Reach out and touch faith.
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Friday, May 06, 2005
"Your own... Republican... Jesus"
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Thursday, May 05, 2005
Pro-war Deaniacs
Why starve it when you can explode it?
Kos notes the Cato Institute's displeasure over Weepublican big gubmint:
Laugh when the GOP talks about spending discipline. Just laugh. Mostly, these poseurs are conservative in all the worst ways, and none of the best.
During Democratic administrations the country (on average) enjoys higher growth, lower unemployment, lower government spending, and lower inflation. We also know that stock market returns are 42% higher PER YEAR under Democratic presidents versus Republicans. (Sources here.)
Yet you never hear these things. And clowns like Bush remain in office while mouth-breathing "explode-the-beasters" steer the economy toward another 70's-style funk.
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President Bush has presided over the largest overall increase in inflation-adjusted federal spending since Lyndon B. Johnson. Even after excluding spending on defense and homeland security, Bush is still the biggest-spending president in 30 years. His 2006 budget doesn't cut enough spending to change his place in history, either.
Total government spending grew by 33 percent during Bush's first term. The federal budget as a share of the economy grew from 18.5 percent of GDP on Clinton's last day in office to 20.3 percent by the end of Bush's first term.
The Republican Congress has enthusiastically assisted the budget bloat. Inflation-adjusted spending on the combined budgets of the 101 largest programs they vowed to eliminate in 1995 has grown by 27 percent [...]
The GOP establishment in Washington today has become a defender of big government.
Laugh when the GOP talks about spending discipline. Just laugh. Mostly, these poseurs are conservative in all the worst ways, and none of the best.
During Democratic administrations the country (on average) enjoys higher growth, lower unemployment, lower government spending, and lower inflation. We also know that stock market returns are 42% higher PER YEAR under Democratic presidents versus Republicans. (Sources here.)
Yet you never hear these things. And clowns like Bush remain in office while mouth-breathing "explode-the-beasters" steer the economy toward another 70's-style funk.
"If you give them great coffee and great music, they'll ride."
For all those who toil on a daily commute, Daisy has a story that will truly lift you up.
Having suffered through Baton Rouge's rush hour sclerosis just yesterday, I had a fresh reminder of the soul-crushing inhumanity of constant stop-and-go traffic. Utterly miserable and unnecessary. I normally enjoy driving, but that shite will make you hate the world.
How much remuneration would I need to suffer that unavoidable congestion each morning and evening in Red Stick (or elsewhere)? I dunno. How much does a corrupt U.S. govt official in Iraq make?
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Having suffered through Baton Rouge's rush hour sclerosis just yesterday, I had a fresh reminder of the soul-crushing inhumanity of constant stop-and-go traffic. Utterly miserable and unnecessary. I normally enjoy driving, but that shite will make you hate the world.
How much remuneration would I need to suffer that unavoidable congestion each morning and evening in Red Stick (or elsewhere)? I dunno. How much does a corrupt U.S. govt official in Iraq make?
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*
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
"Flowers in their Minds"
I spent fifteen minutes thinking about this.
Anyone who has ever been an outdoor activities coordinator at, say, a "vacation bible school" full of hyper malcontents could probably make a fairly accurate guess.
I think with two dozen or so, the odds are fairly high that one would get through my (doughpantian style) "windmill of fists" defense and eventually bite me in the ankle and send me to the ground.
Sorry.
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I think with two dozen or so, the odds are fairly high that one would get through my (doughpantian style) "windmill of fists" defense and eventually bite me in the ankle and send me to the ground.
Sorry.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
The usual LA Budget talk: jews, the antichrist, yadda, yadda
From the T-P:
So, when speaking to the Senate Committee about billions of retirement dollars, Bonita chooses to say "Jewed down". [That's a new one on me, btw.] And in her subsequent apology she throws out a five dollar word like "pejorative" immediately prior to admitting to a total lack of personal understanding about the offense she caused. Gracious. Remember: Bonita is one of the good folks deciding how $12 BILLION in retirement funds are managed for the state's 160,000 current and retired teachers. Investment firms have wined and dined her and her associates of the Retirement system to the tune of $52,000 in recent years. They've also presented Bonita and company with "gifts" that went unreturned.
She says, though, thatdespite being an unfrugal Gentile such treats have no affect on her or her employees.
