After a summer hiatus, Lord Lavendon returns to enlighten us all with his clear thinking and erudition.
Welcome back! You were missed!
All ya'll need to pay him a visit.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
To Evry'thing, Spin-Spin-Spin....
...there is a season, spin-spin-spin;
and a spin for ev'ry screw-up under Heaven.
(OS can still hear the Byrds sing.)
This time, it's Robert Reich. He has reason to engage in pre-election spinning of results that are going to be dire for his posse. After all, he is one of the brain trust who advised the Obama transition team on matters economic, before returning to the safety of academia. That could have turned out better, one concludes...
His spin is: Well, people gets all upset in the first two years of a presidency, and besides presidents don't have that much say in how economies fare. and besides those Wascally Wepubwikans are meeeeannnn, shallow, authoritarian types, not enlightened and easygoing like us nice Democrats, so any thought of Himself changing anything should be banished from His Most Precious Mind, because those voters don't know nuthin' anyway. Just ignore those rubes. You izzz Da Wan!
Fer instance:
By the first midterm the public is almost always grouchy because the president wasn’t a messiah and didn’t change the world. No single president has that kind of power. The higher the expectations for change at the start of an administration, the greater the disillusionment.
Well, Bubbah Bobby, who-da-hell whipped up all them expectations? He Himself spoke of Himself in messianic language, if memory serves. Remember the iconic 'Hope' posters that seemed to pop up everywhere? The speech in Berlin, where he tried to portray himself as the new Kennedy? The journey to Washington that recreated Lincoln's journey to Washington? Starting off yoh' Presidency by printin' up and spendin' some 800 billion bucks, takin' over GM and Chrysler and handing them to the UAW and Fiat respectively? Remember that? All them shuttered-up car dealers? All that shit wuz DELIBERATE, Bubbah. Then there's that unemployment thang. Remember how Himself promised it would go below 8% if He got to spend Him 800 billion dollars to kick things off? Need any more 'xamples, or iz that enuf fer yew?
And youze surprahzed when people gets all pissed-off and stuff when things go so profoundly sour? What are you folks in Kuhlifornia smokin' after all? That there meth stuff will mess yo' brain up fer shure. Then there's all that Kool-Aid consumption--that don't help neither.
And there's this loo-loo:
Republicans think in terms of simple ideas, themes, and movements. It’s far harder to reverse course on these (look what happened to the first George Bush when he raised taxes), and easier to keep them alive: Republican presidents just continue looking for opportunities to implement them.
Republicans are also more disciplined (ask yourself which party attracts authoritarian personalities and which attracts anti-authoritarians). This makes it easier for them to stay the course. Their base continues to organize and fulminate even after midterm defeats. Democrats, on the other hand, are less organized. Electoral defeats tend to fracture and dissipate whatever organization they have.
Republicans are cynical about politics from the jump. Political cynicism fuels them. Democrats are idealistic about politics. When they become cynical they tend to drop out.
Well, at least he's candid about his contempt of the people who disagree with him and Himself. But, as OS has noted, candor can be dangerous.
So, does Reich get canned for his candor, or is freedom of speech still only reserved for the left, and the Friends of Himself?
and a spin for ev'ry screw-up under Heaven.
(OS can still hear the Byrds sing.)
This time, it's Robert Reich. He has reason to engage in pre-election spinning of results that are going to be dire for his posse. After all, he is one of the brain trust who advised the Obama transition team on matters economic, before returning to the safety of academia. That could have turned out better, one concludes...
His spin is: Well, people gets all upset in the first two years of a presidency, and besides presidents don't have that much say in how economies fare. and besides those Wascally Wepubwikans are meeeeannnn, shallow, authoritarian types, not enlightened and easygoing like us nice Democrats, so any thought of Himself changing anything should be banished from His Most Precious Mind, because those voters don't know nuthin' anyway. Just ignore those rubes. You izzz Da Wan!
Fer instance:
By the first midterm the public is almost always grouchy because the president wasn’t a messiah and didn’t change the world. No single president has that kind of power. The higher the expectations for change at the start of an administration, the greater the disillusionment.
