Barack is worse than I expected, and I expected mucho Bad O

I've been wondering: During the campaigning, how bad did I expect Barack to be if he were elected? Fortunately, this blog is an easy record to check such a thing: I expected BAAAAD. Yet, I didn't expect anything quite this bad. Maybe I should have.



My first ever blog mention of Barack was on 1/4/08:

Obama is so likable. But, intellectually, Obama is light as cotton candy.

I'm gratified I had that cotton candy part correct. I've learned, since Jan 08, that media who traveled with Barack did not like him personally. Barack is haughty, dismissive, and doesn't share himself (i.e. "I'm a blank slate"). So, Barack is likable from a distance. The closer you get, the less likable he becomes.






Also on 1/4/08, I noted the emerging messiah effect amongst Barack's followers.

1/5/08, noted Obama's stated reasons for deserving to be elected:

Obama's reasons: change, freshness, hope. Platitudes. Yet, he embodies the platitudes. They work for him, to this point, at least. John Kerry was platitudes, and he was Ohio away from election. John Kerry had a plan.

1/24/08: Hillary and Barack debate. I score their deceptiveness:

Clinton: 
7 falsehoods, 
one hypocrisy point, 
one balls the size of planets point

Obama: 
zero falsehoods, 
one hypocrisy point, 
2 public irrationality points

At the time, I was defending Barack against unfair slanders. But, look again at that scoring: Barack gets two points for public irrationality, Hillary gets zero points for same. Foreshadowing.

Barack's current, disastrous policies are frequently based upon irrational assumptions. Think about that.  The President of the United States is publicly irrational, i.e. out of touch with reality, i.e. acting based upon fantasy. On 1/24/08, I likely believed Barack was being disingenuous, as opposed to simply and startlingly dim. I underestimated the volume of his cotton candy filling.

By 2/16/08, I had his act mostly nailed:

Texas holds an open primary on March 4. I will vote for Hillary.

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Barack, as much as any major politician, accepts and believes in the orthodox liberal menu of "truths".

This is a sign of a shallow thinker. It tells us Barack has risen via charisma and good looks. He has not risen because of any particular wisdom which will help him govern wisely and effectively.

We ought pause, for a good, long, skeptical, spine-chilling look, at the specter of Barack's orthodox leftist beliefs + Barack's lack of tangible accomplishment.

Spine chilling turned out to be understatement. Another post on 2/16/08:

In the post below, I criticize Sen. Obama for being a cynical, political Elmer Gantry. This short [Ronald Reagan] video shows how to make an uplifting speech about actual ideals. President Reagan's substance stands in contrast to Senator Obama's fluffy nothingness. President Reagan spoke of ideals which could be accomplished, and which were accomplished under his leadership. Contrast Senator Obama's language of ... fluffy nothingness. There is no better way to describe it.

By Feb 16, 2008, I knew Barack was a scary person to elect. Now in office, he is scarier than my worst case fears.



Our nation is at a critical juncture. We must rebalance in the 2010 elections - sweeping Repubs into Congress - or we possibly will never regain the footing we had during our first 232 years. I get very angry with Repubs, yet Dems are a Biblical plague.




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Between 2/16/08 and 3/6/08, I wrote a series of blogposts which were variously outraged, incredulous, and informative. It got to the point that I never published the following draft - written on 3/6/08 - b/c it felt like piling on:

The Manure Barack is Shoveling, Part 5

Previous Posts:
Barack knock
Michelle Obama: "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country."
Did I mischaracterize Michelle Obama?  Nope!
The manure Barack is shoveling: Part 1 - Limited love of USA; unlimited fantasy
The manure Barack is shoveling: Part 2 - Not ready; meeting oppressive dictators
The manure Barack is shoveling: Part 3 - Desire for black identity affects politics
The manure Barack is shoveling: Part 3 1/2 - Fantasizing families rounded up
The manure Barack is shoveling: Part 3 3/4 - No reason to be proud of America
The manure Barack is shoveling: Part 4 - Fake change

Wherever politics tries to be redemptive, it is promising too much. Where it wishes to do the work of God, it becomes, not divine, but demonic.
--Pope Benedict XVI

"I'm going to back Obama ... I can't wait to see what he stands for."
--Actress Susan Sarandon, Mid-February, 2008

At home, what will Barack accomplish through raising taxes, growing government, appointing activist judges, and redistributing income to those who need it?



Abroad, what will Barack accomplish by genuflecting before the world's most oppressive dictators? What will he accomplish by lowering the odds of Iraq's democratic light shining forth amidst the darkness of Jihad?

