Caution: you are now entering the gun-free and sanity-free zone.

Yesterday was a very sad day for our country.

MOTUS, like every other citizen, is heartbroken. Our betters have already rushed to their microphones, soap boxes and pulpits to ask why we don’t have the kind of gun control they have in Norway.

Those of us who have somehow managed to maintain our wits about us in this bizarre culture ask a different question: why are so many obviously insane people allowed to move about so freely in society? Why is it that, although there have always been guns, there haven’t always been the number of mass murders we’re experiencing as of late?

Is it the number of guns? Societal breakdown? Our culture of violence? Hollywood? While there’s probably a kernel of truth in all the usual suspects, a more likely culprit may be the policy implemented by our betters which determined that mental institutions were horror chambers that inhumanely incarcerated people simply because they didn’t conform to the standards society determined to be normal (how judgmental).

As is often the case with good intentions, the “deinstitutional movement,” initiated in 1964 and fully implemented in the 1970’s, the “solution” did not fix the root problem. There are still  just as many crazy people in society, only now they live amongst us free to act out their psychotic fantasies: unless and until they confess or get caught.

Austin Sigg, confessed killer of Jessica Ridgeway

Although  the mainstreaming of psychotics had been afoot since the passing of the Community Mental Health Act the final nail in the coffin that stopped the institutionalization of the crazies was a Ken Kesey movie (One Flew Over he Cuckoo’s Nest) which advanced the theory that the inmates were actually saner than their keepers. Hence, we should either let the inmates dictate the terms of their own incarceration or simply close the asylum and set the patients free.

If letting lunatics run the asylum is the new norm, we’re good to go:

Since the novel was written by a man who did his “research” under the influence of LSD and peyote buttons it is unclear why his conclusions would hold any credibility among the sane. Except for the fact that his story’s basic premise – that people in mental institutions are not “crazy” they’re just far more “individualized” and therefore superior to the rest of us mere mortals – fit the liberal’s agenda du jour of mainstreaming all butt the (convicted)criminally insane.

As with many schemes that are based on good intentions, this one has not worked out so well either. We are now dealing with the unintended consequences and as is often the case, they are devastating.

The crazies remain free to move about, because why would you want to spend money locking lunatics (whoops, I forgot we legislated that word out of existence last week) up who will never be able to (theoretically) vote for you? Especially when you can spend the money more efficaciously on condoms and contraceptives to defend them against the Republicans’ War on Women?

So a lot of our problems do stem from our culture: a culture of political correctness that doesn’t allow you to call dangerously crazy people “insane” let alone lock them up, doesn’t wish you to point out that terrorists may be more dangerous than conservative “haters,” and wants the good guys to give up their guns to set a good example for the bad guys.

So before we allow our betters to adopt their next “modest proposal” - which will surely focus on gun control – perhaps we should all take a little more time to analyze the unintended consequences of their empathetic solution.

 

    

Faces of evil and madness

   

                              

Because in a sane society citizens are not locked up for trying to protect themselves, the homicidal maniacs are.

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and American Digest, and Clarice on JustOneMinute and Flopping Aces, and Mireille Buser and Thor Hammerhead on facebook, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and NOBO2012 on Free Republic, Thanks!

Happy HaMukkah: Keeping it “Kosher” since 2009

I know some of you are still wondering how Big Guy won his reelection. Well, I have a small insight for you: first, there is nothing – no matter how large or small, sacred or profane – that cannot be used for your political purposes. Take Hanukkah for example:

That’s right Big Guy - Chin-up!  U WON!

First, you invite 600 of your best Jewish friends and benefactors, then you follow the White House tradition of selecting a menorah with some kind of meaningful history. “Meaningful history” used to mean having something to do with the survival of the Jewish people following the Diaspora or the Holocaust. Since Big Guy’s been here, though, it’s had more to do with surviving hurricanes for some reason. This year we celebrated the story of how Big Guy took was credited with saving the victims of Hurricane Sandy from government red tape.

A 90-year-old menorah from a temple on Long Island that was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy will be displayed at a Hanukkah party hosted by President Obama as a symbol of perseverance and hope for the holidays.

The brass menorah survived a 10-foot storm surge that destroyed a chapel, a library, numerous religious books and six Torah scrolls at Temple Israel in Long Beach, according to the congregation’s rabbi, David S. Bauman.

