Democrat’s Say The Dumbest Things

Uneployment lineThe current Democrat class war is like punishing the advantage of literacy to pay for the economic misfortunes of people who refuse to learn how to read or simply do not read well.  People whose only fault is having succeeded are somehow responsible for people who have not.  And the Professional Left (and their amateur useful idiots)  will go to any length to make the point, reinforcing the popular right wing adage, "Democrat’s do say the dumbest things."

Take Merrimack’s political village idiot, Fred Morse.  In this mornings Sunday News Morse, who carries the lefts water in the print news at every available opportunity, made the following statement.

If there were any verifiable data that the richest were actually job creators in any substantial sense, that would be the lead story of FOX News every single night of the year.  So when someone says that the idle rich are job creators, they are either misinformed or attempting to mislead the public.

I’m not sure if FOX actually uses the words ‘Rich people create jobs’ (I don’t typically watch any television news) but I’m reasonably sure they talk about business, finance, markets, capitalism, investments, and all their productive and beneficial side effects.  These are the mechanism for creating wealth and for creating jobs.  So not only are they (FOX) talking about it, the very existence of jobs proves the point; that investment of time and money by free people creates jobs and that by extension people who chose to create jobs by starting a business can become wealthy.

Read more

Occupy Wall Street – the 1% of the 99%?

I just love what seems to be happening to the Occupy Wall Street movement as they are trying to create a new society that they expect us all to willingly accept.  While they are out yelling about the evilness of the 1%, they drape themselves in the cloth "We are the 99%!" and expect us all to jump into their water (or is it making appear that we already are?).

They also, as it seems, wish to have us believe that it absolves them of the crimes we see happening in their own "squattings com communes" such as thefts, illegal takings, sex attacks, the lack of diversity (almost all white, rich kids) and destruction of private property.  We are also seeing, especially in NYC, how this new society is dealing with "freeloaders on their society" as the professional homeless and mental illness descend upon their "open & inclusive" community.

It’s turning out it isn’t as easy as they think.  They are also showing us the first signs of their own version of the 1% (emphasis mine):

…Ms. Holmes also stated at the teach-in that five people in the Finance WG have access to the $500,000 raised by Friends of Liberty Plaza. When Suresh Fernando, the man taking notes, asked who these people are, the leaders of the Structure WG nervously laughed and said that it was hard to keep track of the “constantly fluctuating” heads of the Finance WG. Mr. Fernando made at least four increasingly explicit requests for the names. Each request was turned down by the giggling, equivocating leaders.

For a leaderless movement, you still have to follow the money.  So tell me, how is this any different than the 1% they rail against?  Truthfulness, openness, sharing the wealth?  Not so much.

The leaders of the Structure WG eventually regained control of the teach-in. They said that they too were unhappy with the Finance WG’s monopoly over OWS’s funds, which is why they wanted to create the Spokes Council. What upset them more, however, was the inefficient and fickle General Assembly.

What, direct democracy doesn’t work (like our Founders believed)?  Was it really just inefficient (having heard the use of the "human microphone" technique, things can go on for a long time because the short phrasing / crowd repetition is inefficient.  But another question is "are we seeing the first instances in the very movement that castigates the greediness of the 1% – Greed within its own ranks?  Are we seeing the first crumbs of Liberalism – we know better how to spend your money than you do?"

A major point of the discussion was whether the Spokes Council and the NYC-GA should have access to the funds, or just the Spokes Council.

