Archive for July, 2009
The Press Struggles Over How Best To Help President: Is The Recession Over Or Do We Need Another Stimulus?
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Everyone is trying to help the ailing Health Care legislation and therefore help President Obama. The question is: Does a bad economy help or hurt Obama?
On the one hand, a bad, getting worse economy frightens people who might be out of work and might run out of benefits.
On the other hand, a good economy could encourage people and help them think that maybe America can afford a huge new entitlement, because other people, rich people, people who have jobs will be taxed, not me.
As usual, the Obama media is trying to make it okay for Team Obama. Paul Krugman wrote a couple weeks ago that another stimulus bill might be needed. Newsweek boldly states that the Recession Is Over!
So what’s your take?
The Face You Show: What Your Twitter & Facebook Pictures Reveal About You
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Your avatar on Twitter and your picture on Facebook matter. People make judgments based on the image they see. Here are some common weird things people do:
1. You & a buddy: I have a new friend on Twitter. In his tiny avatar picture, he’s leaning against another guy. Finally, I asked him if the picture was of his life partner. He exclaimed, “uh, no!” Well, when you have a picture of you and a bud and it’s shrunk to a centimeter, people think….life partner.
2. You & your husband/wife: You’re married. You’re in a relationship. That’s nice. When a person puts their spouse in their picture, I immediately guess that either one member is insecure or the relationship is in trouble. Whatever. It’s an individual account, not a group account.
You & your kids: Cute. On Facebook not as big of a deal, but on Twitter, the picture is so tiny, my only question is why? It’s not your kid’s account. Soon, you’ll be talking about your kid, so we’ll know you have a kid.
Your kid: Um, why would you use your kid’s picture on Facebook or Twitter? It’s confusing. When the face goes by in the stream, no one knows who is talking. It takes extra time. [Corollary here: Stupid answering machine messages by kids should be obliterated from the universe.]
Your dog: See above.
You when you were 17: Yeah, I looked better back then too. No, I don’t look the same. Neither do you. It’s no fun to have a guessing game–unless there’s a Twitter or FB guessing game as has happened on ’70s and ’80s day. Once again, it wastes time.
Cartoon characters: You’re not Superman. You’re just not.
Famous people: You’re also not Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan or Barack Obama, unless you are, which in that case, it’s okay to use that picture.
What to use:
1. Nice, clear, close up picture.
2. An iconic image associated with you (if you’re anonymously blogging or have an anonymous online presence).
That’s it. Are you hideous? Unlikely. Will people respond better to you if you have a nice picture? Yes. Images are stored in a different part of the brain and a good image will help people identify you.
If you want to be cutesy and obscure, use MySpace. On Facebook and Twitter, clarity is prized and will get you more followers, friends, and more networking connections. The internet is a literal place.
Sarah Palin Steps Down, Earth Continues To Turn On Its Axis
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Bush Derangement Syndrome seems like a head cold compared to the Palin Hatred. Palin Hatred is like a full-blown mental swine flu. I fear it may be a slate clearer for the Democratic Party.
Perhaps the Left could take this Sarah-free moment and consider the power their loathing, and the underlying fear, gives Sarah Palin. Their complete lack of objectivity, their inability to actually hear what she’s saying, their tone-deafness to her resonance with a huge segment of the American people, limits them. David Frum and all you D.C. insider Republicans walking around with a hoity toity corncob securely wedged might want to consider too, your mind blindness.
Sarah Palin stepped down, but she is, I’m guessing, about to walk into the lower 48 states. Maybe by the time she gets down here, everyone can calm down. Somehow, with her fighting words igniting more passion, I doubt it.
President Obama’s Quest To Remake America & America’s Gut Check
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Only question: Do Americans want America remade? In this weeks American Issues Project column I talk about the choice before America:
While this is very much about Barack Obama personally–his whole life was made for this moment when he would be in the position where he could “remake America”–it’s even more about the American people.
Do American citizens want America remade?
During the campaign, I wrote often that people generally like the idea of change, but not the actual implementation of change and all that it means. Change is a very dicey word and can be a rhetorical double edged sword. The wielder of the “change” mantra must take care not to cut himself. And when executing change, care must be taken that the transition doesn’t descend into chaos. People are used to certain things, and they keep the status quo because it works on some level.
The energy and faith it takes to remake a whole system, requires significant planning and sure-handedness. That is something that has not been existent with the changes coming from Congress and the Administration. But that’s process, the way things are done. What of the actual intended change?
