Reporter Judith Miller Released
After nearly three months in jail Judith Miller has been released. Apparently she got a personal and uncoerched release from a Chenney aide and will testify before the grand jury.
After nearly three months in jail Judith Miller has been released. Apparently she got a personal and uncoerched release from a Chenney aide and will testify before the grand jury.
Revising the Katrina Hype
After all the exagerated rumors of deaths, attacks false or unsubstantiated and found bodies, Just One Minute asks:
Its hard to believe we will see a wholesale revision of the Katrina story, but (and we are just thinking out loud here) - might we look forward to a story praising Bush for refusing to put troops in New Orleans on the basis of phony intelligence?Read more
Related Posts (on one page):
- Revising the Katrina Hype
- Debunked NOLA Rumors and Myths
Patriotism vs Loyalty
The two terms are related but not mutually exclusive. Rick Moran in The American Thinker points out the differences and plainly shows what's truely lurking behind last weekend’s partygoers in Washington.
Debunked NOLA Rumors and Myths
Report via NOLA.com
Remember all the reports in the major news networks of women, children and even babies raped with abandon? People killed for food and water? It's amazing that any kind of journalistic standards would allow such unsubstantiated reports.
Following days of internationally reported killings, rapes and gang violence inside the Dome, the doctor from FEMA - Beron doesn't remember his name - came prepared for a grisly scene: He brought a refrigerated 18-wheeler and three doctors to process bodies.
"I've got a report of 200 bodies in the Dome," Beron recalls the doctor saying.
The real total was six, Beron said.
Of those, four died of natural causes, one overdosed and another jumped to his death in an apparent suicide, said Beron, who personally oversaw the turning over of bodies from a Dome freezer, where they lay atop melting bags of ice. State health department officials in charge of body recovery put the official death count at the Dome at 10, but Beron said the other four bodies were found in the street near the Dome, not inside it. Both sources said no one had been killed inside.
At the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, just four bodies were recovered, despites reports of corpses piled inside the building. Only one of the dead appeared to have been slain, said health and law enforcement officials.
"I've got a report of 200 bodies in the Dome," Beron recalls the doctor saying.
The real total was six, Beron said.
Of those, four died of natural causes, one overdosed and another jumped to his death in an apparent suicide, said Beron, who personally oversaw the turning over of bodies from a Dome freezer, where they lay atop melting bags of ice. State health department officials in charge of body recovery put the official death count at the Dome at 10, but Beron said the other four bodies were found in the street near the Dome, not inside it. Both sources said no one had been killed inside.
At the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, just four bodies were recovered, despites reports of corpses piled inside the building. Only one of the dead appeared to have been slain, said health and law enforcement officials.
And as if reporting these rumors and hysterics isn't bad enough, it's worse journalism that doesn't acknowledge their reporting errors later.
"I had the impression that at least 40 or 50 murders had occurred at the two sites," he said. "It's unfortunate we saw these kinds of stories saying crime had taken place on a massive scale when that wasn't the case. And they (national media outlets) have done nothing to follow up on any of these cases, they just accepted what people (on the street) told them. ... It's not consistent with the highest standards of journalism."
As floodwaters forced tens of thousands of evacuees into the Dome and Convention Center, news of unspeakable acts poured out of the nation's media: evacuees firing at helicopters trying to save them; women, children and even babies raped with abandon; people killed for food and water; a 7-year-old raped and killed at the Convention Center. Police, according to their chief, Eddie Compass, found themselves in multiple shootouts inside both shelters, and were forced to race toward muzzle flashes through the dark to disarm the criminals; snipers supposedly fired at doctors and soldiers from downtown high-rises.
As floodwaters forced tens of thousands of evacuees into the Dome and Convention Center, news of unspeakable acts poured out of the nation's media: evacuees firing at helicopters trying to save them; women, children and even babies raped with abandon; people killed for food and water; a 7-year-old raped and killed at the Convention Center. Police, according to their chief, Eddie Compass, found themselves in multiple shootouts inside both shelters, and were forced to race toward muzzle flashes through the dark to disarm the criminals; snipers supposedly fired at doctors and soldiers from downtown high-rises.
In all fairness a lot was presented in the news as rumors or claims by evacuees, but then there were few follow up reports correcting these claims, as at best blown way out of shape.
