A Brief Reminder
PG received a forwarded chain email. The first line was “I think this is bullshit, do you know any way to confirm?” Here is the text. “On Monday, September 7, 2015 10:37 PM, Gullible Gus wrote: I trust this info is true. Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message:”
“As a brief reminder for those who forgot or for many that didn’t know. Here is what happened,quietly, on January 1, 2015. Medicare tax went from 1.45% to 2.35%. Top Income tax bracket went from 35% to 39.6%. Top Income payroll tax went from 37.4% to 52.2%. Capital Gains tax went from 15% to 28%. Dividend tax went from 15% to 39.6%. Estate tax went from 0% to 55%. A 3.5% Real Estate transaction tax was added.
Remember this fact: These taxes were all passed solely with Democrat votes, Not a single Republican voted for these new taxes. These taxes were all passed in the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. If you think that it is important that everyone in the U.S. should know this, the many millions who don’t yet, then pass it on.”
The phrase “These taxes were all passed in the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.” was pasted into google. Before you could say fox news hairdo, there were 97k results. Snopes rated the email a “mixture” of truth and fiction. The example email used by Snopes, received August 2014, began “Those that think this is the way to improve the economy might as well delete now.”
Politifact rated the email “Pants on Fire.” Factcheck.org titled their version Return of the False Tax Claims. Most of these tax increases were included in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. This instrument was passed, with bi-partisan support, by the lame duck Congress after the 2012 elections. So much for “not a single Republican.” Maybe all the Republicans who voted for ATRA were married.
What the message does not mention is whether of not the tax increase was sufficient. The current budget deficit is estimated to be $474 b. This is almost a trillion dollars less than the $1,413 b in 2009. The national debt is estimated to be $18.1 t. A trillion here, a trillion there, and soon you are talking about real money. Saint Ronnie didn’t think big enough.
The email PG received had a post script. “You know, when Senator Isakson was here, why wasn’t Congressman Bishop with him in bi-partisan support for Ft Benning?” An inefficient military is the number one reason for runaway government spending. And yet, in this message decrying taxation, the local congressman is denounced for not bringing home the bacon. If you are going to cut spending, you have to start somewhere. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Paul Krassner
Paul Krassner is alive at eighty three. He survives Lenny Bruce, Abbie Hoffman, Groucho Marx, and Lyndon Johnson. His magazine, The The Realist, is now available as an online archive.
PG was recently looking for background noise to compliment his photomongering. Somewhere along the way, he found episodes of WTF podcast to be available on Youtube. He made a list of shows he wanted to see, including Paul Krassner. When Mr. Google was recruited to find the show, other things floated to the surface. This is how Mr. Google operates.
An onion is more than an internet namesake. It lends a lively flavor, both cooked and raw. The onion consists of many layers of thin skin. These can be peeled off, as you get deeper and deeper into the root. A thin skinned root that gives you bad breath…. an aromatic symbol for the sixties.
When you go looking for WTF/Krassner, you are directed to issue 74 of The Realist. The feature story is the missing segments of a John Kennedy biography. On page 18, Jackie Kennedy saw more of Lyndon Johnson than she needed to see.
“That man was crouching over the corpse, no longer chuckling but breathing hard and moving his body rhythmically. … And then I realized – there is only one way to say this – he was literally fucking my husband in the throat. In the bullet wound in front of the throat. He reached a climax, and dismounted. I froze. The next thing I remember, he was being sworn in as the new President.”
Page two of issue 74 is the letters to the editor. The featured scribe is John L. Timmons, Secretary, Mattachine Society of N.Y. He wrote “Letter From A Homosexual,” in response to a cartoon page in issue 69, fag battalion. Using KY to lubricate a rifle is not a good idea.
At the time, America was fighting a war in Vietnam. Young men were given the choice of go in the army, or go to prison. It was ugly. There was a group, “The committee to fight the exclusion of homosexuals from the armed forces.”
