By Rich Kozlovich
Everyone knows pension funds are really supported by those paying into them. Really? There is no way that the public sector working employees could even begin to pay for the benefits of their retired members with the current retirement plans of those unions.
Ohio has five public pension systems. All of them will go broke as it stands right now. All of them are unsustainable. All of them have huge unfunded responsibilities that will fall on the taxpayers. Currently they are unfunded by 67% and are on the brink of collapse. These are unfunded responsibilities that will not ….and cannot….. be paid.
How much is that in dollars and cents right now? Sixty Six Billion dollars! That is $66,000,000,000. Right now that is a cost to every Ohioan (not just working Ohioans) of $5726. Remember; this liability will fall on the heads of the taxpayers! All public expenses fall on the head of the taxpayers; we need to get that.
The government has no money. It produces nothing! The only source of money for any government is that which it can extort from its citizens. Extort is a strong word, but I use that word for a reason. The money is not the governments, and that money is extracted by force, i.e. if we don’t pay our property is confiscated or even worse, we go to jail. That makes it extortion.
Albeit this is a legal form of extortion, and it a necessary form of extortion to maintain a stable and civil society; it is nonetheless extortion. This liability doesn’t belong to the state. Remember...the state is not real. Only people are real. The state is merely a legal instrument that functions as the practical application of the people's needs. How practical is of course debatable, especially when you read about people like Governor Jerry "Moonbean" Brown and this dealings with the public employee unions. But after all is said and done there is one absolute incontrovertible truth that we need to get. This liability belongs to the state’s taxpayers.
I am also amazed at those I have talked to over the years who are completely conservative in their philosophy. Except when it came to Issue 5 in Ohio! Because they had family members that would be effected they made a complete turn about. I guess it really does depend on whose ox is being gored. We need to stop being foolish and see this clearly.
Below are two articles that deal with this issue. The first deals with Ohio. You need to read the whole thing and view the charts. If that doesn’t cause some serious level of concern to you…. well then …..you need help.
The second article is to show that this pattern is replaying all over the country….actually the world. It is even worse in the Euro countries because everyone is getting, or expecting to get, these unsustainable benefits from the socialists that rule there.
HANGING BY A THREAD Big Payouts and Promises Leave Ohio Pension Plans on the Brink of Collapse—
A deep fiscal hole is engulfing Ohio taxpayers. No one disputes that a fulfilling and financially stable retirement is something that every Ohioan should be able to enjoy. Ohioans in the public and private sectors alike should expect a level of retirement that allows them to comfortably live their remaining years without fear of financial hardship. But guaranteeing that public employees receive a level of retirement far beyond that of private-sector employees, especially when financed by taxpayers, is unfair and has proven fiscally unsustainable.
If every Ohioan received a pension similar to the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS) career pension of $39,780, it would cost current workers over $123 billion per year, which equates to 25 percent of Ohio’s Gross Domestic Product ($483 billion).On a per capita basis, it would cost working Ohioans $26,851 per year to fund the pensions of retired Ohioans. Such a cost would crush Ohio’s economy. If changes are not made to public pensions, the required tax hikes to bail them out would be equally crushing.
Ohio’s five public-pension systems are tasked with providing retirement benefits to Ohio’s public employees at a reasonable cost to taxpayers. But as time has shown, Ohio’s pension systems have produced retirement benefit levels that frequently exceed those of private-sector Ohioans. And to finance these generous benefits, Ohio’s pension funds have run up unthinkable amounts of unfunded liabilities for which, in the end, taxpayers are legally responsible.
Local Governments Face Bankruptcy Quandary, San Francisco Examine
Bankruptcy is the boogeyman haunting governments across America. It’s not a question of whether more cities will file for bankruptcy, but how many. The culprit is a decade of over-spending by governments, especially on pension guarantees, and an economic slowdown that refused to flip into a robust recovery. The money just isn’t there. And it’s not going to be there even if local governments raise taxes while cutting employees and services to the bone. Things are just going to get worse for municipal finance. Most states, counties, cities and school districts have spent their cash reserves down to the legal minimum. And they have not made contingency plans for another 15 percent decline in revenue in the next year. Consequently, there is the potential for thousands of defaults in the 50,000 municipal bond issuers in the United States. Most cities can cut spending, but they cannot cut principal and interest payments without default and bankruptcy.
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
This Week With Alan Caruba
Alan’s work has a sense of timelessness about it, so anyone perusing these articles in the future will find them equally insightful as they were when originally written. Alan posts daily on his blog, Warning Signs. The right side of this blog is a section called Caruba's Corner: Green Myths and Other Lies where I have been posting links to Alan's articles by topic. For his past works go to The National Anxiety Center.
Liberal Lunacy
Conservative commentators read what liberals have to say if only to get a glimpse into their current memes on various topics. It is always daunting because one cannot do this without coming away convinced that they are lunatics, devoid of any sense of history or reality, both of which they routinely invent to defend their opinions. A recent case in point is New York Times columnist, Maureen Dowd, whose January 22nd, Sunday commentary was titled “Showtime at the Apollo.” Ms. Dowd has been disappointed with Barack Obama for a long time, but she still struggles to find something laudatory while at the same time revealing just how defective he is.
The New American Elite
The only constant in the life of individuals and nations is change. Since the beginning of the last century, the process or rate of change has accelerated with the invention and availability of a myriad of machines, technologies that have altered the lifestyle of Americans as well as of millions around the world.
Working Into the Grave
Believe it or not, there was a time when, if you turned 65 and retired, you could expect to live in reasonable comfort. Social Security covered a portion of your expenses; your savings account yielded a modest amount of interest, and, if you had made investments, stock dividends provided a safety cushion. Not so anymore.
