February 17, 2013

"[T]his is a president who is not afraid to use his power. He is not afraid to issue executive orders when he sees fit."

"I find it stunning, truly, that this president and the Democratic party continues to lay all the blame for their failure to achieve anything at the feet of the tea party or Ted Cruz or whoever the latest villain is. The truth is, this man is the President of the United States. He could get immigration reform, as one example, tomorrow. If he would step forward and say, 'I applaud and salute the gang of eight's proposal. Let's move forward and go beyond that...'"

Carly Fiorina was sharp and pithy on "Meet the Press" today.  

She was interrupted by Chris Matthews, who yammered a lot and was the opposite of sharp and pithy.

Also on the show, Fiorina's California rival Gavin Newsom, who was so noticeably dumber than she that I felt sorry for him, or I would have felt sorry for him if he didn't hold any power and didn't have the advantage of being a handsome bastard. He kept using inane food metaphors. Not just the old, oft-misused cliché "the proof's in the pudding," but also one I'd never heard and never want to hear again, "You wanna move the mouse, you gotta move the cheese," which he immediately rephrased as "We've got to change incentives in this country for good behavior, and not the kinda behavior we're seeing." He's calling the people mice? He wants to manipulate us with cheese? Is this related to that book "Who Moved My Cheese?" Or is this another Thomas Friedmanism? I see that back in 2011, Friedman was on NPR, pushing a book, and saying:
"Move the cheese; move the mouse. Don't move the cheese; mouse doesn't move... So right now, all the incentives of these two parties are to behave in really bad ways for the country. The only way to change that is to show them the [voter] — the cheese — is over here."

128 comments:

Robert Cook said...

This president is achieving just what he wants to achieve...the further enrichment and protection of the financial elites, the big banks, and Wall Street. Anything else he or his people may say is just pandering to his base who still, against all reason, believe him to be a progressive who wants to help further the cause.

Anonymous said...

The president should focus on his mandated responsibility of submitting a budget proposal before other extracurricular activities like immigration reform.

If I told my boss that I'm going to miss a deadline, but I'm still going to take a vacation. I'd be shocked if he didn't fire me.

Saint Croix said...

I've had a lot of back and forth-- with our science advisor-- John Holdren about this over the last several days.

Oh man, I would love to hear that apocalyptic, the world is gonna end science talk with John Holdren!

Totally reminds me of this.

Anonymous said...

Why is Carly Fiorina around? She destroyed HP and lost a senate race. She's the only chief executive I've ever met that traveled with her hair stylist.

Baron Zemo said...

That's bullshit.

John Edwards always had his hairstylist with him.

And a whore. Just sayn'

Of course he was just a Senator and a candidate for President.

Rose said...

"Of course he was just a Senator and a candidate for President."

And a Dem.

edutcher said...

As of this writing, there are Mexican gangs running blacks out of towns in CA.

If he really threw his weight behind amnesty, there would be war in this country.

That, and he really can't turn his hand to much without screwing it up.

Drones, included.

And, if we're talking politicians traveling with people for cosmetic reasons, I'll bet Hillary travels with a guy who does nothing but Lifestyle Lifts.

Baron Zemo said...

He also said something about the "poofter is in the pudding" which seemed to have something to do with same sex marriage but that was unclear.

rhhardin said...

Better mousetrap.

madAsHell said...

Chris Matthews reminds me of the drunk at the end of the bar trying to engage anyone in conversation.

rhhardin said...

The cheese stands alone.

Saint Croix said...

He's calling the people mice? He wants to manipulate us with cheese?

Liberals used to make movies like Dr. Strangelove. Now they are Dr. Strangelove. How did that happen?

Dr. Strangelove was shot during the Kennedy administration and released during the Johnson administration. Think about that! Where are the liberals that would make such a brilliant political satire today?

Liberals used to be Hugo Black. Now they're Cass Sunstein.

madAsHell said...

the only chief executive I've ever met

1. You have never met Carly Fiorina.
2. You don't know much about CEO's

Rabel said...

Robert Cook said:

"This president is achieving just what he wants to achieve...the further enrichment and protection of the financial elites, the big banks, and Wall Street."

Cook, can you tell me why, at this point in his life, he wants that?

jr565 said...

