I was just looking at my archives. My first post on this blog was on December 30, 2007.
12 Years….
The mind reels.
Hope Christmas and New Years were excellent.
Category: Everything Else
For lifolinks
Infolinks 2016
just an FYI….
I’m going to be removing stuff from the sidebars and getting of crap that is not paying… too much clutter.
Should Conservative Governors swear off Corporatism?
Alex Cortes makes a good case for it.
While most of the Republican presidential candidates have criticized President Obama about his waste of taxpayer money on the politically connected and now bankrupt energy company Solyndra, Rick Perry has remained silent. Why? Perhaps because he may soon have his very own Solyndra.
As governor, Perry created the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, which has doled out, at his discretion, nearly $200 million to 133 businesses. More than $16 million from the fund has gone to firms with officers or investors who were major Perry contributors.
One such firm is Convergen, which has developed a lung-cancer treatment that is under Phase II clinical trial. The company was successful in getting Texas taxpayers to put up $4.5 million through Perry’s fund, despite founder David Nance’s investing a measly $1,000. Did Nance’s $335,000 to Perry’s campaigns, association fundraisers, and TexasOne Foundation have anything to do with it?
It likely did, given that Convergen’s proposal failed the regional review process meant to extricate political influence — and was later approved by a state advisory panel that Nance formerly sat on. The amount awarded also happened to be highest amount ever from the fund. Perry and his team know that Convergen may soon look a lot like Solyndra, since only 33 percent of successful Phase II drugs make it to the market.
But this is not an assault on Governor Perry in particular: He is far from alone among his Republican gubernatorial colleagues in advancing corporatist policies.
For example, Virginia governor Bob McDonnell, who’s been mentioned as a potential vice presidential running mate for Perry, has also fallen to corporatism in a variety of ways. McDonnell succeeded in getting his state’s general assembly to increase funding for the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, a $54 million pot from which he can give grants to corporations that create jobs in the commonwealth. He has also created special tax incentives for the wine and film industries and provided the International Speedway Corporation a $1.5 million grant to keep one of its NASCAR races in the state.
via Conservatives and Corporatism – Alex Cortes – National Review Online.
I see his point; the Republicans and Conservatives are going ballyhoo Obama for his green energy debacle, they should be prepared to answer for some of their own misdeeds. Contrary to what some of the Bloggers on the right like to print, corruption and political favors are common on both sides. This needs to end, the era of backroom deals and favors, in this day of so-called transparency needs to end.
In other words; if we are going to point the accusing finger at the other side, we should clean the trash up in our own backyards.
All that glitters is Gold…… Roger Ailes?
An interesting story…. if true.
What I am referring to, is the seven page opus, by a Gabriel Sherman at New York Magazine. It is an interesting read, if it is all remotely true. As an independent “Right of Center” type person, one of my biggest quibbles with these pieces that are done by non-right wing media sites about News Corp/Fox News Channel is that the best information about the inner workings of the Fox News are often given by anonymous people. I fully understand the reasoning for it, to protect jobs and so forth; but my goodness, if you are going to dish on the good stuff; have the guts to at least say your name.
This is one thing that has always annoyed me to no end, is people who gossip and do not have the guts to let people know their identity. I guess what am trying to say is, that if you are going to dish the dirt, be a Man or a Woman and tell people who the heck you are, or just shut the hell up. Because the truth is, you are most likely lying, because you are pissed off, because Roger Ailes did not give you the raise that you wanted or something rather idiotic of that nature.
A sampling of the first two paragraphs:
On Monday afternoon, March 28, Fox News chairman Roger Ailes summoned Glenn Beck to a meeting in his office on the second floor of News Corp.’s midtown headquarters to discuss his future at the network. Ailes had spent the better part of the weekend at his Putnam County estate thinking about how to stage-manage Beck’s departure from Fox, which at that point was all but inevitable. But, as with everything concerning Glenn Beck, the situation was a mess, simultaneously a negotiation and a therapy session. Beck had already indicated he was willing to walk away—“I don’t want to do cable news anymore,” he had told Ailes. But moving him out the door without collateral damage was proving , dandifficult.
Ailes had hired Beck in October 2008 to reenergize Fox’s audience after Obama’s election, and he’d succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest hopes, tapping deep wells of resentment and igniting them into a vast, national conflagration. The problem was that it had almost engulfed Fox itself. Beck was huge and uncontrollable, and some of Fox’s other big names seemed diminished by comparison—and were speaking up about it. Beck seemed to many to be Fox News’s id made visible, saying things—Obama is a racist, Nazi tactics are progressive tactics—dredged from the right-wing subconscious. These were things that weren’t supposed to be said, even at Fox, and they were consuming the brand. Ailes had built his career by artfully tending the emotional undercurrents of both politics and entertainment, using them to power ratings and political careers; now they were out of his control. — Go read the rest here please…
It has the typical Conservative elements of a Conservative story, Image, Wealth, Egos and Power. Typical television stuff. It makes for an interesting read.
Video: Quote of the Day
We’ve been getting the low end of the electric-only range, usually between 23 and 28 miles, undoubtedly due to this winter’s deep freeze. The car’s electric range is very susceptible to cold weather, primarily because the heater runs on electricity. We also found that an extended highway cruise shortens the electric range.
