Music to Trick or Treat By

But when all is said and done...

The M.I.C

That's the Medical Industrial Complex folks.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.  

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.  

Eisenhower warned us about the military industrial complex, but then that was in his  January 17th, 1961 farewell address.  He had no idea what was coming a mere five years later.

The Medical-Industrial Complex was first examined in 1980 in The New England Journal of Medicine by Arnold Relman in a paper of the same name. 

In a 2014 list of the 15 most profitable industries there wasn't a defense contractor to be found.  Dentistry was #5, Physicians were #7, Other Health Care Practitioners were #9, and Outpatient Care Centers were #11.

In 2012 we spent 676 billion on defense and that includes 118 billion in funding for the war in Afghanistan, that same year we spent 2.8 Trillion on medical care. In 2014 we spent 3.5% of our GDP on defense, in comparison in 2014 we spent 17.4% of our GDP on healthcare.

In 2013 Boeing made 4.6 billion dollars while Pfizer made 17 billion, and not all of Boeing's profits come from the military. 

Any big business can be accused of influencing government to act in their favor and defense is no exception, the question you need to ask yourself is who has more influence today? The military-industrial complex or the medical-industrial complex?

Some accuse the military of bankrupting the nation, but did you know that 62% of all bankruptcies are medical related? In 2013 18% of federal spending went to defense while 32% of it went to major healthcare programs. Both healthcare and defense are valid expenditures and we can quibble all day about whether we're spending at the correct ratio, but do one thing... look at where the profit is.

Maybe there's good reason that's a snake. 

Crapitol Hell

Rep Trey Gowdy and his committee have shown us what we already knew: Hillary is a liar. Unfortunately, outside of very narrow circumstances, lying is not a crime.

Also, her culpability in the American deaths in Benghazi do not constitute a crime, although they do call her and President Obama's competence into question.

I was disappointed to see no one called her out on the European refugee crisis her rash actions caused...

Clinton crony Sid Blumenthal's war profiteering dovetailing with Hillary tipping over Libya seemed like fertile ground, but that somehow got lost in the noise...

Most shameful, is how many millions of people vehemently defend--in Jersey-Style ALL CAPS--that inept, soulless monster whose only skills are reptilian calculation and self-preservation.

Hillary Rodham Clinton could murder an immigrant child on CNN International, and millions would line up to defender her. Imagine the excuses...

...it was the child's fault, he attacked her first...

... the child was a shaved down midget who was an agent of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy...

... Fox News and James O'Keefe sneaked into CNN and selectively edited the footage...

... It was George Bush's fault! ...because climate change!

...That wasn't Hillary; it was Louie Gohmert in a Hillary costume

Can you come up with more excuses you think we would hear from the Hillary High-Steppers and her flying monkeys in the press?

Refugees or an Army on the March?

In the end, what difference does it make?

My Apologies

It seems that today's post didn't post.  Well, you'll get to see it tomorrow then.

Why Clinton gets a Pass

Photo: Mariomassone

There once was a politician who was bored as he sat on the Hill watching the village sheep. To amuse himself he took a great breath and sang out, "Scandal! Scandal! The President is sexually harassing the interns!" The village sheep came running up the Hill to help the politician impeach the President but when they arrived at the Hill, they found no scandal. The politician laughed at the sight of their angry faces.  "Don't cry 'Scandal', politician," said the village sheep, "when there's no Scandal!" They went grumbling back down the Hill. 

Later, the politician sang out again, "Corruption! Corruption! The Congressman is taking illegal campaign contributions!" To his naughty delight, he watched the village sheep run up the Hill to help him drive the corruption away.  When the village sheep saw no corruption they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for when there is really something wrong! Don't cry 'Corruption' when there is NO corruption!" But the politician just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the Hill once more. 


Later, he saw an embassy overrun by protesters. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, "Mismanagement! Mismanagement!" But the village sheep thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come.  At sunset, everyone wondered why the politician hadn't returned to the village with their benefit checks. They went up the Hill to find the politician. They found him weeping. "There really was Mismanagement here! The embassy was overrun and four were killed! I cried out, "Mismanagement!" Why didn't you come?" 