Well, Bubbah Bobby, who-da-hell whipped up all them expectations? He Himself spoke of Himself in messianic language, if memory serves. Remember the iconic 'Hope' posters that seemed to pop up everywhere? The speech in Berlin, where he tried to portray himself as the new Kennedy? The journey to Washington that recreated Lincoln's journey to Washington? Starting off yoh' Presidency by printin' up and spendin' some 800 billion bucks, takin' over GM and Chrysler and handing them to the UAW and Fiat respectively? Remember that? All them shuttered-up car dealers? All that shit wuz DELIBERATE, Bubbah. Then there's that unemployment thang. Remember how Himself promised it would go below 8% if He got to spend Him 800 billion dollars to kick things off? Need any more 'xamples, or iz that enuf fer yew?
And youze surprahzed when people gets all pissed-off and stuff when things go so profoundly sour? What are you folks in Kuhlifornia smokin' after all? That there meth stuff will mess yo' brain up fer shure. Then there's all that Kool-Aid consumption--that don't help neither.
And there's this loo-loo:
Republicans think in terms of simple ideas, themes, and movements. It’s far harder to reverse course on these (look what happened to the first George Bush when he raised taxes), and easier to keep them alive: Republican presidents just continue looking for opportunities to implement them.
Republicans are also more disciplined (ask yourself which party attracts authoritarian personalities and which attracts anti-authoritarians). This makes it easier for them to stay the course. Their base continues to organize and fulminate even after midterm defeats. Democrats, on the other hand, are less organized. Electoral defeats tend to fracture and dissipate whatever organization they have.
Republicans are cynical about politics from the jump. Political cynicism fuels them. Democrats are idealistic about politics. When they become cynical they tend to drop out.
Well, at least he's candid about his contempt of the people who disagree with him and Himself. But, as OS has noted, candor can be dangerous.
So, does Reich get canned for his candor, or is freedom of speech still only reserved for the left, and the Friends of Himself?
Monday, October 25, 2010
The Spin Continues: Tortured Logic Award Of The Day
Well, actually, OldSouth didn't have sufficient imagination to think of this line of spin when he predicted the spin would begin in earnest.
This from an op-ed in today's YewNorkTimes:
Here it comes, wait for it!
“The best possible result for Obama politically is for the Republicans to gain control of both houses,” said Douglas E. Schoen, a Democratic pollster and strategist who helped President Bill Clinton recover from his own midterm Congressional defeat in 1994 to win re-election two years later. “That’s what Obama should want.”
Huh? To quote Jeff Foxworthy: 'Ya'll, I just can't make this stuff up!"
The whole op-ed is about the details of how Himself can maneuver and triangulate and foil those Weazewy Wepubwikans and get Himself re-elected in 2012. After all, that's the point, the goal of life, isn't it--to seize and maintain power?
The op-ed is so enlightening, because it betrays a cast of mind, a view of the world amongst our elites. They view this country, this culture, as some sort of backdrop against which they can play out their personal dramas, their competitions, their ambitions. It's our job to maintain the field, pay for the tickets, and cheer them from the stands.
But, what about us! Our families, our children, our schools, our towns, our businesses, our lives?
And OS isn't just railing at Democrat politicians and their journalistic hoes at places like the YewNorkTimes. The GOP has been just as guilty, as have the universities, banks, insurers, etc. etc. etc.
What about us?
This from an op-ed in today's YewNorkTimes:
Here it comes, wait for it!
“The best possible result for Obama politically is for the Republicans to gain control of both houses,” said Douglas E. Schoen, a Democratic pollster and strategist who helped President Bill Clinton recover from his own midterm Congressional defeat in 1994 to win re-election two years later. “That’s what Obama should want.”
Huh? To quote Jeff Foxworthy: 'Ya'll, I just can't make this stuff up!"
The whole op-ed is about the details of how Himself can maneuver and triangulate and foil those Weazewy Wepubwikans and get Himself re-elected in 2012. After all, that's the point, the goal of life, isn't it--to seize and maintain power?