You may recall that back in 2010, Big White officials selected a menorah salvaged from a synagogue destroyed by Hurricane Katrina – long after most people had grown weary of blaming George W. Bush for letting the chocolate people in New Orleans die (h/t: Ray “Tha levies is still holdin’” Nagin). Butt Big Guy’s instincts told him it was a story worth keeping alive - with the reelection only 2 years away. As usual, his political instincts were correct.

Hanakkuh 2010: “Thank you for coming, and thank you in advance for all your shekels.”

For some reason there was no official menu for this year’s Hanukkah party released by the Big White, butt in this case, past performance may be a guarantee of current results: a bountiful  banquet including latkes served with smoked salmon,

photo credit Obama Foodorama

roast beef (Chateaubriand) with caramelized onions and shiitake mushrooms, pine nut-herb crusted lamb, winter salad, and three kinds of kosher Sushi rolls,

Is Shrimp considered “kosher” now?

Plus a whole dessert buffet of  Hanukkah treats including deep-fried jelly donuts. (See here for full menu from past celebrations – and to think: they gave Betty Ford a hard time for spending $1600 on Christmas decorations for her “Homespun Christmas” theme! My how times have changed.)

Now, in case you’re planning your own Hanukkah party, here’s one last menu suggestion. Brought to you from our Big White Department of Protocol:

2010 price for your “Chanukah Ham”

2012 “Chanukah Ham” price (NOTE: this price differential is not due to inflation – we do not have that phenomena here in the Obameconomy)

Big Guy, taking Lady M’s pulse: good to go! Butt no more Stoli – I don’t think it’s kosher.

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Kettle, Meet Pot.

In a piece titled “Delusions of Wisdom” (“without a hint of irony”) Paul Krugman weighed in on the state of economic journalism these days:

Both Jonathan Chait and Charles Pierce have a field day with a Politico piece titled, without a hint of irony, Crafting a boom economy. In said piece they talk to various Very Serious People, and divine the insider consensus on What Must Be Done — which mainly seems to involve, naturally, cutting Social Security and Medicare while reducing corporate tax rates.

What I find remarkable about this piece is that after everything that has happened these past five years or so, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen still take it for granted that these people actually know what they’re talking about; the whole premise of the article is that the insiders really do have the key, not just to good policy, but to achieving a dramatic rise in the growth rate.

Butt wait! There’s something in a Paul Krugman article that I completely agree with!

But the real lesson is that those insiders are not only self-dealing, but profoundly ignorant and wrong-headed. It’s too bad that so many journalists still can’t see that.

Hee. I don’t mean to inject race into the debate, butt isn’t that just the epitome of the Pot calling the Kettle black?

In fact, I probably shouldn’t  inject the word “pot” into the debate either.

Smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em, dude.

A person has to be so careful with their words these days. Butt getting back to Mr. Krugman: as they say, even a broken clock is right twice a day…

Although some clocks are so broken they’re only right once a day – probably digital

You can’t blame Pauly for having a big head; after all, how many other economists have been singled out by Big Guy as one of the really Big Brains -  and in the prestigious business journal Rolling Stone no less:

Do you read Paul Krugman?
I read all of the New York Times columnists. Krugman's obviously one of the smartest economic reporters out there, but I also read some of the conservative columnists, just to get a sense of where those arguments are going. There are a handful of blogs, Andrew Sullivan's on the Daily Beast being an example, that combine thoughtful analysis with a sampling of lots of essays that are out there. The New Yorker and The Atlantic still do terrific work.

Of course, in the same interview Big Guy also gave a shout-out to a few other luminaries from the Age of Enlightenment:

Obama did offer lavish praise  for a couple liberal pundits--Comedy Central's Jon Stewart, the New York Times's Paul Krugman, and Daily Beast blogger Andrew Sullivan. "I don't watch a lot of TV news," said Obama. "I don't watch cable at all. I like The Daily Show, so sometimes if I'm home late at night, I'll catch snippets of that. I think Jon Stewart's brilliant. It's amazing to me the degree to which he's able to cut through a bunch of the nonsense – for young people in particular, where I think he ends up having more credibility than a lot of more conventional news programs do."

So in case you’ve been at a loss to explain what’s going on here in After America, there it is: the culture has been taken over by fake news entertainers, communist economists and anti-Semite bloggers.

Now, for a quick update on the Michigan Goon squad: largely unreported elsewhere, union thugs at the Right to Work protest trashed the cart of a hot dog vendor who had been hired  by the Americans for Prosperity group, just before they slashed and destroyed their tent with people still trapped inside. The small business owner, Clint Tarvor is black. I wouldn’t mention that except for the fact that the thugs morons low information union voters apparently hurled racial epithets at him and that would normally, in our hyper-racially sensitive times, be news; say if it had been a Tea Party protest or something.

