Are We Socialists or are THEY Socialists?

    Have you ever met someone who was always looking to take advantage? Someone always angling for that free lunch? Of course you have, we've become a country of freeloaders and bums. And why not? Our leaders and institutions set the example. The NFL is a case right on point.
    Did you know the NFL is tax exempt? That's right sports fans, the NFL is treated as a trade or association and pays no federal income tax. Now I personally am opposed to a corporate tax because it's just a hidden tax on consumers, but if one corporation must pay they all must pay. But again the NFL is treated as a non-profit, so about $91 billion is cheated from the taxman.
    Good deal if you can get it, and guess what(?), the owners are still not satisfied. Jerry Richardson owner of the Carolina Panthers is very troubled over the sorry state of Bank of America Stadium. Apparently the 17 year old facility is woefully inadequate and in dire need of renovation. And when one considers the positive economic impact the Panthers have on the Charlotte metropolitan area, well Jerry just wants you to know that he has no intention of moving the team. But a little State money from Raleigh sure would quell any doubts...about leaving...the team, you know from Charlotte, which by the way he has no plans to do. So Jerry will probably get our money to head off any unplanned, not even considered move by the team.
    You know, this just wrecks my head. We train the athletes in our high schools, colleges and universities at taxpayer expense, we don't require them to stay for the duration and get their education (b-ball one and done, pro football three years), we give them tax exempt status and we subsidize or outright pay for their facilities. And what do we get for our trouble? Ticket prices in section 534 for 110.00 bucks (and you better have good eyesight).
    Now, compare this to London's Arsenal Football Club (soccer for you Yanks). They built a stadium in 2003 completely financed by the club itself at a cost of 470 million pounds. NO PUBLIC FUNDS WERE INVOLVED. It makes one think exactly who are the real socialists.

Mark Sanford for Congress in SC-1

Yep, that's right. 

Not only do I endorse Mark Sanford without qualification, I am driving down to SC tomorrow morning to spend a little time helping out on the campaign.

This seat (which Sanford held for three terms beginning with the '94 election) is open because of the retirement of Jim DeMint and the elevation of Tim Scott to the Senate.

Let's face it folks.  He screwed up.  He admitted it.  He apologized to everyone he hurt (he called me twice to apologize to ME!).  He laid low. 

But the time is now for men and women in Congress who are dedicated to righting our listing ship.  No one--and I mean NO ONE was as hip to Barack Obama's train wreck earlier than Mark Sanford.  Sanford stood athwart the ridiculous stimulus bill and shouted "NO"!  He was a small government man before the Tea Party even had invitations in the mail.

I've thrown a little cash his way, and I urge you to do so too.  You can donate online here.

For Crying Out Loud

This is a real news banner on a little-watched news network this afternoon.   Yes, CNN, he is through because he took a drink of water. 

Football is Over, What Will We Do?

Nemo, Hallowed be thy Name.

It seems our Northern friends got snowed on recently, up to three feet! It was a weather "event" of such significance and magnitude as to be named "Nemo" least we forget the horror and sacrifice made by some of our bravest citizens (and undocumented immigrants).
News accounts relay the perturbation (no not that CW) of people being forced into shoveling snow (a common tactic of humiliation used by Nazi's against Jews), ambulating through treacherous frozen streets or sitting at home drinking hot cocoa and scotch. 
Friends, this is a time of trial and tribulation for our Yankee brethren. Please, won't you take a moment to pray for the best and brightest among us? They are God's chosen people (just ask them) even though they deny his existence. But what cannot be denied is they are smarter, better looking, better educated and just BETTER than the rest of us, and we owe them our loyalty and dedication (and our wealth to hear them tell it). So, fall on your knees and pray, or to kiss their ass (whatever your faith tradition deems appropriate) but do it now.     

New Feature: Twitter Feed

I've added a running summary of my "Tweets" at the very bottom of the blog page. I spend a good bit of time over on Twitter these days, and this way, you can follow some of the back and forths I get into over there.

Bill Clinton Reveals Hillary's Election Strategy

Bill Clinton spoke to a retreat of House Democrats earlier this week, and it, he gave us a glimpse of Hillary's war plan for 2016.  Like Pippin gazing into the Palantir (below, 2:50 point), Clinton's inability to not be central forced him to give us a pretty fair sense of what is coming.