The Volt’s appeal in terms of fuel economy depends largely on your driving pattern. The more often (and farther) you travel beyond the electric range, the closer your overall energy use drops toward 30 mpg. That’s what we’ve been getting when the gasoline engine is running.
Counting just the energy used, not its cost, the Volt has been averaging close to 2 miles per kilowatt-hour, which, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, is the equivalent of 65 mpg. But that’s for the first 25 miles or so, when the car is running on battery power alone.
It is typical to see artificially high mpg numbers on the car’s trip computer. For example, let’s say you make five trips in a week. Four of them are 25 miles without needing the gas engine. On the last trip, 55 miles, the car uses 1 gallon of gas beyond the 25-mile electric range. The trip computer would calculate 155 miles on 1 gallon of gas, or 155 mpg. That might contribute to the feel-good factor, but the figure is misleading because it doesn’t count the electricity used.
GM says that recharge times are about 4 hours with a 240-volt supply and 10 to 12 hours with 120 volts. Our Volt has been taking in almost 13 kWh in about 5 hours every time we charge. We suggest that Volt buyers purchase a 220-volt (or Level 2) charger.
At the national average rate of 11 cents per kWh, the Volt would cost about 5.7 cents per mile in electric mode and then 10 cents a mile beyond that (assuming gas is $3 per gallon). By contrast, a Toyota Prius costs 6.8 cents per mile, and a gas-powered Honda Fit subcompact costs about 10 cents a mile in gas. But its price is less than half of what the Volt costs.
In some regions, such as the Northeast, you might pay a lot more for electricity. In Southern California, where rates increase with higher electrical consumption, there are special plans for EV owners that lower rates to as little as 11 cents per kWh.
There are evident compromises in passenger comfort as a result of the Volt’s battery layout. Because the battery takes up the center rear-seat area, the car can hold only four people. Also, the rear seats are tight and the sloping roofline can make it easy to bump your head while getting in. Our engineers complained that the air from the heater was tepid, leaving them uncomfortably cold. The electric seat heaters help, but not enough. When the temperature dips below 26 degrees, the engine will turn on even during the electric portion of a trip to produce more heat.
The dashboard has a center screen that houses the standard navigation system, and slick graphics display various energy-use information. The center console consists of small, touch-sensitive buttons on the dash that control the climate and the radio. We found them hard to tell apart.
So far, the Volt works as an electric car with a gas backup, but it’s not really much of a money saver in many places. Cheaper electricity or more expensive gas could tip the scales in its favor. For now, it seems that owning a Volt is an expensive way to be green.
****
Let’s see… taxpayer money is being dumped into a car that the public can’t afford and/or doesn’t want. Demand for the expensive product is to be created by high gas prices combined with goading the public into buying one by scaring them with a mythical crisis pushed by an enviro-hypocrite who goes around in a private jet telling everybody the oceans are going to rise and flood the same coastlines where he recently invested millions in a seaside mansion. In a nutshell, the theme park impresarios who proposed “Six Flags Over Chernobyl” had a more solid business plan.
The Volt is in part the brainchild of politicians who expect everyone to believe that we need to spend money to keep from going bankrupt, so was the “economic sense” of the thing ever really in question?
They say it’s called the “Volt” because “Massively Expensive Union Bailout” wouldn’t fit on the hood. If the batteries continue to perform poorly in cold weather, don’t look for the Volt to be scrapped, but rather for several billion taxpayer dollars to be spent on a “Winning the Future” extension cord program.
A Sign from God? — National Christmas tree toppled
This is completely obligatory; and the only reason I am posting this is because I know it will ruffle the feathers of a few idiots who follow this blog.
Energy-efficient National Christmas Tree FAIL!
WASHINGTON (CNN) –The nation’s most energy-efficient National Christmas Tree doesn’t appear to be the nation’s most energy-resistant one. The 42-foot tall Colorado blue spruce snapped at its base Saturday morning in Washington.
While the cause of the tree toppling is yet unknown, the National Weather Service issued a “High Wind Warning” for the DC area Saturday noting that, “heavy wind gusts between 25 and 60 mph” were expected and supposed to be at their strongest right around the time a tipster told CNN the tree was downed.
The tree was trimmed over the holidays with green-hued LED lights and snowflake ornaments in an area called “The Ellipse” directly between the south lawn of the White House and the Washington Monument. The First Family lit the tree, a tradition going back 87 years, on December 9, 2010, as blues legend BB King, Maroon 5, and others performed at the ceremony. It stayed lit each evening until New Year’s Day.
via National Christmas tree toppled – The 1600 Report – CNN.com Blogs.
Think maybe the Lord in Heaven might not be too happy with President Obama? Could be! 😮
Honestly, I have not seen any e-mails or blog postings saying this; so, I thought I would be the first. I will refrain from the analogies, feel free in the comments section. Just keep ’em clean and I will approve them.
Personal Advice from ME: If you are small time stock investor, GET OUT NOW!
…and here is why….
This comes via Gateway Pundit, who is one hell of a great blogger:
The story via the U.K. Telegraph:
US Treasuries last week suffered their biggest two-day sell-off since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. The borrowing costs of the government of the world’s largest economy have now risen by a quarter over the past four weeks.
Such a sharp rise in US benchmark market interest rates matters a lot – and it matters way beyond America. The US government is now servicing $13.8 trillion (£8.7 trilion) in declared liabilities – making it, by a long way, the world’s largest debtor. Around $414bn of US taxpayers’ money went on sovereign interest payments last year – around 4.5 times the budget of America’s Department of Education.
