Demorats: "ObamaKare Is Coming Apart; It's The Media's Fault"

Of course they're not responsible; they're Demorats. They're only victims. From The Hill:

Senate Democratic leaders on Thursday blamed Capitol Hill media for setting an August deadline for health reform and Republicans for blocking the bill's progress.

Reid said reporters created a fictitious deadline of a successful vote by the August recess, and downplayed the fact that the chamber won’t meet that mark.

“That is a deadline that you created,” Reid told a group of about 75 reporters. “It’s not like we don’t have a product. Significant progress has been made … The mere fact that this wasn't done by last Friday or by five o’clock doesn't mean we’re not going to get a quality product."

Oh, please. What a load of unmitigated crap. Mr Obama wanted everything yesterday, everything rammed down immediately, so that The People would be stunned by a flurry of action and wouldn't recognize or realize what was happening until too terribly late.

That course of action, unfortunately for them, hasn't worked out well due to Conservatives rallying in the form of blogs, various internet groups, sites, magazines and -- gulp! -- Conservative talk radio. The public is becoming better educated on both ObamaKare and Cap-N-Tax.

So, when Epic Fail looms, what do the Demorats do?

Oh yes, that's right, they kick their very own sycophantic and craven boot-licking media to the curb.

American Press: are you starting to get a Clue yet?

No. Probably not.

BZ

The Demorats: Starting To Implode

You can only keep so much pressure on for so long a time.

Then you begin to implode. From The Hill:

Waters blames Rahm for recalcitrant Dems on healthcare
@ 1:44 pm by Michael O'Brien
The White House may only have one of its top officials to blame for its difficulty in passing healthcare, one liberal California Democrat asserted Tuesday.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) blamed now-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's work as head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), during which he worked to recruit many centrist candidates, resulting in landslide Democratic victories, for difficulties facing House leaders trying to pass reform legislation.

"That may be difficult for Rahm Emanuel, because remember, he recruited most of them," Waters said during an interview on MSNBC when asked if the White House could lean on centrist, Blue Dog Democrats to pass reform legislation.

"Now the chickens have come home to roost," she added.

I wouldn't necessarily disagree. And it absolutely breaks my damned black little heart to read and hear of Demorats beginning to eat themselves.

Plus, uh, Our Hero continues to trend downwards. Imagine that. Go figure.

Poor Barry:

"Pluralities now say that the president’s health care plan is a bad idea, and that it will result in the quality of their care getting worse. What’s more, just four in 10 approve of his handling on the issue."

Hand me my hankie, will you?

BZ

ObamaKare: Not A Done Deal

ObamaKare isn't a "given" -- yet.

There's still time to fight and the Demorats are taking other paths and realizing the ramdown isn't quite working to their liking.

Why? YOU.

You've gone to sign the petition at FreeOurHealthcare.com.

You've also Called Congress -- at (202) 224-3121.

You've stood up and made your views known. Blogs, the internet and that horrible Right Wing Radio.

So what do you suspect the coming focus will be once more?

You've got it: revisiting the so-called "Fairness Doctrine."

Just you wait. I can hear it now. . .

In conclusion, let's also revisit the Ten Top Tenets of Liberalism:

1. America is uniquely evil.

2. America is never justified in defending itself.

3. Illiterate people from poor societies are superior to Americans.

4. The Earth would be better off without human beings.

5. Making a profit is always immoral.

6. Differences between individuals or groups are unfair.

7. For Designated Victim Groups, strong feelings excuse all behavior.

8. Policies informed by Judæo-Christian principles are inherently suspect.

9. Conservatives are hypocrites; liberals are sincere.

10. There are no acts of God; there are only acts of Government.

BZ

P.S.

I'm still here, but I've got no computer at work where I can show up early and conduct research and publish posts. My schedule also changed again and, quite frankly, I'm unsure where I'm going from week to week. My apologies to all my readers, also, for so few visits to your own wonderful blogs. I've still no idea when my own personal dust may settle.

Barack & ObamaKare Update

Could things be getting a tad chillier nationally for Our Hero? From a presidential tracking poll:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 30% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-nine percent (39%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -9. (see trends).

Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had the temerity to publicly rebuke Our Hero and release more figures regarding ObamaKare. From Politico:

For the second time this month, congressional budget analysts have dealt a blow to the Democrat's health reform efforts, this time by saying a plan touted by the White House as crucial to paying for the bill would actually save almost no money over 10 years.

