Read the article upon which the headline is based here: http://www.denverpost.com/romney/ci_21298300/n-c-mitt-romney-puts-distance-between-his?source=pkg
Monday, August 13, 2012
A new template for the media
Read the article upon which the headline is based here: http://www.denverpost.com/romney/ci_21298300/n-c-mitt-romney-puts-distance-between-his?source=pkg
And the Broadway musical about Muslims is opening when?
Yes, I think that is a major point to consider. Please let me know when someone decides to do a satire on Muslims.
http://www.denverpost.com/theater/ci_21298423/book-mormon-launch-enhances-denver-centers-national-reputation
Sunday, August 12, 2012
"Re-minding" ourselves
From Jill Bolte Taylor's My Stroke of Insight: "I realize that for many of us, the distance between our thinking mind and our compassionate heart sometimes feels miles apart. Some of us traverse this distance on command. Others of us are so committed to our hopelessness, anger, and misery that the mere concept of a peaceful heart feels foreign and unsafe.
Based upon my experience with losing my left mind, I wholeheartedly believe that the feeling of deep inner peace is neurological circuitry located in our right brain. This circuitry is constantly ronning and always available for us to hook into. The feeling of peace is something that happens in the present moment. It's not something that we bring with us from the past or project into the future. Step one to experiencing inner peace is the willingness to be present in the right here, right now."
Based upon my experience with losing my left mind, I wholeheartedly believe that the feeling of deep inner peace is neurological circuitry located in our right brain. This circuitry is constantly ronning and always available for us to hook into. The feeling of peace is something that happens in the present moment. It's not something that we bring with us from the past or project into the future. Step one to experiencing inner peace is the willingness to be present in the right here, right now."
Unpayable debts
How would you feel if someone murdered one or more of your loved ones? Would you want to see the murderer receive the same fate as his victims? The Denver Post editorial board writes today that if James Holmes is convicted of the Aurora murders, he should not be put to death. In fact, The Denver Post wants the Colorado legislature to end the death penalty. As always, their headline writer is too clever by half with this headline: Death penalty should be killed.
A blogger named Professor Mondo writes about a trial that is scheduled for next May. His brother, who maintains his innocence, will be on trial for the murder of their parents, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky intends to seek the death penalty. Professor Mondo writes about it briefly but eloquently: "Capital punishment is not a mere abstract issue for me. Nonetheless, I will confess I tend to believe at least in part in a retributive model of justice — I have more faith in the penitentiary than in the reformatory.
I do believe that there are crimes so heinous that they warrant an ultimate sanction, and I believe that there are folks who are beyond human redemption. (The question of their ultimate redemption is God’s to deal with, not mine.)"
"Even though no action can bring their family members back to them — and that debt is unpayable — there may be some satisfaction in knowing that everything has been taken from the offender. And ultimately, life is our total earthly capital. Forfeiting a life may not — cannot — really put a criminal square with the house, but it is as close as we can come in a limited world."
Read more here: http://profmondo.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/vengeance-in-a-limited-world/#comments
Read the Post editorial here: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_21277559/editorial-death-penalty-should-be-killed
Update: In an earlier post, the day after the Aurora massacre, Professor Mondo had this to say:
"This was not sick, nor was it ignorant or idiocy. It was evil. But if we can’t recognize it, we can’t do anything about it. For that matter, I’m not sure we can do anything about it in any case, and perhaps that’s one of the reasons we have moved to the diagnostic and root cause metaphors for evil — because the prospect of diagnosis offers the illusory idea of an eventual cure, and we find that comforting.
But while I don’t believe that humanity is basically evil, I believe some people are, and they cannot be cured — only extirpated.
I pray for peace for the survivors, mercy for the dead, and justice for the shooter."
profmondo.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/rectifying-a-name
A blogger named Professor Mondo writes about a trial that is scheduled for next May. His brother, who maintains his innocence, will be on trial for the murder of their parents, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky intends to seek the death penalty. Professor Mondo writes about it briefly but eloquently: "Capital punishment is not a mere abstract issue for me. Nonetheless, I will confess I tend to believe at least in part in a retributive model of justice — I have more faith in the penitentiary than in the reformatory.
