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The $4 Billion Obamacare Slush Fund for Progressives

A Voice of Sanity - RobertRinger.com

quote:

the White House settled for the creation of a $6 billion network of nonprofit “CO-OPs” that will “compete” with private insurers

Comment:

Taxpayers are being hijacked and diverted to a communist dictatorship.  Is this why we fought and won the Cold War?

Who Won The Debate? ( mentioned earlier today)

Dick Morris TV: Lunch Alert!

Comment: In short, Romney. Why all the push towards Romney? Seems like so many want to embrace the guy, but why?

I agree that Santorum should avoid making contraception an issue. That's playing on Obama's turf.

He said that Newt won, but that won't take votes from Romney, but from Santorum, so Romney won.

 I think Romney lost on substance, as he usually does.  Gingrich won by default.  Neither Romney, Santorum, nor Paul could consistently win on substance.  If people prefer image over substance, then who cares about contraception?  If contraception matters, substance matters, and Gingrich has the substance.

The conservative, not-Romney faction keeps splitting its votes. That puts Romney in the drivers seat. I hope that Santorum can win and keep Romney from claiming an early victory.  Otherwise, Morris could be right.

2012 Arizona Republican Presidential Debate

I missed this earlier this week:



Part 1  Santorum proposes cutting 5 trillion from spending.  Says how he did it in Congress.  Romney says that Santorum not fiscal conservative.  Santorum said Romney support raising debt ceiling this past summer.  Santorum also said debt went down while he was in Congress.  Said Romney raised taxes, but he never did while in Congress.  Romney replies only raise ceiling if cut, cap and balance in place.  Gingrich said he balanced the budget while Speaker, and added that 16 to 18 trillion in revenues if drilling for oil not hindered.
Paul against foreign aid, says Santorum was a fake.  Santorum replies he had a high rating from conservative groups.  Said Paul rated low by same standards.

Part 2   Santorum said Romney didn't know what he was talking about with respect to earmarks.
Part 3  Santorum said Romney was inconsistent about bailouts. Romney defends bailouts of auto, but not for banks. "Romney: Giving companies to UAW was wrong." Santorum not fair comparison. Gingrich says Obama paid off UAW.
Part 4  "Birth control" question gets booed by audience.  Gingrich makes freedom of religion point.  Audience cheers.  Romney adds to religious freedom protest. More cheers.  Santorum discusses contraception and what he meant by it-- makes good points.  Says you don't need a government program to "fix it".  Cheers.  Paul says keep government out of it.  Romney says family is important, adds to Santorum's points.
Part 5  Romney denies he infringed upon Catholics religious freedom.  Gingrich said not true, says Romney did do this.  Government taking over medical care is tyranny, he adds.  Paul says morning after pill is same as birth control.  Adds that Santorum voted for Planned Parenthood.  Santorum explains how this happens, it is part of the process, voted for it even though it had things in it he didn't like.  Seems like Santorum got some boos in response to something Romney said.  Romney said Santorum endorsed him in 2008.  Santorum defends support of Arlen Specter.
Part 6  Border question directed at Paul-- diverts to something else.  Reform immigration process.  Gingrich asked fence question-- says fences worked, but was stopped.  Also needs to improve efficiency and competence--- will waive requirements and red tape in order to finish fence.  Romney talks about E-Verify, pledges to finish fence.  Santorum says enforce the laws.  Gingrich criticizes Obama speech in El Paso.  Can't pass Comprehensive Immigration Bill, must pass a piece at a time.
Part 7  Silly one word descriptor question.  Romney on women in combat.  Obama is shrinking military, he adds.  Gingrich say women in combat misleading question.  Ask combat leaders, not social engineers in Obama administration.  Most dangerous president on national security in our history.  Paul goes on his anti- war rant.  Santorum agrees with Romney and Gingrich.  Question about Iran:  Gingrich has problem with question and the commander mentioned-- says he inclined to believe dictator in Iran who wants to destroy Israel.  Romney is asked on prices on gasoline-- "pales in comparison" with nukes.  Santorum agrees with Romney-- well spoken, he said. Adds that he has been consistently against Iran getting nukes.  Paul disagrees with the others-- denies that they have a weapon, but these ideas encourages them to get one.  Blaming us, it seems.
Part 8  About Syria, what's the role today.  Santorum:  Syria puppet state of Iran.  Gingrich says create dramatic energy production policy.  Romney agrees with both, bad leadership in Washington.  Paul-- economic argument-- claims that 4 billion spent in Middle East.  Don't have money.  No child left behind asked of Santorum.  Made a mistake he said.  Spent too much money.  Romney--his state led in scores.  Wants school choice, he says.  Gingrich talks about charter schools.  Shrink dept of education.  Criticizes liberal education policies rethink education.  Paul-- no gov't in education.  Go along to get along is problem, he says.
Part 9  What is the biggest misconception:  Paul says he can win. Gingrich says need to solve problems-- his background led to real problem solving-- got it done in DC  Romney-- got to restore America, who can lead country.  Santorum-- run on issues, not with just money alone.  He can win, he says.

