The Obama Fix for Medicare …

… Send everyone over 65 to Britain.

Related Link » Social Services: Care for the Elderly
“… ‘Then Gordon came up with a brilliant new plan. We're sending everyone over 65 to Afghanistan’.”

The fix is in for Medicare

Post #1,181 The Obama Fix for Medicare …

What happened?

Related Link » We Are All Pods Now
“A year ago, I thought Israel was a trusted ally. What happened? Did racists and bigots suddenly emigrate there? It used to be that both Democrats and Republicans supported the uniquely pro-Western, capitalist, democratic, and tolerant society surrounded by radical Islamists, autocracies, and terrorists. The rest of the world calculated oil, fear of Islamic terrorism, 300 million in the Middle East, and anti-Semitism; we alone valued consensual government, an enlightened society, and freedom as the basis of our support for a tiny state in a very hostile world — and protected the democracy against its countless enemies (there was a Holocaust once, after all, as the world slept). But suddenly the U.S. government sends friendly videos to a theocracy that promises Israel’s destruction while snubbing the Prime Minister of the Jewish state?” [emphasis added]
— Victor Davis Hanson, March 30th, 2010 (PJTV)

Prof. Hanson asks a rhetorical question, of course. But I'm not sure 77% of Jewish American voters (who voted for The Obama Himself) understand this subtlety. So I will pretend it is not rhetorical.

The Obama Himself lied. That in itself is not such a revelation. A lot of politicians lie. I would venture to say virtually all of them do. They do it to get votes. Most rational educated people know this, which is why most rational educated people tend to be skeptical of statements made by politicians campaigning for votes.

So, what is unusual about this particular lie, in which The Obama Himself claimed he would honor and support the unbroken alliance between the United States and Israel, dating back to President Truman's pledge at the modern State-of-Israel's birth 62 years ago? I submit that the unusual factor about this instance was its transparent duplicity.

During the Presidential campaign of 2008, it became clear, to anyone capable of putting 2 and 2 together to get 4, that The Obama Himself had personal associations with Jew-haters, chief among them his own pastor of 20 years, Jeremiah Wright. Oh, but you can't assume guilt by association, you say. Well, no, not in a court of law in the United States, you can't.

But, an election voting-booth is not a court of law. And your decision in a voting booth is not beholden to anything but your own conscience. In a voting booth (if not sooner) is when you must take into consideration everything you know and everything you suspect you know. Any Jewish-American voter, who didn't suspect that The Obama Himself lied about His intentions vis-à-vis Israel, was either lying himself, intellectually challenged, or overdosed on Kool-Aid. Or all of the above.

 h/t Theo 

BFF

Post #1,180 What happened?

The Hippie Evolution

Left-wing rally, Los Angeles, California, March 20, 2010
(Photos by Ringo)

 

 

 

Nice. Very nice.

Post #1,179 The Hippie Evolution

Odds for optimism are 5:1 against

Related Link » 'Basically an Optimist'—Still
The Nobel economist says the health-care bill will cause serious damage, but that the American people can be trusted to vote for limited government in November.

“Capitalism has produced the highest standard of living in history, and yet markets are hard to appreciate? Prof. Becker explains: ‘People tend to impute good motives to government. And if you assume that government officials are well meaning, then you also tend to assume that government officials always act on behalf of the greater good. People understand that entrepreneurs and investors by contrast just try to make money, not act on behalf of the greater good. And they have trouble seeing how this pursuit of profits can lift the general standard of living. The idea is too counterintuitive. So we're always up against a kind of in-built suspicion of markets. There's always a temptation to believe that markets succeed by looting the unfortunate’. […] I read aloud from an article by historian Victor Davis Hanson that had appeared in the morning newspaper. ‘[W]e are in revolutionary times’, Prof. Hanson argues, ‘in which the government will grow to assume everything from energy to student loans’. Next I read from a column by economist Thomas Sowell. ‘With the passage of the legislation allowing the federal government to take control of the medical system’, Dr. Sowell asserts, ‘a major turning point has been reached in the dismantling of the values and institutions of America’. ‘They're very eloquent’, Prof. Becker replies, his equanimity undisturbed. ‘And maybe they're right. But I'm not that pessimistic’. The temptation to view markets with suspicion, he explains, is just that: a temptation. Although voters might succumb to the temptation temporarily, over time they know better. ‘When I think of my children and grandchildren’, he says, ‘yes, they'll have to fight. Liberty can't be had on the cheap. But it's not a hopeless fight. It's not a hopeless fight by any means. I remain basically an optimist’.” [emphasis added]
— By PETER ROBINSON, MARCH 26, 2010 (WSJ)

To paraphrase the famous E. F. Hutton commercials, "When Drs. Becker, Hanson, and Sowell talk, people listen." I certainly do, and I recommend reading the entire WSJ interview with Prof. Becker.

Unfortunately, Hanson and Sowell are largely pessimistic about our children's and grandchildren's futures, while Becker's optimism is guarded. These (admittedly) anecdotally-based 5:1 odds against optimism (treating Becker's as a 50:50 proposition), however, do not inspire optimism for an optimistic future, if I might be permitted such a self-referential premise.