President Obama campaigned on tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans. The upper 5% of Americans were in pretty big trouble, though. Americans were okay with that. Essentially, class warfare worked. That is, the majority of Americans who produced less than the minority of Americans who produced the most were content to take from the minority to meet the needs of the majority.
That sounded wonderful in theory, but now, the same thing, but on a grander scale is being expected of Americans with health care. That is, say 60% of Americans have stellar health care while the rest of the citizenry is underinsured or uninsured either by choice or by circumstance. The American who have insurance are being asked to underwrite the insurance of those who don’t have it either through coverage cuts of their own care or higher taxes.
Americans are being asked to voluntarily redistribute their wealth. While it sounded great when taking from the rich, top 5%, it doesn’t sound so great when it means more taxes for people who already see themselves as struggling. The old Margaret Thatcher quote comes to mind, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”
Americans are being asked to trade in a known, but flawed, health care system, for an unknown, and by all accounts, equally flawed health care system. The benefits don’t outweigh the negatives, so Americans wonder why change at all? The benefits should be self-evident and the system should simplify. As with all things government, though, the health care proposals are a litany of rules and regulations seemingly designed to compete with the IRS.
Americans are also being asked to suspend disbelief. So when the Cap and Trade legislation is delved into or receives an even cursory reading, scary proposals like retrofitting ones home to sell it come to the fore. And of course, a person sees that his home or his business would be subject to taxation due to energy use. It is another tax. Far from being part of the lucky 95%, the tax scheme seems to penalize everyone and the poor most of all.
A new portrait of America emerges: Everyone drives a Prius made by unproductive unions, lives in old, small homes with special lightbulbs, waiting in lines for health care a bureaucrat decides a person needs, and being taxed for the privilege of all of the above.
Where are the hot rods? Where are the dreams of a home and a pool? Where is the specialist when you contract a rare form of cancer? Where is the exuberant individual pursuing his dreams?
Please go read the whole thing. There are so many great columnists at American Issues. T.J. Brown discusses a health care system Without Doctors.
There’s much more.
President Barack Obama’s Teachable Moment & Other Moments…
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009This episode I talk about the Gates Affair, the Democrats and health care, Sarah Palin and Steve Schippert joins me to discuss what’s really happening in Iran. Should Israel bomb Iran and what would be the consequences? We also talk about what we teach our young people about rising out of poverty and overcoming difficulty.
I’ve also got new bumper music, thanks to my producer Mike Williams. Tell me what you think.
Melissa’s show can also be found on RFC Radio every Monday and Wednesday night at 10:00 pm Eastern.
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When Melissa isn’t on the radio, you can find her at melissaclouthier.com and on Twitter. Her username is MelissaTweets.
What Professor Gates Hid…..
Monday, July 27th, 2009…turns out that the Gates Affair is really a legal problem regarding (give you two guesses and the first two don’t count) taxes. The intrepid Dan Riehl reports the mischief.
Who says Bloggers aren’t reporters? More likely, bloggers report what reporters refuse to report.
UPDATED:
President Obama made a very big mistake. Wow. From Backyard Conservative:
Democrat Debt: Road To Perdition
Monday, July 27th, 2009If one more lib says, “Yeah but! Yeah but! But, George W. Bush made the debt really bad! He’s evil!” I’ll just show them this:
Why The Press Loves The Birther Issue–UPDATED
Monday, July 27th, 2009The Birther issue serves one important purpose: if the whole of the Right can be painted as conspiratorial nutters, then the Left doesn’t have to defend or explain very unpopular policies like Cap-n-Trade, Card Check and Health Care.
It is, in short, a diversion. When you got no game, play dirty. That’s the Left’s mantra and so far, it’s worked because the press colludes with Democrats and their agents.
Mind you, unlike the seriously deranged nutjobs on the Left who felt like 9/11 was an inside job, aka Truthers, the “birthers” issue seems more easily resolved. Although, as my co-blogger here at Right Wing News noted on the podcast the other day, actual facts tend to not dissuade conspiracy theorists.
Anyway, I see this as one more trumped up way to divert attention from the true nonsense in Washington, D.C.–horribly unpopular policy. Since the criticism of the policies can’t be discredited, the only solution is to try to discredit the critics.
UPDATED:
Funny how many nuts, with many on the Left, went on about how Bush planned 9/11 and cooperated with either the Saudis or Israel depending on your source, was never big news.
