Tman In Tennessee

A little PJ to cheer you up on this glorious Fourth of July Weekend. I love his bit explaining how the automobile allowed the United States to come together. As someone who very much enjoys driving across this great country, I can't imagine having to do it in a train, where your freedom to go where you want is extremely limiting.


Reason.tv’s Ted Balaker sat down with O’Rourke at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Topics include: bailouts, who ruined the U.S. auto industry, politicians’ love affair with trains, how easy women made O'Rourke a youthful socialist and how getting a paycheck turned him into a libertarian.

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Perry de Havilland, over at Samizdata.net, commenting on what fun things we have to look forward to here in the USA....

Millions and millions of Americans support Obama's desire to even more massively intervene in the market for medical care than the US state already does. And of course Obama's moves are just the opening salvo in a desire to eventually end up with fully socialist healthcare, along the lines of Britain's ghastly National Health Service, which has intermittently tried to kill me over the years.

I have tried pointing Americans at the British example to show them what an appalling idea it is to have the state directing any industry, let alone medical care. But alas it is very hard to overcome that special kind of insular American optimism that does not think what happens in another advanced first world nation can teach them anything, because in the USA things will be different.

Well yes, it will be different... in that the control obsessed Obama's of this world will find new, innovative and oh so wholesome American ways to end up with a third rate health care system much like Britain has today.

This might be a good time for Americans to invest their money in Swiss medical clinics as I suspect in the coming years expatriated medical care will be a serious growth industry... plus it has the added benefit of getting your money out of the USA and US dollar.

The current emergency government run healthcare program we already have is Medicare, which is taking in less money than it is paying out, to the tune of $168 billion in 2006 and $179 billion in 2007.

Add that with Social Security deficits, it gets even worse. According to the American Academy of Actuaries-

Considering Medicare spending in conjunction with Social Security spending further highlights the strain these programs place on the economy. Social Security spending as a share of GDP increases more modestly than Medicare over the next several decades, and as a result, Medicare spending is expected to exceed that of Social Security in 2028. Combined, Medicare and Social Security expenditures equaled 7.3 percent of GDP in 2006. This share of GDP is expected to increase considerably to a projected 12.7 percent in 2030 and 17.6 percent in 2080. Medicare and Social Security expenditures are even more striking when considered relative to total federal revenues. The trustees report that total federal revenues have historically averaged about 18 percent of GDP. Using this average, about 40 percent of all federal revenues in 2007 will be used to pay Medicare and Social Security benefits. If no changes are made to either program and federal revenues remain at 18 percent of GDP, this share is expected to increase to 80 percent in 2040, and by 2080, Medicare and Social Security spending would equal nearly all total federal revenues. These projections highlight the increasing strains that Medicare, especially in conjunction with Social Security, will place on the U.S. economy. Moreover, increased spending for Medicare may crowd out the share of funds available for other federal programs.

Someone needs to explain to me why spending MORE MONEY ON HEALTHCARE will make HEALTHCARE CHEAPER thus saving our economy from catasrophe.

Good luck. |

My favorite astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson gave a lecture/interview at the Los Angeles Public Library recently. He came to talk about Pluto and his recent book The Pluto Files, and as usual was Spock-like in his insight and logic in to the world of science and astronomy.


Here's the link to the full program where you can skip around to different parts of the lecture and Q&A session.


Here are two of my favorites from the lecture: Bush Innocent in War on Science



Remember this next time people talk about Obama "restoring science in America" or whatever, because I'm sure we'll hear about it again. His point about Bush appointing Judge John E. Jones III, who presided over Kitzmiller vs. Dover was especially poignant.

And this one, as Tyson destroys the silliness surrounding the conspiracies that will soon reach boiling point as we approach December 2012:



Just google it! |

I wrote part VIII about three years ago, when Iraq was unraveling. I had no idea that today Iraq would look like a stable democracy next to Iran.

"Iran should be liberated, and their regime eliminated"
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

It is now more evident than ever before that the Iranian Regime is the biggest obstacle to peace in the region and the rest of the world. The two biggest hot spots in the middle east right now are in Lebanon and Iraq, and in both places the Iranian Regime is the state sponsor of those trying to kill innocent people ON PURPOSE. Every other surrounding Arab state except for Syria is ready to recognize Israel and end the pointless struggle over a bunch of freaking rocks.

This will never happen with the Iranian regime still in power.


