The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

‘Essential’ or ‘Non-Essential’?

Posted on | September 30, 2013 | 29 Comments

Harry Reid says “no compromise” and, as of this hour, TV talking heads are acting as if a government shutdown is all but certain tonight, which would mean the temporary furlough of “non-essential” government employees, which naturally inspires a few questions:

If they’re not “essential” why did we hire them in the first place?

UPDATE: Don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier:

Could we get the #FurloughJoe hashtag trending?

 

Category: Budget

Harry Reid Refuses to Compromise

Posted on | September 30, 2013 | 25 Comments

Explain to me again how this is the GOP’s fault?

Congress took another step toward a government shutdown Monday as the Senate voted 54-46 to strip language from a House funding bill that delayed ObamaCare by a year. . . .
Democrats also eliminated language allowing employers to opt out of providing insurance coverage of contraception if doing so violates their moral or religious principles.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) needed only a simple majority vote to cut the House language delaying ObamaCare and repealing the medical device tax . . .
Monday’s vote was strictly on party lines.

We shall see whether House Republicans knuckle under. There are reports that they’re getting wobbly on Harry Reid’s shutdown threat.

 

Category: Budget, Harry Reid, Senate

It’s The End Of The World As We Know It

Posted on | September 30, 2013 | 22 Comments

— Wombat-socho

This week’s book post is going up early since when Thursday rolls around I’m going to be busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest and won’t have time to blog. So. Apocalyptic SF goes back practically to the beginning of the genre, with novels like Olaf Stapledon’s Last and First Men going hand in hand with Raymond Z. Gallun’s “Seeds of Dusk” (included in The Best of Raymond Z. Gallun) and John W. Campbell’s “Twilight” (in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1). However, with the advent of the Atomic Age and the Cold War standoff between the US and the Soviet Union, books about what life would be like after somebody pushed the button multiplied like rabbits.

Perhaps the best of these is Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz, in which the Church once again preserves knowledge through a new Dark Age only to see humanity screw things up yet again. Other books dealing with nuclear war and its aftermath included Mordecai Roshwald’s Level 7, Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon, and of course Nevil Shute’s On the Beach. More recently, David Brin’s The Postman revisited the topic in the context of normal survivors trying to cope with gene-engineered survivalists.

Poul Anderson set a number of his stories in a post-nuclear world: Maurai and Kith includes the stories of the aggressively Green Maurai, and Orion Shall Rise shows where that ends. Many of Anderson’s stories in The Psychotechnic League are also set on a post-nuclear Earth. Andre Norton set an Arthurian tale of discovery, Star Man’s Son (also known as Daybreak 2250) two centuries after an atomic war has destroyed civilization.

Somewhat related: novels in which World War III comes and goes, but it’s not the apocalypse – civilization holds together and the war goes on (Dean Ing’s Systemic Shock) or shudders to a halt (Kunetka & Strieber’s Warday) or the bombing wipes out all the advanced tech through EMP (Forstchen’s One Second After). When the collapse of technology is caused by non-human activity, you get Dies the Fire.

Authors didn’t neglect the biological apocalypse, either. Jack London laid waste to the planet with The Scarlet Plague, a path also followed by George Stewart’s Earth Abides, Stephen King’s The Stand, and of course Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, which was made into the excellent The Omega Man with Charlton Heston and the not-so-great I Am Legend with Will Smith.

Ecological apocalypses didn’t start with the 1960s; John Christopher’s The Death of Grass(also known as No Blade of Grass) dates to 1956. Harry Harrison’s Make Room! Make Room! (better known as the movie Soylent Green) showed a world collapsing due to overpopulation, as did John Brummer’s Stand on Zanzibar. Brunner also looked at the issue of environmental damage in The Sheep Look Up, which struck me as being more dark and pessimistic than Stand On Zanzibar.

That’s enough depressing reading for one book post, I think. 😉



Shop Amazon Books – Fall Reading – Curl Up With a Good Book

Category: Books

E-Mail From America’s Vice President

Posted on | September 30, 2013 | 16 Comments

If you ever sign up for any Democrat mailing list, you will eventually be on all Democrat mailing lists, and receive e-mails like this:

Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 08:14:15 -0400
To: Robert McCain <[email protected]>
From: Joe Biden <[email protected]>

Robert —
If you’ve been watching what’s been happening here in Washington over the past couple of weeks, and you still think you need more reasons to support Democrats over Republicans, I’m not sure what to tell you.
The choice is pretty clear.
Chip in $3 or more and get Democrats’ backs before the fundraising deadline at midnight:

https://my.democrats.org/Deadline

Thanks,
Joe

 

See? That’s what responsible non-partisan leadership looks like.

