Codger on Politics

Thursday, October 23, 2014

We are truly Screwed


We are truly Screwed
""For millions of workers, Mulligan writes, "a part-time schedule can yield more disposable income than a full-time schedule …" The individuals most likely to fall into that category are low-wage employees who worked 30 to 40 hours per week before Obamacare, a group that may include 32.9 million people, or roughly 20 percent of the potential workforce. Mulligan estimates that members of this group must, on average, work an additional 5.5 hours per week to make up for the subsidies lost upon working full time.""
This is slavery. We are owned. We are trapped. Nancy Pilose said "we have to pass it to see what is in it".  We now see, and we are screwed.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The Washington Post, Asleep at the Switch


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dre/politics/election-lab-2014
"" With two weeks to go until the midterms, and with polls pointing to the prospect that Republicans could take control of the Senate, the stakes are high — not just for the Obama administration and congressional Democrats, but for the United States. The consequences of Republican control of both the House and Senate could be catastrophic for the environment, workers, women and minorities"
This progressive newspaper has just figured this out? We are already voting, they are too late. I hope this will be a disaster for progressive america, and it couldn't happen to a more deserving group.
The washing post and the rest of progressive media have deserted their posts as the independent arbiters of the news.  They inserted them selves into the story.  They have lied to the American people in affirming the democrat party and politicians lies.
Washington Post, RIP


Sunday, October 19, 2014

The President Has no Class

The President Has no Class
http://www.salon.com/2014/10/19/thomas_frank_paul_krugmans_sloppy_wet_kiss/

"" Did they really not see good old Republican obstructionism lurking during those long months of fruitless negotiation over Obamacare? Did they never give serious thought to some way of cross-pressuring or deflating the Tea Party upsurge? And why does it never seem to occur to the Democratic leadership that turning over economic policy to arrogant Wall Street revolving-door types—a.k.a., the experts—might stoke public outrage?""

All negotiation with democratic representatives and senators out for their cut.

""One reason for this, according to a memo Greenberg's consultancy issued that year, was a perceived lack of accountability in Washington; another was the perception that the government cared only for the views of the rich.

Even when cynicism of this sort is caused by Republican misbehavior—as it was in 2007—it is poison for liberalism, a philosophy which is attached inescapably to government. Let such toxins work for long enough and they will kill our movement. That's why Stanley Greenberg pointed these things out and urged Democrats to take heed. Maybe that's also why Barack Obama used to promise a war on lobbying and to bring "new ideas and new leadership" to Washington.""

Poison for liberals is a good thing.

""And that, folks, leads us to the greatest disappointment of them all: This administration's utter failure of imagination. I admit that this beef might be peculiar to me, since one of the reasons I was once so psyched to see Barack Obama in the White House is because I thought he was a man who respected learning, intelligence, new ideas. Maybe he still does, in his private life. But as president, he couldn't seem to see what is obvious to everyone who is not a regular golfer at Congressional: That ignoring the conventional and facing down the Republicans and doing the right thing—on the stimulus, on the banks, on inequality—would also have made him enormously popular, not to mention consequential and successful. It might even have spared him the electoral comeuppance he received in 2010, and whose second installment he seems likely to take delivery on just a few weeks from now.""

The Obama administration was very imaginative, they thought, and think they can corrupt every executive department and it would not be noticed. Now they can start imagining themselves in orange jump suits.

Obama has fashioned himself as a superior intellect, in a country that knows he is not. This atitude is very unpopular in the united states.  Philosopher Princes do well not to advertise their  superiority complexes, especially when they are less than superior.

Children Have Intrinsic Value

Children Have Intrinsic Value
http://thefederalist.com/2014/10/15/children-are-people-too/
""We need to stop seeing children as a hobby, a checkbox on our bucket list, or a material good whose value fluctuates with market demand, just as a car is worth only as much as someone is willing to pay for it. It's time to stop seeing them as just another cog in the microeconomic wheel. Children—now stripped of their natural value—are worth only as much as the parents' desire for them, assuming the father has a say in the decision at all. The wanted child, the planned child, is precious and worthy. The unwanted child is a burden, a mistake, a blemish. It is a nonentity and therefore easily discarded.""

