Another Closing, Another Show

There is a bit of nostalgic news today that once touched my life ... that famous celebrity bistro, Elaine's, is soon closing ... after Elaine (Kaufman) herself died this past December.  See: Elaine's Closing.

Now for the nostalgia -- back when I was single in New York City, I was a bit of a regular at a bar called Tinker's at 74th Street and Second Avenue.  One evening in 1964 at around nine in the evening, a rather heavy-set Jewish woman with horn-rimmed glasses came into this bar and started chit-chatting Tinker (Ward).  They appeared to be close friends.

After a bit, both she and Tinker told most of us bar regulars that we were all invited to go to another bar further uptown ... a bar that this imposing woman was just opening.  We all piled in a few cabs and tumbled out somewhere in the high eighties.  We then previewed what appeared to be another nondescript bar that was about twice the size of Tinkers.  I say “previewed,” because, there were just a few other people in the bar arranging tables and getting ready for the real opening in a day or two.  I took no real notice of the bar’s name.  We were all treated to a few drinks ... I can’t remember who bought, Tinker or this woman ... and then filtered back to Tinker’s to finish our evenings in our usual libertine manner. 

I found out much later, after this new bar had become quite famous, that what we had previewed was “Elaine’s.”  Maybe it was my imagination, but I always felt that the few times I went into Elaine’s thereafter, Elaine would look at me sideways ... like she was trying to remember who I was.  I never told her.

The End is Near

There are three doomsday predictors now in the news.  Viz:

- This Saturday, May 21st is believed by many Evangelical Christians to be the Rapture -- or Judgement Day when good Christians will ascend directly into heaven while the rest of us will suffer, at the best, a long-lasting purgatory. See: The Rapture.  I'm hoarding lots of reading material.

- For some reason (lack of space?), the Mayan calendar ends on December 21st, 2012 (as per transposition to our calendar).  See: Mayan Terminus. This has caused additional consternation among many of the people who expect to live beyond this Saturday's Rapture.   I, myself, truly hope that this prediction only applies to Mayans.

- Many Iranians, including Ahmadinejad, expect the 12th (Shiite) Muslim Imam to emerge soon (perhaps August 22nd of this year) from a well somewhere and declare that the end of the world is at hand (what Christians call Armageddon.)  See: 12th Imam.  Does this then mean that the Iranians may have developed one or more A-bombs?

The fact that these three different apocalypse-predictor groups seem to agree that ultimate times will soon be upon us is a little disconcerting ... and don't forget, I haven't even included Al Gore's dire warnings.

Credit Blogging

Your blogger has somewhat anticipated this story -- the French Socialist head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has been accused of attempted rape of a New York City hotel chamber maid and his DNA has been collected as evidence.  See: Dominique Strauss-Kahn).  In a post here twelve days ago it was discribed how the U.S. has lent its credit cards to the IMF and the rest of the world (see: The High Cost of Linguica). Now we find out that our credit cards are being used for $3,000 per night suites at swanky New York hotels ... but apparently not for condoms.

Alligator Alley

President Obama spoke to his Latino base yesterday in El Paso, Texas and mocked the Republicans for asking for greater border security before tackling immigration reform.  In what has become a typical Obama rhetorical twist he chided his opponents by saying, "Maybe they'll need a moat. Maybe they'll want alligators in the moat [to stop illegal immigration]."  Now, I could be wrong (as I have occasionally been in the past), but being snide does not come across as being presidential.  Jibing your opponents may be a self-satisfying strategy when you are way ahead on the scoreboard.  But, if Obama wants to work with these same people sometime to get reasonable immigration reform accomplished, I doubt that such banal tactics will work when the game is tied.

Killing Osama

This morning on "Morning Joe" someone (I think Jonathan Alter) said that, as a result of Obama's pledge to close down our Guantanamo prison for terrorists, no new prisoners have been sent there since Obama was inaugurated ... or to any other rendition location for that matter.  And as a consequence, American forces have been killing those Islamic terrorist who have been captured ... just like that ultimate terrorist, Osama bin Laden, was recently tapped.

On one hand this decision appeals to my lust for revenge, but, just as logically, I have a problem with this apparent Obama policy.  Without capture and interrogation (even torture when necessary) of these prisoners, from whence is our future deep intelligence going to come?  And without this information, how are we eventually to win our war against Islamic extremists?  And, even more ironically, isn't "two in the hat" the ultimate enhanced interrogation technique ... so decried by this administration?

