1. not flexible; incapable of or resistant to being bent; rigid: an inflexible steel rod.
2. of a rigid or unyielding temper, purpose, will, etc.; immovable: an inflexible determination.
3. not permitting change or variation; unalterable

Synonyms: unbendable, stiff, rigorous, stern, unrelenting, unremitting, stubborn, obstinate, intractable, obdurate, unbending, adamant,Inflexible,relentless, implacable, inexorable

Example 1:  Sometimes it is funny how things come together when gathering information for a post.  The first example comes from an intersection that I pass twice a day commuting for work.  Some improvements were made and inflexibly the contractors installed ADA compliant curbs at three of the four the corners.  What is wrong with that you say?  Well none of those “wheelchair” curb lead to any sidewalks, one is on the edge of a very steep hill, and all are located on the edge of a very busy four-lane roadway.  I cannot think of any good reason why someone would want to cross the road here.

Example 2:  The second example is at an intersection near where I grew up and has always been a four lane, one way roadway.   I was stopped at an intersection leading in to the road and happened to notice the array of signs pictured at the left.  There are, count them, eight traffic signs shouting at you that the only way you can go is to turn right.  Message received.  So why do I have to “right turn signal”?  What purpose does it serve to signal when that’s the only way that I can go.  My spider sense tells me that there is a rule, and inflexible rule, governing the signage at this intersection.  They’re probably only a few hundred each installed.

Example 3:  There is no logical way to explain the following headline other than government inflexibility,

Business Leaders Will Reportedly Face Jail Time for Claiming Water Prevents Dehydration

The only good news is that it is the UK government which reportedly conducted a three-year investigation and “European Union officials now conclude there is no evidence to prove the previously undisputed fact” that water prevents dehydration.  No word on their study that ice does not decrease the temperature of water.

Example 4:  This one may be as much of a nanny-state issue, but the underlying fact is that a school district creates an inflexible rule at the behest of one parent,

Toronto school bans ‘hard balls’

Again it was not an American school, but you can be sure that there are plenty of U.S. principals looking to do the same thing.  Perhaps the most bizarre thing is that I first read the article thinking that they banned hard baseballs, but they actually consider any ball other than Nerf for sponge balls “hard balls.”

Example 5:  I am not a fisherman, but have been around enough of them to hear about the one that got away.  It was always the biggest one they ever saw and they had to stretch their arms apart to the fullest to attempt to show the size.  None have ever claimed that their fish weighed 881 pounds like a Massachusetts fisherman.  Unfortunately for him it was a bluefin tuna, he caught it with a net, and alerted officials about his catch at which time they confiscated the fish that was probably worth nearly a half a million dollars.  I could not verify the allegation that the tuna was taken to the White House for use at one of their cocktail parties.

Example 6:  Jim and Tracy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…The names and times have changed since I was young.  Instead of love then marriage kids now days get charged with assault,

Cops Summoned To Florida Elementary School After Girl Kisses Boy In Phys Ed Class

“The kiss apparently occurred after two girls debated over whom the boy liked more. That’s when one of the girls “went over and kissed” the boy.”

None of the children or their parents alleged sexual assault the act was witnessed by a teacher who reported it.  I could not verify the report that Disney was going to rewrite the famous The Little Mermaid song “Kiss The Girl” as it is now considered to be promoting sexual battery.

The dictionary defines Chutzpah as:

1. Utter nerve; effrontery
2. shameless audacity; impudence
3. unbelievable gall; insolence; audacity
4. the trait of being rude and impertinent; inclined to take liberties

Synonyms:  audaciousness, audacity, brashness, brass, brassiness, brazenness, cheek, cheekiness, effrontery, gall, nerve, nerviness, pertness, presumption, presumptuousness, sauce, sauciness, temerity

“Chutzpah,that quality which enables a man who has murdered his mother and father to throw himself on the mercy of the court as an orphan.”

– Oscar Levant

Blogging is often a way for me to blow off steam.  I love politics, but most people do not want to hear about it, unfortunately.  That’s how we ended up with the Joker in the White House and his minions dispersed throughout our government.  Good luck the the next resident of the Oval Office who has to ferret out all of the harm they have done.  When I heard these words spoken by President Obama my blood pressure per near boiled over at his Chutzpah and perhaps worse the main stream media’s further plunge into irrelevance because they don’t call him on it,

“You’ve got a right to be frustrated.  I am.  Because you deserve better.  I don’t think it’s too much for you to expect that the people you send to this town start delivering.  Members of Congress are at home in their districts right now.  And if you agree with me – whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican or not much of a fan of either – let them know.”

- – BHO (Weekly Radio Address)

The following examples are of Obama’s commitment to the ideals of bipartisanship, fairness, and the good of the country…

Example 1:  We deserve better during the debt ceiling debates:

“”We’ve got to get it done. It is not an option not to do it…I want to be entirely clear, no one wants default on the full faith and credit of the United States government, and I’m convinced that we will not…One of the questions the Republican Party is going to have to ask itself is, ‘Can they say yes to anything?’”

