unwanted visitors to access it on foot from any major population center.  SurvivalRealty

So, what do you think of "Preppers"?  I don't think about them much, although we got a really good deal on a business back in 1999 from some folks who were fleeing the Y2K bug.  

71 Days to the Election

So what's it going to be?

1. Clinton by a landslide?

2. Trump by a landslide?

3. Close?

How do you think Jill Stein and Gary Johnson are going to perform?

And in other news, Colin Kapernick can go F'himself.

The hack quarterback for the 49'ers with a $114,000,000 contract, $61,000,000 guaranteed, $12,000,000 this year, refuses to stand for the national anthem. Well me? I refuse to watch any game with the 49'ers. 

BBC RADIO 2

FOR THOSE WHO DON'T LIKE BBC RADIO 1 ;)

Believe it or not, Radio 2 is the #1 station in the UK and oriented towards a more adult audience.These are from the A-List playlist.

At #1

At #2

At #3

At #4

At #5

Corruption thy name is Clinton

Corrupt Legislation - E Vedder, Library of Congress

At least 85 of 154 people from private interests who met or had phone conversations scheduled with Clinton while she led the State Department donated to her family charity or pledged commitments to its international programs, according to a review of State Department calendars released so far to The Associated Press. Combined, the 85 donors contributed as much as $156 million. At least 40 donated more than $100,000 each, and 20 gave more than $1 million.

Among those granted time with Clinton included an internationally known economist who asked for her help as the Bangladesh government pressured him to resign from a nonprofit bank he ran; a Wall Street executive who sought Clinton's help with a visa problem; and Estee Lauder executives who were listed as meeting with Clinton while her department worked with the firm's corporate charity to counter gender-based violence in South Africa. MSN

 

Winter is Coming!

First snow.

LOCAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO TWO INCHES WILL BE
POSSIBLE FOR ELEVATIONS GENERALLY ABOVE 12000 FEET DURING
THIS PERIOD.

PIKES PEAK CAM 

Is the Commission on Presidential Elections Non-Partisan

Photo: Gage Skidmore

The way it works is this, candidates must "have a level of support of at least 15 percent of the national electorate as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations, using the average of those organizations’ most recently publicly-reported results" CPD

Let us set aside the question of whether or not the CPD is "non-partisan" and ask this question...

Are the polls selected for inclusion non-partisan?

The polls for this year are:

ABC-Washington Post
CBS-New York Times
CNN-Opinion Research Corporation
Fox News
NBC-Wall Street Journal

And the "CPD has retained Dr. Frank Newport, Editor-in-Chief of Gallup, to assist it in selecting the five national public opinion polls to be used in applying the criteria."

Is Frank Newport "non-partisan"?

Of the five polls selected Jill Stein only appears in three of them, Gary Johnson only in four.

Let's say Jill Stein polls 16% in her three polls.  

16+16+16+0+0/5 = 9.6%

In order to meet the 15% criteria for inclusion Jill Stein would have to score 25 percent on each of her polls, or better. Gary Johnson will have to score better than 18.75 on his four polls to be included.

While the CPD may be "non-partisan" the polls themselves are not "non-partisan" unless they include all the candidates running.

One-Third a Slave

This year Americans had a total tax bill of 4.9 Trillion Dollars or 31% of the nation's income.  It took American's until April 24th to work off that debt or approximately one-third of the year. Now some of our liberal friends will argue that we benefit from that... and we do, but so do those that live on the largesse of our elected representatives.

When you add in all of our expenses, estimates for the total tax burden range from 43%-58%.  There are a myriad of taxes and fees that are passed on to you in the expenses for goods and services, and you're paying for them whether you realize it or not.

Wat Tyler where are you now?

Who is John Galt?

.

Photo: Michael Greene

I am not an Objectivist although I am opposed to Collectivism, and there seems to be a growing collectivist sentiment out there these days.  Who John Galt is isn't really important, it is the sentiment that he embodies and represents.

