THE NEED FOR PROBLEMS

Posted on April 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

Politics 101. Politicians justify their existence and gain voter support by solving problems, the bigger the problem the better. Having a problem to be solved is an imperative. It establishes the need for government involvement and enables a political party to proclaim they are the one best suited to solve it. Problems must be carefully chosen, skillfully enlarged and loudly proclaimed. In extreme cases it may even be necessary to create the problem. Once identified, a problem must not be wasted.

There must always be a current problem. When one problem has outrun its usefulness another must be started. In choosing a problem for government to solve do not be deterred if it happens to be a problem that government created. Blame is easily transferred to the private sector with a little populist rhetoric. And of course, one should make maximum use of the word “crisis”. If an actual crisis is not available, the specter of one may be used.

Bob B

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Posted in Political philosophy, Satire

SOME SUNDAY MUSIC

Posted on April 18, 2010 | Leave a comment

Jim Nabors sings the Old Rugged Cross

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Posted in Audio/Visual

WASHINGTON BY THE WEEK

Posted on April 17, 2010 | Leave a comment

Week ending April 16 2010

Leftovers
Once upon a time I had a neighbor who insisted his wife never made an original meal, only leftovers. (Is it still OK to say “wife”? I am never sure these days.)

Leftovers from last week, Friday April 9
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens resigns
Stevens was leaning left, as they say, so the numeric balance will not change but the angle of the dangle, as they say, may increase.

Dawn Johnson withdraws
Most Americans are unfamiliar with the name. She was Obama’s pick to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. The Leftside bloggers are very upset. The Rightside speculates that Dawn was too far left for Harry Reid to be able to garner enough votes for confirmation, even with his filibuster proof majority.

Originals for this week
Saturday
Obama breaks protocol
The Prez ducks the press and goes to a family function without them. I told you the man is not insane. Good for him!

Monday
Google CEO proposes screening your news
Eric Schmidt is a political activist supporting Obama. He is also CEO of Google. He says technology of the sort employed by Google should be used to determine what you are given to read. Joseph Goebbels would have loved the idea.

Obama bows again
President Barack Obama greets Chinese President Hu Jintao with a bow during the official arrivals for the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. It would be nice if he had shown the same respect to someone like the Dali Lama.

Tuesday
Rasmussen poll – 58% of likely voters favor repeal of Obamacare

White House asks the White House Correspondents’ Association to limit access of conservative newsgroup to the association’s annual banquet.

Wednesday
Rasmussen poll – Surprises, Ron Paul vs. Barack Obama would be a dead heat if election were today, 41 to 42 percent. And 24% of voters consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement.

Neil Armstrong says Obama decision will make the U.S. a 2nd or 3rd rate player in space.

Thursday
Cap and Tax revived in Senate.
The House has already passed their own version.

Friday
White House complains about CBS report that potential Supreme Court Justice nominee may be a lesbian
So what?

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BEWARE OF ARCTIC ICE

Posted on April 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

If you are planning a canoe trip up North this year, perhaps to the Bering Sea, you no longer need to fear the consequences of an inadvertent paddle across the line in the water that marks the Russian border. We are on the same side now. But the campsite you used last year may no longer be reachable by water.

According to this report, ice coverage is increasing in the Arctic. That raises concern for the polar bears who now have to waddle farther to get to the water where the seals are. Where is PETA when you need them?

Al Gore preached another warming sermon on April 8th but we don’t know if he addressed the polar bear issue because he disallowed press coverage except for the first 5 minutes. And he wouldn’t take questions from the floor, only by previously submitted cards so the inconvenient ones could be screened out.

Global temperatures have not risen past their peak established in 1998, twelve years ago. The solution to that problem was to change the mantra from “global warming” to “climate change”. Now we need to give more control to the government so they can combat climate change. Autumn colors are an extravagance the planet can no longer afford.

Poor Al, central to his case was the frightening hockey stick graph with the handle representing the world up until now, and the upward pointing end that whacks the puck representing the suffering we would endure when it hit us. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the concoction of some fraudulent scientists. Record cold temperatures were recorded across the nation last winter and it snowed in Bagdad.