The Mattachine Society was neutral. Some members supported the war, and some were opposed. It distracted from the overall agenda to take sides in other disputes. The editors at The Realist agreed. “… homosexuals who don’t want to be drafted will no longer be able to exploit their deviation rather than face the consequences of conscientious objection.”
When issue 74 was published, Walt Disney was still alive. This may account for the action on page 12. Maybe Uncle Walt did not want his animated actors to be drafted for active duty. The activities on page 12 might not be sufficient to have the players excused from active duty, however. By this stage of the war, the local draft boards were not accepting excuses.
Getting back to Paul Krassner… he founded the YIPPIES with Abbie Hoffman, took LSD with Groucho Marx, and published a satiric magazine without advertising. Only the last part can be confirmed. After the description of Lyndon Johnson’s post mortem dentistry, who knows what is real, and what is fake. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. The opinions expressed in this repost are in no way, shape, or form connected to that fine institution.
A Prophet And His Honor
PG was editing pictures, listening to the birds and the lawn mowers, and enjoying himself. He began to think about recent events, both global and local. A phrase came to mind, about a prophet who is not without honor, except in his own land. Wasn’t Jesus supposed to have said that? Before you could say algorithm, there were 1.6 million choices.
The quote is in three of the four gospels. In all of these quotes, Jesus is not received as Lord and savior. It is interesting to see the authors of Matthew, Mark, and Luke agree on this. It is noteworthy that the Council of Nicea decided to include it. Here are the three quotes.
Matthew 13 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? 56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? 57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Mark 6 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. 4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. 5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief…
Luke 4 22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? 23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. 24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
The historic Jesus, as portrayed in the Bible, is a flawed messenger. He apparently did not have the trust of the people. Jesus did not have a problem with false modesty. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
PG heard a motivational speaker once. He said to sell yourself first, your company second, and your product third. If you are going to win someone over, the person needs to trust you. You cannot call yourself a prophet, and expect them to believe you because your message is so wonderful. This is a concept that Jesus might have had a problem with. Many believers today have the same problem.
Jesus is worshiped as a G-d these days. Modern Christians are more interested in his death, than in his life. The worship of Jesus has devolved into a scheme for life after death. Those who decline to participate in this religion can expect to be insulted. It is a curious sales pitch. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. The agencies were Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information.
Bernie
A facebook friend posted a link, The Top 10 Reasons Why Bernie Sanders Should Win The Nomination. PG is neutral on BS, who is not Hillary. The link was accompanied by an unfortunate graphic. “Bernie Because fuck this shit” The meme was low quality, with “Bernie” breaking up in the white background. The profane slogan was in italics, in a similar font to the Bernie trademark.
When you post a link on facebook, the content provider chooses the headline, and the picture. The fbf said she had no idea that this vulgar message would appear. Indeed, if you look at the post, you do not see this meme. Where did the meme come from?
PG is no prude, and can cuss with the worst of them. However, there is a time and a place. Perhaps the “fuck this shit” message was a reaction to the latest hashtag from #blacklivesmatter, #NotAnally.
The website americannewsx offers few clues. Was this another dirty trick from Hillary, or the Repubs? PG has not read the post, and does not plan to. It is too early in the campaign for that kind of investment. The Georgia primary is six months away. A lot can happen between now and then. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Conservative Liberal Racist
The management of this blog is not responsible for brain damage incurred while reading this post. If you cant take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Those threatened by this discussion, or not interested, are encouraged to skip over the text, and look at the pictures. These images, of Union Soldiers of the War Between the States, are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
There is a meme, with the text a conservative is a liberal who has been labeled a racist. A few comments followed publication. Someone was paying attention. Uhm…WTF?! ~ its a long story ~ All three labels are useless and misleading. I try not to let the labels of others describe me, but sometimes it happens. It is a bit of poetic license.
The words liberal and conservative are useless. When he started to make the comment, PG intended to refer to those two expressions. Then he started to type.The realization hit … the word racist was just as obsolete as liberal and conservative, and probably misused more often.
