Nice little country ya got here, Mr. and Mrs. America. Too bad we're gonna have to SHUT YOUR GAS PUMPS, HEAT AND LIGHTS OFF, 'cuz you don't seem to understand we MEAN WHAT WE SAY ABOUT OUR CAP-N-TAX BILL!
Right, Vito? Right, Gino? It would be SHAME if your way of life were to, say, BURN DOWN AROUND YOU! Right, Vito? Right, Gino?
Yeah, Boss, it would be a cryin' shame, Boss...
One year, eleven months and counting until we can show these clowns the door.
Chin-straps on until then.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Sometimes, Only Laughter Will Do: The HP Printer Execution In Iraq
So, a soldier in Iraq has an HP printer he needs for his unit's work.
But, it doesn't work.
So, he calls HP tech support, who demand money for their assistance.
Here is the soldier's completely appropriate response.
OS hasn't checked to see if the suits at HP have begun to spin this bit of video, or how. Hopefully, though, this wonderful minute of pushback against US corporate idiocy will travel the world, say, a couple of hundred times; and cause someone, somewhere, within the upper reaches of HP managment and its board to feel some sight sense of, well, shame.
We may be able to assist by simply leaving HP printers on the shelf of the local retailer for the next month or so. Easy, peasy, and doesn't involve a moment or penny of sacrifice on our our part. Jest sayin'...
Appeals to reason and decency are now completely futile in great swathes of American culture. Only laughter (and sometimes a machine gun) will do...
Printer problem in Iraq - Watch more Funny Videos
But, it doesn't work.
So, he calls HP tech support, who demand money for their assistance.
Here is the soldier's completely appropriate response.
OS hasn't checked to see if the suits at HP have begun to spin this bit of video, or how. Hopefully, though, this wonderful minute of pushback against US corporate idiocy will travel the world, say, a couple of hundred times; and cause someone, somewhere, within the upper reaches of HP managment and its board to feel some sight sense of, well, shame.
We may be able to assist by simply leaving HP printers on the shelf of the local retailer for the next month or so. Easy, peasy, and doesn't involve a moment or penny of sacrifice on our our part. Jest sayin'...
Appeals to reason and decency are now completely futile in great swathes of American culture. Only laughter (and sometimes a machine gun) will do...
Printer problem in Iraq - Watch more Funny Videos
Just For Grins: Daniel Radcliffe Sings The Periodic Table
The young man has real theatrical chops, in case there were ever any doubt.
Hope you enjoy.
Here's hoping he avoids the downside of fame and fortune. We really could use another actor the stature of Olivier or Gielgud, who consistently contributes to the culture over the course of decades.
Hope you enjoy.
Here's hoping he avoids the downside of fame and fortune. We really could use another actor the stature of Olivier or Gielgud, who consistently contributes to the culture over the course of decades.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The 271 Million Dollar Revenge Bill The Feds Are Sending New Jersey
Cancel our tunnel to Manhattan will you? Just because you can't afford it?
We'll fix youze guys, but good!
Does anyone breathing think for a moment that New York, California, or Illinois would have received the same treatment at the hands of the Obama Clown Circus?
OS has a suggestion: Let 'em frickin' sue. Force them to litigate it, go into a federal court in New Jersey and justify every last penny of it, and justify why they deserve to claw it back from New Jersey.
Let it go to trial, just in time for the 2012 election cycle. After New Jersey administers a high colonic discovery process upon the Obama Administration, and the scandals break out. It will be delicious.
HopeyChangey needs New Jersey in 2012, which is in the New York media market. He also needs New York.
Let 'em sue, if they are stupid enough to do it. If they look like they may prevail, settle for .20 on the dollar, and they'll go away, just to avoid looking like the schmucks they are.
We'll fix youze guys, but good!
Does anyone breathing think for a moment that New York, California, or Illinois would have received the same treatment at the hands of the Obama Clown Circus?
OS has a suggestion: Let 'em frickin' sue. Force them to litigate it, go into a federal court in New Jersey and justify every last penny of it, and justify why they deserve to claw it back from New Jersey.
Let it go to trial, just in time for the 2012 election cycle. After New Jersey administers a high colonic discovery process upon the Obama Administration, and the scandals break out. It will be delicious.
HopeyChangey needs New Jersey in 2012, which is in the New York media market. He also needs New York.
Let 'em sue, if they are stupid enough to do it. If they look like they may prevail, settle for .20 on the dollar, and they'll go away, just to avoid looking like the schmucks they are.