Debt service costs have reached such astronomical levels even though, over the past year and more, yields have been kept historically and artificially low by “quantitative easing (QE)” – in other words, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s virtual printing press. Now borrowing costs are 28pc higher than a month ago, with the 10-year Treasury yield reaching 3.33pc last week, an already eye-watering debt service burden can only go up.
Few on this side of the Atlantic should feel smug. The eurozone’s ongoing sovereign debt debacle has pushed up Germany’s borrowing costs by 27pc over the last month – to 3.03pc. The market has judged that if Europe’s Teutonic powerhouse wants the single currency to survive, it will ultimately need to raise wads of cash to absorb the mess caused by other member states’ fiscal incontinence…
…Some say that growing signs of a US economic recovery are positive for stocks, which means money is being diverted out of Treasuries, so lowering their price, which pushes up yields. That’s wishful thinking. Sovereign borrowing costs have just surged in the US – and therefore elsewhere – because a politically-wounded President Obama caved-in and extended the Bush-era tax cuts, combining them with a $120bn payroll tax holiday…
…The market is increasingly alarmed at the rate of increase of the US government’s already massive liabilities. America’s government debt is set to expand by a jaw-dropping 42pc over the next few years, reaching $19.6 trillion by 2015 according to Treasury Department estimates presented (amid very little fanfare) to Congress back in June. Since then, government spending has risen even more. So US debt service costs, like those of many other Western nations, are expanding rapidly in terms of both the volumes of sovereign instruments outstanding, and the yields on each bond.
You know what that means? It means that if you are a small time investor; that you need to get out of the Market NOW! This could have a huge impact on the market, and you could lose very big. I do virtual trading and so far, I have done well on my trades. But I am not about to lose my shirt, so, I ordered a sell off of everything. Now the big time guys will be able to afford to ride this out, because they have the wealth to spare. But the small time people will get burned. The best thing I can tell you small times investors, is to dump your shares and put it all into Gold. That would either be into EFT‘s or real actual Gold.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a expert on the subject of stocks, trading or even Gold. However, it does stand to reason that when such news as this is report, that it will affect the U.S. markets and the United States financial system. I do however, promote a great investment advice service called Elliotwave. You might want to check it out.
The Feckless Far Right: Exhibit SWOG: Stupid White Old Guys
An alternative headline would be “What I hate about White Christian Conservatives.” I saw this, and first thing I thought was, “does this old man ever get out of his house and into the real world?”
Now, at first, I wanted to just say this guy was being a straight up racist. However, I do not know that to be a fact. I think it is more of that stuffy old white Conservative Christian stupidity that the Republican right is known for.
Anyhow, here is Dennis Prager being as old, white, and Christian as he can be:
The nominees to receive the most prestigious awards in the music industry, the Grammy Awards, were just announced. Among the five nominees for Record of the Year is a song titled “F— You,” with the F-word, of course, spelled out and pronounced.
Here are the song’s opening lyrics:
“I see you driving ’round town
With the girl I love and I’m like,
F— you!
Oo, oo, ooo
I guess the change in my pocket
Wasn’t enough, I’m like,
F— you!
And f— her, too!”
The next lyrics add the S-word:
“I said, if I was richer, I’d still be with ya
Ha, now ain’t that some s–t? (ain’t that some s–t?)
And although there’s pain in my chest
I still wish you the best with a
F— you!
Oo, oo, ooo.”
And shortly thereafter, the N-word:
“I pity the fool that falls in love with you
(oh, s–t, she’s a gold digger)
Well
(just thought you should know, n—-)
Ooooooh.”
Dennis Prager is, of course, referring to this video here:
This video and song, of course, is about a young man, who has a crush on a young girl; who, of course, could care less about him. As someone who knows a little about that whole thing. I believe Dennis Prager needs to relax a little and maybe lighten up.
But wait! It gets better!
Quote:
It is also worth noting that the video of this song includes children who appear to be under 12 years of age and all the performers are black — a point I will address later.
I have long believed that MTV has done more damage to America’s young people than any other single institution. I am referring to the music videos, in which most images or scenes are shown for less than two seconds and thereby numb kids’ minds, and to the sexual imagery and sex talk that permeate the music videos and much of the rest of MTV programming.
But while MTV should be singled out for the damage it has done to America, the music industry in general has been equally guilty.
How does a song replete with expletives, whose very title is “F— You,” get nominated for a Grammy Award as Record of the Year?
The answer is that the music industry, from producers to artists, is largely populated by people who regard social and cultural norms as stifling. Their professional lives are dedicated to lowering that which is elevated, destroying that which uplifts, and to profaning that which is held sacred.
There is no better explanation for “F— You” being nominated as Record of the Year. It has little, if any, redeeming moral, social or artistic (to the extent that this word retains its original meaning) value. The lyrics are as vapid as they are obscene; the video further degrades that part of black life that is already too lacking in elevation; and there is the participation of children in a profanity-filled video.
For most of American history, a child who used such words was punished by his parents, and society instinctively knew how important it was not to expose children to obscenities. Today, adults in the music industry reward children for participating in videos laced with obscenities.