Example 2:  Republicans won’t give me what I want.

“The only reason this balanced approach isn’t on its way to becoming law right now is because a significant number of Republicans in Congress are insisting on a cuts-only approach – an approach that doesn’t ask the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to contribute anything at all. And because nothing is asked of those at the top of the income scales, such an approach would close the deficit only with more severe cuts to programs we all care about – cuts that place a greater burden on working families.”

Example 3:  Republicans get to the back of the bus.

“Republicans had driven the economy into a ditch and then stood by and criticized while Democrats pulled it out. Now that progress has been made, we can’t have special interests sitting shotgun. We gotta have middle class families up in front. We don’t mind the Republicans joining us. They can come for the ride, but they gotta sit in back.”

Example 4:  Chicago Politics!

““If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard,”

Example 5:  Ryan’s ambush.

“This is the same guy that voted for two wars that were unpaid for, voted for the Bush tax cuts that were unpaid for, voted for the prescription drug bill that cost as much as my healthcare bill — but wasn’t paid for.  So it’s not on the level.”

Example 6:  The classic…It’s all Bush’s fault.

“It turns out we don’t have to do anything radical to solve this problem. Contrary to what some folks say, we’re not Greece, we’re not Portugal. It turns out that our problem is we cut taxes without paying for them over the last decade. We ended up instituting new programs, like a prescription drug program for seniors that was not paid for.”

Example 7:  Let’s make fun of the woman and the old guy.

“You know, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.”

“You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called ‘change.’ It’s still gonna stink after eight years.”

And these are just off the top of my head!

1. In addition; also:
2. More than enough; excessively:
3. To a regrettable degree:
4. Very; extremely; immensely

Synonyms:  devilishly, excessively, exorbitantly, inordinately, intolerably, monstrously, overly, overmuch, unacceptably, unduly

“Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair”

- - George Burns

“You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too.”

- – John Kenneth Galbraith

“Oh, I don’t blame Congress. If I had $600 billion at my disposal, I’d be irresponsible, too.”

- – Lichty and Wagner

“Who are you comfortable giving the sole responsibility of deciding what’s too much?”

- – ghblog

Example 1 - Too Liberal:  In a surprising article by the liberal-leaning Los Angles Times they noted that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals may in fact be too liberal.  Widely regarded as the most liberal appeals court (they are in California – surprise!) the 9th Circuit has the distinction of having 19 of the 26 cases overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court (for you stats fans that’s a whopping 73 percent!).  As a testament to the 9th circuits’ liberalosity12 of those reversals were unanimous meaning that they are even too liberal for the liberals on SCOTUS.  This is our tax money supporting courts that get it wrong 73 percent of the time.  Think of the poor folks who don’t get their cases taken to SCOTUS and have to live with the decision.

Example 2 – Too Nuts:  The king of bipolar (allegedly), Charlie Sheen, will be back on the scene with a new show tentatively titled “Anger Management.”  Said Sheen, ” I chose ‘Anger Management’ because, while it might be a big stretch for me to play a guy with serious anger-management issues, I think it is a great concept.”  This is from the guy who allegedly manhandled his ex-wives, takes drugs, and trashes hotel rooms.  He is either too stupid or thinks that we are too stupid to understand him.  My guess is that it is too much of both.

Example 3 – Too Much Profit:  Obama has long been on the stump beating up on certain companies for their “excessive” profits.  It should be noted that this lament is only used for companies that he does not like (General Electric is notably absent from the criticisms).  In remarks to the Chamber of Commerce Obama had these words,

“”If we’re fighting to reform the tax code and increase exports, the benefits cannot just translate into greater profits and bonuses for those at the top. They have to be shared by American workers, who need to know that opening markets will lift their standard of living as well as your bottom line.”

In other words your profits must be distributed to all even though those taking the risk are risking everything.  The government will decide what is too much profit and what needs to be redistributed.  How about enacting the Fair Tax, get out of the way of business, and let them compete for the good workers in America.  Companies that do not recruit and keep quality workers will no exist.

Example 4 – Too Much Wealth:  I’ll use President Obama again as an example as he is fast becoming the quintessential liberal socialist/marxist,

“We’re not, we’re not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success that’s fairly earned. I mean, I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money.”

The step after you’ve “made enough money” is that you’ve made too much money and progressives are poised to find a way to take it from you.  There is also the use of the phrase “fairly earned” that should make you cringe, but the word is “too” and not “fairly” so I’ll have to let it pass…for now.  I do think that most famous actors, athletes, and other “celebrities” make far too much money.  Liberals like Hanks, Penn, Speilberg, Streisand, Damon, etc. should pay 95 percent taxes on each movie that they make.  that would still leave them with lots of wealth and the rest can be redistributed by the federal government that they love so much.

Example 5 – Too Much Time Until the 2012 Election:  We need to throw all of the bums out who vote to keep spending way too much of our money on far too many entitlement programs that benefit far too many able-bodied people who then vote far too many greedy politicians repeatedly into office.