Clint Tarvor, former owner of a hot dog vending cart

“Everyone that had a ticket I had given a hot dog to,” the 63-year-old owner of Clint’s Hot Dog Cart and Casual Catering told FoxNews.com. “So when two guys, one with a mask, came to get their hot dogs, I didn’t think anything of it because they had tickets and I was just there for a job.”

He described the action that ensued as “violent.” Only minutes after he’d handed the two men their hot dogs, the pair tore down the tent, turned over his serving tables, smashed his hot dogs, tossed a cooler filled with sodas and spilled his chili.

“I kept explaining that I was just here to do a job, that I wasn’t on anybody’s side, but when people started calling me racial slurs, my friend who works at the Capitol told me I had to get out of there, so I crawled out,” said Tarver, who is black.

Wow! Those Tea Party hooligans union thugs low information voters sure are violent. What? You didn’t see that on the news? A vicious racial attack like that, on a black man just trying to do get a fair shake in order to be able to pay his fair share? That’s really news, right? Well, maybe one of those NYT columnists will cover it later. I guess the problem is that by contracting to provide services to a conservative organization, you’re considered “scab” labor. 

 

Sheeze! It’s not like Clint was serving hot “dogs”

Oh, and don’t worry: those heartless Republicans took full responsibility and raised enough money online to pay for Clint’s lost food and equipment with enough left over for him to take a nice trip to Florida if he wants to.

That’s all I have time for today folks. Butt if you would like a complete update on the Michigan Goon Squad, check out The Other McCain where Smitty has a rather thorough list of updates and links, and an explanation for why we haven’t heard Big Guy weigh in on the violence and lack of civility on the part of his union buddies:

White House spokesman Jay Carney declined to condemn the increasing violence and threats by union members in Michigan, merely telling reporters Tuesday that “the president believes in debate that’s civil.”
When asked by a reporter about a claim by Michigan state Democrat that “there will be blood” should Republicans pass a union-choice law in Michigan, Carney professed ignorance and then downplayed the comment.
“I haven’t see those comments, and I’m not sure they mean what someone interprets them to mean,” he said.

Smitty observed that we probably haven’t heard anything from Big Guy about the incident because: “… if Barack Obama had had a son, he wouldn’t have looked like Steven Crowder.”

Or as Paul Krugman might put it, “without a hint of irony:”

…the real lesson is that those insiders are not only self-dealing, but profoundly ignorant and wrong-headed. It’s too bad that so many journalists still can’t see that.

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and Dale Kasl and Bruce Cairns on facebook, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and NOBO2012 on Free Republic, Thanks!

12-12-12

It’s the only 12-12-12 we will ever have, and this is the best I’ve got:

     Q. What’s the difference between the Michigan Legislature and the U.S. Legislature?

     A. The Michigan legislators read their bills before they pass them.

So they were aware that by passing the Right to Work bill they were granting employees the choice to opt out of union membership. Since that makes the payment of union dues likewise optional, they realized that it would likely upset some of Michigan’s unions.

Proud member of the Michigan Teachers’ Union poses in front of a giant rat…whoops! Somebody spelled Governor SNyder’s name wrong! Thank a teacher.

Governor “Synder” is only one member of the Rat pack

The pro-union forces gathered in the pre-dawn hours to prepare their chants: "Hey hey, ho ho, right-to-work has got to go," and "What's disgusting, union busting." Too bad they didn’t have time to come up with something better. Or at least work on the punctuation.

Many luminaries were on hand to support the Michigan unions, including none other than race-baiter and professional rabble rouser community organizer, Jesse Jackson, shown here at a Capital sit-in with Lansing mayor Virg Bernero and Senate Minority Leader and big time political aspirant, Gretchen Whitmer.

Who’s your daddy?

Also in attendance to support the little people: Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa Jr. (whose salary places him in the 1%). People are still searching for his father Jimmy Hoffa Sr.(also one-time Teamster President and convicted felon) who went missing in 1975 and was presumably killed by the mafia at the behest of rival union mobsters thugs low information leaders. His body has never been found.

Where’s your daddy?

In addition to the union demonstrators who apparently had the day off, teachers from various Michigan school districts called in sick to participate in this democratic process.

Jen Penz, a union steward for teacher aides at Warren Consolidated Schools, said 260 teachers called in sick there, forcing schools to close in the district near Detroit. "We're not abandoning our students. We're here to protect their future," Penz said. "We're setting a good example for them.”