Those of us who do not wish to "submit to God" involuntarily agree that these freaking nutjob Islamofascists trying to either convert the entire world to Islam or put the rest of us to death need to be stopped.

President Bush stated the following quite clearly after 9/11 that

"Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists, and every government that supports them.....Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.

Fast forward to the present. Hezbollah, the armed thugs whose salaries are paid by the Iranian Regime, have been trying to bleed Israel to death for over 20 years. They've wacked our US troops in the process. Today Iranian troops are fighting side by side with Hezbollah in Lebanon, just as they are with Al-Sadr in Iraq.

Sooner or later, if freedom for all from relgious persecution is to prevail, the Islamic Regime in Iran will have to fall. The sooner the better.

It remains to be seen how long it will take for the Iranian people to finally enjoy the liberty and freedom that we take for granted here in the US.

But one thing is certain, the Iranian people have had enough. And I don't think they are going to wait for help from the outside world before they take matters in to their own hands and finally push back against the bullies.

Michael Totten (now blogging for the time being at Commentary), who as usual has been running rings around the major news media organizations in providing breaking news about the Iranian demonstrations, had the following quote from Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski from his book Shah of Shahs, about the Iranian revolution in 1979, he describes the beginning of the end for the Shah Reza Pahlavi.

Now the most important moment, the moment that will determine the fate of the country, the Shah, and the revolution, is the moment when one policeman walks from his post toward one man on the edge of the crowd, raises his voice, and orders the man to go home. The policeman and the man on the edge of the crowd are ordinary, anonymous people, but their meeting has historic significance.

They are both adults, they have both lived through certain events, they have both their individual experiences.

The policeman’s experience: If I shout at someone and raise my truncheon, he will first go numb with terror and then take to his heels. The experience of the man at the edge of the crowd: At the sight of an approaching policeman I am seized by fear and start running. On the basis of these experiences we can elaborate a scenario: The policeman shouts, the man runs, others take flight, the square empties.

But this time everything turns out differently. The policeman shouts, but the man doesn’t run. He just stands there, looking at the policeman. It’s a cautious look, still tinged with fear, but at the same time tough and insolent. So that’s the way it is! The man on the edge of the crowd is looking insolently at uniformed authority. He doesn’t budge. He glances around and sees and sees the same look on other faces. Like his, their faces are watchful, still a bit fearful, but already firm and unrelenting. Nobody runs though the policeman has gone on shouting; at last he stops. There is a moment of silence.

We don’t know whether the policeman and the man on the edge of the crowd already realize what has happened. The man has stopped being afraid – and this is precisely the beginning of the revolution. Here it starts. Until now, whenever these two men approached each other, a third figure instantly intervened between them. That third figure was fear. Fear was the policeman’s ally and the man in the crowd’s foe. Fear interposed its rules and decided everything.

Now the two men find themselves alone, facing each other, and fear has disappeared into thin air. Until now their relationship was charged with emotion, a mixture of aggression, scorn, rage, terror. But now that fear has retreated, this perverse, hateful union has suddnely broken up; something has been extinguished. The two men have now grown mutually indifferent, useless to each other; they can now go their own ways.
Accordingly, the policeman turns around and begins to walk heavily back toward his post, while the man on the edge of the crowd stands there looking at his vanishing enemy.

May peace and liberty be upon the Iranian People. |

Michael Totten is keeping the updates coming from Iran:

Iran On Fire
The BBC says clashes between demonstrators and police in Tehran are the most violent in a decade.

Video below shows a human wave of demonstrators chasing frightened police officers.

He has a quote from the Huffington Post:

"My next door neighbor is an Iranian immigrant who came here in 1977. He just received a SAT phone call from his brother in Tehran who reports that the rooftops of nighttime Tehran are filled with people shouting 'Allah O Akbar' in protest of the government and election results. The last time he remembers this happening is in 1979 during the Revolution. Says the sound of tens of thousands on the rooftops is deafening right now." It's almost four in the morning in Iran."

Hopefully this Cox and Forkum illustration will bear fruit...
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.....we didn't listen. And now, this is very close to a reality-




Incidentally, I bought a new Ford Fusion a few months ago. I love it. For any of those idiots out there who say that the American Auto Industry isn't making anything that Americans want to buy, I give you the following evidence that you are dead wrong.