Kardashevian Aspirations: Gov Moonbeam treatment of Newt Gingrich

Kardashevian Aspirations: Gov Moonbeam treatment of Newt Gingrich: I have to take exception to something that I heard on the Space Show, when Jeff Bell was guest on the program on Feb 20th. Jeff Bell accus...

Trail riders

An annual Houston tradition around Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras.  It marks the beginning of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.  The trailriders can cause some inconvenience to motorists.  I got caught behind one later afterwards from when this picture was taken.

Please support Gordon McDowell’s new project!

I just found this on the Energy from Thorium website.  It is a crowdfunding project to produce a video which can promote the concept of molten salt reactors.

Oil companies are to blame for high gas prices

No, this is backwards. If it weren't for the government's interference, gas prices would be lower. If you'd leave it to Ms. whatshername, there'd be no oil at all. People would have to use the horse and buggy once again because with all of the demonization of the oil industry, they wouldn't be able to drill for any oil.

You know, like the nuclear energy industry who can't build new reactors. Any energy project at all is opposed for some reason or another. The government types like this woman just need to get out of the way and the energy industry will produce. Prices will be competitive.

Whatshername doesn't trust private enterprise, she trusts government. So, what's the government's track record? Not good.

Update: An alternative point of view here.

Early federal fracking demonstrations can be fairly characterized as big, slow, dumb, and expensive. But when it comes to technological innovation, the big, slow, dumb, and expensive phase is almost always unavoidable. Innovation typically proceeds from big, slow, dumb, and expensive to small, fast, smart, and cheap. Think of building-sized computers from the 1950s that lacked the processing power to run a primitive, 1970s digital watch.

Private firms are really good at small, fast, smart, and cheap, but they mostly don’t do big, slow, dumb, and expensive, because the benefits are too remote, the risks too great, and the costs too high. But here’s the catch. You usually can’t do small, fast, smart, and cheap until you’ve done big, slow, dumb, and expensive first. Hence the reason that, again and again, the federal government has played that role for critical technologies that turned out to be important to our economic well-being.

Yes, but now that the fracking process has gotten results, the government types want to shut it down.  The government helped with big energy projects like the Hoover Dam, but they are also the ones who want to tear down dams like these.

Nuclear thermal rockets

According to Jim Dewar, a guest on a recent Space Show, there's a lot of economic potential for nuclear thermal rockets.  What would it take to get this started?  To speculate a bit, I'd say the following:

1. The government must not interfere nor prohibit
2. Somebody with very deep pockets will have to finance it
3. If you get this far, then start hiring the people who can make this happen
4. Develop a business plan which will exploit the technology for profit
5. Execute the plan

Seems pretty straightforward.  I have come to the conclusion that nothing will get done in space unless the government gets out of the way and allows a visionary person, like Paul Allen, who will finance a project like it, such as  his Stratolaunch project.

