The Other McCain

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

Ancient Rock’n’Roll Factoid Of The Day

Posted on | February 1, 2013 | 8 Comments

by Smitty

Did not know this:

The name of Claude Nobs will be forever enshrined in Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water, the song with perhaps the most famous riff in rock history. Nobs was a co-founder of the Montreaux Jazz Festival, which by the early 1970s had grown to embrace rock artists such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. In 1971, the Montreaux casino caught fire during a performance by Frank Zappa after an audience member fired a flare gun at the ceiling. Nobs dragged a number of concert goers to safety earning himself the title Funky Claude in Deep Purple’s song.

Related lyric:

They burned down the gambling house,
It died with an awful sound.
(Uh) Funky Claude was running in and out,
Pulling kids out the ground.
When it all was over,
We had to find another place.
But Swiss time was running out,
It seemed that we would lose the race.
Smoke on the water and fire in the sky.
Smoke on the water…


Rest in peace, Funky Claude.

via Dan Collins

Category: Uncategorized

Bad News: Low-End Plan Costs $20 Large.
Good News: We Know What It Says

Posted on | February 1, 2013 | 6 Comments

by Smitty

In a final regulation issued Wednesday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assumed that under Obamacare the cheapest health insurance plan available in 2016 for a family will cost $20,000 for the year.

$20 large is rather dear for “Take two aspirin and call me in the morning,” isn’t it? Especially at an outfit with such an illustrious history.

A credible political platform could be built upon the idea of taking a wrecking ball to the tax code and just letting it go. And ObamaCare with it.

Category: Uncategorized

News Flash: Crazy People Are Dangerous

Posted on | February 1, 2013 | 24 Comments

Bill Schmalfeldt of Elk Ridge, Maryland, a.k.a. “Liberal Grouch”

Aaron Walker discussed the most recent evidence that Bill Schmalfeldt is a deranged sadistic sociopath, as if more evidence were necessary. But I think people are taking too lightly the menace to public safety posed by this swarm of obsessive Internet cyberstalkers whose persistent harassment has targeted Walker, Lee Stranahan, Patrick “Patterico” Frey, Mike Stack and others.

If you have the stomach to read the vile things Schmalfeldt was Tweeting about Lee Stranahan’s family, you will notice that Schmalfeldt portrays himself as a Courageous Seeker of Truth. This is a common pose — The Last Honest Man! — favored by a certain type of Internet harasser who engages in a Walter Mitty fantasy of being an “investigative journalist,” thinking of himself as exposing the Hidden Evil he attributes to the Sinister Enemies he fanatically pursues.

The Last Honest Man posture is, of course, deeply ironic because Schmalfeldt is habitually dishonest (he got canned by the Examiner for his compulsive lying, and he’s persona non grata at Daily K0s) and this is where the factor of psychological projection figures so prominently in the bizarre vindication fantasies of such cyberstalkers: By exposing the Hidden Evil of Sinister Enemies, the cyberstalker seeks to prove himself heroically trustworthy: “See? They are the liars — not me!”

Schmalfeldt’s persistence in directing this kind of anti-social harassment at his chosen scapegoats (he’s been stalking Aaron Walker since June) reveals the insane depths of his obsession, because no amount of negative feedback can dissuade him from this behavior. He is incapable of restraining his impulses. A tendency toward sadism is intrinsic to Schmalfeldt’s disordered personality; he uses the Internet as a means to indulge his sick craving to inspire fear in others.

This is particularly relevant today, because it seems the New York Times is concerned that it is “unfair” to focus on mental illness as a contributing factor in crime, even while they find themselves forced to admit that kooks are dangerous:

Most mental health experts agree that the link between mental illness and violence is not imaginary. Studies suggest that people with an untreated severe mental illness are more likely to be violent, especially when drug or alcohol abuse is involved. And many rampage killers have some type of serious mental disorder: James E. Holmes, accused of opening fire in a movie theater in Colorado in July, was seeing a psychiatrist who became alarmed about his behavior; Jared L. Loughner, who killed 6 people and injured 13 others in Arizona, including former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, was severely mentally ill.

Look, I’m not a psychiatrist, but I know what crazy looks like. Recall my September warning to Anonymous spokesman Barrett Brown:

You don’t need a lawyer, Barrett. You need a psychiatrist, or perhaps a priest to exorcise your demons. You are traveling a road to destruction, as harmful to yourself as to any of your chosen enemies. Get help.