Here are the top selling cars in the US from the month of May-

1.) Ford F-Series: 33,381
2.) Chevy Silverado: 31,463
3.) Toyota Camry: 31,325
4.) Toyota Corolla: 23,576
5.) Honda Accord: 22,597
6.) Honda Civic: 20,723
7.) Ford Fusion: 19,786
8.) Chevy Impala: 18,709
9.) Nissan Altima: 18,408
10.) Ford Escape: 16,391


Ford has three in the top ten, with the Fusion at a healthy #7. Chevy is on life support from my tax dollars, and the car I bought was built by the company that didn't take any taxpayer money to stay alive. Sorry Chevy, but American Car Companies should be allowed to fail and disappear, and I don't see the point in rewarding failure.

What kills me is why did Ford wait this long to introduce this kind of sexiness to the American Roads?





And she drives as good as she looks. |

The End of the Affair
The fate of Detroit isn’t a matter of economics. It’s a tragic romance, whose magic was killed by bureaucrats, bad taste and busybodies. P.J. O’Rourke on why Americans fell out of love with the automobile.


The phrase “bankrupt General Motors,” which we expect to hear uttered on Monday, leaves Americans my age in economic shock. The words are as melodramatic as “Mom’s nude photos.” And, indeed, if we want to understand what doomed the American automobile, we should give up on economics and turn to melodrama.

Politicians, journalists, financial analysts and other purveyors of banality have been looking at cars as if a convertible were a business. Fire the MBAs and hire a poet. The fate of Detroit isn’t a matter of financial crisis, foreign competition, corporate greed, union intransigence, energy costs or measuring the shoe size of the footprints in the carbon. It’s a tragic romance—unleashed passions, titanic clashes, lost love and wild horses........

Read the rest here... |

Most of us have heard about the comment by SCOTUS nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor-

“‘I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,‘"

Many pundits have made the argument that this quote needs to placed in context of her full speech that day. You can read that same speech here, but in all honesty it doesn't really change the point she was making. In particular, the point about how she believes that "Although I agree with and attempt to work toward Judge Cedarbaum's aspiration(ed. to achieve a greater degree of fairness and integrity based on the reason of law), I wonder whether achieving that goal is possible in all or even in most cases. And I wonder whether by ignoring our differences as women or men of color we do a disservice both to the law and society."

Basically, screw all that "impartiality", the law is something we can change to fit our needs in terms of identity politics, and retribution thereof.

A funny thing happened after Judge Sotomayor made her speech. Other Latino judges responded, and thanks to a diligent NRO reader, here are their thoughts-

I decided to peruse the comments delivered by the other participants in the 2001 Symposium at Berkeley, expecting to find that Judge Sotomayor's position was fairly mainstream among the presenters at an event sponsored by "La Raza Law Journal."

To my surprise, two of the judges speaking after her (she gave the keynote address the night before their presentations), rejected her relativism, her characterization of "[t]he aspiration to impartiality" as "just that"—a mere aspiration, and the endorsement of the use of "prejudices." None of the judges expressly disagreed with her by name, but given that, in her words, the "focus" of her keynote address was precisely the endorsement of prejudice, the implicit disagreement was fairly palpable and was probably obvious to the audience.


First, Judge Valeriano Saucedo of the California courts, noted that, because of his experiences, he had a certain degree of understanding to Hispanic defendants, but "[t]hat does not mean that I apply a different standard of justice, because that is wrong."

Speaking on the same panel, Judge Richard Paez (of the Ninth Circuit) was more emphatic, and emphasized that both juror and judge had a duty of impartiality. Here are his extended remarks on the subject:

"As Judge Saucedo said, we are required to apply the law fairly. I do not think that I ever have applied a different standard in judging a case involving a Latino defendant, a black defendant, an Asian defendant, a white defendant, or a multimillion dollar corporation. But, there is something about our own personal life experience that makes each of us different.

"I used to tell jurors when they entered the courtroom and took their oaths as jurors, 'You walk into the courtroom with a lifetime of experiences, and we don't ask you to suddenly forget all that experience, to ignore that experience.' I asked them if they could judge fairly the case that they were about to hear. I explained, 'As jurors, recognize that you might have some bias, or prejudice. Recognize that it exists, and determine whether you can control it so that you can judge the case fairly. Because if you cannot - if you cannot set aside those prejudices, biases and passions - then you should not sit on the case.'