The op-ed is so enlightening, because it betrays a cast of mind, a view of the world amongst our elites. They view this country, this culture, as some sort of backdrop against which they can play out their personal dramas, their competitions, their ambitions. It's our job to maintain the field, pay for the tickets, and cheer them from the stands.
But, what about us! Our families, our children, our schools, our towns, our businesses, our lives?
And OS isn't just railing at Democrat politicians and their journalistic hoes at places like the YewNorkTimes. The GOP has been just as guilty, as have the universities, banks, insurers, etc. etc. etc.
What about us?
Sunday, October 24, 2010
The High Price Of Candor: Juan Williams And Katherine Birbalsingh
It's been a tough couple of weeks for people who suffer from the vice of speaking candidly in public.
First, the lovely young Katherine Birbalsingh, an Oxford-educated teacher who had devoted her career to teaching kids in the forgotten neighborhoods of the the UK, was shown the door after speaking her mind candidly at the Conservative Party congress.
(If you haven't had the pleasure of hearing her brief address, this would be the time to invest about eight minutes of your time. Well worth every second.)
Of course, her sacking was accompanied by the usual British couching of inexcusable behaviour in the most civil-sounding of verbiage. But, for all their attempts to sound plausible and professional, her superiors at St. Michael and All Angels School come off sounding, well, like a bunch of petty academics in search of a scalp. And hers was an obvious choice.
Her crime? Candor, and an elegant and piercing command of the English language, employed for eight memorable minutes in a public forum, where she stated the obvious about the decayed conditions of state-funded education in the UK. Had she instead addressed the Tories and informed them they were the most unimaginable heartless scum who cared not a fig for the poor children whose families could not afford Eton, she would have returned to her school, and been hoisted upon the shoulders of her cheering colleagues for a victory lap around the halls. Too late she found out that academic freedom is only for the Left.
Juan Williams was not even afforded the faux civility shown Miss Birbalsingh. His boss fired him over the phone, with no opportunity to even discuss the situation, and then publicly dissed him and his opinions, saying that they should be between him and his pyschiatrist, or publicist, or whatever. OS heard the recorded comment, and the disdain and condescension were overt. Too late he found that freedom of speech is only for the Left.
Locally, poor Roy Herron, Democrat candidate for Congress in the Eighth District of Tennessee, was screwed royally by his ostensible allies. When it dawned on him that most people would not vote for him because they knew his first vote as a Congressman would likely be to return Nancy Pelosi to the Speaker's chair, he let it be known that he would oppose MizNancy's return to power. For his candor, the money allocated by the Democrats for his TV ads was summarily pulled. Too late, he found that freedom of conscience, and sensitivity to voters' sensibilities, is something for which the Left has no patience.
Roy is a good, honorable gentleman with whom OS disagrees, and for whom he could not bring himself to vote. OS was hoping he would run for governor, but 'twas not to be.
None of these folks were mean-spirited, or racist, or dishonest. They simply spoke words into the open air that they meant, and stated the obvious in the process: Schools are failing, sometimes climbing onto a plane with people who may be religious extremists is unnverving, Nancy Pelosi is a real liability to this country as speaker. The Sword of Damocles descended anyway. Luckily, all three will land on their feet, and blessedly we haven't heard the last from them.
And, I hear the reader say it already: Bubbah, you're bloggin' under a nom de plume! What-choo doin' blathering about candor?
OS admits to his cowardice, but he had to make a decision to protect his family. It is a matter of physical safety. Don't ask, 'cuz OS won't tell, and if you think you know, you're mistaken. Besides, ya'll, this is a hobby, and always will be. OS can't imagine people parting with their hard-earned money for the privilege of reading his scribble. Puh-leeze!
And, there are many things he won't write about, 'cuz he already knows the high price of complete candor. He hopes, while he has to be discreet, that he has helped add a bit of humor, a bit of insight, and a bit of dignity to the public discussion.
And he hopes he'll make it a safer world for candor, one fine day.