He believes in the power and glory of the human mind, and the right of the individual to use their mind solely for themself. He serves as a highly individualist counterpoint to the collectivist social and economic structure depicted in the novel, in which society is based on oppressive bureaucratic functionaries and a culture that embraces mediocrity in the name of egalitarianism, which the novel posits is the end result of socialistic idealism. 
Wikipedia: John Galt

I got to thinking about John Galt after this past Thursday's post on the platform of the M4BL. Specifically who do these people think are going to pay for their demands?  It's not going to be me, I can tell you that.

In the novel Galt has secretly organized a strike by the world's creative leaders, including inventors, artists and businessmen, in an effort to "stop the motor of the world" and bring about the collapse of the bureaucratic society.  The phrase "going John Galt" or simply "going Galt" has been used by psychologist Helen Smith and others to describe productive members of society cutting back on work in response to the projected increase in U.S. marginal tax rates, increased limits on tax deductions, and the use of tax revenues for causes they regard as immoral.

I am on my second career and in the fortunate position that I could easily switch from being a payer for government services (one-third a slave) to a consumer of government services (a net loss to the government), that is if I simply don't opt to leave.   If half of what is in the M4BL were passed I am ready and willing to do so.

Who is John Galt?

I am John Galt.

How about you?

BBC RADIO 1

A few of the chart toppers (as of Aug 12) from the UK, no personal opinion, no endorsement... it is what it is. Think of it as a sampler platter.

At #1

At #2

At #3

At #4

At #5

As an aside:

#1 above - Cold Water is at Number 2 in the US.
#2 above - Let Me Love You is at Number 12 in the US.
#3 above - Dancing On My Own isn't in the top 100 US.
#4 above - Perfect Strangers isn't in the top 100 US.
#5 above - Don't Let Me Down is at Number 8 in the US.

Does the expression Feck Off mean anything to you?

M4BL

We demand reparations for past and continuing harms. The government, responsible corporations and other institutions that have profited off of the harm they have inflicted on Black people — from colonialism to slavery through food and housing redlining, mass incarceration, and surveillance — must repair the harm done. This includes:

Reparations for the systemic denial of access to high quality educational opportunities in the form of full and free access for all Black people (including undocumented and currently and formerly incarcerated people) to lifetime education including: free access and open admissions to public community colleges and universities, technical education (technology, trade and agricultural), educational support programs, retroactive forgiveness of student loans, and support for lifetime learning programs.

Reparations for the continued divestment from, discrimination toward and exploitation of our communities in the form of a guaranteed minimum livable income for all Black people, with clearly articulated corporate regulations. 

Reparations for the wealth extracted from our communities through environmental racism, slavery, food apartheid, housing discrimination and racialized capitalism in the form of corporate and government reparations focused on healing ongoing physical and mental trauma, and ensuring our access and control of food sources, housing and land.

Reparations for the cultural and educational exploitation, erasure, and extraction of our communities in the form of mandated public school curriculums that critically examine the political, economic, and social impacts of colonialism and slavery, and funding to support, build, preserve, and restore cultural assets and sacred sites to ensure the recognition and honoring of our collective struggles and triumphs.

Legislation at the federal and state level that requires the United States to acknowledge the lasting impacts of slavery, establish and execute a plan to address those impacts. This includes the immediate passage of H.R.40, the “Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act” or subsequent versions which call for reparations remedies.

Go Ahead - Explore:

End the war on black people

Invest-Divest

Economic Justice

Community Control

Political Power

I might also point out it was only a mere three weeks ago that one of our liberal commenters was saying " Why are you talking about Reparations? This hasn't been a serious subject in this country in years." Really?

John McLaughlin 1927-2016

After missing the first episode of his show in 34 years John McLaughlin died Tuesday at the age of 89. The McLaughlin Group featured four commentators usually two conservative and two liberal with John McLaughlin as the moderator or instigator depending on your perspective. Airing on PBS and some CBS stations a common panel was Pat Buchanan, Eleanor Clift, Clarence Page, and Tom Rogan.