"The same principle applies to judges. We take an oath of office. At the federal level, it is a very interesting oath. It says, in part, that you promise or swear to do justice to both the poor and the rich. The first time I heard this oath, I was startled by its significance. I have my oath hanging on the wall in my office to remind me of my obligations. And so, although I am a Latino judge and there is no question about that - I am viewed as a Latino judge - as I judge cases, I try to judge them fairly. I try to remain faithful to my oath.

"I think we look at conflicts from our own life experiences. If you were to look at my life - at least my professional experience - and I'll just start with that, I probably have a unique professional experience. If you looked at the federal judiciary and asked how many federal court of appeals judges are there that worked in legal services, as I did for nine years, I doubt that you would find many. I never worked for a law firm, a district attorney's office, a U.S. Attorney's Office, a State Attorney General's office, or the Justice Department. I worked, instead, for legal services for the poor. That was my professional career. And working in that environment, representing individual clients as well as litigating larger cases, sometimes impacts the way one may look at issues or conflicts. You don't shed that experience - you don't leave it behind. But, when called upon to decide a case, judges have a distinct and clear obligation to apply the law fairly and justly to the parties in the case."

Obviously, the question for Judge Sotomayor, is whether she now agrees with Judges Saucedo and Paez. In any case, Senate Republicans need to bring up Judge Paez's disagreement with Judge Sotomayor as frequently as possible.

This tells me that Judge Sotomayor is incapable of separating her desire to instill identity politics in to the rule of law from what her job requirements are as a United States Judge.

What's even scarier is that this is the best Obama could come up with for his first appointment. I'm of the opinion that Judge Sotomayor will reveal her true ideals during the nomination process, and the American public will disapprove of her desire to make identity politics a part of the rule of law in the Supreme Court.

But then again, I'm an optimist. |

Kudos to Ms. Pierson who exemplifies what constitutes a REAL American Individual.

She isn't waiting for the government to bail her out. And Ms Garafolo is afraid of what Ms. Pierson represents. |

“‘I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,‘ said Judge Sotomayor........”


ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL
BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS

After that it did not seem strange when next day the pigs who were supervising the work of the farm all carried whips in their trotters. It did not seem strange to learn that the pigs had bought themselves a wireless set, were arranging to install a telephone, and had taken out subscriptions to John Bull, TitBits, and the Daily Mirror. It did not seem strange when Napoleon was seen strolling in the farmhouse garden with a pipe in his mouth-no, not even when the pigs took Mr. Jones's clothes out of the wardrobes and put them on, Napoleon himself appearing in a black coat, ratcatcher breeches, and leather leggings, while his favourite sow appeared in the watered silk dress which Mrs. Jones had been used to wear on Sundays.

I wish I wrote this, but here is Jeff Goldstein trying to help the GOP to control the message about why Sonia Sotomayor is a bad pick for the SCOTUS-

Don’t vote down the first latina SCOTUS nominee.

Vote down the first latina SCOTUS nominee who believes it is the role of the judiciary to make policy, and that some identity groups are more equal than others — and the law will be made to say so, should she be appointed to the bench.

Unless the GOP grows a spine, Judge Sotomayor will become our next Supreme Court Justice.

"Four legs good, two legs
bad!"


Here's the thing Judge Sotomayor. This statue is blind FOR A REASON.



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NKorea warns of military action against SKorea
May 26 11:05 PM US/Easter
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea's military says it considers South Korea's participation in a U.S.-led program to intercept ships suspected of spreading weapons of mass destruction tantamount to a declaration of war against the North.

The communist North's military said in a statement Wednesday that it will respond with "immediate, strong military measures" if the South actually stops and searches any North Korean ships under the Proliferation Security Initiative.

The statement, carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency, said North Korea no longer considers itself bound by the armistice that ended the Korean War, as a protest over the South's participation.

Joe Biden, October 2008-

"Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."


North Korea is attempting to undo the armistice from the Korean War, which is bad. North Korea is also trading nuclear weapons technology with Syria, and probably Iran as well. This is real bad.

Hopefully the news is just more sabre-rattling from Mr. "Sea of Fire", because this is not the ideal "generated international crisis" I want Obama testing his mettle on. I suppose we will soon find out how the Administration is going to handle these things going forward, so we might as well find out now. |

I don't remember, well, any specifically.

George W. Bush was dealt an incredibly farked up hand on 9/11. Many people may argue that he didn't do the right things after the attack. I'm not one of them; I think Bush did the impossible and kept us safe for eight years, however this is irrelevant to my point.