Mr Obama's policies and bills need to be gutted like a fish. And America is playing for ALL the proverbial marbles up front. If Conservatives can stop Mr Obama damned near in his tracks and foul up his agenda, if we can stymie ObamaKare and Cap-N-Tax, then we may actually have a chance of saving this nation. Yes, there will STILL be massive debt from TARP and Porkulus bills -- but at least can can stop the steamroller from continuing on.

Perhaps the pendulum is midswing and thinking of coming back. . . ?

BZ

Took A Hit

Well, it would appear I took one for the proverbial home team today, despite the fact that I felt railroaded into it. No matter what, it's a no-win situation on every side imagineable.

I just went, in my job, from okay to worst, on the worst shift and worst place possible. I'll be working a graveyard shift now, shortly. However, by doing this, I purposely enabled another much younger Sergeant to keep his current position and not be forcibly removed, by my seniority, from a position he loves. He has a wife and kids.

I simply got worn down. And I saved him despite that. He has many years to go in his future. I'm just old.

I feel nothing right now. I am just beyond spent, this year. I have nothing more to say or write for anyone.

BZ

My Blogging May Change

Dearest Readers:

My blogging time and patterns may change. I start at a much different job tomorrow morning and they are 12-hour shifts, 6:30 am to 6:30 pm. I suspect this is going to affect my ability to blog in a major way. At this point I am unsure just how my blogging may be affected.

I should know, I hope, at the conclusion of tomorrow.

Please, don't leave just yet. . .

BZ

The Religious Left: Once More, It's A LIE

From ClimateChangeFraud.com (great site for "GW" news and actually deals in facts):

The Atlantic has an interview with Nobel Prize-winning economist Thomas Schelling (hat tips to Climate Depot and Tom Nelson). Not only is Schelling an economist, but he’s a first-rate climate alarmist.

It’s becoming increasingly common for climate alarmists to not only lie and exaggerate about their imagined consequences of man-made global warming, but some will even admit that they are doing so, e.g. Al Gore (see the top of this blog’s right sidebar) and Clive Hamilton.

Tom Schelling, in this Atlantic Monthly interview, said:

It’s a tough sell. And probably you have to find ways to exaggerate the threat. And you can in fact find ways to make the threat serious.

And:

But I tend to be rather pessimistic. I sometimes wish that we could have, over the next five or ten years, a lot of horrid things happening — you know, like tornadoes in the Midwest and so forth — that would get people very concerned about climate change. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.

The Leftists and Socialists rampant in America hate religions with the exception of Islam (the religion that would kill them all first) -- yet they embrace their own religion, that of Global Warming. Hence my calling them the Religious Left. It's not about facts; it's only about how you feel about the issue and your emotions -- it's about faith.

And facts be damned.

BZ

ADA Shakedown Nazis Strike Again:

As with most ideas that take a small group of people and make wealthy "victims" (and I oh-so-use-that-word loosely) out of them, the ADA now corrupts those "victims" and creates a new caste of ADA Nazis.

These ADA Nazis have descended upon one of the best, oldest and quaintest burger joints in Sacramento, Fornicalia.

The Squeeze Inn, at 7918 Fruitridge Road -- not a particularly wonderful part of town -- still manages to literally "pack 'em in" day after day.

The small, orange building (see above), a Sacramento landmark since the early 70s, with the building itself origination from the 1930s, proffers some of the biggest, finest, heart-clotting burgers on the face of the planet. It's small, cramped, and you're lucky if you can even sit at the 11-stool counter. Fabulous burger.

People willingly stand in line in order to acquire an order or -- ideally -- an actual seat at the counter. Good luck with that "counter" wish.

I am completely "abled." And frequently I can't get a spot at the counter.

So here comes the "victim" -- some poor person in a wheelchair who can't get a place "at the counter."

And here comes the suit:

A lawsuit against the Squeeze Inn, the wildly popular Sacramento burger joint, is the latest filed by a disabled woman who in recent months has sued three other area small businesses for allegedly failing to comply with the federal law requiring access for people with disabilities.

The lawsuit against the Squeeze Inn is the fourth since January that Kimberly Block and her lawyers have filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento under the Americans with Disabilities Act. One of her lawsuits targets another iconic Sacramento eatery, Lil Joe's on Del Paso Boulevard in North Sacramento.

Because it's easy money and small businesses call ill afford to fight back, most kick in a few thousand dollars just to make the threat disappear. You'll note, in the article, the settlements are always secret -- part of the action, of course. Not bad for, say, a few hours' work on the part of a lowlife attorney and a lowlife client, whose sole job is to work in partnership and target small business owners who haven't completely complied, by the precise letter, of the ADA law. Hey, it's easy money, ripe fruit low-hanging.