About a week later, Barrett Brown melted down and was arrested after recording a bizarre YouTube rant in which he threatened an FBI agent. And it was scarcely surprising to learn, from Brown’s appearance in federal court this week, that he is being treated with the anti-depressant Zoloft and the anti-psychotic drug Risperidone, used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Like I said: Get help.

The problem with crazies like Barrett Brown and Bill Schmalfeldt is that they are able to persuade some people that what they are doing is politically motivated “activism” or “journalism,” and their political allies act as enablers who validate their dangerous delusions.

When will law enforcement start taking this problem seriously? Will we have to wait until one of these cyberstalkers finally kills somebody? A couple of weeks ago I warned about John Tiessen, who went on a bizarre rant after being exposed as a convicted sex offender:

“You people who kicked me to the curb because of my lifestyle, you’re doing the same thing that you’re fighting against. . . . You want these people to get out of prison and . . . you want them to be ridiculed, laughed at, made fun of. . . .
“I still have a hard time with what I did. I know I’m guilty. . . . The coke whore that I picked up promised me a blow job if I gave her coke and then she tried to renege on it, and I said, ‘No, you’re going to do it.’ . . .
“I’m a f–king true freedom fighter. I’m not one of these f–king wannabes. . . . You want to grow some f–king cojones and be a true freedom fighter? Stand up like Jesus did. Stand up to these kings and these so-called f–king religious leaders. . . [Tell them] ‘You’re not speaking for God.’ I don’t care who you are — Obama, Putin, on and on — I don’t care. You’re speaking for the Devil, man.
“You ain’t speaking for the people. You’re speaking for the Rothschilds and the J.P. Morgans and the f–king banks of this world.”

Diagnosis: Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. I joke about it, but people like that can be seriously dangerous, and ignoring them won’t make them go away.




 

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Category: Aaron Worthing, Barrett Brown, Bill Schmalfeldt, Conspiracy Theories, The Kimberlin Files

Mayor Ass-Man: ‘How Dare You Accuse Me of Sexism, You Lying Media Bitches?’

Posted on | February 1, 2013 | 8 Comments

OK, the headline may be a slight paraphrase of Mayor Bloomberg’s response to questions at Thursday’s press conference:

On Monday, New York Magazine published a profile . . . that contained a quote from Mayor Michael Bloomberg that got a great deal off attention. According to Jonathan Van Meter . . . Mayor Bloomberg “gestured toward a woman in a very tight floor-length gown” and said, ”Look at the ass on her.” Politicker asked the mayor about the comment at a press conference . . .
“I never said it and I don’t know where it came from, next question,” the mayor replied tersely. . . .
We pressed the point and asked the mayor whether he rejected the characterization of the quote as part of a pattern of sexist remarks.
“OK, you can write anything you want,” Mayor Bloomberg said. “Don’t be ridiculous, that’s an outrage for you to say that.”

Mayor Ass-Man is probably surprised to learn that not even his advocacy of gun-control can spare him from feminist wrath.

Category: Feminism, New York

Three Axis Of Fedora Amigos

Posted on | February 1, 2013 | 22 Comments

by Smitty

We got together for a bite several weeks back, and finally got a picture of the three of us in the hats:

So, left to right, that’s me, Stacy, and the Wombat. This should help them identify us when we’re hauled off to Room 101.

Category: Blogging

Alex Pareene Shocked To Learn That Rational Americans Think Him Daft

Posted on | February 1, 2013 | 3 Comments

by Smitty

“Americans shocked to learn that there isn’t actually a Social Security crisis” I guess we can view this assertion as somehow valid to the extent that, say, Terri Shiavo was arguably not in a crisis, either. But truly:

Despite the staggering popularity and undeniable success of Social Security, a lot of political figures are obsessed with killing it. Some people want Social Security ended for honest ideological reasons, but most of the loudest voices in favor of “reforming” the program wish to do so because it would make them or their friends a lot of money by effectively forcing all Americans to gamble their retirements on the fluctuations of the giant Wall Street casino.

I don’t know who these ‘most’ are, but this may explain why Bush was thrashed after the 2004 election for trying to do something, anything about Social Security. The reform could very well have been an attempt to place too much power in the hands of just a few people.

“An economic Hindenberg,” said not Ben Bernanke

The deficit fear-mongering succeeded in getting 57 percent of survey respondents to believe that Social Security is a “crisis or significant problem,” until they learned that minor tax increases would make it totally sustainable for 75 years, at which point 74 percent of Americans were like “Oh, really? Then it seems fine, why don’t they ever put it like that on the news.” (That is not an exact quote from the survey.)

