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I mentioned this story on this Saturday’s GrokTALK! during our WTF time – this was the runner up: ‘We’d rather be fat on benefits than thin and working’

Mother and daughter weigh a total of 43 stone and get £34k a year handouts, but refuse to diet.

A mother and daughter who get £34,000 a year [around $60K] in handouts because they are too fat to work say they’d rather be happy and on benefits than depressed and thin.  Janice and Amber Manzur weigh a total of 43 stone [602 lbs] and are so overweight they have to use mobility scooters to get around.  But both women refuse to diet and mother-of-two Ms Manzur, 44, insists: “I’d rather my daughter live life on benefits being fat and happy than depressed and thin.” Ms Manzur lives in a three-bedroom house that has been customised by the council to accommodate her disability and drives a Fiat Quibo disability car worth around £15,000.  Ms Manzur said: “There’s no point in dieting, it doesn’t make a difference.”

Yeah, I’d love to live at someone else’s expense, too, but I actually have some level of earned self-esteem and self-worth.  And yes, you can’t lose weight if you’ve already given up.

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In U.S. academia, fields that cherish sheer genius shun women.: “The fields whose members said they most valued sheer intellectual brilliance such as philosophy, physics and math were the most likely to have fewer women in their ranks. The disciplines in which the ‘spark of genius’ was least emphasized such as education, psychology and anthropology had greater numbers of women.”

Choice vs “the Patriarchy Opression”.  I’m certainly not the brightest bulb in the box but amongst the REALLY Smart People (vs just the people who think they are Smart) that I have known, they could care nary a twit what someone’s gender was – they only cared about results.  What were the ideas and what insights were brought.  Yes, a meritocracy (as opposed to what we see in the Political Class / Crony Capitalism Cabal where “brilliance” is measured by your Rolodex – and who the others that have YOU in theirs).  Not this, IMHO:

When those in certain disciplines send the message that raw, inherent brilliance is required for success, such views combine with existing cultural stereotypes to suppress women’s participation in the field, Leslie added.

I haven’t read the report and I’m not going to either.  I’ve seen enough stuff like this over the past few years

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“It comes from the idea that Washington should fix everyone’s problems instead of freeing them to solve their own.”

With this, it skewers the idea that politicians should always be “Do Something!”; in fact, he (and all of us who belong to the Leave Us Alone Coalition) brings out the important insight that our Government was never meant to solve all ills and problems.  Frankly, when compared to the entirety of American Society, Government is both too slow, too blinkered, and too dumb to be able to keep up with the daily decisions, needs, and wants of 320 million citizens and residents.  It is impossible to do other than to force the usual Government “one size fits all” (as exemplified by the fiasco known as Michelle’s School Lunch fiat.

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The Blaze put together a quick list of 10 things that Obama demanded of Congress but failed to do the shoeleather to actually make happen.  OK, let’s be real – it was chockfull of Expanding Government With Other Peoples’ Money so pretty much these proposals died.  Now with the Republicans owning both the House and Senate, I see little of his spending plans gaining traction.  In fact, I think he’ll have as much success as The Youngest did yesterday during NH’s ice storm here in the northeast – he ended up in the ditch twice (once going down a slight hill and once when trying to go UP a hill and the road ice and Gravity combined to give him a 360 ride back down the hill (thankfully, no injuries to either him or his vehicle; yeah, a happy camper given he waited 2.5 hours the first time for a tow and another hour the second time).

The list:

1. Mixed on Minimum Wage

2. Equal Pay

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“In the face of irrelevance, Obama buys attention with other people’s money”

(H/T:  Washington Examiner via Betsy’s Page) Alternate title: “State of the Union is taxes”

In other words, now that the election is passed, Obama is about to prove Romney’s 47% remark to be true.  Oh yes, just like the #WarOnWomen and the gender wage gap, the outrage at the time was faux, demagogued, and purely political.  The last couple of weeks have seen Obama say:

• “FREE community college for all!”
• “FREE paid sick leave for all!” (remember, Valerie Jarrett says it is a worker’s Right!)
• “FREE maternity / parental leave for all (here, here, here, and here)!
• FREE stuff for illegal aliens! (and here too)
• $500 Tax credit for married couples that work
• More credits for education and child care
• Expansion of Earned Income Tax Credit (more FREE money)

Estimates of between $320 and $442 BILLION more in taxes. This is FREE? 