I do believe that there are crimes so heinous that they warrant an ultimate sanction, and I believe that there are folks who are beyond human redemption. (The question of their ultimate redemption is God’s to deal with, not mine.)"
"Even though no action can bring their family members back to them — and that debt is unpayable — there may be some satisfaction in knowing that everything has been taken from the offender. And ultimately, life is our total earthly capital. Forfeiting a life may not — cannot — really put a criminal square with the house, but it is as close as we can come in a limited world."
Read more here: http://profmondo.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/vengeance-in-a-limited-world/#comments
Read the Post editorial here: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_21277559/editorial-death-penalty-should-be-killed
Update: In an earlier post, the day after the Aurora massacre, Professor Mondo had this to say:
"This was not sick, nor was it ignorant or idiocy. It was evil. But if we can’t recognize it, we can’t do anything about it. For that matter, I’m not sure we can do anything about it in any case, and perhaps that’s one of the reasons we have moved to the diagnostic and root cause metaphors for evil — because the prospect of diagnosis offers the illusory idea of an eventual cure, and we find that comforting.
But while I don’t believe that humanity is basically evil, I believe some people are, and they cannot be cured — only extirpated.
I pray for peace for the survivors, mercy for the dead, and justice for the shooter."
profmondo.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/rectifying-a-name
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Time for some right brain dominance
Joan at Primordial Slack celebrates Satchmo's birthday. Listen to Satchmo and Ella, and go right over to your right brain for a few minutes.
found here: http://primordialslack.com/?p=2494
found here: http://primordialslack.com/?p=2494
Wrong store
Left, right, left, right, left, right: take that, you scumbag!
I found this here: http://primordialslack.com/?p=2504
I found this here: http://primordialslack.com/?p=2504
Blatant fraud
* In one instance, four illegal aliens fraudulently claimed that 20 children lived with them in the same trailer and received from the IRS $29,608 in ACTC refunds. The children claimed did not even live in the U.S.
* The Inspector General recommended that, “Legislation should be considered to require a Social Security Number in order to be eligible for the ACTC, consistent with the requirements for the Earned Income Tax Credit… As it now stands, the payment of Federal funds through this tax benefit appears to provide an additional incentive for aliens to enter, reside, and work in the U.S. without authorization, which contradicts Federal law and policy to remove such incentives.”
Republican Senators proposed such legislation, but Harry Reid refused to allow it to come to the Senate floor for a vote. So at the same time that the United States is going broke, with $16 trillion in debt, we are bribing people from all over the world, illegally as well as legally, to enjoy federal benefits at taxpayer expense. And Barack Obama and Harry Reid refuse to permit anything to be done, even to the extent of limiting blatant fraud
Couple gets rewarded by Romney for taking care of their home
Is this really a surprise?
John Ingold writes in today's Denver Post:
"Nearly three-quarters of teens in two metro-area substance-abuse treatment programs said they have used medical marijuana bought or grown for someone else, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Only one of the 122 teens in the study who admitted to using medical marijuana was an approved patient. The findings hint that the leaking of medical marijuana from the legal state system to illegal users may be common in Colorado."
Is this really a surprise? You think those who pushed for medical marijuana, and those who are now pushing for marijuana legalization, are surprised by marijuana being diverted for other than medial usage? I don't.
"Nearly three-quarters of teens in two metro-area substance-abuse treatment programs said they have used medical marijuana bought or grown for someone else, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Only one of the 122 teens in the study who admitted to using medical marijuana was an approved patient. The findings hint that the leaking of medical marijuana from the legal state system to illegal users may be common in Colorado."
Is this really a surprise? You think those who pushed for medical marijuana, and those who are now pushing for marijuana legalization, are surprised by marijuana being diverted for other than medial usage? I don't.
"Llama"
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21285787/holmes-university-illinois-application-offers-no-hint-mental
Unauthorized ads on my blog
I am furious! Do you hear Obama ads playing in the background on my blog? They are unauthorized by me. I do not have any ads on my blog. I will now attempt to contact Blogger to get them removed!
Update: I think I have foiled the Obama hackers. Please let me know if you are hearing Obama ads in the background as you read this blog.