“Oh, sir, it’s only a tiny little thin one,” protested Mr. Creosote’s waiter.

Who could object to a minor tax?

Over at Heritage, they don’t do the preening Pareene Polyanna about the situation:

Congress could have fixed Social Security several years ago but delayed because it feared making the difficult decisions. A further delay in addressing Social Security’s financial problems will only make the situation even worse. The new trustees report is not based on conjecture; it is based on a firm understanding of the economy and the U.S. population. Almost every new taxpayer who will begin a career before 2033 is living today and can be counted. Similarly, all the people who will face approximately 25 percent across-the-board benefit cuts starting in the year 2033 if Congress does nothing to fix the program are alive now, and most of them are paying taxes.

Category: Uncategorized

FORMER NYC MAYOR ED KOCH DIES

Posted on | February 1, 2013 | 20 Comments

The New York Times:

Edward I. Koch, the master showman of City Hall, who parlayed shrewd political instincts and plenty of chutzpah into three tumultuous terms as mayor of New York with all the tenacity, zest and combativeness that personified his city of golden dreams, died Friday morning at age 88.

More reaction at Memeorandum.

UPDATE: Koch is being remembered fondly, even though his tenure as mayor coincided with some of the worst years in New York’s history. What enhanced Koch’s reputation? The unmitigated disaster of the Dinkins era, which made the failures of liberalism so abundantly clear that New Yorkers voted for Rudy Giuliani.

Category: Uncategorized

Chuck Hagel’s Very Bad Day

Posted on | February 1, 2013 | 40 Comments

Hagel delivers shaky performance
— The Hill

Hagel Pleads Ignorance: “I have a hard enough
time understanding American politics,
I certainly don’t understand Iranian politics.”
— Ace of Spades HQ

Chuck Hagel’s Ill-Received Performance
Puts Confirmation In Flux
— BuzzFeed

Is Chuck Hagel Failing?
— National Journal

Wow, he stunk it up in that confirmation hearing yesterday, huh? Let me just observe that Senator Hagel looks like a man who enjoys his whiskey, and has enjoyed it at the rate of at least a half-gallon a week for the past 40 years or so. Keep drinking like that and, by age 66, you’re probably not going to be at the top of your game.

Which isn’t to say that Senator Boozehead is also Senator Jew-Hater, but there’s a bit of the walk-like-a-duck issue involved here:

Ed Morrissey nails it:

The beauty of this clip isn’t just the spectacle of Graham making Hagel eat his own shinola. It’s the fact that 90 percent of the reason the left has gone along with this nomination is to see Hagel push back on questions exactly like this one. He was the guy who was going to speak truth to power by standing up to the neocon warmongers and their “Zionist” puppet-masters — and here he is, rolling over. You could almost hear liberals screaming at their TV sets when Graham asked him to name a dumb move taken by the U.S. at the behest of the Israel lobby, “Say ‘Iraq’, Chuck! Say ‘Iraq!’” But Hagel can’t make that move.

Exactly. The Left wanted Chuck to repudiate Bush’s Neo-Con War for Oil — the Jews! the Jews! — and instead he is forced to eat humble pie on national TV. Bad enough to have once made a few vaguely Stormfront-ish comments about Israel, but then to get up in front of a Senate hearing and deny everything . . . eh, it looks cowardly.

So the people who think U.S. foreign policy is secretly controlled by the Rothschild dynasty — hello, “True Freedom Fighter” John Tiessen — are disappointed in not having their beliefs officially affirmed in public, and must comfort themselves with the semi-clandestine knowledge that Senator Hagel is privately on their side:

M.J. Rosenberg: “Jews Against Israel,” self-hating apologist for the Sirhan Sirhan wing of the Democrat Party.

Y’know, it might be nice if we could have an honest debate about this kind of stuff. But the Left spent more than a half-century smearing the Right as anti-Semitic until, during the Bush years, the accusation was turned around the other way, so that now the Republican Party is alleged to be puppets dancing on Zionist strings. One might think it would be possible to embarrass Democrats by making them try to explain these contradictory accusations, but Republicans are such natural-born scaredy-cats, there’s no hope for the problem.

UPDATE (Smitty): Welcome, Instapundit readers!


Category: Israel, Military, Senate
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