H/T Dean's World
Update: Speaking of false claims and fabrications, Power Line reports on the NY Times almost correction of a slanderous report about Geraldo Rivera.
The TV Watch column on Sept. 5 discussed broadcast journalists' undisguised outrage at the failings of Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts. It said reporters had helped stranded victims because no police officers or rescue workers were around, and added, "Fox's Geraldo Rivera did his rivals one better: yesterday, he nudged an Air Force rescue worker out of the way so his camera crew could tape him as he helped lift an older woman in a wheelchair to safety."
The editors understood the "nudge" comment as the television critic's figurative reference to Mr. Rivera's flamboyant intervention. Mr. Rivera complained, but after reviewing a tape of his broadcast, The Times declined to publish a correction.
Numerous readers, however - now including Byron Calame, the newspaper's public editor, who also scrutinized the tape - read the comment as a factual assertion. The Times acknowledges that no nudge was visible on the broadcast.
The editors understood the "nudge" comment as the television critic's figurative reference to Mr. Rivera's flamboyant intervention. Mr. Rivera complained, but after reviewing a tape of his broadcast, The Times declined to publish a correction.
Numerous readers, however - now including Byron Calame, the newspaper's public editor, who also scrutinized the tape - read the comment as a factual assertion. The Times acknowledges that no nudge was visible on the broadcast.
Sigh! Well so there was no nudge in the video, but somehow reporting that there was one is a "factual assertion."
H/T Michelle Malkin
Related Posts (on one page):
- Revising the Katrina Hype
- Debunked NOLA Rumors and Myths
Israel Retruns Missile Fire From Gaza
Report via USA Today
Hamas just can't stand the peace longer than 12 days and let loose rockets on Israel, just over a week before Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas were to scheduled to hold talks.
After 34 Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, Israeli troops responded with a total of eight airstrikes pounding the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas made no direct reference to the Israeli airstrikes during a speech at a peace rally, other than demanding an end to armed chaos and military rallies.
"This continuous agony must stop, the agony of the weapons chaos, of the rallies, all at the expense of law and order in residential areas," he said.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei appealed to the four sponsors of the moribund peace plan — the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations — to push Israel to stop the escalation of violence.
"This continuous agony must stop, the agony of the weapons chaos, of the rallies, all at the expense of law and order in residential areas," he said.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei appealed to the four sponsors of the moribund peace plan — the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations — to push Israel to stop the escalation of violence.
Well the only supprise here is that it lasted almost two weeks after the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip. The Prime Minister doesn't mention Hamas, but probably because he is powerless against them.
So I'm a Social Liberal and Economic Conservative
Not supprised. Another political test from OK Cupid brought to my attention by John Cole. Strangely I got exactly the same results as him.
| You are a Social Liberal (70% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (73% permissive) You are best described as a:
Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating |
Top Democrats Shying Away From Anti-war Rally
Report via Knight Ridder Newspapers
While the anit-war protesters arrive in Washington this weekend, top Democrats are fleeing. Only two Democrat officials plan to address the rally, Rep. Cynthia McKinny of Gorogia and Rep John Conyers of MIchigan.
Today's leading Democrats head a party divided over the war, and many leaders are wary of standing with anti-war activists, who represent much of the party's base. The divide between anti-war activists and Democratic leaders underscores a challenge the party faces in the 2006 congressional elections and beyond. Some activists say that Democrats such as Clinton and Kerry who criticize the war but refuse to demand a timetable for withdrawal are effectively supporting the status quo - and may not merit future support.
En route to Washington for the rally, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan protested outside Clinton's New York office. "She knows that the war is a lie, but she is waiting for the right time to say it," Sheehan told about 500 cheering supporters. "You say it or you are losing your job."
Spokesmen for the Democrats who are skipping the anti-war event all said they had schedule conflicts. But some leading anti-war activists aren't buying it.
En route to Washington for the rally, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan protested outside Clinton's New York office. "She knows that the war is a lie, but she is waiting for the right time to say it," Sheehan told about 500 cheering supporters. "You say it or you are losing your job."
Spokesmen for the Democrats who are skipping the anti-war event all said they had schedule conflicts. But some leading anti-war activists aren't buying it.