Update 2: The Obama ads are back. Do you hear them when you are reading my blog? I changed my password, and they went away, but now they are back. Can you imagine how furious I am over this? Please tell me whether or not you hear the ads. Some hackers must think this is really funny.
Update: I think I have foiled the Obama hackers. Please let me know if you are hearing Obama ads in the background as you read this blog.
Update 2: The Obama ads are back. Do you hear them when you are reading my blog? I changed my password, and they went away, but now they are back. Can you imagine how furious I am over this? Please tell me whether or not you hear the ads. Some hackers must think this is really funny.
Ryan: "Here's the difference"
From InstaPundit: Paul Ryan schools Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is head of the Democrat National Committee: "15 unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats putting price controls on current seniors, or putting 50 million seniors in charge of what plan works best for them. Obama's plan raids Medicare, rations it, and still allows the program to go bankrupt."
Banks try out saving, too!
Did you know that Bank of America has cut 1,536 ATMs from its stock? Most of them were at malls and gas stations. It costs banks an average of $1,700 per month to run an ATM on someone
else's property, compared with $1,100 at a branch, said Tony Hayes, a
partner at consulting firm Oliver Wyman in Boston. The difference stems
from rental costs and fees for armored couriers to refill machines with
cash, he said.
Time for some punches
Liz Peek: "This decision by Mr. Romney presents voters with a clear choice – a
president who skips town when his hand-picked Simpson-Bowles budget
commission is ready to deliver some unpleasant news- or a GOP team ready
to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
With the economy stuck in slow-mo, Mr. Obama can hardly talk up his economic prescriptions. Because his campaign fodder is so thin, the president has descended into the gutter, slinging the vilest mud about Mr. Romney and his career – to the point that even some of his Democrat backers, like President Clinton, have risen to Romney’s defense. It is distasteful in the extreme. It is not presidential.
The arrival of Mr. Ryan on the scene will demand more from the Obama campaign. He will inject into this race serious concern about our fiscal future – a future that Mr. Obama has ignored. The president’s campaign will now pivot to attacking Ryan, and especially his proposals to put Medicare on a sounder footing. They will attempt to scare seniors into thinking Ryan wants to strip them of their benefits, when of course the truth is just the opposite. I have faith in Americans. I believe they understand that our entitlements programs are in serious trouble, and in need of overhaul. The GOP team will have to craft a simple and straightforward explanation of how they will protect seniors; the good news is that Ryan has been at this for some time – he knows the drill. So does Romney.
Of course, we will all look forward to the vice presidential debates with some enthusiasm. If the moderator is balanced, the match-up between Mr. Ryan and Mr. Biden should be a slam-dunk. Ryan is a self-professed policy wonk; Biden is a schmoozer with a penchant for gaffes. Mr. Biden would be well advised to approach the debates as a “f..ing big deal.”
The most profound impact of the Ryan pick is that it casts the Romney campaign in a new light – not quite so cotton-wooled. Let us hope that the choice signals a more aggressive and punchy approach. There are less than 100 days left; Romney-Ryan has an excellent case to make. Now they need to go out there and make it.
With the economy stuck in slow-mo, Mr. Obama can hardly talk up his economic prescriptions. Because his campaign fodder is so thin, the president has descended into the gutter, slinging the vilest mud about Mr. Romney and his career – to the point that even some of his Democrat backers, like President Clinton, have risen to Romney’s defense. It is distasteful in the extreme. It is not presidential.
The arrival of Mr. Ryan on the scene will demand more from the Obama campaign. He will inject into this race serious concern about our fiscal future – a future that Mr. Obama has ignored. The president’s campaign will now pivot to attacking Ryan, and especially his proposals to put Medicare on a sounder footing. They will attempt to scare seniors into thinking Ryan wants to strip them of their benefits, when of course the truth is just the opposite. I have faith in Americans. I believe they understand that our entitlements programs are in serious trouble, and in need of overhaul. The GOP team will have to craft a simple and straightforward explanation of how they will protect seniors; the good news is that Ryan has been at this for some time – he knows the drill. So does Romney.
Of course, we will all look forward to the vice presidential debates with some enthusiasm. If the moderator is balanced, the match-up between Mr. Ryan and Mr. Biden should be a slam-dunk. Ryan is a self-professed policy wonk; Biden is a schmoozer with a penchant for gaffes. Mr. Biden would be well advised to approach the debates as a “f..ing big deal.”