"I find it stunning, truly, that this president and the Democratic party continues to lay all the blame for their failure to achieve anything at the feet of the tea party or Ted Cruz or whoever the latest villain is. The truth is, this man is the President of the United States. He could get immigration reform, as one example, tomorrow. If he would step forward and say, 'I applaud and salute the gang of eight's proposal. Let's move forward and go beyond that...'"

I find it stunning that Fiorina would find it stunning that Obama would act the way Obama has always acted. Does she not know the president at all? This is how Obama has ALWAYS been.
I find it stunning that the dems haven't passed a budget in 4 years. I find it stunning that the dems keep talking about a balanced approach to the deficit which never includes actual cuts but always includes tax hikes.
I find it stunning that people actually voted this guy into office.


Nonapod said...

We have a president who isn't interested in appearing to preside. He has been on a permanent campaign against bad stuff. He can only demonize and create strawmen, he can't really ever accept responsibility or honestly attempt to solve problems. His entire presidency has been based on grievances. He has never had any interest in real solutions, only lecturing us all.

Anonymous said...

Obama criticism is a likely a way to unravel the large ball of socialist theory Robert Le Red has balled up inside over the years.

He'll be happy to share that red thread with you.

rhhardin said...

the further enrichment and protection of the financial elites, the big banks, and Wall Street.

It's called a limited access system, and it's stable and pretty common, with a national standard of living about 10x less than an open access system.

Perks handed out are monopoly licenses in various areas, in return for support from those from whom support is needed.

"Black leaders" have been doing it to blacks for about 40 years.

That's been a conservative observation for quite a while.

Anonymous said...

Rabel, the Socialist party meets at the library (of the people!) at 4 pm on Sundays.

Sadly, we do read the web from our iphones and print out propaganda from the dread Kinko's, but soon, oh so soon, we'll have the copying machines all in one place, controlled by the people.

Stan was let go for his "touching" problems, so it's safe again.

rhhardin said...

With David Gregory they should call it meet the dress.

AllenS said...

The second mouse gets the cheese.

Original Mike said...

Matthews is senile. It has become cringe-inducing.

Titus said...

How can anyone watch any of those insipid "talking heads".

I would rather do a woman or give birth with my legs sewn together.

Automatic_Wing said...

I find it stunning that Fiorina would find it stunning that Obama would act the way Obama has always acted. Does she not know the president at all? This is how Obama has ALWAYS been.
I find it stunning that the dems haven't passed a budget in 4 years. I find it stunning that the dems keep talking about a balanced approach to the deficit which never includes actual cuts but always includes tax hikes.
I find it stunning that people actually voted this guy into office.


Dude. She doesn't really find it stunning. Saying that you find something stunning is a rhetorical device.

Anonymous said...

A few more terms and Obama can finally stop campaigning, and finally govern according to the ideas he seems to hold.

Progress!

ricpic said...

Do a woman, Titus! Come home to humanity.

kentuckyliz said...

2ns mouse theory--very astute. Well done AllenS

Saint Croix said...

David Gregory makes this fantastic point.

the reality is that the debt is a huge issue that the president faces. This is the fact about it. When he came into office, the debt was at $10.6 trillion. The debt today at $16.5 trillion.

That question is so brutal, McDonough refuses to answer it. Can't even talk about it. Here's what he says instead.

"You know, you talk about what the president found when he came to the office. What's-- what's happened since then? Thirty-five straight months of job growth, 6.1 million new private-sector jobs, we're seeing-- the housing market starting to heal, we're seeing the stock market come back, and we're seeing consumer confidence strengthen."

Bragging about today's economy seems really lame, particularly when the question is in regard to our economic future. You've added $6 trillion in debt! And your response to that question is to brag about creating 6.1 million jobs?

Do the math on that! 6 trillion dollars = 6 million jobs. So each job created cost us 1 million dollars. That's just awesome.

Gregroy hits him again:

How does this sequester business end? The president said during the campaign, "The sequester--" that's the word for automatic spending cuts, he said, "It would not happen." Is it going to happen?

That's another question he won't answer. In fact, that question is so hard, he goes back to the original question and answers it. With a mind-blowing lie!

