The Final Boss?

Steven Den Beste, RIP

I was a fan. He was a big influence on me post-911. RIP.

 

Here is an Archive:  https://erbosoft.com/ussclueless/

Data Dump: MPS Spending per Student

Summary:

$15k per student

Data Dump:

MPS Budget 2015-2016

Click to access 2015-16AmendedAdoptedBudgetBookrev2.19.16.pdf

Total Expenses: $1,169.4 (millions)

Total Students: 75,551
1,169.4 (millions) / 75,551 = 15478

So (roughly), MPS spends $15k per student

I wish this was around when I was 23…

…”Venture for America“.

 

 

Favorite TV Shows of 2012-2013

Favorite TV Shows of 2012-2013

Dramas

• Southland (TNT)
• Justified (FX)
• Arrow (CW)
• Orphan Black (BBCA)
• The Americans (FX)
• Walking Dead (AMC)
• [Runner ups: Doctor Who, Copper, Elementry, Good Wife, Longmire, Dexter, Castle, Nashville]

Comedies

• New Girl (FOX)
• Archer (FX)
• HIMYM (CBS)
• Big Bang Theory (CBS)
• Louie (FX)
• Modern Family (ABC)
• [Runner ups: South Park, The League, Wilfred, Raising Hope]

Realty Show

• Shark Tank (ABC)

Late Night Talk Show

• Red Eye (FNC)

Podcast (substituting for TV consumption:

• Adam Carolla
• Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
• Harmontown
• Nerdist

 

Also note this similar discussion here.

“The FSOC’s decision to expand the too-big-to-fail designation to nonbank firms will be seen as the most damaging action taken under Dodd-Frank”

Instead of going away, “Too Big To Fail” is expanding:

 

It was no surprise that the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) decided last week to cite a number of nonbank firms as systemically significant, placing them in line for greater regulatory scrutiny by the Federal Reserve. What was a surprise is that — in the midst of a huge outcry in Congress about banks that are too big to fail (TBTF) — neither Congress nor the administration asked the FSOC to stop the designation process until the too-big-to-fail issue had been fully thought through. After all, by designating some nonbanks firms as TBTF — GE Capital, AIG, and Prudential Insurance are in the group — the FSOC has created a whole new set of institutions that will now be considered TBTF. [via The American]

 

America move from entrepreneurial capitalism to state crony capitalism continues step-by-step.

IMO, companies that are “too-big-to-fail” need to be broken up.

 

 

Time for a Theme Song for the “Financial Cliff”

My choice is “Ship of Fools” by World Party:

I’ve used it before.

Idea for Avoiding the Fiscal Cliff: 4 X 4 X 4

How about this idea for 4 year plan:

• 4% across the board income tax surcharge for all taxpayers regardless of income bracket
• 4% across the board reduction in real spending (not projected increases in funding) for year one
• In each subsequent year, total real spending has to decrease an additional 4% (it doesn’t have to be 4% across the board though)
• At the end of 4 years, the income tax surcharge expires automatically
• If in any year, total real spending doesn’t decrease 4%, the Income Tax surcharge is suspended
• If in any year, total real spending doesn’t decrease by 4% the permanent base pay of members of congress, congressional political staffers, POTUS, VPOTUS, and executive branch political staffers decreases by 4%

Its better then the cliff. Also a “4 year” plan sounds like a “5 year” plan so the lefties should like that. I think Instapundit’s  ideas should be included as well.

Call it the Purpleslog 4 x4 x 4 Plan.

 

Keep the Dollar Bill, Ditch the Penny

This, not this.

I like the idea of Lincoln Nickles.

Amen to This: “it’s important it’s seen as a socially desirable thing to be an entrepreneur”

Quoting Elon Musk via Next Big Future. Read it.

PART TWO: My Personal Romney Campaign FUBAR

It turned out, the shipment that came after the election, was only a partial shipment.

The rest of the order for Romney campaign bling – which I made well before the election – shipped today 27 Nov 2012.

Idiots.

My Personal Romney Campaign FUBAR

This is a sign of a poorly run campaign.

Weeks ago, I ordered some Romney/Ryan campaign buttons. I was going to keep one on a jacket, one on my satchel, and have a few extra to hang out.  I followed the link on the Romney campaign site and placed my order.

I never got the order.  I assumed it had been lost or stolen.

Oh well. Shit happens.

Then I got this email earlier today:

 

 

 

The buttons were not even shipped until several days after the election.

Idiots.

Dang.

Obama is reelected.

My fellow Americans, this is going to be bad for our present and for our future.