An old Supreme Court Justice tried to comfort the politician as they walked back to the village. "We'll help you find out what went wrong," he said, putting his arm around the politician, 

"Nobody believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth!"

Goodbye Joe

America doesn't know what it'll be missing!

Wouldn't this have been a kickass campaign song?  Hell, with a campaign organized around this theme and his middle-class Scranton roots I could get Republicans to vote for him ;)

Joe Says No!

With 101 days until the Iowa caucus and over a year until the election (note that Canada just conducted a campaign and election in 78 days)... Joe Biden bows out citing a lack of time. For the man who would be president...

One has to wonder if there is more to it than time. One has to wonder what the Clinton machine has.

One thing to note is that Joe Biden hasn't endorsed Hillary Clinton, another is his multiple jabs at her being proud of having Republicans as enemies.

"I still have a lot of Republican friends. I don't think that my chief enemy is the Republican Party."

 "The other team is not the enemy, If you treat it as the enemy, there is no way you can ever resolve the problems we have."

"I don't consider Republicans enemies — they're friends"

"I believe we have to end the divisive partisan politics that is ripping this country apart, and I think we can. It’s mean-spirited, it’s petty, and it’s gone on for much too long. I don’t believe, like some do, that’s it naive to talk to Republicans. I don’t think we should look at Republicans as our enemies. They are our opposition, they are not our enemies. And for the sake of the country, we have to work together." 

Full Text of Biden Speech

Lest you think this is the viewpoint only of the conservative right, even old tingly leg Matthews took note:

So, it was pretty tough on Hillary, going after her implicitly on things like treating Republicans as the enemy, raising big money, looking down at regular Joes like him as unsophisticated. There was a lot of attitude in that speech today and it wasn't very positive towards the Clintons.

He may be clumsy, he may be gaffe prone, but he is still the greater statesman.  Good luck to old Middle Class Joe:

The Onion

 Oh, and if you're not familiar with The Onion, a satirical news site... check it out.

Today is the day!

(C) Universal Studios (fair use)

Released by Universal Pictures on November 22, 1989, Back to the Future II became the third highest grossing film of the year with $331 million worldwide. 

The day in the future they traveled to?  October 21, 2015

Well we don't have flying cars, hover-boards, and food hydrators we do have cameras everywhere and flat screen TVs.  Regrettably, we also still have lawyers.

Did you ever thing you'd make it to the future?

Registration and Background Checks

The Transportation Department wants to require recreational users to register their drones, which would dramatically increase the number of drones registered with the government, compared with the FAA’s proposed rules. While the FAA has issued nearly 1,900 approvals to companies for commercial-drone flights in the U.S., industry officials estimate that there are hundreds of thousands of recreational drones in the country. One FAA official said last month that some officials expect more than 1 million drones to be sold around Christmas this year. WSJ

And how much is this going to cost?  Not just to drone owner/operators but to the taxpayer as well?  I've seen registration fee estimates ranging from free to $5 but nothing on how much it's going to cost the government to keep track of all these drones (anyone looking for a database manager position? Information Security?).  Seriously, it's going to be a database filled with names, addresses and who knows what other data, what the government refers to as personally identifiable information (PII), all of which require expensive security protections mandated by federal law.

Good idea? Bad idea? Or would just banning recreational drone use within X feet of an airport, building, highway, etc. and leaving it to local law enforcement be a better option?  

Helicopter Parents and the Worlds Longest Umbilical Cord

Are we creating a generation incapable of taking care of itself?  Former Stanford Dean Julia Lythcott-Haims thinks so.  

“We want so badly to help them by shepherding them from milestone to milestone and by shielding them from failure and pain. But overhelping causes harm,” she writes. “It can leave young adults without the strengths of skill, will and character that are needed to know themselves and to craft a life."

 She also attributes the rise of depression, mental and emotional health problems to overparenting.  MSN

A study at California State University Fresno, by two management professors found:

The study showed that those college students with “helicopter parents” had a hard time believing in their own ability to accomplish goals. They were more dependent on others, had poor coping strategies and didn’t have soft skills, like responsibility and conscientiousness throughout college, the authors found. 