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This week on GrokTALK!, apparently we had streaming problems yesterday – and I only found out AFTER the show so The Videos will show a mix of the streaming and our backup camera.  Also, Segment 4 and the Bonus Segment (after our normal show) will be in their own separate post just due to I think it makes more sense to treat them, dealing with the Windham School Board, as a pair.

Pre-Show

• Pre-Show – Obama’s State of the Union theme: #I’llGiveYouFreeStuff (Obamaphones!), NH Roll Calls, Pork Chops, Canned goods as self-defense weapons?
• Segment 1 – WTF Moment on Boston’s Southeastern Expressway, NH State Rep Abramson on Jucidial Legislative Update
• Segment 2 – Dr. Jason Fodeman, MD.  comes on from Heritage to talk about Obamacare Treatment Protocols
• Segment 3 – Ed Naile, Chair of CNHT (Coalition of NH Taxpayers) comes on for a Voter Fraud Update

Pre-Show:

Segment 1:

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Segment 4                                                           Bonus Segment

Not only has this event become clear that the actions of the Chair of the Windham School Board show ill will, it also shows a condescending attitude by Windham’s elected representatives towards its citizens / taxpayers / voters, it is showing a dangerous pattern of such going on around the State of NH: Gilford, Dover, Windham, Hampton.  In each case, elected representatives have decided that, having now been elected, they are now “above all that” when citizens wish to discuss (or even protest) seemingly snap decisions or decisions that push forward an agenda that goes against the beliefs of many in that community.  At worst it becomes “the good old boy network”; at worst, it is a misguided sense of importance and grandeur of status that is completely wrong – and dangerous.

That is called Ruling, not Good Governance – and we fought a war against the former in order to have the latter.

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THE LONG MARCH CONTINUES. The NH Rebellion walk to draw attention to the role of big money in politics has four routes this year: Dixville Notch, Keene, Nashua and Portsmouth. The finish line is at the State House on Jan. 21 — in celebration of the late Doris “Granny D” Haddock’s birthday — but the group aims to have a longer, and louder, presence in the 2016 first-in-the-nation primary with supporters asking presidential hopefuls this question: “What specific reforms will you advance to end the corrupting influence of money in politics?”

NH Rebellion – yet another silly attempt to rid us of the evil corruption of money from the political process.  Silly in that there have been many failed attempts in the past but they believe (like many socialists) that it is because “the right people haven’t tried it yet”.  Silly, too, in that they really go out of their way to ignore the obvious reason why there is so much money in campaigns.  The entire time that Larry Lessig’s Mayday PAC was funding Jim Rubens in the NH US Senate race, not a whisper.  We Groksters had a bit of a discussion on their mark and raison d’etre; this was one of my responses:

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We’ve talked about this before:  In 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama told the San Francisco Chronicle that his cap-and-trade proposal to control greenhouse gas emissions would mean higher energy prices for Americans.  “Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket,” Obama said.

CNSNews:

“Even as gasoline prices plummeted and the overall energy price index calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics declined, electricity prices bucked the trend in the United States in 2014. Data released today by the BLS indicates that the electricity price indexes hit all-time highs for the month of December and for the year. 2014 was the most-expensive year ever for electricity in the United States. The annual price index for electricity, published by BLS today, was 208.020. That was up from 200.750 in 2013.

The seasonally adjusted electricity price index for the month of December was 210.151, according to the BLS. That sets an all-time record for the seasonally adjusted monthly electricity price index…The average price for a kilowatt hour of electricity in the United States was 13.5 cents in December. That is the highest average price for KWH of electricity in the month of December since the BLS started recording the December monthly price for a KWH in 1978. In December 2013, the average price for a KWH was 13.1 cents.”

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This is about the stupidest idea I have heard in the area of self defense (ok, just period) especially in the case of an armed bad guy attacking a school (or any other soft target).  Serious – slowly throwing canned grocery items by middle schoolers at someone firing 9mm, .45, or .223 back at them?  What does Principal Princella Holley want to recreate – a pint-sized charge of the Clueless Brigade?  And her Superintendent isn’t much better:

A Valley middle school is asking students to bring canned goods to school in an effort to fight off intruders in the event of an active shooter situation. The administration at W.F. Burns Middle School sent a letter to parents asking each student to bring an 8 oz. canned food item to use in case an intruder enters the classroom.