Auschwitz: Ignoring History, Predicting the Future
The late Israeli scholar and diplomat, Abba Eban, (1915-2002) said, “History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.” Similarly, Winston Churchill said, “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing—after they have tried everything else.” In Churchill’s case, he was referring to the U.S. reluctance to become involved in another war in Europe, but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 changed that overnight. By 1945, along with our allies, the wars in Europe and Asia were over.
Does Obama Want to Lose? Yes!
It seems like a bizarre notion, but does Barack Obama want to lose the election in November? I think he does! One is struck by the way Obama has visibly aged in the job. He may well have grown weary being POTUS. By any rational standard, one would say he wants a second term, but Obama has always operated in a fantasy world where mere words are supposed to translate into reality. And he has repeatedly talked about being a one-term president. He is, after all, his own invention; the author of two memoirs of a life that had little achievement to point to other than getting elected first to the Illinois legislature and then to the Senate where he lingered a bare two years before running for president.
Stupid Voters
It’s a comment I hear all the time these days. “The voters are stupid.” I am not sure that those saying it mean literally that the voters have a low level of intellect or academic achievement, but rather that they mean voters seem prone to making their choices based more on emotion than on a serious examination of the candidate’s qualifications and character.
How to Listen to Obama's State of the Union Speech
The Tuesday morning post of the Heritage Foundation’s “Morning Bell” is worth sharing in part. You can read the whole post here. “Tonight, Americans who tune in to the State of the Union will watch the work of a rhetorical master with a flair for illusion,” says Mike Brownfield. “President Barack Obama will take the to the floor of the Capitol in hopes of laying the groundwork for a political debate on his terms—one where he stands on emotional appeals, populism, and class warfare, not the shaky ground of his crumbling record.”
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There has been an unspoken redefining of journalism from objective reporting to active participation, deliberately shaping public opinion whether the core of the content offered is true or not.-
Alan Caruba
Liberal Lunacy
Conservative commentators read what liberals have to say if only to get a glimpse into their current memes on various topics. It is always daunting because one cannot do this without coming away convinced that they are lunatics, devoid of any sense of history or reality, both of which they routinely invent to defend their opinions. A recent case in point is New York Times columnist, Maureen Dowd, whose January 22nd, Sunday commentary was titled “Showtime at the Apollo.” Ms. Dowd has been disappointed with Barack Obama for a long time, but she still struggles to find something laudatory while at the same time revealing just how defective he is.
The New American Elite
The only constant in the life of individuals and nations is change. Since the beginning of the last century, the process or rate of change has accelerated with the invention and availability of a myriad of machines, technologies that have altered the lifestyle of Americans as well as of millions around the world.
Working Into the Grave
Believe it or not, there was a time when, if you turned 65 and retired, you could expect to live in reasonable comfort. Social Security covered a portion of your expenses; your savings account yielded a modest amount of interest, and, if you had made investments, stock dividends provided a safety cushion. Not so anymore.
Auschwitz: Ignoring History, Predicting the Future
The late Israeli scholar and diplomat, Abba Eban, (1915-2002) said, “History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.” Similarly, Winston Churchill said, “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing—after they have tried everything else.” In Churchill’s case, he was referring to the U.S. reluctance to become involved in another war in Europe, but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 changed that overnight. By 1945, along with our allies, the wars in Europe and Asia were over.
Does Obama Want to Lose? Yes!
It seems like a bizarre notion, but does Barack Obama want to lose the election in November? I think he does! One is struck by the way Obama has visibly aged in the job. He may well have grown weary being POTUS. By any rational standard, one would say he wants a second term, but Obama has always operated in a fantasy world where mere words are supposed to translate into reality. And he has repeatedly talked about being a one-term president. He is, after all, his own invention; the author of two memoirs of a life that had little achievement to point to other than getting elected first to the Illinois legislature and then to the Senate where he lingered a bare two years before running for president.
Stupid Voters
It’s a comment I hear all the time these days. “The voters are stupid.” I am not sure that those saying it mean literally that the voters have a low level of intellect or academic achievement, but rather that they mean voters seem prone to making their choices based more on emotion than on a serious examination of the candidate’s qualifications and character.
How to Listen to Obama's State of the Union Speech
The Tuesday morning post of the Heritage Foundation’s “Morning Bell” is worth sharing in part. You can read the whole post here. “Tonight, Americans who tune in to the State of the Union will watch the work of a rhetorical master with a flair for illusion,” says Mike Brownfield. “President Barack Obama will take the to the floor of the Capitol in hopes of laying the groundwork for a political debate on his terms—one where he stands on emotional appeals, populism, and class warfare, not the shaky ground of his crumbling record.”
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
The XYZ Factor of Organizations
By Rich Kozlovich
This week I was sitting and thinking about an article by Alan Caruba entitled, Liberal Lunacy. Alan starts out by saying “Conservative commentators read what liberals have to say if only to get a glimpse into their current memes on various topics. It is always daunting because one cannot do this without coming away convinced that they are lunatics, devoid of any sense of history or reality, both of which they routinely invent to defend their opinions.”
For whatever reason I suddenly realized that no matter what kind of organization people belong to, either religious or secular, that there is a constantly repeating pattern. As I thought about it I expanded my thinking to include organizations of the Right, the Left, the secular and the religious, and I found that it fits all of them…well almost….we will go there later! At any rate, I call it the XYZ Factor of organizations.
Secondly we examine (Y). Diversity of the groups within the structure is represented by (Y); whether it is racial, ethnic, geographic, religious or generational. The United States of America became the most diverse culture in the world. The people of this country are the people of the world. Every culture, every religion, every philosophy represented anywhere else in the world has some component of it here. In spite of whatever problems that may exist among these groups; for the most part they get along because of the concepts and principles outlined in (X).
