Now I understand why Gates was kept by the Obama Administration as Secretary of Defense…

It’s because he’s just as much of a pussy as the rest of those feckless morons.

“We must still try and find a peaceful way to resolve this issue. The only path that is left to us at this point, it seems to me, is that pressure track but it will require all of the international community to work together,” Gates said at a joint news conference with French Defense Minister Herve Morin.

Well then we’re just fucked then, aren’t we.  If nothing else, there is no way the UN’ Security Council will ever allow “Serious Sanctions” (or whatever the fuck they are calling their latest pansyfied attempt at talking down Iran).  How do I know that?

Because I can God Damn read.

An independent survey of Chinese-language media for The Sunday Times has found army and navy officers predicting a military showdown and political leaders calling for China to sell more arms to America’s foes. The trigger for their fury was Obama’s decision to sell $6.4 billion (£4 billion) worth of weapons to Taiwan, the thriving democratic island that has ruled itself since 1949.

“We should retaliate with an eye for an eye and sell arms to Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba and Venezuela,” declared Liu Menxiong, a member of the Chinese people’s political consultative conference.

Yeah, those are totally the sort of people who want to work with us.  For Christ’s sake, they are talking about selling WEAPONS to IRAN!  Why would anyone but a brain-dead chipmunk think that such a place would agree to do anything to punish Iran?

He added: “We have nothing to be afraid of. The North Koreans have stood up to America and has anything happened to them? No. Iran stands up to America and does disaster befall it? No.”

Yeah, there’s the problem.  When all you do is talk, extend deadlines and ignore stated consequences, this is what happens – people and countries start to figure out that they can do whatever they want and we won’t (due to lack of will and/or anything resembling leadership) do anything about it.

“This time China must punish the US,” said Major-General Yang Yi, a naval officer. “We must make them hurt.” A major-general in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Luo Yuan, told a television audience that more missiles would be deployed against Taiwan. And a PLA strategist, Colonel Meng Xianging, said China would “qualitatively upgrade” its military over the next 10 years to force a showdown “when we’re strong enough for a hand-to-hand fight with the US”.

Awesome.  Because what we really need (ignoring the fact that we have troops committed in the Middle East) is a shooting war with a country with probably a billion potential foot soldiers.  Hell, at that point you don’t even need to teach them to reload, you just send wave after wave and eventually you get through.

This country is screwed because we have in charge a group of people who don’t understand that no, talking doesn’t always work.  In fact, it never works if you don’t show you both have the ability to use force, and the willingness to use it.  Why would they listen?  It isn’t like you could/would do anything about it, so just do your own thing, right?

We are screwed, and because we are screwed, numerous other countries are screwed as well.  With a Chinese military nearing parity with the US, what do you think of Taiwan’s continued “freedom”?  With a nuclear-capable Iran, what think you of the odds that Israel doesn’t risk disaster?

This is the end result of having lightweights and incompetents running foreign policy.  We got a year off, as everyone looked at us and gauged our reactions.  This year will see serious pushing back against our “will” (such as it is), and either late this year or by midddle of next year (at the latest), we’ll see something serious.  Some sort of all-or-nothing situation where only someone with a spine and the will/desire to lead can have any good impact.

We don’t have anyone like that in charge, and as a result, we are screwed.  So very screwed.

h/t to Drudge for the first link

h/t to QandO.net for the second

Regarding the recent Supreme Court ruling which classifies as unconstitutional previous restrictions on the donation of money to political campaigns/causes:

Assume the following set of premises:

1) The donation of money to political causes may be classified as a manifestation of the right to free speech (per Supreme Court precedent, apparently).

Conclusion: taxation is unconstitutional, as a restriction on free speech.

Could someone point out the flaw in this reasoning? I mean, I’m certainly willing to accept that there is one, but I’d like someone to point out which of the assumptions I’ve made is incorrectly worded, or unwarranted (per stare decisis), or whatever.

For my part – insofar as both the power of Congress to tax and the right to free speech are expressly delineated in the Constitution – I’m inclined to think that the treatment of monetary donation as a form of free speech is bullshit, especially for anyone who argues that we ought to try to discern the intent of the Framers in our judicial decisions. I’m inclined to think that it was an ill-considered decision designed to complement corporate personhood, and nothing more.