Under the guise of "caring", Barack will accomplish
1) a lesser and weaker United States,
2) greater suffering and injustice.

Friday Night Lights: Matt Saracen Wants to Play WR

I predicted this within minutes (seconds?) (!) of Saracen's being replaced by the hot shot frosh QB with Janine Turner for a Mom! Yes! Way to go, Matt Saracen. The reception which wins the State Championship Game awaits you.* **

It's the middle of the week, in the middle of the season, and where is FB Riggins? In Manhattan with Jason Street. That's NY, NY. Times Square, of course. Where ELSE would Riggins be? Not at practice, that's for DANGED sure.

Right before Tyra's college interview, Ash the cowboy tells her there is no such thing as a married person on the road. Tyra goes in and tries to put on a brave face in the interview.

Penelope Trunk would've gone into the interview and bared her heart about how crushed and devastated she was; would've had the interviewer handing her tissue and crying empathetic tears; would've told the entire story of the relationship, plus why the break-up occurred, plus why her marriage broke up; would've had upper management coming into the office and crying also; would've had everyone in the room giving her advice and patting her in sympathy.

Back from commercial: the college doesn't want Tyra. Penelope Trunk would've had a rowing (crew?) scholarship by now. Poor Tyra. You can sense, though, something good is eventually going to happen for her.

Saracen's going to get to play WR. Coach's daughter forced the issue during dinner, followed by an impromptu tryout in the street: an actor throwing passes almost decently; another actor desperately clutching passes to his chest like a 7 year old in the front yard. Would love to see outtakes of the drops.

Tyra's going on the road with Ash. Dang. Maybe this is good. Or not.

I like this show - all it's fans like this show - partially b/c it always ends on an emotional note. The West Wing did the same thing at the end of each episode. It's the music - music manipulation. They carefully select just the right section of music, and they bring up the music loudly and richly at the optimal emotional moment. It's manipulation, and we know we're being manipulated, and we like it anyway.

I predict, in this show, the music will rise when Jason Street is offered a job with the sports agency in NY, NY.

Coach and Principal cannot afford the dream house which Principal desires. This is the emotional letdown, the sweet wistfulness, at 8:52, which sets us up for the positive emotional finish at 8:58.

I predict Saracen's going to get a college scholarship as a WR. Also that he will need a stunt double for every onfield reception. That, or extremely tight cuts in the editing room.

"Texas forever." Cue the music? Jason Street is wheeling to the front door of the mother of his baby. Cue the music, dang it! Tells her he has a job in Manhattan; will be making $40K; would really like to be with you and my daughter; he throws in some sincere tears... cue the music, dang it! She cries: "I have missed you so much." Riggins, watching from the pickup truck parked at the curb, fights tears. And, there was music, wistful music, but it never went up in volume! It stayed low and wistful, in the background. So, I am way too cynical about the music volume increase.

The end. Roll credits.





* as soon as you can convince the coach to let you play WR

**or, possibly, an end around pass to win the State Championship Game.

Marines Investigate Marine Air Crash Into San Diego Neighborhood

Peggy Noonan:

He and his squadron were in range of San Diego television stations when they carried the report's conclusions live. He'd never seen "our entire wardroom crowded around a television" before. They watched "with bated breath." At the end they were impressed with the public nature of the criticism, and its candor: "There are still elements within the government that take personal responsibility seriously." He found himself wondering if the Marines had been "too hard on themselves." "But they are, after all, Marines."

By contrast, he says, when the economy came crashing down, "nowhere did we see a board come out and say: 'This is what happened, these are the decisions these particular people made, and this was the result. They are no longer a part of our organization.' There was no timeline of events or laymen's explanation of how a credit derivative was actually derived. We did not see congressmen get on television with charts and eviscerate their organization and say, 'These were the men who in 2003 allowed Freddie and Fannie unlimited rein over mortgage securities.' Instead we saw . . . everybody against everybody else with no one stepping forth and saying, 'We screwed up…'" There is no one in national leadership who could convincingly "assign blame," and no one "who could or would accept it."

This of course is true, but somehow more stinging when said by a serviceman.

The White House this week was consumed by extreme interest in a celebrated radio critic, reportedly coordinating an attack line with antic Clinton-era political operatives who don't know what time it is. For them it's always the bouncy '90s and anything goes, it's all just a game.
[...]
But is it responsible? Or is it only vain?

Anyway, all honor this week to the Marines, who were very much the former, not the latter.