Finally, as we examine (Z). We have to realize that (Z) represents the practical application of what is the purest philosophical understanding of their structure. This is the paradigm of values, and the practical application of those values based on their personal views, or the views generated by the upbringing and culture in which they thrived before becoming part of some organization. All being done while presumably attempting to stay within the frame work of their stated philosophy.
On the right;
On the Right (X) is defined as; less government in all of its forms; less taxes, less intrusion in our private lives, less regulations, more attention to personal rights, especially property rights, while still maintaining a civil organization that can protect society from the criminals and those who would attack the nation, foreign and domestic.
On the Right, (Y) is represented by a wide diversity of those groups mentioned. However, they are united in their philosophy, especially involving traditional and conservative values, and act accordingly. Perhaps not in all the details, which must be expected in any organized group, but philosophically they are united irrespective of all of the divergent groups listed. As a group they preach and live conservative, traditional lives and preach those values to others! They represent and promote a civil and stable society. The Tea Party is a clear representation of the Right, who is largely religious in their personal view of the universe, and believes that if there is no God there is no purpose.
On the Right (Z) is the easiest thing to understand among them. They have either been raised with traditional conservative values, or have adopted them through observation. The Right’s divergent groups come together as a marriage of commitment and affection for the values they share, values they will loyally defend, and will practice that which promotes those values.
Recap - On the right their philosophy is solidly outlined, the groups are diverse yet solidly united in their values, and they work diligently to loyally practice what they believe.
On the Left;
Defining (X) among the left isn’t easy. It is impossible! It isn’t even defined by leftists. Even in the 1930’s Will Rogers noted; “I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat.” The real problem is that since they really have no philosophy other than whatever populist view works at the time; they are completely willing to turn 180 degrees on an issue if it means gaining power. Margaret Sanger is a perfect example of the shifting values of the left. Sanger was the founder of the American Birth Control League, now Planned Parenthood. She was as one of the most famous promoters of eugenics of her day; eugenics being a concept that promotes the elimination of the “unfit” from society to prevent deterioration of the species by preventing the breeding of lesser human beings with those of higher quality.
She even had a major impact on Hitler’s thinking before WWII regarding eugenics. Although she personally was against abortion and execution of those she considered unfit, i.e. the “colored” races, the imbeciles and those born defective, she did want to rid the world of blacks though forced sterilization. She also favored strict immigration to prevent the “unfit” from entering the country. She also favored the use of religious leaders to disguise and promote her true intentions. At the beginning of the 20th century the “Progressive” movement’s binding force was religion.
Now the left has turned completely around claiming credit for the anti discriminatory laws passed by those who are part of the right today, condemning them as racists because they won't support their destructive liberal policies and demanding almost complete open immigration.
Structurally, the left is more representative by the complete disorganization of the Occupy Wall Street Movement because it has no sturcture; it is irrational, disloyal, disorganized, no stable philosophy, no workable solutions, selfish, self serving, jealous, envious, hateful, violent, destructive of a stable society, distrustful of their own and typically atheistic or agnostic in its view of the universe.
Diversity among the Left is no greater or less than the Right. Yet those represented by the (Y) factor on the left have nothing in common except the need to promote their own needs and the desire to make laws that destroy those they hate and give them power to control everyone else’s life. These are the only things the leftist groups have in common. There is no marriage of commitment on the left. It is only a marriage of convenience.
On the left they have no loyalty to (X) because they cannot agree on the concept of “truth”. There is no truth to them because they don’t believe there is any real ‘truth’; there is no absolute right and wrong. As a result the diversity represented by (Y) remains completely divided with no sense of loyalty to a common commitment.
Defining (Z) on the left is easy. Since they don’t have a thing in common with each other except for their hate and contempt of a stable society, their actions bear no resemblance to any defined philosophy because they have none. Since the left is based on selfishness, hate and jealousy, all of their actions will be nonspecific to any philosophy. They will abandon anyone or anything for political gain. They have no sense of loyalty to anything except their own desires and their need for power.
It is impossible for the Left to act with any restraint within any philosophical framework because the left has no value system in which it will remain loyal. The actions of left represents unending disharmony.
The Left isn’t an organization; it is a nightmarish mob of destructive self promoters that would destroy everything to gain nothing. They were called anarchists in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The Wall Street Movement truly is a true representation of "The Left”; misery, squalor and violence, ignorance and disharmony.
All throughout history the Left screamed about the imperfections of those they opposed in order to gain power. Once they overthrew the opposition they performed atrocities beyond belief. They represent instability over stability. They represent destruction over creation. They represent insanity over sanity. They represent irrationality over logic and facts. Any group, whether secular or religious, that promotes these things are representations of the anti-humanity Left.
To Recap - We really need to get this! The Left has no solid philosophy. They only have transient philosophies that they will promptly abandon as soon as it seems prudent to do so. Loyalty, just as historical facts and consistency of logic, are totally alien concepts to them. Their diverse groups have no affection for each other or anyone else since there is no binding philosophy to guide their practices, which are disingenuous and self serving. They would as happily turn and rend one of their own as they would anyone on the right.
They demand utopia! They impose dystopia!
###
This week I was sitting and thinking about an article by Alan Caruba entitled, Liberal Lunacy. Alan starts out by saying “Conservative commentators read what liberals have to say if only to get a glimpse into their current memes on various topics. It is always daunting because one cannot do this without coming away convinced that they are lunatics, devoid of any sense of history or reality, both of which they routinely invent to defend their opinions.”
