Unease and Anxiety walks upon the land – Has a Preference Cascade started?

What is a Preference Cascade?  A great definition after the jump – but think how quickly the TEA Party movement started three years ago.

Part 1: I generally do my gun and ammo purchasing at one of two gun shops (unpaid plugs: Belmont Firearms on Rte 106 in Belmont, NH (and I have a membership at their indoor range) and Skip’s Gun & Sport Shop in Bristol, NH).  Well, TMEW and I had stopped practice shooting for a while and one day we both looked at each other and said “Hey, we haven’t gone to the range in a long time….” and we’ve restarted.  Looking at what I had on hand,  I went up to Skip’s to get some ammo for the Walther P22 that TMEW uses a lot and for which BF didn’t have in stock (yes, I could have ordered it, but I hadn’t been up to Skip’s for a long time and wanted to see the results of their expansion).  Bought some other ammo types, a new range bag for TMEW, a handgun rack for the safe, and a few other things that go boom!

Anyways, I ended talking with the clerk at the counter, and a comment was made (seeing the cases of 9mm and .380 I put on the counter) that people were not really buying ammo by the box (20, 25, 50, et al) anymore but rather , more and more, by the case (e.g., 500 or 1,000 rounds at a whack).  And it isn’t by just single people coming in but groups of people, or a single person buying for a whole gaggle of folks.  She looked at me and said words to the effect “People are getting nervous and anxious – people are not sure what is about to happen next.”

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Unease and Anxiety walks upon the land – Has a Preference Cascade started? Part 2

The conversation I had with the clerk today (er, just looked at the clock – yesterday) about what might be just over the horizon?  What set me off on this topic was a post I read a bit ago on Patheos by The Anchoress – “I expect the crowd in power to destroy everything…“.  She starts off referencing a post from Instapundit:

GOING JEAN GALT? Patrick Carroll writes:

I decided to take six months off this year. I sold stock and did what I wanted for a blissful six months. I read books, drank good wine, watched my garden, got out my high-powered binocs and looked at the planets, hiked, cooked, ate well, just lived. I did so because I expect the crowd in power to destroy everything, so I thought I’d take a break before the deluge…I also bought guns (rifle, shotgun, pistol each for the wife and I), and have contracted with a local landscaping company to build a highly-defensible, nice-looking (fence/hedge combination) perimeter for my property.

Oh, and I bought water barrels. And a propane tank. And a generator.

And then adds (emphasis removed, and added by me):

What’s interesting is that I am hearing similarly discomfited talk around me, and seeing it in my emails. In the past few weeks I’ve heard some surprising people admit they’ve been arming themselves and purchasing ammunition — one such discussion happened all around me at the hairdresser’s while I sat and listened. The stylist and his boss, they’re storing food and arming themselves. The chiropractor who popped in to say hello while taking his afternoon stroll said he is armed, too: “never in my life thought I’d have a gun in the house, now we have two.”

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Obama, you’re no Margaret Thatcher when it comes to Free Speech

Glen Reynolds over at Instapundit is just.all.over.this Obama #FAIL and the way it illustrates the hypocrisy that ReProgressives and Socialists have between the words they speak and what they want you to believe about them, and the actions that belie those words and public beliefs, as he floats all over the blogosphere and reports back:

Compare Margaret Thatcher and Rushdie to Obama and Nakoula.

When Salman Rushdie had a death fatwa pronounced on him for a novel considered insulting to Islam, Margaret Thatcher immediately ordered a protective detail to be sent to Rushdie, who took him to an undisclosed secure location. They have been protecting him ever since. Bear in mind that Rushdie had been a severe and vocal critic and political opponent of Thatcher.

Compare and contrast to Obama and Holder’s treatment of Nakoula.

Indeed.  Margaret rushed not just to defend a private citizen and his thoughts / speech (Salmon Rushdie) but more importantly, one of the primary pillars of Classical Western Liberalism: Free Speech. Sadly, it seems since that time, Britain has come to embrace a perverse version of Political Correctness in its stead, but at that time, Thatcher understood the power of Free Speech.

Frankly, so does Obama – and fears it.

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There is no Forward with Obama (c/o A Notable Quote – John C. Calhoun)

“..as individuals differ greatly from each other, in intelligence, sagacity, energy, perseverance, skills, habits of industry and economy, physical power, position and opportunity,–the necessary effect of leaving all free to exert themselves to better their condition, must be a corresponding inequality between those who may possess these qualities and advantages in a higher degree, and … Read more

Democrats….

Here's a whole book on the subject....

Now that the New Hampshire primaries are over, and the opposing sides have shaken out, I have a couple or three observations about the Democratic Party and the people in it.

After watching their Presidential campaign ads, watching much of their national convention, and studying the faces and words of those people, I have to say that these people are not the Democrats of yesterday….

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The Press response to the Naked Emperor…cover-up and deflection

And it has been going on for a long time: “Let’s talk a little media bias here. The media, I think, wants Kerry to win. And I think they’re going to portray Kerry and Edwards …as being young and dynamic and optimistic and all, there’s going to be this glow about them that some, is … Read more

Obama Legacy

We’ve had 43 straight months of unemployment above 8%, gas prices have risen more than 100%, national debt has exceeded $16 trillion-plus, and the average family’s net worth has fallen 40%. Forward!  

If The Attack on The US Embassy Wasn’t Pre-planned…

...then why scrub the memo issued by the US department of State, dated September 6th, announcing no credible security threats to our embassies on the anniversary of 9-11?   That’s right, a blogger caught the change and posted it.

The US State department issues a memo to its embassies indicating there are no credible threats for the anniversary of 9/11.  There are no marines stationed in Benghazi to protect the ambassador.  The administration is insiting the attack was some random act of outrage over some obscure six months old you Tube video.