Media Bias?

Remember this guy?

Back in 2008 when he was running for president and in apparent good health, all the media could talk about was his health and could he make it through a McCain administration alive.

Remember this guy? 

Remember all the questioning about whether or not he was "too old" to be president?

Hillary Clinton will be the same age as Ronald Reagan if elected, she turns 69 years old this October.

Back in 2008 US News went with this headline:

McCain's Age and Past Health Problems Could Be An Issue in the Presidential Race

An article that used lines like this: "Especially when that nominee visibly wears the toll of a long and, at times, extraordinarily difficult life."

How do they address Clinton? With this headline:

Hillary's Health: Conspiracy or Concern?

And lines like this: "Fox News, the Drudge Report, and a slew of conservative or conspiracy-theory themed sites on the internet are raising questions about Clinton's medical fitness to be president..."

So if it's a Republican candidate it "could be an issue" if it's a Democrat it's a conspiracy.

 McCain's Age 

Hillary's Health 

In 2008 CNN went with "McCain faces questions on Age and Health"

Today on CNN any discussion or questioning of Hillary's health is "fearmongering" and "conspiracy theories" and "reckless" 

To put it in polite terms...

Go perform a biologically impossible act upon thyself.

Milwaukee

City officials said Sunday that 23-year-old Sylville Smith, who was black, was shot by a black police officer as Smith fled a traffic stop. They say a still frame from the officer's body camera shows Smith was holding a handgun and refused to drop it when ordered.

Violence broke out Saturday evening a few hours after Smith's death, with six businesses set on fire, 17 people arrested and four officers hurt.

 AP

 

CASHLESS

Some merchants such as SweetGreen, a salad chain, refuse to open their registers for cash, telling customers they can pay only with mobile payments or cards.  "What we've seen is a push toward electric payments because of convenience, especially for Generations X and Y and onward," said Greg Burch, vice president of strategic initiatives as Ingenico Group, which makes payment systems for merchants. "The phone has become more personal than the wallet has."

The downsides? One is a loss of anonymity because cash allows consumers to make transactions without a paper trail.

While federal law allows merchants to set their own rules about which types of payments to accept, at least one state makes it illegal to refuse cash: Massachusetts.  

CBS NEWS

Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien O.B.E.

Yup, that would be Dusty Springfield.

An interesting side note: While recording Dusty in Memphis she made the suggestion to Jerry Wexler, one of the heads of Atlantic Records, that he should sign the band of a friend of hers, John Paul Jones.  Without ever having seen them and on her advice Wexler signed Led Zeppelin.

POC

A group of students at the Claremont Colleges are in search of a roommate for next year, but insist that the roommate not be white. Karé Ureña (PZ ’18) posted on Facebook that non-white students in need of housing arrangements should reach out to either her or two other students with whom she plans to live in an off-campus house. The post states that “POC [people of color] only” will be considered for this living opportunity. “I don’t want to live with any white folks,” Claremont Independent

Racist?

Desperately Grasping at Straws

Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment, And by the way, if – if she gets to pick her judges, [there's] nothing you can do, folks. Although, the Second Amendment people – maybe there is. I don't know. But I tell you what: That would be a horrible day if – if Hillary gets to put her judges in.

The Progs are so neurotic and obsessed with guns that the above quote was taken as an assassination threat. I have only two words for you:

GET REAL. 

Republicans for Clinton

UNDER REPUBLICANS

MAN EXPLOITS MAN

UNDER DEMOCRATS

IT'S JUST THE OPPOSITE 

Republican's supporting Clinton: Richard Armitage, Henry Paulson, Brent Scowcroft, Rep Richard Hanna R-NY, Alan Steinberg, Kori Schake, Doug Elmets, Jim Cicconi, Charles Fried, and the list goes on and on.

Washington Post 

The Atlantic 

Fifty National Security Experts Pen Letter Against Trump

Says a lot, don't it?  When the Democratic candidate is a viable alternative for Republicans dissatisfied with their party nominee.  Goes to show how little difference there is between the two for those at the top of the food chain.