Are we seeing the first crumbs of Liberalism –

Read more

I guess this is the outgrowth of Obama blaming unemployment on ATMs

And one has to wonder when Statists say that there is never a regulation that is harmful?  Let’s see – 9% unemployment, people stuck on unemployment for an average >40 weeks, and Obama says his #1 Job is jobs? And the answer by his we have to go back to mule power? Jane Danowitz, director … Read more

Dispatch from AFP’s “Defending the American Dream” – AFPF Statement on Attack by “Occupy” Movement

After Occupy DC’s violent attack on AFP’s Defending the American Dream Summit last nite, Americans for Prosperity released the following statement AFPF Statement on Attack by “Occupy” Movement Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) issued the following statement today: “While we support the right to free speech and to peaceably assemble, it is saddening and unacceptable … Read more

Get rid of it! Star Parker on Government sponsored welfare

Star Parker: “I know firsthand about welfare and welfare dependency because of my own life, living seven years in and out,” says Star Parker, founder and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE). Parker, also a syndicated columnist, explains what she thinks are the actual steps out of poverty and why our … Read more

Hey, Elizabeth Warren! How’s that “we did that for you” and OWS Intellectual Foundation workin’ out for ya?

When some Politician wants to take credit for something simply for political gain, well, they will.  It seems to be part of human nature to want to be part of "a winner" and certainly Elizabeth Warren showed her human nature in wanting to boast "I’m a Wall Street Occupier" when she came out with:

I created much of the intellectual foundation for what they do

Now, combine that with Elizabeth Warren’s Intellectual Foundation for Warrenism:

You were safe in your factory because of police-forces and fire-forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory — and hire someone to protect against this — because of the work the rest of us did.

Yeah, tell that to the guy in Oakland who actually had to face down that marauding band of Occupy Oaklanders whose underpinnings come from her moral code. 

Oakland developer Phil Tagami is used to working behind the scenes to broker some of the biggest deals in town. Late Wednesday, he was using different persuasive skills – holding a loaded shotgun to scare away rioters trying to get into a downtown building.

"We had people who attempted to break into our building," the landmark Rotunda Building on Frank Ogawa Plaza outside City Hall, Tagami said Thursday. He grabbed a shotgun that he usually keeps at home, went down to the ground floor and "discouraged them," he said.

"I was standing there and they saw me there, and I lifted it – I didn’t point it – I just held it in my hands," Tagami said. "And I just racked it, and they ran."

Although they didn’t get inside the building – Tagami, 46, oversaw its $50 million renovation and has an office there

Once again, Individual actions and self-reliance have trumped collective-reliance on the collective.  Now, Conservatives understand from a pragmatic standpoint

Read more

An application of “An Army of Davids”

And I think this is one of the things that drives the Left absolutely batty.  Even as they are all about the Collective, unlike the Founders,  they just are flabbergasted that the Right, made up of people purporting to be wrapped around Individualism, basically have out-collectived the Collective.  Matt Kibbe, the head of FreedomWorks (an organization that has helped the TEA Party, and I have met and talked with Matt and other representatives of FreedomWorks as a TEA Party activist) wrote this Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal (emphasis mine):

Despite all of this, in America Occupy Wall Street has been celebrated by many in the media and the Democratic party as a legitimate counter to the tea party. All of the accusations that were wrongfully hurled at the tea party—from bigotry to violent tendencies—now seem to be occurring regularly at OWS protests. Yet they are ignored in deference to the supposed morally superiority of this new movement. Van Jones, formerly an environmental advisor to President Barack Obama, says we should ignore OWS defects because "they’ve got moral clarity." Even Mr. Obama has said that "the protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works."

Who knows, maybe cognitive dissonance is a good political strategy for the left. Can the king of crony capitalism win reelection having codified "too big to fail" into law? Can Congressional Democrats, having spent the past two years attaching Republicans to so-called "tea party extremism," now embrace without consequence the radical demands, blatant anti-Semitism, violence and property damage of OWS?

Progressives’ burning desire to create a tea party of the left may be clouding their judgment. Even Mr. Jones has grudgingly conceded that tea partiers have out-crowd-sourced, out-organized, and out-performed the most sophisticated community organizers on the left. "Here’s the irony," he said back in July. "They talk rugged individualist, but they act collectively." He and his colleagues don’t seem to understand that communities can’t exist without respect for individual freedom. They can’t imagine how it is that millions of people located in disparate places with unique knowledge of their communities and circumstances can voluntarily cooperate and coordinate, creating something far greater and more valuable than any one individual could have done alone. 

