General Norman Schwarzkopf died....

http://abcnews.go.com/US/gen-norman-schwarzkopf-hero-operation-desert-storm-dies/story?id=18078996#.UN1xm3e24eR

A true American Hero has passed....

Michale

Nothing sadder than a fallen pop star trying to recapture the old glory... :^/

Michale
0576

I am also constrained to point out that, if it had been a GOP President/Administration, it would be the LEFT that would be screaming for someone's head and it would be the RIGHT that would be ridiculing all the "conspiracy theories"...

Don't bother denying it because everyone here knows it's an accurate description.. :D

Michale
0574

But I don't fault people who DO have a problem with him..

Michale
0574

Considering how much baggage Kerry is packing, did you REALLY have to wonder?? :D

Michale
0573

I was wondering how they were going to attack John Kerry though. Thanks for that.

-David

http://washingtonexaminer.com/report-gop-senators-wont-confirm-kerry-until-clinton-testifies-on-benghazi/article/2516877#.UNtgwEbCz8A

Looks like Benghazi is STILL in the news..

Who would thunked it?? :D

Michale
0572

Who was it that said hitting the Debt Limit was "unpatriotic"????

Michale
0571

Everything ya'all complained about Bush is in Obama in (at the risk of being called racist) spades...

Obama curries favor to Wall Street. Obama is bought and paid for by corporate and lobbyist interests...

Obama's Domestic Surveillance Programs and his brutal Drone Assassin Programs make Bush look like an ACLU Star Lawyer...

And yet, Obama is ya'alls "lord and savior" (direct quote) and Bush is STLLL evil incarnate..

For someone who tries to look for logic and reason, ya'all are grossly perplexing to me...

Michale
0570

Citigroup- $476.2 billion
Bank of America- $336.1 billion
Morgan Stanley- $135 billion
JP Morgan- $129.6 billion
Wells Fargo- $107.2 billion

You have been hanging around with Mitchy too long..

We were talking about AUTO BAILOUT..

Not Porkulus...

Looks like a bunch of Wall Street bankers received more than $1 trillion in bailouts.

And yet, you STILL support Obama, even though he is (apparently) bought and paid for by Wall Street..

Why is that??

BTW- The government actually has an excellent site to show who received stimulus money.

Yea??

ANd the government would NEVER lie, right???

Oh wait.. A Democrat government would never lie..

A Republican government would ALWAYS lie..

Silly me...

Michale
0569

Hahahahahahahahahahahah. This is almost laughable. Quickly:

Citigroup- $476.2 billion
Bank of America- $336.1 billion
Morgan Stanley- $135 billion
JP Morgan- $129.6 billion
Wells Fargo- $107.2 billion

Looks like a bunch of Wall Street bankers received more than $1 trillion in bailouts. By comparison, the GM bailout was $27 billion.

Look at those unions though ... they're trying to steal your money. Haahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!

-David

BTW- The government actually has an excellent site to show who received stimulus money.

http://www.recovery.gov/Transparency/RecoveryData/Pages/RecipientReportedDataMap.aspx

You heard me... :D

Research which companies got bailout funds and which did not.

The vast majority of the ones that did, the Unions got the bulk of the money..

I sincerely doubt Ryan would make such a boneheaded move.

Time will tell.. But it sounds like wishful thinking.. :D

Michale
0568

Huh?

Rumor has it that Paul Ryan will replace Boehner as Speaker.

I sincerely doubt Ryan would make such a boneheaded move. Then again, he said 'yes' to Romney :)

-David

Rumor has it that Paul Ryan will replace Boehner as Speaker...

I think this would definitely come under the heading of "Be Careful What You Wish For"... :D

If true, I can't wait to see Ryan wipe the floor with Obama.. :D

Michale
0567

Well, I am sure glad that this country going over the fiscal cliff and entering a new and more devastating recession is not hampering Obama's golf game...

Cuz I would HATE to think that Obama would be so distracted, he couldn't hit the links. :D

Michale
0566

But competitive business is not my point..

The point is, our government had a GOLDEN opportunity to transform our Auto Industry into an awesome 21st Century technological marvel..

But, because of POLITICAL considerations, our government opted for the status quo...

And you know as well as I do that in another 5-10 years ANOTHER bailout is going to be required...