The next day at work, PG began to think. If you saw a mushroom cloud rising over Jimmy Carter Boulevard, that is what you saw. Random thoughts began to emerge.
A- The popularity of con, lib, and rac, derive from America’s blind allegiance to the belief paradigm The general thought is that what you believe is more important than what you do. The dominant religion in America is Jesus Worship, which is based on beliefs rather than practices. While America is not officially a Christian country, their thought processes dominate the way things work here.
B- The belief paradigm filters down to the popularity of silly labels.We have people who claim to be small government conservatives, and who support sending 200k troops to a war eight time zone away. You can treat your black neighbors with kindness and grace, but if you say the wrong things on facebook you are considered a racist. It is a funny system.
C- Conservatives use liberal as an insult. Liberals use racist as an insult.
D- No one is certain what the words conservative, liberal, and racist mean. You should beware of anyone who claims to be certain of what these labels represent.
Old People Running For President
A recent podcast tells the story of Anna Sklepovich. As her 13th birthday approached in 1941, she noticed that hers was the same day, January 30, as President Franklin Roosevelt. The POTUS was 59. The young lady wrote the White House, and became a momentary celebrity.
When PG heard this, he was suprised at how young Mr. Roosevelt was. The 32nd President has always seemed like a tired old man. After dealing with a depression, a war, and a marriage to Eleanor, Mr. Roosevelt wore out and died. He was 63 in 1945.
35 years later, Ronald Reagan ran for President. His age was an issue. In one Saturday Night Live sketch, Mr. Reagan was taking an afternoon nap during a candidates debate. Saint Ronnie was 69 when he was inaugurated, and was walking when he left office 8 years later. His mental state was a matter of speculation during his term in office.
We are currently looking at a group of people who want to be sworn in on January 20, 2017. A lot of these folks are senior citizens. The office of President is strenuous. It might not be a bad idea to elect a vigorous young person into that position. This does not seem likely to happen.
There has been a trend toward younger Presidents lately, especially Democrats. Barack Obama was 47 when he was sworn in. Bill Clinton was 46 at the start of his term. His wife, the perenniel Democratic front runner, will be 24 years older than when her husband was elected. The effect of his philandering on her aging process is not known.
There is a helpful web page, How Old Would President ___ Be? It shows the anticipated age of all the major players, with the exception of Al Gore. (Mr. Gore will be 68 on January 20,2017. He was 52 when he won the popular vote.) The age story of the POTUS wannabes is not pretty.
The youngest announced candidate is Bobby Jindal. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Scott Walker would all be under fifty if, G-d forbid, one of them is elected. The seemingly youthful trio of Chris Christie, Rand Paul, and Rick Santorum will all be under 60 in January 2017.
When you get to Saint Ronnie’s inauguration age, it becomes rather disturbing. Pantsuit aficionado Hillary Clinton will be 69. Hairpiece king Donald Trump will be 70. The other candidate generating a buzz, BLM fav Bernie Sanders, will be 75. If BS gets elected in 2016, and re-elected in 2020, he will be 83 when he leaves office. Is this really what is best for America? Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
I Believe G-d Directed That Bullet
PG was coming home from dinner. Part of the meal was chicken tenders, with the poultry raised under horrible conditions. The radio whiner, whose name rhymes with profanity, was talking about people who eat meat. How can someone who eats hamburgers be upset about the execution of Cecil the lion? All of this got PG to thinking, which is not a good idea on a full stomach.
There was a motivational video a while back called How To Be A Leader. It inspired PG to write a post, The value of sheep. Truth be known, if Cecil provided entertainment for a murdering dentist, then the feline gave something of value to the planet. Most lions contribute nothing except their own survival, at the expense of their neighbors. Here is the post:
There is a video out now, where the speaker says “It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.” This man must not like to wear wool.