1. Returnable or negotiable in kind or by substitution, as a quantity of grain for an equal amount of the same kind of grain.
2. Interchangeable
3. of goods or commodities; freely exchangeable for or replaceable by another of like nature or kind in the satisfaction of an obligation

Synonyms:  changeable, commutable, compatible, converse, convertible, equivalent, exchangeable, interconvertible, mutual, reciprocal, reciprocative, same, substitutable, synonymous, workalike

Quote:

“People think this tax is for Social Security. But tax monies are really fungible. They get raided all the time.”

– Eugene Ludwig

Example 1:  The Obama Administration has been trying to trumpet the “success” of the Obama/Geithner Stimulus billion dollar boondoggle officially know as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“ARRA”) and the push for “shovel ready” jobs in which to invest.  The most touted and visible projects were highway and roadway infrastructure projects famous for their large, $10,000 signs proclaiming ARRA as the funder.  Obama promised that this massive infusion of tax money would improve our crumbling infrastructure.  The “brightest” president and treasury secretary seemed to have forgotten the basic principle that money is fungible and can move around. 

Two economists, Timothy Conley and Bill Dupor, took a detailed look at ARRA and its impact on spending and jobs.  What they found is a perfect demonstration of the fungibility of money,

“Upon acquisition of ARRA funds for a specific purpose, a state or local government could cut its own expenditure on that purpose. As a result, these governments could treat the ARRA dollars as general revenue, i.e. the dollars were effectively fungible.”

In other words state and local governments did not increase their spending on infrastructure with the ARRA money, but used the ARRA money INSTEAD of their local dollars for infrastructure and redirected the local dollars that would have been spent on infrastructure on other budget shortfalls,

“States were able to re-purpose some ARRA dollars. For example, despite the fact that the ARRA gave states $22 billion, of the total $28 billion available, through September of 2010 to spend on infrastructure, the number of highway, bridge and street construction workers, nationwide, fell dramatically over the past several years.”

Here are some examples of what the states were able to do upon getting loads of ARRA money;

• In Texas, ARRA dollars arrived and simultaneously the number of Texas highway, bridge and street construction workers declined. Employment in that sector fell from 34,600 workers in May of 2008 to 28,500 workers in May of 2010. Total capital outlay on highways in Texas ( scal year ending on August 31) went from $3.38 billion in 2009 to $2.82 billion in 2010. This decrease in state expenditures occurred even though Texas spent $0.70 billion in ARRA highway funds during 2010.  The Texas government responded to its receipt of ARRA highway dollars by cutting Texas’ own contribution to highway spending, which freed up state dollars to boost suffering state finances.
• The State of New York provides a second example.  For the year ending in May 2009, which contains only three months of the ARRA period, the New York Department of Transportation capital project spending was $3.42 billion. For the year ending in May 2010, in which ARRA spending was in full swing, this spending was $3.47 billion (i.e. nearly unchanged). On the other hand, the US Department of Transportation reported that it outlaid $522 million in ARRA monies to New York by May of 2010. Interestingly, the reduction in state transportation dollars simultaneous with its spending of ARRA dollars may not have been planned in advance by the state government; the planned 2009-2010 budget allocated $3.95 billion towards transportation capital spending. This was nearly $500 million more than it actually spent.
• Michigan provides another example. For the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2009, Michigan’s revenue from Federal aid had increased by $189.2 million over the previous fiscal year; however, over the same horizon, capital outlays had risen by only $17.4 million. What might explain this gap? Taxes and miscellaneous revenues received by the Department fell by $140.6 million relative to the previous scal year. The US DOT reported that it outlaid $110 million to Michigan through September 2009, $105 million of which was FHA money.
• The Ohio Department of Transportation (2010) provides spending details for its 2009 fiscal year, which began on July 1, 2008. It reported $935 million in ARRA stimulus dollars for scal year 2009, which represented a 54 percent increase in Federal funding relative to 2008. However, capital outlays increased by only $183 million over the same period.

Basically the fungibility of money allowed the states to substitute the ARRA money for the state money which was used elsewhere.  If that isn’t bad enough Conley and Dupor estimate that ARRA created/saved 450,000 jobs (these were limited to public sector or government jobs) while Obama/Geithner eliminated/forestalled ONE MILLION private sector jobs.  We need more stimulus like we need more rain.

Example 2:  Politicians like to walk the fine line between many issues trying to both please one constituent while not ticking of another.  One area where they are, on paper, consistent is when swearing that federal tax dollars will not be spent on abortions.  Remembering that money is fungible this statement, on paper, is perhaps true, but providing tax dollars to agencies that perform abortions allow them to move their other dollars to fund abortions and using federal dollars for other services.  Planned Parenthood is the larges abortion provider in the country.  The most recent annual report available (FY 08/09) show revenues of nearly a billion dollars with the government contribution of over $360 million.  Do you have any doubt that should Planned Parenthood lose their government money, fewer abortions would be performed?  Why don’t we try it for a year and see what they do?