For whatever reason I suddenly realized that no matter what kind of organization people belong to, either religious or secular, that there is a constantly repeating pattern. As I thought about it I expanded my thinking to include organizations of the Right, the Left, the secular and the religious, and I found that it fits all of them…well almost….we will go there later! At any rate, I call it the XYZ Factor of organizations.
The philosophy of the organization is represented by (X).Let’s start with (X). This is the purest form of the organizational structure, and outlines the philosophy that will determine their actions. The U.S. Constitution in conjunction with the Declaration of Independence would be an example. This outlines, for the first time in human history, the idea that the people don’t belong to the ruling authority; that in point of fact the ruling authority exists because that is the desire of the people. This became the first bottom up governmental structure in history that made it clear that the government had no rights, but was being granted rights by the people. Furthermore, those rights had been “endowed” by a creator, not the government that those people created. In short, power and privilege flows up, not down, and can be taken away just as readily.
The group makeup is represented by (Y).
The practices of that group are represented by (Z).
Secondly we examine (Y). Diversity of the groups within the structure is represented by (Y); whether it is racial, ethnic, geographic, religious or generational. The United States of America became the most diverse culture in the world. The people of this country are the people of the world. Every culture, every religion, every philosophy represented anywhere else in the world has some component of it here. In spite of whatever problems that may exist among these groups; for the most part they get along because of the concepts and principles outlined in (X).
Finally, as we examine (Z). We have to realize that (Z) represents the practical application of what is the purest philosophical understanding of their structure. This is the paradigm of values, and the practical application of those values based on their personal views, or the views generated by the upbringing and culture in which they thrived before becoming part of some organization. All being done while presumably attempting to stay within the frame work of their stated philosophy.
On the right;
On the Right (X) is defined as; less government in all of its forms; less taxes, less intrusion in our private lives, less regulations, more attention to personal rights, especially property rights, while still maintaining a civil organization that can protect society from the criminals and those who would attack the nation, foreign and domestic.
On the Right, (Y) is represented by a wide diversity of those groups mentioned. However, they are united in their philosophy, especially involving traditional and conservative values, and act accordingly. Perhaps not in all the details, which must be expected in any organized group, but philosophically they are united irrespective of all of the divergent groups listed. As a group they preach and live conservative, traditional lives and preach those values to others! They represent and promote a civil and stable society. The Tea Party is a clear representation of the Right, who is largely religious in their personal view of the universe, and believes that if there is no God there is no purpose.
On the Right (Z) is the easiest thing to understand among them. They have either been raised with traditional conservative values, or have adopted them through observation. The Right’s divergent groups come together as a marriage of commitment and affection for the values they share, values they will loyally defend, and will practice that which promotes those values.
Recap - On the right their philosophy is solidly outlined, the groups are diverse yet solidly united in their values, and they work diligently to loyally practice what they believe.
On the Left;
Defining (X) among the left isn’t easy. It is impossible! It isn’t even defined by leftists. Even in the 1930’s Will Rogers noted; “I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat.” The real problem is that since they really have no philosophy other than whatever populist view works at the time; they are completely willing to turn 180 degrees on an issue if it means gaining power. Margaret Sanger is a perfect example of the shifting values of the left. Sanger was the founder of the American Birth Control League, now Planned Parenthood. She was as one of the most famous promoters of eugenics of her day; eugenics being a concept that promotes the elimination of the “unfit” from society to prevent deterioration of the species by preventing the breeding of lesser human beings with those of higher quality.
She even had a major impact on Hitler’s thinking before WWII regarding eugenics. Although she personally was against abortion and execution of those she considered unfit, i.e. the “colored” races, the imbeciles and those born defective, she did want to rid the world of blacks though forced sterilization. She also favored strict immigration to prevent the “unfit” from entering the country. She also favored the use of religious leaders to disguise and promote her true intentions. At the beginning of the 20th century the “Progressive” movement’s binding force was religion.
Now the left has turned completely around claiming credit for the anti discriminatory laws passed by those who are part of the right today, condemning them as racists because they won't support their destructive liberal policies and demanding almost complete open immigration.
Structurally, the left is more representative by the complete disorganization of the Occupy Wall Street Movement because it has no sturcture; it is irrational, disloyal, disorganized, no stable philosophy, no workable solutions, selfish, self serving, jealous, envious, hateful, violent, destructive of a stable society, distrustful of their own and typically atheistic or agnostic in its view of the universe.
Diversity among the Left is no greater or less than the Right. Yet those represented by the (Y) factor on the left have nothing in common except the need to promote their own needs and the desire to make laws that destroy those they hate and give them power to control everyone else’s life. These are the only things the leftist groups have in common. There is no marriage of commitment on the left. It is only a marriage of convenience.
On the left they have no loyalty to (X) because they cannot agree on the concept of “truth”. There is no truth to them because they don’t believe there is any real ‘truth’; there is no absolute right and wrong. As a result the diversity represented by (Y) remains completely divided with no sense of loyalty to a common commitment.
Defining (Z) on the left is easy. Since they don’t have a thing in common with each other except for their hate and contempt of a stable society, their actions bear no resemblance to any defined philosophy because they have none. Since the left is based on selfishness, hate and jealousy, all of their actions will be nonspecific to any philosophy. They will abandon anyone or anything for political gain. They have no sense of loyalty to anything except their own desires and their need for power.
It is impossible for the Left to act with any restraint within any philosophical framework because the left has no value system in which it will remain loyal. The actions of left represents unending disharmony.
The Left isn’t an organization; it is a nightmarish mob of destructive self promoters that would destroy everything to gain nothing. They were called anarchists in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The Wall Street Movement truly is a true representation of "The Left”; misery, squalor and violence, ignorance and disharmony.