 

 

USA Election 2012: I Am Voting For Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan

I am voting For Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

You can read summaries of what I believe here, here and here. In short it is something like: Strong on National Security, Pro-Entrepreneurial Capitalism, against big government central planners, for domestic lifestyle tolerance – especially in private, for free trade, against global governance and so on. The continuing US financial crisis (e.g. rising debt and USGOV spending, Bureaucratic regulations gone wild, increasing anti-entrepreneurial incentives, Inflation, increasing dole numbers, the BigBiz/BigGov cronyism nexus) is issue number one for me.

Romney was not my first choice in a hypothetical POTUS candidate (and Zeus knows I am no Paul Ryan fan), but when I consider the likely direction of a Romney administration vs. the likely direction of a second Obama administration I see a clear distinctive choice for all us of Americans.

In 2008, I did not support Obama/Biden and I believe my analysis was spot on. The Obama administration has been pretty bad and has moved the country in the wrong direction on almost every important issue. I have no reason to believe a second Obama administration would be an improvement.

The Romney/Ryan ticket is the best fit to my policy views and I will enthusiastically vote for him.  I urge you to do so as well.

(source ABC News)

Wow! PJ Media Commenter Winslow’s “The Sixth of November”:

Wow:

 

The Sixth of November

Remember, remember, this sixth of November,
The radicals’ treasonous plot.
I know of no reason the radicals’ treason
Should e’er be forgiv’n or forgot.

The Sixties were waning, and Leftists were claiming
That radical changes were due.
Their Marxist solution was armed revolution:
The Weathermen made their debut.

The radicals raged on the national stage, and
Horrific explosions ensued.
Their bombs were dramatic, but also erratic;
They sometimes killed radicals, too.

The Leftists grew older, the underground, colder,
And so they came in from the cold.
“Subvert from within – in the long run, we’ll win,” said
The Leftists, determined and bold.

And thus it began – this nefarious plan – and
The radicals slowly took charge:
Complete infiltration of all education;
The long institutional march.

The journalist schools would produce useful fools, for
The Left would need media shills.
And Hollywood, too, would assist in the coup, with
Its slick propagandizing skills.

“Community action” would build a new faction;
’Twould organize proles on the street.
A smooth politician would front for the mission,
And run for the president’s seat.

The radicals’ goal, which they proudly extol, is
A communist U.S. of A.
Collectivist schemes lead to brutal regimes, and
For this do the radicals pray.

But Jefferson’s aim, with the charters he framed, was
To guard individual rights.
And “redistribution” was not a solution,
But one of the evils to fight.

So let us remember, this sixth of November,
Just what is at stake on this date.
Will Jefferson’s dream, or the radicals’ scheme, now
Determine America’s fate?

 

He gets it.

How to Avoid a Possible Tie in Future US Presidential Elections Without Amending the Constitution

There is no need to amend the Constitution. The next Congress can just increase the size of the House by one from 435 to 436 to begin with the next next Congress.
BTW, I like the electoral college. I don’t want it abolished by amendment.  I would suggest this change:

Presidential Election Adjustment Amendment

What

• Replace Electoral College, but keep state electoral votes.
• States must bind electoral votes to a President/Vice-President candidate pair among only those on the legal state ballot or that were written in sufficient quantity to win the state-wide contest automatically as the election result is certified.
• The above is true, even if one or both candidates on a ticket have died.
• If a an electoral vote is certified to a presidential candidate that has passed away, the new vice-president shall assume the presidency at the beginning of the term under normal succession rules, and nominate a new VP per normal vacancy replacement procedures.
• If an electoral vote is certified to a vice-presidential candidate that has passed away, the president shall nominate a new VP per normal vacancy replacement procedures after the term begins.
• If both candidates have passed away, normal rules of presidential succession apply, beginning with the speaker of the house upon the term beginning.
• Explicitly state that the “Acting President” cannot appoint a Vice-President or Acting Vice-President.

Why

The electoral collage changes are just for the sake of efficiency and to avoid a potential constitutional crisis in the form of faithless electors. The sections involving death of a candidate who wins are introduced to avoid a potential constitutional crisis by defining the solution ahead of time.

 

“New Economic Patriotism”

Am I only person uneasy by President Obama’s phraseology: “New Economic Patriotism”?

 

What does this photo remind you of?