In this case, the owner of the Squeeze Inn has to close the business entirely and find another spot to locate. Thereby totally eliminating a large percentile of its charm.

I find it amazing that anyone wants to start a business, large or small, in Fornicalia.

BZ

Apollo 11: Forty Years Ago

On July 20th of 1969, the United States of America sent astronauts into space on Apollo 11 and, on that day, two of them stepped foot onto the moon's virgin surface: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Michael Collins stayed back in the command module. A great photo tribute exists here.

Forty years ago today.

I can recall it distinctly: I was with my parents at the home of one of their friends in Centerville, Ohio. The television was on in the living room. Grainy black and white images jumped back and forth on the screen.

Can you recall: where were you and what were you doing when America landed on the moon?

BZ

When You're Stressed:

What is it that you do?

How is it that you manage to step back and take, perhaps, a wider view and perspective on your individual issues?

How do you minimize or ameliorate your tensions?

Suggestions? Solutions? Take the test.

BZ

ObamaKare: You Will NOT Be Able To Keep Your Private Insurance

Back on June 16th, I wrote the post "ObamaKare, It's Not About Choice." I displayed this video:



I also wrote about the Cloward-Piven Strategy, the authors of which (Columbia University sociologists Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven) state that their "goal is to overthrow capitalism by overwhelming the government bureaucracy with entitlement demands. The created crisis provides the impetus to bring about radical political change."

Sound familiar?

ObamaKare, again as I've written before here and here, absolutely, positively has to happen NOW before the US electorate awakens and actually realizes: the economy isn't getting better, none of these items will work, and each of these plans individually and collectively will bring down the nation.

THAT is why Mr Obama is so terribly strident about ramming ObamaKare down your throat, now - now - NOW!

Furthermore (here's a shocker -- hope you're sitting down for this one) Mr Obama is lying. He says you'll be able to keep your private insurance.

Investors Business Daily did something our politicians refuse to do: they read the proposed healthcare bill. From IBD editorials (thanks for the "heads-up," Tom's Place):

It's Not An Option
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted Wednesday, July 15, 2009 4:20 PM PT
Congress: It didn't take long to run into an "uh-oh" moment when reading the House's "health care for all Americans" bill. Right there on Page 16 is a provision making individual private medical insurance illegal.

It turns out we were right: The provision would indeed outlaw individual private coverage. Under the Orwellian header of "Protecting The Choice To Keep Current Coverage," the "Limitation On New Enrollment" section of the bill clearly states:

"Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day" of the year the legislation becomes law.

From the beginning, opponents of the public option plan have warned that if the government gets into the business of offering subsidized health insurance coverage, the private insurance market will wither. Drawn by a public option that will be 30% to 40% cheaper than their current premiums because taxpayers will be funding it, employers will gladly scrap their private plans and go with Washington's coverage.

Gateway Pundit makes the same observation: it is about the murder of any and all private health insurance.

Even an "African American" blog, The Truth In Black & Right, writes about ObamaKare:

If you like your insurance, you can keep it . . . except it will be outlawed!"

And so Obama lies again, but is is unlikely that media will highlight this as they are too busy following the circus that is the Sotomayor confirmation hearings which we all know will end in her advancement to the Supreme Court with more than a little Republican support.

How is that our government deems it a public good, or remotely even constitutional, to effectively kill the market for private insurance?

The Truth In Black & Right sums it up wonderfully:

And so the so-called “public option” soon becomes the only option as private carriers hemorrage customers to the taxpayer subsidized government plan. The costs will skyrocket, rationing of care will ensue, and you can rest assured that the wealthiest (and most powerful) among us will still get boutique care, just as they always have. And the government will plant her heavy boot further into the lives of a heretofore free citizenry.

The Congressional Budget Office writes in its blog about Obama's spending:

Under current law, the federal budget is on an unsustainable path, because federal debt will continue to grow much faster than the economy over the long run. Although great uncertainty surrounds long-term fiscal projections, rising costs for health care and the aging of the population will cause federal spending to increase rapidly under any plausible scenario for current law. Unless revenues increase just as rapidly, the rise in spending will produce growing budget deficits. Large budget deficits would reduce national saving, leading to more borrowing from abroad and less domestic investment, which in turn would depress economic growth in the United States. Over time, accumulating debt would cause substantial harm to the economy.