Nor do I buy it either, but I wonder if it's the anti-war protest itself that they are nervous about or the bad image Cindy Sheehan and other extremists have given the movement.
Global Warming on Mars?
Some scientists say that the Sun could have at least as powerful an effect on global temperature as increased emissions of carbon dioxide. If that is true then Kyoto and all the other billions being spent pursuant to decreasing human contributions may have little effect.
According to a Jet Propulsion Laboratory press release, the Mars Global Surveyor is making some surprising discoveries that suggest a climate change in progress.
New gullies that did not exist in mid-2002 have appeared on a Martian sand dune.
That's just one of the surprising discoveries that have resulted from the extended life of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, which this month began its ninth year in orbit around Mars. Boulders tumbling down a Martian slope left tracks that weren't there two years ago. New impact craters formed since the 1970s suggest changes to age-estimating models. And for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk from the previous year's size, suggesting a climate change in progress.
That's just one of the surprising discoveries that have resulted from the extended life of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, which this month began its ninth year in orbit around Mars. Boulders tumbling down a Martian slope left tracks that weren't there two years ago. New impact craters formed since the 1970s suggest changes to age-estimating models. And for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk from the previous year's size, suggesting a climate change in progress.
The article doesn't say why the polar deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk, but if the Sun is causing climate changes on Earth certainly the same effects are felt on Mars.
H/T Patrick at Badger Blogger.
Posted Thursday September 22, 2005 | Catagory: (Science & Technology) | Permalink
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You Decide
Here is some of Houston's evacuation transportation, courtesy Mayor Bill White. Obviously Houston is getting an early start.
Galvaston also knows what school buses are for.
Here is the New Orleans evacuation transportation, courtesy Mayor Ray Nagin
But Nagin didn't want the school buses.
Via Houstonblogger Jason Smith at GenerationWhy?
H/T Michelle Malkin
Galvaston also knows what school buses are for.
Here is the New Orleans evacuation transportation, courtesy Mayor Ray Nagin
But Nagin didn't want the school buses.
Turns out, Nagin turned his nose up at the yellow buses, demanding more comfortable Greyhound coaches instead.
"I need 500 buses, man," he told WWL. "One of the briefings we had they were talking about getting, you know, public school bus drivers to come down here and bus people out of here."
Nagin described his response:
"I'm like - you've got to be kidding me. This is a natural disaster. Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses moving to New Orleans."
While Nagin was waiting for his Greyhound fleet, Katrina's floodwaters swamped his school buses, rendering them unusable.
"I need 500 buses, man," he told WWL. "One of the briefings we had they were talking about getting, you know, public school bus drivers to come down here and bus people out of here."
Nagin described his response:
"I'm like - you've got to be kidding me. This is a natural disaster. Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses moving to New Orleans."
While Nagin was waiting for his Greyhound fleet, Katrina's floodwaters swamped his school buses, rendering them unusable.
Via Houstonblogger Jason Smith at GenerationWhy?
H/T Michelle Malkin
Media cooked up a storm over Katrina
Victor Davis Hanson takes the media to task over what happened, what was cooked up, and what was reported.
H/T Charlie Sykes at Newsradio 620.
Iraqi Parliment Gives The Ok to the Constitution
Report via The Washington Post
Iraq's Constitution will go to the people now October 15th over Sunni leaderships objections.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's parliament signed off on revisions to the country's draft constitution Sunday as a leading lawmaker declared that acceptance of the new charter was a matter for the people, not the parliament.
Hussain al-Shahristani, deputy National Assembly speaker, said the new text was given to the
United Nations, which will print 5 million copies and distribute them to Iraqis before the Oct. 15 national referendum on the new basic law...
The changes to the document included an apparent bow to demands from the Arab League that the charter describe Iraq as a founding member of the pan-Arab organization and affirm that Iraq is "committed to its charter."
Other changes included holding the federal government responsible for managing water resources and the creation of two deputy prime minister positions for the Cabinet.
Hussain al-Shahristani, deputy National Assembly speaker, said the new text was given to the
United Nations, which will print 5 million copies and distribute them to Iraqis before the Oct. 15 national referendum on the new basic law...
The changes to the document included an apparent bow to demands from the Arab League that the charter describe Iraq as a founding member of the pan-Arab organization and affirm that Iraq is "committed to its charter."