First, the lovely young Katherine Birbalsingh, an Oxford-educated teacher who had devoted her career to teaching kids in the forgotten neighborhoods of the the UK, was shown the door after speaking her mind candidly at the Conservative Party congress.
(If you haven't had the pleasure of hearing her brief address, this would be the time to invest about eight minutes of your time. Well worth every second.)
Of course, her sacking was accompanied by the usual British couching of inexcusable behaviour in the most civil-sounding of verbiage. But, for all their attempts to sound plausible and professional, her superiors at St. Michael and All Angels School come off sounding, well, like a bunch of petty academics in search of a scalp. And hers was an obvious choice.
Her crime? Candor, and an elegant and piercing command of the English language, employed for eight memorable minutes in a public forum, where she stated the obvious about the decayed conditions of state-funded education in the UK. Had she instead addressed the Tories and informed them they were the most unimaginable heartless scum who cared not a fig for the poor children whose families could not afford Eton, she would have returned to her school, and been hoisted upon the shoulders of her cheering colleagues for a victory lap around the halls. Too late she found out that academic freedom is only for the Left.
Juan Williams was not even afforded the faux civility shown Miss Birbalsingh. His boss fired him over the phone, with no opportunity to even discuss the situation, and then publicly dissed him and his opinions, saying that they should be between him and his pyschiatrist, or publicist, or whatever. OS heard the recorded comment, and the disdain and condescension were overt. Too late he found that freedom of speech is only for the Left.
Locally, poor Roy Herron, Democrat candidate for Congress in the Eighth District of Tennessee, was screwed royally by his ostensible allies. When it dawned on him that most people would not vote for him because they knew his first vote as a Congressman would likely be to return Nancy Pelosi to the Speaker's chair, he let it be known that he would oppose MizNancy's return to power. For his candor, the money allocated by the Democrats for his TV ads was summarily pulled. Too late, he found that freedom of conscience, and sensitivity to voters' sensibilities, is something for which the Left has no patience.
Roy is a good, honorable gentleman with whom OS disagrees, and for whom he could not bring himself to vote. OS was hoping he would run for governor, but 'twas not to be.
None of these folks were mean-spirited, or racist, or dishonest. They simply spoke words into the open air that they meant, and stated the obvious in the process: Schools are failing, sometimes climbing onto a plane with people who may be religious extremists is unnverving, Nancy Pelosi is a real liability to this country as speaker. The Sword of Damocles descended anyway. Luckily, all three will land on their feet, and blessedly we haven't heard the last from them.
And, I hear the reader say it already: Bubbah, you're bloggin' under a nom de plume! What-choo doin' blathering about candor?
OS admits to his cowardice, but he had to make a decision to protect his family. It is a matter of physical safety. Don't ask, 'cuz OS won't tell, and if you think you know, you're mistaken. Besides, ya'll, this is a hobby, and always will be. OS can't imagine people parting with their hard-earned money for the privilege of reading his scribble. Puh-leeze!
And, there are many things he won't write about, 'cuz he already knows the high price of complete candor. He hopes, while he has to be discreet, that he has helped add a bit of humor, a bit of insight, and a bit of dignity to the public discussion.
And he hopes he'll make it a safer world for candor, one fine day.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
All Things Considered, Unless It's An Opinion We Don't Like: The Juan Williams Firing
But isn't that what they were paying him to do? It appears to OS that the champions of All Things Obama were unhappy with Mr. Williams for daring to appear on The Network That Dare Not Speak Its Name anyway. Remember the first few months of Himself's administration, when they studiously pretended Fox News didn't exist.
They found that approach, well, didn't work.
But NPR's brass likely never forgave Mr. Williams for being realistic, and for exhibiting an entreprenurial tendency to enjoy making money at what he does well, in the private sector. Some sins are unforgivable.
So, his comments on O'Reilly gave them the pretext they needed to vote him off the island.
They are (hold yer' breath, ever'body, 'cuz theeeze iz inflammmmmatory wordz!):
"I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country," Williams told host Bill O'Reilly during a discussion on the dilemma between fighting jihadists and fears about average Muslims.