"We've already made $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction, debt reduction efforts."

That lie is so brazen it had me jump out of my chair and start shouting to myself in the room. You cut $2.5 trillion? From some mythical fucking budget that you haven't passed in four years? You lying fucking weasel. And that's an insult to weasels!

kentuckyliz said...

I love to eat dem mousies
Dem mousies I love to eat
Bite dey little heads off
Nibble they tiny feet

kentuckyliz said...

Love to eat mousies - image

dreams said...

Obama said he wanted to fundamentally transform our country and this is a man who was raised by his mother, a fellow traveler, to hate our country. His mother and her fellow sixties elitists for some reason felt our country needed a revolution, they came to feel this way even though they enjoyed an affluent childhood, the very best our country had to offer. Our country is being destroyed while the liberal media cheer on our destruction. If the financial collapse happens, the elites with their fortunes may or may not be okay but the masses will suffer and maybe even starve or die from the resulting violence.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Perhaps Carly might want to learn about this branch of government called the "legislature". Talk about a blowhard.

Matthews is just doing his job - interrupting blowhards when they blow hot air. Redirecting them to the issues they'd prefer to avoid and deflect from.

Fiorina's trying hard to stay relevant. I think the word "humility" just isn't in her dictionary.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

His mother and her fellow sixties elitists...

Lol. Anyone who can put together the idea of hippies and elitism is, well, pretty special.

ricpic said...

Putin just bought three Statue of Libertys in gold but not to worry, the dollar's sound as a bell.

Tragedy tomorrow, comedy comedy comedy TONIGHT!

I always suspected Pirini Scleroso changed her name to Carly Fiorina and continued to cleanup making no sense at all.

Chip S. said...

I think "dreams" meant by "elitist" someone who believes in his moral superiority over bourgeois society, not someone who races yachts at Newport.

Palladian said...

Kentuckyliz, Julia Child had a print of that hanging in her kitchen.

ricpic said...

Hey, Montana Urban Schmendrick, the cops picked you up crawling down the middle of 1st Street in Whitefish again. Your getting to be A PUBLIC DISGRACE!

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Bad day, ricpic?

You're getting to the point where, no matter how much I squint through your incoherent rage, I still can't figure out what you're ranting about. Is it something about me and blacks, again?

No really, I'm sure that in some Confederate counter-reality, that would be interesting. And vaguely relevant to anything.

ricpic said...

Look at that, I called out the Schmendrick and then wrote your for you're. A shanda.

ricpic said...

Hey Schmendrik, it refers to another entry on this here site. You can read? So read!

Michael said...

My favorite: " I moved your fucking cheese, asshole!"

Tom said...

As long as this country continues not do the right thing for the right reasons, the industrious, productive and responsible portion of the nation will not be able to keep the nation afloat. We're heading for California and its going to show up quicker than any of us believe.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I think "dreams" meant by "elitist" someone who believes in his moral superiority over bourgeois society, not someone who races yachts at Newport.

So do you really think that hippies are morally inferior or comparable on everything? No good ideas when it came to anything? Not even the environmentalism that led to cleaning up the Cuyahoga River and taking lead out of gasoline, even if you think they went too far on CO2?

And peace and love are morally inferior or equivalent to hate and war? Really?

Well, ok then.

dreams said...

Most baby boomers in the sixties were working and building families not rioting and taking over universities and talking about starting a revolution, those rioting were the supposedly elite of their generation,affluent, privileged rich kids. The hippies are from the end of the sixties and early seventies, I know because I lived in that era.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Hey Schmendrik, it refers to another entry on this here site. You can read? So read!

The one where I mildly upbraided your boy C-Fudd and opined on movie devices?

Then go frickin' comment there, you rage-a-holic doofus.

Chip S. said...

So do you really think that hippies are morally inferior or comparable on everything?

Are you talkin' to me or to "dreams"?

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Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Most baby boomers in the sixties were working and building families not rioting and taking over universities and talking about starting a revolution...

Because one can only do one or the other, I suppose. Never both.

Sounds like the kind of false-dichotomy that the went the way of the boomers (who comprised both camps) and their dying culture wars. Thankfully so...

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Are you talkin' to me or to "dreams"?

