Patterico's Pontifications

12/5/2013

Obama: Christmas Is No Time to Tell People They Have Lost Their Insurance

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:52 am



Allahpundit responds:

[H]e’s talking about unemployment insurance, but no matter. When the man’s right, he’s right. What kind of monsters would sandbag an unsuspecting middle class by … taking away their coverage? How are people supposed to pay their bills now? Mom and dad were hoping to have toys under the tree this year and instead all they have is a cancellation notice. How awful.

Am I awake?

What, you’re stunned that this guy is disingenuous or something?

156 Responses to “Obama: Christmas Is No Time to Tell People They Have Lost Their Insurance”

  1. Barack Obama is not only a Clown (because instead of being the “moment” that slowed “the rise of the oceans” and “our planet began to heal” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQNkVmdicvA , Obama in fact has had the reverse Midas Touch), but this Patterico item and Obama video, shows that he actually is a sick cruel Clown – that knows no limits to his perverse abuse of language, his perverse abuse of power, and to how big, bold and blatant his lies are.

    Obama stated he was out to fundamentally transform [Translation: destroy] America. That means he is out to take your Liberty. And he is well down that path.

    The only questions are: If and When – will the American people wake up and stop him.

    Liberty & Truth require constant vigilance.

    Gary L. Zerman (b79f50)

  2. TFG is an unmitigated disaster.

    Colonel Haiku (0f1c4b)

  3. I’m just glad Martin Bashir is gone from MSNBC because Obama was comparing ACA to civil rights last night and I was worried Bashir was going to go on another poop fetish rant. Oh, wait, you mean to tell me Bashir would never say that about anyone on the left? Nevermind then, I’m still glad he is gone.

    ratbeach (477e41)

  4. Another day, another revoltin’ development…

    Colonel Haiku (d63e9f)

  5. i’m more stunned by your racism, picking on a hard w*rking black man like this… don’t you know how big a mess he inherited from Bush?

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  6. I guess we’ll only be able to end this in years where Xmas isn’t in December.

    Kevin M (1b8ba9)

  7. I think it’s totally cute that he wants to be a host on ESPN after he’s out of the White House.

    He fits well with Olberman, two skinny, self important jokes who think they lend gravitas to sports ‘news’. And then after the inevitable war between the two it’s on to a big WWE PPV cage match. Zero vs Zero, the battle of nothing, will cost $100 or more if you want to….have to…watch. I also see Chrissie Matthews in Obama’s corner and Olberman will have a prostitute/friend in his.

    Turns out that, in this dream I’m having, Matthews is a bleeder, in the boxer sense.

    East Bay Jay (a5dac7)

  8. Nelson Mandela dies today at 95. RIP madiba.

    The Emperor (fa12e9)

  9. And then after the inevitable war between the two it’s on to a big WWE PPV cage match. Zero vs Zero, the battle of nothing, will cost $100 or more if you want to….have to…watch. I also see Chrissie Matthews in Obama’s corner and Olberman will have a prostitute/friend in his.

    A cage match would require the two to actually do something other than bloviate, so I kind of doubt they have the initiative to make it happen. What I foresee is an ongoing pissy little Twitter war between the two, and various digs at one another in their respective shows. Settling it mano e mano is way too macho for those two metrosexuals.

    JVW (709bc7)

  10. Nelson Mandela dies today at 95

    good riddance to another Marxist thug… i hope he’s enjoying hell.

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  11. 10-
    Steve Hayward at Powerline has a different perspective.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  12. As usual he manages to insert himself so it’s about him.

    “I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela’s life,” Obama continued, citing his own protests against apartheid as one of his first political actions. “I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example set by Nelson Mandela.”

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/obama-nelson-mandela_n_4393950.html

    elissa (ffe70e)

  13. Narcissist in Chief.

    Three more f***ing years of him.

    SPQR (9c5bd8)

  14. @redc1c4
    You are a loser. You will die like a loser and no one will mourn you. You will never be a Mandela. Your hatred will keep you locked in a dark room all your life. Racist!

    The Emperor (be6d20)

  15. “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead 2 my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness & hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” Madiba. 1918-2013.

    The Emperor (e28272)

  16. The Emperor, you know that the rant you wrote about red above was all fair … until the moronic “Racist” crack.

    Mandela’s legacy will always be a mixed one due to the violent nature of the ANC. And due to his inability to finish the task of guiding South Africa to a stable political form. Sadly, I think that his successors in South Africa have already failed and that we’ll see more descent into the morass of violence and corruption that is Africa.

    SPQR (9c5bd8)

  17. SPQR. You are right. I tend to let my feelings get the better of me. I just could not believe someone could be so clueless and divisive even in the face of a global feeling of loss for an icon. Hate him or love him, Mandela would forver be revered as an icon of freedom and forgiveness. Something we all should learn from. I withdraw the racist rant, but every other thing I said to red stays. He should go to the clown corner and contemplate his life.