Nigel Farage: Shades of 1776
Bravo, Mr. Farage.
Could we please lease him to address our Congress? They still haven't seemed to get the message, yet.
Could we please lease him to address our Congress? They still haven't seemed to get the message, yet.
Eastern Europe, Hung Out To Dry By Obama And Miz Hilary
Surf, and ye shall find.
The most recent round of WikiLeaks will provide reading material for months to come.
The venality and incompetence already revealed take one's breath away.
This tidbit from Poland:
President Obama cancelled anti-missile shield plans in Poland and the Czech Republic to get Russia support for UN sanctions against Iran, documents made public by Wikileaks reveal.
The whistle blowing web site, publishing diplomatic cables and other documents via The New York Times, the Guardian (UK) and other media outlets, show that George Bush’s anti-missile shield plan to station 10 interceptor rockets in Poland not far from the Kaliningrad (Russia) border and a radar system in the Czech Republic was seen as an obstacle by Washington in getting tougher sanctions against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
The diplomatic cables show that the US believes that Iran has already received missiles from North Korea which could threaten western Europe.
The released documents show that Russia had intensified its campaign against the anti-missile shield in 2009, with Moscow believing the system would be directed at Poland’s immediate east and not Iran.
In September, President Obama cancelled the anti-missile system.
Well, that worked out well, now didn't it?
Give up a defensive shield against weapons one knows are in place, in exchange for the promise of cooperation from that most trustworthy of regimes, the Russian government of Putin.
What could possibly go wrong?
HT Midwest Conservative Journal
The most recent round of WikiLeaks will provide reading material for months to come.
The venality and incompetence already revealed take one's breath away.
This tidbit from Poland:
President Obama cancelled anti-missile shield plans in Poland and the Czech Republic to get Russia support for UN sanctions against Iran, documents made public by Wikileaks reveal.
The whistle blowing web site, publishing diplomatic cables and other documents via The New York Times, the Guardian (UK) and other media outlets, show that George Bush’s anti-missile shield plan to station 10 interceptor rockets in Poland not far from the Kaliningrad (Russia) border and a radar system in the Czech Republic was seen as an obstacle by Washington in getting tougher sanctions against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
The diplomatic cables show that the US believes that Iran has already received missiles from North Korea which could threaten western Europe.
The released documents show that Russia had intensified its campaign against the anti-missile shield in 2009, with Moscow believing the system would be directed at Poland’s immediate east and not Iran.
In September, President Obama cancelled the anti-missile system.
Well, that worked out well, now didn't it?
Give up a defensive shield against weapons one knows are in place, in exchange for the promise of cooperation from that most trustworthy of regimes, the Russian government of Putin.
What could possibly go wrong?
HT Midwest Conservative Journal
Monday, November 29, 2010
Pastor Peters' Pithy, Profound Thanksgiving Message
OS scribbles.
Pastor Peters writes, ya'll! That's why OS keeps him linked on the right side of his page. He takes Reformation orthodoxy and makes it sing.
This latest offering is one of his best, and OS encourages one and all, from all points of the compass, to take the time to read and digest his thoughts.
He reminds us of the things that truly constitute The Good Life, and ends with a profound few lines about the proper role of earthly government in that scheme of things.
The worst in us is the selfishness that thinks of me before others and before God. What is in our interest is not what defines the Christian life but what is good and right and true, what glorifies God and is true to His grace, and what promotes and extends His gracious reign of love and compassion.
What is the best in us is nothing less than faith that hears and responds, that receives and rejoices in all that God's mercy provides us. What is best in us is nothing less than a grateful heart which overflows with thanksgiving that we get not what we deserve but grace upon grace and mercy new each and every morning. What is best in us is nothing more and nothing less than living in faithfulness to Christ even when this path is unpopular, misunderstood, and causes us to be persecuted for His name's sake.
So what is the role of government except to provide us a free arena in which we have the liberty to live out this peaceful, quiet, godly and dignified life of faith? This is why God has given the sword of His authority to the leaders of the nations – not to bring His kingdom on the earth by human might but to provide the freedom and opportunity for us to live unhindered and unconstrained, the good, the peaceful, the quiet, the godly and the dignified life that Christ has made possible by His dying for sin and His rising to everlasting life. Such a government not only protects the weak and the vulnerable, seeks justice and equity, and encourages virtue, it allows us the freedom to be the people God has called us to be in our baptism. This is the government for which we give thanks tonight and for which we pray daily.
