A Chicken Is Not Pillage

BOO! (Hoo)

Happy Halloween, you demanding bastards.  Apparently 'the press' isn't very happy that you get info from other sources while they slave for Politicians night and day.   They are assets, after all.  They, the media, are tired, TIRED.I.TELL.YOU!!!!   I mean, they're exhausted! 

I work for a living.   We just did an inventory, and I'm exhausted.   You'll notice that I'm not whining and moaning about doing my fucking job.   It's what I get paid to do.

But Marnee Banks?  She's just ever so tired ...

 

Sore Winners

If you only read one article today, make it this one.  The Sore Winners:  Will America's Super Minority Sink Us All?

Now ees the time on Sprockets ven ve quote:

The Sore Winners are easy to find. They are most visible at their flagship, Fox News, which dominates both cable news and the political conversaton and yet is always embattled, defending itself against the heathen. They are loudest not only on secular talk radio, but also in Christian broadcasting, which tells its listeners that a nation that remains a nation of Christians rather than a Christian nation is a nation that has turned against them. This is not to say, however, that the Sore Winners are strictly a political phenomenon, manipulated, as some would have it, by their masters in the media or by the money men from Wall Street. No, what makes the Sore Winners such a force in American politics is that their anger is so personal.

...

Worrying about what someone who doesn't think about you thinks about you: this is the essence of Sore Winnerdom, and it is no accident that it also the essence of the Republican animus. The Republican party was small and hidebound — the party of country-club corporatists, and the range-war West — until, with the Reagan Revolution, it began grafting unto itself the legions of the disaffected: the Christianists, the Southerners, the blue-collar workers displaced by the collapse of America's industrial base and estranged from the unions that failed them. The Tea Party, in this sense, is not a new development so much as it is part of an ongoing migration of the perpetually petulant, a political phenomenon grounded in a demographic one: the creation of a class of baby-boom retirees who have been deprived of meaningful work but given personal computers as Christmas presents. The skin on the Republican Party's "Big Tent" is by definition thin, and under it gathers a volatile throng of people with nothing in common but the fear that outside its environs someone is laughing at them — or simply having a better time.

Do read the whole thing.  And keep in mind that these are your fellow travelers in this country, and online.  Big Swede.  Mark Polish Sounding Name.  Flip sides of the same coin.  Rob Natelson, Travis Kavulla, Eric Coobs.  Special snowflakes among those lesser who fail to hoist the Sore Winners to shoulder and parade their success through the town square.  That is elitism, by the very real definition of the word, before it was changed to mean 'eating arugula and fancy mustards', as the Republicants have changed the definition of so many other words.  Soren Kierkegaard called this urge "Caesar or Nothing"; be so important to others that one loses the ability to abide oneself.  But, casting aside the sense of self has two consequences only.  If "they" won't adore you, then dominate ... castigate ... HURT them, or act in manner too self destruct (witness Nov. 2, 2010).

When I was in the SCA, lo many years ago, there was a knight who is still seen as one of the most accomplished of all time.  You, yeah you.  That nerd out there laughing?  He coulda kicked your ass in the blink of an eye.  And I'm not exagerating.  What he said has stuck with me to this day.  Paraphrasing:  No matter what awards or honors you've achieved, 99.999% of the world just couldn't give a shit.

So now, those who've  achieved by any combination of birthright, grant of skills, sheer luck and hard work, the Sore Winners are mad, because 99.999% of the world doesn't give a shit about their success.  And they're gonna take it out on you, even if you're one of those who achieved.  Don't get me wrong, here.  The TeaPublicans will eat their own, just as willingly as they will eat their lessers.  Because they are mad, angry.  Caeser or nothing.  My socialist/communist friends might tell me that it's because of the consumption culture in which we live.  They would likely be right.  Stating the obvious, in many ways.  But it doesn't change the reality around us, not does it assuage the anger of the Sore Winners.

Quotes of the Days

Tengrain:

Obama Appoints Record Number of Gays – Less than halfway through his first term, President Barack Obama has appointed more openly gay officials than any other president in history. “And none of them have any rights either, so quit whining,” Obama did not say. (AP)

Blue Texan:

You know that woman who goaded those brownshirts patriotic, Teabagger supporters of Rand Paul into stomping on her head? She’s an unhinged, left-wing, MoveOn eco-moonbat.