Al Qaeda Typo

My friend Dennis has pointed out a typo in the Al Qaeda manifesto.  As it turns out bin Laden was met by 72 vegans.

The High Cost of Linguica

The European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed to bail out the Portuguese economy to the tune of some $116 billion. See: Portugal Bailout  This is after the fact that these same parties had bailed out (with almost equally large largess) Greece and Ireland last year.  Now, seeing that the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank in large part back in 2008-2009, bailed out the major European banks (see Bernanke's Secret) and that the United States is a major contributor to the IMF (See: U.S and the IMF), it seems that the United States is once again handing our (over-extended) credit card to the rest of the world. 

Not only is the United States expected to pay the very high cost of defending the free world, but now, it seems, we must pick up the tab for their profligate social-engineering policies too.  Enough!

Snuff Pictures

Here is that famous picture of the President and his top advisers in the White House Situation Room watching real-time TV from the Navy Seal attack on Osama bin Laden's compound outside Islamabad in Pakistan.  Those brave soldiers each had a video camera on his helmet ... sending back virtual images of what was going on during the killing of bin Laden, his son, his wife, and as many as 19 others.

I doubt that few watching this bloody event had ever seen such drama as they were there and then experiencing.  And consequentially, I also doubt if Obama and his posse will ever again react in quite the same detached and cerebral way again to our terrorist threat.  At least, I hope not.

Update:  We are now told that the video feed from this raid was cut off for these White House viewers for at least the critical 20-25 minutes.  See: Here  (And bin Laden's wife was only shot in the leg.)  Now I know there is something called the "fog of war," but the communications out of the Obama administration about this bin Laden operation has been so sloppy and contradictory that I'm not sure now what to believe.  I am embarrassed by their ineptness.  (And why must we get this raid video factoid from the British press?)

Are We F-ing Crazy?

The United States is to supply Pakistan (the same ones who apparently were harboring Bin Laden for six years) with 85 Raven drone aircraft ... for whatever lame purpose.  See: Drones to Pakistan   We also are providing Pakistan with something over $4 billion of foreign aid per year.  See: Foreign Aid to Pakistan  What did Lenin once say ... "The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them."?  Only now, we are giving them the rope.

I Have an Idea

Pictured above is the compound outside the capital city of Islamabad in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden was killed yesterday by Navy Seals.  I think that, in order to commemorate this great event, we should build a church (or, at the very least, a U.S. consulate) on this site.  We can call it "outreach."

Layers?

This is an interesting take on the newly-released Certificate of Live Birth for B.H.O.:  Composed of Layers?

I don't have Adobe Illustrator but, those of you who do, try it and leave a comment.  I'm sure there is more controversy yet to come.  These things seem never to die.

Anti-Social

I just got an invitation to join a social-networking site called LinkedIn.  I won't join ... just like I haven't joined Facebook.  Actually, my name is on Facebook but I don't respond to all its "friending," "you have messages" and other requests for a variety of reasons -- it takes too much time; it might compromise my privacy; it's a young persons distraction; and it seems slightly vainglorious.

This social networking phenomenon has me perplexed.  I like most people, but I don't want them to know every inane thing I do.  However, I am willing to share my thinking with them ... thus all these blogs of mine.  So, by demurring, I am willing to be lumped into the "old foggie" category ... probably because that is exactly what I am.

Yes, We Cannabis

Every generation seems to have its own cherished vices. For my parents it was booze and cigarettes. For my generation, we added cigars, marijuana, LSD, and free love. For our children, it is still marijuana and free love ... only they have also added cocaine, methamphetamines, designer drugs, and even freer and more bizarre sex.

And, just to prove that they are open-minded toward their elders, they are dissing alcohol and destroying tobacco use. They want us to put our alcohol instead in our gas tanks so we can drive to some remote, unpopulated location to smoke our cigars and cigarettes. They have done this with extremely effective public relations campaigns that demonize our sins while lauding theirs ... marijuana, cocaine, etc. are drugs that inspire creativity and cause no harm (except, maybe, to Charlie Sheen.)

Well, surprise, surprise. This may not be the case. I have long suspected that designer drugs, cocaine, LSD, etc. may be the source of much of our grandchildren's myriad learning disabilities. Now we are also finding out that legalized marijuana is becoming a major source of greenhouse gasses and is an electricity hog. See: Bad Marijuana.  I just hope that I live long enough to witness our great-grandchildren performing the same form of rabid social ostracism on their parents and grandparents for their vices as are being foisted on us today for some of ours.

"The Surgeon General has determined that Acapulco Gold causes serious damage to the environment and grave injury to your genetic material."