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Also:
The savings on this particular benefit cut --restricting early retirement for state employees-- are so massive ($180 million/year, I think) that I'd be tempted to consider it, even though many of my friends and family could potentially be affected. The prior quote by Bonita Brown, the utterly tone-deaf executive director, makes me suspicious as hell about the current status of the fund. I give Boasso's bill (which might, in effect, represent some strong pre-emptive medicine) a chance in hell of passing. Early retirees of the state system will be understandably pissed.
Unfortunately, that may only postpone a later, and more severe, day of fiscal "reckoning".
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Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana Executive Director Bonita Brown apologized Monday to members of the Senate Retirement Committee for boasting last week that the system has "Jewed down" the fees it pays to money managers. Her comments came during an April 26 discussion of a recent audit that found the system pays lower-than-average fees to its vendors. Brown's apology was prompted by a letter from Sen. Jay Dardenne, R-Baton Rouge, the only Jewish member of the Legislature. Although Dardenne is a member of the retirement panel, he did not attend the hearing and did not learn about Brown's comments until two days later. "I certainly thought an apology was in order, and I was glad to see she apologized to the entire committee and the entire state as opposed to simply directing it to me," Dardenne said. Brown said after the hearing that she didn't mean to offend anyone. "To me it was not a pejorative; it was a compliment," Brown said.
So, when speaking to the Senate Committee about billions of retirement dollars, Bonita chooses to say "Jewed down". [That's a new one on me, btw.] And in her subsequent apology she throws out a five dollar word like "pejorative" immediately prior to admitting to a total lack of personal understanding about the offense she caused. Gracious. Remember: Bonita is one of the good folks deciding how $12 BILLION in retirement funds are managed for the state's 160,000 current and retired teachers. Investment firms have wined and dined her and her associates of the Retirement system to the tune of $52,000 in recent years. They've also presented Bonita and company with "gifts" that went unreturned.
She says, though, that
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Also:
"This bill is otherwise known as Boasso's anti-Christ bill."
--Sen. WALTER BOASSO, R-Chalmette, on widespread opposition to a bill he is sponsoring to restructure the retirement systems for teachers and state employees.
The savings on this particular benefit cut --restricting early retirement for state employees-- are so massive ($180 million/year, I think) that I'd be tempted to consider it, even though many of my friends and family could potentially be affected. The prior quote by Bonita Brown, the utterly tone-deaf executive director, makes me suspicious as hell about the current status of the fund. I give Boasso's bill (which might, in effect, represent some strong pre-emptive medicine) a chance in hell of passing. Early retirees of the state system will be understandably pissed.
Unfortunately, that may only postpone a later, and more severe, day of fiscal "reckoning".
What would Jesus vomit?
Flamingo Jones goes beyond the call of "Deuty" and displays the most unappetizing food-specimen I've seen since inadvertently wandering into a Jack in the Crack in San Antonio.
When you look at this purported "Bible Bar", really, you'll better understand the appeal of religious fasting.
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When you look at this purported "Bible Bar", really, you'll better understand the appeal of religious fasting.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Saddamism
Swopa at Needlenose has an essential post on the so-called "Salvador option", which apparently has already been exercised in Iraq. He states: "our current sponsorship of the Special Police Commandos shows, the Bushites would be perfectly happy with a Saddam-free version of Saddamism." Be sure to read all the links as well.
If you've already digested lunch, you may wish to review a couple of relevant quotes I cited when this issue first arose in January.
You do recall the U.S.-supported Salvadoran death squads of the 1980's, don't you? Hundreds of millions of tax dollars helped fund atrocities, such as the rape and execution of nuns.
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If you've already digested lunch, you may wish to review a couple of relevant quotes I cited when this issue first arose in January.
You do recall the U.S.-supported Salvadoran death squads of the 1980's, don't you? Hundreds of millions of tax dollars helped fund atrocities, such as the rape and execution of nuns.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
"We're either dead or in New Orleans."
Overheard at jazzfest, while Elvis Costello covered a Grateful Dead tune.
Yes, I think a country with a city like New Orleans in it can't be all bad. 'Course, necessarily, a country with a city like New Orleans can't be all good, either.
Hope your weekend grooved.
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Yes, I think a country with a city like New Orleans in it can't be all bad. 'Course, necessarily, a country with a city like New Orleans can't be all good, either.
Hope your weekend grooved.