So you can’t blame the former Vice President for being nervous. With warming cooling he is feeling the heat. His very raison d’etre is slipping away. His income is in jeopardy. He lost his job with the government. His old Buddy Bill of Clinton fame has accused him of citing the advent of Spring as proof of global warming. That must have hurt. But he won’t go homeless. I am sure some Senator will be glad to build an igloo for him.

THE BENEVOLENT INHOFE FAMILY

Tell your friends about Random Thots.

Bob B

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Posted in Satire

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Posted on April 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

Smart car before

Smart car after

It is quite possible the accident was staged. In fact I hope it was because that would mean no one was in the car at the time.

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KRAUTHAMMER NAILED IT

Posted on April 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

Charles Krauthammer once said something to the effect that to understand American politics you must realize that Democrats think Republicans are evil and Republicans think Democrats are stupid. A profound observation to be sure.

Conservatives complain that Liberals are less tolerant. Why wouldn’t they be if they are combating evil while Republicans are only confronted with stupidity? The relative intolerance by liberals is less a matter of hypocrisy than simply the natural result of their core belief. Liberals are true to their label in matters of crime, sex and indolence. These are forgivable human weaknesses. However, the conservative ideology is destructive to society as a whole.

Evil is something that must be set right. Stupidity can be ignored. Hence liberals have always been active demonstrators against the evil they perceive, whereas conservatives were ill motivated to disrupt their lives in order to demonstrate against ignorance. It is a change of perceptions that has brought about the Tea Party. Conservatives envision evil in the direction in which the country is currently being led, and evil must be set right.

Bob B

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RANDOM MUSINGS

Posted on April 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

It’s unfair
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said [] it’s “deeply unfair” that some financial institutions that got taxpayer-paid bailouts are emerging in better shape from the recession than millions of ordinary Americans.

Of course it’s unfair. Big bucks should never should have been given to those financial institutions. No one ever said government is fair.

A truly sad farce
Democratic voters elected this man to replace Cynthia McKinney. That makes him one of the elites who determine what is best for the rest of us, for example Obamacare. Criticize not the man, for he has a genuine and sad mental illness. Criticize the populace who elected him nonetheless.

Health premiums could rise 17 pct for young adults after 2012
Benefits for young voters start before the election, assessments to cover the cost don’t start until after the election. I can see why Republicans were shut out of the deliberation room.

Bob B

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Posted in Political polemics

BROKEN PROMISES

Posted on April 14, 2010 | 2 comments

UPDATE III
The link to Jim Geraghty’s list of broken promises is now working. A copy of his post will remain available on the Random Thots Features list.

*******************************************

Jim Geraghty over at NRO has prepared a documented list of Obama’s violations of his own promises or positions. It is a long list. I stopped counting at 50. There were many more and it is only a year and three months since the Grand Inauguration.

Here is just one sample from the long list:
STATEMENT: “These negotiations will be on C-SPAN, and so the public will be part of the conversation and will see the decisions that are being made.” January 20, 2008, and seven other times.
EXPIRATION DATE: Throughout the summer, fall, and winter of 2009 and 2010; when John McCain asked about it during the health-care summit February 26, Obama dismissed the issue by declaring, “the campaign is over, John.”

You can bookmark Jim’s post. It can serve as a handy reference as issues come up from time to time.

Bob B

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OBAMA IS NOT INSANE

Posted on April 12, 2010 | Leave a comment

“French Leader Sarkozy Slams Obama, Warns He Might Be Insane”. So reads the headline in The European Union Times Online. Sarkozy would not make such a statement if he were a Random Thots reader. Obama is not insane; he is just dedicated.

In his own writings Obama tells us he found his soul in the pew of Trinity Baptist Church where he was struck by an epiphany as he listened to the Black Liberation Theology message from Rev Wright. At the conclusion of one sermon, he says he wept, and at that moment “I knew what my life’s work would be.”

Barack Hussein Obama is honoring the pledge he made to himself and his people that day. His actions often are not in the best interest of America as we know it; they are in the best interest of an America as Obama would like it to be.

Well, we may be losing the friendship of Britain and Israel but it looks like we are getting France back. I hope so. They gave us the Statue of Liberty. I am going out now to Burger King and celebrate with a double order of French fries.

Bob B

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Posted on April 12, 2010 | Leave a comment

Here is one of those pictures that is worth a thousand words.

OBAMA TELLS NETANYAHU

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