"But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they're identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous," Williams said.
Williams also commented on remarks by Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad warning Americans that the fight is coming to the U.S.
"He said the war with Muslims, America's war is just beginning, first drop of blood. I don't think there's any way to get away from these facts," Williams said.
Hell-bells, Mr. Williams! OS gets nervous about that too! Matter of fact, he was at Heathrow that strange day in August 2006 when the plot was foiled to put a bomber on a plane to America with the explosive hidden in a bottle of baby formula. The plane OS and one of his kids was on was one of the targets, it appears. OS spent the hours waiting, knowing something was terribly rotten in Denmark, and deliberately steering himself and the kid away from the many women dressed in full purdah, away from the nervous crowds, and towards emergency exit doors that appeared to head out to the tarmac. If the crowd began to panic, OS figured it would be better to be alive and under arrest with lots of 'splainin-to-do-Lucy than dead or 'splainin to Mrs. OS why our child had died.
OS gets nervous and avoids people who wear the Confederate flag as a shirt, or large tattoo. Or stupid Christian religious slogans. Or anything that indicates that they have some agenda to impose upon the rest of us.
That's not bigotry--that's a healthy sense of self-preservation, ya'll!
But, the good new is: NPR gets some tax money, yes, but they get a heapin' helpin' of their operating revenue from the local affiliates, who depend upon small donors to fund their operations.
Don't take a genius to figure this one out. After the local affiliate went to 'All-Obama-All-The-Time' and quit broadcasting classical music, OS's checkbook shut tight. Nothing sez you gotta' give these people money, or even honor your pledge to them. They sure as hell haven't honored their pledge to you! Check and make sure they're not sucking at the public teat via the state or local budget.
Take their money away, and they go away.
Go git' em, Mr. Williams! Speak yoh' mind! Illegitimi non carborundum!
They found that approach, well, didn't work.
But NPR's brass likely never forgave Mr. Williams for being realistic, and for exhibiting an entreprenurial tendency to enjoy making money at what he does well, in the private sector. Some sins are unforgivable.
So, his comments on O'Reilly gave them the pretext they needed to vote him off the island.
They are (hold yer' breath, ever'body, 'cuz theeeze iz inflammmmmatory wordz!):
"I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country," Williams told host Bill O'Reilly during a discussion on the dilemma between fighting jihadists and fears about average Muslims.
"But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they're identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous," Williams said.
Williams also commented on remarks by Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad warning Americans that the fight is coming to the U.S.
"He said the war with Muslims, America's war is just beginning, first drop of blood. I don't think there's any way to get away from these facts," Williams said.
Hell-bells, Mr. Williams! OS gets nervous about that too! Matter of fact, he was at Heathrow that strange day in August 2006 when the plot was foiled to put a bomber on a plane to America with the explosive hidden in a bottle of baby formula. The plane OS and one of his kids was on was one of the targets, it appears. OS spent the hours waiting, knowing something was terribly rotten in Denmark, and deliberately steering himself and the kid away from the many women dressed in full purdah, away from the nervous crowds, and towards emergency exit doors that appeared to head out to the tarmac. If the crowd began to panic, OS figured it would be better to be alive and under arrest with lots of 'splainin-to-do-Lucy than dead or 'splainin to Mrs. OS why our child had died.
OS gets nervous and avoids people who wear the Confederate flag as a shirt, or large tattoo. Or stupid Christian religious slogans. Or anything that indicates that they have some agenda to impose upon the rest of us.
That's not bigotry--that's a healthy sense of self-preservation, ya'll!
But, the good new is: NPR gets some tax money, yes, but they get a heapin' helpin' of their operating revenue from the local affiliates, who depend upon small donors to fund their operations.
Don't take a genius to figure this one out. After the local affiliate went to 'All-Obama-All-The-Time' and quit broadcasting classical music, OS's checkbook shut tight. Nothing sez you gotta' give these people money, or even honor your pledge to them. They sure as hell haven't honored their pledge to you! Check and make sure they're not sucking at the public teat via the state or local budget.
Take their money away, and they go away.