Example 3:  I know that he is dead, but Yasser Arafat is a good example of a third world scum bag who provides a good example of money’s fungibility.  It is estimated that the Palestinians receive over ONE BILLION DOLLARS in foreign aid each year.  No one is quite sure where that money goes and somehow Arafat accumulated a great deal of wealth before his death.  You could easily substitute Mr. Arafat for Saddam Hussein of Iraq and the “Oil for Food” program,

“It began as a U.N. humanitarian aid program called “Oil-for-Food,” but it ended up with Saddam Hussein pocketing billions to become the biggest graft-generating machine ever and enriching some of America’s most forceful opponents at the United Nations.  Plus, some evidence suggests that some of the money ended up in the hands of potential terrorists who are opposed to the United States.”

We need to remember this the next time our government give aid to dictators in Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Mexico, etc…and especially the United Nations. 

Example 4:  This last example is the sad, sad story of former Republican Congressman Tom DeLay.  In DeLay’s case the fungibility of his money (campaign contributions that he administered) was deemed “money laundering” and was recently convicted in Texas.

“In the trial, DeLay’s lawyer argued that the $190,000 in corporate donations that DeLay gave to to the Republican National Committee (RNC) through his state political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, was not the same money that the RNC later sent to state candidates in Texas at DeLay’s direction. The jury disagreed, essentially deciding that DeLay attempted to use the RNC as an end run around Texas campaign finance laws.”

I have known non-profit groups that maintain numerous bank accounts keeping thier money separate in an attempt to comply with the constraints of different funding sources and to hide the fact that…

MONEY IS FUNGIBLE!

1. the fact or condition of being predisposed: a predisposition to think optimistically.
2. Medicine/Medical . tendency to a condition or quality, usually based on the combined effects of genetic and environmental factors.

Synonyms: tendency, inclination, predilection, BIAS [emphasis added]

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

John Adams

Use of the term “conducting an internal investigation” should give us a predisposition that the results may be inclined toward finding that they “have done nothing wrong.” That is not to say that all internal investigations are flawed, but that the findings need to be scrutinized…

Example 1: The Climategate scandal broke a year or so ago to very little fanfare in the main-stream media even though it exposed some serious issues about the man-made global warming cause. One of the most heinous practitioners, perhaps, of bad science was Penn State University’s Michael Mann and his model that predicts the rapid increase in global temperatures or the famed “hockey stick.” Climategate whistle blowers leaked documents that pointed to Mann’s “trick” where he hid a decline in temperatures to get the results in which he was seeking (bias).  I saw a suggestion that it be called “Mann-made Global Warming.”

The University stepped in and conducted an internal investigation of Mr. Mann and surprise, surprise found that Mann did nothing wrong. Up until the point where Penn State ignored the smoking gun e-mails and the flawed science I felt that they were mostly in the clear. Their pronouncement should have been an embarrassment to such a top university. Perhaps they just wished that the controversy would go away. They were wrong as others are weighing in and showing a different side that the “internal investigation” either discounted or ignored. In an earlier post I included this quote about Penn State’s investigation,

“A federal government inspector general has revealed prima facie proof that the so-called independent inquiries widely if implausibly described as clearing the ClimateGate principals of wrongdoing were, in fact, whitewashes. This has been confirmed to Senate offices. It will not be released to the public for some time because the investigation is ongoing.”

The headline of the news article perhaps says it all when they used the word “whitewash.”

Example 2: Obama’s Justice Department came under fire when a former attorney accused Eric Holder of dropping a case against The New Black Panther Party. You have had have seen the pictures of the thugs outside of a Philadelphia voting place in what was a clear attempt at voter intimidation. The allegation was that Holder ordered that the case be dropped because the defendants were black. That is my simplification as I don’t think there is a memo or anything in writing, but as the Attorney General he is responsible and was certainly aware of the issue. As I understood from the statements of the former officials, the case was essentially won as the accused did not show up for their hearings and by default lost their case. As I understood from the statements of the former officials, the case was essentially won as the accused did not show up for their hearings and by default lost their case. That’s snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Have no fear as the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility has conducted an internal investigation and found that “the government’s lawyers’ work on the lawsuit in 2009 was based on a good-faith assessment of the law and the facts and had a reasonable basis.” Another big shock after an internal investigation.

Example 3: This last example has nothing to do with internal investigations, but mirrors the results from that type of investigation. The Heinz (John Kerry’s wife’s organization) funded a study that was to look at air pollution issues in the greater Pittsburgh area. Pittsburgh can never get away from the “Smokey City” label even though the steel mills are mostly gone and our air quality is tremendously better. A basic tenant of environmentalism is that when a milestone is achieved another, more stringent milestone is set as is the case for Pittsburgh’s air quality.  The diminishing returns and exponential costs are not a factor; it is never politically expedient to argue for less strict environmental standards and most officials would rather take on Social Security before than environmentalists.