 

Category: Joe Biden

Banjo Player Caught in Child-Sex Sting

Posted on | September 30, 2013 | 51 Comments

Abraham Spear: Banjo-playing pedophile

When someone told me about this story, my first thought was, “Well, of course he’s a banjo player.” IYKWIMAITYD:

A country musician has been sentenced to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to trying to have sex with a woman’s seven and nine-year-old daughters.
Abraham Spear was arrested at a restaurant in Dallas on September 20, 2012, when he arranged to meet an undercover FBI agent, posing as the mother of the two young girls.
The 30-year-old Banjo player, who was set to perform with the Josh Thompson band at the time of the incident, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison in Dallas, Texas.
Authorities began investigating Spear when he logged onto a website, using the screen name MUSICMAN30, and began communicating with a woman who was actually an undercover FBI agent . . .
[After he] was arrested by federal agents [he] broke down sobbing, insisting that he wasn’t going to actually do anything.
‘Spear also admitted that he had engaged in sexually explicit communications with other mothers of minor girls, including one in which he offered to pay $200 to engage in sexual acts with the mother’s minor daughter,’ according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Watch out for those pedophile banjo players.

 

Category: Crime, Sex

Shutdown Monday: Blame Harry Reid

Posted on | September 30, 2013 | 69 Comments

The New York Times:

The Senate is expected to reject decisively a House bill that would delay the full effect of President Obama’s health care law as a condition for keeping the government running past Monday, as Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader, expressed confidence that he had public opinion on his side.

Why is Harry Reid so confident that he has “public opinion on his side”? Because he can rely on the media to confuse the people:

Democrats and their media allies have spent the past week labeling Republicans “anarchists,” “fanatics,” “radicals,” and “terrorists” who are wholly to blame for the situation that we are told will soon lead to a government shutdown. And if all you know about this situation is what you get from the media, you might actually believe that this is a crisis created by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and his fellow conservatives who sought to use the vote on a short-term spending bill as a means of preventing implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare.
Here’s a simple question: Why are we currently funding the federal government through a series of short-term measures known as “continuing resolutions”?
The answer is that the budgeting process has completely broken down in recent years, and the two men most responsible for that breakdown are President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. For three consecutive years — 2010, 2011, and 2012 — the Democrat-controlled Senate did not pass a budget bill because Reid knew that it would be a political liability to do so. Passing a budget that detailed the Democrats’ plans for spending and revenue as official policy would have exposed the “something for nothing” swindle that Reid and his colleagues are perpetrating on the American people. Republican challengers campaigning against Democrat senators could have cited their votes for the budget bill, saying that the incumbent voted for this, that, or the other unpopular component of the measure.
Reid and the Democrats knew this. They knew very well that the federal deficit was spiraling out of control, that there was not enough tax revenue to pay the mushrooming cost of entitlement programs (Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, unemployment, et cetera), and certainly there wasn’t enough revenue to pay for all the boondoggles and giveaways the Democrats voted for in the name of “stimulus.” Adding to this, there was not enough revenue to pay the cost of Obamacare, which Democrats rammed through Congress in March 2010 on a party-line vote. Passing an actual budget would have made clear the unsustainable fiscal nightmare into which Democrat policies have plunged the nation during the Obama Age, and so Harry Reid simply didn’t pass a budget for three years. . . .

Please read the whole thing at The American Spectator.

UPDATE: Great minds think alike.

 


Category: Budget, Harry Reid, Senate

Keep Your Patriot Hand Strong, @TedCruz

Posted on | September 30, 2013 | 19 Comments

by Smitty

Absolutely masterful rhetorical command on display here as the Cruzado dribbles the hapless dope David Gregory like a basketball, shooting three-pointer after three-pointer:

God bless Senator Cruz. And may God send a bit of sense to the codpiece media in general, and David Gregory in particular.

via Weasel Zippers and Dr. Melissa

Category: GOP, Health Care

LIVE AT FIVE: 09.30.13

Posted on | September 30, 2013 | 3 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Shutdown Showdown

Speaker of the House John Boehner

Hours before deadline, neither GOP nor Democrats are budging


Justice Department To Sue North Carolina Over Voter Law
DOJ cites alleged racial discrimination


Rahul Gandhi Slams Move To Shield Convicted Politicians
Slams ordinance allowing convicted lawmakers to hold office, stand for election



POLITICS
ObamaCare’s Scope, Rocky Intro Signals Problems For Tuesday Start

A Tea Party member picks up brochures on the impact of ObamaCare at a meeting in New Hampshire

Administration claims it’s ready, even as more delays crop up

NSA Gathers Data On Us Citizens’ Social Connections

GOP Candidate For NYC Mayor Lhota Wants To Cut Taxes


Planned Parenthood Sues Texas Over Abortion Restrictions

Senator Coburn Calls Out Congress For Blowing Money On “Fruity” Grants

Wendy Davis Calls For More Spending

Stacy’s Crazy Cousin John Hires Syria Analyst Who Lied About Her Credentials

#2 US Nuke Commander Suspended Amid Gambling Probe



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Crude Oil Tumbles On US Budget Impasse: NYMEX $101.71; Brent $107.81
PRC Manufacturing Growth Slower Than Expected
Stock Futures, Dollar Jolted BY Politics In US, Italy
Candy Crush Creator King Files For IPO
Apple Passes Coca-Cola As Most Valuable Brand
Siemens Cuts 15,000 Jobs
Goodbye Thumbsticks: Valve Unveils Steam Controller With PC-Like Trackpads
Intel Invests In Wearable Device Maker Recon
Poll: Sony’s PS4 Tops XBox One On Gamers’ Wish Lists
The Coolest Projects At The World Maker Faire
Why You Can’t Compare “Grand Theft Auto V” To The Movie Industry