Go git' em, Mr. Williams! Speak yoh' mind! Illegitimi non carborundum!
Shootouts In Juarez, 20 October 2010
Fox News offers a brief report of today's events.
OldSouth posted an article on the subject, including a link to an in-depth interview about the situation in Northern Mexico.
This is not a gloating 'I-told-you-so' sort of moment. It is a wake-up call. Do we really think this sort of stuff won't jump the border into the US?
We sorely need some grown-ups in Washington to finally make some adult decisions, before a lot of people get killed.
And, let's remember all those folks caught in the crossfire, who just want to live their humble lives not terrorized by either the cartels or the government.
OldSouth posted an article on the subject, including a link to an in-depth interview about the situation in Northern Mexico.
This is not a gloating 'I-told-you-so' sort of moment. It is a wake-up call. Do we really think this sort of stuff won't jump the border into the US?
We sorely need some grown-ups in Washington to finally make some adult decisions, before a lot of people get killed.
And, let's remember all those folks caught in the crossfire, who just want to live their humble lives not terrorized by either the cartels or the government.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Charles Lollar: A Marine Takes On Another Congressional Creep
HT Another Black Conservative!
Creepy Steny Hoyer, whose district in Maryland has long been a Democrat plantation, has credible opposition.
Here's the first bit of copy on Lollar's campaign site:
Our economy is driven by the hopes, dreams and sweat of the American people. It is only because of their individual efforts that new products are invented, markets opened, and jobs created. When left free to operate they are the real engines that create new growth, jobs and prosperity.
He gets it--culture first, then the economy follows.
Again, another nightmare for the Left: He's black, he's male, he's successful, he's a happy guy, and he's a conservative.
This man is not sticking to The Script, they fume. Not at all!
OS isn't that old, but he has childhood memories of going to the bus station in Nashville, (located on Commerce Street, if memory is accurate) and wondering what that 'Coloreds Only' sign above the water fountain meant. He has a friend whose father was a Klan wizard, and that friend is not proud of that piece of family history. Thingz wuz seriously, horribly ugly 'round heah not too long ago. More ugly than OS wishes to write about. It was inexcusable, and unsustainable, and blessedly some changes were made.
To see a Charles Lollar run for Congress, and have a shot at winning as a conservative, is lightyears beyond what OS could have imagined as a boy. Win or lose, he's got someone cheering for him from way down heah'. A credible showing, even if Hoyer wins, washes some of the sand out from under Hoyer's feet.
Here's the donation link, ya'll. A few shekels from a lot of people does a lot.
Let's at least make ol' Steny sweat some, what'cha say? Creative vengeance, cold and at a distance. And jolly good fun to boot!
Creepy Steny Hoyer, whose district in Maryland has long been a Democrat plantation, has credible opposition.
Here's the first bit of copy on Lollar's campaign site:
Our economy is driven by the hopes, dreams and sweat of the American people. It is only because of their individual efforts that new products are invented, markets opened, and jobs created. When left free to operate they are the real engines that create new growth, jobs and prosperity.
He gets it--culture first, then the economy follows.
Again, another nightmare for the Left: He's black, he's male, he's successful, he's a happy guy, and he's a conservative.
This man is not sticking to The Script, they fume. Not at all!
OS isn't that old, but he has childhood memories of going to the bus station in Nashville, (located on Commerce Street, if memory is accurate) and wondering what that 'Coloreds Only' sign above the water fountain meant. He has a friend whose father was a Klan wizard, and that friend is not proud of that piece of family history. Thingz wuz seriously, horribly ugly 'round heah not too long ago. More ugly than OS wishes to write about. It was inexcusable, and unsustainable, and blessedly some changes were made.
To see a Charles Lollar run for Congress, and have a shot at winning as a conservative, is lightyears beyond what OS could have imagined as a boy. Win or lose, he's got someone cheering for him from way down heah'. A credible showing, even if Hoyer wins, washes some of the sand out from under Hoyer's feet.
Here's the donation link, ya'll. A few shekels from a lot of people does a lot.