A lion is a predator. It lurks in the jungle, and kills to eat. It does not produce anything except it’s own survival. A sheep lives in a community. Every once in a while, it gets the coat clipped, and grows another one. The fur goes to make woolen clothing, which keeps people warm in winter.
Maybe if you want to be an egophile, living on the destruction of your neighbor, then you might be better off as a lion. If you want to contribute something of value to others, it is better to be a sheep.
There is a trending hashtag, #alllionsmatter. It relates to a line of thinking, expressed in articles like Cecil And #AllLionsMatter Is Exposing Hypocrisy And Racism In The Media. If you can’t say anything good, you complain about hypocrisy in the media.
True,the media does not cover events evenly. A few years ago, a putrid politician named Paul Broun made a speech. The line that got attention was this. “All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and the Big Bang Theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell.”
That is a few seconds out of a forty two minute speech. (The link to the entire speech in the post no longer works.) Here is a paragraph about the rest of the speech. You will see in a minute why it is included here. Dr. Broun went on to resign his seat in the House of Representatives. He was soundly defeated in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate.
The testimony was delivered at “Hitting the Mark” Sportsman Banquet, Thursday, September 27, 2012. “There were Giveaways & Door Prizes including: GUNS & SPORTS-RELATED GIFT CERTIFICATES.” The first twenty minutes of his remarks are about hunting. Dr. Broun shows slides of trophies. There is a bear he killed in Alaska. There are two lions that he killed in Africa. The second lion was leaping towards him when Dr. Broun shot it in the face. “I believe G-d directed that bullet.”
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
The End Of Racism
One of the touted TED talks in the weekly email is Color blind or color brave? It is by Mellody Hobson, a POC in the investment business. It is the standard call to talk more about race. Talk, talk, talk, and talk some more. The word listen is not used.
At the 3:13 mark, Mrs. Hobson makes a remarkable statement. “Now I know there are people out there who will say that the election of Barack Obama meant that it was the end of racial discrimination for all eternity, right?” It is possible that someone has said that. There are also people who say the earth is flat.
PG asked Mr. Google about this. The top two results are about the TED talk. The third result is an article in Forbes magazine, Racism In America Is Over. It is written by John McWhorter, one of the “black guys at Bloggingheads.tv.” Dr. McWhorter does say racism is over, sort of. The problems that remain are a lot worse. Too much food for thought, for a population with intellectual bulimia.
There is a quote in the Forbes article that is pure gold. “When decrying racism opens no door and teaches no skill, it becomes a schoolroom tattletale affair. It is unworthy of all of us: “He’s just a racist” intoned like “nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!””
There are a lot more results. PG is getting tired of looking. If you want to see for yourself, google “the election of Barack Obama meant that it was the end of racial discrimination for all eternity.” Except for a rogue title editor at Forbes, almost nobody has said that. This is a repost. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
The Business Of Racism
It is one of those tweets that keeps coming back. @PolliticalCom How bad is racism in America? Take the poll –> PG was through with the yard sales, and looking for entertainment. Being easily amused is a progressive lifestyle choice.
To take this poll, it will be necessary to use internet explorer. Firefox does not do some things well. While at ie, PG checks in at bloggingheads.tv The top show at the moment features Glenn Loury and John McWhorter. The headline reads “Ta-Nehisis Coates is no James Baldwin.”
Racism may, or may not, be a problem in Amerika, but it is one helluva marketing tool. The racism poll we will take in a minute is at a tacky website, Political dot com. You can be assured there is merchandise to sell. There is a header ad, for an “URGENT NATIONAL POLL … Should GOP fight Obama on gun control?” Like the results are going to matter, without a campaign contribution.
The first question is “Does racism affect the political attitudes and overall policies of the United States domestically? The possible answers are Yes, definitely, Yes, slightly, Maybe, No, No, not at all. If the browser is working, you can see some numbers after the answers. It is as if the nation has already made up its mind, and you don’t matter.
