To protect and serve

Residents of Sanford you can rest easy because the men in blue (technically the men in brown) are on the job. The Florida Highway Patrol is doing their utmost to keep the streets of Sanford safe, especially the corner of Markham Rd. and Longwood Markham Rd.

This is an extremely dangerous corner.



As indicated on the map. It used to be a simple west to north turn. A subdivision to the south of the turn was recently added and the entrance was recently completed. This prompted the DOT to add three stop signs to this very dangerous intersection (I guess it is technically an intersection now) even though the majority (in fact currently all) traffic still goes around the curve. I do not believe that this subdivision has any residents.

I know this MUST be an extremely dangerous place because the Florida Highway Patrol is often parked on the west side of Longwood Markham Rd. (facing south) protecting all of us from the reckless and dangerous drivers that slow roll through the Markham Rd stop sign. The stop sign that currently serves ZERO purpose. This section is so dangerous that at times (like on October 21, 2009 @ about 5:30 PM) it took 3 squad cars to protect this section of road. During the 20 minutes I observed their crime fighting skills, they handed out no less than 3 tickets to drivers that rolling through the stop sign. Over the last 2 months I have witnessed these outstanding protectors of the public hand out no less than 10 tickets. At $151 per (or more) this little corner is quite the money maker.

The fact that it took three officers to man this one corner brings me to one of two possible conclusions. Either the streets of Sanford are so bereft of crime and mayhem and the department is so over staffed that it can afford to have three squad car stake out this one location or the other possibility is that the officers are so poorly trained that it takes three of them to issue a simple ticket.

The only reason drivers get ticketed at this corner (besides the fact that they are rolling through a useless stop sign) is that they are looking to their left as the roll through it to ensure that there are no cars in the subdivision entrance way.

I wonder if there is a more detailed story here.

Maybe a member of the local news could investigate and determine a) the number of tickets that have been issued at this corner since the stop signs have been put in place, b) the amount of time that officers spend at this location, c) the amount of revenue generated by issuing tickets for what is essentially a useless stop sign, and d) the number of accidents that have occurred at this corner that warranted the installation of these signs.

10/22/2009 update:

The valiant men in brown were on the job again today! At 5:10 PM when I passed by, three squad cars were there again (looked like the same three from yesterday but I could not be sure). It looked like they had two desperadoes pulled over.

This is actually quite the racket. No only does the department get to collect all of this extra revenue but they are saving gas for three cars! No budget shortfalls for them.

10/13/2009 update:

They are still on the job at 5:30 PM as I went through that area. Either my timing was off or their training has improved as there were only two there today. It looked like they had apprehended another 2 nar-do-wells and were busy writing tickets. Additionally, I learned today that there are actually NO homes currently constructed in the subdivision that prompted the installation of these stop signs. The stop signs that still serve NO purpose it seems other than to make up for PS&J budget shortfalls.

11/4/2009 update:

I was out of town last week so was not able to keep up with what the protectors of the public were doing then but at 4:45PM today two of them were on the job! They had napped at least one more law breaker and were processing him as I drove past.

11/10/2009 update:

I drove by at 5:10 PM and there were two "bears" earning their pay. They had one driver pulled over.

1/19/2010 update:

I drove by at 5:40 PM today and there was a state trooper and he only had one driver pulled over. Don't know how long he was there or how much he took in but I would be very interested in how profitable that corner has been for the state troopers.

1/26/2010 update:

The protectors of the public were back in force. Two cars were on the job. They had a 20-something lawn service worker pulled over as well as a real desperado, the gentleman has to be 65 if he was a day. He looked rather dapper in his jacket and tie, a fine disguise to hide his criminal intentions.

2/3/2010 update:

I drove by at 5:05 PM and there were two of Florida's finest on the job.

Local police stupidity

Eric Williamson faces an indecent exposure charge after a passerby saw him in the buff in his own home making coffee.

Mr Williamson was in his own kitchen at 5:30 AM making coffee in the nude. A woman accompanied by her 7 year old son cuts through his yard, sees him, call the police and he gets arrested. He faces a possible $2000 fine and 1 year in jail. How STUPID! It was HIS kitchen and she was cutting through HIS yard.

Lets play a game. Take this same story and reverse the sexes of those involved. How many of you think that if it was a man cutting through a woman's yard and the cops were called that instead of the home owner getting arrested, the man would get arrested and likely for a) trespassing and b) peeping tom and maybe for good measure c) endangering the welfare of a minor. Honestly think this all through and tell me if you think that 1) this is a stupid case and 2) the reverse situation would not still have resulted in the man getting arrested.

Health care

Fifty million Americans are unable to buy health insurance and premiums have doubled over the past decade.