    The Emperor (98014f)

  18. It is a rather trite statement, not up to the occasion,

    narciso (3fec35)

  19. R.I.P. well, you already know

    Icy (9ee6b4)

  20. Chimperor – you already occupy the clown corner.

    JD (5c1832)

  21. 14 needed to read 15 before posting.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  22. JD, that’s a long term lease.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  23. Funny, when I read 14 I thought he was obviously talking about Obama.

    luagha (5cbe06)

  24. Red is in good company here. Birds of the same feather. Not one person condemns his comment but they have no problem attacking the Emperor. Not surprising.

    The Emperor (4dcc08)

  25. People that call themselves Emperor, and speak of themselves in the 3rd person are inherently mendoucheous. There are studies.

    JD (5c1832)

  26. Civility, we ought to try that sometime, you think:

    https://patterico.com/2013/04/08/margaret-thatcher-rip/comment-page-3/

    narciso (3fec35)

  27. Red gave his impassioned opinion on a public figure, as did you, Emperor. Personally, I think Mandela is quite hard to categorize. On one level he was inspirational and incredibly brave. On another level he failed a lot of people who I believe were counting on him to help change the bloody trajectory of modern Africa.

    elissa (ffe70e)

  28. the emperor’s ‘opinions’ are as valuable as the contents of a zit on my 4th point of contact…

    Mandela was responsible for the overthrow of a racist society, replacing it with *ANOTHER* racist society that is also tribalistic & Marxist.

    the telling thing is that my critics find this to be admirable behavior on his part.

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  29. emperor, is that you with your Marxist tyrant friend?

    https://twitter.com/communist_party/status/408716670048673792/photo/1

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  30. teh Chimperor… da Berss…

    Colonel Haiku (2ef314)

  31. As usual he manages to insert himself so it’s about him.

    I’m awaiting Teh Won’s photo of himself sitting in a prison cell, staring out the barred window…

    Colonel Haiku (2ef314)

  32. Barack Gump.

    Gazzer (e6ddf8)

  33. Why does emperor have a different number everytime it posts? Are numerous people posting with that name? Just curious.

    PatAZ (c10ab2)

  34. Comment by SPQR (9c5bd8) — 12/5/2013 @ 3:40 pm

    Mandela’s legacy will always be a mixed one due to the violent nature of the ANC. And due to his inability to finish the task of guiding South Africa to a stable political form.

    He never established or saw the importance of competitive elections.

    It’s not just violence (crime in all black areas) where he failed – nobody was looking out for them.

    Also AIDS. AIDS had been under control during the apartheid regime. When the end was negotiated, there was alot of negotiations. All things they foresaw were taken care and prevented. But not what somebody didn’t forsee.

    Sammy Finkelman (1e81da)

  35. Forget the chimperor. It profanes Mandela when it uses its name. (PatAZ, it uses proxies that’s why the different IPs. It’s some kind of spammer.)

    Mandela, in my view, is a hero in the truest sense. He descended into hell, triumphed, and brought great benefit to a great many people. Whom else can you name who has done that? Hercules, Jesus, Mandela. They belong together. And for measurable good, in this world, I would put Mandela first. The South Africans should deify him. If I’m being hyperbolic, that’s only because Mandela deserves it.

    nk (dbc370)

  36. I was half-kidding, Gazzer, but damn… he looks good in a prison cell.

    Colonel Haiku (2ef314)

  37. All in good time, Colonel, all in good time.

    Gazzer (e6ddf8)

  38. 37. Comment by nk (dbc370) — 12/5/2013 @ 5:44 pm

    I’m being hyperbolic, that’s only because Mandela deserves it.

    he could have created a hell in South Africa – well, maybe not, if he was like that P.W. Botha wouldn’t havw worked with it. What triggered the change was fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, which removed the fear of a dictatorship because of the ANC’s alliances – taht combined with the sanctions.

    But Mandela did not estanlish a working a two party system. And the first election they didn’t have an honest count. It makes a difference if they got 60% or 66%.

    Mandela served only one term. He avoided one thig but he didn’t see to it that a functioning democracy where nobody’s votes were certain came into being.

    Sammy Finkelman (1e81da)

  39. Mandela said no to himself – and maybe for himself he didn’t care – but he didn’t say no, really no, to his compatriots.

    Sammy Finkelman (1e81da)

  40. Gazzer, I just wish he would have an epiphany and decide that he would rather golf full-time, rather than spend just part of his week on the links… take us back to an August, 1974 kind of thang.

    Colonel Haiku (2ef314)

  41. Christmas is a time to charge shoppers $12 for a Big Mac.

    Dirty Old Man (5b158d)

  42. Mandela led the reconciliation, when it certainly could have gone in the opposite direction. For that alone, he should be revered. That is not to say SA doesn’t face problems… the enormity of which may yet lead to Hell on Earth.

    One thing I remember reading a few years ago is how car owners were dealing with auto theft, of which SA probably had one of the highest rates in the world. Car owners were mounting spring loaded bar contraptions down by the pedals that were cocked and then triggered if an attempted theft occurred. The thief would suffer shattered lower legs or worse.