What do you say? 

Iran and Iran and Iran

Photo: Seyyed Shabodin Vajed

Iran’s top leader distanced himself on Monday from the nuclear agreement reached with major powers a year ago, accusing the United States of failing to honor pledges in the accord and citing “the futility of negotiations with the Americans.”

“Today, even the diplomatic officials and those who were present in the negotiations reiterate the fact that the U.S. is breaching its promises, and while speaking softly and sweetly, is busy obstructing and damaging Iran’s economic relations with other countries,” 

His problem? Lack of westerners flocking in droves to invest in his 8th century cesspool.

“He is pressing the West to move more quickly on investing in Iran, so that Iranians feel the deal helping their economy,”  MSN

 

FEEL MY JOHNSON

Photo: Gary Johnson

The Bern has long since smoldered and gone out, Hillary is a seething oozing mass of corruption and incompetency, and Trump is well... Trump is Trump. So, who is Gary Johnson?

Johnson's mother worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and his father was a public school teacher.  He went to Sandia High in Albuquerque and to the University of New Mexico.  In college he worked as a door-to-door handyman building his business into one of the leading multi-million dollar construction companies in New Mexico after graduation.

He was elected governor as a Republican by a ten percent margin in a state that is 66% Democrat on a fiscally conservative low-tax platform.  Using a cost-benefit approach he vetoed 200 of 424 bills in his first six months of office.  Meeting one of his campaign promises he reduced the spending growth of the NM General Fund from 10% to 4.67%. But while cutting spending elsewhere he increased spending on education by a third and when that did nothing to improve test scores and the drop-out rate he switched tactics and his support to the school voucher program.

In his reelection for his second term he defeated the Hispanic candidate fielded by the Democrats in their attempt to out him.  In a state that is 66% Democrat and 40% Hispanic, he won reelection 55-45. After increased education spending failed to produce results his support of the School Voucher program became one of the hallmarks of his second term. With more than half of what states spend on police, courts, and prisons being devoured by the "War on Drugs", Johnson advocated decriminalization becoming the most senior elected official to do so.

National Review 

The Economist

New York Times

CNN: Libertarian Town Hall

Whether you vote for Johnson or not, if you just listen to the opposition talking points about him and don't research who Gary Johnson and Bill Weld are, their positions, and what they've accomplished you are doing yourself and your country a disservice.

Government today is the direct result of 

choosing the lesser of two evils for generations

 

August 6th is GODSMACK DAY in the City of Boston

Welcome to the Turd World

The first medical travel advisory in the United States since Polio.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an unprecedented travel warning Monday, advising pregnant women and their partners not to travel to a small community just north of downtown Miami, where Zika is actively circulating.

New test measurements over the weekend showed a risk of continued active transmission in that area, because of this finding, we are advising pregnant women not to travel to that area and if they have traveled there on or after June 15 to visit their health care provider for testing.

As the English would say: Feck Off!

The Obama administration secretly organized an airlift of $400 million worth of cash to Iran that coincided with the January release of four Americans detained in Tehran, according to U.S. and European officials and congressional staff briefed on the operation afterward.  Wooden pallets stacked with euros, Swiss francs and other currencies were flown into Iran on an unmarked cargo plane, according to these officials. The U.S. procured the money from the central banks of the Netherlands and Switzerland, they said.  Senior U.S. officials denied any link between the payment and the prisoner exchange.  The money represented the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement the Obama administration reached with Iran to resolve a decades-old dispute over a failed arms deal signed just before the 1979 fall of Iran’s last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.  The $400 million was paid in foreign currency because any transaction with Iran in U.S. dollars is illegal under U.S. law.  The Obama administration has refused to disclose how it paid any of the $1.7 billion, despite congressional queries, outside of saying that it wasn’t paid in dollars. Full article @ The WSJ

So, here is the key question and it has nothing to do with the release of the hostages:

31 U.S.C. 1301 was enacted in 1809, this statute is one of the cornerstones of congressional control over the Federal purse. Because money cannot be paid from the Treasury except under an appropriation, and because an appropriation must be derived from an act of Congress, it is for Congress to determine the purposes for which an appropriation may be used. Simply stated, 31 U.S.C. 1301(a) says “that public funds may be used only for the purpose or purposes for which they were appropriated”. It prohibits charging authorized items to the wrong appropriation, and unauthorized items to any appropriation. 