Do you believe racism is still alive in the United States? Is the American Dream still alive for low class minorities living below at or below the poverty line? Does racism inhibit our ability to progress as a nation? Which political party do you favor? What is your gender? The last two questions have different answers. It might be fun to offer “No, not at all” as a possible answer to the questions “Which political party do you favor” and “What is your gender.”
The marketing kicks in after the gender question. “If you or a loved one snore, what type of snoring do you suffer from?******Sponsored Poll by Our Snoring Solution******* You will receive a free custom report and a letter from the inventor of the cure on how to cure your specific snoring problem. “
While the mp3 was downloading, PG listened to a few minutes of bhtv. It seems that Ta-Nehisi Coates has been anointed the national scribe when decrying the race issue. When David Brooks dared to question the glory of Ta-Nehisi Coates, he became the national poopyhead of the week. In the bhtv show, Dr. McWhorter suggests that the uncritical praise heaped on Mr. Coates indicates that the race situation is not as bad as Mr. Coates says.
Dr. McWhorter compares anti racism with religion, with Ta-Nehisi Coates as the high priest. PG has made the connection of race to religion before. In both race and religion, there are massive amounts of preaching to the choir. Arguments that you agree with are seen as entertaining, with a satisfying side dish of virtue. The opinions of strangers regarding race, and religion are seen as proper subjects for corrosive critque. Dr. McWhorter notes that race religion has nothing to do with creating change. Indeed, if racism in Amerika were to go away, Ta-Nehisi Coates would be out of a job. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Football season will be here soon.
The Planned Parenthood Video Part Two
Last Wednesday, a sensationalized video was released. Planned Parenthood was said to traffic is baby parts obtained through abortion. On Thursday, Radiolab released a show, Gray’s Donation.
Sarah Gray was pregnant with twins. The sonogram said that one baby would probably die, and that the sick baby was endangering the healthy baby. A decision was made to abort the sick baby. On the day of the procedure, something had changed. The abortion could not be safely performed. Both babies would be carried to term.
Thomas, the sick baby, lived for six days. Callum, the healthy baby, is doing fine. A decision was made to donate organs, from Thomas, to researchers. In the radiolab story, the mother goes to some of the labs, and learns what happened to the organs.
These quotes are from a story, Thomas Gray lived six days, but his life has lasting impact. “The next day, Gray met James Zieske, the institute’s senior scientist, who told her “infant eyes are worth their weight in gold,” because, being so young, they have great regenerative properties. Thomas’ corneas were used in a study that could one day help cure corneal blindness. … the Duke Center for Human Genetics in Durham, N.C., where even though the twins were identical, scientists found epigenetic differences in their cord blood, research that could one day help prevent Thomas’ fatal defect, anencephaly. … the researcher at the University of Pennsylvania who used the donation in her efforts to cure retinoblastoma, the most common form of eye cancer in children. … It is almost impossible to obtain normal retina from a child, The sample from Thomas is extremely precious for us.”
This is a unique case, as are almost all life or death situations. Things are seldom black or white, They are, pardon the pun, shades of gray. There are serious moral dilemmas involved in the use of some tissues for research. Nuance is not often communicated in 140 characters.
This does not stop the internet comment moralizers. “she a ghoul and a shyster dealer of death parts… praying on those mourning to accomplish ridiculous research” “Great story, but there is no way one of the priests should have claimed that it was OK to abort the sick baby in order to save the healthy one or the mother. The example used was completely wrong. … In Gray’s Donation there was absolutely an intention to kill the sick fetus. It would not have been an accident or unintended, and therefore there is no double effect, and is morally indefensible.”
In the Planned Parenthood video, much is made about pricing for the infant parts. Prices range from $30 to $100. In this study, we hear a researcher say “infant eyes are worth their weight in gold.” This might not be the best way to phrase this, since the tiny eyes probably don’t weigh that much. In a competitive free market, such an item would have a much, much higher price than $100.