    Colonel Haiku (2ef314)

  43. I liked the anti-rape condom with teeth, Haiku. http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/06/20/south.africa.female.condom/ If you click the link, don’t read all the way through if you don’t want the pro-rape point of view.

    nk (dbc370)

  44. “Red is in good company here. Birds of the same feather. Not one person condemns his comment but they have no problem attacking the Emperor. Not surprising.
    Comment by The Emperor (4dcc08) — 12/5/2013 @ 4:05 pm

    So you are too stupid and dishonest to understand my comment. Typical.

    SPQR (768505)

  45. Pretty ingenious, nk. We shouldn’t be judgmental, no culture is superior to any other… oh, wait.

    Colonel Haiku (2ef314)

  46. I don’t know Mandela from Mbeki, and don’t care.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  47. Mbeki was the HIV denialist,

    narciso (3fec35)

  48. 49. With all the hells on this Earth Johannesberg routinely ranks as its most dangerous city.

    The mark will be gone with the next tide.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  49. burg, Doh.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  50. “Tell me what’s the word? Johannesburg!”

    – Gil Scott Heron

    Colonel Haiku (2ef314)

  51. And the late great Stanley Unwin. Thanks Colonel.

    Gazzer (e6ddf8)

  52. “I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example set by Nelson Mandela.”

    Sheesh, what a douchebag you are, Barry. Both an unrepentant egotist and a despicable, dishonest leftist to boot. You will forever stain the history of the White House and the USA. But, regrettably, you’re merely a reflection of too much of the American electorate in the 21st century, and that could be a big reason why this society’s future is cloudy at best.

    Mark (58ea35)

  53. Even though I’m of the right, I’d still have (yes, naively) theorized that with the ANC taking over South Africa, and that political force being analogous to urban-America politicians and policymaking writ large, that at least a bit of the following trends not only wouldn’t have remained so much in evidence, but would have lessened just a bit—at least a wee bit.

    Keep the stats below in mind when people (mainly of the left) cling to the idea that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer (here in the US or elsewhere) because the public sector isn’t benevolent, compassionate and beautiful enough (or that it’s being managed by greedy, big-money conservatives).

    blog.euromonitor.com, June 2012: Despite the end of the apartheid in 1994, South Africa has the highest income inequality in the world measured by the Gini Index – a level that has remained relatively unchanged between 1990 and 2011.

    Real GDP growth in South Africa averaged 3.6% between 2000 and 2011 – this was on a par with the average global growth for the same period. Despite gains in economic growth, the country has the most unequal income distribution in the world with a Gini Index of 63.6% in 2011, relatively unchanged from 63.5% in 2000.

    The income gap between the poorest 10% of households (decile 1) and richest 10% of households (decile 10) has widened between 2000 and 2011. During this period, the average household disposable income (constant US$) of the poorest 10% of households and richest 10% of households recorded a real increase of 14.4% and 26.8% respectively to reach US$427 and US$80,880 respectively by 2011.

    Although South Africa is classified as a middle-income country, according to the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Millennium Development Goals (MDG) country report 2010, high poverty levels in a majority of the population qualifies the country as a low-income country.

    Together these factors are having a detrimental effect on South Africa’s business environment and investment potential. Foreign direct investment inflows into South Africa dropped to R11.4 billion (US$1.6 billion) in 2010 (latest data available) from R74.4 billion (US$9.0 billion) in 2008…

    Mark (58ea35)

  54. It should be remembered that the US had its own crowing pains in the post-founder era and was a one-party state for a while there. Plus slavery. Then we had a civil war. Then we killed a lot of native Americans. Etc.

    In the end though, it seems worth it.

    South Africa has got a LOT to fix, and a lot of learning to do. It would have been MUCH worse with, say, Winnie.

    Kevin M (536c5d)

  55. *growing

    Kevin M (536c5d)

  56. if it’s dead mandelas vs. dead paul walkers i think the dead paul walkers are somehow more sad and poignant

    it’s a thing

    don’t ask me to explain it because it’s somewhat of an enigma it’s just how it is

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  57. don’t look now but national soros radio is having a too-creepy-for-words mandela deathgasm

    you’ll want some purell handy if you go check it out

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  58. http://thebackbencher.co.uk/3-things-you-didnt-want-to-know-about-nelson-mandela/

    just your typical 3rd world Marxist thug:corruption, murder & oppression.

    a real fing hero you got there…i’m PROUD to not meet the ethical standards of anyone who thinks this tyrant was some sort of saint.

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  59. “No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones.” NELSON MENDELA
    A man much better than any of you lttle haters will ever hope to be, Red especially.

    The Emperor (5647ed)

  60. he was in prison for terrorist attacks…

    as for me being a “hater”, i’d just say i’ve never put a gasoline filled tire or two around a political opponent’s living body and set it on fire to advance my cause.

    unlike the Mandela’s.

    so yeah, i’m heartbroken to not be seen as his moral or ethical peer, even if that’s the POV of a raving loon.