Why does it matter? It's a simple question. And you're the one who took to providing the oh-so-colorful clarification.

Chip S. said...

It matters b/c (1) I didn't say anything about hippies and (2) I have no idea if "dreams" meant what I conjectured.

Speaking for myself, I have very little interest in the subject of hippies one way or the other. Live and let live, AFAIC.

dreams said...

I think most hippies just enjoyed the sex and drugs.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Live and let live, AFAIC.

A very hippie way of looking at things to say the least, if I may say so.

It almost redeems a lot of what the angrier commenters regularly serve up here. ALmost. And I don't even count you among them, Chip.

That's something.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I think most hippies just enjoyed the sex and drugs.

Which is just sooo wrong and never happens among straightedge non-hippies, right?

As Chip says, live and let live. They fought for a society where conformity was no longer sought or promoted, and they won. Good for them.

And they gave a lot of inspiration to while receiving a lot of help from Steve Jobs and Silicon Valley along the way.

Again, good for them.

Scott M said...

Ah. So people's competing self-interests aren't sufficient to get the outcomes they want. Sounds like Thaler and Cass Sunstein's "Nudge".

ricpic said...

Montana Urban Schmendrick outdoes himself in the naivete department with that whopper about hippies fighting conformity. Hippies ARE conformity, dickhead.

Chip S. said...

I'd be interested in a short history of the transition in SF from the Beats to the hippies. How much of it was driven by LSD?

All I know is what I read in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Hippies ARE conformity, dickhead.

Lol.

Does saying "dickhead" help give you that added boost of self-righteousness when you say such ridiculous things as the comment preceding it?

It must be like your very own form of energy drink. I just say "DICKHEAD!" and everything that comes before it is magically correct.

Let's try it:

DICKHEAD!

There. I feel infallible already.

Scott M said...

O Ritmo Segundo said...

Ritmo, what's behind this propensity of yours to swing by and carpet bomb threads now and again?

Anonymous said...

Ritmo, Scott wants you to shut your piehole, dickhead!

Michael said...

Ritmo. "They fought for a society where conformity was no longer sought or promoted, and they won."

They won and progressives are as conformist as they come. That, for those of us who have watched and participated in this, is the greatest and saddest irony of all.

Chip Ahoy said...

I witnessed the refutation to the second mouse theory in real life.

It's a short tale but one of high drama, goes like this:

There I was sitting on a directors chair minding my own business reading biology 101 and not understanding much of anything. The chair was actually a stool, not the best kind of chair to be sitting there reading, kind of rickety. In the sun, on the large cement slab porch that was covered, when suddenly a baby mouse appeared at the hole under a separate flagstone piece that was a step just a yard away from my foot on the stool. It was approaching a mousetrap I had set there nearby the hole. The mousetrap was beside me on the grass also right there by the stool. So I was looking down upon this mouse at the trap scene.

Here I was going to witness a baby mouse get smashed. But he sure was a cautious little mouse. Another one appeared! And I thought, "Oh jeeze, I'm going to see proof of the second mouse theory!" Then a third mouse appeared and they all crowded there at the hole trembling for a long time, it was beginning to piss me off. Then one cautiously broke away and ran up to the trap and began gnawing the peanut butter I piled one there and the whole time I expected the thing to snap and the mouse started tearing at the peanut butter but the trap didn't snap, the second mouse joined the first and they both tore at the peanut butter and the trap still didn't snap and each second I'm expecting it to but it doesn't and the third mouse joined them and then all three are ripping and tearing at the pile of peanut butter on the trigger of the trap and the pile is diminishing, and I'm sitting there with my biology book that's not being all that useful, and it was a heavy book that covered two classes, so I closed it.

sorry, phone brb

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I dunno, Scott. Lack of conformity?

Some threads provide good conversation and some provide better red meat fodder.

I'd have thought the irrelevant standing in which most commenters had placed Fiorina would have provided ample basis for agreement, but maybe not.

Perhaps the inclusion of Chris Matthews in the post and Fiorina's ignorance about the role of a coequal branch of government did the trick.

Well, that and ricpic's inexplicable rage and use of the word "dickhead". Also, because... hippies.

Scott M said...