Without getting into the gritty details of air regulations there was a standard for air emissions based on the particle size of the emission (PM10 – where the 10 refers to the size). New rules were passed (PM2.5) regulating at a much smaller particle size. The change is to protect the most vulnerable citizens who probably already have breathing disorders; however, the cost to achieve this level of removal is staggering. I should mention that environmentalists have been pushing this rule for decades.  The recomendations for the vulnerable is to simply stay in their homes on the bad or “ozone action days.” 

The Heinz Endowments unveiled their study results and perhaps predictably it alleged very poor air quality conditions. Their report detailed air quality readings from monitoring locations throughout the region to prove their case. One would, perhaps, expect that this type of study would be scientific, but a recent article in our local paper points out the bad science contained in the report. The article’s author points out the flaws and it worth reading.  It is hard to explain how they came to their conclusions in the study unless there was a bias toward the result sought by Heinz. I am not suggesting that Heinz directly sought skewed results, but it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out where the funder falls on the left/right scale and who is paying the bills.

It’s not infrequent that we hear the left complain about studies funded by Big Pharma or Big Oil, but here is one funded by Big Enviro. The only real difference is that Big Enviro gets a pass on scrutiny. When you are looking for problems it is easy to find them or use “tricks” to hide declines or air quality data that doesn’t fit their narrative. That is predisposition; that is bias; that is wrong!

Hyperbole is defined as

1. A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect.
2. An obvious and intentional exaggeration.
3. An extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally

Synonyms: exaggeration, hype (informal), overstatement, enlargement, magnification, amplification

Popular liberal hyperbole subjects: Hitler, racist, social security, guns, abortion, voter ????, Hitler (they really like this one), the rich, and a new favorite Egypt’s president Mubarak.

Example 1: The City of Pittsburgh has recently gone through a rash of publicly financed major league sports stadiums much to the dismay of local tax payers. Local officials spent tax dollars even though voters overwhelmingly voted “no” to public funding for sports stadiums.  The most recent venue caused the Civic Arena (or Melon Arena as it is called now) to be unnecessary and its fate awaits either the wrecking ball or historic preservation. The back story about the Civic Arena is that when it was built it was placed in a location that was described as a vibrant black community area. In the muse for this story a local politician compared the Arena to genocide,

“This is more a symbol of genocide than a historic icon. Demolish the arena and let the promise begin.”

A like-minded colleague added,

“The hard truth is that the Civic Arena remains a symbol of failed public policy and a continual deterrence to economic viability for the Hill District community. Historic designation and preservation, for many reasons, is not the correct decision. On the contrary, what might be more appropriate at this time is an apology for the historic injustices that were heaped upon the Hill District when it was torn asunder nearly a half-century ago.”

And I thought it was just a building.

Example 2: Leading Democrat lawmakers took to the street to protest proposed cuts in spending for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Like usual, politicians brought along a few affected workers to have them share their plight except in this case the workers were stuffed animals or puppets. Arthur the Aardvark took the stage with lawmakers in an attempt to save his job. Apparently Republicans don’t like puppets and hate children’s programming. There was no explanation of why the event was not attended by the more popular characters Big Bird, Barney, Bert, or Ernie. Perhaps they were away amassing a staggering $1.3 billion in proceeds from the licensing of their images.

Example 3: Much has been written about the furor in Wisconsin over new Governor Scott Walker his Republican legislature’s promise to reign in public employee union power.  I did not take very long for leftists/progressives to pull out their favorite comparison of a Republican politician to Adolf Hitler.  This was trite ten years ago.

Example 4:  I had to use a leftist media schlep as an example of hyperbole.  Keith Olberman may be the king, but his insane presentation makes him laughable and thus not worthy, but his blond buddy on MSNBC deserves my derision.  Chris Matthews seems to sliding further and further down the hole of irrelevance as he wears his barely disguised crush on Obama on his sleeve.  Matthews recently described former Speaker of the House and likely 2012 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich as a “mortal enemy to our civilization.”  That’s pretty far out there.  Let that sink in…Newt Gingrich is a MORTAL ENEMY TO OUR CIVILIZATION!  I don’t want him to run for the Republican nomination, but he’s not a mortal enemy.  I can only explain Ralph Wiggums-Matthews’ bizarre utterances as a complete loss of his brain-to-mouth filters.

Example 5:  There is no doubt that Judge Roger Vinson’s ruling that the Obamacare individual mandate is unconstitutional thus making the entire Obamacare legislation unconstitutional has driven the left absolutely nuts (more nuts than their normal nuts).  A yale (I know that it should be capitalized, but I am not sure that it is deserved) law professor said that first year law students had a better understanding of the constitution than Judge Vinson and had this to say about Judge Vinson’s decision;

“In 1857, another judge named Roger distorted the Constitution, disregarded precedent, disrespected Congress and proclaimed that the basic platform of one of America’s two major political parties was unconstitutional. The case was Dred Scott vs. Sanford, involving a slave who sued for his freedom because he had lived with his master in places where Congress had banned slavery. In an opinion by Chief Justice Roger Taney, the court not only ruled against Scott, saying that even free blacks were not citizens and therefore had no right to sue; it also declared the Missouri Compromise, which had outlawed slavery in Northern territories, unconstitutional.”

