Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Poseur Alert

Yesterday evening, as I reclined, half dozing after a couple of vodkas, in a hotel room in Gaylord, Michigan, I happened to click the teevee to CSPAN.  I very rarely view CSPAN, as I only receive five teevee channels in my home, because I do not subscribe to cable or satellite teevee.  Anyway, when I clicked the teevee over to CSPAN, it just happened that Representative Scott Garrett (R-NJ) had the floor.

I would have clicked right through CSPAN, to some other channel, but I did not because I heard these words issue from Mr. Garrett’s mouth.

Unfortunately, for most Americans, the Constitution is nothing more than a historical document, really, too often cited, and cited inaccurately, and nearly always greatly misunderstood.

When I heard Mr. Garrett speak these words, I set the clicker aside, because I thought, possibly, he might elucidate something of importance regarding the Constitution and the abuses said document receives at the hands of Mr. Garrett and his associates in the House and the Senate.

Alas, it was not so.  Mr. Garrett was simply mouthing platitudes to Constitution Day,

So as we celebrate the anniversary of our signing of our Nation’s most significant legal document, let us each and every one of us try to better familiarize ourselves with it. Highlighting and understanding what the Constitution actually says; what the intent of the authors actually was, and how it is now interpreted, stretched, or ignored will empower the public, like our forefathers once did, to stand up for their innate rights and to resist the growth of government at every level.

and attempting to encourage all his fellow professional job seekers to pass another needless piece of legislation.

And so I conclude as I had once before on this floor, to encourage this House to adopt legislation that is pending right now called the AMERICA Act, which is simply asking every Member of this body to on a yearly basis to simply read the Constitution, and their staffs as well. Let us start in this body to have an understanding of the Constitution and to share that belief with the American public as well.

Garrett’s entire little speech can be read here.

Poseur.

Posted by John Venlet on 09/20 at 04:30 PM
(1) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

There Is, At Times, Good News in the World

A brother and sister, each thinking the other dead for the past sixty-five years, along with most of the rest of their family, due to being separated because of Nazi efforts to exterminate the Jews, are reunited.  I like that.

Kin reunited 65 years after Holocaust

Posted by John Venlet on 09/19 at 01:43 PM
(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Tax Almighty

Al Gore, the current godfather of the global warming crowd, has proposed taxing pollution instead of payrolls.  Note that Gore does not state tax pollution instead of individuals, though, supposedly, Gore’s tax idea would eliminate all taxes currently paid by individuals, including social security taxes and unemployment compensation taxes.

I’m fairly certain that this idea, as appealing as it may sound to every individual who works for a living, and as radical and difficult to implement as it may be, will be roundly discussed by bevies of economic “planners,” both Republican and Democrat, to either prove that the idea has merit, or that the idea is so far fetched that it is simply a ploy to gather bushels of votes if Gore should decide to run for President in 2008.

Mencken reminds us what an idea like this actually means.

When a new source of taxation is found it never means, in practice, that the old source is abandoned. It merely means that the politicians have two ways of milking the taxpayer where they had one before.

Gore says tax pollution, not payrolls

Posted by John Venlet on 09/19 at 01:06 PM
(1) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Recommending Rand to the Muslim World

Writing in The American Spectator, Ralph R. Reiland recommends the writings of Rand to replace the curriculum of death which is so popular in the Muslim world.

What the aforementioned young people could use is some major deprogramming. For starters, the suicide-promoting poetry in their curriculum could be replaced with some Ayn Rand, the perfect antidote for self-immolation.

In For the New Intellectual, Rand warns against “death-worshipping mystics” who control and humiliate through the use of guilt and fear, preaching that a man’s pursuit of happiness here on earth is evidence of depravity and selfishness, that his independent mind is a source of arrogance, his body a source of evil, that his liberty, self-esteem and individuality are desecrations of the commandments for obedience, humility, suffering, renunciation and self-sacrifice.

“There is no way to make a human being accept the role of a sacrificial animal,” writes Rand, “except by destroying his self-esteem."

The piece is titled Children As Bombs

Posted by John Venlet on 09/19 at 02:52 AM
(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Monday, September 18, 2006

Michigan - "A Liberal Failure"

I’ve lived in Michigan for a good number of years.  I haven’t always lived here, but I always seem to end up back in the state that boasts two peninsulas, those Great Lakes, and looks like a mitten.

Michigan, for too many years, has been over reliant on the auto industry, economically, and many Michigan employers have been, and still are, slaves to unions, especially the UAW.

Currently, Rich DeVos, son of the founder of Amway, is waging a campaign against the photogenic one, Jennifer Granholm, for the title of Governor, both desiring to play doctor to the state’s ills.

