Kentucky Pastor Ken Pagano invited his flock to bring their guns to church. Approximately 200 people answered Pastor Pagano's call to celebrate American gun culture and the Second Amendment Saturday at New Bethel Church in Louisville, Kentucky. The gun-toting Pastor made the extraordinary request of his flock to bring their unloaded handguns, in holsters, to send a message.More here.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Guns for Jesus
Friday, April 17, 2009
Women Protest in Afghanistan
New home life laws in Afghanistan:
“Whores!”
But the march continued anyway. About 300 Afghan women, facing an angry throng three times larger than their own, walked the streets of the capital on Wednesday to demand that Parliament repeal a new law that introduces a range of Taliban-like restrictions on women, and permits, among other things, marital rape.
Friday Morning News Roundup
This from Rasmussen:
This from Trinidad:
From the New York, Citigroup finally turns a profit:
Three-fourths (75%) of Lone Star State voters would opt to remain in the United States. Only 18% would vote to secede, and seven percent (7%) are not sure what they'd choose.
This from Trinidad:
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, a staunch ally of Cuba's communist government, vowed to torpedo a final summit communique in protest of the country's exclusion [from the 34-nation Summit of the Americas].
From the New York, Citigroup finally turns a profit:
And even before the results of a new health test for the nation’s 19 largest banks are unveiled, those who can flaunt an improvement from their dismal recent performance are quickly trying to free themselves from government money.
On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs raised $5 billion of fresh capital in anticipation of repaying the government’s investment.
Tea Party Update
I decided I should make my reply from the comments section more public.
So I express my opinion, and I'm an embarrassment? Beck's show on Fox pretending to pour gasoline on someone is not deranged? People comparing Obama to Hitler is a sign of sanity? It's exactly the same as what happened when the people went nuts over Bush - many liberals were unable to criticize his policies without resorting to wild exaggeration. But I was unclear with that part - the sarcasm I intended with the phrase 'Obama Derangement Syndrome" did not come through. It was meant as a disparaging reference to the people who used to claim, at the drop of a hat, that anyone criticizing President Bush must be suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome. It was meant to point out how silly such labels are. And for that moment unclarity, I apologize. On the other hand, Elitesbane's comment pretty much describes how I felt during at least the first six years of the Bush administration. Every single time the President’s policies were criticized, the critics were described as whiney, dirty, smelly, elitist, unpatriotic left-wing-radical hippie troop-haters. Don’t like surveillance on Americans with a warrant? Well, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. Think torture is wrong? Pansy. Don’t think the head of the GSA should ask employees to do what they can to get Bush re-elected? Traitor. Think Gitmo should be closed? Hope your wife enjoys wearing a Burkha! Think that we were purposefully deceived regarding the invasion of Iraq? Wacko conspiracy theorist! Think that gays should be allowed to marry? Faggot! You're voting for Kerry? He's...he's... EVIL! In fact, this blog was started when I felt I had to make my own voice heard in some small way, too, which was something I had never felt before, and which is something that I just can not bring myself to do out loud. So I do understand where you’re coming from, and the media coverage on this was indeed disgraceful. But maybe you missed the part of the post where I said that the over-the-top stuff was destroying the effectiveness of the rallies (perhaps I should have said "obscuring the message"). The problem was that I didn't look in to why it was happening. The "over-the-top" people used the media, distorting and obscuring the voice of the sincere, non-hypocritical protesters. The media, of course, fell for it, for the most part, and despite the fact that, over the years, I have often criticized the state of journalism today, I focused on that part, and for that, I apologize. But I am equally offended by the accusation that I am merely uncritically following the party line. You of all people should know me better than that. Anyway, I wish I'd never made the stupid post. Everything I've ever learned in my life has taught me to keep my mouth shut. It's just never worth it. It never, ever turns out well. So this is my apology: I have nothing but respect those who attended the Tea Parties with sincere beliefs, and I never meant to offend anyone (except maybe the guy wearing a pig nose, holding a Cabbage patch doll and a sign that read "Your Stimulus Stunted my Kids Growth". If you have something to say, why can't you say it without the pig nose and a doll? Oh yeah, that's right, the media will ignore you). I only meant to criticize those who were just there for the attention, or participated with hypocritical intentions (like the company selling teabags I mentioned in a previous post). At any rate, 1) I certainly screwed up with my characterization of the nature of the protests, and 2) I did not intend to insinuate that ODS is actually real; I intended to mock that characterization, and I failed.So now, at 12:20AM, I shall retire.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tea Party Coverage
NOTE: Important updates appear in the Comments section.
OK, I'm just too tired to cover this, so here's a link to some photos from around the country published by TPM. I especially like this one:
What I don't get are all the signs that talk about higher taxes, like the one that says "Higher taxes stole my trip to Disney". All but the top 5% just had their taxes lowered. Are these people deluded, believing their taxes have been raised because they heard it on Hannity? Or are they just plain boldfaced liars?
(And please don't give me the bullshit that we're raising taxes on the most productive Americans. If you think that the people that make the most money are the most productive, you really ARE delusional.)
UPDATE: OK, after reading several on-the-ground reports concerning yesterday’s tea parties, I feel I can offer a short commentary. Essentially, every one of them was a rally for people who don’t like Obama. And that was it, in a nutshell. The only thing tying all of these people together was their hatred of a President elected by a clear and wide majority of the people of this country.