A Bold Prediction

Today at 1:30 President Obama will present his plan to the American public on how his administration intends to reduce our annual budget deficit and eventually our crippling national debt.  This content of this speech has not been leaked to the press, so I, here, will go out on a limb and predict exactly what he will say ... verbatim:

"Yada, yada, yada ... extremist Tea Party ... etc., etc., etc. ... we only raise taxes on billionaires ... blah, blah, blah ... we eventually must eliminate the Bush tax cuts ... yada, yada, yada ... we must invest in America ... blah, blah, blah ... Thank you and God bless America and the American taxpayer."

After the speech:  I forgot to include: "Paul Ryan is a demon" and about twenty more "blah, blah, blah"s

A Civil Action

Joshua Chamberlain

Nathan Forrest

Today is the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, that wrenching spasm in the early maturation of our great nation (see: 150th Anniversary).  I have been rewatching Ken Burns' PBS series on this war and I can truly say, I have been (once again) greatly moved.  The only criticism I could level at this fine documentary is that it conveniently glosses over the religious tenor of this conflict.  Clearly, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, is, among many other things, an indication of the intensity of religious overtones to this war ... overtones which Ken Burns left on the cutting room floor.  Apparently, political correctness trumps historic accuracy.

Condoleezza Rice recently brilliantly said that slavery was the United States' birth defect. The Civil War, it was hoped by most abolitionists, would correct this malformity.  Unfortunately, it didn't, but it was a bloody good start.  In fact, Abraham Lincoln, bemoaning the length and the cost in human lives (600,00+} of the Civil War, came to believe that this carnage would continue until there had been established a parity with the suffering of Africans under the American slavery system.

The above pictures represent two of the luminaries of this great strife that were highlighted by Ken Burns: Joshua Chamberlain, the Northern hero of Gettysburg who dramatically repulsed the Southern's attack on Little Round Top and helped turn the tide of battle.  Please see and read: Joshua Chamberlain  to understand why he was the General who oversaw Lee's surrender at Appomattox.  The other is Nathan Bedford Forrest, a brilliant Rebel military tactician (and butcher) whose heroics are almost beyond belief. Also see and read:  Nathan Bedford Forrest to understand why he is an important Southern hero on a par with Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

And please take a few moments today to reflect on the huge losses that were suffered on both sides in this bitter internecine war ... bigger than all the deaths in all the American wars that have been fought since.

Afterthought: I am 72 years old, yet I still seem to remember seeing at least one Civil War veteran marching in a late 1940's July 4th parade in my hometown in Western Pennsylvania.  Funny how these events get compressed across the ages.

Another Message to Our Politicians ...

Stop the spending!
Stop the borrowing!
Stop the government waste!
Stop the self-dealing!
Stop the lying!
Stop the finger-pointing!
Stop the posturing!
Stop the short-sightedness!
Stop the printing of money!
Stop the politics!
Stop the lust for power!
Stop the avarice!
Stop the demagoguery!
Stop the arrogance!
Stop the grandstanding!
Stop the propaganda!
Stop the accusations!
Stop the indifference!
Stop the bullsh*t!

Money Laundering

The U.S. federal deficit in 2008 (G.W. Bush’s last year in office) was $407 billion (see Bush's Last Deficit). This includes substantial spending ($246 billion) to stop our slide into recession. This year, 2011, the federal deficit is projected at $1.65 trillion … over four times as large! And this year’s deficit does not include the 2009's Stimulus Bill spending, is after the 2008/2009 TARP spending, and includes the spending wind-down on the IRAQ war. The question is why?

I think the unfortunate answer is that the Obama administration has done lots of squirrely things … often extra-legal things that throw government (read “taxpayer”) money at favored groups who, most often turn around and help fill the DNC’s coffers (a sophisticated form of money laundering.) Shall we use here that favored liberal pejorative, "corporate welfare"? (See: Obama's Corporate Welfare) The Democrats have, for decades, decried this supposed corporate favoritism by Republicans. Yet, when they control things, it’s as though the elephant has suddenly morphed into a donkey … only this time it’s not just corporations but now most unions are added to the line of those with their hands out.

Why is it that so little of this payola makes it into most newspaper's front page … or the broadcast network's evening news? Because of this sickening yet predictable media oversight, I will attempt to here list a few of these payoffs that have recently bloated or will bloat our federal spending, devalue the U.S. dollar, and threaten this country with eventual bankruptcy.

$4 billion in current General Motors’ tax breaks: See, GM Tax Breaks

$27+ billion in UAW pension fund bail out: See, UAW Pension Bailout.