Posted by  Shipwreckedcrew

A federal criminal prosecution initiated in a “reactive” fashion, where the federal authorities are called to the scene in the immediate aftermath of the episode thought to be a federal crime, usually begins with the filing of a criminal complaint.  This is not a “charging instrument” in the sense that the case can go forward based on the complaint alone.  The complaint does, however, give the federal court jurisdiction to authorize the issuance of an arrest warrant, to arraign the defendant following his arrest, and to determine whether the defendant shall be detained pending indictment or released on bond until a preliminary hearing is conducted or an indictment returned by a grand jury.

(more…)

Patterico gets all the cool fans…

Red meat video for counter-revolutionaries.

For fans of the Spenser books, this is truly bad news.

New jobless claims rise more than expected.

Really?  Who, pray tell, is the retarded dimwit who sets the expectations, and how is it he (or she) can’t grasp a simple concept?

Businesses that aren’t sure of the future a) cut costs where they can (including letting workers go) and b) don’t hire new people (a problem compounded by the increased cost because of minimum-wage hikes).

The current administration is – as far as I can tell – doing everything it can to keep businesses guessing as to the future.  The latest plan to tax banks is just one example – and be sure about this – unless the government passes laws preventing changes in fees, penalties and the like, this tax will be passed on to you and me.

And really, this isn’t even the half of it.

It gets worse.

Crudele explained: “When the Labor Department puts out the January employment figures on Feb. 4, they will include an assumption that a lot of companies went out of business.

“This is something called the birth/death model that is used by the department. Last year it caused 356,000 jobs to be subtracted from the January job count… Nobody in the media will pick up on this, but the Labor Department will also do something called a benchmark revision on Feb. 4 that will subtract around 840,000 jobs that the government thought existed, but really don’t.”

356,000 jobs here, 840,000 jobs there and pretty soon you have 1,196,000 more unemployed than advertised.

Oops.

That would change that 10.0% to 10.8%.

So Feb 4th will see an .8% spike in unemployment.  That’s without a single new layoff, something I think is very unlikely.  It’s also before you start counting the number of people who have left the job-market completely or are under-employed (those who have a part-time job, but need/prefer full-time).  We’re looking at 17.3 now, so assuming .8% is ALL we lose, we’re staring at 18.1% unemployment.

But let’s go back to the new jobless claims.

Claims have dropped steadily since last fall, as companies cut fewer jobs, raising hopes that hiring may increase soon. Initial claims have dropped by nearly 90,000, or 17 percent, since late October. Two weeks ago, new claims dropped to their lowest level since July 2008.

The problem here folks is that just because fewer people are getting fired, it doesn’t mean that things are improving, or even stabilizing.  All it means is that companies can’t find anyone else to fire – if they could, they would.

To paraphrase Rep. Michael Capuano (MA-8) (D) to his fellow Democrats: “We’re screwed”.

h/t (as is true for most of my posts) – Glenn Reynolds

In what I can only assume is a reaction to whatever medication he’s been on, Impeached Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has opened his noise-hole.

“I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little Laundromat in a black community not far from where he lived. I saw it all growing up.”

Assuming that there is no outcry over this, no condemnation of the man, I believe I have hit upon the metric used to decide if someone is allowed to say racist things, but I have yet one more test to perform regarding this matter and then I can report back.

Anyways, that isn’t the least of what The Moron said, though it will be all that gets any attention if that much.

See, he’s still on about how he was ousted because of “lies”.  Apparently he was going to appoint Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to TAO’s senate seat.  I find this hilarious because, well, the man hates the Madigan family with a deep and abiding passion.

He also repeats a claim that the real story behind the allegations that he tried to sell President Obama’s Senate seat, claiming that he was really striking a deal to appoint Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to the U.S. Senate in exchange for public works jobs, expansion of health care for Illinois citizens, and a promise against a tax hike.

He says he talked to Rahm Emanuel about engineering the deal to put Madigan in the Senate. This, Blagojevich says, was even though he “hates” Madigan and her father, state House Majority Leader Michael Madigan.

Later in the article, he uses an infamously vulgar word to refer to Madigan when paraphrasing the wiretaps used to build charges against him.

“If I can get this, how much do I love the people of Illinois to make that (expletive) senator?”‘ Blagojevich said.

Seriously, he thinks this makes him sound better?  He basically admits to trying to sell off the seat to the person who’s going to be trying to lock his ass up!

Oh, and in case you were wondering if his bizzarr use of literary and/or historical items has continued (was it Beckett that he quoted?  I can’t recall), I am happy to report that yes.  Yes it has.