Indeed – an "Army of Davids" which is the name of the book that Glen Reynolds wrote in describing how technology is shifting such that individuals can band together for a purpose via the ‘Net, accomplish a voluntary goal, and then disband in ways that never would have been possible before.  In fact, many Conservatives and TEA Partiers used the Internet to get their message (visual: Skip waving his hand!) out and coordinating with others in a joint movement.  I am pleased that GraniteGrok has been part of this movement and have participated in tactical events both in State as well as National ones.

Moral Clarity?

Read more

[Updated] AP Proves CO2 based Global Warming Is A Hoax

GlobeAP has a story out today, which the green Yahoo’s at Yahoo! have put up front for all to see.  The front page lede is ‘Record Rise in Global Warming.‘  But when you follow the link the article itself is titled:"Biggest jump ever seen in Global Warming Gases." Talk about deception.  But then, the entire thing, like global warming, turns out to be misleading.

The article goes on at length about emerging Asian economies and the massive influx of CO2 into the atmosphere, but the only mention of actual warming is theoretical.

The article itself is so slanted it is past amusing and damn near criminal.

The problem, or course, is that CO2 emissions have been on an upward climb for decades while global temperature have failed to follow.  They continue to go up and down without any measurable or predictable connection whatsoever.  But that is just another inconvenient truth.  So does AP dare to mention that?  Of course not.  They can barely contain themselves while pointing out that the UN’s IPCC has come under criticism but that most of its conclusions are considered main stream if not a bit too conservative."

Bwahahahahahahaha!

So much for the IPCC passing Green advocacy puff pieces off as science, leaving out contrary evidence, and overall being written by and for politicians with an specific green agenda.  Then there is all that hiding the decline business that they are still trying to hide.

The story does get one thing right.  Global emissions are still rising.  The fact that temperatures have not been in any measurable way affected is only more proof that the "we are killing the planet" meme is just another truck load of nonsense.  If we are killing it it is by keeping the third world in the third world where the socialist elites think they belong instead of letting them develop into efficient modern states.  You need cheap power to do that.  There is nothing cheap about the lefts energy alternatives.

 

[Update] Hot Air is reporting on the AP report as well, reminding us that despite the CO2 emissions warning and the failure of every man-made program to reduce them, the temperature has not risen for 11 years.

More on the jump.

Read more

Dorothy The Hooker of Oz

It’s kids, candy, wild grown up costume parties, and Dorothy the Hooker from Oz. Makes you wonder what song the boys from the Lollypop Guild might have sung if Dorothy from Kansas showed up dressed like this?

Occupy NH – a misleading infographic

I have been following the Occupy Wall Street movement as it was seen by both the media and the Democrats like Elizabeth Warren as their version, the Left’s version, of the TEA Party.  And it landed here in NH as well by starting a meeting in Manchester and then Concord, and then back to Manchester (with a few videos done at that last one).

I had put up what I thought was the definitive infographic that pointed out the common complaint between the Occupy Wall Street folks and the TEA Partiers.  Absolutely, we agree that the problem is Greed – greedy corporations willing to pay elected officials for access and influence as well as greedy elected officials (and bureaucrats) for willingly taking (and sometimes "requesting") such monies and perks.  Greed knows no bounds, be it for money or for power.  Or in some cases, both.

Now, some might think "Skip’s turned into a broken record on this".  In some ways yes, and others, no.  You see, it is just another version of the same old political problem:

  • Some of us just want to be left alone, and want government to remain in the background, quietly umpiring the rule infractions as opposed being front and center and bossing folks into behaving in Politically Correct ways.  Do the (few) things that individuals can’t easily do and do them well.
  • Others want to, for the lack of an even more simpler explanation,  grow Government in ways that remind me of the full-of-themselves hall monitors – just on steroids (these ARE the power hungry folks that just can’t leave others alone because they don’t trust anyone else than themselves to be bright enough to run their own lives).