Other changes included holding the federal government responsible for managing water resources and the creation of two deputy prime minister positions for the Cabinet.
Despite concession after concession made to the Sunni who held power under Saddam, no amount of compromize will ever be enough.
Now the Sunni hopes lie in blocking the draft Constitution in the three of Iraq's provinces where they hold a majority. But as Captain Ed writes encouraging the Sunni to vote may not be a good idea:
Will those changes be enough for the constitution to avoid an electoral veto? Sunnis have an overwhelming majority in two provinces and a thin majority in the third, with Baghdad as its center. The constitution would have to lose by two-thirds vote in at least three provinces to fail overall, and the Sunnis have ironically started a massive voter-registration drive to block democratic reform. However, the numbers make it clear that Sunnis can only carry two provinces in enough numbers to block the ratification — and that only if they remain united in a bloc. The effort to get out the vote tacitly endorses the entire notion of democracy, and that may prove habit-forming for the Sunnis despite their leadership.
Sunnis are deeply opposed to portions of the draft that allow for federalism and to its reference to Iraq as a Muslim but not an Arab country.
The Sunnis say federalism is only a prelude to the breakup of a country that historically has been held together by a strong central government.
The Sunnis say federalism is only a prelude to the breakup of a country that historically has been held together by a strong central government.
It will probably be close but not all of the Sunni are in lock-step with the insurgents use of terrorism, and I wonder if they may see the constitution as a means to end the violence.
Update: Also today millions of Afghans head to the polls. H/T Dean's World who has more.
Hey Wisconsin: Whose Money Is It Anyway?
"Whose Money Is It, Anyway? That's what Wisconsin 2nd Assembly District Representative, Frank Lasee asks in his Sept 15th Lasee’s Notes (Not yet posted as of today). He notes that last week Milwaukee passed a 76 percent garbage pickup fee increase, costing residents over $10 million more for next year for the service.
And it isn't just Milwaukee and other large cities, the "League of Wisconsin Municipalities" are lobbying your legislators. Why? To make it easier for your local governments to raise fees. From the Leauge's website under Core Principles:
Wisconsin need a "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" (TABOR). Sure we have a property tax freeze, but it does nothing to protect against an increase in the number of fees, assessments, and other debt service loopholes at state, county and local governments. If they can't get it through property or income taxes, they find other ways to get it, increasing the financial burden on taxpayers.
TABOR does not limit spending, it limits revenue, and simply asks the government, whether state or local, to ask us, the taxpayers, via referendum when they want to take more of our money. Or in other words, instead of standing behind us reaching around with both hands in our pockets taking what they want, they have to ask us for it.
Twenty-three states have spending limits now, four have tax limits, and three have both. About half are constitutional provisions and the other half are statutory. We need TABOR now to stop the bleeding. With increases in fuel costs, don't expect the government to trim unnecessary expenditures, streamline departments or tighten their belts as we have to. They just turn to their cash cow, the taxpayer.
You can find out what legislators have signed Wisconsin's Taxpayer Bill of Rights here, and contact your representatives here.
And it isn't just Milwaukee and other large cities, the "League of Wisconsin Municipalities" are lobbying your legislators. Why? To make it easier for your local governments to raise fees. From the Leauge's website under Core Principles:
Preserve Local Control. Wisconsin cities and villages have been granted extensive home rule powers to govern themselves in local matters without state interference. The League will oppose any legislation preempting or reducing municipal authority relating to spending and taxing decisions, annexation, land use regulation, employee relations, impact fees, tax incremental financing or any other matters that are primarily local in nature.
Wisconsin need a "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" (TABOR). Sure we have a property tax freeze, but it does nothing to protect against an increase in the number of fees, assessments, and other debt service loopholes at state, county and local governments. If they can't get it through property or income taxes, they find other ways to get it, increasing the financial burden on taxpayers.
TABOR does not limit spending, it limits revenue, and simply asks the government, whether state or local, to ask us, the taxpayers, via referendum when they want to take more of our money. Or in other words, instead of standing behind us reaching around with both hands in our pockets taking what they want, they have to ask us for it.