THAT's my beef... The Obama Administration goes on and on ad nasuem about how Green Technology is the future and that future is now..

Yet, when given an opportunity to IMPLEMENT such a Green program in a large part of our economy, Obama bows to political cronyism (you will recall that only UNION companies got bailout funds) and maintains the same limp-dick ancient business practices that ENSURE that there will be bailout after bailout after bailout...

I am AMAZED that *I* am the only one who sees this..

However, I am secure in the knowledge that, had it been a GOP administration, ya'all would be right there on the same page with me.. :D

Michale
0563

That's kewl...

But that means ya'all don't get to bitch and whine about fuel economy standards and automotive pollution when there is a Republican Administration and Congress. :D

David,

I hate to break it to you but the domestic car industry hasn't looked this competitive in years.

Despite ALL the facts to the contrary.. :D

A couple of points on capitalism and innovation.

Your Left Wing Talking Points ignore one salient point which was really the target of my beef.

Obama only supported the companies that supported him and ignored the companies that DIDN'T support him.

In other words, technological innovation had NOTHING to do with funding. The only criteria was political loyalty.

Given this is the case, your antipathy towards government funding of research seems misplaced.

Again, you completely miss my point.

I don't have a beef with "government funding"...

I have a beef with government funding based, not on merit and/or potential, but rather solely and completely based on political/ideological loyalty...

THAT's what sucks...

Merry Christmas!

Bah Humbug.. :D

Michale
0562

I hate to break it to you but the domestic car industry hasn't looked this competitive in years.

If I were buying a new car today there is an American car I would consider buying for the first time in about 20 years.

I have been disgusted by the Obama Administration giving billions of dollars, solely on the basis of political connections, to "Green" companies that failed and failed miserably.

A couple of points on capitalism and innovation.

1. 9 out of 10 innovative companies will fail.

2. You didn't mention all of the innovative IT companies which the government helped fund. You seem to have this idea that IT was all developed privately.

3. The one thing the 'free market' hates is risk. Unfortunately, you always hear the opposite - free markets love risk. 'Free markets,' on the contrary, understand that 9 out of 10 innovative companies will fail. And therefore they will tend to be very wary of investing in innovation. Especially if it's estimated that there may be a long time before a return on investment is realized. 'Free markets' are also incredibly impatient.

4. Often, it is a better business model to simply purchase innovative companies and stifle the innovation, rather than to face competition.

Given this is the case, your antipathy towards government funding of research seems misplaced.

Government funding of research is likely the only way many new inventions will occur.

That said, I'm all for private funding of innovation. In fact, my stock portfolio relies heavily on it. I'm simply making the argument for both.

-David

p.s. Bring back the space program!!! I'm also all for investing in the development of fusion reactors even though, to this point, they have 'failed'. If there isn't some failure, we will never get to success!

Merry Christmas!

Now I know that you live in a fantasy world where the entire US auto industry would have collapsed as part of a global financial meltdown but it would have miraculously rose out of the ashes in the midst of the Greatest Depression the world has ever witnessed.

That's really quite remarkable.

But, it's also par for the course in that, while your idea about moving the auto industry to the next level with new infrastructure and products is a good one, you look at it COMPLETELY out of the context in which the auto bailout took place thus making your idea utterly meaningless.

And, I though I was a dreamer ...

"Quincy" died....

OK, so I failed the "Don't Mention Obama" test..

But I coupled him with Bush, so maybe that canceled it out.. :D

Michale
0560

Oh lets see...

Smog.. Gas guzzling.

Has there been any significant fundamental changes in the auto technology in the last 50 years??

No, there has not..

The basic design of the combustible engine is identical to what it was 50 years ago..

Sure, there has been minor improvements here and there, but the basic design is the same..

Put it another way.. If you took a 2012 vehicle back in time to the 1950s, a fairly intelligent person of the 1950s who was abreast of 1950s automotive technology would likely be able to operate the 2012 vehicle after a short acclimation period..

Now, compare that to the leaps and bounds of Information Technology in the last 50 years...

Take an Android Tablet back in time to the 1950s and they would likely try to fry it up in a pan...

(referring to his cell phone) "Can you, uh, tell me where I can get reception on this thing?
"The U.S.S. Enterprise?"
-SUPERNATURAL

Information Technology has grown by leaps and bounds because the old was discarded and new and innovative technologies have been allowed to grown..