"They fought for a society where conformity was no longer sought or promoted, and they won."

Maybe. Until Altamont when reality reasserted itself violently.

dreams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael said...

ChipS. "The Harvard Psychedelic Club" is a good source for seeing the transition and overlap between beats and hippies. Tim Leary, Ram Dass (ne Richard Alpert), Owsley. All covered in a very well written and researched book.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

They won and progressives are as conformist as they come.

Progressives are rational, not conformist. Learn the difference. Agreeing with a well-reasoned idea or line of thinking is just that: Agreement.

Conformity is when you agree without going through the bother of thinking about, arguing or debating the issue. Because, you know, tradition. Conservatism. Etc.

dreams said...

"Which is just sooo wrong and never happens among straightedge non-hippies, right?"

Just to be clear, my original comment wasn't about the hippies, it was about the elites of the baby boomer generation who rioted and talked of revolution back in the sixties.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Until Altamont...

Yeah, I'm sure they weren't perfect, Scott.

And neither is their counter-revolutionary if late-to-the-game echo, the Tea Party, either.

glenn said...

Ol Gav and his crowd of budget busting nitwits have gauged the intelligence and standards of the people of California perfectly.

Anonymous said...

So, who is talking revolution now Dreams? Who talks of watering the tree of liberty with blood?

Chip S. said...

Thanks, Michael. I'll check it out.

Michael said...

Ritmo. That,of course, is the exact rationale used by the establishment circa 1965 and proves the point perfectly.

Michael K said...

Newsome is trying to run for governor and is sounding almost conservative these days. He talks about his experience with starting businesses. In San Francisco, that is usually a pot shop.

Scott M said...

And neither is their counter-revolutionary if late-to-the-game echo, the Tea Party, either.

Please explain this sentence. If someone has a cause, and protested over it later than the late sixties/early seventies, they're late-to-the-game?

Nobody protested before the sixties?

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Whatever, Michael. Thanks for the mantra to end all discussion.

Michael K said...

"or give birth with my legs sewn together."

Not a problem if you are giving birth to a lawyer.

dreams said...

"So, who is talking revolution now Dreams? Who talks of watering the tree of liberty with blood?"


Who, and maybe you can provide an example.

Michael K said...


Blogger O Ritmo Segundo said...

I think "dreams" meant by "elitist" someone who believes in his moral superiority over bourgeois society, not someone who races yachts at Newport.

So do you really think that hippies are morally inferior or comparable on everything? No good ideas when it came to anything? Not even the environmentalism that led to cleaning up the Cuyahoga River and taking lead out of gasoline, even if you think they went too far on CO2?

And peace and love are morally inferior or equivalent to hate and war? Really?

Well, ok then. "

My gosh. You are actually figuring it out.

Peace and Love are hippie terms for sex. They don't know about anything else but pot.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Please explain this sentence.

Well, some of it is speculative, as I base my understanding of the cycles of American politics on 40-year generational shifts. The Tea Party is a conservative analogy to liberal over-reach of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Sure, it took a decade for the conservatives to exert as much political power as they did from 1980 - 2006, but these things are a slow build. 7/10 presidential administrations from 1968 - 2008 were Republican, the opposite of how it was from 1928 - 1968. And so on.

In any event, the Tea Party represents the decline of Republicans much the same as hippies (or whomever) represented the decline of the Democrats. That conservatism sees itself as a counter-revolutionary response to progressivism is just a given that I've thrown in on top of that. Even if American political cycles require 40 years of drama to play out between them.

Hope that makes sense. It's a little off-the-cuff and subjective and perspective-dependent, but it seems to fit.

Acknowledgments to Alan Lichtman and his Keys to the White House. (Look it up on Amazon).

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Then I look forward to your lecture to me on what conservatives can supposedly teach to the world about peace and love in this day and age, Michael K.

Scott M said...

Hope that makes sense. It's a little off-the-cuff and subjective and perspective-dependent, but it seems to fit.

Not a problem and thanks for that. Coming from someone that thinks progressives are rational and base things on rational thought, I would think your observations would require perspective-dependence.

Anonymous said...

Here ya go Dreams

dreams said...