All throughout history the Left screamed about the imperfections of those they opposed in order to gain power. Once they overthrew the opposition they performed atrocities beyond belief. They represent instability over stability. They represent destruction over creation. They represent insanity over sanity. They represent irrationality over logic and facts. Any group, whether secular or religious, that promotes these things are representations of the anti-humanity Left.
To Recap - We really need to get this! The Left has no solid philosophy. They only have transient philosophies that they will promptly abandon as soon as it seems prudent to do so. Loyalty, just as historical facts and consistency of logic, are totally alien concepts to them. Their diverse groups have no affection for each other or anyone else since there is no binding philosophy to guide their practices, which are disingenuous and self serving. They would as happily turn and rend one of their own as they would anyone on the right.
They demand utopia! They impose dystopia!
###
Friday, January 27, 2012
Zone of Reality: Occupy Wall Street Movement
By Rich Kozlovich
No organizational structure, no outline of objectives, no discernable philosophy, no common goals, no obvious goals, no leadership, no solutions, no money and no desire to attain any of these....at least through their own efforts; and the the talking heads in the Lame Stream Media can’t even begin to comprehend how they have been able to “unite” with no discernable philosophy and no organization? First of all .....they aren't united! Just like the homeless street people they emulate......they're just being oboxious while squatting together. The LSM have supported and promoted a group of irrational left wing crazies, bums and losers,; presenting them as a major force for political and social change.
The protestors are no more united than an amoeba that keeps splitting and increasing with no discernable goal other than to consume and increase. They are all losers who now have a cause; a cause that requires nothing of them other than to shoot off their mouths, take up space, be obnoxious filthy jerks while consuming and increasing at no cost to themselves! At least the amoeba will go about their affairs silently through their own efforts. Get over these idiots. They don’t want jobs, they won’t work at jobs and if hired they would fail at those jobs while creating havoc while there! We need to get that! You just can’t fix stupid...or the media.....same thing!
There is one thing they have in common. They hate traditional values and stable civilized activity, and they have nothing to offer except complaints. Does anyone really think that represents a movement that is in any way sane? So...if the media is promoting them can we assume that it is possible the media is also insane? Could be!
The futility and hypocrisy of the Occupy stragglers
Kanaska Carter is 26...a former hairdresser from Canada who came to the US to protest on the 10th anniversary of September 11 but got caught up in Occupy Wall Street….now there’s the Google wars, another natural fit for a…young protestor0attention. They don’t have a discernable message. They don’t want a leader. They don’t even agree with each other. But they’re going to the White House anyway... “I felt I’ve been waiting my whole life for this kind of activism.”
One Final Note: If anyone has any doubt that the Left Wing Media is anything less than irrational as they attempt to create facts in place of reality please read Alan Caruba's article, Liberal Lunacy. The Wall Street Movement truly is the reality of "The Left".
No organizational structure, no outline of objectives, no discernable philosophy, no common goals, no obvious goals, no leadership, no solutions, no money and no desire to attain any of these....at least through their own efforts; and the the talking heads in the Lame Stream Media can’t even begin to comprehend how they have been able to “unite” with no discernable philosophy and no organization? First of all .....they aren't united! Just like the homeless street people they emulate......they're just being oboxious while squatting together. The LSM have supported and promoted a group of irrational left wing crazies, bums and losers,; presenting them as a major force for political and social change.
The protestors are no more united than an amoeba that keeps splitting and increasing with no discernable goal other than to consume and increase. They are all losers who now have a cause; a cause that requires nothing of them other than to shoot off their mouths, take up space, be obnoxious filthy jerks while consuming and increasing at no cost to themselves! At least the amoeba will go about their affairs silently through their own efforts. Get over these idiots. They don’t want jobs, they won’t work at jobs and if hired they would fail at those jobs while creating havoc while there! We need to get that! You just can’t fix stupid...or the media.....same thing!
There is one thing they have in common. They hate traditional values and stable civilized activity, and they have nothing to offer except complaints. Does anyone really think that represents a movement that is in any way sane? So...if the media is promoting them can we assume that it is possible the media is also insane? Could be!
The futility and hypocrisy of the Occupy stragglers
Kanaska Carter is 26...a former hairdresser from Canada who came to the US to protest on the 10th anniversary of September 11 but got caught up in Occupy Wall Street….now there’s the Google wars, another natural fit for a…young protestor0attention. They don’t have a discernable message. They don’t want a leader. They don’t even agree with each other. But they’re going to the White House anyway... “I felt I’ve been waiting my whole life for this kind of activism.”
One Final Note: If anyone has any doubt that the Left Wing Media is anything less than irrational as they attempt to create facts in place of reality please read Alan Caruba's article, Liberal Lunacy. The Wall Street Movement truly is the reality of "The Left".
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Zone of Reality: Human Rights
Europe’s Own Human Rights Crisis To many friends of human rights in Europe, the Arab Spring has been the most thrilling period since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Judging from their soaring rhetoric about yearning for freedom among Arab peoples, European Union leaders share that enthusiasm. Today there is an opportunity, the optimists proclaim, to have an arc of human rights-respecting countries around much of the Mediterranean rim. (My Take – Interesting commentary regarding forced integration and loss of cultural identity and cohesion. The Roma mentioned in the article are better known as gypsies. However, I do like the exposure of Euro hypocrisy of their unending finger pointing at others. RK)
Europe in Demographic Denial
An even bigger form of denial than about the causes of Europe's financial collapse. If there is one word that captures many Europeans' response to the continent's financial crisis, it is denial. Witness the description by the editors of France's newspaper-of-record, Le Monde, of France's S&P credit-downgrade on January 13 as "un non-événement financier." The fact that this "non-event" will increase France's borrowing-costs (not to mention those of the EU's own bailout fund) at a time when France's government is already struggling to contain spending apparently escaped Le Monde's attention……….These developments translate into more old people, fewer young people, and, eventually, shrinking populations. But it also shifts what's called "the dependency ratio": the ratio of retirees per member of the labor force. On some estimates, Italy, Spain and Germany will have very high dependency ratios by 2050: every two workers will be supporting one retiree. Those working will also have to pay either greater contributions or higher taxes to fund existing pension systems.