Really? Fifty million Americans are UNABLE to buy health insurance? What does that mean? That absolutely NO health insurance company will sell them insurance or that they can not purchase health insurance at a price they are willing to pay? Of those 50 million Americans that are UNABLE to buy health insurance, how many have cell phones, cable, direct TV, more than 1 car, their own home (or more)? That question never seems to get asked. It is always presented as a hard stop in the debate. Unable to buy health insurance, period. I am sure that there are some people that truly can not afford health insurance at any price based on a set of pre-existing conditions and/or other catastrophic financial situations but I do not think that this core set is anything close to 50 million.

On Saturday, President Barack Obama denounced two new studies, sponsored by the health insurance industry, which found that current health care reform bills in Congress will increase premium prices for consumers. One study, done for the lobbying group America’s Health Insurance Plans by the consultancy PriceWaterhouseCoopers, found that the provisions in the Senate bill sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) would add $1,700 a year to the cost of family coverage in 2013 and $600 for a single person. By 2019, family premiums could be $4,000 higher and individual premiums could be $1,500 higher. A weak individual coverage mandate, coupled with a guarantee issue requirement, no preexisting condition limits, and no rating based on health status would significantly boost insurance premiums.

No kidding! Tell any reasonably intelligent person that you want to purpose new insurance rules that include a) individual coverage mandate, b) a guarantee issue requirement, c) no preexisting condition limits, and d) no rating based on health status but premiums will stay exactly the same and they should question your sanity. Give me a whole lot more but don't charge me any more for it. Fat chance that will work out. Does Pres. Obama still think that anyone takes him seriously on health care when he denounced a "common sense" study result like this? Even Blue Cross / Blue Shield is on the other side of this issue.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association commissioned a new study by the Oliver Wyman consultancy which also found that guaranteed issue and community rating mandates coupled with a weak individual mandate would drive up premiums by 50 percent for individual policies and 19 percent for small group plans.

And what is the presidents substantive rebuttal to these studies?

“Every time we get close to passing reform, the insurance companies produce these phony studies as a prescription and say, ‘Take one of these, and call us in a decade,’" declared the president. “Well, not this time.”

Well if wishes were kisses, I would be the happiest man in the world too but that don't make it so.

What about those insurance company profits? Back in July, President Obama asserted that health insurance companies are making “record profits.” Not really. The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s FactCheck.org reported, “In general, the health insurance industry did poorly toward the end of 2008 and in the first quarter of 2009, so record profits weren’t likely in the second quarter.” Averaging profits of 3.3 percent, health insurers are the 86th most profitable industry in the U.S., well behind chain restaurants (7.7 percent), electric utilities (6.2 percent), and brewers (18 percent), but ahead of major auto manufacturers (-3.3 percent), resorts and casinos (-8.9 percent), and major airlines (-11 percent).

Anyway. so what with what profits an insurance company makes? If this were a true free enterprise system and was not so strangled by existing government red-tape, insurance companies would be free to work country wide. Would be free to setup risk pools and be free to do other things that would increase competition and reduce costs to consumers. Problem is that is not what the government wants. Instead of taking a working plan from (I don't know, lets say) Whole Foods, they instead take a proven disaster of a plan from England. What? You did not know that England's health care plan was a disaster? If it is so good, why has the NHS recently been paying for private health insurance for 3000 or so employees so that these employees did not have to make use of the existing health system? If this new direction in health care is so good, why has congress done all that it can to exempt its self from Obamacare?

In typical Democrat/liberal fashion, the government has been standing on the throat of an industry and then decry when that industry does not run smoothly and instead of getting off, impose additional constraints. This is just another power grab by the government and nothing more.

ACORN in the news again

This particular item has New York roots:

Thirty-eight forged or fraudulent ballots have been thrown out — enough votes, an election official admits, to likely have tipped the city council and county elections in November to the Democrats.

That is why ACORN exists and that is why the Democrats support them so strongly. They use the same play book, "what ever it takes".

Video paper magazines

Bumped from August:

Interesting development. I would have liked to see a picture or two of how the final production magazine will look. Am also interested in how thick the total product package is, how long the batteries will last as well as what the total play/replay time is for the batteries. Are they using LiPo batteries? Will the inclusion of this sort of "ad" result in more difficult disposal issues due to the metals and other chemicals that would now be in the magazine?

Updated to include link showing video of the ad (for those that did not see it in person)...

Looks like the Hopium is wearing off...

That is funny!

The story is about an Obama mural that was vandalized "in broad daylight" and the comment I used as the tag line is quite funny.

How stupid can judges be?

The New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit, the federal court of appeals where I once clerked, has allowed a class action lawsuit by Hurricane Katrina victims to proceed against a motley crew of energy, oil, and chemical companies. Their claim: that the defendants’ greenhouse gas emissions raised air and water temperatures on the Gulf Coast, contributing to Katrina’s strength and causing property damage. Mass tort litigation specialist Russell Jackson calls the plaintiffs’ claims “the litigator’s equivalent to the game ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.’”

So a judge has allows a class action lawsuit to move forward against a group of energy producers for a supposed condition (global warming) that has not been yet proven to be an effect at all, let alone an effect caused by humans. In addition, they are charging that these companies actually contributed to the severity of this storm. Un-friggen real!