Our world is a very dangerous place. Just today, terroristic explosions in Moscow's subway system, with many fatalities and many lesser casualties, underscore the precarious international situation. And, baffling as it may be, there is no clear consensus on how to deal with it. Everywhere you look, among multinational regions, nations, states, political ideologies, and ever finer granularities of demographics, dissension reigns supreme.

And the differences are not trivial. Sowell's A Conflict of Visions "presents a provocative analysis of the conflicting visions of human nature that have shaped the moral, legal and economic life of recent times." And such socio-political beliefs are held with religious fervor. Some people, and I use the term advisedly, are literally blowing themselves up for their beliefs.

The situation is far from amenable to simple solutions. With so much dissension, exacerbated by so much ignorance of history, sociology, and especially economic theory, my instincts tell me that only pragmatism can make any headway through the morass. We must, at least until we simplify the task by eliminating certain obvious obstacles, return to basics, namely, learn what we can do and, more importantly, what we must not do based on historical evidence and sound economic principles. Just imagine what could have been accomplished with the enormous expenditures of wealth, time, and energy that have been wasted on "fixing" what was once the best healthcare ever assembled by man or beast.

h/t Theo

Post #1,178 Odds for optimism are 5:1 against

It all depends on what your meaning of "snub" is

Related Link » Axelrod: U.S. did not ‘snub’ Israel this week
“White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod on Sunday stressed there was ‘no snub intended’ in a meeting between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the disputed housing construction in East Jerusalem.”
— 03/28/10 (TheDC)

What we have here is a classic case of failure to communicate. You see, "no snub intended" is not equivalent to "did not snub". The latter is merely a lie; the former is a bald-faced lie.

You see, boys and girls, the Pope could (though I am quite certain that he never would) announce to the world that he is not Catholic. But, even though he is deemed to be infallible on Church issues, that would still not make his claim true. It would constitute a false claim. Because, as everyone knows, the Pope is, and always has been, Catholic.

Post #1,177 It all depends on what your meaning of "snub" is

The Obama Rahm a "Rama Lama Ding Dong" Up Your Heinie

Related Link » The Edsels
“Rama Lama Ding Dong”
— Song recorded in 1957 by the American doo-wop group, The Edsels

“Oh, she looked so fair
as she stood right there,
and the wind blew up her heinie …”
— Traditional Ivy-League Ditty

So, how's dat BFD (Biden F*cking Deal) workin' for ya so far?

Rama Lama Ding Dong

Post #1,176 The Obama Rahm a "Rama Lama Ding Dong" Up Your Heinie

That BFD Is Gaining on You

Related Link » Meditation XVII: No man is an island...
“No man is an island, entire of itself ... any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
— John Donne

Related Link » Derivation of "Ask not …"
“Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”
— President John F. Kennedy

Related Link » As Predictable As the Sun Rising
“Government is not an abstraction, but a work force; its prime directive is for self-survival and perpetuation. Public workers will find the rationalization to lash out, when the money dries up and the checks begin to bounce. Again, here in California, professors are on furloughs each month, prisoners are being released, teachers pink-slipped, and 3,500 leaving the state each week. Our schools are rated 47-49th in the nation, but we employ America’s highest paid teachers, and level the highest state, gas and income taxes in the United States — and yet we have not a shred of introspection over how we managed to have the highest taxes, the highest paid teachers and the worst schools. To suggest that this is logical rather than aberrant earns one all sorts of calumny.”
— Victor Davis Hanson, March 25th, 2010 (PJTV)

So, you think that happy days are here at last? No more worries about paying your mortgage, filling up your gas tank, and witnessing the less fortunate among us being callously turned away from hospital emergency rooms to die within yards of life-saving medical assistance? You ignorant fools.

What you are celebrating in your breathless bliss is the institution by the Federal government of Californization for all 57 states in Obamination. You asked for it; you got it. Now think about how it will play out.

The last people to suffer the consequences will be your heroes in the Federal government, most of whom have known all along that they will be the only ones left to turn off the lights. Your other heroes, in Holyshitwood, also have plenty of money stashed away to avoid any unpleasantness until that enormous Ponzi scheme implodes.

That leaves the lower and middle classes, who had been too self-absorbed to understand when they voted for The Obama Himself, that they will end up being the first ones on the receiving end of Biden's "Big F*cking Deal".

Class Act: Biden uses F word as Obama signs Bill

Class Crass Act

Post #1,175 That BFD Is Gaining on You

The Left-Leaning Tower of Poop

Related Link » Google English Dictionary, Usage examples: poop
“You know, if they do their business, if they've got some poop -- you got to make sure that you're not just leaving it there.”
— Barack Obama (Obama Puts on the Kid Gloves for Grade Schoolers), Dec 16, 2008 (FOXNews)

The Left-Leaning Tower of Poop

See kids, this is what it means to be "even-handed/footed". I simultaneously extend a hand to terror-sponsoring regimes while kicking allies under the bus. As my friends on FOXNews say, it's all about being "fair and balanced".

Many seem mystified by The Obama's attitude toward our heretofore closest ally, Israel, the only Western-democratic government in the whole stinking Middle East. It is really not that hard to understand what is going on, but perhaps too difficult to admit.

