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War is Defined by the Aggressor

A commenter on Neo-neocon’s post about granting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed a trial in Manhattan broadens the view:

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Remembrance Day

Rows of crosses in American Cemetery, Normandy, France

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

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OO-RAH!

November 10th is the birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

As I’ve walked around the blocks in my neighborhood, the houses with proudest flagpoles out front are almost always the homes of Marines. There seems to be something truly special about the USMC culture.

Maybe the best tribute I’ve come across was this comment on a blog (I’ve forgotten which one):

On June 2nd, 2008 at 1:25 am, ChePibe said:

I’ve said it here before, and I’ll say it again:

I’ve never been in the military. The closest I’ve come is working as an intern at a U.S. embassy.

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DFL Marching Orders Lost by Post Office

Many Minneapolis democrats had to cast ballots last week without guidance from their DFL overlords. That model of government efficiency, the US Postal Service, was unable to deliver sample-ballot postcards by election day:

The Sample Ballots were completed and sent off for mailing on Thursday October 22nd. The Minneapolis Post Office completed the assemblage of the bulk mailing on October 27th. The target dates for the mailing to be sent out were originally October 25th and 26th—Later than the candidates wanted—but the 27th became the actual date, the first small problem.

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The Sailer Strategy

US political culture is at a point of high polarity. Yet, this rampant knee-jerk us-versus-them attitude has not led to more solidarity within each camp.

The lefties are worried that they’re not getting any lefty programs enacted despite their total control of the Federal government. The righties are fighting over which faction has the best chance leading an overthrow of the lefty hegemony.

Steve Sailer has a plan for the righties. It strikes me as brilliant:

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Message Over Medium

I wasn’t a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn’t spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation—from our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in the principles that have guided us for two centuries.

Quoted from: Ronald Reagan

H/T: Neo-neocon

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Add an Epithet

I have been accused of being a birther. My accusers never seem to understand the established fact that the current President has a long-form birth certificate which he has never revealed to the public. I don’t agree with their high opinion of Barry, so they apparently feel a need to call me bad names.

Funny thing is, I’m not insulted. Others who challenge the facts of Barry’s birth seem more concerned with the conclusions and fallout should we eventually discover that Barack is exactly as African as he seems. I’m not jumping to those conclusions. I want better facts first.

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They’re Nuts

A primary justification for new health care legislation has been the alleged high cost of care in the US. So, why is Congress considering a new tax on insurance premiums?

The House Democratic plan calls for raising income taxes on upper-income people to pay for covering the uninsured. Baucus has instead proposed a tax on high-cost insurance plans worth more than $8,000 for an individual policy and $21,000 for family coverage.

Proponents of the insurance tax, which Obama has endorsed, say it would help to lower health care costs by encouraging people to become more cost-conscious health care consumers.

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Politics Problem

I regularly mention the illusion of false scarcity. My line usually goes something like, “It’s not a resource problem, it’s a technology problem. The best example is oil. Should Earth ever actually release all its oil for human consumption, any of the several substitues already known could be a viable replacement. Or something new will be found. If we put our minds to it.

What happens when the technology works too well? In Belgium and around the world, milk prices have dropped very low. At the current price, supply exceeds demand. In other words, for $4 per gallon, farmers will make more milk than people are willing to shell out $4 for.

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Where’s Hillary?

Just a passing thought…

Obama has lost his mojo. His Deathcare Plan gets more confusing everyday. He’s showing his belly to real and potential enemies.

The Secretary of State is where…?

3…2…1…bzzzztt.

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9/17

Should this week-long observance become part of NRR Standard Procedures, day six will always be Constitution Day:

The United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ratified by conventions in each U.S. state in the name of "The People". The Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times; the first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.

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The African Executioner

Over the past year I bought two new sets of tires made in China. I chose Chinese-made tires because they were significantly cheaper than other tires. Internet reviews assured me they would perform as well as more expensive ones. Mine have.

Now, the current President wants to deprive all Americans of the opportunity to get good tires at a great price:

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9/14

Neo-neocon suggests that the harsh division and partisanship in our politics and culture is a result of 9/11:

It’s not unusual for a trauma—and make no doubt about it, 9/11 was a national trauma—to end up causing divisions. This isn’t just politics, it’s human nature.

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9/13

War is less costly than servitude…the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau.

Quoted from: Jean Dutourd

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Labor Fires Union

Government is not the only democracy in the USA. Labor unions, for example, are structured around the concept of majority rule.

All democracies are at risk of becoming tyrannies. Either by force of majority ignoring minority interests, or by insiders and operatives who work the system to their advantage over the interests of those they’re supposed to represent.

Workers at a Boeing factory in South Carolina decided that their union was no longer working for them. By secret ballot, laborers fired the union:

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Bad Shepherds

Con men understand that their job is not to use facts to convince skeptics but to use words to help the gullible to believe what they want to believe.

Quoted from: Thomas Sowell

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Judge Sends Petulant Park Board to Time-Out Bench

Earlier this year, the City councilmember for the 55418 proposed a few changes to the Minneapolis City Charter. Among the ideas for consideration was folding the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board into the City Council. The claimed benefits would be cost savings from eliminating duplicate administrations, and greater accountability due to the concentration fo authority in the Council. Opponnents claimed the cost would be lesser accountability, as the MPRB would no longer be an independent body focused on the City’s highly-acclaimed parks.

The initial proposal was not to eliminate the Park Board outright, but to put the question on the ballot, allowing voters to decide if a semi-independent Park Board was still the best arrangement for Minneapolis.

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A Thousand Words

Share photos on twitter with Twitpic

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Wingnuts Invent Another Whopper

Those fascist crazies are at it again. The intertubes are buzzing with claims that the current President is going to deliver a speech to every schoolkid country. The wackos say the speech is part of a coordinated effort to shape young minds.

There’s evidence posted claiming the address will be preceded by planned activities to help prepare the kiddies to receive Barry’s vision for them:

Teachers can ask students to imagine being the President delivering a speech to all of the students in the United States.

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“Government” is the Antonym of “Choice”

Legislators make laws, but seem fond of disregarding laws of nature. I mock their hubristic disregard by calling such silliness Anti-Gravity Legislation. Imagine how many unicorns we could have if gravity were cut by 20%. Let’s propose a law!

Sheldon Richman takes the proposers to task:

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