Nor is the nomination of “F— You” as Song of the Year an aberration. Two of the other four nominees are rap “songs” whose lyrics are also vile.
12 year old children!
Black kids saying “F— You!”
What’s next?
Your little 12 year old white daughter being gang raped by a group of wild black man? Horrors! 😯
Please. 🙄
I think Dennis Prager needs to relax and loosen up a little and realize that not everyone in American, including most black people are not out to get every Conservative White girl in America knocked up. Prager might also want to put away the Klan uniform, that decade ended long ago.
You say, “Hey! I thought you were a Conservative!?!?!”
Well, I am; albeit more of a fiscal Conservative, a libertarian-minded person. I find the good majority of social Conservatism to be downright hypocritical. Bristol Palin being a perfect example, not to mention her screwball Mother. (UGH!)
In closing, I believe if Dennis Prager spent more time fighting to define what the Republican Party is supposed to stand for; like trying to move it away from the George W. Bush warmonger Neo-Conservatism that it has been ensconced in since 2000 and back to the traditional Conservative, which is represented by sites like this one here. Then Prager might be doing something. Until then, he his just blowing Hot Air around and acting a bit like a Religious Holier than thou as well. Which, in all honesty, is doing nothing for the Republican Party. Well, except for making them look like total idiots to Independent thinkers, like myself and the rest of the Country.
Stock Advice: S&P 500, Treasuries, Gold, & Dollar are At Key Price Levels
A new article by a new author:
Thursday was another example of Mr. Market playing games with traders and investors as equities and precious metals took part in a strong rally. Some market prognosticators noted short-term oversold conditions across the board while others discussed the potential for a strong reversal that could potentially take out recent highs. In addition to the regular banter, to the average retail investor the market sure looks rigged when the government decides to sell a large stake in a massive IPO offering and a shaky tape suddenly becomes stronger than garlic.
There is a lot going on in the news as of late, and the expiration of the Bush tax cuts looms large on the minds of many, particularly small business owners. So the real question becomes, what should traders be watching or paying attention to before the light volume Thanksgiving week? The answer is simple, watch the tape! The market will provide plenty of clues and it will eventually tip its hand, experienced traders will wait for this process to unfold.
At this point in time, it is a bit early to begin making predictions as to which direction the equities market will go. What we do know is that the market was oversold in the short-term, so this could be a pause before prices turn lower. In contrast, this could be the beginning of another bullish move breaking recent highs on its way to a “Santa Claus” rally. My stance is neutral at this point in time; S&P 1200 should offer significant overhead resistance while S&P 1170 / 50 period moving average is near term support. The chart listed below illustrates these key levels:
S&P 500
If price were to break out above S&P 1200 on strong volume, it is likely that we will see a retest of the recent highs around the 1220 area. Consequently, if price tests the S&P 1170 area and fails price will likely be magnetized to the 1140-1150 area. We will have our answers in due time, but until a definite direction is known, patience is warranted.
Treasuries
As discussed in my previous article, the ProShares Ultra Short 20+ year treasury ETF (TBT) bounced off of the 36 level and put on a short lived rally only to settle toward the bottom 1/3 of its recent price range. After the recent breakout, it would be constructive to see TBT consolidate before confirming a direction. The chart below shows the key levels on TBT:
U.S. Dollar
Instead of illustrating a gold chart, let us focus our attention on the U.S. Dollar Index. The chart below shows the dollar has pulled back and is now testing the 50 period moving average. I am anticipating a retest of the recent breakout over double tops and this key level is illustrated below. If support holds firm, higher prices for the U.S. Dollar in the near term will be likely.
The Contrarian Trade
Thursday’s price action in the S&P 500 offers a great example of the power of options, which are traditionally overlooked by most equity traders or investors. While I did not personally enter this trade, I did enter a short position with tight stops around the S&P 1197 level using futures contracts for a short term trade. I was looking for a short term decline which we subsequently received in the aftermarket and my limit orders were triggered.
The option trade that I discussed with one of my trading buddies and mentor, involved getting short Apple (AAPL) when its price was around $309.50/share. While I did not place this trade as I felt I had plenty of short side exposure via my e-mini futures position, the trade would have worked quite well. So the trade listed below is not a recommendation, but an illustration of how options can be a contrarian traders’ best friend.
AAPL has been trading in the $300 – $320 per share range for several weeks having broken out above $320 only to be smacked down into the range. During the recent selloff, AAPL crossed down through the $300 level only to encounter strong buying that pushed it above the key $300 area by the close of trade that day. Thursday’s rally had AAPL trading above $309.50/share and the 20 period moving average was right around the 310 level as can be seen from the chart below.
The 20 period moving average provides an adept option trader with a key level which he/she can define the risk of a short position using options. Through the utilization of a contingent stop based on AAPL’s stock price, a trader using this setup could place a stop around the $311.25 area to define their ultimate risk. As of Thursday, the AAPL weekly options that expire November 26 began trading.
The trade listed below is a put debit spread:
Buy 1 AAPL Nov. 26 310 Weekly Put – $5.00 / contract based on Thursday’s close
Sell 1 AAPL Nov. 26 300 Weekly Put – $1.47 / contract based on Thursday’s close
AAPL stock closed around $308.43 / Share
The profitability chart reflecting this trade is below:
The maximum risk this trade has per leg was around $350, however through the use of the contingent stop around $311.25, the risk per leg is around $150. The maximum gain would be $650 per leg if at expiration in one week AAPL was trading below $300/share. In the first hour of trading, AAPL sold off below $306 per share. If an option trader had more than one contract on, he/she could take partial profits and place a stop at the entry price insuring a winning trade and allowing room for the trade to run.