The Obama Himself has decided to allow Iran, the terror-sponsoring regime (sworn to wiping Israel off the map), to acquire nuclear weapons. It is not for me to ponder why He would want that. It is just plain obvious that that is His agenda. And in order to deflect what little criticism may come his way for doing so, presumably from those who retain a modicum of conscience and decency in the face of blunt international evil, He must escalate that hateful anti-Juice rhetoric, including the very sinister variety that masquerades as anti-Zionism.

I very much wonder what proportion of the 77% of Jewish voters continue to support Him and His agenda.

Some of my best friends are Juice ...

Post #1,174 The Left-Leaning Tower of Poop

§ I Am Music and I Pick the Songs: Rock & Roll To The Rescue

{Song #58 « Song #59 » Song #60}

§ ≡ One of an ongoing series of posts in which I pick, in my not-so-humble opinion, the best songs of the second millennium. Feel free to offer constructive dissenting opinions; preferably set to music.

Song #59 is Rock & Roll To The Rescue, sung by The Beach Boys. The Beach Boys have often been called "America's Band", and Allmusic has stated that "the band's unerring ability ... made them America's first, best rock band." The group has had thirty-six U.S. Top 40 hits (the most of any U.S. rock band) and fifty-six Hot 100 hits, including four number-one singles. Rolling Stone magazine listed The Beach Boys as number 12 in the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. According to Billboard, in terms of singles and album sales, The Beach Boys are the No.-1-selling American band of all time.

Say you're disgusted with all the crap being hurled your way by leftist scum in the Federal government. Harken back to the days when "Made in U.S.A." was the mark of excellence, not the schlock we have come to expect from Handout Nation.

F*ck that hopey-dopey shit! Crank up the volume on your playback device and let the Beach Boys lift your spirits, at least for a few minutes ...

Beach Boys - Rock & Roll To The Rescue

"Made in U.S.A." (album) - 1986

Post #1,173 § I Am Music and I Pick the Songs: Rock & Roll To The Rescue

Common Cause

Related Link » Garbage In — Garbage Out
“The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) is essentially a computation committee. […] The bill's mark-up is the so-called ‘input’ to the CBO's computation process. A bill's mark-up by Congress is garbage, which is a family-friendly euphemism for complete and utter bullshit. This garbage is faithfully processed by the CBO using its prescribed accounting practices. […] It is treated by the wretched politicians in Congress as the holy grail with which to convince their ignorant lap-dog choir of their bill's worthiness. This charade mimics with incredible fidelity the way in which sausage is made. The product or ‘output’ is precisely analogous to the output produced by any dog who has gorged himself on sausage.”
— by TheBigHenry, MARCH 18, 2010 (Remembrance in Spacetime)

Related Link » An Off-Budget Office?
“The Congressional Budget Office does honest work. But it can only use the numbers that Congress supplies-- and Congress does dishonest work. It is not the CBO's job to give their opinion as to whether any of the marvelous things that Congress says it will do in the future are either likely or possible. The Congressional Budget Office is like a computer: Garbage in, garbage out. The numbers in the health care bill are especially smelly garbage.”
— by Thomas Sowell, March 24, 2010 (Townhall)

Imagine my delight in seeing my commentary of last week echoed in today's commentary of Thomas Sowell, whose commentary I myself admire greatly. It is gratifying to know that at least some of my thoughts on the important issues of our times find common cause with scholars of Thomas Sowell's caliber.

Post #1,172 Common Cause

The Infantilization of Handout Nation

 h/t Theo 

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark America.

Now that The Obama Himself, Pelosi, and Reid have beaten their spineless underlings into submission, and the celebrating has begun, the leftist propaganda machine is also ratcheting up. Already, before His signature has dried on Obamacare, The Obama Himself is touting the front-loaded provision that allows parents to keep their little darlings on the family health-care insurance policy until age 26!

How in the name of god is that a good thing? What's next? Will it be free admission with free beer for the gladiatorial bouts at your local coliseum, while the loutish Rahm "It Up Your Ass" Emanuel and the clownish Joe "Big F*cking Deal" Biden stoke the already monstrous ego of the Obama Himself?

So, now that junior doesn't have to worry about health-care costs of any kind, having already secured bed, board, and beyond (including all the latest wireless gadgets) from the sweat of mom and dad's labors, what exactly will entice him (or her) to vacate the comfy basement apartment under mom and dad's roof, where he has been drinking beer and Kool-Aid, smoking hopey-dopey, and ejaculating little future Demorats for The Obama Himself? Is this the Obama solution for the un- and under-employment of our Nation's youth? I wouldn't be surprised; He is a very stealthy and unscrupulous politician; but I repeat myself.

Federal entitlements are not the solution. Rather, they comprise the inevitable infantilization of our self-absorbed society, which can't seem to see beyond its addiction to short-term gratification. There is life after that phony "free lunch", and there is hell to pay for it. Even the best of intentions have consequences. And "best of intentions" is more than a stretch. It is, in fact, a not too subtle cover for the aggrandizement of absolute power in perpetuity.

Wake up, and smell the rot from Denmark that has wafted over our once great Nation, now being reduced to the destination for loutish hordes of deadbeats.