You say you want to have a modern, future-oriented industry, but you also (in the past) have poured hatred on the Chevy Volt

I don't think I have EVER "poured hatred" over the Chevy Volt..

I have been disgusted by the Obama Administration giving billions of dollars, solely on the basis of political connections, to "Green" companies that failed and failed miserably...

So, stripped of politics, if you were King Of The World (man, that's a scary thought) or even just King Of Detroit, and without getting into the economics or the past, and you could wave your magic wand, what exactly would your plan be for the future of the auto industry? I'm not making fun of you, I am just curious to see, as I don't know that you've ever explained what future you'd like to see. Not past, not present even, but the future of the auto industry (and if you say "flying cars" I will know you're not being serious...).

It's simple...

By propping up the same old system, Bush and Obama have stagnated REAL growth...

It's simply IMPOSSIBLE to create radical new automotive technology within the confines of the current infrastructure....

Our system is BROKEN... PERIOD...

Letting the entire thing collapse will cause some major headaches in the short term.. But, in the long term, it's the ONLY way to grow....

It took a major wallop to the dinosaurs for mammals to assert themselves as the dominant species...

It's gonna take a major wallop to our automotive infrastructure for us to advance...

But, that will never happen as long as short-sighted administrations maintain the status quo, solely for the sake of political expediency...

Michale
0559

OK, I'm confused. What, exactly (in calm language) do you think are the problems with the auto industry? Don't use "Obama" anywhere in that answer. I'm just trying to make sense of your position on Detroit's future.

You say you want to have a modern, future-oriented industry, but you also (in the past) have poured hatred on the Chevy Volt. So which is it? Or is there some design flaw with the Volt I'm missing? Volts seem to be selling pretty well, as with all the other hypbrids (I could be wrong, I don't pay much attention to the business news) and electric cars.

So, stripped of politics, if you were King Of The World (man, that's a scary thought) or even just King Of Detroit, and without getting into the economics or the past, and you could wave your magic wand, what exactly would your plan be for the future of the auto industry? I'm not making fun of you, I am just curious to see, as I don't know that you've ever explained what future you'd like to see. Not past, not present even, but the future of the auto industry (and if you say "flying cars" I will know you're not being serious...).

:-)

-CW

Let's see... from that article:

"Chrysler has paid off all the money it received from the Obama Administration but didn’t cover another $1.3 billion granted by Pres. Bush."

So who exactly got the better deal from the auto bailout? Obama or Bush?

Heh.

-CW

http://rt.com/news/egypt-referendum-approves-constitution-670/

Looks like the discussion is over...

So now, either Egypt will descend into more civil war (bad) or will become another Iran (VERY bad)...

Either way, it illustrates the complete and utter moronic-ness (an old word that I just made up) of Obama's "Leading From Behind" strategy...

It would have been easier and faster for Obama just to wrap up North Africa in a nice shiny box with a large bow and deliver it to Iran....

Yer doing a heckuva job, Obama..... :^/

Michale
0558

Oh I have already thought about it..

We would have cutting edge 21st Century technology and building 21st Century vehicles and well on our way to a REAL recovery, rather than limping along from one financial disaster to the other.

The SYSTEM is broken...

Propping it up with cash at taxpayer expense simple prolongs the inevitable collapse..

Better to let the system come crashing down and rebuild it with newer better technology.....

"We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better. Stronger. Faster."
-The Six Million Dollar Man

:D

Sure, it would have been really hard at first. But it would be a LOT better now..

With the current bonehead plan, it's hard and not getting any better..

Like I said. Obama missed a golden opportunity. He opted for the same limp-dick status quo rather than doing something that would drag our economy into the 21st century..

For a man reputed to have "vision", he is really just stuck in the past and will go the way of the dodo..

Michale
0557

Yea, that's usually the case when I start making sense and spouting facts.. :D

Michale
0556

And, while you're relaxing on your break, think about what would have happened to the US economy without Obama's auto bailout and about the state of the US auto industry today.

Just because the US government isn't going to make a profit on the auto bailout, as it did with the TARP, doesn't mean that it wasn't a great success.