How do black feel about a professor trivializing their struggle to throw off the bonds of slavery by comparing it to a decision on a health care bill?  I would have expected some push back, but I guess being a liberal comes first.

Severable is defined as:  Capable of being severed or separated; separable into legally distinct rights or obligations, as a contract.

Synonyms: divisive, divisible, separable

What does Judge Roger Vinson think:

“Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void.”

Can you give some examples?

Example 1:  When contracts are written, especially lengthy ones, there are many components to that contract.  If a conflict occurs between the parties over or an outside person challenges one component of the agreement it puts the remainder of the contract in jeopardy.  Attorneys often include a severability clause into the agreement stating that if one part of the agreement is deemed null/void then the rest of the contract shall remain.  As an example:

If any provision or provisions of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid, illegal, unenforceable or in conflict with the law of any jurisdiction, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.

Example 2:  The most obvious example is the recent decision by Judge Roger Vinson of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida to strike down the individual mandate (requires EVERYONE to purchase health insurance) portion of the Obamacare bill.  The massive bill has so many components that one being deemed unconstitutional may not be worthy of celebration by the majority of citizens against the law.   Judge Vinson went further than just nullifying the individual mandate and determined that since the entire law was dependant on the mandate and the mandate is unconstitutional the entire law is unconstitutional.  The White House claims judicial activism, but Judge Vinson used Administration briefs in support of the law to support his position.  The Heritage Foundation reported that,

“Judge Vinson also found that Section 1501 of the act, which forces all Americans to buy government-approved health insurance policies, ‘falls outside the boundary of Congress’ Commerce Clause authority and cannot be reconciled with a limited government of enumerated powers.’  But then Judge Vinson went even further, concluding that ‘the individual mandate and the remaining provisions are all inextricably bound together in purpose and must stand or fall as a single unit.’ Accordingly, Vinson concluded: ‘Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void.’  In reaching the decision to strike down the entirety of Obamacare, Judge Vinson used the Obama Administration’s own words against them, noting that their own filings with the court claimed that the law’s other provisions ‘cannot be severed from the [individual mandate].’ In addition, Judge Vinson notes that Congress could have easily included a severability clause in the legislation if they wanted to, that an earlier version of Obamacare did indeed have such a clause, but Congress intentionally removed the severability clause in the final bill.  Judge Vinson wrote that the Obama Administration has ‘asserted again and again that the individual mandate is absolutely ‘necessary’ and ‘essential’ for the Act to operate as it was intended by Congress. I accept that it is.”

Example 3:  The Utah Law Review Society cited a case where a judge was considered an activist for allowing severability as part of his review of some legislation.  In this example the legislation, without the removed clause, was fundamentally different and changed the legislation making it contradictory to the original purpose.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho it’s off to the Supreme Court we go!

The first is when National Public Radio (“NPR”) fired one of their liberal comentators because of remarks that he made about being apprehensive upon getting on an airplane and seeing multiple muslim-garbed men also on board.  The CEO of NPR shockingly further slurred Juan Williams in an interview suggesting that his comments should be kept ”between him and his psychiatrist or his publicist.”  I have no love for the opinions of liberals like Juan Williams but he, like a broken clock, gets it right once in a while.  He is clearly not extreme in his progressive views, just wrong most of the time.  Unfortunately for those of us on the right (and in the right) we’ll be seeing more of Williams on Fox News, where his employment is widely believed to be a factor in his NPR firing. 

 The timing of his ouster is interesting as the White House backed by Democrats, competitive media, and George Soros have been attacking Fox News.  The billionaire Soros has only recently made some very public donations to NPR and other left-winged organizations who seem to focus efforts on bringing down conservative voices.  Perhaps it is just a coincidence, but Glenn Beck has provided quite a paper trail (the paper of course has a lot of green) if you want to read more.

The second was a vidoe about one of Hollywood’s biggest names, biggest voices for the left, biggest champion of the planet, and as it turns out one of the biggest HYPOCRITS……

Do as I say not as I do…

You may read the original post here.

1. The practice of professing standards, beliefs, etc., contrary to one’s real character or actual behaviour.
2. A feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not.
3. An expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction.

Synonyms:  deceit, insincerity

What does Edmond Burke think:

“Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises; for never intending to go beyond promises; it costs nothing.”

How about Billy Connolly’s thoughts:

“Hypocrisy is the vaseline of political intercourse.”

Can you give some examples?

Example 1:  The Democrats and in particular President Obama has been trying to beat an empty drum about Conservative organizations being under the influence of foreign money in this election cycle.  In particular the United States Chamber of Commerce has been targeted.  This has turned out to a totally false accusation and perhaps a transparent way to avoid discussions about their failed policies since the Democrats took over Congress in 2006.  The hypocrisy is that many of the organizations that support Obama also take contributions/dues from foreigners.

