"We can’t constantly explain to our voters that taxpayers have to be on the hook for certain risks, rather than those who make a lot of money taking those risks."
-- Barack Obama Angela Merkel
Thursday, November 11, 2010
To Hell With The TSA
"We spend my child's whole life telling him that only mom, dad and a doctor can touch you in your private area, and now we have to add TSA agent and that's just wrong," he told Reuters. "At some point the terrorists have won."
More here.
Uncalled House Race Update: VA-11 a Democrat Hold
Real Clear Politics has been showing this race a Democrat hold since yesterday.
Politics Daily shows the incumbent Democrat Connolly with just 920 votes more than the Republican challenger Fimian.
Three third party candidates could be blamed for the Republican's loss. The Independent garnered 1,838 votes, the Libertarian 1,381 votes, and the Green 959 votes. All together those votes represented barely 1.75% of all votes cast.
Net Republican gains remain at 61 with 6 races still not called: CA-11, CA-20, IL-8, KY-6, NY-25 and NY-1.
Was Monday's California Missile Launch a Chinese Cruise Missile?
Did history just rhyme on Monday with an incident which embarrassed the US Navy back in October 2006? Has the People's Liberation Army been (California) dreamin' about this since 1996?
Consider this from James Kraska, a former adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
In 1999, the PLA Navy introduced the sophisticated Song-class diesel electric submarine. Reportedly quieter than the fast attack US Los Angeles-class boats, the Song was equipped with wake-homing torpedoes and anti-ship cruise missiles. In one incident in October 2006, one of the ultra-quiet Song submarines surfaced inside the protective screen of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. Admiral Gary Roughead, who was commander of the US Pacific Fleet and who would later go on to serve as Chief of Naval Operations, was visiting China at the time of the incident. In 1996, at the end of the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, PLA General Xiong Guangkai warned a visiting US envoy, ‘‘. . . you care more about Los Angeles than you do about Taipei.’’ ...
[T]he US Pacific Fleet was in panic after the Kitty Hawk embarrassment over its vulnerability to Chinese diesel-electric boats.
In the decades after the end of the Cold War, China closed the gap in naval capability, even surpassing the United States in some areas in terms of both quantity and quality of platforms. For example, China concentrated on advancing its large diesel-electric submarine force. Sweden became the first nation to develop a diesel-electric submarine with air-independent propulsion (AIP), which extended underwater endurance from a few days to one month. The first in class of these vessels, the HMS Gotland, was leased by the US Navy for two years in order to practice anti-submarine warfare. The Gotland proved extremely quiet and effective, and AIP submarines are able to sprint under water—greatly increasing their attack radius. China integrated AIP technology into the Type 041 Yuan-class boats, which followed the Song. Having launched several of these smaller, stealthy boats each year since 2004, a decade later, the US Seventh Fleet could never be certain whether China was shadowing US vessels.
Monday's incident could have been a shot across our bow, meant to embarrass the president in his own backyard while he's visiting in theirs.
[T]he US Pacific Fleet was in panic after the Kitty Hawk embarrassment over its vulnerability to Chinese diesel-electric boats.
In the decades after the end of the Cold War, China closed the gap in naval capability, even surpassing the United States in some areas in terms of both quantity and quality of platforms. For example, China concentrated on advancing its large diesel-electric submarine force. Sweden became the first nation to develop a diesel-electric submarine with air-independent propulsion (AIP), which extended underwater endurance from a few days to one month. The first in class of these vessels, the HMS Gotland, was leased by the US Navy for two years in order to practice anti-submarine warfare. The Gotland proved extremely quiet and effective, and AIP submarines are able to sprint under water—greatly increasing their attack radius. China integrated AIP technology into the Type 041 Yuan-class boats, which followed the Song. Having launched several of these smaller, stealthy boats each year since 2004, a decade later, the US Seventh Fleet could never be certain whether China was shadowing US vessels.
Monday's incident could have been a shot across our bow, meant to embarrass the president in his own backyard while he's visiting in theirs.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Cutting Paychecks of 535 Members of Congress by 10% is Silly
Do the math:
$174,000 per year
10% of which = $17,400
x 535 members of Congress = less than $10 million.
That'll really hurt the plutocrats like John Kerry and Darrell Issa.
$10 million dollars goes into a $3.5 trillion budget 350,000 times for crying out loud. It's like taking a long piss in the Pacific ocean. NO ONE WILL NOTICE!
Get serious! Cut an entire Cabinet level department or two, starting with Education.
Story here.
About Half of New Republicans Term Limit Themselves
Pure idiocy.
To paraphrase George C. Scott playing General George Patton: Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won by term-limiting himself for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard term-limit himself for it.
These dopes haven't learned a thing on the outside. Why, I'll bet they're ready to compromise on all sorts of things. Heaven help us.