Obamacare is for the little people

If all of the various Obamacare health plans that are being kicked around congress are so good, why is congress exempting themselves from it?

Congress will keep their gold-plated insurance plans as they force the rest of the country into a rationed health care government plan.

Personal doctors on call 24/7. Coverage that knows no caps. No exemptions for pre-existing conditions.

Their premiums are the same as those of insurance plans with half the benefits, and the plans last a lifetime; not until Medicare kicks in do ex-Members or loose their Congressional health benefits. Congress has repeatedly voted down any provision that would switch their insurance plans to the lower-grade public option if Obamacare goes through.

Don't worry though. This is either a lie being spread by the "vast right wing conspiracy" or it is just the price we all should be more than willing to pay for the outstanding service we get from our government...

iRobot's Soft Morphing Blob 'Bot Takes Its First Steps

Now this is REALLY COOL! Very innovative and at this point, the sky' the limit. The technology will just continue to get smaller and stronger. The shell he demonstrated has a limited number of sides but imagine something like that with 1024 or 9600 sides that can be individually controlled by a computer for shape shifting. Have it "self contained" with computer, pumps and power source and you have a truly self mobile device that can go almost anywhere on land or sea.

Out fitted with sensors (visual and otherwise) and you have quite a device...

Michael Moore admits his movie is a lie...

During this collage Q&A. Michael admits that his movie is actually about the evils of Corporatism and not Capitalism.

He is also still wrong about why "Democracy" is not working. He thinks that the "system" is not fair and that the government should be helping people on the bottom by restricting people on the top. Instead of having government get out of the way and allow the people on the bottom to lift themselves out and up to the top.

Saving a sacred cow

While his ideas and religion continue to be discredited, those in positions to help spread the truth, instead continue to stand in the way and protect not only their own gravy train but him as well.

While at a global warming conference, a reported dared to ask a question too awkward for the anointed one to answer. The solution? Cut his mike and drive him out. So much for the free exchange of ideas.

Watch the video and ponder this, if the case for global warming were so strong, why are all critics driven away, marginalized and black balled? Why has the last 10 years been temperature neutral while the volume of atmospheric CO2 continues to rise? Based on all global warming models the Earth should be heating up, not staying the same.

Also this from (of all places) the BBC in an online article titled: What happened to global warming?

This headline may come as a bit of a surprise, so too might that fact that the warmest year recorded globally was not in 2008 or 2007, but in 1998.

But it is true. For the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures.

And our climate models did not forecast it, even though man-made carbon dioxide, the gas thought to be responsible for warming our planet, has continued to rise.

So what on Earth is going on?

Even the BBC now says:

It seems the debate about what is causing global warming is far from over.

Someone PLEASE tell Al Gore!

Class Act

The former president shied away from any political stance and said each U.S. leader must surround themselves with people they can trust.

Why can't former Democratic presidents have as much class? There used to be an understanding that former presidents don't criticize current presidents. That used to be universally honor. Carter was the first former president I can recall that spoke ill of a sitting president which he did a lot. Clinton has loose lips too. Reagan, Bush I and now Bush II seem to have the self restraint and respect for the office of president to not critique the current holder of that office.

Obama wins the Nobel peace prize?

You have got to be freaking kidding me! Are they just handing these things out to any liberal now?

What has he done besides tank the US economy? Wait, maybe that is the justification. I can picture how this might have gone: Obama tanks the US economy. This causes the US to retract its influence across the world. Since every liberals knows that the US is the world's Satan, then a crippled US is a benefit to world peace. There you go, that must be it.

Just like the UN, the Nobel committee has done everything it can over the last 50 years to prove its self irrelevant and useless. Havens for political correctness and hypocrisy.

Rather than recognizing concrete achievement, the 2009 prize appeared intended to support initiatives that have yet to bear fruit: reducing the world stock of nuclear arms, easing American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthening the U.S. role in combating climate change.

So Obama wins the prize for apologizing to the world for America, for bending to a bunch of dictators, despots and religious fanatics, for poking our allies in the eye and for supporting an unproven and suspect scientific theory that is more of a religion and wealth distribution scheme than fact. Nice...

SNL & Obama

"My record is clear on what I have done so far... and that is nothing, nada."







"I'm seeing two big accomplishments 'jack' and 'squat'."

I find it interesting that SNL feels it is safe to start making fun of Obama. Not that they are afraid to make fun of presidents or politicians but that this is the big "O", their golden boy. The fact that they feel comfortable poking fun at him and that their audience went along says a lot more about the state of the Obama presidency than a dozen editorials by Glen Beck or Rush.

And so another institution falls...

Consumer Reports was always a good source for influence free evaluations and reviews. Alas, that too is no more. Here is an ad that Consumer Reports has run in the D.C. market pushing for health care reform. They do not come right out and say support Obama but that is clearly the implication as health care reform is his baby.

If they really wanted to do some good, how about running an ad on how good Walmart is doing helping people keep costs down? Their drug programs are fantastic! That would not do though because that does not have the government doing anything and we just can't have that can we?

