More Political Manipulations Pt. 2.

I had mentioned earlier, that politicians are lying to us, and for some reason we keep letting them get away with it. I had a good idea of how they were able to continue to manipulate us when the chronically reading comprehension impaired seemed to say that I was going to be just like them. Now, where he could have gotten that idea is beyond me, but it is consistent with his inability to grasp basic concepts that are other than his political bedrock. And I am sure that he is not alone in his quest to ignore facts that contradict his notions. Nonetheless, I am going to keep on pointing out how the Democrats are lying and hope that the awareness of the citizenry will cause them to rethink their ability to manipulate us.
Today, we have America's ex-wife Hillary, who is pandering to the crowds in Indiana about how George W. Bush let a plant that was used in the production of certain military critical items be closed and move to China, along with the jobs. Just one problem, the sale was done under Bill Clinton, and the move was pretty well completed by the time Bush came into office.

Here's the complete story.

In 1995, General Motors decided to sell the Indiana-based Magnequench to a Chinese-American consortium. The consortium included:

* San Huan New Materials and Hi-Tech Co, a company owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences;
* Onfem Holdings, a company controlled by the State Nonferrous Metals Industry Administration in the Peoples Republic of China;
* Soros Fund Management, headed by George Soros;
* The Sextant Group, founded by Archibald Cox Jr.;

Soros, of course, is the wealthy investor who has contributed vast sums to Democratic candidates and liberal causes.

He's given more than $250,000 to Democratic campaign committees, tens of thousands to individual Democratic candidates, and about $2.5 million to the liberal group, Moveon.org, according to Federal Election Commission records.

He's also contributed to Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign, and to Obama's Senate and presidential campaigns. He contributed to Republican Sen. John McCain's first presidential campaign, in 1999, when he was running against Bush for the Republican nomination.

Because Magnequench made magnets for smart bombs, the sale to a group including foreign owners required approval under a 1988 law.

After a 30-day review, the Clinton administration's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which includes representatives of the Pentagon, approved the sale in 1995.

The buyers reportedly promised to keep manufacturing in the United States.

Yet in 1998, they started building a new plant in China, close to the source of the raw materials used in the magnets.

The company reorganized in 1999, buying out Soros as well as Onfem Holdings.

In 2000, Magnequench bought a magnet factory in Valparaiso, Indiana, the same year it started operations at its China plant.

In 2001, it closed its original plant in Anderson, Indiana.

And in 2003, it decided to close the Valparaiso plant, laying off its 225 workers.

Now, to be fair, Bush did nothing to block the move, but that is a far cry from what Hillary is saying. When confronted by the facts, she maintains

The Clinton campaign said she doesn't mention the role her husband played in the sale because it wasn't relevant.

Yeah, facts aren't relevant.

Striking a Blow for Democracy

The Supreme Court has upheld the Indiana Voter ID act. In a 6-3 decision, written by Justice John Paul Stevens, one of the courts more reliably liberal justices, the court found that the problems with voter fraud were enough of a legitimate concern that Indiana could require its citizens to show proof of who they were.
Democrats, and those who would like to vote under several different names, were of course outraged. Saying that it would disenfranchise the poor and the elderly and those who don't actually live there anymore, this could rob the Democratic Party of some of their most loyal voters - cemetery residents.

Ponder the Maunder?

I was listening to NPR earlier this week, and they were interviewing a young girl who had a Global Warming Denier blog. For a 15 year old, she has done a better job of science than all the so called "consensus scientists" seem to have done.
The best part of the NPR interview was when she was with her friend who disagreed with her. When her friend was asked why she disagreed, she could only reply "I dunno. It just is wrong."
And there you have in a nutshell, the entire climate change maniacs argument. Balanced by a 15 year old who can think critically.
There is still hope for this country.