Post #1,171 The Infantilization of Handout Nation

Copious Tears of Sorrow

Related Link » A Point of No Return?
“With the passage of the legislation allowing the federal government to take control of the medical care system of the United States, a major turning point has been reached in the dismantling of the values and institutions of America. […] With politicians now having not only access to our most confidential records, and having the power of granting or withholding medical care needed to sustain ourselves or our loved ones, how many people will be bold enough to criticize our public servants, who will in fact have become our public masters? […] The ruthless and corrupt way this bill was forced through Congress on a party-line vote, and in defiance of public opinion, provides a road map for how other ‘historic’ changes can be imposed by Obama, Pelosi and Reid. […] The last opportunity that current American citizens may have to determine who will control Congress may well be the election in November of this year. Off-year elections don't usually bring out as many voters as Presidential election years. But the 2010 election may be the last chance to halt the dismantling of America. It can be the point of no return.”
— Thomas Sowell, March 23, 2010 (TownHall)

Read the whole article by Sowell. Read it and weep. Weep copious tears of sorrow, my fellow countrymen.

h/t Theo

Post #1,170 Copious Tears of Sorrow

A Modest Proposal for New Legislation

Howard Chandler Christy's Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States

Any new legislation must not exceed the total number of words in the United States Constitution, inclusive of all its Amendments extant.

Post #1,169 A Modest Proposal for New Legislation

Thousands More Words for "Arrogance"

Related Link » We hope any similarities are purely a coincidence
Related Link » Congress's [Disapproval] Rating

The Obama Himself

Mussolini

Mein Kunt

Post #1,168 Thousands More Words for "Arrogance"

Ten Thousand Words for "Arrogance"

Related Link » Historic health-care bill narrowly passes House

Speaker Pelosi laughs as she walks into the U.S. Capitol

Laugh haughtily and carry a big gavel (signifying penis envy).

Post #1,167 Ten Thousand Words for "Arrogance"

Another Nail in the Coffin of Excellence

Related Link » Decline of the Roman Empire
“Edward Gibbon famously placed the blame on a loss of civic virtue among the Roman citizens. They gradually entrusted the role of defending the Empire to barbarian mercenaries who eventually turned on them. Gibbon considered that Christianity had contributed to this, making the populace less interested in the worldly here-and-now and more willing to wait for the rewards of heaven. ‘The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest; and as soon as time or accident had removed the artificial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the pressure of its own weight’, he wrote. ‘In discussing Barbarism and Christianity I have actually been discussing the Fall of Rome’.”
— From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jacques-Louis David's 1784 painting The Oath of the Horatii,
illustrating a dramatic moment from Livy's history of Rome,
embodies eighteenth century ideas about civic virtue.

Yes, it was a historic vote on the restructuring of the Nation's health-care system in the House of Representatives today. But, as Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) said, "Just because it's historic doesn't mean it's good. It would be wise to listen to the American people. The American people have said 'no' to the ABC's of Pelosi-care."

You heard it here first: The decline and fall of American excellence got a major impetus today from this wholly partisan display of arrogance. The breathtaking disregard of all that has been meritorious about this great Nation of ours should never be forgotten by all those who mourn the loss.

Post #1,166 Another Nail in the Coffin of Excellence

A Losing Strategy

Related Link » Jewish Obama buyers beware
“Although Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had a much clearer vision for Israel during the election (and a far more impressive resume in regards to the Jewish state), many American Jewish voters saw Obama as a departure from the Republican Party rather then a candidate in and of himself. And regardless of his vague stance on Israel, many American Jews believed that Obama would continue the basic policies of his predecessors towards the Jewish state, but without the negative connotations a new Republican President might have impressed upon the international community. […] But the red flags were waving hard and high from the get-go. Obama’s friendships with the anti-Semitic, firebrand Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Palestinian apologist Rashid Khalidi, not to mention his financial ties to anti-Israel moneyman George Soros were just a start. His intimate relationship with senior advisors David Axelrod and Rahm Emmanuel, rumored to have been called ‘self-loathing Jews’ by Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu, should have been the cincher. […] Even Hamas figured Obama would be better for the Palestinian cause than the American Jewry could fathom, and they eagerly endorsed him in 2008. […] One thing is for certain; as far as 2012 is concerned, I would warn all Jewish voters — the Obama buyers beware.”
— By Melissa Jane Kronfeld 03/18/10 (TheDC)

Stiletto Mouth

Unfortunately, Melissa, 2012 may be too late. The Obama Himself might have imposed insurmountable existential consequences for the State of Israel by then.

In its very long history, the Jewish People have always had one Achilles heel — a self-destructive tendency. Despite all their accomplishments in a never-ending struggle to survive incredible persecutions, they continue to flaunt the obvious precautions that could ameliorate the next plague heading their way. It is almost as if they have come to rely on a continuous stream of miracles that will save them just before the ultimate calamity befalls them. They are a stiff-necked people, always living on the edge of disaster, always expecting their god to rescue them from extinction.

Does their omnipotent and omniscient god have infinite patience? It seems to me that the affirmative is unprovable, whereas the negative is unconquerable.

It is, ultimately, a losing strategy for survival.

Post #1,165 A Losing Strategy

Oh, yeah, He gives good policy ...