Twenty-three states have spending limits now, four have tax limits, and three have both. About half are constitutional provisions and the other half are statutory. We need TABOR now to stop the bleeding. With increases in fuel costs, don't expect the government to trim unnecessary expenditures, streamline departments or tighten their belts as we have to. They just turn to their cash cow, the taxpayer.
You can find out what legislators have signed Wisconsin's Taxpayer Bill of Rights here, and contact your representatives here.
Flock to Join the Flock of Browsers
Are you ready for a new browser?
Decrem and a small cadre of programmers in Palo Alto, California, have spent this summer quietly readying Flock, an open-source browser, for an early October beta launch. Several members of the team, including Decrem, hail from the Mozilla Foundation, which produced the Firefox browser upon which Flock is built.
Flock advertises itself as a "social browser," meaning that the application plays nicely with popular web services like Flickr, Technorati and del.icio.us. Flock also features widely compliant WYSIWYG, drag-and-drop blogging tools. The browser even promises to detect and authenticate all those user accounts automatically. It's a clear attempt to be the browser of choice for the Web 2.0 user.
Flock advertises itself as a "social browser," meaning that the application plays nicely with popular web services like Flickr, Technorati and del.icio.us. Flock also features widely compliant WYSIWYG, drag-and-drop blogging tools. The browser even promises to detect and authenticate all those user accounts automatically. It's a clear attempt to be the browser of choice for the Web 2.0 user.
Also google launches industrial strength Blog Search.
H/T John Cole.
"It's Better To Give," Includes Congress
Report via Investors Business Daily
Congress has passed measures spending billions for Katrina disaster relief, and the American people have given millions more through charities. Now it is time for congress to step up to the plate and give not just our tax dollars, but by giving up some pork.
Investors Business Daily has this suggestion:
Professional fretters, led by gloomy columnists such as David Broder, and political opportunists are casting long shadows over the spending, declaring that it is yet another disaster created by the Bush White House. They see the deficit hitting a half trillion dollars this year.
And they, no surprise here, demonize the Bush tax cuts as part of the problem. They're not. The problem is what it always is in Washington, no matter who holds Congress or who sits in the White House: Too much spending.
There is a way out. For every buck Washington spends on Katrina relief, Congress has to cut a dollar from somewhere else in the budget. Every House member and every senator, as a show of support for the hurricane's victims, should publicly give up a pork project in their district or in their state.
And they, no surprise here, demonize the Bush tax cuts as part of the problem. They're not. The problem is what it always is in Washington, no matter who holds Congress or who sits in the White House: Too much spending.
There is a way out. For every buck Washington spends on Katrina relief, Congress has to cut a dollar from somewhere else in the budget. Every House member and every senator, as a show of support for the hurricane's victims, should publicly give up a pork project in their district or in their state.
What a novel idea. I'm writing my Senator and Representatives today.
H/T The Queen of All Evil.
Mice Regrow Organs and Limbs
Report via The Australian
Wow! this is huge, I had to re-read this mind blowing article, and the uses for this are unimaginable. I can only hope that this technology will work as well for humans.
SCIENTISTS have created "miracle mice" that can regenerate amputated limbs or damaged vital organs, making them able to recover from injuries that would kill or permanently disable normal animals.
The experimental animals are unique among mammals in their ability to regrow their heart, toes, joints and tail.
And when cells from the test mouse are injected into ordinary mice, they too acquire the ability to regenerate, the US-based researchers say.
Their discoveries raise the prospect that humans could one day be given the ability to regenerate lost or damaged organs, opening up a new era in medicine.
Details of the research will be presented next week at a scientific conference on ageing titled Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence, at Cambridge University in Britain.
The experimental animals are unique among mammals in their ability to regrow their heart, toes, joints and tail.
And when cells from the test mouse are injected into ordinary mice, they too acquire the ability to regenerate, the US-based researchers say.
Their discoveries raise the prospect that humans could one day be given the ability to regenerate lost or damaged organs, opening up a new era in medicine.
Details of the research will be presented next week at a scientific conference on ageing titled Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence, at Cambridge University in Britain.
Apparently the only organ that doesn't grow back is the brain.