I used to get Consumer Reports but it looks like (along with AARP) no membership for me.

Its not like he has anything more important to do...

You know, like the economy, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Gitmo, ACORN or any of that sort of stuff.

President Obama Signs Executive Order Banning Federal Employees from Texting While Driving.

Did ACORN chicanery elect Al Franken?

Franken won by only 312 votes and ACORN claimed to have registered 48,000 new Minnesota voters. You do the math...

Innovative solar cell designs

Fairly good article on new solar cell designs that allow them to blend in better with commercial and residential structures. This is generally a good thing and I am in favor of spreading out the power generating ability to lessen the reliance on a few large plants. Between these new roof / wall designs and the solar roadway panels and you have a potential large surface area to generate electricity that is dispersed over a greater area.

What is not discussed is what is the useful life of these products and what is the ROI?

In addition I am not in favor of government intervention via subsidies. They are distorting the market and suppressing the cost which skews the ROI and they are doing it with MY money. If the technology can not stand on its own and can not compete on its own, then it needs to do better in order to be viable. If it is so good, private organizations (like the Sierra Club) should be promoting it, not the government. It is not their job.

Bank of America Turns on ACORN

Now if they will only stop issuing credit cards and bank accounts to illegal aliens...

Truth in advertising

Here is the primary and secondary headlines from a National Journal article:

Health Reform And Truth-Telling
Despite President Obama's good intentions, his deviations from truth-telling compromise his credibility.

Is the secondary headline not a hoot?! "his deviations from truth-telling". What a fancy, smarmy way to say "lies". Can you just imagine the headline if the President were Bush instead of Obama? The main stream media truly are an extension of the Democratic party's public relations team. These people have sold out their profession, integrity, and even their souls for an ideology that has a proven track record of failure time and again. That has failed to do anything but treat the general population as disposable cogs in a false dream. The funny and sad thing is, journalists are one of the first groups to get "re-educated' or eliminated whenever their dream becomes a reality. Why will they never learn?

As to the actual article, here is an interesting paragraph:

As for voters, most seem satisfied with their own health care -- still the world's best in important ways -- and unwilling either to pay more to help less fortunate people or make even small sacrifices to control costs. They also seem oblivious to the real problem underlying the "death panel" demagogy, which is the unavoidable need to hold down the 30 percent of Medicare spending that goes to sometimes-unwanted, often-not-very-beneficial treatments for chronically ill patients in the last two years of life.

Sorry, but contrary to the President, Nancy and most of the media, "the unavoidable need to hold down the 30 percent of Medicare spending that goes to sometimes-unwanted, often-not-very-beneficial treatments for chronically ill patients in the last two years of life" certainly sounds like having a review of the care given to a certain"class" of patient to determine if the prescribed care is truly beneficial both to the health of the patient and the account balance of Medicare. In other (more crass words) a death panel. But that can't be! We have all been told time and again that this is a lie.

The paper then goes on to say that "we can't handle the truth" and it is actually a good thing that the President is not telling us the truth (there is that greater good thing again) as in this section:

So it would be unrealistic to expect complete candor from any president about the costs and risks of extending health insurance to 30 million more Americans. If Obama can meet the truthfulness test applied by Huckleberry Finn to his creator Mark Twain -- "There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth" -- that would be good enough for me.

Translation, we all would be idiots if we took him at his word. If we expect the President to mean what he says. We should expect him to tell us whatever he has to since he is doing it for our own good.

The article overall is reasonably balanced but it is whoppers like those noted above that continue to give people pause whenever they are told "read my lips, I did not... lie of the moment" by their elected officials.

AT&T / iPhone

AT&T and iPhone (as of today) support MMS! You might have to do a iTunes sync and update to get the new network definition files. I did not have to call them or sign up for a new/extended plan. Hope it stays that way. Works nice.

Burger King uses MotionPower to generate electricity from drive-thru traffic

Now this is just too cool. Making use of the weight of cars while slowing down to generate electricity. There is no free energy so the generating process (as it relies on the weight of the car to drive the generator) costs the car owner some energy (the car has to move up the incline in order to get the weight of the car onto the generator in order to drive down the mechanism). I am glad that they specifically note:

The manufacturer envisions larger MotionPower machines installed in places where traffic is slowing down to prevent the scheme from requiring extra energy input from vehicles.

If the vehicle is in the process of slowing down, the forward energy is being waisted as it is converted to heat by the braking system. By adding these minimal "speed bumps" to the slow-down path, energy that would have been wasted by the breaking system will instead be converted into electricity. The car going up the slight incline of the generator will dissipate forward energy similarly to the braking action while activating the generator. In these cases, this is energy that you are "giving away" anyway so might as well convert it to electricity for general use.

As with most devices in this category, I would like to see the ROI schedule.

Total defeat of ACORN?