Pastor Peters writes, ya'll! That's why OS keeps him linked on the right side of his page. He takes Reformation orthodoxy and makes it sing.
This latest offering is one of his best, and OS encourages one and all, from all points of the compass, to take the time to read and digest his thoughts.
He reminds us of the things that truly constitute The Good Life, and ends with a profound few lines about the proper role of earthly government in that scheme of things.
The worst in us is the selfishness that thinks of me before others and before God. What is in our interest is not what defines the Christian life but what is good and right and true, what glorifies God and is true to His grace, and what promotes and extends His gracious reign of love and compassion.
What is the best in us is nothing less than faith that hears and responds, that receives and rejoices in all that God's mercy provides us. What is best in us is nothing less than a grateful heart which overflows with thanksgiving that we get not what we deserve but grace upon grace and mercy new each and every morning. What is best in us is nothing more and nothing less than living in faithfulness to Christ even when this path is unpopular, misunderstood, and causes us to be persecuted for His name's sake.
So what is the role of government except to provide us a free arena in which we have the liberty to live out this peaceful, quiet, godly and dignified life of faith? This is why God has given the sword of His authority to the leaders of the nations – not to bring His kingdom on the earth by human might but to provide the freedom and opportunity for us to live unhindered and unconstrained, the good, the peaceful, the quiet, the godly and the dignified life that Christ has made possible by His dying for sin and His rising to everlasting life. Such a government not only protects the weak and the vulnerable, seeks justice and equity, and encourages virtue, it allows us the freedom to be the people God has called us to be in our baptism. This is the government for which we give thanks tonight and for which we pray daily.
When The Transcendental Invades The Mundane: Handel At The Mall Food Court
Much to say about this, but OS first invites you to watch:
OS, as a kid, once sat in on a lecture by composer Warren Benson, then on faculty at Eastman School of Music. One thing stuck in his young brain that day, when the grizzled old guy declared: 'A well-written piece of music not only works well when performed well, it stands up well under abuse!'
Handel knew how to write music that 'stands up well'. This performance was certainly not abusive, but it was a far cry from what he first heard in Dublin in the late 1740's. It was heartening to see the diners begin to rise to their feet and begin to sing along, which means the piece has not totally departed our cultural memory, despite the best efforts of the joyless secularists who would have us scoff at this and listen to Schönberg instead.
Much of what the man wrote was work-a-day stuff, well-crafted, but not the stuff of inspiration. Every so often, and throughout Messiah, Handel located his true voice, found his eternal mojo.
Mojo + command of craft=immortal creations. The ones that never fail to inspire, stop us in our tracks, bring tears to our eyes.
Menotti did it when he composed 'Ahmal and the Night Visitors' in 1951, for live performance on NBC Television. OS just attended a local church staging of the piece, a far cry from that first performance, and so many professional performances since. The piece moved everyone to their shoes, with tears of joy daubed from many an eye that afternoon.
Ralph Vaughan-Williams, in the final years of his life, achieved it with his Christmas cantata 'Hodie', still neglected by many. OS has watched the most cynical musicians and audiences nearly come unglued when they first hear the setting of Thomas Hardy's poem that opens with
'Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock;
'Now they are all on their knees', an elder said,
as we sat in a flock,
by the embers in hearth-side ease.'
Inspired command of craft. And the transcendental breaks through, even in the most mundane locations, for the least likely people.
OS hopes this Christmas, his readers have at least one of those moments.
OS, as a kid, once sat in on a lecture by composer Warren Benson, then on faculty at Eastman School of Music. One thing stuck in his young brain that day, when the grizzled old guy declared: 'A well-written piece of music not only works well when performed well, it stands up well under abuse!'
Handel knew how to write music that 'stands up well'. This performance was certainly not abusive, but it was a far cry from what he first heard in Dublin in the late 1740's. It was heartening to see the diners begin to rise to their feet and begin to sing along, which means the piece has not totally departed our cultural memory, despite the best efforts of the joyless secularists who would have us scoff at this and listen to Schönberg instead.
Much of what the man wrote was work-a-day stuff, well-crafted, but not the stuff of inspiration. Every so often, and throughout Messiah, Handel located his true voice, found his eternal mojo.
Mojo + command of craft=immortal creations. The ones that never fail to inspire, stop us in our tracks, bring tears to our eyes.
Menotti did it when he composed 'Ahmal and the Night Visitors' in 1951, for live performance on NBC Television. OS just attended a local church staging of the piece, a far cry from that first performance, and so many professional performances since. The piece moved everyone to their shoes, with tears of joy daubed from many an eye that afternoon.