The tea party is composed of mostly middle age or older people who are concerned with our growing national debt, which is now over 76% of GDP. I can remember back in the eighties when our debt to GDP was about 35% and the Dems in congress at that time were pretending to be concerned about the debt, the big spending Dems were concerned about our debt...lol.

dreams said...

Yeah, we've got to watch out for Thomas Jefferson.

Michael said...

Inga. Thomas Jefferson is going to start a revolution? Again?

Chip S. said...

That's pretty obscure, Inga.

Why not cite Chris Dorner? Have you given up on the crazy idea that he's a libertarian hero?

Anonymous said...

Never really thought he was a Libertarian hero. Never thought he was a Liberal hero, never thought he was a Conservative hero.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I can remember back in the eighties when our debt to GDP...

You mean, before the Great Recession? Yeah, the debt/GDP ratio was higher the last time the BusinessMasters did the same thing to us in 1929. Crises have a way of doing that. If you want some awesome debt/GDP numbers then check out WWII!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chip Ahoy said...

From the link, David Gregory says the Republicans on the hill referring to Benghazi want to know what Obama was doing that night Sept.11.

DENIS MCDONOUGH:
You know, just the other day our council sent a very extensive letter to Capitol Hill in responses to the questions on Benghazi. That's the latest in 20 briefings and hearings that we participated in, 10,000 pages of documents we've provided. But here's a question, David. The president is not done with Benghazi because-- here's why.
He demanded of us since that night to find out exactly what happened, and then to make every reform needed to ensure it does not happen again. President of the United States sends the-- sends these diplomats, our military overseas in these tough spots. He's not going to send them and have them be exposed. And he made darn certain that we're doing everything we can to ensure this doesn't happen again.

And David Gregory said, "Thanks for the smoke."

Sam L. said...

When it starts with David Gregory, I stop.

m stone said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tim said...

Late to the thread, but:

Alhouse said...

"Also on the show, Fiorina's California rival Gavin Newsom, who was so noticeably dumber than she that I felt sorry for him, or I would have felt sorry for him if he didn't hold any power and didn't have the advantage of being a handsome bastard."

...is true, and it shows how utterly, irredeemably stupid California's (mostly Democrat) voters are.

Lest you think it funny, California's present is America's future.

Michael K said...

Blogger O Ritmo Segundo said...

" Then I look forward to your lecture to me on what conservatives can supposedly teach to the world about peace and love in this day and age, Michael K. "

Read Clarence Thomas's book, "My grandfather's son" and get back to me. I'll give you a list.

Tim said...

Michael K said...

"Newsome is trying to run for governor and is sounding almost conservative these days. He talks about his experience with starting businesses. In San Francisco, that is usually a pot shop."

Or a sex toy shop.

They couldn't find room for the only remaining sports franchise founded in San Francisco, the 49ers, so they're in the process of building a state-of-the-art stadium in the heart of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara: http://newsantaclarastadium.com/

And, to this minute, long-time (longer than me...) Niner season ticket holders are still pissing over the move...which was decided when who? was mayor of San Francisco...Gavin Newsom.

He's execrable.

Tim said...

"Then I look forward to your lecture to me on what conservatives can supposedly teach to the world about peace and love in this day and age, Michael K."

Easy.

"Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum."

Road tested, time tested, fail safe.

Sad, but true. There's always someone, somewhere, spoiling for a fight.

It's human nature, not that you'd know anything about that.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

"This is a President who is not afraid to use his power"

Well, what's troubling is that he makes such frequent and uninhibited use of power he is not authorized to use.

That, and indifference to use of power when it is proper, such as the Benghazi incident.

Michael K said...


2/17/13, 7:03 PM
Blogger O Ritmo Segundo said...

" I can remember back in the eighties when our debt to GDP...

You mean, before the Great Recession? Yeah, the debt/GDP ratio was higher the last time the BusinessMasters did the same thing to us in 1929. Crises have a way of doing that. If you want some awesome debt/GDP numbers then check out WWII!"