Now, having gotten that out of my system, notice this new infographic put up by Sherry Gould of Occupy Concord (NH, that is):

I have no doubt, having spent time at the Occupy Manchester,  that the intersection, the "Middle Ground" is a true statement.  I’m not sure that I’d agree with the right side, totally, of what this says of the beliefs of the TEA Party.  I’m quite sure that the left side does describe what the OWS believes.  The problem parts are the lower left and right corners.  

If you follow the link for Sherry, you can see the conversation.  The link to Open Secrets that Seth provides completely blows the the declared information in the lower right hand corner:

Top 10 Heavy Hitters:
ActBlue $55,745,059.00
AT&T Inc $47,571,779.00
American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees $46,167,658.00
National Assn of Realtors $40,718,176.00
Service Employees International Union $37,634,367.00
National Education Assn $37,051,378.00
Goldman Sachs $35,790,579.00
American Assn for Justice $34,715,804.00
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $34,292,471.00
Laborers Union $31,876,950.00
View Full List
Based on data released by the FEC on September 26, 2011.

12 of the top 20 are unions; add in ActBlue (a Left / Liberal donation aggreggator with a widget that allows folks on Left leaning sites to donate to their cause or candidate), so make that 7 out of the top 10, 13 out of the top 20, which completely shreds the point that Sherry subtly tries to make in that lower right hand corner.

I also…

 

Read more

I guess we didn’t do too badly….

We here at the ‘Grok all support the Second Amendment – and love to exercise it!  So when Glen over at Instapundit ran this link, and TMEW and I having just "upgraded the armory", I had to go take a look at the post over at The Truth About Guns on self-defense shotguns.

Read the post, but the main points were:

Pump Action – "There are hundreds of stories of home intruders being scared away simply by the sound of a pump action shotgun being racked…Pump action shotguns have a feature that makes them ideal: reliability."

Short Barrel – The shorter the better. 18 inches is the legal minimum length for a shotgun without venturing into $200 tax land, but if you have the time and the money it might not be a bad idea to get the stamp and break out the hacksaw.

Attached Shell Holder – …Due to their massive size you can’t really load all that many into the gun at one time. So if you get into a protracted gunfight you may very quickly become screwed. The solution is simple: keep extra rounds on the gun…The other reason for a shell holder is to take advantage of both buckshot and slugs.

Pistol Grip – While the standard shotgun stock will work just fine a pistol grip makes the whole thing a lot more ergonomic.

Read more

Occupy NH – I got onto the Ridley Report!

This is a bit late, but I just came across this video at a post at the Occupy NH forum that Dave at the Ridley Report had posted and dates from the same Occupy Manchester rally that I attended:

I was more than a bit surprised that I was recorded (around 6:30) – am usually on the other side of the lens.  Since I had already interviewed Leah earlier in the day, I started running my camera (the Flip, as I had already depleted the better camera’s battery) when I came upon her having just been insulted by Mark Provost.  After seeing where the conversation was, I decided to bounce in:

At 0:45, Mark makes the claim that OWS (two weeks into the unveiling) was twice as popular as the TEA Party.  Yeah, that was the Time poll (54-27), and if you examine how the questions asked about each were constructed, you’d understand why:

  • IN THE PAST FEW DAYS, A GROUP OF PROTESTORS HAS BEEN GATHERING ON WALL STREET IN NEW YORK CITY AND SOME OTHER CITIES TO PROTEST POLICIES WHICH THEY SAY FAVOR THE RICH, THE GOVERNMENT’S BANK BAILOUT, AND THE INFLUENCE OF MONEY IN OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM. IS YOUR OPINION OF THESE PROTESTS VERY FAVORABLE, SOMEWHAT FAVORABLE, SOMEWHAT UNFAVORABLE, VERY UNFAVORABLE, OR DON’T YOU KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE PROTESTS TO HAVE AN OPINION?
  • ON ANOTHER ISSUE, IS YOUR OPINION OF THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT VERY FAVORABLE, SOMEWHAT FAVORABLE, SOMEWHAT UNFAVORABLE, VERY UNFAVORABLE, OR DON’T YOU KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE TEA PARTY TO HAVE AN OPINION?