“Setting a good example,” really?

Union thug moron low information voter is the one throwing the sucker punch

Butt let me be clear: no unions were harmed in the making of this Michigan bill. They all remain in tact. The only thing that may be harmed is the amount of money they will have at their disposal to buy support candidates and initiatives that promote their “special interests.” Hopefully it won’t effect their ability to pay their union leaders enough to keep them firmly entrenched in the top 1% who can afford to pay a little bit more.

Butt I digress: It would seem that the U.S. Senate did not bother to read the Obamacare bill before they passed it. So they were unaware of what was hidden in that “fog of controversy” surrounding it.

The House of Fog

And now that they know, they don’t like it.

Sixteen Democratic senators who voted for the Affordable Care Act are asking that one of its fundraising mechanisms, a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices scheduled to take effect January 1, be delayed.  Echoing arguments made by Republicans against Obamacare, the Democratic senators say the levy will cost jobs — in a statement Monday, Sen. Al Franken called it a “job-killing tax” — and also impair American competitiveness in the medical device field.

One of the smartest men in the room

“Job-killing tax” – hoo-wee! That’s a hoot, no? As if there’s a tax that isn’t “job-killing?” Well, okay, let’s admit it: most of these people were elected more for their good looks and willingness to support the Dems’ position, no matter how stupid, than for their smarts.

So anyway, that about wraps up my 12-12-12 post. Since many of you have indicated your weariness of my pictures of BO and MO I will try to comply (although, that is my job: MOTUS MIRROR – hello!). How about we compromise, and I only do butt shots for awhile? 

And shots where you can’t see MO’s face:

Although I do have an exclusive shot that explains the sudden appearance of these large, oversized tops; butt I’ll save it for when you’re feeling stronger.

For those of you beginning to recover from your bout of BOMO Schizoid Syndrome (BSS), you can go here for additional MO glamor shots. Butt unless you are absolutely certain you are completely recovered do not, repeat, NOT go here.

That’s all I can do for you today. Proceed at your own risk.

Linked By: BadBlue, and Mireille Buser and Phyllis J. Hanniver on facebook, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and NOBO2012 on Free Republic, Thanks!

Santa Claus is coming to Motown

Big Guy visited a Detroit engine shop yesterday.

In a speech replete with the cadences of his late-inning campaign swings, Mr. Obama ratcheted up the pressure on Republicans, who are still resisting his call for higher tax rates on income above $250,000 a year, three weeks before a deadline that could set off across-the-board tax increases and automatic spending cuts.

Since BO isn’t running for anything right now, this can’t be characterized as a campaign stop, so let’s just call this visit for what it is: Bully Pulpit Propaganda (BPP®).

Here’s some information on background you might want to know, regarding Big Guy’s decision to visit Detroit: Michigan is finalizing the wording today on its “Right to Work” legislation that passed both houses last week. Massive union protests in the capital are expected, butt they will be to no avail, as it’s a done deal.

Capital building closed as of 10:30, having reached capacity. Doesn’t anyone work in Michigan any more?

Also the presidential campaign proved both the popularity and efficacy of propagandizing the issues with what the media has defined as “low information voters” (MOTUS prefers the old fashioned term, “morons”). Therefore, BO’s taken to the road to once more use his powers of celebrity to elicit the support of as many “low information voters” as possible to heckle and harass Republican lawmakers – through the use of any social network means available to them - to raise taxes on the rich. Although this will do nothing to address the deficit, it will somehow make Democrats feel better, and ensure Big Guy of another notch in his belt.

For Monday’s BPP® stop, we chose a Daimler Detroit Diesel plant just outside Detroit.

Daimler Diesel Plant, Redford MI

You might appreciate a brief history of the company: “Detroit” Diesel was founded by GM in 1937 as the General Motors Engine Division where it manufactured really big engines for really big trucks.

During WWII, the factory built engines for tanks and landing craft for the military – over 57,000 in 1943 alone! Acquired by DaimlerChrysler in 2000, it was retained by the German Daimler company after they dumped their Chrysler acquisition and it’s now a wholly German owned company. Let’s hear it for good old American ingenuity! Now spread all over the world.

Anyway, Big Guy came to the plant not only to garner support for his “fiscal cliff” “solution” butt also to show solidarity with the unions against the mean old white Republicans

Bo meets with Michigan’s old white republicans – oh wait; they’re all Dems except Governor Snyder, 2nd from right.

trying to give the people of Michigan a choice to either join the union or not. Which is sort of funny, since I thought the Dems were the party of “choice.”