One can only hope! This is all good news:

Just 48 hours after Republican Leader John Boehner introduced the "Defund ACORN Act," the bill -- which most Republicans thought Democrats would do anything to block -- passed by a resounding 345-75 vote. It would never have made it to a vote had not the Democratic leadership decided to allow it, and the winning total included 172 Democrats. Yes, 172 House Democrats voted to totally cut off funding for an organization that has worked for years on behalf of Democrats nationwide.

Couple that with the 83-7 Senate vote to cut off housing funds to ACORN -- a number that included 50 Democrats -- and the votes signal the complete collapse of Democratic support for ACORN.

As noted though, this could quickly change as the controversy cools. This sort of power and influence draws politicians like moths to the flame. Without vigilant monitoring (like the kind that the MSM used to do but no longer) the Democrats could back slide and fast. In the blink of an eye ACORN could not only have all of its funding back but also be involved in the census. So, be watchful and keep the pressure up!

I wonder if we will ever see the sort of congressional investigation into their operations. It is sorely needed.

ACORN & SEIU

Looks like we now have icing on the ACORN cake! ACORN and SEIU (you remember them right, the union who's members beat up the tea party guy after calling him racial names) are partners in crime. Apparently ACORN gets a lot (that is capital LOT) of funding from SEIU, serves on the board of a number of the locals (and in some cases controls them) and is responsible for their national organizing efforts. ACORN is also involved in chapters of the AFL-CIO and HERE. I guess it is a lot easier to help communities organize when you can rely on union thugs to work "crowd control".

The MSM finally notices ACORN

About time! This illegal racket has gone on long enough with shielding from the media. It is amazing that it only took 3, THREE different offices across the country to all promote tax evasion, prostitution and child prostitution in order for the media to start to take notice. Voter fraud was not sufficient since it was done in support of the Democrats. I have to believe the only reason it is finally getting covered is that the story included video of the events. If it were just "reported" I feel confident that it would have been ignored as a "right-wing smear job" and investigated about as well as Obama's background before the election.

This comment is priceless:

Frank James on NPR's blog The Two-Way had a different take. He asked readers to remember that "ACORN's workers are coming from the same low-income neighborhoods the organization serves," and that "flaws conservatives are pointing out about ACORN are not so much problems associated with that organization per se but more about the problems of being poor and minority in urban America."

Oh, so it is OK to promote crime (to include CHILD PROSTITUTION if you are poor in America, according to NPR. Well isn't that special!

Union disbanded at Boeing Co.

I have to admit that I am pleased. My distaste for unions runs wide and deep. I believe that unions have long stopped being for the benefit of employees and instead are for the benefit of Democrats and union bosses.

If the card-check bill passes (as un-American as it is) it should at least include a provision for union ouster following the same rules. If all it takes is 51% of the employees to sign a petition to install a union then 51% of employee signatures on a petition for ouster should be sufficient as well. That would still not be equivalent (we have seen what the SEIU does to people that it disagrees with) and intimidation and strong-arm tactics would likely prevail. That was what drove secret votes in the first place.

ACORN roundup

* One report from an Acorn office was a fluke. Any large organization, public or private of any creed can be infected by amoral individuals who will try to use the organization to commit illegal or unethical acts. No organization larger than a few dozen people can police the actions of every member, all the time.

* Two reports from two separate Acorn offices was just a disturbing coincidence. The same reasoning as above applies, because in a large organizations, just as in a large installed base of computers, it’s possible for two separate bad eggs carrying out the same acts to show up in the same organization.

* Three identical reports of the same failure from three separate offices indicates the criminality arises from the organization itself. It is highly unlikely that, out of the hundreds of Acorn offices around the nation, the journalist just happened to wander into the three offices whose managers wouldn’t blink an eye at helping to set up a brothel using children.

Exactly, ACORN is corrupt from the top down and has stopped (if it ever was) a non-partisan community organization. The government should stop all funding to it NOW and the feds should be investigating the entire organization for things like this as well as habitual voter fraud. Will these things happen? They were iffy under a Rep president with a Dem congress. With a Dem president and congress the odds get a whole lot worse.

Voter fraud in southern Florida

I am shocked! Shocked I say!

The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office issued arrest warrants for each of the 11 suspects, all of whom worked for the local chapter of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, (ACORN).

"It's really minor, ineffectual attempts to justify getting paid an hourly basis. It could not have impacted the voting process whatsoever. Nonetheless, we cannot turn a blind eye to this,'' Rundle added.

Really?

The group turned in 1,400 cards, of which 888 were found to be fraudulent.

If I recall, were there not a number of recent local and federal elections that were decided by fewer than 1000 votes? If 888 were found to be fraudulent in Homestead FL alone, how many would that be across the entire state? Across the entire country? But this is a trivial matter and we don't need voter ID laws, not here in this country. Not while there are elections for Democrats to steal anyway.