Obviously the trader may want to adjust his/her stop based on market conditions, but this is simply an example of what can be accomplished with options. Once the trader understands how to determine the risk that an option trade assumes, he/she can build trade constructions to fit nearly any trading style or strategy. For a contrarian trader, options offer an unbelievable opportunity to mitigate risk and maximize profits. Learning how to trade options does take time and effort, but the potential returns options offer when they are used appropriately are unparalleled.
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The Christine O’Donnell story is supposedly false and a smear
With emphases on supposedly:
Christine O’Donnell’s campaign late Thursday night responded to an anonymous Gawker post claiming a drunken encounter with Delaware’s Republican Senate nominee, calling it “sexism and slander.”
“This story is just another example of the sexism and slander that female candidates are forced to deal with — from Secretary [Hillary] Clinton to Gov. [Sarah] Palin to soon-to-be Gov. [Nikki] Haley. Christine’s political opponents have been willing to engage in appalling and baseless attacks — all with the aim of distracting the press from covering the real issues in this race,” O’Donnell Communications Director Doug Sachtleben wrote in a post on Facebook.
via Christine O’Donnell camp rips Gawker ‘slander’ – Andy Barr – POLITICO.com.
What really strikes me as funny, is this. Look what NOW’s President said:
Sexist, misogynist attacks against women have no place in the electoral process, regardless of a particular candidate’s political ideology.
Today the tabloid website Gawker published an anonymous piece titled “I Had A One-Night Stand With Christine O’Donnell” that takes the routine sexual degradation of women candidates to a disgusting new low. NOW repudiates Gawker’s decision to run this piece. It operates as public sexual harassment. And like all sexual harassment, it targets not only O’Donnell, but all women contemplating stepping into the public sphere.
NOW/PAC has proudly endorsed women’s rights champion Chris Coons, O’Donnell’s opponent in the Delaware Senate race, and finds O’Donnell’s political positions dangerous for women. That does not mean it’s acceptable to use slut-shaming against her, or any woman.
NOW has repeatedly called out misogyny against women candidates, and this election season is no different. Let me be honest: I look forward to seeing Christine O’Donnell defeated at the polls, but this kind of sexist attack is an affront to all women, and I won’t stand for it.
Ah, yes, the joys of gender entitlement. So, O’Donnell is entitled to kid glove treatment —- because she is a woman. 🙄
Let me tell you all something, politics is a contact sport and if this woman cannot handle a little rough treatment, she needs to get the hell out of the political arena and quick!
Anyhow, the roundup on this story is located here, go read, if you need a good laugh.
It just strikes me as quite funny that somehow a woman is afford some sort of special privilege in politics, because she is a woman. If she cannot handle smears that this, without whining like a two year old; how is show supposed to handle the problems of Delaware?
Removing Clutter
This Blog is cluttered. I’m going to be removing stuff that is not paying.
Just an FYI…
Blogger Friend of mine could use a little help
I have argued with him, when I thought he was wrong. I have cursed him, when I did not like what he had to say. However, when it comes right down to it. I still like the little scrawny skinny sawed off runt.
Yes, that’s right, I am referring to none other than Robert Stacy McCain.
McCain and I have something in common —- Calhoun, Georgia. He worked there at the paper many moons ago and some of my family on my Mom’s side of the family lived there at one point. Dalton, Calhoun, and now they are all over the place in Georgia. You see, most of my people lived in Dalton, Georgia. Well, when we wanted to go see the one aunt; my grandmother’s sister, we went to Calhoun. Hence my association with Calhoun, Georgia. I figure if McCain was from around that area, he cannot be that bad of a guy. As for what a certain unnamed pony-tailed gilipollas in California might think, McCain is not what he says he is. If you are a political Blogger, you know what I am be referring to.
Anyways, I happen to check over at McCain’s Blog this morning and this was staring me in the face:
Yes, that is a $678 repair bill. (What he gets for owning a foreign piece of crap! Serves him right! Harrumph!)
The first thing I thought was, “I told that guy that he couldn’t use that car to jump over creeks.” Turns out, it’s engine trouble. Mr. McCain explains his plight:
Friday afternoon Mrs. Other McCain said, “Oh, Jim just called — you need to go pick up the part for the car.” This required a trip across town to a machine shop, where my 17-year-old son had taken the valve head for our 2004 KIA Optima.
Two weeks ago, the timing belt broke. No problem, it seemed at first. My son and his friend replaced the timing belt but, when they went to start it, it turned out that four of the 16 valves were bent. (This being a side-effect of the broken timing belt, although the mechanics of this side-effect are alien to me.)
OK, so the valve head — the part on top of the engine to which the phrase “double overhead valve” refers — had to go to a machine shop to be repaired. Again, no problem, it seemed. The work would cost “four hundred something,” my son said, and we were prepared to bite the bullet.
Having a teenage son who’s a budding shade-tree mechanic (mentored by his more accomplished buddy) certainly saves labor costs. “Four hundred something” is nothing compared to what this kind of job would cost at a regular auto-repair place. So when my wife dispatched me to fetch the part, I had in mind a certain price that would be paid.