In the moments leading up to this crash: an engine was shut down; then a second engine showed low on fuel, then flamed out; then the plane's entire electrical system went out; then the plane nosedived and crashed into the neighborhood (3 miles short of the Miramar runway).

There is probably a reason, yet I don't see how the pilot could've anticipated the electrical system going out. If the electrical system had stayed operational, couldn't the pilot have worked his flaps and glided the plane to a landing on the Miramar runway? I wonder: is the pilot being punished (scapegoated) more than is deserved?

An easy way to misrepresent Repub opposition to the President

"Opus on Rush Limbaugh", Michael Ramirez of IBD

Jay Cost at Real Clear Politics:

What's the political payoff here? It's simple. By assigning Limbaugh - who "wants the President to fail" - as the leader of the Republican Party, the White House can make it look like congressional Republicans hope the President fails, and that their opposition to his budget is rooted in this sinister desire. It's an easy way to misrepresent Republican opposition to the President.

An easy way to turn debate away from their unprincipled governing. "Rush is horrible" is a fight the White House will win in many quarters. The White House cannot win a debate on the merits of their spending.


Scrappleface:
Obama to Drop Missile Shield if Russia Helps With Limbaugh

(2009-03-05) — President Barack Obama has reportedly written another private note to his Russian counterpart offering to halt deployment of a defensive nuclear missile shield in Europe, this time in exchange for Russia’s help in dealing with U.S. talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh.

The White House immediately denied the existence of the letter to President Dmitry Medvedev, but acknowledged “ongoing internal deliberations over a measured response using all the tools of U.S. power, including diplomacy.”

Dealing with Mr. Limbaugh has taken the Obama administration’s focus off of other global trouble spots like North Korea, Iran and Chicago.

Terrell Owens cut!!

Glory Hallelujah! Break out the body paint...










Note: this lovely lass has nothing on the Yellow Haired Avenger.

Recovery.Heh

Malkin has more photoshopped emblems.

Who got it right? David Brooks... or Caribou Barbie?

Update Link:
Robert Stacy McCain:
America deserves Palin's hotness;
Texas style flirting = generosity


An aside:
Caribou Barbie remains a great nickname.
I know it's meant to degrade. IMO, it helps Palin.




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William Buckley III infamously supported Barack during the election, and now says he doesn't know who Barack is and cannot understand why Barack is doing what he is doing. NYT nominal conservative David Brooks also supported Barack, yet now says Barack misled him and the American people during the campaign.

Ace of Spades, in Compare and Contrast, notes that hoity toities like Buckley III and Brooks sniffed at Sarah Palin's hick candidacy, yet:

Now, who got it right?  David Brooks... or Caribou Barbie?

Perhaps the grassroots wouldn't distrust and actively hate ostensible intellectuals if the supposed intellectuals could get over their hubris in believing "This time, we've got the right team of sharpies to finally make socialism work."

Hey, Swells, want to know why we like Palin and distrust you? Pretty simple -- she gets it right and you get it wrong. The fact that you are eminently well-credentialed in your great errors is no mitigation at all. It adds to the crime, in fact.

Being a swell only dulls you to reality. It does not confer upon you better judgment than that of a PTA Mom who can see a Barackfraud coming from 3000 miles away (distance from Wasilla to Chicago). Ace links to video of Sarah Palin's convention speech. In that speech, she said:

When the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot: when that happens, what exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?

The answer is to make government bigger, and take more of your money, and give you more orders from Washington, and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.
[...]
Governnment is too big, he wants to grow it. Congress spends too much money, he wants to spend more. Taxes are too high, he wants to raise them.

Ace goes back for more:

David Brooks: I'm an Easily-Gulled Buffoon

I'm glad we have elites to tell us po' bumpkins the way things really are.

Malkin's annoyed enough to write of Brooks' "Ivy League ejaculations."

She links this old but apropos Iowahawk piece mocking the effete Harvard half-assed intellectuals' embrace of Obama as "conservative."

I love the headline of Iowahawk's satire:

"As a Conservative, I Must Say I Do Quite Like the Cut of this Obama Fellow's Jib"

Ace calls it, in retrospect: "more true than funny." Which is funny. Except it's true!

Video of Teaparties Across America

At the end, those are determined Kansas City taxpayers marching through the snow to Sen. Claire McCaskill's office. Moving. Quite.

Michael Corleone: "They could win."


Find more videos like this on Smart Girl Politics

Explaining Limbaugh better than Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh at CPAC:

"[W]hat is so strange about being honest to say that I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed?"


In other words:

Americans ought not exchange capitalism and liberty for additional comfort.