Actually, you've got it wrong (no surprise there)

"http://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/crisis-explained-one-chart-debt-gdp/11570"

As we can see on this chart, the last time debts got even remotely close to current levels was back in the early 1930s, and that bears a bit of explanation. The debt-to-GDP ratio back then didn’t start to climb until after 1929 (blue arrow), because debts remained relatively fixed in size, while it was the GDP that fell away from under the debts. With the exception of the Great Depression anomaly, our country always held less than 200 percent of our GDP in debt (green circle). In 1985 we violated that barrier and have never looked back.

In World War II, we owed the debt to ourselves. You probably aren't old enough to remember war bonds. We would up with all the world's gold at the end of the war.

bagoh20 said...

"This is a President that's not afraid of using his power."

Just what the world needs again: a leader with no history of success running things, propped up by a cult of personality, with a totally compliant press. What could possibly go wrong?

Rusty said...

Chip S. said...
I'd be interested in a short history of the transition in SF from the Beats to the hippies. How much of it was driven by LSD?

All I know is what I read in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

There was an article discussing just that in Ramparts.

dreams said...

Obama said he wanted to fundamentally transform our country and he is doing it. See quote below and link.

"(“An alien who…is likely at any time to become a public charge is inadmissible.”) Yet the Obama administration has not only ignored this aspect of our immigration laws, it has actively recruited immigrants who have no means of support, deliberately enticing them with offers of generous welfare benefits. Of all of the many scandals of the scandal-ridden Obama administration, this particular lawlessness is, in my opinion, one of the worst."

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/02/why-are-we-bribing-welfare-recipients-to-come-to-the-us.php

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Crucify Ted Cruz

furious_a said...

The early bird gets the worm.

The second mouse gets the cheese.


The third refugee gets across the minefield.

Mary Beth said...

It makes me think of "Who Moved My Cheese?"

furious_a said...

Gavin Newsome is a drunk who bangs his employees' wives

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

It's human nature, not that you'd know anything about that.

You mean reptilian nature? Yes, I don't know much about reptiles like yourself.

Humans I'm much better with. How did you get classed in with them, I wonder? You must be one very human-looking lizard boy.

Emil Blatz said...

Newsome was doing a remarkable imitation of Vice President Biden.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

El Raton

Micha Elyi said...

Your HTML cannot be accepted: Tag is not allowed: BLOCKQUOTE

<blockquote>
Most baby boomers in the sixties were working and building families not rioting and taking over universities and talking about starting a revolution...

Because one can only do one or the other, I suppose. Never both.

Sounds like the kind of false-dichotomy that the went the way of the boomers...
--O Ritmo Segundo
</blockquote>

Most Baby Boomers hadn't reached age 18 by 1969.

The US Baby Boom is generally considered to be births between 1948 and 1962.

Do the basic arithmetic.

Saint Croix said...

"We've already made $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction, debt reduction efforts."

Ah, that fantastic lie came from the state of the union. Mark Steyn jumps on it here.

So he's just repeating what Obama told him. I wonder how long that will work?

Achilles said...

It is impossible to use logic or rational discussion with people who are willing to brazenly lie and contradict themselves.

Obama voted against raising the debt ceiling as a senator. Said Bush was showing poor leadership.

According to 2008 Obama it was unpatriotic to add 4.5 Trillion to the national debt over 8 years. 5 Trillion in 4 years is just fine except when it was Bush's fault.

His chief of staff today claimed they have achieved 2.5 trillion in spending cuts already.

They blamed the sequester that they conceived on people that didn't support it.

There is no dealing with or compromising with people that are this ridiculous. Today he torpedoed immigration reform purposely to continue to keep the wedge open in our country.

ed said...

@ Inga

"So, who is talking revolution now Dreams? Who talks of watering the tree of liberty with blood? "

Who has been lauding Dorner as a "hero"?

ed said...

@ Ritmo

"In any event, the Tea Party represents the decline of Republicans much the same as hippies (or whomever) represented the decline of the Democrats."

You still do not have a single clue as to who is in the Tea Party, why it exists or what drives them. After years of the Tea Party agitating over excessive debt, high taxes and business/job killing regulations.

Is it obliviousness? Obtuseness? Or just some ideological incapacity?

ed said...

@ bagoh20

"Just what the world needs again: a leader with no history of success running things, propped up by a cult of personality, with a totally compliant press. What could possibly go wrong?"

The only thing that can save us is Obama's propensity to slack off and play golf.

cryptical said...