The "pro choice" crowd is essentially valueless therefore without value to society. Should they be discarded? 'Judge not lest you be judged' becomes 'discard not lest you be discarded'.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

 The Progressive Master Race Is Flawed


http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2014/10/11/why-i-oppose-liberalism-n1903749/page/full
""Liberalism is an ideology of parasites, hypocrites, grievance mongers, victims, and control freaks. Like a tick, liberalism latches onto a victim and sucks him dry. Of course, a single tick can't gorge itself on so much blood that it does to a dog what liberalism did to Detroit. It doesn't turn the different parts of the dog against each other. The tick doesn't tell everyone he's a victim and that the dog is greedy if he tries to scratch it off"
It is amazing that we are still falling for the liberal/progressive Mantra. Maybe the end is getting nearer.

do Democrats Want You To Kill Your Children?

do Democrats Want You To Kill Your Children?
Only if you are poor or black. The Caucasian republican family is safe.

http://thefederalist.com/2014/10/14/no-democrats-havent-won-the-culture-war/

""Udall is not alone. Democrats have increasingly wandered away from their cautious "rare and safe" arguments to absolute support for abortion no matter what the circumstance. It was simultaneously horrifying and refreshing to read Hannah Rosin's review of Katha Pollit's new book, which advocates that liberals stop pretending abortion is awful or even morally neutral and began treating it as a "social good."  We can't exactly call this evolving on an issue. It is honest. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and others have long intimated that there is an even uglier Malthusian side to abortion that doesn't play well in politics. People like Udall are only a small step from making the very same argument.""

Rush refers to the obsession of killing unborn as a modern human sacrifice.  Would that be to the philosopher kings of the progressive left?

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Do You Want to be Equal Or Better?

Do You Want to be Equal Or Better?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/13/guardian-view-of-new-thinking-on-global-inequality

""It is a moment to savour when the head of the International Monetary Fundwarns of a "staggering" rise in inequality. But that's what Christine Lagarde did last week when she warned that the ghosts of the 19th century were coming back to haunt the 21st. Inequality? The IMF? This sort of language was never used when global economic policymaking was governed by the dictates of the Washington consensus: liberalise markets; privatise industry; reduce the power of trade unions; cut public spending. To the extent that inequality merited a mention, it was assumed that free markets would lead to faster growth, the benefits of which would trickle down to the poor.""

If we are made equal, many of us will be poorer. If we are equal, the current poor will be worse off. The goal should not be equal but better than before. Who cares if someone has more? If you think government is going take that guys money and give it to you, you are deluded.

Inequality is the engine of progress.  If you have the ability to build something and don't need to, you won't.  That is human nature. "That is very insulting", they say.  No, thinking you are a sucker who works for nothing is insulting.

A War we can Understand

A War we can Understand
http://nypost.com/2014/10/12/the-right-way-to-take-out-isis-is-a-large-scale-raid/

"The only way to destroy the sanctuary ISIS has built for itself will be to send in a large number of well-trained combat troops to destroy the ISIS standing army in occupied cities and towns in Syria and Iraq."

No need to reform the area's political sources, just train them not to bother us as in "US"

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Keep thinking this way Dems, you are in for a

Keep thinking this way Dems, you are in for a wild ride.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/democratic-party-moderates-111770_Page2.html#.VDnipGnn9pV

"Not so long ago, U.S. politicians who robotically toed the party line were considered shameless hacks. And ideologues were seen as wingnuts—self-righteous cranks unable to cope with life's complexities. Today, such people dominate our national politics. How are they doing? If the measure is simplifying and sharpening dueling political narratives, they are doing a fine job. If it is governing, they are failing miserably."

The author here thinks he is talking about Republicans. Is it obvious that the Republicans in charge have lost grip in the controls. The Dems have not.

Speaking of governing, That doesn't just mean shoveling tax payers money to special interests. That doesn't mean passing bills you haven't nor couldn't read. That does mean keeping an eye out for misdeeds.

" In this Manichean hothouse, the battle lines are clear and everyone knows their place. To break ranks on any major issue is treason, to see merit in the other side's point of view is heresy, to compromise is to sell out and to engage in political horse-trading is corrupt. Finding common ground? That's so 20th century. Don't bore us with intellectual honesty, nuance or shades of grey—just pick a side, slug it out and let the best team win."