1.  Hillary will run to the right of Barack Obama.  This will be a quite a trick, especially if Joe Biden decides he wants to run.  In order to make her case, she will have to paint herself as a "new Democrat", and in the process, distance herself from the Obama Administration.

2.  One area where this will be obvious will be on healthcare.  Look for Hillary to come forward with a number of "common sense" tweaks to the Affordable Care Act--which will look reasonable when compared to current law.  Republicans must pour over video from the early Clinton Administration effort to achieve healthcare reform in order to remind voters that this new Hillary is very different from the Hillary of old--the one she must be constantly compared to,.

3.  Gun control is another place where you will see her distance herself.  Look for Hillary to be relatively passive on this front.  

Obama Gets Taken to School

I've never heard of this man before, but there's a warm place in my heart for Johns Hopkins (they put me back together once upon a time). But this is a wonderful speech about achievement, self-reliance, overcoming adversity and good government. The philosophy he relates is the philosophy of America, and he's saying it five feet away from the man who needs to hear it the most.

Big Fat Friday Free For All

What's bothering you, Chum?  Dramatically ignore your diet this week and afraid to step on the scale? (Yes).   Republicans got you by the short hairs on $1.2T in budget cuts and this time, the clock is ticking against you?

Sing out in pain, friends.  Share your anguish. 

Jon Stewart Has Some Questions for the President

Jon Stewart -- primary news source to half of America under the age of 35 -- has a few questions for the President on his drone program and the view the Administration has that it can target for assassination US citizens without due process.




I do enjoy it when Stewart turns his humor on Democrats--a rare enough pleasure in and of itself.  What was even more enjoyable about this piece was the extent to which his normally slavish, left- of center studio audience was not able to muster its customary sense of humor, given the fact that "the one" was the in the humor cross-hairs.  Their discomfort registered in their quietude. 

Take 10 Minutes to Read This

Powerline.blog has a script of David Horowitz's "How Republicans Can Win the Next Election"  It's a little lengthy (at most a 10 minute read--okay, 15 minutes if your lips move while reading) but it is well worth your time.  And it is spot on with nearly every point. 

I've long thought that we are competing in a political boxing match with an opponent who is out to win, irrespective of how he wins where we too are out to win but only in accordance with the rules of boxing.  So when we find ourselves taking punches below the belt (outright lies about who we are and what we are proposing, not being civil, being racist, hating women, etc etc) we cover ourselves and wait for some referee to break us up.  What we should be doing BEFORE we take a punch in the progeny is to step right up to our opponent and start throwing power punches right at his face and when he tries to jab, we parry or dodge and counter punch with another power punch. We are in a boxing match, not a high school debate.  Or as Horowitz states, we are at war and we are the only party that fails to realize it.

"How do you Democrats explain 50 years of "leadership" living high on the hog in Detroit, Chicago, LA, and virtually every other wrecked US city where Blacks and Latinos are being left to fight over the ruins of the streets that your policies have created?"

We have a better story of success for policies creating real opportunity for all Americans, including minorities.  But we've allowed the Democrats to define their "help" (foodstamps, endless unemployment, more government dependancy, etc) as superior and more moral.  We have all the facts in the world to disprove that fantasy.  But we are always "too polite" to hammer away at it.  Not talking about Bengazi and drilling it repeatedly into Obama's smug face (and the clearly biased referee's face as well) in the second debate was a good example. 

Anyway, I thought it an excellent piece of work and advice.  I hope we have at least a few elected officials who know how to box or who don't mind getting a bit bloodied stepping into the ring and learning how. 

Waterboarding Bad, Drone Strikes Good

I happened to listen in today as White House Spokesman Jay Carney attempted to answer reporter's questions about the Administration's targeted assassinations of suspected terrorists by drone strikes, to include the assassinations of American citizens who had not been charged with any crime.

I need to have a good hard think about this one, and how deep my support goes for the Administration's policy.  I'm conflicted, as I would hope you are too. 

That said, when I heard Jay Carney say the following words, I found myself with a the sneaky suspicion that I heard his words before--except then they were uttered by George W. Bush Administration figures in support of enhanced interrogation techniques--which President Obama has outlawed as "torture".  Here's what Carney said:  "We conduct those strikes because they are necessary to mitigate ongoing actual threats, to stop plots, to prevent future attacks and to save American lives."