Hostile takeover of the American mind, II

When your own people start talking like the opponent, the game is over.  Let me quote from RedState:

Santorum did not shine. He came in, it seemed, prepared to be beaten up. He was off his game. In the second half of the debate he did better. But the beginning was stumbling, bumbling, angry, and in the weeds. One thing he did very, very well is steer the contraception issue to families. [emphasis mine]

That word should be verboten for all conservatives.  This isn't about contraception, it is about religious liberty.

All of the complaints about the MSM lose clout when the conservatives make a mistake like this.  You can't use the left's words.  If the discussion isn't about religious liberty, you lose.  That's why the use of the word "contraception" works for the left, because that word easily equates with personal liberty.  The conservatives shouldn't even go there, that is where the left wants to go.   If the left can steer the discussion towards liberty, they have won.  When conservatives let them, they lose by default.

This is how hearts and minds are won and lost.  But first, you have to have a mind and actually use it.

Nancy Pelosi Issues Statement On Soaring Gas Prices

www.zerohedge.com

Pelosi's statement needs a sentence by sentence refutation, so here goes:

• Independent reports confirm that speculators are driving up the cost of oil, hurting consumers and potentially damaging the economic recovery. Wall Street profiteering, not oil shortages, is the cause of the price spike. In fact, U.S. oil production is at its highest level since 2003, and millions of acres have been cleared for additional development.  [ comment:  Millions of acres- where?  What about the Keystone pipeline?  Isn't it true that the left is hostile towards oil?  Does Pelosi actually expect anyone to believe that they are suddenly gung ho about producing more energy from oil?]
• We need to take strong action to protect consumers from this speculation. Unfortunately, Republicans have chosen to protect the interests of Wall Street speculators and oil companies instead of the interests of working Americans by obstructing the agencies with the responsibility of enforcing consumer protection laws. They have also repeatedly opposed our efforts to end billions of dollars in outdated taxpayer subsidies for oil companies enjoying record profits. [ comment:  Secretary of Energy, Chu has said Americans should pay as much for gas as the Europeans.  We don't need the hostile left harassing energy companies in the name of protecting us from those energy companies that are providing us with energy.  What we need is downsizing of the government's regulatory burdens and basically to get out of the way of the market working.  We have seen this all before in the seventies- the solution now is the same as then.  When the government got out of the way in the seventies, prices stabilized, and in some cases, even went down.]
• We support efforts by the Obama Administration to expand domestic energy resources, including natural gas and renewable sources like wind and solar that create jobs in America and will end our dangerous dependence on foreign energy supplies. This can be achieved because today, the United States currently has more oil and gas rigs at work than the rest of the world combined, and imports of foreign oil have decreased. [ comment:  Wind and solar produce only pitifully small amounts of energy, and produces no liquid fuel whatever to run an automobile.  The administration has does nothing but waste money on boondoggles like Solyndra, that add nothing to our energy supplies, but adds tremendously to debt.  Unemployment is stubbornly high, and there are fewer people working now than when Obama took office.  Those in Obama's party are trying to stop fracking, which is why natural gas is more plentiful.  The increase in energy supplies has been accomplished not  because of Obama's policies, but in spite of them.]
• We call on the Republican leadership to act on behalf of American consumers and join our efforts to crack down on speculators who care more about their profits than the price at the pump even if these spikes harm the American consumer and our economy.[ comment:  Speculation is nothing more than private enterprise working freely in the markets to bring energy to us all.  If those like Pelosi would just get out the way, we could have more energy at better prices.  If it was up to Pelosi, private enterprise would be more and more hobbled and prices would go up to where it is in Europe, as Secretary Chu indicated.  The truth is that the administration wants higher prices and has said so.  Blaming it on private enterprise is wrong.  More government will only make the situation worse.]

$2.50 per Gallon Gasoline, Energy Independence and Jobs

An Address by Newt Gingrich

Dick Morris: If Santorum Wins…

If Santorum Wins…

Who should you support? Santorum if you want purity. Romney if you want to be pragmatic. It doesn’t so much depend on who these two guys are as on who you are.

Comment:

Morris is a bit too simplistic here.  I would consider Santorum as an alternative to Newt. Or a compromise between the two going at loggerheads at each other.   Evidently, Morris doesn't quite see it that way.