I am surprised the author brings this up. It is called projecting: assuming your opponent has your flaws. I can see only democrat's in this role.

"Unfortunately, this year's midterm elections could only make things worse. It's not inconceivable that Republicans, if they win full control of Congress, will sober up and shoulder the responsibilities of governing jointly with a Democratic president. But it's easier to imagine the next two years being consumed by more Tea Party banzai charges on Obamacare, multiplying Hill inquests into alleged White House misdeeds, routine filibuster abuse, stalled nominations and other symptoms of general legislative paralysis."

Wait, if the republicans control the senate, any filibustering will be by dems. Banzai charges may not be necessary as dems defect. There is a possibility veto's can be overwritten. The possibility of controlling the agenda may well sober up the republicans, but the result may not be kowtowing to Obama. The misdeeds of the executive might be addressed with impeachment, not of Obama but his closest henchman. ( john Dean comes to mind). Once the wheels of justice are unstuck, the small fry may be racing to the exits with the "get out of jail stories".

"Polarization today might be higher than is has been at any point in the past 70 years, but again the parties are not mirror images of one another. Republicans have become a truly ideological party, with fully 72 percent calling themselves conservative. Democrats, though leaning more to the left, are still a philosophically diverse coalition, with 39 percent identifying as liberal, 37 percent as moderate and 25 percent as conservative."

There is another reason: liberalism is a damaged brand.  The voters don't like liberals, so  many democrats pretend they are not.

"Funny, I don't feel like a statistical myth. But Klein has half a point." I would venture to guess the author is not a moderate though he apparently thinks he is. He seems hate filled, not a moderate characteristic.

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

If Obama were in control, would you live past 75

If Obama were in control, would you live past 75 years?

""And this big improvement in American society is almost surely here to stay. The conservative health care nightmare – the one that led Republicans to go all-out against Bill Clinton's health plans in 1993 and Obamacare more recently – is that once health care for everyone, or almost everyone, has been put in place, it will be very hard to undo, because too many voters would have a stake in the system. That's exactly what is happening. Republicans are still going through the motions of attacking Obamacare, but the passion is gone. They're even offering mealymouthed assurances that people won't lose their new benefits. By the time Obama leaves office, there will be tens of millions of Americans who have benefited directly from health reform – and that will make it almost impossible to reverse. Health reform has made America a different, better place.""

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/in-defense-of-obama-20141008#ixzz3FZZoVgyn 

True if and only if:
1. more people have health Insurance, and that means they have access to healthcare.
2. This results in improved health care at a lower cost.
3. The Obamacare system becomes popular enough that it is not repealed.

All three are not met. Doctors are leaving the profession or going to salaried so they can slack off.  No doctors equal no healthcare.

Medicare and Medical are paying less for healthcare, causing Doctors to lose on each visit. Doctors are less likely to accept patients.

The actual results are:
1. The health insurance will not provide good healthcare.
2. the result is less healthcare at higher cost.
3. The majority of people dislike Obamacare.

By the way, one large saving is denying all care to older people. You want to bet your life Obama wouldn't do that?

Saturday, October 04, 2014

Whistling Past The Graveyard or Those are Sour

Whistling Past The Graveyard or Those are Sour grapes

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/10/03/would-control-senate-bad-for-gop/Rz5KtZuYscRY9salocP4xN/story.html

""First, they have no agenda. The old mantra of tax cuts, spending cuts, and deficit reduction has largely been replaced by incessant attacks against the president's leadership. Trying to identify a Republican legislative agenda for the next two years is like trying to find a moderate Republican politician.

Indeed, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's pitch for GOP control of the Senate is that he will festoon spending bills with a bunch of unpalatable legislative riders that President Obama will almost certainly veto.""

President Obama will certainly veto almost anything put to him, which he will claim is due to a uncooperative congress. He may stop short of shutting down the government, and congress judiciously selecting the departments funded first, will cause Obama to lose the threat of government shutdown.

Of course, the republicans are wise to not explain this. It is soon enough after the senate is in republican hands.

The goal of congress is not to pass legislation, now.  If the country is headed in the wrong direction, it needs to turn it around. With the executive failing to execute the laws, this means that the executive needs to be corrected.


If Obama wants to pass anything of his own, he will have to negotiate.