Example 2:  In a related vein, the left like to accuse the right as being in the pockets of corporations.  I submit the hypocrisy as ALL politician are in the pockets of corporations.  The left is just in the pocket of different ones.  The Sierra Club, the AFL-CIO, National Lawyers Guild, British Petroleum, Screen Actors Guild, Political Action Committees, and AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees) are ALL CORPORATIONS!  I have a fundamental problem with people who make money as government employees (hence paid by our tax dollars) using that money to pay for political advertising.

Example 3:  Much has been made of supposed “hate speech” by conservative pundits.  I have no problem with Rush Limbaugh saying that he hopes Obama fails…I hope his march toward bigger and bigger and bigger government fails also.  The hypocrisy is when the “hate speech” on the left is mostly ignored.  Spend some time watching some of the vitriolic rants made by Behar, Olbermann, Schultz, or Scarborough. 

Example 4:  Kristi Noem’s opponent for a congressional seat from South Dakota had, perhaps, the most lame campaign issue to highlight.  It seems that Noem had gotten quite a few speeding tickets.  The interesting thing is that with the new media people start digging and find others who have a similar problem…many of them Democrats.  That’s the hypocrisy.  I live in Pennsylvania, home of Speedy Rendell.  Rendell, however, has found a clever ploy as he has his Pa State Trooper do his speeding for him. 

Example 5:  Rich Iott is a Republican who running for Congress from Ohio.  Rich Iott is a reenactor.  Rich Iott has portrayed a nazi soldier.  Rich Iott is being excoriated and perhaps worst of all his fellow Republicans are scurrying away like the rats they are.  Rich Iott, however, easily explained that he is a reenactor and that he also portrays American soldiers and Civil War soldiers (both sides).  You probably didn’t hear that one.  The hypocrisy comes in the form of Richard Blumenthal who is running for the Senate from Connecticut.  Blumenthal is not a reenactor, he just claims to be a veteran of the Vietnam War.  He isn’t and while the story made the news it has not been pushed except in the alternative media.  I think lying about military service is particularly offensive.

Example 6:  Four years ago then candidate George Allen uttered what many had called a derogatory name to a person who had been dogging his campaign.  I had never heard the term “macaca” before, but it apparently refers to being a monkey and highly insulting to a person of Indian descent as was Allen’s stalker.  The Washington Post hammered the Virginia candidate repeatedly over the utterance and it severely damaged his race.  Just last year, WAPO decided to reopen the wounds with another piece about a more contrite Allen.  My guess they are just firing a warning shot across his bough in case he has any idea to seek elective office.  The hypocrisy comes many years later when either Jerry Browns’ wife or a staff member referred to his opponent, Meg Whitman, as a “whore.”  It was reported that Brown further joked that he would “use that” as part of his campaign strategy.  His lame/limp apology and attitude that it was not that big a deal left many sour on this dour candidate.  The story seems to have ended since Brown is the darling of the lame stream media.  Maybe Brown’s ex, Linda Ronstadt said it best, “you’re no good, you’re no good, you’re not good, baby you’re no good.”  The National Organization for Women (“NOW”) called for firing the offender, but quickly backed off that position when they were told that the statement came from a Democrat.  California’s NOW chief went a step further and confirmed that Whitman was, in fact, a whore.  This groups should be renamed NODWUYAPL or National Organization of Democrat Women Unless You Are Pro-Life.

Example 7:  There is no left-right slant to this next bit of hypocracy.  The Wall Street Journal conducted an investigation and reported that Congressional staffers do not have to follow insider trading rules when conducting thier investments and, “Congressional aides have ringside seats on the making of laws that affect American business. Receiving salaries up to roughly $170,000 a year, they can glean information about policies and government action before the public. They have access to information about hearings or legislation that can move stocks and markets.”  Aides from both sides of the aisle are reported to have such investments.  Someone should ask Martha Stewart how she feels about this.

Example 8:  During the 2008 presidential campaign the New York Times did an investigative piece on the McCain campaign.  The hard-hitting story was not about McCain or Palin, but Cindy McCain and her admitted prescription drug problems in the past.  It was one of the few times that McCain actually showed any life during his failed presidential bid.  McCain, however, used his lawyer to do the dirty work,

“It is worth noting that you have not employed your investigative assets looking into Michelle Obama. You have not tried to find Barack Obama’s drug dealer that he wrote about in his book, Dreams of My Father.  Nor have you interviewed his poor relatives in Kenya and determined why Barack Obama has not rescued them. Thus, there is a terrific lack of balance here.  I suggest to you that none of these subjects on either side are worthy of the energy and resources of The New York Times. They are cruel hit pieces designed to injure people that only the worst rag would investigate and publish. I know you and your colleagues are always preaching about raising the level of civil discourse in our political campaigns. I think taking some your own medicine is in order here.”

The hypocrisy is seriously exposed here by the standard-bearer of the left-winged media.