Via Dean's World
Posted Saturday September 10, 2005 | Catagory: (Health/Medicine) | Permalink
2 Comments | 1 Trackbacks
2 Comments | 1 Trackbacks
Yes There is Still a War Going On
Report via The American thinker
Trevor Bothwell at The American Thinker has a roundup of good news in Iraq and elsewhere overshadowed by Katrina's death and destruction. Notably that:
The Army handed over its base in Najaf to the Iraqis with fanfare.
Air strikes near the Syrian border took out several known terrorists.
U.S. and Iraqi troops arrested 200 suspected foreign terrorists around the city of Tal Afar in Iraq.
Federal courts have finally consulted the Constitution when passing judgment (Article 1, Section 9), that Habeas Corpus can be suspended by the president when citizens deemed “enemy combatants” by the president in the absence of criminal charges, and can be detained indefinitely.
How Rich Bastards Rip Off Taxpayers For Millions
Report via Reason Online
This is an old article, but bears repeating in the aftermath of the Katrina devastation because it shows some of the outrageous things that FEMA funds. I'm not totally against the National Flood Insurance Program because for the poor there is no other place for them to turn when their home is destroyed. There should be more limits and provisional regulations. For instance if your home is on a beechfront just a few feet from the ocean, you should be required to rebuild in a sane location, but that is only a minor irritation. What really clamps my jaw is some of the wealthyest people in the country rake in as much as the $250,000 limit at a crack, rebuild and then do it repeatedly.
Reading John Stossel's "Confessions of a Welfare Queen" I was chewing my bottom lip before I was done. He used to be one of the "rich bastards" (his words) ripping off taxpayers through government flood insurance. First his story on his own beach house.
In 1980 I built a wonderful beach house. Four bedrooms — every room with a view of the Atlantic Ocean.
It was an absurd place to build, right on the edge of the ocean. All that stood between my house and ruin was a hundred feet of sand. My father told me: "Don’t do it; it’s too risky. No one should build so close to an ocean."
But I built anyway.
Why? As my eager-for-the-business architect said, "Why not? If the ocean destroys your house, the government will pay for a new one."
What? Why would the government do that? Why would it encourage people to build in such risky places? That would be insane.
But the architect was right. If the ocean took my house, Uncle Sam would pay to replace it under the National Flood Insurance Program. Since private insurers weren’t dumb enough to sell cheap insurance to people who built on the edges of oceans or rivers, Congress decided the government should step in and do it. So if the ocean ate what I built, I could rebuild and rebuild again and again — there was no limit to the number of claims on the same property in the same location — up to a maximum of $250,000 per house per flood. And you taxpayers would pay for it.
Thanks.
It was an absurd place to build, right on the edge of the ocean. All that stood between my house and ruin was a hundred feet of sand. My father told me: "Don’t do it; it’s too risky. No one should build so close to an ocean."
But I built anyway.
Why? As my eager-for-the-business architect said, "Why not? If the ocean destroys your house, the government will pay for a new one."
What? Why would the government do that? Why would it encourage people to build in such risky places? That would be insane.
But the architect was right. If the ocean took my house, Uncle Sam would pay to replace it under the National Flood Insurance Program. Since private insurers weren’t dumb enough to sell cheap insurance to people who built on the edges of oceans or rivers, Congress decided the government should step in and do it. So if the ocean ate what I built, I could rebuild and rebuild again and again — there was no limit to the number of claims on the same property in the same location — up to a maximum of $250,000 per house per flood. And you taxpayers would pay for it.
Thanks.
And Stossel only had to pay a dirt cheap premium. His beach house was destroyed in 1995, but he'd had enough, and sold the land instead of rebuilding.
It was an upsetting loss for me, but financially I made out just fine. You paid for the house — and its contents. I’m not proud that I took your money, but if the government is foolish enough to offer me a special deal, I’d be foolish not to take it.
I could have rebuilt the beach house and possibly ripped you taxpayers off again, but I’d had enough. I sold the land. Now someone’s built an even bigger house on my old property. Bet we’ll soon have to pay for that one, too.
I could have rebuilt the beach house and possibly ripped you taxpayers off again, but I’d had enough. I sold the land. Now someone’s built an even bigger house on my old property. Bet we’ll soon have to pay for that one, too.