SO WHERE DID THE MONEY COME FROM?

Mr. Kerry and the State and Treasury departments sought the cooperation of the Swiss and Dutch governments. Ultimately, the Obama administration transferred the equivalent of $400 million to their central banks. It was then converted into other currencies, stacked onto the wooden pallets and sent to Iran on board a cargo plane. 


SO WHERE DID THE MONEY COME FROM?

Revolutionary Guard commanders boasted at the time that the Americans had succumbed to Iranian pressure. “Taking this much money back was in return for the release of the American spies,” said Gen. Mohammad Reza Naghdi, commander of the Guard’s Basij militia, on state media. 

SO WHERE DID THE MONEY COME FROM?
 
Kerry described today's payment of the 35-year-old miltary purchase fund as a "fair settlement", Iran will receive the balance of USD 400 million in the Trust Fund, as well as a roughly USD 1.3 billion compromise on the interest," he said.

SO WHERE DID THE MONEY COME FROM?

I'd say $400 million would be a fair settlement for our embassy in Tehran, for the captivity of 52 Americans for 444 days. 

If it were me you'd get your 400 million one Tomahawk at a time, that would be 252 of them, well, 251.5  keep the change. Honestly I'd like to send you the entire $1.7 billion your asking for.

I hope you like today's musical selection, I dug it out of the archives since the last time we had an American president get sodomized by the Iranians this badly Jimmy Carter was in office.

Rio 2016

The 2016 Rio Olympics start this Friday, are you interested?

I've never been that big a fan of the summer Olympics, I mean Archery, Badminton, and Canoeing? Seems like only yesterday we were watching Michael Phelps swimming. This year they've added  golf, karate, rugby, roller sports and squash.  Roller Sports? And come on, I like playing it but watching Golf is slightly less exciting than watching paint dry.

I began to lose interest in 1988 when they started allowing professional athletes to compete and lost more interest in 1992 when they started the alternating two year cycle between the Winter and Summer games. Beijing - Vancouver - London - Sochi it's all a blur, the games had more impact when they were four years apart.

So what do you think? Are you psyched?

Putin's Cabana Girl

Skolkovo Foundation

Vavilov, the chairman of SuperOx, which is part of Skolkovo’s nuclear-research cluster, donated between $10,000 and $25,000 (donations are reported in ranges, not exact amounts) to the Clinton’s family charity. Skolkovo Foundation chief and billionaire Putin confidant Viktor Vekselberg also gave to the Clinton Foundation through his company, Renova Group.  Of the 28 “partners,” 17, or 60%, have made financial commitments to the Clinton Foundation, totaling tens of millions of dollars, or sponsored speeches by Bill Clinton.  WSJ

Uranium One

Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One’s chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well.  And shortly after the Russians announced their intention to acquire a majority stake in Uranium One, Mr. Clinton received $500,000 for a Moscow speech from a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin that was promoting Uranium One stock.  NYT 

Podesta Group

The Podesta Group is one of the most influential Democratic Party-linked lobbyists in the U.S. And it is headed by a top Hillary Clinton fundraiser who has been referred to as the “Hillary moneyman.”  In March, the Podesta Group registered with the U.S. government as a lobbyist for Sberbank.  The bank plays an enormous role in the Russian economy. It controls almost 30 percent of Russia’s aggregate banking assets, employs a quarter-million people and “is functionally an arm of the Kremlin, although it’s ostensibly a private institution,” Salon