    (blind pigs & acorns, don’t ya know? %-)

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  61. I also recognize that for others, the accomplishments of the Jewish community triggers feelings of resentment

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  62. “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” – Nelson Mandela 1918-2013.

    The Emperor (08c3d2)

  63. @ Red, you moron, he was fighting a racist apartheid system that was killing and oppressing his people. And yes he went to jail as a freedom fighter but when he was released he preached forgiveness and reconciliation among south Africans, black and white. He would not even allow his people to dismiss or persecute the white people who worked for the previous oppressive regimes. He asked his jailers to sit next to his family during his inauguration as president. Yes he may have made his mistakes at the beginning but he spent the rest of his years showing an example of what it means to be a true leader. That your hatred won’t let you see any good in this man shows you are sick and who knows, prejudiced. The whole world mourns the passing of this great man for his sacrifice. Who will remember you when you die, Red?

    The Emperor (6685ec)

  64. mandela was a thing in like the late 80s/early 90s – he was like a geriatric morgan freemanesque mariah carey but he couldn’t sing for sh!t

    it was mostly cause of he opposed oppression is why he was famous

    a lot of other people opposed oppression but back then as now failmerica’s propaganda slut media was very selective about which ones counted

    but nelson rocked the effing casbah

    me and buttons for sure – we ain’t gonna play sun city – i don’t know about the rest of yous

    (this whole nelson thang was shortly after drunk-ass jessica savitch drowned drowned glub glub glub like when you tie unwanted puppies into a sack and throw them into a river)

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  65. 66. “Who will remember you when you die.”

    I will be reasonably happy they’ll soon forget. But that’s just me.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  66. Listening to some of youse I begin to think that maybe y’all supported the oppressive apartheid regime and saw Nelson Mandela and the other SA freedom fighters as terrorists. Makes sense now.

    The Emperor (e28272)

  67. Dibble: “Having played with the White Sox for a short time, I know how the Cubs fans and White Sox fans go back and forth. Who was one of your favorite White Sox players growing up?”

    Obama: “You know uh ….. I … I thought that … uh …. you know … the truth is a lot of the Cubs I like too! But, uh … I did not become a Sox fan until I moved to Chicago. Because I uh …. I was growing up in Hawaii so I ended up actually being an Oakland A’s fan.”

    I’ll shut up now.

    Steve57 (0f37a6)

  68. Everything in Obama’s life was handed to him, everything in Mandela’s he had to fight for. This is why the former makes it out about him,

    narciso (3fec35)

  69. Lovie/chimperor’s sporadic visits are becoming more and more bizarre and unhinged. Outside the de rigueur racism charge, it seems she really just stops by to vent her blind hatred.

    JD (5c1832)

  70. Mandela is proof that with enough PR you can turn blazing tires into halos.

    Rob Crawford (e57ae3)

  71. Halos for the people LIGHTING the tires, at that.

    Rob Crawford (e57ae3)

  72. Narciso. I disagree with you on that. It is unfair to say that everything Obama got was handed to him, not really everything. He contested and election and was voted in by a majority of Americans, twice. Winning the White house is no small deal. Yes he is nowhere near a Mandela in comparison but he did work for what he got. Give credit to whom credit is due.

    The Emperor (4dcc08)

  73. @jd. Why haven’t you dedicated a thread to the passing of Mandela? Or you think by doing that you will be increasing his greatness, god forbid?

    The Emperor (fa12e9)

  74. Yes he is nowhere near a Mandela in comparison but he did work for what he got.

    But I think of characters like Bill Clinton, or the various despots of the left like Castro or the even more disgusting extremists like Stalin and Mao, who nonetheless have received a million passes by far too many liberals, perhaps including you. So even if Mandela were as radical in his senior years as he was when younger — and managed South Africa like a Hugo Chavez (or like a Winnie Mandela) — far too much of the left still would be gushy about and dazzled by him.

    Mark (58ea35)

  75. Emperor, in one way I agree with your point that Mandela and Obama do share some things in common, one being that their public popularity is largely the result of the press ignoring all of the inconvenient truths that are readily available to anyone who wants to take 5 minutes looking for them.

    I never looked at much depth into the events of SA, though I had been pleasantly surprised at how apparently peaceful the transition had been from apartheid, at least as compared to Zimbabwe and other places. I guess what I am reading here suggests that perhaps SA has not been doing as well as I had thought, though I guess there is no surprise there. I guess from a distance it is a little more unclear whether Mandela was truly heroic in his turning from violence and advocating peaceful cooperation, or whether he simply had more to gain by taking a different route, not unlike William Ayers, though not as braggadocios about it.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  76. Steve57@70– Cubs are that other Chicago baseball team –the one with the crumbling ballpark –the team that has not won a World Series in the lifetime of anyone who posts here (or in fact in the last century). Hipsters who don’t know s#it about baseball say they’re Cubs fans, go to games to drink beer and to be seen wearing their trendy sports gear. The President should be a Cubs fan. It’s more his style.