If the Louisiana is getting smaller it is due to

If the Louisiana is getting smaller it is due to the rising oceans, right?
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/10/04/opinion/gail-collins-the-walrus-and-the-politicians.html?referrer=
Gail Collins thinks rising oceans, (but assume we all know that):
""You'd think that the people in charge of the states where climate change was wreaking the most havoc would be in the forefront of the battle to push it back. But no.""

But what if instead of rising oceans, it is a sinking Louisiana?
http://www.livescience.com/4186-real-reason-louisiana-sinking.html

Would this still be caused by global warming, or just human caused world change? I can believe in human caused world change. Man caused global warming, not so much.

Friday, October 03, 2014

Ignorance concerning the constitution

Ignorance concerning the constitution
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119695/gops-2014-midterms-strategy-seinfeld-its-about-nothing
 @brianbeutler  Probably thinks he is pretty smart, if he remain unpublished, the rest us might not catch on.
he says:
""
To combat that, he has laid out a list of eleven "Principles for American Renewal." Most of these will be familiar to students of Republican politics. Some contradict each other, or previous iterations of the Republican agenda. The first principle holds that "Our Constitution should be preserved, valued and honored," while the third proposes a Constitutional amendment that would force Congress to shred government spending. The eleventh calls for a secure border, whereas the GOP's 2012 post-mortem called for comprehensive immigration reform.
But the main problem is that Priebus isn't on the ballot anywhere. The implication is that he's speaking on behalf of his candidates, but in recent weeks the GOP has worked assiduously to orient those campaigns around trivia. Some of these efforts have been more effective than others, but the playbook has been remarkably consistent. As a counterpose to Priebus's 11 principles, below are five of the most trivial stories Republicans have seized on in order to define campaigns around issues other than, well, issues.""
1. Amending the constitution is Constitutional.
2. Controlling the border, is not anti Immigration
3. controlling spending is a duty of congress.
4. not being consistent with a previous political statement is normal
5. Priebus had his election, he is the elected representative of the republican party, not that it is your business.
Priebus 11 items are the issues. Trivia is trivia. Some trivia points to larger issues. As explained other places, when your enemy is self destructing, stay out of the way. If the Dems don't like it, they could take issue with the issues.




Reducing Carbon without a Tax

Reducing Carbon without a Tax
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-10-02/doubt-climate-change-then-support-carbon-taxes

It  said a carbon tax would: 1. reduce carbon emissions, 2. not harm the economy, and 3. both shrink government and help the poor.

With little evidence to support these assertions, other options need to be considered. 1. To reduce the carbon and expense of travel reduce travel. Substitute virtual presence for physical presence. 2. Reduce expense by shared use of cars.  It has been estimated the vehicle fleet could be reduced by 90% sharing sharing. Uber and the Google car provides evidence of the viability of sharing. 3. Reduce the size and expense of government by replacing travel to DC again using virtual presence. Distribute the federal government to the states, again to save travel, and increasing contact with voters. The poor are helped each time production becomes more efficient, lowering prices.  The poor are hindered by any tax, since they are least likely to escape the flow down of increased cost. (I distinguish here the poor from the poor's advocates, who suck up tax dollars meant for the poor.)

1. Virtual presence, is used today by large corporations. Teams are distributed around the world.

2. Reducing the number of cars, may not reduce carbon, except for the construction of the cars, which is a big carbon source. Sharing cars would serve the poor by giving them access they now lack. (you can save by the elimination of the busses that now cruise empty)

3. Eliminating centrally located government reduces travel, and cost due to the congestion. It will cause the lobbyists to disperse also. It emerses the officials in the local cultures rather than the culture of the powerful elite. I would make the legislators more diverse, as are their voters.

Reducing Carbon Has not Been Shown to Reduce

Reducing Carbon Has not Been Shown to Reduce World Temperature

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-10-02/doubt-climate-change-then-support-carbon-taxes

""Taxing greenhouse gases is a policy that deserves serious consideration -- the kind of consideration it just isn't getting in the U.S. The approach makes sense in theory and, where it has been tried, has worked in practice.

The record shows that a well-designed carbon tax can cut harmful emissions in the most economically efficient way: by letting market forces coordinate the effort. Fears that a carbon tax set high enough to make any difference would harm the economy are contradicted by the evidence; carbon taxes haven't led to higher public spending; and, with a little ingenuity, the most vulnerable can be protected.""