Let's at least make ol' Steny sweat some, what'cha say? Creative vengeance, cold and at a distance. And jolly good fun to boot!
The Mexican Drug War On Both Sides Of The Border: NPR Talk Of The Nation 19 October 2010
OS was driving to the bank and heard this conversation on NPR. Barely believing his ears, he looked it up this morning.
Jason Beaubien, NPR's Mexico City correspondent, was being interviewed about conditions on the ground in Mexico, and it was even more alarming than OS had believed--and OS has a pretty dark opinion of that part of the world.
The upsetting part was buried in the middle:
(Beaubien) You look at the number of drugs that are getting seized, that continues to be incredibly high. You know, you look at the insecurity, it seems like more parts of the country seem to be more insecure. Tamaulipas, which also it's just above Monterrey, is sort of below south Texas, below Laredo, McAllen, Brownsville, that area - that's where they killed these 72 migrants earlier this summer. That part of the country really feels I find it frightening being there at times. And people don't go out at night. You get major shootouts. The press doesn't report anything about what's going on.
You know, I was up there just two weeks ago, and the Zetas actually have lookouts along the river. And they're just...
CONAN: The Rio Grande?
BEAUBIEN: Along the Rio Grande, on their side, making sure that no freelancers go and just sort of move people without paying Los Zetas off to...
CONAN: So the Mexican the American government can't patrol the border, but the Zetas do.
BEAUBIEN: Yes. Yeah. It's incredible. And the migrants are terrified of them. And the locals know that if you want to move migrants across or if you want to smuggle across here, you have to cut a deal with the Zetas in order to do this. And there's a sense, in that part of Mexico, particularly, that things are really under the control of the cartels. And when you start talking about failed state I don't believe at all that Mexico is a failed state. But there are parts of it which feel like they have failed and which feel like the government is completely not in control.
Did you catch the remark? Sometimes, they speak in such dispassionate tones, one barely perceives what is being said:
'So the Mexican the American government can't patrol the border, but the Zetas do.' And this is from left-edge NPR, ya'll!! These aren't paranoid guys who live in Momma's basement, collect guns, and play soldier on the weekends.
The whole transcript is at the link above. It's a balanced view, and not all bad news.
And Beaubien makes a most valid point--when we cease to be a market for the poison they sell, they will go away, and sell it to someone else. When we control our own border, the bloodshed south of us will abate dramatically. Innocent people are being murdered, and live in fear and despair, because of our out-of-control appetites, and our blind refusal to do the minimal things necessary to enforce our southern border.
It's not a Democrat/Republican issue, ya'll. It's a good/evil issue. We are allowing innocent people to be irreparably harmed because we will not do the right thing. And this is a problem we can go a long way toward solving.
If we have the will.
Jason Beaubien, NPR's Mexico City correspondent, was being interviewed about conditions on the ground in Mexico, and it was even more alarming than OS had believed--and OS has a pretty dark opinion of that part of the world.
The upsetting part was buried in the middle:
(Beaubien) You look at the number of drugs that are getting seized, that continues to be incredibly high. You know, you look at the insecurity, it seems like more parts of the country seem to be more insecure. Tamaulipas, which also it's just above Monterrey, is sort of below south Texas, below Laredo, McAllen, Brownsville, that area - that's where they killed these 72 migrants earlier this summer. That part of the country really feels I find it frightening being there at times. And people don't go out at night. You get major shootouts. The press doesn't report anything about what's going on.
You know, I was up there just two weeks ago, and the Zetas actually have lookouts along the river. And they're just...
CONAN: The Rio Grande?
BEAUBIEN: Along the Rio Grande, on their side, making sure that no freelancers go and just sort of move people without paying Los Zetas off to...
CONAN: So the Mexican the American government can't patrol the border, but the Zetas do.
BEAUBIEN: Yes. Yeah. It's incredible. And the migrants are terrified of them. And the locals know that if you want to move migrants across or if you want to smuggle across here, you have to cut a deal with the Zetas in order to do this. And there's a sense, in that part of Mexico, particularly, that things are really under the control of the cartels. And when you start talking about failed state I don't believe at all that Mexico is a failed state. But there are parts of it which feel like they have failed and which feel like the government is completely not in control.