Rich Lowry, over at National Review, notes that Michigan is one sick state, calling it "a liberal failure," and he is oh so correct.  Lowry has a piece posted titled The Sick Man of the Midwest which lists the symptoms which have dragged the State of Michigan to number 49 out of 50 for growth in its per capita gross state product.

The first paragraph of Lowry’s piece,

Liberals dissatisfied with the Bush economy have, through the wonders of federalism, an alternative. They can move to Michigan. The state represents a rough approximation of ideal liberal economic policy. It is heavily unionized, taxed, and regulated in a failed attempt to close its eyes to the dynamic forces of the market and globalization all around it.

Michigan is a liberal failure, but at least the flyfishing is good.

Posted by John Venlet on 09/18 at 12:29 PM
(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Patriotism

Stopped by the website BadEagle.com for a moment this morning, and noted a short interview David Yeagley conducted with Ilana Mercer.

Yeagley asked the following question of Mercer,

What is your response to the idea of an American Indian being an American patriot? Is it impossibly contradictory? Is it disingenuous?

Mercer’s reply makes for interesting reading, but I particularly enjoyed this portion of her response to the question noted above.

So what is patriotism? Here’s what it’s not: it’s not an allegiance to the government of the day, or to its invariably wicked, un-American policies. It’s an affinity for your community; it’s an understanding of the great principles upon which this country was founded—which have been excised by successive governments, Republican and Democratic alike. And it’s a commitment to restoring the republic of private-property rights, individual freedoms, and radical decentralization.

The interview was originally published by FreeMarketNews, and can be read in its entirety here.

Posted by John Venlet on 09/18 at 07:51 AM
(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

TSA Skewering

I never figured I would read the following, coming, as it did, from the pen of Garrison Keillor.

The way to stop terrorists on planes is to encourage passengers to bring loaded firearms aboard: guys in orange vests sitting in exit rows with deer rifles on their laps, ladies with Mr. Colt in their purses, kids with peashooters. Somebody wake up the NRA. Does the Second Amendment say ‘’The right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed except on commercial airliners’’? Where is the right wing when you really need them?

The rest of the piece makes for entertaining reading, also.

Keillor: Coffee, tea or TATP

Via Wolfesblog

Posted by John Venlet on 09/18 at 07:40 AM
(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Aussie to the Point

For someone with the title of multicultural spokesman (sheesh), Australian Andrew Robb spoke rather pointedly to a group of imams regarding Muslims’ responsibilities in this whole terror thing. Surprisingly enough, his words do not appear to have precipitated any temper tantrums among the followers of Islam.

"We live in a world of terrorism where evil acts are being regularly perpetrated in the name of your faith,” Mr Robb said at the Sydney conference.

“And because it is your faith that is being invoked as justification for these evil acts, it is your problem.

“You can’t wish it away, or ignore it, just because it has been caused by others.

“Instead, speak up and condemn terrorism, defend your role in the way of life that we all share here in Australia."

Muslims read riot act

Via The Corner

Posted by John Venlet on 09/18 at 04:59 AM
(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Sunday, September 17, 2006

The Segway Hype

In February 2003, I stated that the hype surrounding the Segway scooter was just that, hype.

At that point in time, due to the company’s inability to actually sell many of the supposed “revolutionary” scooters, Segway was looking to the government in order boost sales, or, in other words, to be a viable business enterprise.

Today I read that Segway is recalling all of the 23,500 scooters manufactured since the product first went to market in 2002.

The Segway scooter is not a revolutionary personal transportation vehicle.  It’s simply a novelty.

Posted by John Venlet on 09/17 at 09:48 AM
(1) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Old Crow Medicine Show

Radley Balko has a review posted on Old Crow Medicine Show’s latest album Big Iron World.

I received the disc a couple of weeks ago, and if you enjoy casting your ear towards a bit of old timey, bluegrass, bluesy, gospel sound, from time to time, Balko’s review is worth a read, and the disc is worth a purchase.

Posted by John Venlet on 09/17 at 09:03 AM
(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Oriana Fallaci

I’m sad to see that Oriana Fallaci has passed away.  That woman had fire in her belly.

Times Online Obit

New York Times Obit

Posted by John Venlet on 09/17 at 07:44 AM
(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

An ARM Full

Karen DeCoster’s recent post, On ARMs, Bullish Know-Nothings, et al, critcized my posted thoughts on Karen’s labeling of ARMs as “evil.”

In her post, Karen notes that much of the ARM market could not exist without the propping up which the government affords the financial markets.  A fact which I do not disagree with.

Be that as it may, and regardless of Karen thinking my thoughts on ARMs, as merely risky financial tools, as being “poorly thought out and very misguided,” I think Karen’s own comments, in her post linked above, support my statement that Karen is erroneous in labeling ARMs as evil.