You really need to take a break.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

If, by "fallacious" you mean "factual" then you would be correct.. :D

But, in a report sent to Congress, the White House raised to $25.1 billion the amount it said it cannot now expect to recover – primarily by selling off the remaining 26% stake it still holds in GM. The previous quarterly estimate was $21.7 billion. On the other hand, the latest figure is about 45% less than the $44 billion the Obama Administration had once predicted.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/auto-bailout-cost-now-upped-25-billion-942325

No matter how you slice it, Obama screwed the pooch on the Auto-Bailout...

Michale
0555

Actually, the reverse is true with respect to the auto bailout.

US taxpayers have saved many more billions and billions of dollars as a result of the auto bailout - an action which, incidentally, was the opposite of moronic. In fact, the auto bailout rivals the TARP for the most well spent government dollar.

I'm afraid your assessment of the auto bailout is quite fallacious.

Careful, any more comments like that and we may have to start deducting from your impressive total. :)

That sounds like a challenge to me!!! :D

the TARP which has earned the taxpayers a profit as a result of how prudently and responsibly that program was managed under the Obama administration.

Which was offset by the BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars the taxpayers lost with the moronic auto-bailout...

Hay, that's a good award too..

Most Moronic, Useless And Ultimately Futile Government Action

Obama missed a golden opportunity there.

Michale
0554

Best Government Dollar Spent: the TARP which has earned the taxpayers a profit as a result of how prudently and responsibly that program was managed under the Obama administration.

Well, with the way exchange rates are going and given the ongoing "fiscal cliff" fiasco in the southern parts, you might want to let your banker make that mistake again. Heh.

Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

As for our prolific Michale, I shall do my best to keep to my end of the bargain. And, so, if you don't hear from me for a while, it's just because I've temporarily lost my internet connection.

Just kidding! It's all for a great cause, after all.

How many more comments can he make, anyways, in just nine days? ... Onwards and upwards, Michale!

Your thanks, already expressed, are all I'd want for contributing "Rove Stimulus" to the lexicon. You've done a much better job explaining it in any event.

I'd add that even Republicans are not about to have several hundred pounds of yard signs printed in China & shipped here. The freight charge will kill you.

Consultants, while wealthier than I, tend not to be unduly loaded. Rove is perhaps the best known & I haven't heard that he contributed in the 7 figure range.

Yea, it's cutesy.. I can see why the Team Obama didn't want to release it during the campaign.. :D

But, as I said, I don't have a problem with Obama, the father or Obama, the person.

I just have a problem with Obama, the President.

:D

He's pretty... um... prolific, don't ya know.

I've been called worse.. :D

Michale
0553

May have forgotten to tell you this story last year, but you'll appreciate it nonetheless. Your 2011 donation money order came in, and so I took it to my bank. They tried to credit me with those "loonies" until I pointed out that you had been kind enough to submit your donation in "USD" (or, for the uninitiated, "U.S. dollars") instead of that Canadian money you folks use up there in the northern parts (heh), and so she credited me with the proper amount. Americans just aren't used to world currencies, sad to say...

:-)

Are you sure you can keep up with Michale, even at 50 cents on the dollar? He's pretty... um... prolific, don't ya know.

Heh.

-CW

I'd like to see Tim Geithner get something for his efforts other than the ole 'don't let the door hit you on the way out' put down ...

I'm not sure I made my pledge known but I'm going with matching Michale but at 50 cents per Michale comment ... so chalk me up for that and I'll send the total in after we celebrate the New Year and I know Michale's total ...

Merry Christmas, everyone!

OK, it's the end of the year, it's the holidays...

...so even YOU've got to admit, that Obama/Spiderman photo was pretty funny, no?

:-)

-CW

I could call it the "Al Franken/Arianna Huffington Memorial Award." Heh. Anyone who doesn't get the reference, search on their names and "bed" to see the 90s TV show. The first time I met Al Franken, I thanked him specifically for "turning" Huffington away from the dark side.

:-)

Hey Folks!

The pledge drive thermometer, after a week's dormancy, has moved! We got a couple donations today, but we're still a ways from our goal... must I trot out the kittens again?

Heh. You have been warned.

:-)

-CW

Good eye. Yep, it was a typo, thanks, and it's fixed now.

Yea, I hesitated even pointing it out, but I know what a stickler ya are for detail.. :D

OK, here's a quote for you, because it's Christmastime:

Awwww, thanx...

Personally, on a manly man level, I have always liked Tipper.. She's pretty hot. :D

But I always have a problem with people who try to set themselves up as Keeper Of The Morals.. More often than not, it's from the Right.