Did you catch the remark? Sometimes, they speak in such dispassionate tones, one barely perceives what is being said:
'So the Mexican the American government can't patrol the border, but the Zetas do.' And this is from left-edge NPR, ya'll!! These aren't paranoid guys who live in Momma's basement, collect guns, and play soldier on the weekends.
The whole transcript is at the link above. It's a balanced view, and not all bad news.
And Beaubien makes a most valid point--when we cease to be a market for the poison they sell, they will go away, and sell it to someone else. When we control our own border, the bloodshed south of us will abate dramatically. Innocent people are being murdered, and live in fear and despair, because of our out-of-control appetites, and our blind refusal to do the minimal things necessary to enforce our southern border.
It's not a Democrat/Republican issue, ya'll. It's a good/evil issue. We are allowing innocent people to be irreparably harmed because we will not do the right thing. And this is a problem we can go a long way toward solving.
If we have the will.
Stephen Broden: The Texas GOP Congressional Candidate Omitted From The Ballot
HT to Doug Ross--this would be comical, were it not so maddening.
It appears that in at least one voting location, only the Democrat's name appears on the ballot. Ooops! How'd that happen, ya'll?
The Democrat, Eddie Bernice Johnson, has held the office for some eighteen years now, and seems to be viewing it as an ATM machine for her family members. But, that's OK, ya'll, 'jest so long as she does what MizNancy tells her to do...what's a bit of graft and fraud between friends, ya'll? Puh-leeeze!
Local businessman and pastor, Stephen Broden, is finally not amused after watching his neighborhood in Dallas deteriorate. He's the sort of conservative that drives liberals absolutely over the the edge--a successful and happy gent whose skin happens to be black, and who has no patience with the welfare state.
This video on his site is not terribly slick, but it is effective. Hope ya'll enjoy, and if in the US, you may be moved to send a few shekels his way.
It appears that in at least one voting location, only the Democrat's name appears on the ballot. Ooops! How'd that happen, ya'll?
The Democrat, Eddie Bernice Johnson, has held the office for some eighteen years now, and seems to be viewing it as an ATM machine for her family members. But, that's OK, ya'll, 'jest so long as she does what MizNancy tells her to do...what's a bit of graft and fraud between friends, ya'll? Puh-leeeze!
Local businessman and pastor, Stephen Broden, is finally not amused after watching his neighborhood in Dallas deteriorate. He's the sort of conservative that drives liberals absolutely over the the edge--a successful and happy gent whose skin happens to be black, and who has no patience with the welfare state.
This video on his site is not terribly slick, but it is effective. Hope ya'll enjoy, and if in the US, you may be moved to send a few shekels his way.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
PA Senate Race Neck And Neck
Public Policy Polling reports the Pennsylvania Senate race neck and neck.
Pat Toomey is running against Joe Sestak--you know, the guy the White House attempted to buy off, then opposed in the primary in favor of Arlen Specter, but now they support him 'cuz none of that other stuff really happened so we'll just stuff it down the memory hole and if you bring it up you're just a tea-baggin racist nutter who clings to his guns and his Bible and you must be AstroTurf anyway besides we're in a recovery and you just sit down and shut up.
Here's the Toomey donation link.
If you're in the US, you can donate. If Toomey wins, he helps restore sanity. If you have a few shekels to throw his way, this is a great day to do it.
Pat Toomey is running against Joe Sestak--you know, the guy the White House attempted to buy off, then opposed in the primary in favor of Arlen Specter, but now they support him 'cuz none of that other stuff really happened so we'll just stuff it down the memory hole and if you bring it up you're just a tea-baggin racist nutter who clings to his guns and his Bible and you must be AstroTurf anyway besides we're in a recovery and you just sit down and shut up.
Here's the Toomey donation link.
If you're in the US, you can donate. If Toomey wins, he helps restore sanity. If you have a few shekels to throw his way, this is a great day to do it.
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