Kudos to Craig

Craig at MTPolitics has gotten Denny to post an editorial on the Blogger Protection Act of 2008. Great for him!
In a way, this shows the prescience of Rep. Rehberg, in that it is a far more useful technique to send his message to people who are interested than relying on television.
Television, especially with the increased use of Tivo and other methods to skip through commercials, is going to be less effective as a medium than blogs are. Just think people, We are the Future.
Okay, that's kind of scary.

More Political Manipulations

Carol at Missoulaopolis pointed me to this article about three young men who have the courage to actually run for office in the People's Republic of Missoula. You have to give these guys some credit just for standing up and taking the chance.
But the article highlighted some problems that I have with the current state of politics. For example, in the article,

Betsy Hands, the incumbent Democrat for Cox’s district, said that it is interesting the Republican candidates named this as an issue, since it was while the Republicans were in control of the Legislature that all this government growth occurred.

Excuse me? Didn't the Democrats control the Senate and the Governor's office? She seems to be either ignorant or is deliberately distorting facts. (See other evidence below about Nancy Pelosi's Secret Plan.) Hands goes on to say:

“Having education for your child is one of the most important things you can do for their development.”

Great, Ms Hands. But what did you actually do, besides talk a good game? If spending goes up 7% from the State contribution, why is the increase at the classroom level only 1%, or less than inflation?
Apparently, the Office of Public Instruction was able to siphon off approximately half of the increase for their operations. (Buildings, an 11% raise for Linda McCullogh, more bureaucrats, etc.) And believe it or not, it's perfectly legal. Sure, you thought that the Legislature appropriates the money and directs how it is to be spent. Except for the OPI. The Leg is specifically prohibited from directing how the money is to be allocated.
You want more for the teachers? Close the Office of Public Instruction. You want more useless regulators, controllers, and other parasites who do nothing to teach children - re-elect Ms. Hands.

Where is Nancy's Secret Plan?

One of the complaints that I have received is about the high cost of gas nowadays. Not that the State legislature can deal with the issue without causing other harm. (Give up the gas tax and the roads go to hell). But then, I found this, and about fell out of my chair laughing. It is well worth the look.



Which just goes to show that politicians will lie through their teeth, knowing that they cannot do what they are promising, and yet, we still buy it. Why do we let them get away with this?

UPDATE Apparently, the Republican caucus sent the following to Ms. Speaker Pelosi:

Dear Speaker Pelosi:
Two years ago this week, you stated that House Democrats had a "commonsense plan" to "lower gas prices." In light of the skyrocketing gasoline prices affecting working families and every sector of our struggling economy, we are writing today to respectfully request that you reveal this "commonsense plan" so we can begin work on responsible solutions to help ease this strain.
Today, the national average for regular unleaded now stands at $3.51 per gallon, according to AAA, which is $1.18 higher than it was at the
start of the 110th Congress – a more than 50 percent increase. In fact, gas
prices rose more in the last 15 months than they did in the six years prior
to Democrats taking control of both Houses of Congress in January
2007.
In the midst of a slowing economy, falling home values and soaring costs of living, this is a heavy premium for working families to bear.
Americans, particularly those in suburban and rural communities, are paying more simply to commute to work each day. America's truckers, faced with the prospect of paying $1,200 to fill up a tank that just a few years ago cost $600, must now consider taking less work or going out of business altogether. We have seen reports of school districts where filling up buses is already costing as much as $70,000 more than originally budgeted.
Once a nightmare scenario, $4 gasoline is now a very real possibility of becoming a summer staple. In some cities, including San Francisco and Chicago, it is already a startling reality.
We noted with great interest, then, that on several occasions you have announced the existence of a Democratic plan to lower gas prices. In fact, it was two years ago this week, on April 24, 2006, when you pledged that "Democrats have a commonsense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas
prices." Just two weeks after that, you stated that Democrats had "real solutions" that would "lower the price at the pump."
Yet 15 months into the 110th Congress, you have yet to reveal this "commonsense plan."
House Republicans stand ready to work with you and our Democratic colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to address America's energy crisis. As part of that effort, we respectfully request that you reveal the "commonsense plan" to lower gas prices you promised two years ago. The ability to fully consider its provisions, details and costs – including any proposed new taxes on gasoline or energy as we have seen in the past – is critical if we are to effectively serve our constituents facing ever-increasing prices at the pump.