Ralph Vaughan-Williams, in the final years of his life, achieved it with his Christmas cantata 'Hodie', still neglected by many. OS has watched the most cynical musicians and audiences nearly come unglued when they first hear the setting of Thomas Hardy's poem that opens with
'Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock;
'Now they are all on their knees', an elder said,
as we sat in a flock,
by the embers in hearth-side ease.'
Inspired command of craft. And the transcendental breaks through, even in the most mundane locations, for the least likely people.
OS hopes this Christmas, his readers have at least one of those moments.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
A Good Idea For Sunday Morning: The Greenland Solution
Greenland's people saw the writing on the wall in the 1980's:
Mene, mene, tekel, upharsim--or words to that effect...
Being translated: If we hitch our wagon to the clown show in Brussels, they'll screw us.
So, they left. In 1985.
Fast forward twenty-five years. They're solvent and prosperous, and Europe is broke.
They're free, and increasingly, Europe isn't.
Alex Singleton of The Telegraph calmly explains:
If you think that leaving the EU would be catastrophic, take a look at Greenland. By rights its people ought to be poor. Their island is isolated, suffers from freezing weather, has a workforce of only 28,000 and relies on fish for 82 per cent of its exports. But it turns out that since leaving the EU, Greenland has been so freed of EU red tape and of the destruction of the Common Fisheries Policy, that the average income of the islanders today is higher than those living in Britain, Germany and France.
Actually, OS deliberately listed things in the wrong order: They are free, therefore they are solvent and prosperous.
So, why should a grumpy guy from Tennessee be scribbling about this? Well, ya'll, look at the US map. The bluest states of the US, the ones that drank the socialist Kool-Aid the longest and deepest are...insolvent and increasingly impoverished. They are also chaotic and crime-ridden. (New York, Illinois, Kuhlifornia, Michigan top that list.)
The state least affected by the Great Recession is (May I have the envelope, please!) North Dakota, a traditional butt of jokes by our elites. They farm, they allow their oil resources to be developed, they don't tax everything that moves. The government maintains order, maintains the roads, and otherwise leaves people alone.
What a concept.
As the Great Recession deepens (and it will, when the cheap money runs out), and the heavy hand of HopeyChangey is increasingly felt in the land (and it will, cuz that who He is), it may be time for the states of the union to rethink their relationship with Washington. This year's travails in Louisiana, where most of the real damage was done by HopeyChangey, not BP, should be a warning to us all.
They probably can't leave like Greenland did, but they can certainly distance themselves, and set up firewalls.
Mene, mene, tekel, upharsim--or words to that effect...
Being translated: If we hitch our wagon to the clown show in Brussels, they'll screw us.
So, they left. In 1985.
Fast forward twenty-five years. They're solvent and prosperous, and Europe is broke.
They're free, and increasingly, Europe isn't.
Alex Singleton of The Telegraph calmly explains:
If you think that leaving the EU would be catastrophic, take a look at Greenland. By rights its people ought to be poor. Their island is isolated, suffers from freezing weather, has a workforce of only 28,000 and relies on fish for 82 per cent of its exports. But it turns out that since leaving the EU, Greenland has been so freed of EU red tape and of the destruction of the Common Fisheries Policy, that the average income of the islanders today is higher than those living in Britain, Germany and France.
Actually, OS deliberately listed things in the wrong order: They are free, therefore they are solvent and prosperous.
So, why should a grumpy guy from Tennessee be scribbling about this? Well, ya'll, look at the US map. The bluest states of the US, the ones that drank the socialist Kool-Aid the longest and deepest are...insolvent and increasingly impoverished. They are also chaotic and crime-ridden. (New York, Illinois, Kuhlifornia, Michigan top that list.)
The state least affected by the Great Recession is (May I have the envelope, please!) North Dakota, a traditional butt of jokes by our elites. They farm, they allow their oil resources to be developed, they don't tax everything that moves. The government maintains order, maintains the roads, and otherwise leaves people alone.
What a concept.
As the Great Recession deepens (and it will, when the cheap money runs out), and the heavy hand of HopeyChangey is increasingly felt in the land (and it will, cuz that who He is), it may be time for the states of the union to rethink their relationship with Washington. This year's travails in Louisiana, where most of the real damage was done by HopeyChangey, not BP, should be a warning to us all.
They probably can't leave like Greenland did, but they can certainly distance themselves, and set up firewalls.
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