The most profound impact of the Ryan pick is that it casts the Romney campaign in a new light – not quite so cotton-wooled. Let us hope that the choice signals a more aggressive and punchy approach. There are less than 100 days left; Romney-Ryan has an excellent case to make. Now they need to go out there and make it.
Ryan at the Healthcare Summit
Ryan to Obama and Biden: "Ignoring costs does not remove them from the backs of taxpayers. There really is a difference between us. We don't believe the government should be in control. The American people are engaged. You're not listening to the American people."
I found this here: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/08/its-ryan.php
I found this here: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/08/its-ryan.php
"Littered wih wrecked utopias"
In Paul Ryan's own words (delivered at CPAC this year): "There are those who say modern society is too complicated for the
average man or woman to deal with. This is a long-standing argument, but
we heard it more frequently after the mortgage credit collapse and
financial meltdown in 2008. They say we need more experts and
technocrats making more of our economic decisions for us. And they argue
for less “political interference” with the enlightened bureaucrats … by
which they mean less objection by the people to the overregulation of
society.
If we choose to have a federal government that tries to solve every problem, then as long as society keeps growing more complex, government must keep on growing right along with it. The rule of law by the people must be reduced and the arbitrary discretion of experts expanded. . .
If the average American can’t handle complexity in his or her own life, and only government experts can … then government must direct the average American about how to live his or her life. Freedom becomes a diminishing good. But there’s a major flaw in this “progressive’” argument, and it’s this. It assumes there must be someone or some few who do have all the knowledge and information. We just have to find, train, and hire them to run the government’s agencies.
Friedrich Hayek called this collectivism’s “fatal conceit.” The idea that a few bureaucrats know what’s best for all of society, or possess more information about human wants and needs than millions of free individuals interacting in a free market is both false and arrogant. It has guided collectivists for two centuries down the road to serfdom — and the road is littered with their wrecked utopias. The plan always fails!
Read more here: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/08/its-ryan.php
If we choose to have a federal government that tries to solve every problem, then as long as society keeps growing more complex, government must keep on growing right along with it. The rule of law by the people must be reduced and the arbitrary discretion of experts expanded. . .
If the average American can’t handle complexity in his or her own life, and only government experts can … then government must direct the average American about how to live his or her life. Freedom becomes a diminishing good. But there’s a major flaw in this “progressive’” argument, and it’s this. It assumes there must be someone or some few who do have all the knowledge and information. We just have to find, train, and hire them to run the government’s agencies.
Friedrich Hayek called this collectivism’s “fatal conceit.” The idea that a few bureaucrats know what’s best for all of society, or possess more information about human wants and needs than millions of free individuals interacting in a free market is both false and arrogant. It has guided collectivists for two centuries down the road to serfdom — and the road is littered with their wrecked utopias. The plan always fails!
Read more here: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/08/its-ryan.php
Romney chooses Ryan!
There are lots of interesting things about Romney's pick of Paul Ryan this morning. The one that immediately comes to mind is Romney's choice to do it on Saturday morning, the slowest news coverage time of the week. I hope this means that Romney has given up on ever getting fair coverage from the media.
Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post knows both men well. Here is some of what she wrote: "Romney is above all else a problem-solver, a doer and a fixer. Ryan, likewise, is a policy maven who has since 2007 been trying to advance budget, tax and health-care reforms, moving the Republican Party to become the champion of market-based reform. Ryan is a smart man, certainly the smartest in Congress, with an eye for detail and a facility with numbers. Romney prizes brains, precision and the ability to wield numbers. Ryan uses a scalpel, not a sledge hammer in skewering his opposition; Romney likewise uses piles of data to slay his competitors (as he did in the Florida and Arizona GOP primary debates). Ryan is personally and professionally disciplined, a straight arrow with a gee-whiz brand of optimism. Romney is as well."
One more thing from Rubin: "That debate with Joe Biden will be a knee-slapper!"