When I was a child I lived in a neighborhood with an alley that ran in back, all the neighborhood kids played there.  At first, when very small, I was allowed to play on our patio and in the driveway, as I grew older my domain expanded to the alley, end-to-end.  When I started elementary school I walked the three blocks to get there and my realm expanded accordingly.  Soon after I could walk the six or seven blocks to the main shopping district.  In Junior High my friends and I used to ride our bikes twelve miles to a reservoir to hang out and go fishing, in High School we'd take the train into center city. No parents or cell phones were involved.

Do you even see kids out alone today?  

Are we raising a generation incapable of caring for itself?

 

We have met the enemy and he is us!

In one of the final questions of the Democratic debate Anderson Cooper asked each candidate which enemy he was most proud of making.  

Hillary Clinton responded "Republicans"
Bernie Sanders answered "Wall Street"
Lincoln Chafee said "The Coal Industry"
Martin O'Malley replied "The NRA"

Senator Jim Webb is a decorated Marine combat veteran, recipient of the Navy Cross, Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts.  He received the Navy Cross for shielding a fellow marine from a grenade blast with his own body and taking out the bunker the grenade came from. The enemy Jim Webb was most proud of making... the Viet Cong.

Of the five Democratic Party candidates four of them cited their fellow Americans as the enemies they were most proud of making.

The left calls him crazy, creepy, sneers at him, and demeans him.

Disturbing, isn't it.

Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Lincoln Chafee, and Martin O'Malley aren't worthy of wiping Jim Webb's ass. 

We have met the enemy and he is us.
 

Just a little ole band from Texas

ZZ TOP

Lets talk media

Photo: Byron Rollins - AP

Are they biased Now?

Pretty much the majority of major news outlets hail Hillary Clinton as the winner of the Democratic debate yet the majority of popular polls indicate that Bernie Sanders won, most by significantly large margins.

How can the press be so disconnected?  Are Sanders supporters stacking the polls? Is the media in the Clinton machine pocket? Are they grading her using college debating team rules? Why do the press and the people have such divergent views of the same event?

Is CNN deleting pro-Sanders posts?  Plenty of Sanders supporters say yes.

I noticed this myself after viewing poll results last night and this morning, then at lunch checking up on the news I was somewhat surprised to see all the Hillary Wins articles.  I watched the entire debate and my impressions were... Webb was the only Republican on the stage, Chafee probably accidentally wandered in from the audience, O'Malley seemed to hold his own and had the most refined presence, Hillary was typical Hillary, and me, I would give Bernie Sanders the win and I despise everything he advocates.

A Bernie Sanders presidency would be a complete and utter disaster, he would have not only all Republicans voting against him but conservative Democrats as well leading to bipartisan veto overides.  My personal opinion is he would get absolutely nothing accomplished and it would be like four years without a President.

What do you think?

Going to Hill in a Handbag

but at least its a Ferragamo bag!

Well if you ask me anyone who will pay $800-3000 for a bag, or not to be sexist, a briefcase, is preeminently unqualified to be president, and did I mention stupid?

Hillary Clinton in an interview in Harper's Bazaar said:

My view was that I would carry it around only in spring, but it makes me so happy, I'm even now lugging it around in January. I mean, how can you be unhappy if you pick up a big pink bag? 

Out of touch with the American people I think, but that's me, the Democratic Party debate is over... did you watch it?  What did you think? 


Nothing surprising, overall I think O'Malley had the most, shall we call it "presidential" presence.

The most astonishing answer of the night was when Hillary Clinton was asked how her presidency wouldn't just be an Obama third term and replied,  and I'm paraphrasing here...

I have a vagina!

Seriously, her answer was "I'm a woman".

For those of you that missed the debate the following videos provide a concise musical summary of the two top democrat performances:

Hillary Clinton

Bernie Sanders

A quick review of poll data after the debate had Bernie Sanders the clear winner by 60 - 76%, scary, eh?

Time - Sanders 74%

Poll Daddy - Sanders 70%

Slate - Sanders 63%

The Street - Sanders  76%

Drudge - Even Drudge had Sanders emerging as the nights winner at 60%

These numbers were those within the first hour after the debate ended, and were simple who do you think won questions, it'll be curious to see what more rigorously scientific polling reveals.