Related Link » Howard Stern - Democrats Are Communists - Obama
“One of America's most famous Jewish liberals, with millions of fans, has finally realized the truth.”
— HMSFox

---

Related Link » Howard Stern Show: Obama Supporters are Clueless
“This just shows what all Republicans are trying to prove. People are voting for Obama because of where he comes from not what he stands for.”
— sunsoaker994

---

Related Link » These are the morons who voted for Obama!
“Segment from Foxnews that shows just how clueless Obama supporters are, and how little they knew about the issues and the "Messiah" Himself.”
— sfdoc21

The Obama Himself — oh, yeah; I like His policy, man.

Post #1,164 Oh, yeah, He gives good policy ...

New Strategy Against Cancer Discovered

Related Link » New attack on cancer forces cells to grow old and die
“(Reuters) - Instead of killing off cancer cells with toxic drugs, scientists have discovered a molecular pathway that forces them to grow old and die, they said on Wednesday. Cancer cells spread and grow because they can divide indefinitely. But a study in mice showed that blocking a cancer-causing gene called Skp2 forced cancer cells to go through an aging process known as senescence — the same process involved in ridding the body of cells damaged by sunlight. If you block Skp2 in cancer cells, this process is triggered, Pier Paolo Pandolfi of Harvard Medical School in Boston and colleagues reported in the journal Nature.
[…]
[Pandolfi] said this Skp2-related aging pathway appears to be active in cancer, and not other cells. ‘We have no intention of aging the patient. But only the cancer’, he said.”
— Julie Steenhuysen, March 18, 2010 (REUTERS)

Malignant breast cancer cells metastasized to the liver are seen in this undated handout photo.
Credit: Reuters/National Cancer Institute/Handout

This sounds very promising.

Post #1,163 New Strategy Against Cancer Discovered

Charisma

Related Link » The Biden incident
“Or is it because Obama fancies himself the historic redeemer whose irresistible charisma will heal the breach between Christianity and Islam or, if you will, between the post-imperial West and the Muslim world — and has little patience for this pesky Jewish state that brazenly insists on its right to exist, and even more brazenly on permitting Jews to live in [their] own ancient, historical and now present capital? Who knows? Perhaps we should ask those Obama acolytes who assured the 63 percent of Americans who support Israel — at least 97 percent of those supporters, mind you, are non-Jews — about candidate Obama's abiding commitment to Israel.” [emphasis added]
— Charles Krauthammer, March 19, 2010

It depends on what the meaning of "charisma" is.

The Obama Himself is, of course, "irresistible charisma" incarnate; just ask Him. As for his "abiding commitment", well that all depends on what the meaning of "abiding" is. If you ask him, He might tell you what His meaning is, namely — for as long as it takes to get what He wants. But He might not tell you; it all depends on what He wants you to believe.

This double-talking double-crossing Chicago-style thug will say anything to get what he wants, which is usually to be elected to high office or to be acknowledged as just the most wonderful provider of free lunch to all needy/greedy Americans. He is everything that offends American self-reliance, ingenuity, fairness, and honesty. He is a disgrace.

Post #1,162 Charisma

Garbage In — Garbage Out

Related Link » CBO: Health-care reform bill cuts deficit by $1.3 trillion over 20 years, covers 95%
“How they got these numbers, and whether there are important qualifiers, will be easier to say once CBO releases its analysis. But the bottom line is that this is the exact sort of score that Democrats wanted, and is in fact considerably better than some had come to expect they would receive. Coverage is better than the Senate bill, which will reassure liberals, and deficit reduction is better than either bill, which will reassure conservatives.” [emphasis added]
— By Ezra Klein, March 18, 2010 (WaPo)

Anyone who has ever used a computer for calculation knows that a computer computes what it is instructed to compute. The instructions come in two forms:

1. the programmed software that specifies the computation algorithms; and
2. the user's input.

 h/t Theo 

Congressional Sausage

The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) is essentially a computation committee. It's "software" comprises the prescribed accounting practices for their computations. It's input is the budgetary specifications in a Congressional mark-up of a bill under "consideration".

The CBO's accounting practices are presumed to be the proper way in which to project fiscal estimates based on the details of a bill's mark-up. The bill's mark-up is the so-called "input" to the CBO's computation process.

A bill's mark-up by Congress is garbage, which is a family-friendly euphemism for complete and utter bullshit.

This garbage is faithfully processed by the CBO using its prescribed accounting practices. This processing/computation produces what is euphemistically referred to as analysis or "score". It is treated by the wretched politicians in Congress as the holy grail with which to convince their ignorant lap-dog choir of their bill's worthiness.

This charade mimics with incredible fidelity the way in which sausage is made. The product or "output" is precisely analogous to the output produced by any dog who has gorged himself on sausage.

Post #1,161 Garbage In — Garbage Out

§ I Am Music and I Pick the Songs: Danny Boy

{Song #57 « Song #58 » Song #59}

§ ≡ One of an ongoing series of posts in which I pick, in my not-so-humble opinion, the best songs of the second millennium. Feel free to offer constructive dissenting opinions; preferably set to music.

Song #58 is Danny Boy, a ballad written by Frederick Weatherly and usually set to the tune of the Londonderry Air. "Danny Boy" was originally said to be intended as a message from a woman to a man, and Weatherly provided the alternative "Eily dear" for male singers in his 1918 authorised lyrics. The song has been interpreted by some listeners as a message from a parent to a son going off to war or leaving as part of the Irish diaspora. Widely considered an Irish anthem, though Weatherly was an Englishman, many Irish Americans and Irish Canadians consider "Danny Boy" their unofficial signature song.