SPORTS
Indians Await Winner Of Wildcard Tiebreaker

The Tribe celebrates at Target Field

5-1 victory over Twins clinches #1 slot in wildcard; #2 slot goes to winner of today’s Rangers/Rays game

Kipsang Breaks Marathon World Record In Berlin

Henderson Alvarez Closes Marlins Season With No-Hitter

Johnson Makes His Chase Case With Record Win At Dover

Rangers Beat Angels 6-2, Force Wildcard Tiebreaker

Patriots Hold Off Falcons, Now 4-0

Pirates Beat Reds 4-2, Get Home Field Advantage For Wildcard

Astros Lose To Yanks 5-1, Set Franchise Record For Losses; Worst Season-Ending Skid Since 1899

A’s Shut Out M’s 9-0 In Finale

Jags Support QB Gabbert Despite 37-3 Stomping By Colts; Tebow Time Yet?

Davey Johnson’s Return Ends With 3-2 Loss To Snakes



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Check Out Kaley Cuoco’s Engagement Ring!

Because Jennifer Lawrence looked like she was on Thorazine

Sportin’ a 2.5-karat diamond

Heather Morris Gives Birth To Baby Boy Elijah

Neil Patrick Harris Directing Magic Show “Nothing To Hide”

Liam Hemsworth Takes A Break From “The Hunger Games” For Breakfast

Real Housewives’ Melissa Gorga: It’s “Disgusting” That People Think I’m Promoting Marital Rape

Lisa Marie D’Amato Gives Birth To Baby Boy Dax

Zac Efron Breaks Post-Rehab Silence, Shares Photo Of Peru Trip


CBS’ “Unforgettable” Renewed For Third Season

Fox Nabs Damon Wayans Jr. Comedy Show

ABC Eyes “Modern Family” Spinoff

“Blind Billy” Returns In “Dumb And Dumber To” After Writers Track Former Child Star Down On Facebook

Christina Hendricks Covers Her Curves In Strawberries And Cherries At Charity Brunch

Reese Witherspoon Shows Her Support For Jessica Alba With Honest Company Bag



FOREIGNERS
Car Bomb Rips Through Peshawar Market, Kills 40
Boko Haram Slaughters Dozens Of Students
Netanyahu To Press Obama Not To Ease Sanctions Despite Rouhani’s Sweet Talk
Amanda Knox Retrial Begins Today In Italy
Modi Rips India’s Gandhi Dyanasty As Delhi Crowd Tops 100K
Italian Politics In Crisis After Berlusconi’s Latest Move
Early Poll Results Give Austria’s Grand Coalition A Second Term
Dozens Missing After Boats Caught In South China Sea Typhoon
Shin Bet Arrests Iranian Spy



BLOGS & STUFF
Aewl’s Abode: Thoughts On Ted Cruz
Blackmailers Don’t Shoot: Is Bill Maher The Stupidest Man On The Planet?
Dead Republican Party: Full Text Of Richard Nixon’s Acceptance Speech At The DeRP Convention In St. Petersburg, Florida
Rotten Chestnuts: Is Jesus A Liberal Or A Conservative?
Chicks On The Right: If You Thought Crack Was Wack, Just Wait
American Power: Boehner Attacks Senate “Arrogance” As Deadline Approaches #MakeDCListen
American Thinker: Separating The Kafirs From The Muslims
The Necropolitan Sentinel: Obamacare Watch – The Problem With Delaying
Don Surber: Weekend Scoreboard, September 27-29
Jammie Wearing Fools: Hide The Decline – Obama Approval Plummets To 39% In D+10 Reuters/Ipsos Poll
JustOneMinute: OK, So There Is Crying In Baseball
Pat Dollard: Shutdown Won’t Harm Republicans – “We Won Seats”, Tom DeLay Recalls
Protein Wisdom: “Carney ‘Would Totally Enroll In ObamaCare’ (Except He Won’t)”
Shot In The Dark: The Plan! The Plan! The Plan Is On Fire!
The Jawa Report: Twitter Officially Doing Business With Al Qaeda
The Lonely Conservative: The Syria News You Won’t Hear From The Mainstream Media
Megan McArdle: 11 Pieces Of ObamaCare Wisdom That Shouldn’t Be So Conventional


Category: Live at Five
« go back — keep looking »

    About

    This is an area on your website where you can add text. This will serve as an informative location on your website, where you can talk about your site.

    Subscribe to our feed

    Search

    Admin