Deadly Confrontation Spreads in Tibetan Region of China
Deadly showdowns between Chinese security forces and Tibetans in a restive region of western China spread to a second town on Tuesday, outside advocacy groups reported. At least two and perhaps as many as five Tibetans were killed by gunfire and many more wounded, the groups said, in what appeared to be the most violent outbreak in the region in nearly four years.
Europe in Demographic Denial
An even bigger form of denial than about the causes of Europe's financial collapse. If there is one word that captures many Europeans' response to the continent's financial crisis, it is denial. Witness the description by the editors of France's newspaper-of-record, Le Monde, of France's S&P credit-downgrade on January 13 as "un non-événement financier." The fact that this "non-event" will increase France's borrowing-costs (not to mention those of the EU's own bailout fund) at a time when France's government is already struggling to contain spending apparently escaped Le Monde's attention……….These developments translate into more old people, fewer young people, and, eventually, shrinking populations. But it also shifts what's called "the dependency ratio": the ratio of retirees per member of the labor force. On some estimates, Italy, Spain and Germany will have very high dependency ratios by 2050: every two workers will be supporting one retiree. Those working will also have to pay either greater contributions or higher taxes to fund existing pension systems.
Deadly Confrontation Spreads in Tibetan Region of China
Deadly showdowns between Chinese security forces and Tibetans in a restive region of western China spread to a second town on Tuesday, outside advocacy groups reported. At least two and perhaps as many as five Tibetans were killed by gunfire and many more wounded, the groups said, in what appeared to be the most violent outbreak in the region in nearly four years.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Blast From the Past - Paul Driessen: Three Billion and Counting
Editor's Note: An article appeared on Steve Milloy's Junkscience.com blog regarding the brown pelican and DDT, entitled "Times-Picayune celebrates DDT myth as history”. I saw this earlier and just didn't have the heart to do another article about this. I really felt the frustration and thought I understand why people just give up. This stuff is ubiquitous so it must really be frustrating for people like Milloy who have been fighting the battle for decades. But Steve just won’t give up. Please follow the above link. As a result I felt this article by Paul Driessen really was worth another run this week. Paul wrote the book Eco-Imperialism, Green Power, Black Death. It is an easy to read small book that will have a major impact on your mind and heart. I have purchased 25 or more to give away over the years. Enjoy!
Paul Driessen: Three Billion and Counting
By Paul Driessen
This article first appeared at here at Townhall.com. RK
We will eradicate malaria by 2010, stricken families were promised a few years ago. Well, 2010 is almost gone and, instead of eradication, we have more malaria than before, and a new target date: 2015.
Unless malaria control policies change, that date too will come and go. Billions will still be at risk of getting malaria. Hundreds of millions will continue getting the disease. Millions will die or become permanently brain-damaged. And poverty and misery will continue ravaging Third World communities.
For years, malaria strategies have been dominated by insectici War II, and completely eradicate malaria in the United States, Canada and Europe. It was then enlisted in an effort to rid the entire world of malaria. After initial successes, DDT ran into an unexpected roadblock in 1969.
As physician Rutledge Taylor chronicles in his pull-no-punches new film, “3 Billion and Counting,” Sierra Club, Audubon Society and Environmental Defense Fund enlisted DDT in their own campaign, to get it banned. They said the chemical posed unacceptable risks to people, wildlife and the environment – and used pseudo-scientific cancer and ecological horror stories, like those in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, to spook people, politicians and bureaucrats.
Along with Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, Pesticide Action Network and other eco activists, they portrayed themselves as white knight planetary guardians. Their true motives were far less virtuous. “If the environmentalists win on DDT,” EDF scientist Charles Wurster told the Seattle Times, “they will achieve a level of authority they have never had before.”
In short, the war on DDT was never about protecting people or birds. It was, and is, about power, control, money and ideology – regardless of the resultant human misery, disease and death.
For the new Environmental Protection Agency, it was about power and politics. As the greens’ campaign to ban DDT intensified, EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus convened a scientific panel, which held six months of hearings, compiled 9,312 pages of studies and testimony, and concluded that DDT was safe and effective and should not be banned.
Nevertheless, without attending a single hour of hearings or reading a page of the report, Ruckelshaus banned US production and use of DDT in 1972 – at a time when over 80% of the chemical was being exported for disease control. He later said his decision had nothing to do with cancer. He had a political problem, he said, and he fixed it.
Carcinogenic? The International Agency for Research on Cancer lists DDT as “possibly carcinogenic” – right up there with coffee and pickles. Among products that “definitely” cause cancer, it includes birth control pills and ethanol. Mice fed DDT got 26% fewer cancers than control mice. Another study found that DDT actually cured malignant brain tumors in rabbits. Millions of war survivors were sprayed directly on their bodies; none ever contracted cancer as a result.
Bird eggshells? The original Bitman DDT studies involved diets that were 80% deficient in calcium; when the birds were fed proper diets, there was no thinning. Audubon Society annual Christmas bird counts recorded that bald eagle populations rose from 197 in 1941 to 891 in 1960, while robins increased from 19,616 in 1941 to 928,639 in 1960 – all when DDT use in America was at its historic high.