So--if I get this straight--it is OK to KILL American citizens without a shred of due process, but roughing up the masterminds of 9-11 somehow violates our sense of propriety?

Hmmm....

God Bless the Farmers

Hands down the best ad of the night.  Yes, I'm sure most of you saw it, but it's so beautiful it's worth watching again.  And again.

Random Super Bowl Thoughts

A couple of things come to mind.....

1.  It occurs to me that San Francisco's defense has some 'splainin' to do, after putting their offense in the position to have to come back, yet again, from way down.

2.  Kaepernick is frighteningly good.  He can move, and he has an absolute gun.  He will be back in the Super Bowl again.

3.  Flacco is also great, though he got away with some really, really lucky plays on some dubious throws.  That's what happens though, when you are on a team of destiny.

4.  I will not be sorry to see Ray Lewis go.  Putting aside for a moment his spotty legal record, he is simply an annoying human being, incredibly over the top and ridiculous.

5.  I like the Fox Football team better than the CBS team.  Not by a whole lot, but by enough.  Though I do hate those silly Fox Football animations of football players that look like machines.

6.  I nipped away to watch Downton Abbey and missed all of San Fran's comeback.  I'm still glad I watched Downton.

7.  At the end of the game, when they were on that reviewing stand/coronation float, I would love to have seen Flacco look at the Ravens owner and go into his Rod Tidwell "show me the money" act.  What a great way to position yourself for contract negotiations.

8.  I'm not a fan of the 49'ers Harbaugh.

9.  The kittens were underwhelmed by the feast I had laid before them for the game; in fact, they left the room and went up to their rooms shortly after the game started.  They were plum tuckered out from their ski trip.  Lots of leftovers...

Super Bowl Plans

The Kittens left me alone again this weekend, as the elder of the Kittens experienced her first go at skiing via a local rite of passage eighth grade ski trip. Neither the Kitten nor the Kittens faces cold weather all that well, but this was one of those things and a parent had to be in attendance.  I have offered to accompany #2 on her trip in two years--which was warmly received by her mother but less so by her.  Apparently, I am not "the fun" one.  Can you believe that?

They are currently making their way home from wherever it was that they were with the intention of arriving in time for the Super Bowl.  This is the only football game each year that all members of my family watch.  We have been in the habit of going back and forth between the game and The Puppy Bowl over the years, but I wonder if the girls are now old enough to want to see more of the commercials that we ordinarily skip. 

Each year, I prepare some kind of modest Super Bowl feast/spread, usually consisting of things I like most and generally resulting in much wastage.  So this year, I'm going even more modestly:

Bison Tacos
Cheesy Nachos
Steamed Shrimp
Sourdough Pretzels
Potato Chips


I posted on Facebook that I hoped the game would be well in the bag by 9PM, as I wouldn't want to miss any real action when I switch to Downton Abbey. 

Enjoy the game, folks.

Schadenfreude: Lib Encounters the Regulatory State

Frustrated Statist Matt Yglesias

I cannot contain the joy that I feel as I write this blog entry.  Matt Yglesias--writer for Slate.com, left of center gadfly, and hero to the "Too Cool For School" set--has posted a piece in which he decries the waste and inefficiency involved in setting up a small business in the District of Columbia.  Generally a fan of the regulatory state, Mr. Yglesias is apparently not so much so when it comes to his own wishes.  Delicious.  Simply delicious. 

Super Bowl Predictions

Make yours here.

I'm going with the Ravens over the 49ers 27-17.  Here's why:

1. Defense
2. Passing Game
3. Running Game
4. Feeling of Destiny.

Let's face it--both of these teams are solid in all aspects of the game.  When Baltimore got healthy at the end of the season, all the pieces that we knew were there came together.

I don't like the Ravens, and I don't like the Ray Lewis idolatry.  But I do think his presence and leadership--not to mention that today will be his final game--gives the Ravens an edge.

Big Fat Friday Free For All

Start Weight:  197.8 (1/1/13)
Last weigh-in:  188.8 (1/27/13)
Today:  190.8 

Ok, I'll start by bitching a little.  That's right--I gained two pounds in Hawaii, thinking that I was eating right and getting two nice beach runs in....

Oh well, enough of that.

What's got your goat, fellah?  A little unprepared for your Senate Confirmation Hearing?  Your highly ranked college basketball team lose to an unheralded squad from UVA? 

Bitch, bitch, bitch!