What I didn’t know was that Jim had also ordered gaskets and other parts necessary to doing this repair, and when the man at the machine shop — who may have been the eponymous Denny — told me the bill was nearly $700, my reaction was shocked anguish.
You ask, “So, why does he need my help?” Well, Mr. McCain is a full time writer and blogger, like me. In other words, He’s unemployed; his wife works, but when you have 575, 879,456 (or so… Seriously, I think he has 5 or 6 kids) kids, a house note, a car note for the car that he just fixed, Food costs and so forth — it all adds up. Now, unlike me; he does not have the “support system” other than his legion of fans in the Conservative Blogging World. Not to mention that he is one hell of a good Blogger, that every now and again, he scores a scoop! Not to mention that he has been known to travel to all sorts of neat places to cover political events. For what it is worth, he is not a unknown —- unlike me 🙁 — in fact, he is a pretty well known figure in politics.
So, if you can spare a little chump change, head on over to Mr. McCain’s blog and help the old bastard out. If you do, you shall heap bucket loads of Hosannas and a good JuJu on your head; and everyone knows, good juju is always a good thing.
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. – (Matthew 25:35-46 KJV)
Update: Stacy McCain links over here and comments:
LOL! Actually, I am what used to be called a freelance journalist. The decline of print journalism has made this a problematic job description. Getting paid to write is one thing. Getting expense money is something else entirely.
To which I reply:
“You say Tomato…I say Tomato….”
Anyhow, send the old bastard some money. Because I’d really hate to see McCain getting his butt kicked by his wife. Not that he doesn’t deserve it. 😛
UPDATED: Photo of the Day
This comes via the USO – Dallas/Ft. Worth Chapter:
President George W. Bush Greeting the troops at Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport earlier today
Allow me this space to write a few words…. I will be the first to say that I did not always agree with President George W. Bush on policy. But I will say this; I did always know, just right where he stood, on all policy matters. For all of his faults while he was in office; the man did one thing right and that was the decision to sacrifice his Presidency for the war on terror. President Bush knew the stakes and knew the he would most likely become a lame duck President. However, that did not bother him and he did what he had to do, to defend this great nation of ours.
Like him or not….President Bush was and still is a leader, he loved our Military and was willing to take the heat of criticism from the left, for the many deaths of our Military’s officers during the Iraqi war.
I may not have voted for him, but I do and will always respect him.
Update: Memeornadum Thread
That’s it for the night!
Night ya’ll….
see you in the morning… 😀
Not everyone is sold on the iPad
Irk! Now this is not a good thing to read:
Gadgets come and gadgets go. The iPad you buy today will be e-waste in a year or two (less, if you decide not to pay to have the battery changed for you). The real issue isn’t the capabilities of the piece of plastic you unwrap today, but the technical and social infrastructure that accompanies it.
If you want to live in the creative universe where anyone with a cool idea can make it and give it to you to run on your hardware, the iPad isn’t for you.
If you want to live in the fair world where you get to keep (or give away) the stuff you buy, the iPad isn’t for you.
If you want to write code for a platform where the only thing that determines whether you’re going to succeed with it is whether your audience loves it, the iPad isn’t for you.
via Why I won’t buy an iPad (and think you shouldn’t, either) – Boing Boing.
I have to give props to Mr. Cory Doctorow for his brutal honesty. The article is quite the good read; from a standpoint of someone, who does not even own a iPod, much less an iPhone! 😀 I mean, I am just not big into, what I like to call, useless gadgets. To me, a phone is for making phone calls. Not for sitting there and playing games and all the crap you can do on them today. I mean, there is a thing called “Sexting” which is transmitting rather nasty pictures of one’s self over the internet. We never had to contend with stuff like that when I was a kid. (I am 37, by the way…) Besides that, you would not want to be transmitting naked pictures of my body anyhow; as I am almost sure it would cause someone great problems of the psychological sort to see me naked.
Now, from a greedy capitalist’s stand point; if I had a bunch of shares with Apple right about now and I saw this article. I would be asking for this guys head on a platter. I mean, just who the hell does this grumpy old jackass think he is? I am sure that Steve Jobs is not too happy about someone dissing his product, that he’s worked his rear end off to produce. On the other hand, this is just one man’s opinion of this product and I am sure that there are many others who have written that this is an exciting product to try.
The bottom line is this; we live in a free market, capitalistic society, and that free market will decide if this product is a smashing success or if it will be a flop. That is because that Free Market allows the PEOPLE, not the Government, to choose whether a product will be sold or even successful or not. Granted, it will take effort to make this happen; promotion by the company, the sales people and even the customer to buy the product. However the point is….. the freedom of choice is there. You can choose which product you wish to own by apple, all of them or none of them at all. That is the beauty of America. The only thing stopping you is your financial situation and also possibly your personal desire to own such product. Personally, even if I did have the money to own one of these iPads, I most likely would not own one. Because I personally do not see the point in owning such a thing. I have a very nice laptop, which suits my needs perfectly. I also do not see the point in owning something like this, and then having to own a iPhone or something similar, why not just put a camera and the ability to make phone calls in it as well? Again that is wonderful power of personal freedom and choice.