Resistance? Mosquitoes have never become resistant to DDT’s life-saving repellency properties, but they are developing resistance to the pyrethroids used in agriculture – and bed nets.
Poisonous? People have tried to kill themselves with DDT – and failed. It’s most common replacement, parathion, killed hundreds of people, who safety experts said were too used to handling DDT. But as Dr. Wurster pointed out, it “only kills farm workers and most of them are Mexicans and Negroes.”
This modern, eco-style eugenics has since been broadened to the impoverished developing world, where DDT could reduce the agony, brain damage, lost work hours, poverty and death – if it weren’t so frequently banished due to green ideologues like Wurster and the Club of Rome’s Alexander King, who worried more about over-population than human rights.
Thus the vicious cycle continues. Infected people are too sick to work, too poor to afford sprays or nets or get proper treatment. Ugandan activist Fiona Kobusingye lost her son, two sisters and four cousins to malaria. Former Black Panther Patrick O’Neal says every household in his Tanzanian village has lost at least one member of its extended family to malaria. On Sumba Island, Indonesia, one-third of all women have lost at least one child to malaria.
EDF and EPA lied. Millions of children died. How convenient, then, that UN Environment Program’s Nick Nutter can deadpan, “when someone here dies from malaria, they say God has taken them” – not baby-killing policies. How convenient that Al Gore can blame malaria on manmade global warming.
This is environmental justice? The kind championed by President Obama and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson? Eco activist groups get billions. The world’s poor get disease and death. And EPA and the greens want to be put in charge of our energy, economy, jobs, living standards and lives.
How inconvenient for them when folks like Dr. Rutledge raise questions they really don’t want to address. No wonder Ruckelshaus, Pesticide Action Network, USAID and EPA refused to grant him interviews. Stephanie from Pesticide Action did want to know who was funding the film. But when Dr. Rutledge said he was, she ended the conversation, without mentioning who funds PAN. (The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Foundation, among others.)
Three billion humans dead so far from malaria … and counting. And green ideologues work tirelessly to ensure that the callous, needless global death toll continues to rise.
See this film. Tell your friends about it. Bring it to your college, club and local theater. It will make your blood boil, and change your perspectives forever about DDT and the radical environmental movement
###
Paul Driessen: Three Billion and Counting
By Paul Driessen
This article first appeared at here at Townhall.com. RK
We will eradicate malaria by 2010, stricken families were promised a few years ago. Well, 2010 is almost gone and, instead of eradication, we have more malaria than before, and a new target date: 2015.
Unless malaria control policies change, that date too will come and go. Billions will still be at risk of getting malaria. Hundreds of millions will continue getting the disease. Millions will die or become permanently brain-damaged. And poverty and misery will continue ravaging Third World communities.
For years, malaria strategies have been dominated by insectici War II, and completely eradicate malaria in the United States, Canada and Europe. It was then enlisted in an effort to rid the entire world of malaria. After initial successes, DDT ran into an unexpected roadblock in 1969.
As physician Rutledge Taylor chronicles in his pull-no-punches new film, “3 Billion and Counting,” Sierra Club, Audubon Society and Environmental Defense Fund enlisted DDT in their own campaign, to get it banned. They said the chemical posed unacceptable risks to people, wildlife and the environment – and used pseudo-scientific cancer and ecological horror stories, like those in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, to spook people, politicians and bureaucrats.
Along with Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, Pesticide Action Network and other eco activists, they portrayed themselves as white knight planetary guardians. Their true motives were far less virtuous. “If the environmentalists win on DDT,” EDF scientist Charles Wurster told the Seattle Times, “they will achieve a level of authority they have never had before.”
In short, the war on DDT was never about protecting people or birds. It was, and is, about power, control, money and ideology – regardless of the resultant human misery, disease and death.
For the new Environmental Protection Agency, it was about power and politics. As the greens’ campaign to ban DDT intensified, EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus convened a scientific panel, which held six months of hearings, compiled 9,312 pages of studies and testimony, and concluded that DDT was safe and effective and should not be banned.
Nevertheless, without attending a single hour of hearings or reading a page of the report, Ruckelshaus banned US production and use of DDT in 1972 – at a time when over 80% of the chemical was being exported for disease control. He later said his decision had nothing to do with cancer. He had a political problem, he said, and he fixed it.
Carcinogenic? The International Agency for Research on Cancer lists DDT as “possibly carcinogenic” – right up there with coffee and pickles. Among products that “definitely” cause cancer, it includes birth control pills and ethanol. Mice fed DDT got 26% fewer cancers than control mice. Another study found that DDT actually cured malignant brain tumors in rabbits. Millions of war survivors were sprayed directly on their bodies; none ever contracted cancer as a result.
Bird eggshells? The original Bitman DDT studies involved diets that were 80% deficient in calcium; when the birds were fed proper diets, there was no thinning. Audubon Society annual Christmas bird counts recorded that bald eagle populations rose from 197 in 1941 to 891 in 1960, while robins increased from 19,616 in 1941 to 928,639 in 1960 – all when DDT use in America was at its historic high.
Resistance? Mosquitoes have never become resistant to DDT’s life-saving repellency properties, but they are developing resistance to the pyrethroids used in agriculture – and bed nets.
Poisonous? People have tried to kill themselves with DDT – and failed. It’s most common replacement, parathion, killed hundreds of people, who safety experts said were too used to handling DDT. But as Dr. Wurster pointed out, it “only kills farm workers and most of them are Mexicans and Negroes.”
This modern, eco-style eugenics has since been broadened to the impoverished developing world, where DDT could reduce the agony, brain damage, lost work hours, poverty and death – if it weren’t so frequently banished due to green ideologues like Wurster and the Club of Rome’s Alexander King, who worried more about over-population than human rights.