He compares himself to Galileo, and also to Mordecai of the Purim story in the Biblical Book of Esther, who is to be executed for not bowing down to a high official in the kingdom of Persia, but is later vindicated by the king. Blagojevich erroneously calls Mordecai “falsely accused.”

h/t Drudge

I recently got a new phone (and phone number).  I went with the nicely-priced Samsung Omnia from Verizon, and thus far am very happy with it.  I added an Otterbox case, which includes a screen-protector, and the belt clip is quite nice (I hate having some nubbin that slots into a belt clip on the back of my phones, so a tray-style clip is perfect).

My only issue us that I don’t have a good bluetooth headset.  I have tried several over the past couple of years, but I ended up hating each one.  They just don’t ever seem to fit well, or they had shitty sound.

I am asking for suggestions, and in addition I’d like for you to defend your suggestion with why you like it, and list a couple of cons along with the pro’s.  I’ll likely try to find a wireless place in the next week or two that has some for me to try on.

“They do not worship The Jeff, and thus we must act like ass-hats!!”

I’m just going to focus on Part V, which focuses on me.

Scott Jacobs has also made quite a few threats of violence on Patterico’s site. And he, too, has never earned a reprimand from Patterico for doing so.

example

While I don’t think she meant it in a mean way, I have to say that were I Professor Gates, I would threaten savage beatings from some of Harvard’s finest hooligans should my family not keep their noise-holes shut.

Last thing he needs is every minority cop making him their personal hobby, pulling him over for everything from “safety checks” to failure to come to a full and complete stop at stop signs.

Comment by Scott Jacobs — 8/2/2009 @ 7:21 am

We’ll start here, because apparently, speaking as Professor Gates and what he should do regarding his family and their inability to keep their noise-holes shut is me threatening violence.

But saying that he’s leaving me beaten isn’t.

Is there a flow chart I can use here?  Anyways, we continue…

example

#

For Mr. “I’m too retarded to know when I should shut-the-fuck-up” Adkins.

Hey Chuck, you fat fuck, how about you fall in a well and die, huh?

Seriously, you grubby wonder-tard, you would make a rude comment about a guy’s wife? Really?

When was the last time a woman touched you without it being A) an accident B) part of her job (nurse/whatever) or C) have there be money involved?

Nice picture of your mom’s house, douch. How about you go to the basement and show us what your room looks like?

Asshatted fucktard. Seriously, catch on fire, and while you burn, think about how glad all those strippers and whores will be, now that they don’t have to touch you anymore…

Die, and raise the average global IQ. Take one for the team, instead of eatting our food, you lardass.

I’ve shat things that look less pathetic than you. I’ve seen roadkill on the highway that disgusts me less. I’ve seen corpses with more brain activity…

It is actually now my mission in life to live longer than you, simply so I can piss on your headstone, and shit in your coffin. Judging by your girth, I shouldn’t have to wait very long.

Comment by Scott Jacobs — 12/12/2007 @ 2:45 pm

So telling someone to burst into flame and fall down a well is equal to gleefully talking about breaking someone’s ankles…  Interesting.

This is the best one, in my opinion…

we don’t appreciate “art” like this where i live. like most performance “artists”, this guy just wanted to cause sufficient provocation to get his name in the paper. well, you can get your name in the paper after the secret service closes your exhibition, and you can also get your name in the obituary section after angry private citizens part your hair with pool cues.

the first amendment is an interesting constitutional abstraction for which i stand up almost all of the time, but when you start talking about assassinating presidential candidates, then i’m going awol from your unit. then, it’s meet and right for cops to question you to determine your motives and intentions. i’m old enough to remember jfk, rfk and mlk when they actually happened, not from a history class.

this post is a fitting cousin to the tiger attack post. refrain from mocking and taunting dangerous animals. there’s no moat wide enough, no wall high enough to afford you 100% guaranteed safety from some of these animals. ok everybody, go ahead and call me a benighted philistine for the rest of the thread.

Comment by assistant devil’s advocate — 6/5/2008 @ 6:53 am

Nope, you’re dead on here in my mind, ADA…

Comment by Scott Jacobs — 6/5/2008 @ 6:56 am

Note how telling someone that they are dead-on (I forgot a hyphen, so sue me) is a threat of violence.  Really Jeff?  That’s the best you got?