Bitch had it coming.

And do read the quotes from the noble right ...

Driftglass:

"If you want a picture of the Teabaggers, imagine a boot that was paid for by Medicare stomping on a human face -- forever." -- George Orwell v 2.0

The graphic is priceless.

Mistermix:

I assume the reason Rand Paul supporters literally kicked this woman to the curb and stomped her head was because she had a Muslim appearance and made them nervous. I’m not discounting the theory that this was simply a harmless fraternity prank that was misunderstood, nor the possibility that the bitch ran her big mouth and got what she deserved.

Dougj:

What I’ve learned over the past few days is that both sides do it. Whether it’s a left-leaning writer using the phrase “curb-stomping” or an angry mob of conservatives actually performing a curb-stomping, whether it’s a liberal drawing a Hitler mustache on George W. Bush or a right-wing militia member blowing up a federal building, whether it’s two black guys in berets standing outside a polling station or a hundred years of Jim Crow laws. It’s all the same stuff and we should just admit it.

Kyle-Anne Shiver:

From where I’m sitting, all of these seemingly coordinated efforts by Democrats and their press minions to label Party dissidents as “insane” are not only creepy, they smack of tactics widely used by the most repressive, most brutal tyrannies the world has ever known.

They smack of Soviet-style, scientific tyranny in the worst way imaginable.

Really?  Stomping a woman's head into concrete is sane?

Barbara Morrill:

Now we know why Rand Paul spent the past twelve or so hours blaming the vicious assault of Lauren Valle by his supporters on "both sides" and a "daze of lights flashing" -- because one of the assailants is Tim Profitt, the Bourbon County coordinator for Paul's campaign.

According to Mr. Profitt:

... the camera angle made the scuffle Monday night appear worse that it was.

Tammy Webber, AP:

Gay voters angry at Democrats could sway election*

Across the country, activists say gay voters are angry — at the lack of progress on issues from eliminating employment discrimination to uncertainty over serving in the military to the economy — and some are choosing to sit out this election or look for other candidates.

Y'know, just once, I'd like to see a story from the press about how people, (Gay, Het, Poly, White, Black, Red, Yellow, Male, Female, Rich and Not) are going to swing this election because they're tired of the damned stupidity, extremism, violence (physical, verbal and virtual) and bullshit coming from the "Tea Party" who want to take back America from the overwhelming majority of Americans to whatever goddamned fantasy they live in.

 

*Don't even start with the "You're blaming the gays for a vote that isn't in!" shit.  I'm not.  If you actually start to think about it for a second, Tammy Webber just invited one to do so.  But she offers no proof that the GBLT vote has that kind of sway in swing districts.  The press, having been willing accomplices to Tea Party excess, is now in CYA mode.  And what handier scapegoat could they offer than the Gay voter who doesn't vote.  Other than Obama, of course ...

UPDATE:  And like cockroaches, the vermin keep returning.

UPDATE 2:  I said, ~hrumph~, like cockroaches, the vermin keep returning.

 

 

Common Knowledge, Free And Worth Every Penny.

I can't fairly attribute seeing this posted at any one place, because it's kinda been posted all over.  Still, it needs to be seen in Montana just as much as elsewhere, so ...

Eight False Things the Public "Knows" Prior To Election Day.

 

Initiatives and What Not, Part 1

I was going to write part of this as comments at other websites, but I really shouldn't be neglecting my own baby.

There has been some discussion on the Montana-tubez about an upcoming election and how people are going to vote, or should vote.  Quite a bit of it has been about the 3 Initiatives on the ballot and the Constitutionally mandated call for a Constitutional convention vote.  I'll get that one right out of the way first. 

No.  The Montana Constitution is elegant and able, and mucking with it in this manner would only screw things up.  A lot of folk discuss the expense of a Constitutional convention, but that's beside the point to me.  It works; don't screw with it.  I write this knowing especially that those who favor a CC are after one thing most of all, to remove the plank of quality environment.  Uhhhm, no.  I just don't believe in destroying our state to save it.