This is Interesting

One of the things that I have learned so far in my campaign is that many of my good friends who are Democrats are glad that I am running, but just can't support me because I am running as a Republican. Apparently, tolerance and being open minded requires adherence to a one Party government.
Libertarians have absolutely no place in the Democratic Party. We do not accept that government is the solution to any of our problems, while my Democratic friends seem to believe that anything can be solved with the right government bureaucracy. On the other hand, some Republicans, especially social conservatives are frightened by the libertarian approach of letting each person make choices for themselves.
Ron Paul created mixed feelings in my mind, because I disagree with some of his foreign policy positions. I do not believe that we have the ability to hide behind our oceans and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist. On the other hand, it is obvious that he has a message that resonates with a large portion of the population.
I was somewhat worried that the Paul supporters would just sit out the coming election, and then I found this:


While McCain may not be the ideal choice. We still have to choose. Deciding not to choose is still a choice, and the consequences can be horrific. If McCain can garner the support of the Paulies, he just may yet win.
In spite of what my wife (The Good Democrat) thinks, I want McCain to win.
Otherwise, God help us all.

Watch Out for those Sneaky SOBs

at Left in the West. I was posting a link from LITW to Big Sky Cairn, who was looking for any Sinestra member that would call out Jay Stevens on his purposeful lies, and I noticed it seemed longer than usual.
Here is the link: http://www.leftinthewest.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=E32A1B4CF23755C1C595CA3F68E023E2?diaryId=1678

Do you notice the "jsessionid=" part of the URL? Now what exactly is that, I wonder? Could it be a way to snoop into your computer? Maybe a way to track who is linking to that post? Perhaps it's just a way to catch Wulfgar when he is using his State computer when he should be working.

Whatever the purpose, I would advise everyone to not use it since it seems to be a pretty sneaky invasion of your privacy.

UPDATE A friend who is computer literate has taken a look at the jsessionid matter and thinks that it is innocuous.
Therefore, I am wrong, and I apologize.
Steve

There He Goes Again

I have decided that it is apparently pointless to argue with people who deliberately misstate facts. Hence, Matt Singer, this one is for you:

Well, there he goes again.

Don't try this at home

Seems a motorcyclist in Oregon wanted to record how fast his bike went, so he mounted a video camera aimed at his speedometer. The recording shows that he hit 164 mph.
The fastest that I have ever taken a bike was 138 on the Autobahn. The front wheel started to feel like it was floating which scared the hell out of me, so I slowed down to a reasonable 120.
That just seemed so much safer.

On Exceptionalism and Bitterness

Mark Steyn is always quite insightful and entertaining. While he lacks the ferocity of Hitchens, he still is quite astute of an observer of the American condition. Consider this article. Some of the best parts:

Where was I? Oh, yes. In my book "America Alone," I note a global survey on optimism: 61 percent of Americans were optimistic about the future, 29 percent of the French, 15 percent of Germans. Take it from a foreigner: In my experience, Americans are the least "bitter" people in the developed world. Secular, gun-free big-government Europe doesn't seem to have done anything for people's happiness. Consider by way of example the words of Keith Reade. He's not an Obama speechwriter, he's a writer for the London Daily Mirror. And the day after the 2004 presidential election he expressed his frustration in an alarmingly Obamaesque way:

"Were I a Kerry voter, though, I'd feel deep anger, not only at them returning Bush to power, but for allowing the outside world to lump us all into the same category of moronic muppets. The self-righteous, gun-totin', military-lovin', sister-marryin', abortion-hatin', gay-loathin', foreigner-despisin', nonpassport ownin' rednecks, who believe God gave America the biggest d*** in the world so it could urinate on the rest of us and make their land 'free and strong.'"