    I’ll shut up now.

    elissa (ffe70e)

  77. meanwhile, the latest O-care technical fail directly attacks Ear Leader’s core constituency…

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-06/healthcaregovs-latest-glitch-unusable-medicaid-data

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  78. @MD. Why do you think Mandela was popular?

    The Emperor (98014f)

  79. Well, it would be easy enough to say your favorite Cub was Ernie Banks.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  80. Emperor, I already answered your question, why are you asking it?

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  81. So you are saying Mandela is popular because of the press/media and not for anything he did, right?

    The Emperor (98014f)

  82. 69. On behalf of the clothes with no Emperor:

    http://bastionofliberty.blogspot.com/2013/12/i-think-im-in-love.html

    Alright, I guess I could distinguish a Mandela from a Mbeki after this:

    http://therightscoop.com/full-audio-breitbarts-joel-pollack-discusses-the-life-of-nelson-mandela-on-the-mark-levin-show/

    Someone who actually knows something about someone.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  83. I guess what I am reading here suggests that perhaps SA has not been doing as well as I had thought,

    When I see the history of countries like an Argentina or Venezuela, or a Mexico, I’d automatically be quite skeptical about the overall stability and normalcy of a South Africa.

    Back around 2000, I recall speaking with a woman of Asian (ie, Indian) descent who was born and raised in South Africa. She immigrated to the US because she said the crime rates in SA were so severe. I know another person (of the left, btw) who traveled to SA last year and admitted that he was constantly nervous about his safety and well-being throughout his time there. Given his gung-ho attitude and demeanor — he tends to be anti-conformist, pro-iconclast — he ain’t no shrinking violet too.

    I want to tell people like him that if they want to put their do-gooder (faux though it may be) liberalism to the test, they should pack up and move to South Africa. Or, heck, move to some of the sketchy parts of urban America.

    Walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk.

    economist.com, September 2013: THE general take on the crime figures released on September 19th by the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) is that they are “the worst in ten years”. This phrase cropped up in many newspapers today. The casual reader might deduce that the overall incidence of crime—and especially of violent crime—is higher now than it was a decade ago. A glance at the statistics as presented by the SAPS suggests things are not quite as bad as that. But they nevertheless reveal some worrying trends.

    The overall incidence of crime (measured by a group of 20 serious crimes) fell by 1.3% in 2012-13 to 4,068 crimes per 100,000 population. The corresponding rate in 2003-04 was much higher at 5,513. That is good news. It is depressing how high the rate still is. The rate of decline has been far slower in the past few years than it was before 2009. But the figures suggest a typical person living in South Africa is at less risk of crime than she was a decade ago.

    So why the despairing headlines? One concern is that the trend decline in the murder rate has clearly stalled. The rate edged up from 30.9 to 31.1 per 100,000 population last year (see chart). The rate of crime against the person continued to fall but only because there were fewer assaults. It is not a great comfort to South Africans to know that they are lot less likely to be beaten up if they are a bit more likely to be murdered.

    The other big concern is that certain kinds of property crimes rose sharply. Car theft fell but that is largely because manufacturers are making cars that are harder to steal. The incidence of theft from cars rose. So did carjackings. And the home burglary rate is also increasing. It is hard not to make a link between the recent rise property crime and the worsening job prospects of many young South Africans.

    Mark (58ea35)

  84. Your act is tiresome, lovie.

    JD (3a4df6)

  85. Emperor–I think where you go wrong on these threads often is that you try to equate “popularity” and being “an icon” with universal greatness. In Mandela’s case I think he was a great man, albeit an imperfect one.

    But you must bear in mind that different people have different “Icons”. And popularity is in the eye of the beholder. Roosevelt and Reagan are recognized as political Icons, but possibly not to the same degree by different people. Kim Kardashian and Beyonce and Grace Kelly are all popular and considered fashion Icons–but probably not by the same people.

    I’m not looking to pick a fight, but it gets old when you constantly try to make everybody’s worldview be the same as your worldview and feel it’s your duty criticize them and harangue them if it’s not.

    elissa (ffe70e)

  86. Cubs are that other Chicago baseball team –the one with the crumbling ballpark –the team that has not won a World Series in the lifetime of anyone who posts here (or in fact in the last century). Hipsters who don’t know s#it about baseball say they’re Cubs fans, go to games to drink beer and to be seen wearing their trendy sports gear.

    Yeah. So?

    nk (dbc370)

  87. There’s no perfect democracy and you cannot blame Mandela for the failures in his country. Heck their independence is not even up to 30 yrs yet! He played his part and brought down the evil system of apartheid and emancipated his people from white supremacist rulers who oppressed them for yrs. Listening to some of you here I wonder if you are angry with him for ending apartheid in SA. You want to deny him any credit for any good he may have done for his people and attribute his greatness to media hype. How low can you really get?