Who do you think won?

Is Blogging Futile?

I felt the weight of futility back in January 2013, announced my retirement from blogging, then disappointed many by continuing to stick around.

Is Blogging Futile?

The question has come up in private conversations with fellow Right Blogistanis, and here is my response:

Is it futile to try to save someone when rescue looks impossible?  Is it futile to try to save a house afire?   Is it futile to keep fighting for your people and your nation when your back is to the sea and you're almost out of ammo?

Who are we to give up hope?  Despair is a sin, and I apologize if I spread it to others.

A Dante's Circles of Hell Infinite Loop

Here is why I am upset at our current state of affairs:

The heart of the problem is nobody wants to listen to anything that contradicts their world view.  I think we on the right have gotten much better at this than the left.  We can look back and admit mistakes, but you never see liberals and progressives doing that, and that is a huge problem.  There are still millions of people clamoring to vote for Hillary.  If it were Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld or Condoleeza Rice running for office, I would have the same exact criticism.

All of us must adjust our thinking and our strategies based upon new information.

Why Veterans Detest Politics

I pulled a one-year tour in the Middle East, and my job (among many) was to solve communications problems (technical, satcom, radio,etc) and make upgrades.  Soldiers in the AOR were solving combat and community problems, airplane mechanics were figuring out ways to keep C-130 engines from flaming out in the intense heat.  Every career field was out there on their own assessing the situation and making adjustments.  You can't afford to have biases or pet opinions in that environment.  Peoples lives depend on you.

So you learn to test things, use what works (even if its someone else's idea) and get the job done.  A stupid idea that works isn't a stupid idea; I watched theory die in the jaws of reality.

Lessons Learned

Also, all military branches are big on "Lessons Learned," where you review what you just did, pick it apart and learn what worked and what didn't.  After a big failure, it can be painful, but you face facts, admit mistakes, discuss it and adjust plans so that it doesn't happen again.

That was the process in the CENTCOM AOR, among warfighters as well as support troops like me, and it was a clean, tight feedback loop, since all the headquarters and paper-pusher BS that normally clogs military channels were cleared away.  It was amazing what you could accomplish out there, and add in the camaraderie, and you can see why even combat troops who lost friends wish they could be back there.  For many of us, it is as close to Mazlow's self-actualization that we will ever get.

I did a lot of good work, overcame the impossible, and much of it I did by hook or by crook.  I lied, cheated and stole to get the mission done, because even out there, sometimes the red tape would try to trip you up.  I didn't care; I was doing it for the mission.

So, coming from that environment in Iraq and Afghanistan, can you see why veterans are upset and disgusted with the state of our government?

Politicians and bureaucrats are focused on their narrow self-interests rather than the nation's.

No honest evaluation of the facts on the ground.  No lessons learned.  No adjustment when pet theories crash and burn.  Ever.

Candor and honest self-assessment are impossible in the current political environment.

There is no such thing as an honest and open debate in the American political arena, and we need them. On immigration, Middle East strategy, jobs and the economy.

A Non-Ideological Disgust

So, my disgust comes from a very practical level rather than ideological.  That is what (Good Lord help us) makes a man like Trump attractive.  Who cares if he's not conservative? If he can put people back to work, negotiate from strength with other nations, handcuff the lawyers and unleash an army of green eye shade auditors on our government, reform it and make it efficient while slamming the door on bureaucrats conducting lawfare on the citizenry, then people will pull that lever, dammit all.

So, at some point, you gotta turn off the tv, put down the newspaper and just enjoy life around you. The other side of the coin is, you may be happy in your house, but if the neighborhood's on fire, you can't just sit there playing your banjo; you gotta get up and join the bucket brigade...

Indigenous Peoples Day

Touch the Clouds

Eight more US Cities rename Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day: Albuquerque, NM; Lawrence, KS; Portland, OR; St. Paul, MN; Bexar, TX; Anadarko, OK; Olympie, WA; and Alpena, MI.