I was not as well acquainted with the Irish diaspora as I have been with the one associated with Juice. But this beautiful song has always spoken to me, perhaps not only because of its beauty, but also because of the bitter-sweet message it evokes.

Celtic Woman - Danny Boy


Post #1,160 § I Am Music and I Pick the Songs: Danny Boy

An Irish-Juice St. Patrick’s Day

Related Link » St. Patrick’s Day With the Irish and the Jews
“Moloney doesn’t live in a time when many New York Jews parade down Broadway with shamrocks pinned to their coats; there may never have been such a time. Still, he sees deep cultural connections between the ceilidh and the klezmer bands, the Irish tenor and the Jewish cantor. Coming full circle to his own professional history of collaborations with Jewish musicians, he said: ‘One or two is an accident. When it goes on for 35 years, it’s not an accident anymore, it’s a pattern. It’s just a good fit.’.”
— By Sarah Litvin, issue of March 19, 2010 (Forward)

      Mick Moloney “If It Wasn’t for the Irish and the Jews”

h/t Norm

Post #1,159 An Irish-Juice St. Patrick’s Day

Depth of Field

Post #1,158 Depth of Field

Men's Division I Bracket

Related Link » Men's Division I Bracket
— NCAA March Madness! (Chiff.com)

Post #1,157 Men's Division I Bracket

The Guides for Starch

Related Link » Starch Poisoning
“Starch is a substance, one form of which is used for cooking, and another of which is used to add firmness and shape to clothing. Starch poisoning occurs when someone accidentally or intentionally swallows starch.”
— Health Guide, March 15, 2010 (NYT)

Morte de Césare (Death of Caesar) by Vincenzo Camuccini

Once upon a time, in a country far, far away, there was a Capo di tutti capi named 3-Fingers Julie, who enjoyed having pasta with every meal, even for breakfast. Back in those days, so did almost everybody else. And that is where the common expression, "Pasta — it's what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner!" comes from. 3-Fingers Julie came by his colorful name not, as is normally surmised, because of some vague allusion to having had them bitten off in a no-holds-barred mob brouhaha, but because he was born via a C-section that had gone awry. But I digress ...

Anyway, Big Julie The C, as his friends and enemies called him, was well on his way to eliminating all the competition in the Starch Rackets, thereby "cornering the market" in Starch, when his remaining competition devised a plan to preempt his victory. They had read the NYT "Guides for Starch" and decided to turn the tables on him, so to speak, and use his love of pasta to whack him. They invited him to a Great Pasta Feast on March 15, which they knew he could not resist.

When March 15 rolled around, and despite his friends' warnings to beware it, Big Julie The C went to the Great Pasta Feast. As he was passing by the corner known as the Roman Forum, a funny thing happened. His hosts ambushed him and force-fed him uncooked starch, having read about its toxic side effects in the Guides for Starch. As Big Julie The C fell to the ground, he was reputed to have groaned to one of his attackers, Big "4-Fingers" Brute, who used to be one of Big Julie's lieutenants, "D'you eat too, Big Brute?"

Post #1,156 The Guides for Starch

π Day

Related Link » Celebrate Pi Day!
“Pi (the Greek letter π) is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535…”

An easy way to compute pi to your computer's precision is:

pi = 2 × acos(0)

which yields 3.14159265 on the computer I am using, where acos() is the inverse cosine function, available on virtually all computers.

Pi Day
h/t ZJemptv

Post #1,155 π Day

Political Spectrum Analysis

h/t Chris Muir

Political Spectrum Analysis

Name	Left	Center	Right
The Obama Himself	Obama Le Roi	Empty Suit	Narcissistic Ideologue
Joe Biden	Cretin	Dull Plagerist	Dick Head
George W. Bush	Chimpy / Shredder	We miss you …	Give 'em hell, Dubya!
Dick Cheney	Darth Vader	Bad Hunter	More water!
Nancy Pelosi	You go girl!	Horrible Woman	Mein Kunt
Sarah Palin	Evil Beach	Embarrassing	You go girl!
Harry Reid	Man up!	Weasel	Girlie Man
Barbara Boxer	You go girl!	Horrible Woman	Evil Beach
Barney Frank	Man up!	Horrible	Banking Queen
Dianne Feinstein	You go girl!	Horrible Woman	Evil Beach
Chuck Schumer	Smartest Guy in Room	Smart Ass	Son of a Beach
Bill Clinton	How's it hangin'?	Too Clever by Half	Cigar in Beach
Hillary Clinton	You go girl!	Not Clever Enough	Cankles on Beach
Henry Waxman	Go-To Guy	Weasel	Ugliest Guy in Room

 h/t Chris Muir 

Crap.