    The Emperor (fc6588)

  88. @elissa
    “in Mandela’s case I think he was a great man, albeit an imperfect one.”
    Best comment so far. No one is saying he was perfect. No one is perfect but we judge people by what they did to make life better for the others. After 27 years in prison he became an icon of reconciliation and peace, forestalling a major bloodshed between the blacks and white S Africans. He brought them together and did not discriminate against race. This is why he is not just revered by the black south Africans but also by the whites. Yes he was not perfect but he did his best and for that he must be respected.

    The Emperor (92db31)

  89. Back to the thread topic, Obama has created more excuses than jobs during his time in office.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  90. ==Yes he was not perfect but he did his best and for that he must be respected.==

    See, Emperor, here you blindly reinforce the exact point that I was hoping to make to you @90. Had you said “Yes he was not perfect but he did his best and for that many people both black and white across the globe respect him”–or, “Yes he was not perfect but he did his best and for that I respect him enormously”, you’d have made your point beautifully. But instead you preached and demanded that he “must be respected”. Nobody here must do anything.

    elissa (ffe70e)

  91. So you are saying Mandela is popular because of the press/media and not for anything he did, right?
    Comment by The Emperor (98014f) — 12/6/2013 @ 7:42 am

    Only you know whether you really don’t understand my point or are just being difficult.

    But I’ll repeat it more explicitly, their (Mandela and Obama) popularity public image would be very different if their negative exploits were also described as well as simply the positive mythos.

    I think most people who do not follow things very closely think of Mandela as Africa’s Martin Luther King, Jr., only better because SA was worse and he stood his ground for a longer time.
    Mandela was many things, some of them good, but he was not a bigger and better version of MLK. MLK was willing to bear the brunt of punishment to make things better, but did not advocate giving out punishment.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  92. From “The Hill”:

    The White House will not insist that an emerging budget deal include an extension of the unemployment benefits program set to expire at the end of the year, press secretary Jay Carney said on Friday.

    Carney said that it would be “terrible to tell more than a million families across the country just a few days after Christmas that they’re out of benefits,” but that the White House was agnostic on how the extension happened.

    Neo (d1c681)

  93. I understand the whole free speech thing, but you have to wonder if some on this site have ADD, have trouble focusing and can not stay on topic, on issue, focus.

    This post was about the deception, phoniness and crassness of Barack Obama.

    However, real quickly it got off topic. Diverged.

    Example: #3 Comment by ratbeach (477e41) — 12/5/2013 @ 10:20 am – goes off on Martin Bashir, “… I was worried Bashir was going to go on another poop fetish rant. …”; Bashir is a proper subject for discussion, even condemnation, but off topic here and not at issue in this post.

    Example: #8 Comment by The Emperor (fa12e9) — 12/5/2013 @ 2:14 pm – “Nelson Mandela dies today at 95. RIP madiba.” Again, a proper subject for discussion, maybe even tribute, but again off topic here and not at issue in this post.

    Focus Grasshopper. Patience Grasshopper. In fact, the very next Patterico post was on the passing of Nelson Mandela.

    Obama and his PR/Spin machine (David Axlerod, Robert Gibbs, Jay Blarney, to name a few) and the Lame Stream media (Chris Mathews, …) manipulate and change the subject enough on their own. They don’t need any help.

    Focus Grasshopper. Focus.

    Recall the 1987 Olivia Newton John pop song ‘Let’s get Physical, Physical’? Time to change the lyrics to: Let’s Get Serious, Serious.

    Focus Grasshopper. Focus.

    Liberty & Truth require constant vigilance.

    Gary L. Zerman (b79f50)

  94. Ace is right. Liberals don’t care about actual issues or policies. They’ve become over-achieving high school English students who care most about their hero’s emotional journey. Sadly, Obama also represents his supporters to the extent they crave his celebrity and identify with the world he is creating for all his Julias.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  95. “The FDR administration built almost a hundred working aircraft carriers faster than the Obama administration has managed to build one working website.” — Tamara K.

    And several nuclear bombs.

    SPQR (9c5bd8)

  96. I think it was pointed out that FDR fought WWII faster than Obama made a website.
    maybe that’s why no one is noting Pearl Harbor Day today, they don’t want to give the opportunity for the comparison.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  97. elissa, I don’t know squat about Chicago.

    Hope it shows.

    Well, Butch O’Hare could fly Wildcats. I know that.

    Love you. Stay warm.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  98. Getting all ethnic now on you.

    http://navalaviationnews.navylive.dodlive.mil/2013/05/09/swede-vejtasa-in-memoriam/

    We lost Swede in May.

    A fine, aggressive aviator, Swede saw action in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, using his tough little dive-bomber as a fighter against a swarm of seven Zeros, shooting down three of the dangerous fighters just before noon on 8 May. The previous day, he had participated in the attack on the Japanese light carrier Shoho, helping to sink it in less than seven minutes. He received two Navy Crosses for these actions.