 

RIP: John Reilly

I got the sad news from Jayson via Email:

 

JOHN J. REILLY JERSEY CITY John J. Reilly of Jersey City, 58, passed away on May 30, 2012. Beloved son of Jean Reilly (nee Harkins) and the late John Reilly, dear brother of Donna Reilly (Dennis Goonan), Mary Spence (Jack Spence), Nancy Reilly Zollo (Louis Zollo) and Nora Reilly, and uncle to David, Jennifer, Elizabeth, Kathryn and Michael, he was also cherished by many compassionate friends, especially those with whom he worshiped at Holy Rosary Church. After graduating from St. Peter’s College and earning his law degree from Georgetown University, he embarked upon a career as a writer, editor and attorney. His keen intellect and wry sense of humor resulted in many publications and a world-wide network of correspondents. His intellectual preoccupations ranged from theology and in particular eschatology to politics, alternative history, and the philosophy of science and literature. He published four books including Apocalypse and Future, Notes on the Cultural History of the 21st Century. John regularly appeared in First Things, Kirkus Review, and had been an editor at Culture Wars before he withdrew in protest to a drift toward anti-Semitism which he publically denounced. John also maintained a blog, The Long View, where John serenely surveyed the world and opined that, indeed, everything is going to be ok. John’s intellectual interests also expressed themselves in various societies in which he was active including The Inter-national Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations, the Center for Millennial Studies, the Simplified Spelling Society, and American Literacy Counsel. A man of breathtakingly ecumenical feeling, he was without compromise a true and devout Catholic. It must have been his faith and his character formed by it and by his loving family that made him without a doubt the most optimistic expert on apocalyptic movements and dystopias. John explained himself thusly: After long thought, I realized that the most important thing in life is to be helpful. So, I have taken to explaining things, carefully and empathetically, and often at very great length ‘Spengler with a Smile’ is how I usually characterize the organizing principle. The loss of John’s self effacing cheerful genius has left the world a darker place and for those who were privileged to share his company, a son, brother and friend whose absence will always be felt. A wake will be held on Friday, June 1, from 4 – 8PM at McLaughlin’s Funeral Home, Jersey City. A requiem mass will be held at 10AM on Saturday, June 2, at Holy Rosary Church followed by interment at Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington. In lieu of flowers, John would have appreciated donations to Holy Rosary Church. .McLaughlin Funeral Home 625 Pavonia Avenue Jersey City, NJ 07306 (201) 798-8700 [SOURCE]

 

I knew him through his blog and a few comments we exchanged. He will be missed.

Oh-Oh: “committeeofpublicsafety.wordpress.com is no longer available. The authors have deleted this blog.”

Dang.

 

 

RIP: Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart, a Strategic Citizen 5GWer working  to counter the Left in the American  5GW Civil War has passed away. He will be missed.

One of my wordles was used…

One of my Wordles was used here.

One of my photos was used…

...here.

What web browser do you use? I currently use Firefox but…

I have been using Firefox for sometime, but it seems to be getting flakier and requires frequent restarts.

I am not running a crazy amount of extensions:

• AdBlockPlus
• ColorfulTabs
• Context Menus Plus
• Download Status Bar
• Flashblock
• HTTPS-Everywhere
• InFormEnter
• Link Alert
• PDF Download
• Power Twitter
• Tab Counter
• WOT

So, I am thinking to moving to something else.

Suggestions?  What web browser do you use?

“Self improvement never has been and is not now a message solely for elites”

Walter Russel Meade gets it:

 

The advice to make the most of your talents applies to everyone.  If anything, people who are constantly being told in school and elsewhere that they are ‘too dumb’ are MORE likely to miss their hidden talents and abilities than those who are constantly being told how special they are.  Not everybody is going to win a Nobel Prize, or quit their day job to write great novels, but almost all of us are capable of more success and happiness than we now enjoy.

[…]

Figuring out your real strengths and passions and having the courage to base career decisions on them does not just make sense for the budding Einsteins and investment bankers among us.  It is about living your best life and honoring your Creator by placing the sum of your talents, be they great or small, in the common service as best you can.

Self improvement never has been and is not now a message solely for elites.  The belief that ‘ordinary’ people can live better lives by dint of cultivating their talents and that the capacity for growth and self-direction of the ‘average’ American deserves respect is not, in my book, a mark of elitism.

5GW Spotting: China vs. Islam

Is this a little 5GW being exposed?

 

Are the Chinese Sabotaging Islam?

The Chinese are masters at copycat capitalism;  give them a blueprint–or even an item they can reverse-engineer–and they’ll speedily and inexpensively start manufacturing knockoffs.  Some of us worry about quality control (understatement alert) for components of everything from computers to aircraft.  Whatif they are selling us stuff that will fail at a sensitive moment?  Or just plain fail?

It’s hard to separate national security concerns from the quality control issue, and of course “national security” is sometimes subject to surprising definition.  In Iran, for example, we find that the Chinese have penetrated the Koran market, and Chinese knockoffs cost less than Iranian-made versions.  But the cheap Chinese Korans have lots of typos…

I wonder if those “typos” are just typos, or if there is a systematic ideological campaign under way.  I mean, the Beijing regime is quite concerned about radical Muslim separatists in the West.  Why not subvert the doctrine, and make a profit at the same time?

Inquiring minds await the detailed report of the Iranian “Koran Oversight Office.”

Yes, you bet I’m serious.