Now, haven't I heard something like that recently? Oh yeah, Barak's "bitterness comments."
Mr. Steyn goes on to point out that the Europeans, unlike the moronic muppets in Kansas have voted their own best interests.

i.e., cradle-to-grave welfare, 35-hour workweeks, six weeks of paid vacation, etc. – and as a result they now face a perfect storm of unsustainable entitlements, economic stagnation and declining human capital that's left them so demographically beholden to unassimilable levels of immigration that they're being remorselessly Islamized with every passing day. We should thank God (forgive the expression) that America's loser gun nuts don't share the same sophisticated rational calculation of "their best interests" as do Thomas Frank, Obama, too many Democrats and the European political establishment.

I got to thinking about the above, and it reminded me of a very well appointed prison. And the socialism of Europe is a prison. While some of the countries are experimenting with individualism, the vast masses really only want their 35 hour work weeks, six week vacation and three week spa prescriptions, which does sound nice. Think about it, no real worries, concerns or challenges. But no opportunity to excel either. You are confined to mediocrity. Which, if you are sub-mediocre is an advantage, and if you are mediocre has no drawbacks. But if you aspire to more, you are going to be stopped and dragged back to mediocrity, less you disturb the other animals in their pleasantly appointed stalls.
Don't get me wrong. It is clear that the opportunity to succeed includes the opportunity to fail. And, as mentioned above, the comfort of mediocrity has its advantages. But it also steals from us the wonderful fruits of both success and failure.
For while success needs to be worked on to continue, and failure is that fraud that needs to be overcome, mediocrity is forever.

Are You Being Lied To?

When Carol and I got together for the MisConBlog Meetup, she said to me that she really resents feeling like she is being manipulated. I have to agree with her wholeheartedly on this point. Maybe, it's because I am getting older and crankier, or maybe it's because I have more access to information than ever before. In any event, I am finding that there seems to be a concerted effort to mislead all of us about essential facts.
As I had mentioned earlier, there are those who seem to go out of their way to purposely mislead us. Or they are so misled themselves, but confident that they are right, that they fail to think critically about the information that they are purporting to rely on.
But it's not just my friends on the Left. Even supposedly "professionals" are trying to mislead us.
Apparently, there is an active effort that is being coordinated to control what we think about subjects. And this is not a recent phenomenon as shown here, here here, and I could keep on listing them, but I think that you get the point.
No longer do we have unbiased news reporting, but the sort of "advocacy journalism" that is pure propaganda. What the Left forgets is that if it can be manipulated by their side, it could surely be manipulated by their opponents as well.
Ahh, but I can just hear Mark T.'s keyboards a clacking that news comes from corporations, and corporations are evil. Therefore, it is already slanted in favor of the Right. Yeah, those bastions of Conservatism like CBS and Reuters are in the tank for the Republicans, aren't they.
While I understand that people can have varying opinions about what needs to be emphasized, that should not apply to objective information gathering. How can we discuss a situation, if we cannot even agree what the situation is?
Maybe more of us need to borrow the line from Reagan - "Well, there you go again." to dismiss nonsense from the Left. Just smile, chuckle a little bit and pat them on the head, then send them out to play with their make believe stories, while we grownups discuss serious matters.

More Humor from Jay

I suppose he might actually be serious, but this is amusing in its own right.

"Faith," of course, is belief in something that lacks proof. It's pretty clear then that worry over global warming isn't a matter of faith, but of reason.

And if we're going to point out a group of people who cling to an idea that not only has no proof, but contradicts accumulated evidence and scientific inquiry, then we'll have to admit that it's the deniers who are acting on faith. Faith that Big Energy's efforts to influence the debate isn't profit driven. Faith that there's a 100% chance everything's going to be hunky-dory - after all, if there's even, say, a 10% chance global warming is man-made and as cataclysmic as conservative predictions make it out to be, it would be folly, or even criminal, to ignore it. Faith that the myopic views of a tiny number of politically-and economically-motivated commenters are what represents "reality."