You still do not have a single clue as to who is in the Tea Party, why it exists or what drives them. After years of the Tea Party agitating over excessive debt, high taxes and business/job killing regulations.

Is it obliviousness? Obtuseness? Or just some ideological incapacity?


I think it's fear. Every time I see some leftist try to smear the Tea Party with a label (Racist, etc) it just tells me they're winning.

Segesta said...

The book "Who moved my cheese?" was very insulting. It basically said, Look, CEO's are going to lay you off and move your job to India. So figure a way to get over it.

Of course that is all true, but it wasn't particularly insightful.

No wonder HR departments loved this book and bought/handed it out by the thousands.

dreams said...

In 1964 the oldest baby boomers would have been 18 years old, 1946 to whenever. A lot of young people in the sixties were not technically baby boomers but were of that generation. My two older brothers and I are not technically baby boomers but my two younger siblings are, we're from the same generation.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

GAvin Newsom is all glam and no substance. The left's grand idea: how to make stupid people like your bad ideas.

Brian Brown said...

O Ritmo Segundo said...

Perhaps Carly might want to learn about this branch of government called the "legislature".


Uh, she specifically talked about working with the "legislature"

CARLY FIORINA:

That bill would pass.


Referring to the Immigration bill.

You fucking idiot.

Brian Brown said...

O Ritmo Segundo said...
In any event, the Tea Party represents the decline of Republicans much the same as hippies (or whomever) represented the decline of the Democrats


Yes!

Republicans holding 30 state Gov seats and full control of 26 state legislatures along with a Democratic President being the only one in modern history to win fewer popular votes upon re-election = total decline!

Idiot.

Bryan C said...

"... just pandering to his base who still, against all reason, believe him to be a progressive who wants to help further the cause."

They believe he's a progressive because his behavior and the goals driving that behavior are exactly the same as every other progressive that they've ever supported. The "cause" has always been the a scam. If Obama's particular execution of the same scam is more obvious to you, Robert, it's only because you're wising up.

Bryan C said...

"... just pandering to his base who still, against all reason, believe him to be a progressive who wants to help further the cause."

They believe he's a progressive because his behavior and the goals driving that behavior are exactly the same as every other progressive that they've ever supported. The "cause" has always been the a scam. If Obama's particular execution of the same scam is more obvious to you, Robert, it's only because you're wising up.

Amartel said...

"Newsome was doing a remarkable imitation of Vice President Biden."

He's our very own Sheriff Joe.
Dumb as a stump. All surface, no substance. Privileged, pampered, and protected from reality, including ever actually having to work for a living. A clumsy lying oaf who never gets called out because he's useful to powerful interests. "Nice" in the sense that he won't burn down your house and fuck your spouse while you're at home; he'll wait until you leave for work. (Manners!)
We are so doomed.

ErnieG said...

I just ran a Find command on the phrase O Ritmo Segundo said... and got 19 hits out of 122 comments.

Paul Hogue said...

Anybody with a 'D' next to their name can win state-wide office in CA.

Hence Gov. Moonbeam 3.0 and the lawbreaker Gavin Newsome as Lt. Governor.

This state has become a joke.

furious_a said...

Privileged, pampered, and protected from reality, including ever actually having to work for a living.

Yea to the first part (business seed capital from Getty heirs), but Gavin Newsom did work for a living before entering politics.

Amartel said...

You're right, furious. He did work out of college. But his big business success, enormous riches, and political career came from being a political crony. He did not work his way up and has very limited knowledge of what that requires. Government, to him, must be something that selectively reaches out and chooses the winner in the game of life.

Gaius Larmanius Maximus said...

I find Carly Fiorina to be an extremely astute and amusing guest on these "panel" shows.

I often praise her in twitter...which results in INSTANT lefty hatred of extreme vehemence. Invariably, it starts out with Carly ruined HP, so she's a dum dum, and even more of a dum dum cuz of being GOP, and also becuz!!!!

I never knew the left had such expertise and sympathy for big corps like HP?

There is no excuse too wrong or low for the left to make ad hominem attacks on people that even carry a whiff of the GOP...or biz...or things they think they are supposed to be against!!! Becuz!!!