Consider: Why were Americans recently concerned about wiretapping?

Answer: Americans are always concerned, and properly so, that government will scare our population into ceding some of our basic rights.

Similarly: Americans ought not allow government to scare us into ceding our capitalism and individual liberty. These are God given rights. Exchanging them for economic comfort is a bad deal.  We are better off wealthy and free than wealthier and less free.*

The current demagoguing is occurring because Limbaugh's point: Hold onto liberty(!), is being skewed into a straw man argument about Limbaugh desiring economic failure.  Limbaugh is trying to convey this:

Barack Obama is grabbing for our liberty. I, Rush Limbaugh, hope he fails.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Off the point (i.e. liberty), yet notable: we're exchanging our rights merely for the hope of an economic comfort which, in reality, Barack-socialism will not provide. Barack's policies will inevitably make us both less wealthy and less free.  The real world choice:  

Are we better off as we are: wealthy and free, or as Barack would make us: less wealthy and less free?

 

A teacher gives out 10 poker chips to each student in my son's class. The teacher instructs students to win poker chips from each other via playing Rock, Paper, Scissors.

After some minutes, some students have piles of chips, some students have a couple or a few chips. The teacher says: "This is capitalism".

The teacher now allows a vote on whether all students should have the same amount of chips. The measure passes. The teacher gathers all chips and redistributes: two chips to each person. The teacher says: "This is communism."

A Barack-socialism exercise would be more complicated, yet related.

*if you don't think you are wealthy: look again

Mavs PG Jason Kidd goes for loose balls

better than any player in history.

First: He is heady. He calculates rebound angles; he anticipates other players' tipped balls, he anticipates passes and tips many of them himself.

Second: He has big and strong hands. When he gets his hands on the ball, he rips it away from even big players.

Third: Better than anyone I've ever seen, Kidd knows how far he can go after a loose ball w/o committing a foul. This is tremendous knowledge and a tremendous sense for a player to have. Time after time, Kidd goes right up to the edge of committing a foul ~~~ and then backs off, just in time. Young players blunder into loose ball fouls. J. Kidd pulls up short juuust in the nick of time.

Fourth: Referees love J. Kidd. Referees will extend his career by two seasons, and his wallet by $20M.

I don't know what future seasons will bring. I do know, for this season, J. Kidd is an outstanding player.

60 Minutes Profile of Bobby Jindal

Updated with new info.

Worth watching.

Gets me even more fired up for Jindal. Love Mrs. Jindal. Previously knew neither her personality nor her educational accomplishments.

Jindal and Tea Party protesters should take a boat into the Mississippi River near the Statehouse and dump $80M in Monopoly money into the water.

That is, I believe, the amount of federal funding for unemployment insurance which Jindal is turning down.

Pictured: Record sleeve for LP of Turk Murphy at 1956 New Orleans Jazz Festival h/t

Update: Jindal displays his talent when rebutting a surprisingly hostile Larry King over the Limbaugh/Michael Steele contretemps. Jindal refuses to accept the premise King proffers.

Here's where many conservatives fail when on television: they try to answer questions which are premised on false information, false assumptions, or false philosophical opinion.  Michael Steele, for instance, allowed D.L. Hughley to choose the ground upon which to contest a fight. Hughley chose ground which was falsely contoured, and upon which Steele could not win.

Conservatives ought treat every question which is based upon a false premise as an invitation to examine both 1) the inferior leftist philosophy behind the question, and 2) the superior conservative principles upon which our nation is founded. If conservatives on television will choose this ground (i.e. conservative principles), they cannot lose.

Pres. Obama's minions are attacking Limbaugh b/c it is
a) it's easy to attack a person, and
b) it's impossible to win an argument in favor of the merits of Obama's spending (an argument which implicitly opposes free markets).

Since Pres. Obama needs an argument he can win ... Viola: Rush Limbaugh!*  

This is a compliment to Limbaugh, and is typical Dem (esp. Clinton/Carville/Begalla) modus operandi. See:

Bork, Judge Robert;
Thomas, Justice Clarence;
Gingrich, House Speaker Newt;
Starr, Special Prosecutor Ken;
Cheney, Vice President Dick;
Rumsfeld, Defense Secretary Donald;

and Dems were completely going after Gen. David Petraeus ("suspension of disbelief", and "traitor" ad in NYT), except overt victory got in the way. If victory had been juuust a bit more subtle, Petraeus would today be damned and cursed and mocked all over the major media.