In my post, Pay Option ARM and Hammered, I stated that the issue, in regards to ARMs, is not that they are evil, but that they are marketed unethically.

...I will offer some insights on what I think is the actual issue with the sale of this loan product to individuals.  A lack of ethics within the mortgage industry, more specifically the subprime/non-conforming loan industry,...

Karen supports this statement in her post when she writes,

Historically, ARMs were financial vehicles created by banks only for their most wealthy and financially sound/responsible clientele.

Karen then reiterates this further into her piece when she writes,

...once a luxury financing alternative that private banks offered to wealthy individuals...

This is what I had to say in my post in regards to whom ARMs were being sold to.

The loan was being sold to individuals on fixed incomes, to individuals in real estate markets known to be stagnant or depreciating, and to individuals who could barely qualify for the minimum monthly payment due at the inception of the mortgage.  Individuals at the most risk for payment default were (are) being sold the riskiest home loan product on the market.

I stand by my words, which follow.

ARMs are not evil, they are simply financial tools.  The issue is the ethics of those pushing the this loan product to those individuals who are least capable of operating the tool.

Posted by John Venlet on 09/17 at 06:36 AM
(1) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Muslim Temper Tantrums

The Pope’s recent speech at the University of Regensburg has precipitated a temper tantrum in the Muslim world akin to a napless, spoiled three year old’s reaction to being told, “No, you can’t have a cookie.”

The speech runs 3,751 words, by my count, and a mere 32 of those words have the Muslims kicking, screaming, attacking churches, and threatening all out war.

The offending portion of the Pope’s speech runs as such,

Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.

and is actually a quote from a discourse between a Byzantine emperor and a Persian in the year 1391.

The Pope has issued an apology, natch, wherein he regrets offending the “sensibilities” of the Muslims.  This is like giving a cookie to the temper tantrum throwing three year old just to get the kid to shut up.  Which, of course, just reinforces the behavior being exhibited.

Posted by John Venlet on 09/17 at 05:35 AM
(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Friday, September 15, 2006

An Old Tree

I’m heading to the woods, today, with some “dangerous” characters.  My trusty sidearm, and an old, but reliable, over and under.

Here’s a bit of prose on an old tree.

I know of an old tree, it leans ponderously southward in a postage stamp sized backyard in West Michigan.  How do I know the tree is old?  I know it is old because the tree’s bark is all diamond cross-hatched, similar to an old man’s neck you might observe as you sat in a pew at church as a kid.  The tree is properly known as an Ash Leaf Maple, but I prefer its common name, Box Elder.  My preference stems from the fact that they actually did make boxes, and cheap furniture, from the trees in the past.

Box Elders are what I would call junk trees, and this one is no exception.  The tree itself is bent, gnarled, and scarred.  Almost arthritic looking.  The tree’s most prominent scar, a gift of nature’s capricious pruning, is a jagged, gaping tear six feet long and two feet wide.  The pruning, a dark of night event, dropped a limb, its girth two-thirds the diameter of the trunk, on a small one stall.  The limb crushed the garage like a matchstick between your fingers, and this scar is the only remaining evidence of the event.  The tree’s dead limbs, emaciated and weather worn, scratch at the sky, begging for life, and litter those still living.

Though the tree’s appearance is almost sinister, deathly, like trees in old black and white horror films, it has not yielded to death.  Suckers, sprouting like hairs from an old man’s ears, proclaim its vitality.  This new life clamors from both its living, and what appear to be, dead limbs and scars.  A Boston Ivy clings tenaciously twelve feet up the trunk.  The vine sends it roots running like veins to the earth, sucking life to its aerie home.  The Boston Ivy is not the tree’s only tenant.  A gray fox squirrel and her brood also call the tree home.  Woodpeckers, nuthatches and other feathered creatures also flitter through daily.  Free meals are often pried from the tree’s living, and dead limbs.

The tree’s unkempt appearance belies its venerability.  Its scars and lifeless limbs are mocked by the vitality of life springing from it.  This is evidenced by not only the tree’s new growth, but by those creatures living within it, and those taking sustenance from it.  The Box Elder will not win any awards for beauty, but it will inspire by its audacity for life.

Posted by John Venlet on 09/15 at 03:11 AM
(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

I Still Wouldn't Vote for Him

Here’s a recent headline about Kinky Friedman:  Friedman Says He’d Legalize Pot in Texas

Kinky is a colorful character, and all, but in politics, characters of one sort or another are a dime a dozen.

Posted by John Venlet on 09/15 at 03:02 AM
(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Page 2 of 4 pages  <  1 2 3 4 >