One of the worst players in muddying the waters is the Catholic Church. A website called Life News has a misleading article, He Only Lived Six Days Outside the Womb, But Baby Thomas is Helping Cure Cancer. It ignores the fact that the mother opted for abortion, but was forced by medical circumstances to carry the twins to term. The post linked here has a header ad for Faith Focused Dating at “CatholicMatch.” Another ad promotes Affordable Biblical Healthcare.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
The Planned Parenthood Video
At some point yesterday, a video was released by The Center for Medical Progress. . It showed a secretly recorded luncheon with an official with Planned Parenthood. This official seemed to be discussing the sale of fetal body parts. Heads began to explode in teabagistan.
PG heard about it on twitter. He checked with Mr. Google. The sites reporting on the video included TOWNHALL, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, and the blaze.
@chamblee54 Has anyone checked with snopes? This sounds far fetched and many reporting on it are not dependable @nickmiller Featured in @WORLD_mag Highly reputable news outlet.
Madworld I believe the ONLY reason abortion is legal in the US is because the biotech/medical/scientific community profits from baby parts. Mad scientists get to experiment baby parts and slip them into drugs/vaccines. Also, the CDC recently officially recommended circumcision, because baby foreskin, like aborted baby parts, is a profitable commodity with various uses–including cosmetics (look up foreskin fibroblast cells). Sadistic perverted sickos. Our govt will allow any sickening procedure if corporations will profit from it. (Comment at the blaze.)
As soon as you could say snopes the internet fact checkers were weighing in on the story. Planned Parenthood issed a press release. While the video may have a grain of truth, it sensationalizes a common medical practice. There is an ongoing ethical discussion about these practices. These issues will not be resolved by tabloid videos.
The best observation might be at Little Green Footballs. “The sentence I put in bold explains the section of the video where they do talk about money, specifically “$30 to $100 per specimen.” This is not a “purchase price” for the specimens — it’s for transportation and other incidental fees. Anyone who thinks human body parts would be sold for the ridiculously low price of $30 to $100 is (not to put too fine a point on it) a gullible idiot.“
Yeah, Obama’s a Communist The “doctor” explains that there is a price range of $30-$100 per specimen. Since the abortion is already paid for, that disparity of pricing no doubt covers differences in quality. So yeah, you get what you pay for. (Comment at The Daily Caller.)
The luncheon in the video took place July 25, 2014. Why was this video released nearly a year later? Is it a coincidence that a nuclear deal with Iran was announced on this day? The video was somehow released, and was all over digital dingbat land within minutes. How this happened might be an interesting story. Pictures for this voyage to the underbelly of the internet are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.UPDATE: Part Two.
Erick Erickson Wants Donations
@EWErickson Trump’s rise is part of the unintended consequences of the GOP trying to compress the Presidential primary cycle. This message was retweeted. Blue Gal/Fran! Excuse me I gotta go buy more popcorn. (The spell check suggestion for retweeted is regretted.)
Erick Erickson is a piece of work. He is the grand wazoo at Red State, a “conservative” web site. RS gave Chamblee54 a 601 Database redigestation error onetime. This required a visit to the computer shop to get the malicious code off the machine.
Today’s tweet linked to a post at Mr. Erickson’s current blog, Stop Complaining About Donald Trump. If you want to see it, you can follow the link. This post is not going to concern itself with “conservative” commentary about the latest golden boi of the wig party.
The last five words of the post are “think of another “F” word.” Below that, you are encouraged to “Support the work at Erick on the Radio.” You can “Select an Amount” and click “Next.” At this point credit card numbers become involved. Never give a credit card number to someone who has given your computer malicious code.
Erick Erickson has a daily radio show on WSB. This is a 50,000 watt clear channel am station. WSB is part of the Cox media team that dominates Atlanta. His show is sponsored by advertising, and is probably a profit center for the Cox bean counters.
Why does Erick Erickson feel the need to ask for donations on the Internet? Is the free market, advertising based, model of talk radio not working for him? Apparently not. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Chamblee54 
leave a comment