    I like that little passage. Actually what Swede told his radioman/gunner was to watch the back door. He’d take care of the rest.

    And he did.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  99. maybe that’s why no one is noting Pearl Harbor Day today

    No one? ‘scuse me doc, and I mean it with all due respect because without the medical staff I never would have survived Rugby, but come again. No one?

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  100. christmas is not about insurance and obamacares it’s about how jesus died deader than a doornail for our sins but then a few days later he became an undead walker for our salvation

    and he will come again to judge the living and the dead and his glory will have no end

    not unlike carrie underwood, fresh off a smash-hit album, a sell-out tour, and an amazing LIVE performance as the hot-to-trot would-be nun maria

    maria was the original Pretty Girl I think, if you follow such things

    a flibbertijibbet! – a will-o-the wisp! – a clown!

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  101. Hey, happyfeet! What’s the difference between a Porsche and a KIA? Paul Walker wouldn’t be caught dead in a KIA.

    nk (dbc370)

  102. ok yeah that one’s getting recycled

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  103. Taking on Zeros in a Dauntless? That takes balls.

    SPQR (768505)

  104. As long as we’re not remembering Pearl Harbor, let’s not remember the Coast Guard Cutter Taney.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Taney_%28WHEC-37%29

    I hope my acidic sense of humor isn’t putting people off. But even before the good doctor mentioned it I was thinking of the the Taney.

    Yeah. That’s what my lady has to put up with. I have no idea where you’re supposed to send donations.

    But there I was thinking of the Taney. The longest serving warship that fought at Pearl Harbor.

    And she’s still with us. Baltimore.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  105. 108. Taking on Zeros in a Dauntless? That takes balls.

    Comment by SPQR (768505) — 12/7/2013 @ 10:48 pm

    How guys like Swede even fit into a cockpit given the size of their balls, I’ll never know.

    Let’s not forget the gunners.

    http://www.ussessexcv9.org/Bravepages/acroh.html

    The First Combat Aircrew Inductee

    AMM1c Bruno Gaido, USN

    1920-1942

    In February of 1942, as a Japanese bomber continued its sea-level attack on USS ENTERPRISE CV-6, unchecked by the anti-aircraft barrage from the carrier, a young enlisted man ran to an SBD dive-bomber spotted at the edge of the flight deck, manned the rear seat .30 cal. gun and poured a stream of bullets into the oncoming plane, thereby assisting in its last-second destruction.

    Awarded with a promotion for this heroic action, a few months later this same Enlisted Combat Aircrewman earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart for equally gallant performance during the Battle of Midway. There, he was shot down, captured from the ocean and subsequently executed. Post-war Japanese reports revealed that he faced a cruel death with the same courage and conviction he so readily displayed in earlier actions against the enemy.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  106. it’s 11:00 here on the coasto westo

    and my music is way too loud for the hour

    what to do what to do

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  107. Indeed, Mr. Feets. What to do, what to do.

    I know! Boats. Boats are what we need.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh0UdzJ-Fx8

    I don’t know about you, Mr. Feets, but nothing brings on the Christmas cheer in the Steve57 household like the the Mark V. Ok, the F-14, too. Or just maybe the M-14.

    Ok, I’m a slut. Just about anything will do it.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  108. i sees your boats and I raise you one Jamie Lynn

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdbyfWseIiw

    wow

    how unexpected was this?

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  109. Mr. 57 when it happens, and it will

    that your fealty for all things military finds an unfortunate juxtaposition with my increasing cynicism

    http://weaselzippers.us/2013/12/07/army-lt-colonel-pens-piece-for-esquire-vowing-to-pry-your-gun-from-your-cold-dead-fingers-shut-down-gun-manufactures-unless-they-make-guns-for-the-government/

    for all such thinger things

    well

    we’ll just have to muddle through

    but trust me my friend

    nothing gold can stay

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  110. (h/t Mr. geoff)

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  111. Mr. Feets, I actually have no fealty to anything military.

    nothing gold can stay

    I must be really getting old. I can’t remember the time when things hadn’t lost their luster.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  112. I have fealty to things sushi.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  113. Which involves a knife. Which is sorta military. Ish.

    So, yeah. Me and the bayonet. Out there fighting the good fight.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  114. oh.

    ok then but still I can see at some point if the robert bateman “lt” whorecolonels of the world become increasingly vocal i will perforce have to raise my wee lil pikachu voice agin them

    for freedom!

    omg Mr. 57 … about the luster

    I kind of hate that this is one of my favorite poems cause it’s not even a wee lil bit transgressive but… ok brb

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  115. the world is charged with the grandeur of God.

    It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;

    It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil

    Crushed.

    Why do men then now not reck his rod?

    Generations have trod, have trod, have trod

    And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil

    And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil

    Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

    And for all this, nature is never spent;

    There lives the dearest freshness deep down things

    And though the last lights off the black West went

    Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—

    Because the Holy Ghost over the bent world broods with warm breast

    and with

    ah!

    bright wings.