The record does not show a massive tax will not harm the economy. The power to tax is the power to destroy. What the record shows is that no federal comprehensive tax, will not be " the most economically efficient way". Also no pile of money collected, will be safe from run away spending. Nor has congress demonstrated any ingenuity, except for lining there own pockets.

For a significant savings, ground air force one. Let the anointed one use ingenuity to communicate electronically. The technology support a virtual presence, which, by the way avoids traffic tie ups and makes protecting POTUS much easier.

Thursday, October 02, 2014

We have Total Federal Government Dysfunction.

We have Total Federal Government Dysfunction.

Gridlock is a blessing

http://thehill.com/opinion/brent-budowsky/219521-brent-budowsky-bill-clinton-can-save-dems

""My advice to the Democratic Party for the close of the midterm elections would be for Clinton to tape a series of 3- to 5-minute videos supporting top Democratic Senate candidates, in addition to personally campaigning for them. These videos would offer a thoughtful and conversational explanation of why those Democratic candidates should be elected, and why all-Republican control of Congress would bring total gridlock in Washington and worsen the poisoned politics that is held in widespread contempt throughout America.""

It takes two to gridlock. How does the house achieve this on its own.  If the senate considered some of the house passed bills, would that end gridlock? Or would Obama hold his breath, vetoing everything presented to him until he turns blue?

As long as the democrats say my way or the highway, how can the house be blamed.

Anyway, it is constitutional for the house to not fund everything the executive desires. Overcoming this difficulty is what politics is about. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen - Truman.

Wednesday, October 01, 2014

Democrats wishful thinking

Democrats wishful thinking

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/09/good-news-democrats-youre-going-to-lose-111467.html#.VCxOJOvn8sJ

""If the latest round of polls is accurate, Democrats will lose nearly every competitive Senate race, giving Republicans full control of Congress for the first time in 10 years

Instead of another two years of the same old gridlock that has turned voters off of both parties, Democrats will get to kick back with a large tub of buttery popcorn and watch the Republican soap opera hit peak suds.

In the House, the Boehner vs. Tea Party plot line will heat up, as several anti-Boehner party rebels are expected to win seats now held by more genteel Republicans. The Senate may end up more like a classic sitcom: Can two grandstanders like Rand Paul and Ted Cruz run for president at the same time without driving the majority leader crazy?
""

This writer is assuming failure. He is projecting the Democrats own incapabilities. He is not considering the potential for democratic members abandon ship, if the lawlessness shielded by Holder is not  continued by the next attorney general. Without Reed protecting them, democratic members of the senate will be exposed for their progressive roots, which is not popular.

How can can senators fail to pass budget bills in regular order, when they are forced to actually vote?  They can't rely on a government shutdown bluff, if the spending bills are reasonable.

Controlling both houses, regulations can be rolled back, unless Obama admits to the worst consequences of that regulation.  Debate will resume in the senate, and continue in the house, which the mainstream media will be unable to smother.

Only considering constitutional bills, and readable bills will hobble the ordinary legislative process.  With millions of people reading, understanding, and commenting on proposed bills, the sunshine on the special interests will force them out of the process.

But then, I am an optimist.

  Loony Left wants to end capitalism (spelled

  Loony Left wants to end capitalism (spelled "Freedom")

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenhayward/2014/09/29/climate-change-has-jumped-the-shark/

""Here's how the progressive lefty site CommonDreamsdescribed it: "Forget everything you think you know about global warming. The really inconvenient truth is that it's not about carbon—it's about capitalism."  This view was well represented in the banners and posters at the climate march last week.  If climate change disappeared, one suspects the capitalism haters would still find a reason to march and rage against civilization. For this bit of candor, we owe Klein and the climate marchers a debt of thanks.""

Basic human traits, demand "more". More for those who expend effort. If "more" is not allowed, compulsion is required. Compulsion is a delight to the loony left, but they are not competent in directing action to an effective end.

The hidden hand of capitalism runs on "more". "more" for each individual's reward for making good choices.  Many make poor choices, like the loony left, but not getting the reward of "more", they make do with less, or make smarter choices.

The magic is that an individuals "more" reward causes others to get "more" also. This is a bonus.