I predict rising spirits among Democrats.
Politico has the story here.
Another Guy Goes on the Record that it was a Missile
According to National Journal here:
Naval expert Norman Polmar, a long-time consultant to the Navy and Pentagon, said he believes the missile was almost certainly launched by the US military. “From the video it’s clearly a land- or sea-launched ballistic missile, and it couldn’t have come from a French or British submarine, because they are only deployed in the Atlantic and Mediterranean,” he told National Journal. “Chinese submarines have never ventured farther east than Hawaii, nor have they ever successfully test fired a ballistic missile. That only leaves the Russians, but for the life of me I can’t fathom why Moscow would have a submarine sail 5,000 miles to launch a missile off the coast of California.”
I can fathom why a North Korean submarine would do it, or a Chinese submarine, especially just ahead of Obama's arrival in Seoul for the G-20 meeting.
But the capability question is still there in both cases.
Do the North Koreans have a blue water submarine, let alone the technology?
Do the Chinese have the technology?
And why would the US government lie about a test of its own?
Solid Propellant Missile From A Submarine or Surface Ship
If it wasn't a missile that's news to at least one expert, as related here:
"It’s a solid propellant missile," he told the Times. "You can tell from the efflux [smoke]."
Richardson said it could have been a ballistic missile launched from a submarine or an interceptor, the defensive anti-missile weapon used by Navy surface ships.
Obama Doubles Number of Federal Workers Getting $150K or More Per Year
Dennis Cauchon for USA Today keeps on the trail of federal worker pay:
The number of federal workers earning $150,000 or more a year has soared tenfold in the past five years and doubled since President Obama took office, a USA TODAY analysis finds.
Read the rest here.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010 is National Opt-Out Day: Pass it On
Check it out here:
Wednesday, November 24, 2010 is NATIONAL OPT-OUT DAY!
It's the day ordinary citizens stand up for their rights, stand up for liberty, and protest the federal government's desire to virtually strip us naked or submit to an "enhanced pat down" that touches people's breasts and genitals. You should never have to explain to your children, "Remember that no stranger can touch or see your private area, unless it's a government employee, then it's OK."
The goal of National Opt Out Day is to send a message to our lawmakers that we demand change. No naked body scanners, no government-approved groping. We have a right to privacy and buying a plane ticket should not mean that we're guilty until proven innocent. This day is needed because many people do not understand what they consent to when choosing to fly.
Here are the details:
Who?
You, your family and friends traveling by air on Wednesday, November 24, 2010.
What?
National Opt-Out Day. While the government doesn't always like to advertise this, you have the ability to opt-out of the naked body scanner machines (AIT, or Advance Imaging Technology, as the government calls it). All you have to do is say "I opt out" when they tell you to go through one of the machines. You will then be given a pat down.
Where?
At an airport near you!
When?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010. That's right: November 24 - one of the busiest travel days of the year! We want families to sit around the dinner table, eating turkey, talking about how a government employee molested them at the airport. We hope the outrageous experience then propels people to write their Member of Congress and demand change.
Why?
We are sick of "security theater." These naked body scanners do not make us a more secure nation. In fact, the scanners, which use radiation, may not even be safe for our long-term health. The government should not have the ability to virtually strip search anyone it wants. Why should a government employee get to see a naked scan of a passenger, and do who knows what in the back room while viewing that image? We have already heard stories of TSA officials laughing at small genitals and making certain women go through the machines or taking off extra clothes, reducing them to tears. This is absolutely sick behavior. If you don't like it and don't want to be virtually strip searched, then too bad says the government. To try and make everyone comply with the naked body scanners, the government has made the alternative worse! With their enhanced pat downs, TSA now touches the genitals and private areas of men, women and children! We do not believe the government has a right to see you naked or feel you up just because you bought an airline ticket. There are better, less invasive security measures that can be taken.
How?
By saying "I opt out" when told to go through the bodying imaging machines. Also, be sure to have your enhanced pat down by TSA in full public - do not go to the back room when asked. Every citizen must see for themselves how the government treats law-abiding citizens.
follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/nationaloptout
Arrogant Flight Attendants Want Special Treatment On Enhanced Pat-Downs
But your choice is to get scanned virtually strip-searched or groped, that's it, against your 4th Amendment rights.
Calling enhanced pat-downs by the TSA "invasive," Deborah Volpe, Vice President of the Association of Flight Attendants Local 66 in Phoenix, says they want a different "crew pass" procedure for flight attendants and pilots, according to a story here from ABC15 in Phoenix:
"We don't want them in uniform going through this enhanced screening where their private areas are being touched in public."
"They actually make contact with the genital area."
"They've already contacted the ACLU."
"We just feel this pat-down is a little much."