The other no-brainer is CI-105.  It seeks to muck with the Constitution as well , to change it such that it prohibit a tax that Montana doesn't have.  It doesn't take a genius to see that it is the effort of an industry to favor itself at the expense of Montana's Constitution and it's democratic process.  The legislature sets taxation, not out of state realtor associations.  So, to CI-105, I say no.  And to John Sinrud, I offer a heart felt Fuck You and Kiss My Ass, you self-serving Montana-hating piece of used toilet paper.

Now here's where it gets a bit trickier.  I-161 would remove the protected pool of 5500 out-of-state hunting licenses offered to outfitters such that they can use them to drum up business.  It would put those tags into public non-resident offering, and raise the price such that the state would garner more revenue from the sale.  To this I say yes, and that puts me at odds with several people I respect.

Lets be clear right from the get go.  Outfitting is an extraction industry based on renewable resource.  That makes it little different from logging; it just shortens the time frame of renewal.  Elk and deer are in limited supply, and a certain measure of the harvest is being taken from Montanans for private profit of outfitters.  So lets just dispense with the idea of a "fair hunt" right out of the gate.  It isn't fair.  As I've indicated elsewhere, the tag allotment to outfitters is a business subsidy, offered by the state at the expense of the state.  It shouldn't be surprising that I'm not in favor of that.

The claims from the anti-crowd of I-161 are that the release of these tags from the protected pool will drive outfitters out of business and that out-of-state hunters won't hunt without outfitters.  These claims are contradictory, though that's probably not obvious on the surface.  Where outfitting differs from other extraction industries is this:  outfitting isn't profitable because every client gets a trophy elk.  Outfitting is profitable because it is entertainment.  No one pays a couple of grand because they need the spoils.  The people who hire outfitters aren't trying to fulfill some Galtian quota of raw resource.  They aren't needing the meat or the kill.  They want it, and I haven't seen one argument or statistic yet that convinces me that they won't still want it.  There will be those who will buy their tags (you can do it online, y'know) and come to Montana and get skunked like many of the rest of us do.  And then there are those who will realize that their hunting experience is better with an outfitter.  That's what they are paying for.  Many out-of-state hunters will still prefer outfitters.  And the only ones claiming that I-161 will put outfitters out of business, are the ones currently profiting from state largess ... the outfitters.

I am a hunter, and a Montanan.  And more to the point, I don't believe in subsidizing industry, especially when there is no reason to do it, and it involves a very real cost in revenue and resource.  I will vote yes on I-161.

Which brings me to I-164, the "Cap-the-Rate" initiative on payday lenders.

I work for a living, and the tired is setting in.  So, I will carry this over to a part 2.  But hey, the brother-in-law who had a heart attack is stable, and Teddy has his sutures out.  That's good, right?  See you all tomorrow.

Quotes Of The Days

Snarcasm runs rampant.

Dougj, responding to the argument that our Galtian overlords must be appeased before we raise their taxes to pre-Bush levels:

I think in the end, this is a pretty good example of where I have to part ways with pretty much all modern conservatives. I just don’t think this it is the job of government to validate people’s feelings. If there’s one thing the free market should be good at by now, it’s validating people’s feelings, especially rich people’s feelings, which are especially lucrative. There’s a big market for products and services that make rich people feel good about themselves and I say we sit back and let it do its job.

I guess I also don’t understand what form our acknowledgment of the sacrifices of the rich is supposed to take. A national holiday? A monument? I’m not kidding here. If erecting a Tomb of the Unknown CEO is all it takes to stop the whining, I’m all for it.

Oh, but I forgot.  Robert Gibbs said badly things about the professional left, so this won't be an issue as we give our power back to the Galtian overlords.  I sure hope that everybody feels okay when the day is done.

Bonus Dougj:

Why the fuck does it matter what Democrats are willing to acknowledge about how hard some rich people work when they’re not proposing a marginal tax rate much over 40%? For God’s sake, isn’t it enough that we don’t tax rich people much, now we have to get down on our knees and tell them how great they are for working so hard? And what would fellating these geniuses accomplish anyway? I guess maybe it would make them feel more appreciated so that they’d be less likely to go Galt. So everybody, drop what you’re doing and send Greg Mankiw an email telling him you appreciate how hard he works so that he doesn’t withhold his productivity.