Zilch in 2010 federal taxes paid by GE: See, General Electric Largess

$500 million Obama gift to "community organizers": See Get Out The Vote Money

Multi-multi-billion dollars of foreign bank bailouts: See, Bernanke's Secret

$363 billion in the Fannie/Freddie honey pot: See, Fannie/Freddie Bailouts

Over 1000 Obamacare waivers to companies and unions: See, Obamacare Wavers

$3.27 trillion = the true cost of the “job stimulus” program: See,  Job Stimulus Spending

At least $5.5 billion in “green” subsidies: See,  Better Building Initiative

$180 billion of new corporate tax breaks: See, Corporate Tax Breaks

$5 billion of early-retirement health care subsidies under Obamacare: See, Obamacare Subsidies
  
$53 billion of high-speed rail subsidies:  See, High-Speed Rail Subsidies

etc., etc.

If you are not now sick to your stomach, you have not clicked on enough of the above links.  Is it any wonder that Obama expects to raise one billion dollars for his re-election campaign in 2012?  Certainly not ... in fact, I believe he will easily surpass that number ... and buy himself another 4 years of White House festivities, family vacations ... and money laundering.

Rush Job

Stephen Moore has written an excellent and  revealing article in the Wall Street Journal showing that public sector workers in the United States now outnumber all of our manufacturing jobs by two to one. See: The Wall Street Journal.  In fact, there are more government workers in this country than the total of industrial, mining, construction, farming, forestry, utility, and fishery jobs.  To Moore, we have become a country of "takers, not makers."

I have commented in the past on why I listen to Rush Limbaugh in that he has at least one bon mot per day on his show.  Today, commenting on this Stephen Moore article, Rush said, "When are we going to start outsourcing our government jobs to China?"

A Rethink

The United States has given a lot of blood and treasure to stop (among other things) the stoning of women to death in Afghanistan who have violated Shiria law.  Seeing this picture on Drudge this morning has given me pause.  These burka-ed Afghani women obviously support the killing of 20 innocents in Afghanistan because of the misguided actions of a minister in Florida.  Perhaps it's not been worth it after all?

Another Mouse That Roared

One of the great movies of my salad years was that Peter Seller’s classic, The Mouse That Roared. I won’t detail the plot, but you can recall it here: The Mouse That Roared. However, the synopsis is that a small country, on the verge of bankruptcy, declares war on the United Stated in order to qualify, when defeated, for those generous American reconstruction dollars. This screen play has since been reprised many times since then … in Kosovo … in Afghanistan … in Iraq … and now in Libya. It seems that the doves in the United States decry the billions of dollars that are spent on the belligerent parts of these wars, but their tongues are tied when it comes to the many billions that are then also spent on the reconstruction of that which was destroyed or the “blood money” paid to those civilians accidentally killed.

Well, how too often does life imitate art? It appears that a small (less than ten square miles) and relatively unknown North African country, Bosa Fazzan, has declared war on the United States. This country is tucked in between Niger, Chad and south Libya in the more desolate part of the Sahara Desert. This country is comprised primarily of nomadic Berber tribesmen who had settled around Bosa Fazzan’s only real asset, a huge oasis that serves as a stopping-off point for the salt-laden camel-caravans traversing the centuries-old trade routes here. After World War II, Bosa Fazzan won its independence primarily through oversight when Italy, Germany and Great Britain withdrew from this area. It has kept this independent identity through the good graces of Muammar Qaddafi of Libya who has used this country as a secret odalisque and gold depositary … paying its Fazir, Ali Muhamed, handsomely to guard them.

However, due to the current hostilities in the region, Qaddafi has withdrawn these treasures leaving Bosa Fazzan destitute. What then was Fazir Ali Muhamed to do in order to feed his subjects? You got it … he has declared war on the United States. You might recall the F-15 that was downed recently nearby. It was Bosa Fazzanis who accomplished this improbable feat with a Stinger missile that it had purchased in 1999 from the Pashtuns in Pakistan. Ali Muhamed has tried to capture headlines in the Western press by claiming this fighter-jet kill and with his declaration of war against the United States … but has so far been totally ignored as being a bit loony. However, he is real and his declaration of war is real. He is quoted as saying (in Arabic): “I have three more Stinger missiles and that Western devil, Barack Obama, better watch out or we’ll down more U.S. planes!”

This report is the first factual acknowledgement of these events derived from a full-of-static satellite phone call from a pool reporter at the oasis in Bosa Fazzan.