Yeah, just chuck a can of tunafish at’em – water packed however, we don’t want to bring in a Hazmat team to clean up the environmental disaster that is “tuna packed in oil”, dontcha know.

“We realize at first this may seem odd; however, it is a practice that would catch an intruder off-guard,” the letter reads. “The canned food item could stun the intruder or even knock him out until the police arrive. The canned food item will give the students a sense of empowerment to protect themselves and will make them feel secure in case an intruder enters the classroom.”

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Once again at TreeHugger is the notion that all advances in our standard of living should be sacrificed at the Altar of GAIA.  What’s so bad about wearing a few layers of outdoor clothes on as you sit on your favorite indoor couch to save a few ergs of energy:

Super-insulated clothing could let you skip indoor heating

Wearing extra layers inside is one of the easiest things you can do to reduce energy consumption during the winter, which both helps the planet and saves you money. We’ve brought you some great low-tech ways in the past to stay warm while keeping the heat set low, but a new high tech solution could help us all to warm up while using less energy. Researchers at Stanford University have figured out a way to apply a silver nanowire coating to fabrics to make them super insulating, cutting down or even cutting out the need for indoor heating when worn.

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“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.”            – President Barack Obama, Inauguration, 1/20/09

$1.5 Trillion PLUS and not only will its mini-gun not be ready for FOUR years:

“There will be no gun until [the Joint Strike Fighter’s Block] 3F [software], there is no software to support it now or for the next four-ish years,” said one Air Force official affiliated with the F-35 program. “Block 3F is slated for release in 2019, but who knows how much that will slip?”

OK, this thing has been in development a long time – one of the most complicated piece of machinery ever built.  Software plays a MAJOR role on this thing.  But this aircraft is slotted to not just an advanced air-to-air fighter but a multi-role one – including that of ground troop support.  Now, while the Eldest took care of the EA-4B electronic warfare jet for the Marines while in Iraq (at El Asad airbase where Obama has now sent some Special Forces “non-combatants”), the Youngest was on missions in Afghanistan where the Warthog 

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Once again, you have been put on the Alter of GAIA and about to be sacrificed, you infidel of the Cult of Beef & Dairy.  Katherine Martinko over at TH has a post listing a couple of studies saying how bad the beef and dairy industries are for planet (yes, global warming.  Not again – always).  That’s not the worst of it by a long shot – it is the attitude that she shows towards those that won’t adopt a diversity of thought – primarily hers.  Yes, one thought, one outlook – and brands those that don’t want to agree with her as heretics and selfish subhumans (what, like we haven’t seen this Progressive “I know better than you what is best for you!” snoot nosiness?

A couple of snippets (emphasis mine):

Despite the fact that livestock production contributes more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transport sector, there is an appalling unwillingness to change eating habits in order to make a difference.

And this: 

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I just don’t understand why, though…

Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, reiterated Tuesday that he believes the GOP has a track record of failure when the party nominates a presidential candidate from the “mushy middle.”

“There are a lot of folks in Washington who argue that the way Republicans should win is that they should nominate a candidate from the mushy middle,” Mr. Cruz said on “Fox and Friends.” “Someone who is right in the middle, who’s near the Democrats so there’s not much distinction. … We’ve tried that.”

“Every single time we do that, whether it’s Gerald Ford, whether it’s Bob Dole, whether it’s John McCain, whether it’s Mitt Romney, the result over and over is we lose,” he continued. “I very much agree with Ronald Reagan who said the way Republicans win is we paint in bold colors, not pale pastels — pale pastels is a path to losing.”

“Look at the great issues of the day, look at the great challenges, whether it is bringing back jobs and growth and economic opportunity, whether it’s defending our constitutional liberties or whether it is restoring America’s leadership in the world, and I think Republicans are [going to] nominate someone who will stand up and lead, who will give bold voice and action to the values that built this country,” Mr. Cruz said.

(H/T: Washington Times)  I am quite sure that

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