But the Libyan President says he has no doubt the attack was planned months in advance (also here).  Al Qaeda is now claiming it was a planned retribution.   A Local security official in Libya says he warned the US of the deteriorating security situation 3 days before the attack.  Attackers worked in concert, with heavy weapons, knew where to be and where to go.  The Serbian consulate wants to know why the Obama administration posted a Gay ambassador in a Muslim country.  And now the original State Department memo no longer includes any mention of there being no credible threats, that Al Qaeda was not “plotting any kind of attack overseas” on the anniversary of 9-11.

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Remembering Democrat Rule – No Taxes Means More Taxes

In 2007 New Hampshire Democrats assumed complete control of state government.  And much like the Democrat rhetoric in the current 2012 campaign, back in 2007,  their first budget,  New Hampshire’s first budget over 10 billion dollars, was billed by the Democrats as a budget that “addresses our state’s priorities without new taxes.” Addresses our ‘State’s’ … Read more

Is UNH Using Their Letterhead To Play Politics?

A recent letter from UNH President Mark W. Huddleston, emailed to  persons associated with UNH, appears to be asking recipients to pressure (maybe engage and encourage is a better term) the New Hampshire legislature into restoring budget cuts made last session to the University system.

I have no issue with “Huddleston the activist” doing that on his own time, but Politicking on State University Letterhead?

That’s a no no.

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This lady is p*ssed off!

And I don’t blame her. Does the mainstream media suck? You betcha!

Data Point – Muslim Protests (iteration…oh heck, I give up)

The news du jour is that the phenomenon of the Islamic Rage Boy has returned.  Once again, we see that the “Religion of Peace” is really the Religion-that-can’t-keep-itself-in-check.  The Atlantic Wire (via InstaPundit) has a map it is updating – here is the latest:

If you can’t keep track of all the Muslim protests erupting across the globe, you’re not alone. The uproar over a 14-minute anti-Islam YouTube video has sparked furious protests from Somalia to Egypt to Sudan to Tunisia to Libya to Bangladesh to Indonesia to Pakistan. With new reports of protests surfacing every minute, we’ve compiled the latest reported incidents into this handy interactive Google Map. Click the locations and embedded links for more details about each incident.

 And remember, Obama said he could solve this problem: “The Day I’m Inaugurated Muslim Hostility Will Ease”:

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Disturbing – why is Obama and his Administration defending Appeasement more than Free Speech?

A pillar of American Exceptionalism is that of Free Speech.  ALL speech is protected (caveat: other than what the Supremes have deemed not – re: “Fire”).  Why is it, at the first scream of faux outrage that has been manufactured by the Muslim equivalent of Community Organizers, Western Leaders fall onto THEIR embroidered kneepads  and act like they have to outrun the bear (as in that old joke “All I have to do is outrun you when the bear comes after both of us”).

The question of the day: WHY is first response of Obama (President of the United States of America, Protector of the US Constitution) , his feckless Secretary of State Hillary (also sworn to uphold the Constitution), his mouthpiece Jay Carney, and a multitude of pusillanimous of other lesser actors (with a requisite even lesser quality of character and lesser fealty to the First Amendment) NOT a robust defense of that part of what makes American Exceptional?  Why is it looking like they ALL are apologizing (er, aGAIN??) for what America stands for?

  • They have little regard for the meaning and purpose of the First Amendment to begin with
  • As self-avowed ReProgressives, they have little need or love TO defend such – it conflicts with their march forward to their Socialist end-game.
  • As in everything else they do, re-election is everything; NOTHING is more important than that (including that American principle).
  • Blame, blame, blame, blame (hey, don’t look at ME!).  NOTHING is ever their fault (er, does that mean that they are NEVER in control of any event)?

Scott had part of what Chief Flacker Carney – here is the fuller version:

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You Are Racist Just For Running

Mitt Romney - Candidate for President - but is he a racist for running
Mitt Romney - How Dare You Run Against This President

This is not an earth shattering observation but seeing as I was just making this point last weekend I figured I should post it.  What did I say?

That it was only a matter of time before the media started trying to explain how “just running” against this incumbent president (Mr. Obama) is racist.

To Quote Elrond from the Lord of the Rings…’It has begun.’

At The Chris Matthews Hour of Hate the Left has laid the foundation for this argument with the notion that simply running against a sitting President (like say, Obama) shows disdain and arrogance.  Honestly, what was Mitt Romney thinking?

This is the first step toward the broader narrative.

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Data Point – US median Household Income

Remember, the Obama Administration hailed the announcement that the US recession ended in 2009: Should it not have started back up by now? (H/T: Powerline )

Yeah, this fits

We’ve kinda left the Chicago Teacher strike alone thus far.  To be sure, I think it is rather emblematic of the Blue Social model – large public unions pulling more and more from the taxpayers via in-the-Union-Pocket elected officials.

In this case, we have the CTU members earning an average wage of approximately $71-76K / year where the average taxpayer earns around $46K / year.  The union has rejected a 16% raise by Rahm Emmanual, Obama’s former Chief of Staff and now Mayor of Chicago.  What the Union is NOT accepting is the whole notion of teacher evaluations and other reforms.

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Administration Knew Embassies Were Targeted 48 Hours Before Mobs Hit Embassies And Said Nothing

It’s official.  The feckless reach of the Obama administration is not constrained by borders.  As reported in the “The Independent”, the State Department had information 48 hours before the liberty loving rabid, revenge filled mob encroached upon the embassies and murdered Ambassador Stevens and three others, but decided that news wasn’t worth dispensing to the … Read more

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