So his visit had less to do with championing the “engine of democracy” and more to do with keeping the engine of union donations going strong. After all, they did put their money where their mouths are fed (Hello! can you say “U.S. Dept. of Labor Relations”?) and supported Big Guy’s campaign with mega-donations. Like the lady said, “that’s what you do” – it’s apparently called “quid pro quo” bacon in Washington.

The assembled UAW workers were revved up to hear BO’s comments siding with them against Michigan’s right to work legislation, and they weren’t disappointed:

Fans at the Diesel plant

And by the way, what we shouldn’t do -- I just got to say this -- what we shouldn’t be doing is trying to take away your rights to bargain for better wages and working conditions.  (Applause.)  We shouldn’t be doing that.  (Applause.)  These so-called “right to work” laws, they don't have to do with economics; they have everything to do with politics.  (Applause.)

So we’ve got to get past this whole situation where we manufacture crises because of politics.  That actually leads to less certainty, more conflict, and we can't all focus on coming together to grow.

Hee, that’s a good one! Big Guy’s a master of the Democratic art of turning your own tactics into accusations hurled at the other side (nota bene: highly recommended reading). Sort of a red herring/straw man argument all rolled into one. Need I even note that this works like a charm with our morons “low information voters”?

Well here, watch a master at work:

THE PRESIDENT:  And the same thing -- we're seeing the same thing in Washington.  I’m sure you've all heard the talk recently about some big deadlines we're facing in a few weeks when it comes to decisions on jobs and investment and taxes.  And that debate is going to have a big impact on all of you.  Some of you may know this:  If Congress doesn’t act soon, meaning in the next few weeks, starting on January 1st, everybody is going to see their income taxes go up.

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  It's true.  You all don’t like that.

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  Typical, middle-class family of four will see an income tax hike of around $2,200.  How many of you can afford to pay another $2,200 in taxes?  Not you?

AUDIENCE:  No!

(snip)

THE PRESIDENT: Here is the good news:  We can solve this problem.  All Congress needs to do is pass a law that would prevent a tax hike on the first $250,000 of everybody's income -- everybody.  (Applause.)  That means 98 percent of Americans -- and probably 100 percent of you -- (laughter) -- 97 percent of small businesses wouldn’t see their income taxes go up a single dime.  Even the wealthiest Americans would still get a tax cut on the first $250,000 of their income.  But when they start making a million, or $10 million, or $20 million you can afford to pay a little bit more.  (Applause.)  You're not too strapped.

So Congress can do that right now.  Everybody says they agree with it.  Let’s get it done.  (Applause.)  

So when you put it all together, what you need is a package that keeps taxes where they are for middle-class families; we make some tough spending cuts on things that we don’t need; and then we ask the wealthiest Americans to pay a slightly higher tax rate.  And that’s a principle I won’t compromise on, because I’m not going to have a situation where the wealthiest among us, including folks like me, get to keep all our tax breaks, and then we’re asking students to pay higher student loans.  Or suddenly, a school doesn’t have schoolbooks because the school district couldn’t afford it.  Or some family that has a disabled kid isn’t getting the help that they need through Medicaid.

There, did you see that? Raise taxes on the rich now, or poor children won’t get schoolbooks, and disabled children will not get needed care – although I think we may want to stop using that last example since Obamacare should take care of everything from now on, right?

The other interesting part of BO’s speech was this:

THE PRESIDENT:  What’s going to make us succeed is we got the best workers -- well trained, reliable, productive, low turnover, healthy.  That's what makes us strong. 

Hee, again, here’s another story from yesterday that explains exactly why we have such low turnover. As it turns out, you can thank the unions for that too!

Bringing you fine autos ever since the UAW took over

Chrysler workers who were fired or suspended two years ago after a MyFoxDetroit investigation found them drinking and goofing off during lunch break are back on the job.

MyFoxDetroit first aired the footage of the Chrysler workers in September 2010. Video showed them in a park during the work day, drinking alcohol from bottles covered in brown paper bags and smoking what appeared to be marijuana.(snip)

But MyFoxDetroit reports that following a union-backed arbitration process, the employees were reinstated. This week, they came back to work.

 

So cloak ‘em, smoke ‘em, toke ‘em and provoke ‘em – you’ll always have a job if you choose to join the union.

      

      

      

Seriously: who wouldn’t want to join the union? So I don’t see what they’re so upset about. It’s just a choice, after all. And if you’re not for choice, then you must be a big fat idiot.

Hi! I’m Julia, and I approve this message.

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