Romney isn't pragmatic, unless your only goal is to defeat Obama, and you will settle for him being the one to play that role.

Ann Barnhardt: "Nobody can make you do anything"

She doesn't make links to her posts.  You just have to go to the site and read it as it is.

I agree with the statement that nobody can make you do anything.  But most, if not all people, will comply with a demand from authorities.  They'd just as soon avoid trouble.

The latest news about the Supreme court possibly delaying a ruling until 2016 on Obamacare may end up leaving it as an election issue in the fall.  It is clear that there are profound issues with the law, and one of them is this religious liberty issue.  If the government can attempt to force you to violate your religion, it is assuming tyrannical powers.  Not enough people see it that way, nor are likely to.  That's what Obama is counting on.

The Climate Insanity

www.transterrestrial.com

I don't get this latest controversy.  What was the purpose of this- to discredit somebody?  Did it succeed?

update:

Oh, so here's an explanation: In Apologizing for Global Warming Hoax, Peter Gleick Blames His Victims

It was indeed an attempt to discredit "climate deniers".  He admits to fraud while doing it.  Why am I not surprised?

The plunging labor force participation rate is now officially ‘a thing’ in U.S. politics

The plunging labor force participation rate is now officially ‘a thing’ in U.S. politics

Yeah, it is a thing that will justify bigger budgets in order to solve the problem.  But the people who are getting the bigger budgets are the ones behind the problem.  It is in their interest to create as much misery as they can in order to expand their power.  Never mind their good intentions, just look at what they do and their lack of results.

Hostile takeover of the American mind

That's a rather bold statement as a title.  To back it up, consider this:

• 9th Circuit overturns CA ban on gay marriage:  This has happened many times.  The voters of California have attempted to assert their will, only to be thwarted by the courts.
• Obama Stimulus Turns Three: What Has It Achieved?:  We are told constantly that the economy is improving, but by many measures, it has gotten worse.  Why the disconnect between reality and what is being reported?  The propaganda of the so-called mainstream media is geared toward helping Democrats, not towards honest reporting.  The public doesn't get the truth, and the Democrats are not held accountable.
• Obama amasses $240M warchest:  Big money is dominating our politics.  But the Democrats, who complain the loudest about this, are the ones who benefit the most.  The most "electable" Republican, Romney, also has the deepest pockets.  All of the money goes into their campaigns that do not enlighten nor inform the public.  Elections are being bought.  People are not being persuaded, but herded.
• Public Sector Unions:  They have a vested interest in growing the government.  It supplies them with jobs and political power.  They are big contributors to Democrat causes, which are not necessarily compatible with public opinion, but with their own special interest.  These used to be illegal, but are now dominating states like California.  Attempts to rein them in are furiously opposed, as can be observed in Wisconsin.
• Jewish Community Should Join Catholics Against the Mandate:  The Democrats are hostile towards religion, except their own version of secularism.  On the one hand, they pretend to be in favor of the separation of church and state, but on the other, they try to separate people from their faiths.  Then, they indoctrinate young people into their own beliefs while these young people attend the public school system.  The separation of church and state morphs into a separation of churches from the people and the establishment of a state religion.
• Update:  I found another example:  Campaign against Canadian Keystone XL pipeline driven by US foundation millions  ---- quote: "Concerns about that lack of transparency found their vent on Feb. 9 when Brian Jean, a Conservative member of the Canadian Parliament, called for legislation to ban deep-pocketed foreigners from bankrolling what he called Canada’s “radical” green movement."

None of this is an accident.  It is all designed to accumulate more and more power into the hands of the powerful that is determined to overthrow the current order.  The people do not want this, but are being herded into it by this big money and their allies in the government.

The Republican party is not much help.  They like the money too and get corrupted by it.  They end up corrupting the people and help the Democrats toward entrenching this kleptocracy until it will become an unstoppable tyranny.