And then there is this:

example

Now, Jake Tapper (one of the few real journalists left, and one of the VERY few people who report on Washington that I respect) is taking people to task for attacks on Meghan McCain. One of the things he’s on about – maybe rightly, maybe not – is the cowardly nature of talking shit to people over the Internet. Even saying “I’d say it to her face” is pretty empty usually, because most don’t use their real names.

Now, if there have been threats made, then I’d be the first person to step up and put down the jack-ass making those threats. I don’t stand for that. Hate someone all you want, but baring REALLY serious stuff, threats are not acceptable. Flat out not cool. Just like I’d kill with my bare hands anyone who tried to kill or injure the President. There are limits.

He missed where I said I’d kill anyone who harmed the President.  Apparently that’s ok (good), but it isn’t ok to defend someone from threats.  Ok. Jeff.  I think I get the picture…

In addition, Scott Jacobs came over to Jeff’s blog, and tried to escalate what was until then a cyberspace pissing match into an imminent real-world encounter:

Comment by Scott Jacobs on 12/14 @ 8:28 am #

“Comment by Jeff G. on 12/14 @ 1:18 am #”

Bring it, bitch. Any time you find yourself wanting to test your theory, I’m more than willing to give you my address so you can swing on by.

Any day, any time, I will re-arrange my schedule to make the 5 minutes it would take to ruin your manly-man self-image.

Ahhh.  So to answer the challenge is to escalate…

So what does that say about Jeff accepting, and requesting my address via e-mail?

I’d comment on his site, but either he or one of his sycophants would just change my words, mainly because they can’t think of anything intelligent to say.

If Obamacare was instead about about car insurance (”ObamaCar”), it would work like this

1. All people, whether they drive or not, must have pre-paid commuting coverage, covering all their needs while operating a car, or otherwise engaged in ground transportation.

2. Such policies must cover mechanical repairs, gas, oil, towing, rental cars, bus passes, taxi fares and all routine vehicle maintenance in addition to the old-style “liability and collision” coverage.

3. No one will be required to pay more than 10% of their income for transportation, and the poor will not have to pay more than 2%.

4. People convicted of drunk driving, young drivers and people with lots of tickets or accidents cannot be asked to pay more than 2 or 3 times the premium paid by drivers with spotless records and 20 years of experience.

5. People who run their cars without water, oil or ignore other normal maintenance are still completely covered when it comes to repairs, and new coverage may not be refused due to vehicle disrepair.

6. In order to get the vote of several Senators, Hummers are not covered beginning next September 31st in Nebraska, full-serve gasoline is covered in Oregon, and people in Louisiana get free semi-annual car washes. Oh, and Chicago gets a new airport.

7. People who don’t have approved coverage (e.g. only have liability and collision coverage), will be taxed/penalized for several thousand dollars.

8. The government will contract with General Motors to produce and provide vehicles to those that are unable to obtain them in the marketplace.

9. Use of limousines or luxury vehicles would be taxed, except those operated by non-profits or governments, those made by union members, or those driven in states whose Senators supported this bill.

10. Taxes for this start immediately — but only on other people — and payouts start in 4 years. The 10 year cost for this is only $1 trazillion, but for some reason we are unable to calculate what the cost will be in year 11.

While opponents vow to repeal ObamaCar immediately after the next election, or at least not fund a dime of it, just try to get “free gasoline” repealed after gas goes to $15/gallon, due to the sudden spike in demand.

If you have an iPhone, and especially if you’ve heard AT&T’s whining about how the iPhone is tapping out their network’s data bandwidth, this is worth a few minutes read.

[Regarding Meet the Beatles] Now, the thing about that album was, on the day it hit the U.S. the whole world changed. Like, before that day, the world was one way, music was one way, culture was one way — and then after that day the world was never the same ever again, and as soon as you heard that album you knew that, and even if you were only nine years old, which I was, you just knew. You knew. Sales were crazy. I mean nuts. The thing was a huge smash hit. By April, twelve weeks after that album came out, the Beatles had the top five spots on the Billboard chart.

Now there was a lot of demand for that record — so much that the plant that printed the records could not keep up. Now here’s the lesson. Do you think the guys who were running Capitol Records said, Gee whiz, the kids are buying up this record at such a crazy pace that our printing plant can’t keep up — we’d better find a way to slow things down. Maybe we can create an incentive that would discourage people from buying the record. Do you think they said that? No, they did not. What they did was, they went out and found another printing plant. And another one and another one, until they could make as many records as people wanted.

Then he gets mean.