Post #1,154 Political Spectrum Analysis

Their Ultimate Ignominy is Assured

Related Link » House Democrats looking at 'Slaughter Solution' to pass Obamacare without a vote on Senate bill UPDATED!
“Each bill that comes before the House for a vote on final passage must be given a rule that determines things like whether the minority would be able to offer amendments to it from the floor. In the ‘Slaughter Solution’, the rule would declare that the House "deems" the Senate version of Obamacare to have been passed by the House. House members would still have to vote on whether to accept the rule, but they would then be able to say they only voted for a rule, not for the bill itself.”
— By Mark Tapscott, 03/10/10 (Washington Examiner)

h/t Theo 

Ignominy Awaits

What we have here is the House Speaker's ploy to obviate the Senate's super-majority requirement for cloture. It is another in the interminable jockeying for power between: the upper and lower chambers in our bicameral legislature; among the three branches of the federal government; and between the Nation's citizenry and those who favor a tyranny of the majority.

The genius of our Constitution is that it intrinsically incorporates measures that maintain a healthy parity amids these rival forces, which seek to concentrate power in one chamber, one branch, and/or one political party. Such a potential concentration was foreseen by the framers of the Constitution, and is why they instituted the Bill of Rights, checks and balances, and the requirement of super majorities for the passage of Constitutional Amendments and overcoming Presidential vetoes. It is also why both major political parties have supported the Senate's super-majority cloture requirement.

Nevertheless, each party that enjoys a majority, but not a super majority, rails against the restriction to its desire for majority tyranny. But, it is to everybody's long-term advantage to thwart such near-sighted grasping for power. The Framers knew it. Most rational and informed citizens know it. Only Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and The Obama Himself do not comprehend the consequences of their lust for power and glory — their ultimate ignominy.

h/t Theo 

The Slaughter Solution

Post #1,153 Their Ultimate Ignominy is Assured

Dihydroxymonoxide — is it in you?

Related Link » Artificial Stupidity
“A woman with a petition [...] collected hundreds of signatures to ban dihydroxymonoxide. [...] Much of the stupidity we see today is induced by our educational system, from the elementary schools to the universities. In a high-tech age that has seen the creation of artificial intelligence by computers, we are also seeing the creation of artificial stupidity by people who call themselves educators. Educational institutions created to pass on to the next generation the knowledge, experience and culture of the generations that went before them have instead been turned into indoctrination centers to promote whatever notions, fashions or ideologies happen to be in vogue among today's intelligentsia. [...] Many, if not most, of the leading conservatives of our times were on the left in their youth. These have included Milton Friedman, Ronald Reagan and the whole neoconservative movement. The experiences of life can help people outgrow whatever they were indoctrinated with. What may persist, however, is the lazy habit of hearing one side of an issue and being galvanized into action without hearing the other side — and, more fundamentally, not having developed any mental skills that would enable you to systematically test one set of beliefs against another. [...] When we see children in elementary schools out carrying signs in demonstrations, we are seeing the kind of mindless groupthink that causes adults to sign petitions they don't understand or — worse yet — follow leaders they don't understand, whether to the White House, the Kremlin or Jonestown [the latter being where Kool-Aid was the drink of choice].” [comment inserted]
— Thomas Sowell, March 10, 2010

Related Link » A scientist on Blackburn
“In all my years of study, which continues to the present, what I learned best of all was how to learn.”
— TheBigHenry, April 29, 2008

---

So you think you want what The Obama Himself is selling? Then chances are very good that you salivate in response to a metronome.

BTW, dihydroxymonoxide (H₂O) is what makes Kool-Aid Nebraska's "official soft drink".

Post #1,152 Dihydroxymonoxide — is it in you?

§ I Am Music and I Pick the Songs: Goodnight, Irene

{Song #56 « Song #57 » Song #58}

§ ≡ One of an ongoing series of posts in which I pick, in my not-so-humble opinion, the best songs of the second millennium. Feel free to offer constructive dissenting opinions; preferably set to music.

Song #57 is Goodnight, Irene, a 20th century American folk standard, written in 3/4 time, first recorded by American blues musician Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter in 1932. The lyrics tell of the singer's troubled past with his love, Irene, and express his sadness and frustration. Several verses make explicit reference to suicidal fantasies, most famously in the line "sometimes I take a great notion to jump in the river and drown."

I've always loved this song, especially its lilting tempo. It has a musical quality that seems to have vanished from the current music scene, a loss of nuance that has impoverished the entire world, as if music itself took "a great notion ...".

The Chieftains - Willy Nelson - Goodnight, Irene


Post #1,151 § I Am Music and I Pick the Songs: Goodnight, Irene

Suddenly, and without prior warning, the soap slipped out of his hand ...

Related Link » Democrat gets naked with Rahm Emanuel, labels him “son of devil’s spawn”
“Rahm Emanuel is son of the devil’s spawn. He is an individual who would sell his mother to get a vote. He would strap his children to the front end of a steam locomotive.”
— Eric Massa, who leaves Congress over a sexual harassment complaint.

h/t Theo 

"Is that a bat, Rahm, or are you just glad to see me?"

I dunno. Is this shit for real? I mean, Rahm "It-Up-Your-Ass" Emanuel getting "up close and really personal" with Eric Massa "in the showers of a Congressional gym about eight weeks after he entered Congress in January 2009?" WTF?!

This story is a double entendre gold mine! I invite my readers to submit their best "shot", as it were, in the Comments section.

Post #1,150 Suddenly, and without prior warning, the soap slipped out of his hand ...