Congress has already exempted itself from Public Option

Predictably, however, the Heller amendment was defeated, with all 21 committee Democrats voting against it. That vote is indicative of the reality that any bill requiring Congress to be covered by the same health care as the public has the proverbial snow ball in Hades' chances of being enacted.

and

Members of Congress presently get health insurance coverage through the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), which offers enrollees nearly 300 choices among a variety of plans, coverages and costs.

The FEHBP covers federal employees and retirees, as well as Members of Congress, though the latter have additional perks of office that make their health coverage far better than that available - or affordable - for the vast majority of working Americans.

Would you have expected anything different? Me neither...

More Moronic Moore

Not happy to trash the health care system, spread nonsensical rumors about 9/11 and setup a sham of a fast food documentary, your favorite cinematic moron is back with another (no doubt) meticulously researched and impeccably fact checked political and cultural hit piece, this time going after the root of all evil, capitalism.



I am fairly sure (based on his prior work) that he will conveniently leave out a few "inconvenient" facts about the system he is out to trash. Things like:

• The current financial crisis is more the result of Washington interfering with capitalism than that of capitalism.
• Capitalism has done more to lift people out of poverty than all government programs ever have.
• Markets work, government interference in markets does not.
• Capitalism and free markets solve problems not governments.

Moore should put down Lennon pick up Adam Smith. He and the country would be better for it.

Smelling sweet makes mosquitoes skeet

It seems that mosquitoes don't like sweeter smells when hunting for blood.

Now scientists have discovered key differences in the body odours produced by people who are more prone to insect bites compared to those who seem resistant – they have lower levels of fruity smelling compounds in their sweat.

This would make a lot of sense based on the following:

Mosquitoes are nectar feeders, but the females also feed on blood to provide energy and proteins needed to develop eggs.

If you are a female mosquito looking for a drop or two of blood for your developing brood, you would tend to avoid things that smell like fruit.

Political Terrorism in the Hearland!

An intrepid under cover reporter does a video expose' on the Quincy Tea Party Cell and gets to the bottom of this radical political terrorist movement! I am personally shocked that the main stream media has not picked up on this story. It deserves to be seen by all Americans.

The money line: How do you negotiate with people like that?

Can you say "projection"?

The biggest problem with the media’s understanding of the Tea Party movement is that some on the left assume (1) that the Tea Parties are Astroturfed at least as much as some of the left’s own demonstrations and (2) that the educated right hates Obama at least as much as the educated left hates Bush and Cheney. So far, I haven’t seen much evidence of either.

Neither have I and I don't know anyone that "hates" Obama. I know a number of people that think he is wrong for this country and is taking us in the wrong direction but "hate"? Just don't see it. Most on the right did not "hate" Clinton either. Thought he was a disgrace to the office and that he and the misses were basically acting like grifters but no hate, heck Bill seems like a real likable fellow, someone you would enjoy having a few beers with. I do admit that there are some harsh feelings toward the misses. She just can not help but rub some people the wrong way.

I did watch this exchange as part of an earlier post related to the guns at town hall events controversy. This bit did escape my notice as I was focused on the other topic.

Automatic Abundance

Liberty Propaganda is proud to announce the Obama Card by Congressional Express!

Don't be the last person to get an Obama Card. Get your's today and spend right away!

Hurray for Canada

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ruled that Section 13, Canada's much maligned human rights hate speech law, is an unconstitutional violation of the Charter right to free expression because of its penalty provisions.

This is indeed good news for all of the freedom loving peoples of Canada. The witch-hunting Canadian Human Rights Commission has had its fangs pulled today. Let us hope they don't get dentures!

Obama Advisor Van Jones: Republicans “are assholes.”

Sorry but no. Republicans are not "assholes" despite what you said and might think. Instead, Democrats are cowards. They are cowards because they want political cover for the things that they want to push through. They want to be able to say "Look, Republicans voted for this too. It was bipartisan." even if that really means only one Republican voted along. Also, the more Republicans that they can get to vote along, the more Democrats in iffy states can vote no so that they do not have to justify their vote at home come re-election time.

So, Mr. Van Jones, Republicans are not "assholes". Democrats are cowards.

Science question(s) #1

I had some thoughts...

Last year or so, NASA ran an experiment where they strung a cable out behind the space shuttle. As this cable was being pulled through the earth's magnetic field (because the shuttle was not in a geosynchronous orbit) it cause the electrons in the cable to flow, generating electricity. There was a cost to this electricity (as no energy is free) in that the shuttle did loose some orbital velocity due to the "drag" on the shuttle by the cable (that is not specifically correct but is close enough for this).

My thought is, how much electricity could be generated if we strung a cable out behind the moon? Could / would it be enough to power a moon station? At what cost? I would think it would have a negligible effect on the moon's orbit as the mass of the moon is so large. There is a LOT of pent up energy in that mass that could be converted into a lot of electricity.

There are not very efficient ways to get that electricity down to earth but if left on the moon, it would be very useful to power all sorts of moon based equipment and facilities.

How many kilowatts could be generated this way? How long would the cable need to be and what would be the real effects on the moon?

Like I said, just some thoughts that I had on my way back to the office from lunch.