I've never heard anyone complain that he whined too much about what a mess he inherited from the Clinton Administration. Despite Enron collapsing, web start-ups in Silicon valley being exposed as a monetary fraud which caused the nation to have a bout with "irrational exuberance" or Bill's wag-the-dog chicken game with Iraq and Islamic terrorism, I don't remember Bush bitching about what a big mess he inherited.

I am very disappointed with the Obama administrations repeated attempts to blame our principles being shorted because of "the mess they inherited". I don't hear any recognition of the new war that our nation was pushed in to because of Islamic totalitarianism, nor any defense of our restrained response thereof. All I hear is "Bush did everything wrong, I will go in a different direction".



Obama was elected because he promised a different direction. Regardless if you feel we were going in the wrong direction under Bush, if Obama is going to lead the country, he needs to either start leading in a different direction or stop bitching about what a mess the country is in.

Well past 100 days in office and Obama hasn't changed anything.

Put up or shut up Barry. It's your mess now. |

Servicing Mission 4 Essentials

09.15.08

Galaxies from the early universe. The birthplaces of planets. Dark matter. Dark energy. Since its launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has brought these mysteries into focus, its powerful gaze scanning the universe for the details planet-bound telescopes find impossible to detect.

Far above the Earth's surface, Hubble floats clear of the planet's light-distorting atmosphere, beaming back images that have transfixed humanity and changed the scientific world.

Hubble's triumphs continue to accumulate thanks to a unique design that allows astronauts to repair and upgrade the telescope while it remains in orbit. Repairs keep the telescope functioning smoothly, while upgrades to the instruments bring a slew of new discoveries and science.

The next servicing mission, Servicing Mission 4 (SM4), in May 2009, will be the final trip to the Hubble Telescope. Over the course of five spacewalks, astronauts will install two new instruments, repair two inactive ones, and perform the component replacements that will keep the telescope functioning at least into 2014. The effort-intensive, rigorously researched, exhaustively tested mission also involves diverse groups of people on the ground throughout the country

NASA's latest update says-

PRESS RELEASE
Date Released: Monday, May 18, 2009
Source: Johnson Space Center

Human hands have touched the Hubble Space Telescope for the last time. Astronauts Andrew Feustel and John Grunsfeld spent seven hours and two minutes putting the finishing touches on the telescope in the final spacewalk from a space shuttle airlock.

During the STS-125 mission's five spacewalks, Atlantis' crew completed all of the mission objectives to improve Hubble's view of the universe.

Over the course of the mission's five spacewalks, the crew added two new science instruments, repaired two others and replaced hardware that will extend the telescope's life at least through 2014. The five spacewalks lasted 36 hours and 56 minutes all together. There have been 23 spacewalks devoted to Hubble, totaling 166 hours and six minutes.

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Greg Gutfield, host of Fox News Channel's show Red Eye, recently gave an interview/Q&A session at Reason Weekend, the annual event held by the nonprofit that publishes Reason.com, where he was interviewed by Reason Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward.

There are some great moments to the interview, but the interesting part for me is Mr. Gutfield's description of his political evolution from hippie-loving liberal in to a conservative, now to a full-blown libertarian. There are a lot of similarities between his story and mine, and I can understand how and why he is politically today, which are many of the same reasons I am the way I am as well.

Cool video, enjoy...

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New recipe for tonight, and I got the Herb/Garlic Chevre idea from the Head Chef of the Family, my Mom. Try it out, and make sure you get good Chevre!

Garlic/Herb Chevre Stuffed Chicken Thighs


Ingredients:
4 Whole Chicken Thighs
2 Bell peppers
1 Yellow Onions
1 Bag of Golden Yellow Potatoes
1 Bulb garlic
1 block of Soft Chevre (goat cheese)
1 Tbsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1/2 cup Olive Oil
Fresh Rosemary

Dice finely one quarter of a bell pepper, three cloves of garlic, and 1/8th of the onion and mix together with the Chevre. Cut the potatoes in half and after salting and drizzling olive oil in a baking pan, lay them down, skin side up to coat the bottom of the pan. Chop up the rest of the garlic, peppers and onions and place on top of the potatoes. Take the chicken thighs, and dig out some space for Chevre behind the main bone, and then stuff the Chevre inside. Season the outside of the thighs with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Lay some rosemary around the chicken thighs and cook for about an 1:15-1:30 at 385.



Bon Apetit!

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