If there's a religion here, it's in the denial of the problem.

Hmm, so belief in something that hasn't happened yet is proof of the statement, but not believing the statement is heresy? What is this, the Spanish Inquisition of the 21st Century?

But then Jay attempts to shred Craig of MTPolitics for his reporting on the makeup of the Climate Change Commission that the Gov himself handpicked.

Speaking of deniers, I just want to quickly comment on Craig's post equating Exxon funding of denier science with non-profit funding for policy groups. Again...I'm not sure the logic here. Exxon has a profit motive to misconstrue the debate and encourage us to make decisions that are self destructive; the groups listed in Craig's post seem to be interested in...well...preserving the environment and stopping global warming.

Jay either is blissfully unaware, or is active in denial of the idea that some people are using the hysteria of climate change as a tool to reorient society into their own image. Restructure the entire political and financial system, and apparently you are operating out of self interest. Point out the obvious flaws and you are a dupe of Exxon.
Nice try.

But what are the facts? Facts are easy, because they have occurred. That means they may be open to interpretation but they still exist. Predictions are not facts, by virtue of not being yet proven. Using "sophisticated computer models" does not change a fiction into a fact. It just means that you are using a model. When they can get the weather right in 10 more days, I will be closer to accepting their argument. But ten days out is impossible right now. Why someone thinks that 100 years out is more accurate is delusional. But surely, we can look to the past, since that has happened, right? Of course, when was the thermometer invented? Apparently in 1714. So, how widespread was its use? And how accurate were the observations that were made using these thermometers? But we are better than that now, aren't we? What do the data show, since the fact that it has occurred means that it is observable and testable.
Some reports are that 2006 is the warmest year on record, Others say that it was the 5th warmest. Of course, others say that 2007 is the seventh warmest year on record.
And still others say that it was the second warmest year on record.
At least a few show that the data relied upon is corrupt. In fact, in spite of the above assertions, some say that the warmest years on record was 1934, not 1998 or 2006 or 2007.

But that is to be ignored in this new Calvinist society, where we are all sinners, and not all of us are qualified for salvation. Only the true believers will be allowed into Paradise. I am sure that Jay believes that he will be one of the saved. Just like all the Calvinists before him.
Guess that explains why I am a Lutheran.

Oh, and Jay, if you doubt me, just put your hands on your desktop tower, and feel the warmth of God's love coming through to you.
Or is it climate change?

Deception as a Political Tool.

Carol at Missoulaopolis is taking Jay Stevens to task, and rightfully so it appears. I have to wonder sometimes, does Jay think that I am stupid, or is he being stupid? I realize that it is easy to bite on the line that has been handed to you, especially if it would impact your perceived opponent. But if given the chance to correct a mistake, why wouldn't you?
One reason might be that your assertion is correct. In this instance, that is obviously not the case. Another reason might be that you are unable to admit that you made a mistake. This is indicative of a major mental illness, and if I am elected to the Legislature, I promise to help people like this. Another is, that the lie is more effective than the truth. This is cynicism carried to its ultimate level.
Let's face it, a majority of the American voting public don't really pay attention to the news. They rely on what they hear from a (supposedly) reliable source. The first item in carries more weight than the truth.
Another example is Obama's 100 years of war with McCain. Obama is way too smart to not know that he is misquoting McCain.
So, maybe this is the new version of politics. The trouble is, that the so called "Reality Community" is much better at this version of variable truth than the conservatives are.
Too bad for the country.

UPDATE Here is another example, where Rove is the target. Maybe Jay Stevens actually is a journalist. Personally, I would want to punch anybody out that used that slur.

Update #2. More actual deception from his messianic holiness Barak:

Never Too Late

to say Thanks!

Pullitzer Winner

The essence of wit is truth. This is just too true. Have you ever noticed how bad the economy always ends up at the end of a Republican Presidency. Did you notice how we are still better off than during Clinton's miracle years?