Two Questions:

1. Should we have a day recognizing indigenous peoples?
2. Should it supplant Columbus Day as a national holiday?

American Pornucopia

Drunken Silenus, Jusepe de Ribera, 1626

Heroin addiction in America is on the increase, as is alcohol consumption, binge drinking and pot smoking.

The percentage of obese and diabetic Americans is also climbing.  Big Pharma markets us pills to mask the symptoms of an overindulgent lifestyle, so let the good times roll!

The Pornification of Everything

You can go read what porn has done to many men (and women). It is a horrible corrosive that peddles an unattainable fantasy and it has rendered many people uninterested and incapable of participating in a normal relationship.  Now, hold that thought, put sex out of your mind for a moment, and apply that concept to every other endeavor

Porn:  It's not just for sex!

The concept of porn can be applied to almost any subject, and that is why I say we are a pornificated society.  Here's a broader definition:

Pornification:  
(Silverfiddle's Expanded Definition):  Taking the basic concept as it relates to sex, but applying it to any human endeavor that takes a good or beautiful thing, and then blows it all out beyond any sense of reason or decency, primarily for the purpose of titillating others and/or for craven self-gratification.

Given this definition, we have booze porn, food porn, violence porn, political porn, fashion porn, lifestyle porn, etc.

What's Going On?

Our society suffers from a sickness of the soul. I don't know what's caused it, but we want bigger, better, faster. To quote Jim Morrison:

"We want the world, and we want it now!"

Is it the entertainment culture continuously rolling out bigger bangs, bigger boobs, harder bods? More graphic sex and violence? Shattering all taboos?  

Restaurants clamoring to keep our business by constantly updating menus to keep us stimulated? 

Every industry, including vacation, real estate, fashion, auto, etc is selling us a fake plastic lifestyle.  Are we unwilling to see it is just too good to be true?

I don't know, but too many of us seem way too distracted to enjoy life's simple pleasures.  Go out and look around.  People are walking zombies, starting at little screens, or talking to disembodied lifelines that keep them from being alone with their thoughts or having to talk to the person next to them.

What's Going On?  

Arvo Pärt

Holy Minimalism Batman, it's Arvo Pärt

Born in Estonia in 1935 Arvo Pärt grew up under Soviet communism and was a student at the Tallin Conservatory.  He was alternately praised for his work and condemned for susceptibility to foreign influence by the Soviets before finally emigrating in 1980 to Vienna and then to Berlin.  

Know Nothing?

Groups of protesters, some of them armed, are planning anti-Muslim demonstrations in front of at least 20 mosques, community centers and government offices across the country on Oct. 9 and 10.  The Global Rally for Humanity

One of the organizers is Jon Ritzheimer, a former U.S. Marine and “Oath Keeper” who gained media attention earlier this year for coordinating the Freedom of Speech Rally Round 2, which drew hundreds of armed protesters and several hundred counter-protesters. Washington Times

On the Phoenix Global Rally for Humanity page, Mr. Ritzheimer alluded to his past protests, writing, “Patriots, Veterans, Bikers, Militia, Reservists, active-duty Infidels and all AMERICANS who still LOVE LIBERTY and cling to the CONSTITUTION!!”

“OPEN CARRY anti-mosque pro-AMERICA rally on 10/10!!”

As a twenty-five year veteran, a staunch supporter of the second amendment as well as the first... this is just wrong on so many levels it's sickening.  If you want to protest Farrakhan's Justice or Else March fine, if you want to protest CAIR, fine.  Wear your F*** Islam shirt and make doodles of the prophet Mohammad, but if you think gathering armed mobs outside places of worship is faithful to our American heritage and reflective of a love of liberty, I suggest you try reading the fricking constitution rather than just clinging to it.  Oathkeeper my ass, you're nothing more than a jack-booted, publicity seeking thug.  Don't wrap yourself in my flag oath breaker, you're a disgrace to the uniform you used to wear, demeaning to my years of service, and an insult to faithful veterans everywhere.  If I do choose to exercise my second amendment rights I can tell you where I'll be standing... at port arms on the steps of the mosque defending it from the likes of you.

Now that I've got that off my chest, comments?