If it's a little much for you, isn't it a little much for anyone? What makes union members so special?
Want to crash the TSA? November 24 is National Opt-Out Day. Refuse the scanners. Make them feel you up. And make sure to film it and upload it to YouTube.
Pass the word: optoutday.com.
Wikipedia Article Debates Possible Role of North Koreans in Missile Launch
The article in question is about the Golf II class of submarines, which you can find here.
Here is a screen shot of the relevant passage which was removed overnight, claiming "vandalism":
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Was The Missile a Stunt from Kim Jong Mentally Ill?
Here's a theory:
Obama leaves the country on his grand Asia tour, which involves a G20 meeting in South Korea. While the cat's away, the North Koreans sneak a missile sub 35 miles off our California coast to demonstrate their ability to strike us and embarrass him, catching us flat-footed. The event gets credited to Kim Jong-Il's son, the new general and heir apparent, cementing his position with the military. Meanwhile we've got a president who's disengaged from and unrealistic about matters military whose liberal death wish could very well get us all killed. Would this have happened with a 600 ship navy under Reagan instead of the 300 ship one we have now?
The Macroeconomics of Gold
Edmund Conway has an excellent discussion of the macroeconomics of gold for The UK Telegraph here, at the heart of which is this:
Enjoy!
Undecided Races Update: WA-2 Stays Democrat
Real Clear Politics shows the race as a Democrat hold this morning.
Politics Daily shows just 11 precincts left to be counted and 98% of the vote in with incumbent Democrat Larsen ahead of Republican challenger Koster by almost 5,500 votes.
That leaves the Republicans with a net gain of 61 seats in the US House, with 7 races still not called: CA-11, CA-20, IL-8, KY-6, NY-25, VA-11 and NY-1.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Pilot Union President Urges Scanner Boycott By Pilots
In a story reported here, Captain Dave Bates objects to the scanners on both health and privacy grounds, conceding that the scans could be harmful not only to pilots but to frequent flyers, and that the opt-out procedure, the enhanced pat down, is so demeaning that if pilots have to go through that, it should occur out of view of the public.
So the guy thinks it's ok for the rest of us to get groped by uniformed government employees, and in front of everyone?!
What happened to equal treatment under the law, eh Captain?
Pilots should boycott both the scans and the pat downs, and so should the rest of us. Don't fly, period. That's the only way to get this madness stopped once and for all.
Here Come the Spy Drones
How long before they have backscatter scanners like the airports and mobile vans have to see through the roof of your home to search you without a warrant?
These aerial robots from England can hover silently for hours, and at only 3 feet in diameter can conceal themselves easily. Equipped with cameras and thermal imaging scanners, they can see you hiding in the bushes. They can track you as you drive, mow the lawn, go for a walk, or have a picnic. All your comings and goings, and those of your associates, can be tracked, recorded and studied without your knowledge or consent.
The story here says they're coming to the US.
Your freedom and privacy are being destroyed as we speak!
What are you going to do about it?
Start by boycotting every place where scanners are installed. That means not flying. And complain, loudly, until this is brought to a halt.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Of 8 More Close Uncalled House Races, 3 Look to go Republican
With a net gain to date of 61 seats, 3 more defeats of Democrat incumbents look possible.
Bloomberg.com reports similarly here:
“It’s expected that Republicans will hold on and pick up a total of 63 or 64 seats, though recounts can occasionally produce a surprise,” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
Vote totals taken from PoliticsDaily.com show Republican Vidak overturning Democrat Costa in CA-20 50.8% to 49.2%.
In IL-8, the Republican Walsh looks to overtake Democrat Melissa Bean 48.5% to 48.3% thanks to Green Party Scheurer siphoning off 3.2% on the Democrat incumbent's left. This was conservative Republican Phil Crane's old seat.
And in NY-25 the Republican Buerkle has a similarly razor thin lead over incumbent Democrat Maffei 50.2% to 49.8%.
Other races don't look as promising for Republicans, close as they are.
A constitutionalist third party candidate in CA-11 has managed 5% of the vote in a race leaning to the incumbent Democrat McNerney over the Republican Harmer by just .3%.
Incumbent Democrat Chandler in KY-6 has a .2% lead over Republican challenger Barr.
Three third parties in VA-11 have bled off 1.8% of the vote in favor of the Democrat incumbent Connolly vs. Republican Fimian who trails by .4% of the vote. Libertarian and Green parties strike again.
WA-2 is a different matter with 95% of the precincts reporting because of voting by mail. The Democrat Larsen is ahead of Republican Koster 50.7% to 49.3%.
The race in NY-1 has looked like Democrat incumbent Bishop's over Republican Altshuler 51% to 49% until the report of a closer count in the Bloomberg story. The Republican says many absentee ballots have not yet been counted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)