In case your not aware of it John Stossel is co-anchor of ABC’s 20/20 and did a report on wealthy welfare queens. I didn't see the show, haven't watched 20/20 in years so I don't know how much was aired, but he interviewed several wealthy beachfront property owners and renters. Surprisingly few had any qualms about answering questions or felt guilty, and when interviewed had excuses like Richard Gephardt, who owns a luxurious beach mansion and said, "The American people are pretty compassionate toward their neighbors." Some did get angry when asked why they should be entitled to this brand of welfare.
First Homeowner: We create a lot of employment here — look at the dishwashers and the chefs and the waitresses and the waiters.
Stossel: This is welfare for you rich people.
First Homeowner: I am not rich.
Stossel: People who are making $25,000 have to pay taxes...to protect you.
Second Homeowner: They’ve bailed out the S&Ls, and they help the farming people.
Stossel: So since there’s welfare for all these other rich people, you should get some too?
Third Homeowner: Sound management is what it is. It’s got nothing to do with welfare.
Sound management? It’s never welfare if it goes to you.
Stossel: This is welfare for you rich people.
First Homeowner: I am not rich.
Stossel: People who are making $25,000 have to pay taxes...to protect you.
Second Homeowner: They’ve bailed out the S&Ls, and they help the farming people.
Stossel: So since there’s welfare for all these other rich people, you should get some too?
Third Homeowner: Sound management is what it is. It’s got nothing to do with welfare.
Sound management? It’s never welfare if it goes to you.
This welfare for the wealthy takes on many other forms at the federal handout trough too. Farm subsidies, Trent Lott helps dole out welfare to ship builders in Mississippi so we don't buy them cheaper elsewhere. Oh and you'll love reading Stossel's interview with ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) Chairman Dwayne Andreas, probably the biggest pig at the trough.
H/T Michelle Malkin
What's The Morality of Narcking on the Neighbors?
Report via The New York Times
An anonymous reader had a question for NY Times Ethicist columist Randy Cohen.
I live in a gentrifying neighborhood. Someone on the block is dealing drugs that, I recently learned, are less benign than I'd assumed; he's dealing crystal meth. I believe that the drug laws are overly punitive, and I've never had a problem with the dealer. But I would like to see the block cleaned up and the drug traffic gone. What's the morality of narcking on the neighbors? Anonymous, Brooklyn
It isn't the question that threw me for a loop, rather it was the answer. Nor would it supprise me to hear a similar answer from some people I know, or used to work with. But coming from a columist who calls himself the "Ethicist" all but condoning dealing crystal meth is hardly "ethical" advice. Cohen's reply.
If your local drug dealer is merely unsightly, do nothing. This is not to endorse dealing crystal meth but to assert that the war on drugs does more harm than the drug use it seeks to suppress.
You gotta be kidding me. Getting rid of this punk who is dealing meth to God only knows how many kids, does more harm than the crystal meth does to the users? Someone help me out here, but according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse:
- Short-term effects are similar to those of cocaine but longer lasting. Crystal Meth can cause erratic, violent behavior among its users. Effects include suppressed appetite, interference with sleeping behavior, mood swings and unpredictability, tremors and convulsions, increased blood pressure, irregular heart rate.
- Long-term effects can include coma, stroke or death.
If this drug dealer is a nuisance — attracting a raucous clientele, perhaps — you might consider measures that do not involve the police: speaking to your community board or local church groups or other neighborhood activists, for example.
Yes, maybe the church can get him to see the light and change his ways, but I doubt it. Still Cohen isn't done yet though, there is a point where he would recomend police action.
If this dealer constitutes a genuine threat, however — and the actual damage done by crystal meth is a factor here — if he is violent or attracts customers who endanger those around you, then you may call the police. You would be responding not to an abstract opposition to methamphetamine but to this fellow's tangible menacing conduct. If the methods mentioned above fail, then the law, for all its faults, may be your only recourse.
Well I think there is a lot more fault with Cohen's thinking, especially on ethics, than the law with "all its faults." How the hell is the guy supposed to know "the actual damage done by crystal meth," follow the buyers around and see if they get violent and fall into coma's? I think it is high time to call the police long before he becomes violent or brings violent customers into your area.
I wasn't aware that the NY Times had an "ethics columnist," but if this is the sort of crap he calls ethical advice, I am sure I will be taking another shot at him again in the future.