It's a compliment to Jindal that Larry King(!) of all people went after him. The left media go after persons whom they perceive as threats. There's some fear of Jindal on the left - and there should be. This fear and hostility amounts to feedback which shows Jindal is on the right track.

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I still love Sarah Palin.  Having both Palin and Jindal (and Romney, and other rising stars - esp. in the House of Representatives) is a good thing. It's not a bug, it's a feature.   And it's something else Obama/Carville/Begalla are trying to guard against, i.e. don't look at Jindal, look at Limbaugh; don't look at Eric Cantor, look at Limbaugh!

Conservatives need new energy; need to reject the weak minds and uncomprehending intellects which sold out when in power (i.e. Sen. Thad Cochran - puke).

*Limbaugh says Obama is employing Alinski's Rule #12 for Radicals:

"Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it."

Be sure to keep an eye on

"G's Shared Item's" in the top half of the sidebar. I'm putting some good (imo) stuff over there.

Pitching in Arlington is about first winning the mind game

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington



Randy Galloway:

The howling winds blowing in over Home Run Porch in right field, then mysteriously blowing out again (blame it on the glass windows from the Tequila Club behind home plate) has made The Ballpark a notorious Bermuda Triangle for pitchers. Particularly mediocre to bad pitchers, which describes most Rangers staffs.


"It depends on where you hit the ball and what time of year it is," said Kinsler. "Rudy is right in that balls you think you tagged will sometimes get knocked down at the warning track.

"But a lot of days early in the season, the ball jumps to center field, then by June, from the edge of the berm all the way around past our bullpen [in right field], you can go for several weeks at a time when anything hit in the air will fly out of there."

Kinsler concedes that frustration and ballpark paranoia for Rangers pitchers has to be a concern, although he added, "It’s mainly considered a hitters’ park because we hit well as a team."
[...]

But pitching in Arlington, as a legendary hitting instructor like Jaramillo explained, "that’s a mentality. You’ve got to get the ballpark out of your head. That’s what you will hear from Mike. He’s right."

"Mike" is Mike Maddux, Nolan Ryan’s handpicked new pitching coach for the Rangers.

In this camp, Maddux and Ryan preach the same message to the pitchers:

"No excuses. Just pitch."

But cleaning out the head of ballpark ghosts is, of course, an ongoing chore.
[...]

"The earlier we get that mentality established, the better," said Ryan last week. "Frankly, we just need tougher pitchers, and that certainly includes mental makeup as well as the physical approach."
[...]

[Kevin Millwood:] "If you are making good pitches, our park is really no different than any other," [Millwood] said. "Now, one difference is when you make mistakes at our ballpark, you probably won’t get away with them."

And the solution:

"That tells you to make fewer mistakes," Millwood deadpanned.


Eddie Guardado is a reliever who has been in the majors so long he battles speculation about once having faced Babe Ruth. Last year was his first for Arlington being his home yard.

His thoughts: "All those years of coming into Arlington on the visiting team, it never failed that someone would mention before the first game of the series, "Boys, you’ve got to keep the ball down in this park." My reaction was, "Boys, you’ve got to keep the ball down in every park."

"But even though we really do need to stress it to the kids that if you make your pitches, Arlington won’t get you killed, there’s still human nature involved. Let’s be honest here. It’s a ballpark that will put some doubts in your mind, particularly for a young pitcher."

That’s why Guardado is an advocate of the Ryan-Maddux "no excuses" approach.

"Preach it, and keep preaching it," he said. "Pitching in Arlington is about first winning the mind game."

Rio de Janeiro Carnival Photos 2009

Stream of 24 photos, sent by my cousin http://twitter.com/gurv3 who lives in Rio and attended the parade. The main paraders are 5 or 6 Samba schools. They have created floats and composed original Samba music (heavy on drums). The parade is also a judged competition between the Samba schools.

News video of Rio party.

More photos and videos.

1920s Spring Training Newsreel

Newsreel courtesy UniWatch.

Includes John McGraw batting (antique fungo?).

Includes, at very end, 1928 World Series Footage of brand new "House that Ruth Built". Look closely at the outfield configuration, with it's luscious lack of symmetry and it's quirky multiple warning tracks extending into play like pathways. Outfield dimensions courtesy Baseball Almanac:

Left Field Short.......301
Left Field Deep.......402
Left Center Field.....457
Center Field............461
Right Center Field...407
Right Field Deep.....367
Right Field Short....295











Gratuitous Ernie Banks photo, in Scottsdale (late 1960s?). Banks' swing was effortless, perfectly balanced, and generated power.

Ernie Banks grew up in Dallas, TX.