Wording is VERY important when doing polling – TIME Mag (self-avowed Left leaning) basically begged that OWS got a better result than the TEA Party.  Now?  Since then, and with OWS sites breaking out in thefts, assaults, internecine warfare, money squabbles, and now riots, it has gone down:

Some other observations:

Read more

A Question for NH Democrats & Unions…

Is this the NH Democrat parties postion as well, and that of the state union, SEA, SEIU, Teamsters and others who are insisting that New Hampshire workers have no right to opt out of paying union dues just to get a job? Does the Federal government have the right to close a business or a facility in our state, and force those workers out of their employment, simply becasue they are either not unionized or have voted to de-certify the union, as is the case in South Carolina?

A NH GOP Legislative Masterstroke

A proposed NH state constitutional amendment banning the introduction of a state income tax has been voted out of committee with a recommendation that it "Ought To Pass." The full State House will vote on it in January. Not surprisingly, Democrats deplore it—great angst!—because their true agenda is being exposed to open examination and debate. That is…

Read more

Occupy Wall Street – showing its true roots?

From the NY Post (emphasis mine):

Some 50 Occupy Wall Street protesters saw red yesterday — giving an enthusiastic welcome to a genuine communist.

Alex Callinicos, a professor of European Studies at Kings College in London, announced to his rapt audience, “I am a Marxist.’’

Asked if the upcoming revolution can be non-violent, he parroted the party line of the demonstrators, who call themselves the 99 percent of Americans lined up against the “1 percent’’ with power and money.

He said violence could be avoided only if the “1 percent accept the decisions of the 99 percent,’’ which he predicted would never happen.

True to form, this Leftist walked up to "the line" and let his audience listen between the syllables for the true message.  If he had really been truthful, he would have simply said "yes", but just couldn’t resist the Class Envy that Marxists (and many academics) posses.

"Accept"?  The entire underlying premise of this movement can be summed up in one phrase:

They stole it.  We’re gonna take it.

(notice I didn’t say "back") That is it. Simple, isn’t it?  And that makes everything leading from that perfectly legitimate.  Prosecutor, witness, jury, and judge – Marxists love to wrap these roles all up into themselves, and he does! 

Therefore it follows, since the 1% are thieves, they should be demonized.  And once demonized, they have surely already been convicted, right?  The final step?  They, the 1%, must be punished.

However, here’s their magic key – the good Marxist Professor provides for the ultimate "out" – on your knees and beg forgiveness.  Give us what we demand, and we will let you go (yeah, we saw how this worked out in the French Revolution and the Bolshevik one as well).  Give us what you have – we’ll let you quietly go. 

This is, in their terms, what Democracy looks.  We make the demands, you acquiesce.  Just like a Jr. High bully picking on a 4th grader on the way home.  How is this any different than the mobster saying "pretty store you have here – pity if something were to happen to your Mom".

In this Marxist mindset, the 1% must be punished but again, in their minds, this "out" allows them to feel blameless if the trigger needs to be pulled (or the bat swung or knife sharpened.  And WHERE is that darn guillotine!) .

Thus, being thieves and therefore must be punished, it marches lockstep to the next which is the taking.  And the good Professor Callinicos is the one issuing the call for it.

Read more

Share to...
BufferCopyFlipboardHacker NewsLineLinkedInMastodonMessengerMixPinterestPrintRedditSMSTelegramTumblrVKWhatsAppXing