But, prior to the ascension of the "Modern Liberal", it was always the Left that tried to blame TV, Movies, Lyrics, Parents, what have you, for the criminal acts of dirtbags...

I think Jeff Foxworthy said it best..

"Mom was fine, Dad was fine. I'm just a shithead..."

:D

Anyone else have suggestions of people worth of awards from 2012?

Honestly, I think the "Strangest (Most Amazing) Bedfellows" is a pretty kewl category...

I understand that the Gun Control issue has been beaten to a pulp and ya probably don't want to add more fuel to the pyre, but the category itself does have a lot of potential... :D

Michale
0551

Nice use of "Rove Stimulus" ... I may use that next week. Want me to give you public credit? Let me know...

"As commenter db suggested on my site last week..."

:-)

Just say the word.

-CW

I've always called campaign season "welfare for small local television stations" myself. Heh.

But you raise a good point. Whenever someone brings up the trope "Politicians spent X dollars on this election... think of what good things that money could have been spent on!" I have to counter it.

What do political campaigns spend money on? Well, plane tickets and hotel reservations and local contractors to do stuff like set up stages and renting public spaces. Then there's the advertising -- some is skimmed off by wealthy "consultants" but most goes into both the production of the ad (salaries for artistic political types) and airing the ad (see: welfare for tv stations comment). Yard signs are bought, bumperstickers and T shirts are printed... all, again, money that flows into the American economy, often at a very local level. Democrats HAVE to have a Union stamp of approval on (for instance) yard signs and any printed material, so they're helping unionized print shops.

Now, where does the money come from? Mostly wealthy donors, who otherwise would not be doing things with that money that were as directly productive to the American economy.

So it's really win-win all around. Which is why I really don't care how much is "wasted" on political campaigns, personally.

And thanks for reminding me about Boehner's instafilibuster... there are plenty of categories next week to fit it in.

Anyone else have suggestions of people worth of awards from 2012?

-CW

Good eye. Yep, it was a typo, thanks, and it's fixed now. Also, in the first version of this, I put the Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" thing in the opening ceremonies, when it was the closing ceremonies.

Mea culpa all around.

[6] -

OK, here's a quote for you, because it's Christmastime:

Tipper Gore is the only woman I ever directly called a bitch on any of my records, and I meant that in the most negative sense of the word.
-- Ice T

Here's the context, with not just a quote but Frank Zappa's entire Senate testimony.

http://www.chrisweigant.com/2007/09/25/is-this-really-the-best-use-of-the-houses-time/

-CW

I'd also suggest Mitch McConnell filibustering his own proposal ranks high on any OOPS list.

And music lyrics.. Can't forget music lyrics.. :D {{cough}} Tipper Gore {{cough}} {{cough}}

Michale
0550

Most Amazing Bedfellows

The NRA and MoveOn for taking the same position that armed officers in our schools is the best solution to the mass-casualty school shootings problem. Of course, they took that idea from me, but.... :D

And the NRA for taking the Left's tried and true talking point that, when bad things happen, it's all the fault of Movie/TV/VideoGame violence..

Of course, in the here and now, the Left has been more subdued with this particular talking point so as not to offend their biggest donor base.

Thereby providing even more evidence (as if any was needed) that Party loyalty trumps principles and integrity every day of the week and twice on Sunday...

Michale
0549

Not one to nitpick an obvious typo, but that would be 2016, not 2012.. :D

Michale
0548

Simple...

The best revenge on your enemies is to live well and be happy.. :D

Seriously, though. The reason I think the GOP is thinking they are sitting pretty is because they know the delusional factor of Obama and the Democrats are extremely high right now..

Obama & the Dems are going to tax this country to death, ignore spending cuts and increase spending dramatically...

In other words, in 2014 and 2016, the American people are going to be BEGGING the Republicans to take charge...

Just a guess, though.. :D

Michale
0547

Two words...

"Colin Powell"

'nuff said...

. From flybys of major cities to a slow crawl through the streets of Los Angeles (how appropriate!),

The Core Right??? :D

We look forward to Obama's second term,

And may the gods have mercy on our souls!!

Michale
0546

How and why is it that the biggest loser of the year is going around acting like its King Shit of Turd Island? Excuse my french.