Economic oddities

When Dave and I met over the weekend, as usual, our conversation went all over the place as two elderly sufferers of ADHD is wont to do. One of the things we were talking about was the price of oil at over $100 per barrel is not having that great of an effect in Europe because the Euro is over 50% stronger than the greenback. In essence, while we are paying the higher price, because of our devalued currency, the Europeans are paying the equivalent of $66 per barrel. Obviously, this is a tremendous benefit to them. But how long can it last?
Forbes magazine has this article which is predicting the end of the Euro within three years. The interesting thing about the article is its prescription to horde dollars because the Euro will suffer one heck of a sell off if and when Spain, Italy and France bail on it. The effect on the hording will rally the dollar, making our imports cheaper and our exports more costly.
I have a bucket with old currencies that I thought were worthless since the creation of the Euro. Maybe I should dig around and find them again. While they were often quite colorful and interesting, they could be worth something once again.

Budge is Busy

setting up my campaign web site Steve 4 HD 96, but we had a meeting in real life, and we were discussing the Clinton tax returns. Dave pointed out that the Clintons gave a lot of money to charity. Then he made the salient point: Is one of the charities the Clinton Library?
That would change the perspective of their "benevolence" if true.

Grown Ups are Finally Showing Up?

Thanks to Instapundit, I found this McCain ad, which I have got to admit has sent a shiver up my spine. Just for fun, listen to the words without the imagery. It is some pretty powerful stuff.

Interesting Reports

I had been considering the purpose of blogs, doing a little navel gazing as it were. I mean, I just don't go out and get the real story like GeeGuy at Electric City, nor do I have the time to dig up the skewing of commissions like Craig at MTPolitics. Most of my posts are in the nature of commentary on other news or postings.
I decided that I'm okay with that. Especially when you get these two YouTube postings to compare:

First - Thanks to Mike at The Last Best Place:




And if that wasn't fun enough, Criag at MTPolitics has this:



As the Good Book says, "By their fruits shall you know them." Now, if we can just get people out of the "feel good" Obama nonsense to actually listen to what they really mean, we might be able to make some progress in this country.

Soooey, Pig, Soooey

The LA Times has an article about pork spending. You remember pork. That was one of the things that caused Republicans to sit on their hands during the 2006 elections. You might also remember how the Democratic leadership was going to make all pork spending transparent.
Well they did. Make it transparent that is. They have done nothing to reduce it. Seems as though the good citizens represented by the junior Senator from New York are being bought off at the tune of almost $300 million. This year. So far.
Barak Obama on the other hand has only 53 earmarks for nearly $100 million. Boy, that fiscal responsibility thing seems to be catching. Good thing all those politicians learned from the last election.
Oh, and John McCain, no earmarks.

The Problems with Education in Montana

Michael Nicosia, who is a Superintendent of Whitefish Schools and vice chair of the Montana Quality Education Coalition, has penned a guest editorial in the Missoulian today. He is attempting to explain why a 7% increase in state wide funding did not result in a 7% overall increase in money to the schools. He doesn't mention that approximately 51% of all the State money goes to administrative overhead. Having been in business for 8 years, I know that overhead is the thing that kills you when it comes to making any money. Surely the same must apply to teaching our chillins, doesn't it? How many senior policy analysts at the OPI would we have to let go to raise teacher pay by 10%. No matter how you answer that question, the answer is going to be pretty scary.
While the Montana Quality Education Coalition is suing the State, I think that they should be worried about being sued for malpractice themselves.

Welcome Your Highness

The Viceroy's Fuguestate has been added at long last to the Dextra roll. And boy am I glad of it. His post on everything that is dangerous had me laughing so hard, I 'bout fell off my chair.
And a special thank you to Craig of MT Politics for putting together Dextra that lets me read the newest posts from the Viceroy and others. Over the weekend, Dextra was down. You never know how much you appreciate something until it is gone.
Great job Craig, and welcome aboard Viceroy.