Maybe this isn’t such a bad idea. If wealthy people are willing to accept higher marginal rates in return for bumper stickers that say “Obama says I’m a hard worker”, then I’m all for it, because we have a government to run and it requires tax money.

WaterTiger says:

This is what happens when you let Neo-Nazis run for political office.

Well, that's kinda right.   Any libertarians want to defend Miller's actions?  Any body?  Anyone?  Beuller?

Attaturk:

Here's a summary of the two parties:

The Democrats always learn the wrong thing, while the Republicans have never learned a damn thing.

It's hard to argue with that.

The Rude Pundit being rude:

So now Republicans, who have made the filibuster, once a measure of last resort, into the way the Senate runs, are saying that they won't be able to pass things if they have the majority because they need 60 votes.

...

If the Republicans take back the House and (in a Democratic doomsday scenario) the Senate, history will show that it was because of one of the great con jobs ever played in politics. For what is the current political zeitgeist but the result of one long game of three-card monte played for the rubes who actually think they'll know where the queen is? The con is this: Republicans and their media allies have convinced too many voters that Democrats have either accomplished nothing or have only accomplished things that will hurt them. They have done so despite the facts that: 1. a great deal has been accomplished; 2. what hasn't been accomplished is due almost entirely to Republican obstructionism; and 3. what's been passed has been watered down in order to appease Republicans and some of the asshole Democrats. The greatest part of it? That the GOP's refusal to govern is them standing up for "American" values, which, if you think about it, is about right.

...

Republicans use extremist tactics and extremist rhetoric (for, truly, there's not a single thing passed in this Congress that even approaches "socialism"), and, if those fail, they lie outright. And in doing so, they make their mostly reasonable, way-too acquiescent opponents seem like despicable fuckbags who want America to become part Mexico/part Sharialand. That's an awesome con job: shutdown the functioning of part of the government through procedural chicanery that most people won't give a damn about (A hold? What the fuck is that? We don't have time for civics classes anymore) and blame the majority, which is easy to understand: "Oh, Democrats in power. Democrats must naturally suck."

The frustrating part is that, even if polls now show some tightening in races, it's worked. The con job has been successful. The ultimate plan of the GOP is to make governing in DC so impossible, so untenable, that it ceases to function except on the limited terms of a savage conservatism. And we're making it possible. The whiplash-inducing fickleness of the American electorate is part and parcel of a people who are deluded with their sense of individual self-worth and entitlement.

...

Now, we get Republicans who are pretending to behave honorably. Olympia Snowe said yesterday, "Frankly we haven't done our jobs well here in Washington and that disturbs me. There's all this partisanship and polarization, and ultimately it yields two outcomes: either scorched-earth victory for one side or political stagnation." No shit. And who was it that negotiated in bad faith over the health care bill? Oh, yeah. Olympia Snowe.

You can't unfuck something that you've fucked. Republicans have paid almost no long-term price for the Caligula-like madness of the Bush administration. There's a chance that, now, two-years later, they're gonna get rewarded for refusing to participate in running the country. It's like setting free an arsonist after you've started to rebuild the house and telling him, "Oh, and here's those matches we took from you. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Coming soon: Yeah? So what are you gonna do about it?

That last one is a must read.

Read It

Just read it.

Quote of the Day

Meticulous paperwork, a sense of security, and the confidence they are professionals is why people go to banks. This is the most basic service they screwed up. Not processing loan documents accurately or carefully is akin to a mechanic pouring motor oil in the wiper fluid receptacle or a professional cook not being able to make a roux.

They’ve literally fucked up everything they have touched.

I've been saying that for years.

Freeze

Oh crap.  I just spent much time trying to cover what garden crops we have attempted, knowing full well that we face not a frost, but a full on freeze.   This Summer/Autumn has actually sucked for growing anything.

A Question

How many interceptions will Brett 'Hot Link' Favre throw to Darrelle Revis while trying to force the ball to his new bearded toy?