The past eight years were not so long ago, and I can remember these same groups of people calling it “treasonous” to question any policy of the President. Times have changed, however, and so they change their tune with the times, where it is now apparently not treasonous to go on television before the world and call your own President a Fascist (without even knowing what a fascist actually is). And that is OK – you can say what you want to, express your opinion freely. That’s what makes this country great – and so scary to many other countries, who can’t figure us out. Anyway, the point is that these groups, whose candidates by and large lost their elections over the past three years, have suddenly re-discovered free speech after doing their damned-est to control it over the last few years. Remember when people with anti-Bush t-shirts were being removed from rallies? As I’ve pointed out on other posts, the ”over-the-top” and somewhat hypocritical nature of the rhetoric destroys the effectiveness of these rallies, and makes it impossible for any clear message to come through – except that we hate the President. And that is something that hasn’t changed in at least 16 years. Can I call Obama Derangement Syndrome yet?
Some of these people are so dependent on single media sources, so convinced that the world is black-and-white, good-versus-evil that they buy into all of the up-is-down nonsense being spewed by ratings-hungry newsmongers. The defense budget is increased – but Obama is gutting the military. Nearly half of the stimulus plan is comprised of tax cuts, including a reduction of the payroll tax for 95% of all Americans - but Obama is raising taxes and now I can’t go to Disney. Tax revenues are down, but that’s because taxes were increased by 3% on anyone earning over $250,000 per year (that “top 5%”), and so they are being “less productive” as a result – it has nothing to do with massive layoffs and increasing unemployment. I mean, all Democrats raise taxes, don’t they? Tax and spend? Pounded into your head over and over? Actually, the tax on cigarettes was increased, so you could say that smokers have a beef. But if the $250,000+ earners have to cut back on a couple of trips to Paris now, all I can say is: Boo-hoo. Take your Vera Wang bags and go home, if you don’t want to play anymore. We’ll be fine, because there are plenty of smart people down here ready and willing to move up into your vacant office and take over your expense accounts.
OK, I'm just too tired to cover this, so here's a link to some photos from around the country published by TPM. I especially like this one:
What I don't get are all the signs that talk about higher taxes, like the one that says "Higher taxes stole my trip to Disney". All but the top 5% just had their taxes lowered. Are these people deluded, believing their taxes have been raised because they heard it on Hannity? Or are they just plain boldfaced liars?
(And please don't give me the bullshit that we're raising taxes on the most productive Americans. If you think that the people that make the most money are the most productive, you really ARE delusional.)
UPDATE: OK, after reading several on-the-ground reports concerning yesterday’s tea parties, I feel I can offer a short commentary. Essentially, every one of them was a rally for people who don’t like Obama. And that was it, in a nutshell. The only thing tying all of these people together was their hatred of a President elected by a clear and wide majority of the people of this country.
The past eight years were not so long ago, and I can remember these same groups of people calling it “treasonous” to question any policy of the President. Times have changed, however, and so they change their tune with the times, where it is now apparently not treasonous to go on television before the world and call your own President a Fascist (without even knowing what a fascist actually is). And that is OK – you can say what you want to, express your opinion freely. That’s what makes this country great – and so scary to many other countries, who can’t figure us out. Anyway, the point is that these groups, whose candidates by and large lost their elections over the past three years, have suddenly re-discovered free speech after doing their damned-est to control it over the last few years. Remember when people with anti-Bush t-shirts were being removed from rallies? As I’ve pointed out on other posts, the ”over-the-top” and somewhat hypocritical nature of the rhetoric destroys the effectiveness of these rallies, and makes it impossible for any clear message to come through – except that we hate the President. And that is something that hasn’t changed in at least 16 years. Can I call Obama Derangement Syndrome yet?
Some of these people are so dependent on single media sources, so convinced that the world is black-and-white, good-versus-evil that they buy into all of the up-is-down nonsense being spewed by ratings-hungry newsmongers. The defense budget is increased – but Obama is gutting the military. Nearly half of the stimulus plan is comprised of tax cuts, including a reduction of the payroll tax for 95% of all Americans - but Obama is raising taxes and now I can’t go to Disney. Tax revenues are down, but that’s because taxes were increased by 3% on anyone earning over $250,000 per year (that “top 5%”), and so they are being “less productive” as a result – it has nothing to do with massive layoffs and increasing unemployment. I mean, all Democrats raise taxes, don’t they? Tax and spend? Pounded into your head over and over? Actually, the tax on cigarettes was increased, so you could say that smokers have a beef. But if the $250,000+ earners have to cut back on a couple of trips to Paris now, all I can say is: Boo-hoo. Take your Vera Wang bags and go home, if you don’t want to play anymore. We’ll be fine, because there are plenty of smart people down here ready and willing to move up into your vacant office and take over your expense accounts.
Deepest Thoughts
In celebration of April 15, we have the Deepest of Thoughts. Things so deep that they don't make you go "Hmmmm", they make you go "Huh?"
I say that tax forms grow in complexity in proportion to the introduction of creative tax dodges. The more ways that people and businesses make up stuff to avoid taxes, the more complicated tax forms have to become to track them down. Say, can I deduct "Certain pass-through entity Ohio taxes paid?"Dunno, but someone somewhere said, "Hey, I don't think I should have to pay taxes on certain pass-through entities in Ohio. Let's make it a line of the tax form." Sort of like those "creative financial instruments" that have us in the current mess. It all seems like a made-up fantasy land that exists only on paper.
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