Typical Times

Where is the 'Science' in this science article? I followed the link from Instapundit because the wording got my attention. Once I started to read the article I knew something was amiss. Then I saw that it was from the Times. That explains a lot, like why the following passages are in a Science article:

In the United States and much of the Western world, when a couple divorces, the average income of the woman and her dependent children often plunges by 20 percent or more, while that of her now unfettered ex, who had been the family’s primary breadwinner but who rarely ends up paying in child support what he had contributed to the household till, climbs accordingly.

What world is the author living in? Of course he doesn't contribute the same in exact dollars after a divorce than he did before. First he does not live there any more, second he has to pay for his own place to live, and third he has to pay child support (even when he has joint custody and the kids spend part/half of the time with him). His available income goes go UP by 20%? Are you kidding me? If he has any extra disposable income it is because he was kicked out of the 2400 sqr ft house he was living in and now resides in a 600 sqr ft apartment. Real fair exchange that.

the man who skips from one nubile spouse to another over time is, like the sultan who hoards the local maidenry in a single convenient location, simply seeking to “maximize his reproductive fitness,” to sire as many children as possible with as many wives as possible.

So it is also now the man's fault that his wife left him and he would like to be a couple again. She got "tired" of being married, takes him for child support and short term alimony and he is a harem builder because he is dumb enough to give another woman the opportunity to financially screw him.

“We’re so wedded to the model that men will benefit from multiple marriages and women won’t, that women are victims of the game,” Dr. Borgerhoff Mulder said.

Well liberal groups are but not anyone that bothers to actually look at the statistics behind marriage, divorce and child support in America.

but the capacity of women across cultures to dissolve relationships that aren’t working has been much underestimated.

Especially in America by liberals where the no-fault divorce allows either partner to basically walk away from a marriage without cause or concern and more and more women are doing just that while men are getting crushed under child support payments.

A few child support facts:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau report, non-custodial fathers pay some or all of their support obligations 77% of the time, and non-custodial mothers make full or partial payment 75% of the time.

Of all fathers who have custody of their children, more than 92% of them work, either full or part-time, while 78% of custodial mothers are employed.

So men are just a likely (or more so) to pay some or all of their child support verses women and when men do have custody of their children they are 14% more likely to have a job than women.

Also Sanford Braver, Ph.D researched the statement that a mothers standard of living goes down after a divorce while a fathers goes up and finds it false.

Among the myths under attack: the "disappearing dad'' who initiates the divorce and then deserts his children; and the widely cited 73 percent drop in standard of living that divorced mothers and children suffer (an alleged error in arithmetic by Harvard researcher Lenore Weitzman). Braver's calculations indicate that post-divorce mothers and fathers share about the same standard of living, at least in the beginning.
In case you are interested, more info here.

An't it a beatch when facts get in the way of a good "story" be it in the science section or the opinion page?

And the astroturfing escalates...

It seems that liberals are no longer happy vandalizing the offices of their own side in an attempt to get the public to turn on the tea-partyers. They now seem to be moving on to false accusations of making death threats against democratic politicians.

If it were not for bloggers, most people would not know what is really going on here but as one of the commenters point out, this will eventually succeed. Either by making a false charge that sticks or by serving up a sacrificial lamb. If and when that does happen, will the MSM point out that this was an aberration and rare or will they instead lump in all of the astro-events with the one actual to gain more traction? Which do you think?

Packing heat at town hall protests

I listened to this entire diavlog where the discussion was primarily on folks that bring guns to the town hall protests. Michelle Goldberg was adamant that this should not be happening and that the main point of those bringing guns to these events is for intimidation. Megan McArdle did not approve of people open carrying at these events either but did not see it as an "evil" thing. Neither person could come up with a "legitimate" reason for someone to have a gun at one of these protests.

If it helps them any, I have one. To date, only anti-health care protesters have been accosted (by union thugs no less). I could imagine that some of these anti-health care protesters are carrying at these events for self-defence.

As to Michelle's point that people just don't take guns to events, I beg to differ. There are a multitude of people that have carry permits that carry all the time. Just because you don't see it, does not mean that there are not guns there.

Megan also had Michelle on the ropes when she pointed out that there is at least one documented case of a liberal carrying a gun at one of these events and that gave Michelle great pause.

More examples of liberal support for debate and discussion

Watch the linked video. It shows a "Health Care for America Now" (HCAN) organizer instructing supporters in how to disrupt a town hall meeting if someone dares to ask an questions that might undermine their cause. He tells them to stand up to block the person from view, to hold up any signs they might have and if that does not work, start chanting in order to drown them out. These people are SO confident in their ideas on heath care reform that they will stomp on any rebuke or counter argument instead of debating. As to all of the "sheepal" Americans that are eagerly soaking up these instructions (and asking clarification questions) they should be (but won't) ashamed of themselves.

The Truth About American Exceptionalism

I can remember a time when a common citizen didn't have to explain American greatness to the President...