Roger Simon at PJ Media writes, "Through nominating Ryan, Romney has signaled that his campaign is going to be about the economy, the economy, and, yes, you guessed it, the economy (with healthcare thrown in as an aspect of the economy). It is not going to be about immigration, marriage, the legalization of marijuana, whether candidates cause cancer, who has a dog on his car, or even who was born where. It’s going to be about the one thing America is obsessed with, the one thing that if we don’t correct nothing else is possible…. Okay, I won’t say it again, but you certainly know.
"Of course none of that means that Romney/Ryan will win anymore than it would Romney/Whoever. We are in a high-stakes game now in which democracy and ideas go out the window in favor of vicious attacks orchestrated by David Axelrod, et al. The Chicago crew will do anything possible to push the discussion away from the economy with as many distractions as possible. The compliant media can be trusted to be their more-than-willing executioners in this endeavor.
It will take a great deal of skill and hard work for Romney to keep the election focused on the issues. So far he has not been completely successful. But in this regard, putting Ryan by his side seems a particularly smart move. This guy usually has something to say and, for a politician, something remarkably substantive. The fight has been joined."
Read more from Rubin here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/ryan-is-the-one/2012/08/11/30f3998c-e371-11e1-a25e-15067bb31849_blog.html
Read more from Simon here: http://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2012/08/10/romneys-gutsy-choice/
Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post knows both men well. Here is some of what she wrote: "Romney is above all else a problem-solver, a doer and a fixer. Ryan, likewise, is a policy maven who has since 2007 been trying to advance budget, tax and health-care reforms, moving the Republican Party to become the champion of market-based reform. Ryan is a smart man, certainly the smartest in Congress, with an eye for detail and a facility with numbers. Romney prizes brains, precision and the ability to wield numbers. Ryan uses a scalpel, not a sledge hammer in skewering his opposition; Romney likewise uses piles of data to slay his competitors (as he did in the Florida and Arizona GOP primary debates). Ryan is personally and professionally disciplined, a straight arrow with a gee-whiz brand of optimism. Romney is as well."
One more thing from Rubin: "That debate with Joe Biden will be a knee-slapper!"
Roger Simon at PJ Media writes, "Through nominating Ryan, Romney has signaled that his campaign is going to be about the economy, the economy, and, yes, you guessed it, the economy (with healthcare thrown in as an aspect of the economy). It is not going to be about immigration, marriage, the legalization of marijuana, whether candidates cause cancer, who has a dog on his car, or even who was born where. It’s going to be about the one thing America is obsessed with, the one thing that if we don’t correct nothing else is possible…. Okay, I won’t say it again, but you certainly know.
"Of course none of that means that Romney/Ryan will win anymore than it would Romney/Whoever. We are in a high-stakes game now in which democracy and ideas go out the window in favor of vicious attacks orchestrated by David Axelrod, et al. The Chicago crew will do anything possible to push the discussion away from the economy with as many distractions as possible. The compliant media can be trusted to be their more-than-willing executioners in this endeavor.
It will take a great deal of skill and hard work for Romney to keep the election focused on the issues. So far he has not been completely successful. But in this regard, putting Ryan by his side seems a particularly smart move. This guy usually has something to say and, for a politician, something remarkably substantive. The fight has been joined."
Read more from Rubin here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/ryan-is-the-one/2012/08/11/30f3998c-e371-11e1-a25e-15067bb31849_blog.html
Read more from Simon here: http://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2012/08/10/romneys-gutsy-choice/
Friday, August 10, 2012
Racist abortionist
Abortion doctor Ron Virmani of Charlotte, North Carolina is confronted by people from a Christian group called Operation Save America. He challenges them to "Go ahead and pay for them. Let me see you adopt one of those ugly black babies.”
Go here to read the full exchange: http://patterico.com/2012/08/08/abortion-doctor-lets-see-you-adopt-one-of-those-ugly-black-babies/
Go here to read the full exchange: http://patterico.com/2012/08/08/abortion-doctor-lets-see-you-adopt-one-of-those-ugly-black-babies/
It's getting harder to keep one's composure
Three of my favorite people talk about projection, lawlessness, the importance of paying attention and so much more.
I found this here: http://callofthepatriot.blogspot.com/2012/08/teapartyebs-trifecta.html
I found this here: http://callofthepatriot.blogspot.com/2012/08/teapartyebs-trifecta.html
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