The Anti-Cretin Rule

Related Link » The Filibuster and Supermajorities-Becker
“Although the American Constitution does not provide for the filibuster, the founders of this country were very much concerned about protecting the rights of minorities. The checks and balances between the Congress, President, and Judiciary built into the Constitution were designed to make it difficult to pass legislation that infringed on the rights of important minorities. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to solidify this protection. [...] So my conclusion is that the supermajority requirement of invoking closure to cut off Senate debate is useful protection not only to minorities, but also to overly hasty passage of controversial legislation. People on all positions will sometimes be frustrated by the need to have such a supermajority, but in the long run most of the time they will be happy that such rules are in effect.”
— Gary Becker, 03/07/2010

Related Link » Should the Senate Abolish the Filibuster? Posner
“The filibuster, especially in its present streamlined form, creates a supermajority requirement to enact federal legislation. Supermajoritarianism is not unknown to the U.S. Constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority to overcome a presidential veto and a two-thirds vote to send a constitutional amendment to the states for ratification and three-fourths of the states must vote to ratify for the amendment to be adopted. [...] The theory of American government is representative rather than direct democracy [...], and the representative is intended to season his constituents’ opinions with his own judgment rather than act simply as a transmission belt. But the health care program has been kicking around in Congress for a year, and the inability of its supporters to convince the public of the program’s wisdom, coupled with the program’s enormous cost and its potentially disruptive consequences for the health care industry [...], may make people question the democratic legitimacy of enacting the program with just a simple majority in the House and Senate.”
— Richard Posner, 03/07/2010

It is not my intention to belabor the belabored. There are well-established reasons for the Senate's filibuster rule; both parties have relied on it from time to time; and majorities from both parties have railed against it whenever it frustrated their partisan intentions, which is the anti-cretin rule's raison d'être.

Nor do I wish to revisit the arguments for and against Obamacare, which have already been revisited ad nauseam. None of these arguments can ever be resolved, because the proponents of the opposing views are so thoroughly invested politically, emotionally, and, dare I say it, with religious fervor.

I merely wish to state two obvious points:

1. Legislation exceeding two thousand pages of intricate legal provisions can not possibly be comprehended by rational beings, much less can its enormous consequences be anticipated.
2. Nancy Pelosi is a cretin.

Running Ruining It

Post #1,149 The Anti-Cretin Rule

Yeah; I got a question ...

Related Link » US-Israel tough sanctions strategy falls apart. Tehran is sitting pretty
“The US-led Western powers are scrapping tough measures incorporated in the original motion they drafted for a UN Security Council sanctions resolution against Iran, according to diplomats at the UN Center. To make the draft more acceptable to Russia and China, the blacklisting of Iran's central bank has been replaced by a decision to ‘strengthen vigilance’ over the bank's transactions, leaving only new overseas Iranian banks to be targeted. [...] Most world powers therefore switched the main thrust of their Iran policies toward strengthening the Obama administration's hand in opposing an Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, thus leaving the sanctions threat without a follow-up strategy.”
— Copyright 2000-2010 DEBKAfile

h/t Theo

The year 2008 was a worrisome year. But, as bad-luck would have it, not as worrisome as 2009 and 2010.

As that spectacular train-wreck came roaring down the tracks towards it's rendezvous with Obamination, the Illuminati, including 77% of the Jewish vote, thronged the whistle-stops cheering their Hero on, as he raced to destroy all that was near and dear to them, most especially their children's future. You see, in their desperation to assuage their self-imposed guilt for what King Cotton (absolutely no relation to any American Jew living today) did centuries ago, these well-meaning (mostly) but not well-thinking goo-doers let their eyes glaze over, and the rest, sadly, you know.

So, yeah; I got a question: "How's that hopey-dopey working for you, assholes?"

Post #1,148 Yeah; I got a question ...

If not for the Grand Tetons, I cudda been a grammarian!

Related Link » Why I Know Next To Nothing About Grammar

If you ain't got no clue what I'm talking about, check out my friend's post Chez Secular Apostate.

I had to borrow his pic, though. It's cool; I think he borrowed it elsewhere:

The Grand Tetons

Post #1,147 If not for the Grand Tetons, I cudda been a grammarian!

§ I Am Music and I Pick the Songs: Music! Music! Music!

{Song #55 « Song #56 » Song #57}

§ ≡ One of an ongoing series of posts in which I pick, in my not-so-humble opinion, the best songs of the second millennium. Feel free to offer constructive dissenting opinions; preferably set to music.

Song #56 is Music! Music! Music!, as sung by Teresa Brewer. It was the biggest-selling version of the song, recorded by Brewer on December 20, 1949, and released by London Records as catalog number 604. It became a number 1 hit and a million-seller in 1950, eventually becoming Teresa's signature song.

This song became a top hit shortly after my parents and I arrived in America. I remember my Mom and I singing it together after we purchased the lyrics from the corner candy store in our neighborhood in New York City.

A nickelodeon was what a jukebox was called back then, when a nickel went a lot further than it does today. You could also ride the subway for a nickel, and a Coke was just 5c too! Moreover, every subway station had chewing gum machines, which dispensed a couple of Chiclets in a tiny cardboard box for a penny!

Would any kid today deign to pick up a nickel on the street? A dime?

Teresa Brewer - Music! Music! Music! (1950)


Post #1,146 § I Am Music and I Pick the Songs: Music! Music! Music!