Outstanding Bill Whittle, a must watch!

Putting solor panels into roads

The Department of Energy just gave $100,000 to upstart company Solar Roadways, to develop 12-by-12-foot solar panels, dubbed "Solar Roads," that can be embedded into roads, pumping power into the grid.

Sounds like something to try and I am glad they are looking into it. I would wonder about the efficiency verses cost as well as the affects of vehicle wear, chemicals, etc. on the efficiency of these devices. Would also want to see the dollars per kwh over the usable lifetime. Basically, what is the ROI.

And they wonder why 57% of voters would replace all of congress if given the chance!

This sort of behavior does not help.

Nor when 62% Like Tax Cuts Over More Government Spending but they just keep spending...

Astro-vandalism, newest weapon of the left?

It appears that a man who is an accountant for a number of Democratic-leaning political committees was caught vandalizing the Colorado Democratic Party headquarters. Of course the State Democratic Party Chairwoman was quick to blame local tea party people. Why let the truth get in the way of a good narrative, right?

Will the fact that this was done by an unpaid "volunteer" upset the SEIU? Is this not normally a union job?

Update: that last comment was meant as a joke but it appears that this person might have actually been paid (by the SEIU?) to vandalize the office.

The 1st amendment should apply everywhere!

This would be a protesting event anywhere else but not when it occurs in higher ed?

Now history is under attack because it "appears" un-PC. Oh the hypocrisy!

Is Jeanane Garofalo certifiable?

I am no doctor but if one of my co-workers when on a rant saying these kinds of things, I would have to get HR involved for their safety and mine!

• Tea Party Protesters 'Functionally Retarded Adults'
• two stolen elections - yes, the John Kerry one was stolen too
• contended the public's frustration expressed over the direction of the country was code for racism
• "You know what they're really saying is, ‘I want my white guy back."
• these tea baggers make me soul sick

Me thinks that she needs a vacation and maybe a psych-eval. Yet more pearls of wisdom from the "community based reality" crowd. Oh and how did that Air America thing work out?

Milton Freidman takes on Donahue over greed

and makes a good case.

Capitalism, an "ism" I can live with.

For those "leave Iraq now" folks...

So you still think that we should be out of Iraq and out now? Just pull out and to hell with those there that want the same things many of us take for granted? Things like freedom of speech, self defense and the pursuit of happiness? Our being in Iraq and giving those people an opportunity to have a democratic government and displacing the prior regime has saved far more lives than have been lost. The list of atrocities committed by Saddam against his own peoples is very well documented but I will include a sample:

- 1978-1979

Up to 7,000 Iraqi communists were executed by orders of the Ba'athist regime.

- 1982

The specific atrocity for which Saddam was hanged: 148 Shias were murdered in the village of Dujail.

- 1984

Up to 4,000 political prisoners in Abu Ghraib jail were tortured and killed. Saddam's favoured methods of torture included cutting off genitalia, gouging out eyes and acid baths.

- 1980-1988

Some 1.7m died on both sides during the Iran-Iraq war, started by Saddam.

- 1987-1989

At least 100,000 Kurds were slaughtered in the so-called Anfal campaign. Some were gassed, others cast alive into mass graves.

- 1988

On March 16, in the worst single atrocity of the Anfal campaign, 5,000 Kurds were killed when Saddam ordered planes to drop a mixture of mustard gas and the nerve agent sarin on the town of Halabja.

- 1990-1991

About 25,000 Iraqi troops are thought to have died in the seven-month Gulf War, which began when US-led forces entered Iraq following Saddam's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Estimates of Iraqi civilian deaths have varied wildly - up to 200,000. The coalition death toll was 378 and many troops suffered from the unexplained "Gulf War syndrome".

- 1991

Tens of thousands were killed as Saddam attempted to put down a popular rebellion following his defeat by the US-led forces in February 1991. More than 100,000 Shias were killed; a similar number of Kurds died. About 200,000 Marsh Arabs were killed or made homeless.

- 1993-1998

About 3,000 prisoners were machine-gunned to death at Mahjar prison in central Baghdad.

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/4751,opinion,saddam-era-the-death-toll

Losses to the U.S. since the invasion have be just over 4000. What ever this number would be, it would be too high but in comparison to the number of lives saved and to adding another democracy to that region, most people looking at the facts would have to admit that it was needed and continues to be. If pulling all of the troops out now undermines and undoes all that has been done, than the troops must be left to continue to hold on to what has been gained.

As to those that say, look to Vietnam. Look how well they are doing now and since we left. I say, you are right, it has been a virtual paradise since the US left in 1975:

Modern research has located thousands of mass graves from the Khmer Rouge era all over Cambodia, containing an estimated 1.39 million bodies. Various studies have estimated the death toll at between 740,000 and 3,000,000, most commonly between 1.4 million and 2.2 million, with perhaps half of those deaths being due to executions, and the rest from starvation and disease

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge

Carnivorous Jungle Plant Gobbles Rats Whole

Very interesting...