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  116. but back to that jamie lynn

    I think i love her more than them midwestern thingers with the pickles

    lemme splain

    what they do in the midwest (roundbout where Mr. JD lives)

    (cause the winters is long)

    is they take a pickle

    and they slather that pickle up one side and down the other with …

    cream cheese!

    (yum)

    but wait there’s more

    you wrap some thinly-sliced roast beef

    or some corned beef

    or whatever-have-you beef

    roundabout the cream cheese!

    and what you got then is a horse dervie

    http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cream-cheese-pickles/

    suitable for any and all occasions

    for example when Jamie Lynn is awarded a gold record for her singings

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  117. Here I am, about to prove myself full of s**t.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9AOqiqc-z8

    Prepare For Thanksgiving – A Navy Daily News Update Clip

    When I say I have no fealty to things military, como se dice?

    I lost interest in the gadgets a long time ago. I don’t have an “I love me” wall filled with plaques from all my former commands. I have a box. A couple of boxes, actually.

    But I have an abiding respect for Navy cooks.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  118. You ever cook for 5,000 guys, Mr. Feets?

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  119. “it…

    it’ll be a lil difficult, especially with a lot of the … specialty things like the pumpkin pie and the… cornucopia…

    but it really makes it worth it to make the crew happy. I mean… we’re all out here away from our family so, these things are the only thing – the only thing we got – to raise morale, really.”

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  120. Me neither.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  121. we try to make errybody hoppy

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  122. we’re all out here away from our family so, these things are the only thing – the only thing we got – to raise morale, really.”

    Comment by happyfeet (8ce051) — 12/8/2013 @ 12:51 am

    It’s not the kid’s fault, Mr. Feets.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  123. i clicked your link and i listened to every word

    how often does that happen on these here blogthreader things?

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  124. Treading lightly. It matters not, for the point to be made, what the policy should be. Suffice it to say I’m in favor of a policy.

    And if you’re going to have a national defense strategy, why not the food to to along with it? I recommend meat loaf. And Guinness.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  125. So much for my fealty to things military. The Food Services Officer on the Carl Vinson used to take the s***birds nobody else could deal with and turn them into stars.

    I have no idea what he’s doing now. Probably not working for a defense contractor. Definitely not working for Blackwater.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  126. i got filtrated on my last comment like a momo

    an i werked relly hard on it

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  127. on a side note

    rand paul is presidential like my pennis is imperial

    just for the record and everything

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  128. All hail your penis.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  129. It’s kind of sick I was first to hail your penis, dude.

    I mean, a war surplus SKS, OK.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  130. it’s a hail-able lil pennis, have no doubt

    …for certain (wee lil) values of hail-able

    but the point is that rand paul is about as presidential as

    let’s be honest

    ANYTHING from kentucky

    stop it with this nonsense that our next president/savior is from kentucky

    it’s just gross

    kentucky is cousin-luvin an moonshine

    and I think they have a zappo’s warehouse

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  131. I lost you right after I saluted your penis.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  132. I figure most do.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  133. it’s a thing

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  134. 139.it’s a thing

    Comment by happyfeet (8ce051) — 12/8/2013 @ 1:57 am

    For the good of the country, I hope not.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  135. we have to pray just to make it today

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  136. http://gunboatriders.com/theboats/general_spec.html

    I thought this was a battle ship back when.

    Even I could tell guys I was dealing with were just back from Vietnam and not in the mood.

    Why’d I do it? Proximity. The boat was there. I was there. I don’t think they really minded. It’s not like I took time away from their drinking.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  137. I just looked around.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  138. boats are funny

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  139. Bonus video.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyNIw3UY-Jc

    Any questions?

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  140. 146. “Once the employer mandate kicks in they’ll be hunting Democrats with dogs in this country.”

    Oh, I don’t mind paying good money to be seen by a nurse tech for angina, not at all.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  141. Comment by Steve57 (0ffd93) — 12/7/2013 @ 10:28 pm

    By “no one” I meant that I heard nothing about it on the radio until last night after the report of commemorations in Hawaii after the fact.
    I think that is unusual, as I think I remember it being pretty much in front of the public consciousness in the past.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  142. 151. Mebee people’s are looking away from horror and don’t dare memember:

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-07/highest-radiation-level-ever-lethal-20-minutes-recorded-outside-fukushima-reactor

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  143. While the dollar is falling against every other major currency the yen fell more than 1% Friday against the greenback.

    The JGB market is “dead”. Wages are falling, pensions are busted, food and energy skyrocketing and to beat it all China needs a speed bag.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  144. Doc, I realize I’m irritating.

    You should hang out with me on the anniversaries of Midway or Leyte.

    I’ll bend your ear about Torpedo 8.

    Or, not.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  145. All I’ll say about Torpedo 8 is that, to my mind, you don’t fly to your death like that without a reason.

    Steve57 (0ffd93)

  146. Bonus video.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5kNlb0prOE

    Skyraider!

    Steve57 (0ffd93)


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