Here A Czar, There A Czar, Everywhere A Czar, Czar
Monday, July 27th, 2009I had a friend call all the Czars the President’s job’s program. Indeed. Today, Michelle Malkin’s new book Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies
hits and it will be a must-read and dovetails nicely into the news of the day.
In the meantime, check out this comprehensive list of Barack Obama’s unvetted, unconfirmed and unsupervised Czars.
Never before has so much power been in the hands of so few that we know so little about. I suspect that the reason President Obama has created his 51st Chicago Ward is because he one, can’t find qualified people who want the jobs and two, wants cronies with unquestioned loyalty and leftist cred in positions of influence.
Advice From Parents: Talk Rudely To Cops And Be Defiant
Sunday, July 26th, 2009Also, it’s helpful to go into an interaction with a police officer acting superior and haughty.
Who would teach their kids such lessons? When my parents gave that talk in the context of a legal deposition my dad had to give, they said, “Answer the questions they ask. Nothing more. Do not make excuses. Be respectful. Keep a good attitude.” Because, well, police officers have the gun and the power to make a person’s life absolutely hell. But more than that, they hold an office of authority and one should respect the office.
Enter the Gates Affair.
A privileged black man breaks into his home, a neighbor calls out of concern for her neighbor, the police respond, the ID given after inside the home is not a driver’s license, the black man is belligerent and the police arrest him. The police, all of them, say the man is acting strangely. They write their report. The charges get dropped and the man shouts “racism!”
Donna Brazille and Juan Williams, both black, share that their parents teach them to be extra careful with police because black people can get into trouble. Well, it’s the same sort of trouble a white person can get into if the right attitude is not taken, or, you know, a white person is committing a crime. It’s kinda universal advice, or should be, don’t you think? Be respectful to those in authority. Sometimes its better to be more than respectful. Sometimes it’s good to be obsequious.
Word of the day: obsequious.
Go look it up. No one likes to be obsequious, but it’s a better road to go down with dealing with someone who can give you a hard time. But no. When you’re a Harvard snob, the little people should be obsequious with you. You’re special. You’re a well-known Harvard professor! How dare you! I can almost hear the British accent, “Unhand me young man!”
Meanwhile, the narrative gets shifted to all the black men in prison. Is the Harvard Professor Gates the symbol for racial profiling as he suggests? Or is Professor Gates a beneficiary of privilege and offended that it didn’t extend to this situation?
Did Professor Gates find his post at Harvard despite his gross lack of understanding of proper respect for authority? Was he intellectually stimulated but unwise in the ways of respectful interaction with authority? Can we assume that he had not been taught by his parents the proper way to interact when caught in a compromising situation by police officers?
Parents teach their children by word and deed to respect authority. If the young man, black or white, has been taught respect, he is unlikely to do disrespectful things like cheat, steal, lie, murder, do drugs, sell drugs, rape, assault, break into homes, etc.. Those behaviors are profoundly disrespectful. If the young man of any color does something stupid, say drag racing or getting drunk and disorderly with buddies or even accidental, such as breaking into ones own home, and the police enter the situation, the young man does not further endanger his plight by being disrespectful. He knows he’s caught, he cooperates. The young man does not make his bad situation worse by being rude and defiant to the police officers. He does not claim privilege.
The problem with Professor Gates is that he knows better. Or if he doesn’t, he wasn’t brought up well. It’s not about race. It’s about respect. He is not some victim of society’s racism and unfairness. It is not like he’s unaware of the rules of polite [police] society because he’s been untaught or uniformed. More than that, I’ll bet he brooks no disrespect when he’s in front of his classroom with his students. And I’ll bet they are properly obsequious lest they leave the class with a less than desired grade.
Now, there are bad cops. There are racist cops. There are even bad, racist professors. Still, a parent does not train the child for the exception, he trains the child for the principle: respect authority. It is not good for the child to doubt and wonder and be suspicious of every person who is meant to look out for his welfare. So parents teach general respect. On the rare occasions where someone is rogue, well that’s another situation entirely.
Are we to believe that Professor Gates didn’t know the rules of decorum when a police man entered the situation? Are observers supposed to excuse his disrespectful rantings at a guy who was just doing his job? I’m guessing that Professor Gates knew that authority was to be respected, he just figured that he should be the most important authority in that situation. He was wrong.
More from Just One Minute: Why no one wants to release the tapes.
Ann Althouse asks if Gates is an utter fool.
Mark Steyn talks of roses and race.