Example 9:   This next example looks at the treatment of two deceased deceased members of the U.S. Senate. Any mention of Strom Thurmond (R-SC) always included his record on voting to uphold racial segregation as included in his NPR obituary linked in blue.  By the way he was a Democrat at the time.  His colleague on the left, Robert Byrd, never seemed to endure the same reminders of his past as a recruiter for the Klu Klux Klan.  His obituary, also from NPR, did not mention his KKK roots.  Hypocrisy.

Example 10:  The race to replace Joe Biden in the United States Senate has garnered national attention since Tea Party favorite, Christine O’Donnell, beat the RINO favored by the Republicrats in that state.  Both Republicans and Democrats have blasted her and have given her national attention because of statements that she made many years ago about witchcraft.  Ms. O’Donnell is an avowed Christian.  The hypocrisy is that the Democrats actually have witches in their party!

This is probably a low blow, but try to argue with my logic.

An update of this posting can be found at this link.

1. the total of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the producer or seller to the consumer or buyer, including advertising, shipping, storing, and selling.

Synonyms:  vend, merchandise, peddle

Notable Quotable:

“Never… ever suggest they don’t have to pay you. What they pay for, they’ll value. What they get for free, they’ll take for granted, and then demand as a right. Hold them up for all the market will bear..”

Lois McMaster Bujold

Can you give an example?

Example 1:  This first example and the muse for this posting came from my cupboard and my interest in cooking.  Most recipes call for at least a pinch of salt.  Until a few years ago this meant the white stuff found in the round container with the little girl with the yellow umbrella.  Generally found on the bottom shelf at your grocery store you can still get a pound of salt for not much more that a quarter.  It hardly seemed worth it for the Morton folk to mine, package and ship salt for that price.

As I started watching cooking shows I noticed that many of the cooks used Kosher salt.  I don’t know what the difference is beyond the absence of iodine, but I bought some.  It was only slightly more expensive.

Out of the sea arrose sea salt.  It is still salt, but came in large cyrstals that were again more expensive and I had to buy a grinder.  In my mind it tastes different, but it may just be in my mind.  More recently I was visiting my local Penzey’s Spice store and purchased some French Grey Sea Salt that costs over eleven dollars a pound.  I only bought a quarter pound mind you, but that is a lot for salt…even French salt.  I do believe that it actually tastes different.

My next purchase and if my will power holds up my last was some pink Himalayan Sea Salt.  This actually came with its own grinder.  Per pound it was cheaper than the French stuff (if you discount the grinder), but I cannot taste the difference.

The marketing effort for salt has been brilliant.  You can still get the regular, old-fashioned from the bottom shelf, but many are drawn to the upper shelf products.  This is even more brilliant considering the parallel health campaign to reduce salt in our diets.  I think salt wins.  Take a stroll down the snack-food aisle and count how many products brag about seasoning with sea salt. 

Example 2:  This was in my mind the most brilliant marketing effort EVER.  If you were to have been told growing up (if you are over 40) that you would pay three dollars for a bottle of water you would have thought the person was nuts.  The first bottled water that I remember was Perrier from France.  It was quite a deal when it first hit the market and many tried it as a novelty, but most blue-collar folks quickly passed.  It still is around today, cheaper and still bubbly (sorry sparkling).

Fast forward a couple of decades and you would be hard pressed to find an American home that does not have some bottled water.  There are so many types, sources, flavors, fancy bottles, and healthy variations available.  They are all basically just tap water put in a container after being “treated” through some not-to-fancy process to remove chlorine and its taste.  My guess is that the cost of the bottle far exceeds the cost of the product.

I think many people believe that bottled water is safer than tap water.  That only makes sense if you ignore the fact that the chlorine is in your water to kill bacteria.  When you remove it to get rid of the taste you also remove its function.  Where to bad things like to grow?  Warm, moist environments sort of like in a bottle of chlorine-free water.  I don’t want to panic you because there is bacteria everywhere and that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.  We cannot live in a germ-free world.  If you know your history it was the “healthy” country boys who probably had a greater chance of death from disease than bullets.  They just weren’t exposed to as much as their urban colleagues.

I think the novelty of the fancy bottles has worn off for most average folks.  I still buy it for my family because of its convenience for lunches.  I tend not to buy in the summer since we all have water bottles that hold tap water.  Marketing continues to blurr the issue and a web search using “bottled water” with “tap water” often provides results form proponents of both sides.  It doesn’t matter because like gas prices about $2.50, bottles water is here to stay.

Example 3:  Another very slick marketing campaign gave us our 44th President of the United States.  Barrack Hussein Obama is perhaps the least qualified man to have ever held the office.  His resume is quite thin, yet those who ran his campaign and the media who ignored his inexperience were able to avoid in-depth investigating of his background.  A lot of folks are convinced that he is not an American citizen. 

It is not just Obama, politicians are products of marketing…hidden marketing.  Can you name a politician (left, right, or middle) who you would trust with your child’s savings let alone their life?  I think that Americans first voted against Hillary in the 2008 primary elections and then against Bush in the fall.  Slick Barry just happened to be positioned by his handlers in the right place.  How is that working out for us?  Sadly I don’t think we would be faring much better with the other guy although our VP would be more attractive.