Now I could yammer on here about how the some of the Democrats and the socialists want to do away with all this freedom and change the system we have here in America. But I think everyone that reads this knows my position on those subjects. It also is not lost on me, where this thing is produced and the political positions of some of the people that will own one of these things. However, I will not bring that into this discussion here, as I am blogging about an iPad. 😉 😀 😛
Update: Others Talking about the iPad: Pajamas Media, The Confluence, Althouse, Vanity Fair, Bits, Scripting News, VentureBeat and Gawker
Update #2: Message to AllahPundit: Do you really want to be known as the dude who owns a electronic gadget, who’s name basically invokes thoughts of a Electronic Maxi-Pad or Internet Maxi-Pad? Not if you are Beta-Male. I mean, you are already being called a candy-ass Rhino as it is; you do not need anymore help. I’m just sayin’ 😛
Video: Is the Stimulus Working?
This comes via R.S. McCain:
The Reality Report #36
In this report:
Does Obama want your DNA?
How far will the IRS go to extract the peoples blood?
What the heck is Chris Dodd thinking about the FED’s monetary power? Gary answers those questions and
welcomes SpyChips co-author and RFID expert Katherine Albrecht to the show to discuss the latest in
RFID and implantable human tracking technology.
MoonBat Fight! President Bambi Teleprompter and Senater Ugly Botox are fighting
Further Meltdown on the Hill:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s increasingly public disagreements with President Barack Obama are a reflection of something deeper: the seething resentment some Democrats feel over what they see as cavalier treatment from a wounded White House.
For months, the California lawmaker has been pushing Obama hard in private while praising him in public. But now she’s being more open in her criticism, in part because she feels the White House was wrong — in the wake of the Democrats’ loss in Massachusetts — to push the Senate health care bill on the House when she knew there was no way it would pass.
Earlier this month, Pelosi criticized the president’s State of the Union call to exempt defense spending from a budget freeze. And in a White House meeting with leaders of both parties this week, she questioned the effectiveness of his plan to give small businesses tax breaks to hire workers.
“What you’re seeing now in public has been building in private,” said a top House Democratic official. “House members did their work — they did everything the president asked of them. And it gets stuck in the Senate. Or the Senate screws it up.”
via Family feud: Nancy Pelosi at odds with President Obama – POLITICO.com.
That is what happens when Democrats overreach and make promises that they cannot keep. Another Example:
“He wants a jobs bill, we get a jobs bill,” the official said. “He wanted health care, we got health care. Then the answer is, ‘You just need to twist enough arms to pass the Senate bill.’ You can twist arms if you’ve got a handful of them to twist. You can’t twist over 100 arms. There needs to be some reality check there.”
“Both ends of the Capitol — the House and the Senate — are starting to wonder if they’re on their own,” the official continued. “You have a lot of frustration there. And the White House’s reaction to all of that seems to be, ‘Run against Congress’ — which, as you can imagine, doesn’t go over very well with House members. The White House reaction seems to be, ‘Position ourselves against Congress.’”
See, the problem is this here. The President seems to forget that the Congress; that being the House and Senate, have people running those offices, and not robots. Those people actually have to answer to their constituents, and going around doing the will of the President and ignoring those who elected you, can lead to one’s ouster from his office. You would think that the President would be smart enough to know this. No, I am not saying that President is outright dumb; I just think that the President had some sort of crazy idea of some sort that when he took office and the Democrats got the majority that the Democrats and Republicans would just roll over and let him run roughshod over them. We see now that this just was not the case. This is a good thing, I believe this is why the America people’s involvement in politics is very necessary in this time of great uncertainty.
Others: Wall Street Journal, Left Coast Rebel, , Hot Air,Wake up America
Breaking News, Massive Snow Storm Lands in my neighborhood
and of course, I have video:
and pictures too!
Yes, We were hit by a snow storm
Nothing we Michigan people cannot handle.. (well, some of us!)
Yes, that is as cold as it looks. Especially that WIND... Oy!
Snow Shovels and Fishing Poles --- You can obviously see where my Dad's priorities are at.
A sure sign of Certified Hillbilly, A box fan on a front page, In the middle of winter! 🙂
A left over from the days when I actually worked for a living. My Briefcase. It is a truckers dream. I put every damn thing in that briefcase. I miss those days of driving... 🙁
Dad's truck. My Car was down the street on the side road, Snow Emergency and tickets cost money
Ye old backyard, Cold and quite snowy...
Updated: Limited Posting Tommorow…. I am back
I will be at a Christmas dinner tomorrow morning….and seeing that I will be most likely feeling like crap from the rest of the day; seeing that I have get up quite early and I am going to bed her at 1:00 a.m. EST. I am going to be feeling rough.
See you all tomorrow evening!
Updated: See here, please.
Answering Laurence Vance
I write this piece to answer the libertarian leftist Laurence Vance’s smear piece against me. An article for what it is worth has only brought 143 visitors to my blog, as of this writing. For a man, who is supposedly an authority on all things libertarian; not to mention all things Austrian economics —That my friend is quite amusing, I guess Lew Rockwell and company are legends in their own minds — at best.
I will not sit here and pick apart this entire ridiculous article, which is filled with in inaccuracies about me, who I listen to in talk radio, and all the other silly assumptions that those of the idiotic leftist mentality believe about us, who happen to respect and support our Military. Nevertheless, I will correct this leftist imbecile on some issues.