Claims of austerity have been greatly exaggerated

Krugman's making a claim that America's better economic performance- with respect to Europe- has been due to greater spending:

Specifically, in early 2010 austerity economics — the insistence that governments should slash spending even in the face of high unemployment — became all the rage in European capitals. 

and

countries that didn’t jump on the austerity train — most notably, Japan and the United States — continue to have very low borrowing costs, defying the dire predictions of fiscal hawks

but, did you know this?

After all, the usual suspects were quick to pronounce the idea of fiscal stimulus dead for all time after President Obama’s efforts failed to produce a quick fall in unemployment — even though many economists warned in advance that the stimulus was too small.  

The original Obama stimulus has been built into the budget so we have had multiple stimuli, and yet the growth did not come.  The way that this happened is that the Senate has refused to pass a budget, so the spending just goes onto the ever growing tab as a continuing resolution.  The last year's budget just gets passed on to next year, and so on and so on.   That's how the stimulus was a gift that never arrived, yet it kept costing more and more and more.

Europe's spending is much higher part of the GDP than the USA's, so the spending school does not work there either.  The problem, even though Krugman doesn't want to admit it, is an inability to pay for all the borrowing.  Greece can't service the debt.  Just adding more debt doesn't help matters.  It won't increase productivity, nor make prices go down.  It still costs money to buy stuff, and it still takes wealth to pay for things.  It doesn't grow on trees, no matter how many times Krugman may dream otherwise.

ISS To Receive Special Centrifuge | AVIATION WEEK

ISS To Receive Special Centrifuge | AVIATION WEEK

Seinfeld and the party of nothing

I know the perfect religion of the Seinfeld party, aka Democrats:

Do you guys know what Buddhism is, what the core theology is? Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism, and both systems are basically a denial that there is any reality, and thus men are seeking a perfect state of enlightenment called "nirvana", which is total, complete nothingness. Zen meditation is attempting to "touch and embrace the nothingness".

Guess what?  The Mahablog is written by a Buddhist broad, formerly a Christian, I suppose.  She is a rabid lefty.  The Seinfeld party descript fits her perfectly.

Althouse: Man survives, trapped in a snow-bound car, for 2 m...

Althouse: Man survives, trapped in a snow-bound car, for 2 m...: This happened in Sweden, where the temperature was as low as -22°. The man, who was too weak to utter more than a few words, said he had b...

Comment:

I smell a research project.  If humans can "hibernate", think of what it could mean.  I am thinking of interplanetary hibernation during the long transit to Mars!

Morning Jay: Democrats, Inc.

Morning Jay: Democrats, Inc.


Money quote:

So, year after year, Tammany pols would endorse the Democratic party platform, which inevitably railed against the GOP's coziness with special interests, while they themselves were cozy with those very same interests. That is the modern Democratic party in a nutshell.

Comment:

You can't trust what you hear from the MSM, which is a subsidiary of Democrats, Inc.  There's so much misinformation out there, you are lucky if you get a shred of truth.

Scientists prepare test-tube burger

www.ft.com

quote:

Researchers believe that meat grown in factories, rather than on farms, will be a more sustainable and less environmentally harmful source of food.

Comment:

That's not a very good reason to do this.  Better to do this for cases in which meat can not be easily grown.  Like in space!

Newt '08 on Consulting Fannie and Freddie

Winning Our Future h/t free republic

Lots of distortions out there.  Not only against Newt, but against Santorum as well.  I suspect Romney is behind most of this.  He may have been behind the Cain stuff as well, although Cain blamed Perry for it.  Romney's accomplices in the media who want him to get the nomination are helping him too.  But they'll get him later once they get the others out of the way.

Does Ryan Now Agree with Gingrich?

Does Ryan Now Agree with Gingrich?

A lot of the criticism against Gingrich strikes me as phony.

Eric Burdon & The Animals Sky Pilot

I think there will be war with the Iranians. The mullahs are determined to pick a fight and there will be one. It is only a matter of time.

This song came out at the time of the Vietnam War. I didn't go, but if drafted and sent there, I would have gone. No running away to Canada for me. You can't run away from things. Especially bad things like this.

I don't see this video as pro war or anti war. Just that war is a bad thing.