Thus the vicious cycle continues. Infected people are too sick to work, too poor to afford sprays or nets or get proper treatment. Ugandan activist Fiona Kobusingye lost her son, two sisters and four cousins to malaria. Former Black Panther Patrick O’Neal says every household in his Tanzanian village has lost at least one member of its extended family to malaria. On Sumba Island, Indonesia, one-third of all women have lost at least one child to malaria.
EDF and EPA lied. Millions of children died. How convenient, then, that UN Environment Program’s Nick Nutter can deadpan, “when someone here dies from malaria, they say God has taken them” – not baby-killing policies. How convenient that Al Gore can blame malaria on manmade global warming.
This is environmental justice? The kind championed by President Obama and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson? Eco activist groups get billions. The world’s poor get disease and death. And EPA and the greens want to be put in charge of our energy, economy, jobs, living standards and lives.
How inconvenient for them when folks like Dr. Rutledge raise questions they really don’t want to address. No wonder Ruckelshaus, Pesticide Action Network, USAID and EPA refused to grant him interviews. Stephanie from Pesticide Action did want to know who was funding the film. But when Dr. Rutledge said he was, she ended the conversation, without mentioning who funds PAN. (The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Foundation, among others.)
Three billion humans dead so far from malaria … and counting. And green ideologues work tirelessly to ensure that the callous, needless global death toll continues to rise.
See this film. Tell your friends about it. Bring it to your college, club and local theater. It will make your blood boil, and change your perspectives forever about DDT and the radical environmental movement
###
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Zone of Reality: Keystone Oil Pipeline
By Rich Kozlovich
I often wonder what goes on in the minds of people. This whole anti Keystone XL project is in reality an anti-oil drive that isn't what it seems. This pipeline delay is an expose of something that goes farther, deeper and wider than is obvious to the casual observer. Those who have been reading, watching and writing about this issue find that there is nothing new here. The average person would find it hard to believe. But, it is all true.
Abundant, inexpensive energy is foundational to a modern industrialized society. Are we really expected to believe they don't really understand that? Is there any doubt why so many question their motives? Is that any reason to wonder why so many question their sanity?
Keystone Kops halt US-Canada pipeline
White House, environmentalists and U.S foundations seek to block all oil sands development. Some little known information about the huge financial investment that US anti-hydrocarbon environmentalist foundations have in this battle.
Oilfield workers in Alberta, refinery workers in Texas and countless factory workers just learned that the White House will not allow construction of an oil pipeline that would bring over half a million barrels of oil a day from Canada’s Alberta Province and North Dakota’s Bakken Field to refineries in Texas and Louisiana. The job-killing decision was a victory for radical environmentalists and well-heeled U.S. foundations that have long battled Canadian oil sands companies and the U.S. oil and gas industry.
President Obama says Congress gave him insufficient time to examine environmental issues. TransCanada Keystone Pipeline LP can reapply, he added, if it reroutes the pipeline around Nebraska’s Oglala Aquifer and Sand Hills area and addresses other concerns. In the meantime, the Administration insists, the project “would not serve the national interest.”
Oil Drilling Off the South Florida Coast: The Bahamas and Cuba Stake Their ClaimsThey didn't have much reason to do it before, but the Bahamas and Cuba have defined an international boundary in the waters off the coast of Florida. Now, the reason is clear: Both countries are poised to start drilling for oil from floating rigs....We finish with a useful quotation from Lt. Col. Allen West: "You know, someone's going to do the drilling... Wouldn't it be a shame if down the road we're going to China or Cuba or someone else for our energy resources that we allow to be taken from right under our noses?"
###
I often wonder what goes on in the minds of people. This whole anti Keystone XL project is in reality an anti-oil drive that isn't what it seems. This pipeline delay is an expose of something that goes farther, deeper and wider than is obvious to the casual observer. Those who have been reading, watching and writing about this issue find that there is nothing new here. The average person would find it hard to believe. But, it is all true.
Abundant, inexpensive energy is foundational to a modern industrialized society. Are we really expected to believe they don't really understand that? Is there any doubt why so many question their motives? Is that any reason to wonder why so many question their sanity?
Keystone Kops halt US-Canada pipeline
White House, environmentalists and U.S foundations seek to block all oil sands development. Some little known information about the huge financial investment that US anti-hydrocarbon environmentalist foundations have in this battle.
Oilfield workers in Alberta, refinery workers in Texas and countless factory workers just learned that the White House will not allow construction of an oil pipeline that would bring over half a million barrels of oil a day from Canada’s Alberta Province and North Dakota’s Bakken Field to refineries in Texas and Louisiana. The job-killing decision was a victory for radical environmentalists and well-heeled U.S. foundations that have long battled Canadian oil sands companies and the U.S. oil and gas industry.
President Obama says Congress gave him insufficient time to examine environmental issues. TransCanada Keystone Pipeline LP can reapply, he added, if it reroutes the pipeline around Nebraska’s Oglala Aquifer and Sand Hills area and addresses other concerns. In the meantime, the Administration insists, the project “would not serve the national interest.”
Oil Drilling Off the South Florida Coast: The Bahamas and Cuba Stake Their ClaimsThey didn't have much reason to do it before, but the Bahamas and Cuba have defined an international boundary in the waters off the coast of Florida. Now, the reason is clear: Both countries are poised to start drilling for oil from floating rigs....We finish with a useful quotation from Lt. Col. Allen West: "You know, someone's going to do the drilling... Wouldn't it be a shame if down the road we're going to China or Cuba or someone else for our energy resources that we allow to be taken from right under our noses?"
###
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