First off, whom or what I listen to on television: I guess Mr. Vance assumes that Fox News Network in my Television when I am awake. This is a gross fallacy; I only watch Fox News during the daytime; that is, if and when, I decide to turn the blasted thing on. I think I may watch an hour of Television at most, as for during the opinion hour at night, the only person I can stomach on Fox News is, in fact, is Bill O’Reilly. I find Sean Hannity most annoying. Why is that? Because Sean Hannity is a water carrier, a talk points repeater. Quite bluntly, Sean Hannity is an idiotic gasbag — Not to mention he looks and dresses like a closeted gay twink. Sean Hannity is, in fact, a Republican. He spouts Republican talking points — all the while claiming to be a Libertarian. One thing I can tell you, Sean Hannity is not a libertarian, he is not even close. Even I, the most hawkish man in the blogosphere can tell you that. Sean Hannity, to me, represents the Bush-era Fox News. Which has since changed, they stopped with the stupid Bush-era talking points and moved on. Sean Hannity, well, not so much. As for Limbaugh, I respect the man for building such a large business around his, well, ego. However, I do not listen to him on a regular basis, and I will tell you why. Rush Limbaugh strikes me as someone who is love with his own voice — something that I find most highly annoying. Therefore, I do not listen to Rush Limbaugh for that reason. Like anyone else, I catch the clips online when he says or does something remarkably stupid. As for Glenn Beck, Beck peddles paranoia; I am not much into that sort of a thing really. Glenn Back believes that communism is still a real threat. I disagree; I believe that radical socialism is a real threat. However, staunch communism is not and has not been for many years — McCarthy saw to that little feat — and yes there is a big difference between socialism and communism, it even says this on the communist party USA’s website. I ought to know, I did look it up. I do not make a habit of yowling about things that I have no clue about, unlike some in this idiotic political blogosphere.
Therefore, yes, I do watch Bill O’Reilly; why, you ask — Because Bill O’Reilly is fair and yes, balanced. Anyone who actually watches his show knows that Bill does not carry water for the President, ever. Bill also is fair to the President; he does not just hate President Obama, because he is a socialist, much to the chagrin of those on the far right. Bill O’Reilly, like me, has a strong disliking of the socialist far left. This is because we both happen to know that socialism is a threat to the free capitalistic system in this country — this is why I respect the man. Another thing that made me begin to watch him at Bill O’Reilly was the fact that he stopped the policy of shutting people’s microphones off, that disagreed with him. I noticed that he was doing that, and because of this, I refused to watch O’Reilly. As much as I disagree with much of what the left has to say; I do believe that anyone in this Country, as long as they are not planning to overthrow or cause harm to anyone in this Nation, have the right to freedom of speech. This is what got Senator Joseph McCarthy into a great deal of trouble, this is why people like William Buckley Jr. and L. Brent Bozell Jr. (not to be confused with his son, Brent Bozell III) abandoned McCarthy. Because McCarthy wanted to exert thought police on the American people, that which is, sadly, a tactic of the far left. Because O’Reilly abandoned this practice of shutting microphones off, I began to watch him. I also starting watching Fox News and frankly stopped watching CNN and MSNBC because of the blatant partisanship of MSNBC and to a lesser extent CNN. I am all for a diversity of opinion, but when you actually stoop to the level of insulting your viewers, that is when I decided that the bus stopped here and I got off. (So to speak)
Getting back to the subject at hand here, Laurence Vance also accuses me of not being able to separate the Military from the Government. Which is most amusing, because his posting at Lew Rockwell’s Blog; he accuses the Military of occupying Iraq, which was done on the orders of the George W. Bush Administration — Which is something I pointed out in one of my previous postings. Therefore, to Mr. Vance I say — Project much, friend? But then again, when talking to a leftist, one can only expect so much — because to them, up is down and left is right, and the world is a very bizarre place; which is why I tend to avoid reasoning with them. After all, the Bible says; “If any man be ignorant, let them be ignorant” and I do try to follow the Bible as much as I possibly can.
While I am on the subject of Iraq, I feel the need to clear something up. If Mr. Vance or anyone else happens to believe that I am some sort of a Bush-supporting Republican, please be advised that this about as far from the truth that one can get. I did not vote for President George. W. Bush, at all, either time. During that time, I was firmly in the Democratic Party column. This pre-dated my blogging days. I was a left of center — albeit quite the “half-assed left of center,” but I digress. Further, I did support the Iraq war, until the reports came out and the White House admitted that they were wrong about Weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In fact, it was that little incident, that triggered me to start blogging in February of 2006 as a “left of center” blogger. I will explain the reasons why I switched sides for another posting, as this one is getting very long.
Finally, to answer Mr. Vance’s charge of being a “Red State Fascist” — If loving America and in loving America; knowing that in order to maintain the peace requires strength. If knowing that the United States Military is a valued treasure in this Country and should be highly respected — If wanting to see the United States of America protected from terrorists; both foreign and domestic, makes me a Red State Fascist — I plead the only thing I that I will ever plead to a charge as this — guilty as charged.
May God Bless the United States of America and May God Bless the United States Armed Forces. Further more, Thank God for our Military and Thank God for the privilege of being able to debate those who I disagree with, without the fear of being criminally persecuted for it. We live in a wonderful Nation and I will always defend her from those who would want to slander her. I feel that it is the most that I can do.