The newest Zogby poll indicates that by a 50-42 margin, Americans oppose the House of Representatives' bill introduced July 14th.

Jon Kyl remarks:



I say: This bill, in concert with Cap & Tax, is the most naked and aggressive governmental power grab in the entire history of our nation. And these things in the midst of an economic recession!

Please GO HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION TO HELP STOP THIS DISASTROUS PLAN! You can also Call Congress -- at (202) 224-3121!

BZ

Trustworthy Media? The Final Chapter Closed:

Walter Cronkite passed away on Friday, his family at his bedside in New York City, at the age of 92.

With his passing comes the final closing of the book, including all chapters, of being able to trust your core American news media.

Walter Cronkite was not an entertainer. Clunky glasses, big nose, receding hairline. He did not come from wealth, power. He quit college to become a reporter. He was a reporter first and foremost. Yes, he leaned to the Left, but did his best to keep that bias, generally, out of his broadcasts -- to a degree. Only in his later years, after retirement, did his Left bent completely take over. Up to that point, whilst actually on the air, he really was "the most trusted name in news." And yes, CNN stole that line from him.



Which brings me to my questions posed to you all, with some background first:

I observe that there are few news leaders today. In my time, during my childhood, it consisted of Walter Cronkite on CBS and the Huntley-Brinkley Report on NBC (HMOG, does that ever date me). The other lesser names -- good readers but less-than-trustworthy -- were Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, Peter Jennings.

1. Whom, in any American media, anywhere, do you trust -- if anyone?

2. Where do you go for your reliable news sources? Is there any news source or provider that you tend to trust more than others?

Please weigh in.

BZ

Why I Love Joe Biden:

Yes, certainly, the Republicans are remarkably ignorant, uncohesive and stupid.

The Demorats, luckily, are more so. With Joe Biden at the epicenter of said stupidity.

At an AARP "town-hall meeting" Mr Biden said on Thursday:

(CNSNews.com) – Vice President Joe Biden told people attending an AARP town hall meeting that unless the Democrat-supported health care plan becomes law the nation will go bankrupt and that the only way to avoid that fate is for the government to spend more money.

“And folks look, AARP knows and the people with me here today know, the president knows, and I know, that the status quo is simply not acceptable,” Biden said at the event on Thursday in Alexandria, Va.

“It’s totally unacceptable. And it’s completely unsustainable. Even if we wanted to keep it the way we have it now. It can’t do it financially.”

“We’re going to go bankrupt as a nation,” Biden said.

“Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’” Biden said.

“The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you.”

Meaning: we have to spend more federal dollars to avoid going bankrupt federally.

Yes. Thank God. JB is actually that stupid. You can breathe now.

BZ

Last Day At Work

"Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you got till it's gone?"


How young we were. How filled with enthusiasm and energy! We were on the cusp of a new frontier; a threshold never crossed until then. An actual full time driver training facility for our department, with four full time driver training instructors! Our first day? August 28th of 1998. There was huge work to be done. Clear the land: 40 acres. Build a classroom from a dilapidated mobile home. Beg surplus items from the military. Literally mill, with a huge engine and a diamond-stoned terrazo grinder, a glass-like surface for a water-flooded skid pan into concrete. And then design all the driver training courses necessary to meet POST standards and keep cops safe.


We had to literally clear the land with an ancient tractor and weed mowing attachment begged from a nearby golf course. That was my first job; mowing the 4-to-5 foot dry weeds, bouncing over rolling terrain abandoned by the US Air Force in 1996. I couldn't see what I was driving into. Consequently, I rolled over chunks of concrete, electrical stanchions, huge rocks. I killed many blades. Eventually I killed the tractor.


This is where we were, on a former SAC Alert pad. All the brown area you see above, that's what I had to mow. In 105-degree heat, with choking weed dust. We were cops, mowing weeds, stealing desks and chairs, begging local venues for equipment we didn't have. We hammered nails, put up wallboard, built ceilings, painted wood, "appropriated" rows of classroom seats we "found."


Our first classroom presentations were on a 1950s overhead projector with clear plastic overlays. We left plum assignments to be there; I left Homicide, for example. That's how much we believed in training; that's how much we believed in what we were doing. There was never something so exciting as getting into an entirely new program and having the freedom, the investment, the duty, the responsibility, of being able to design something entirely from scratch and then embracing it, making it your own.

The area, once worked, was beautiful. We kept the place as immaculate as possible.

Then the unthinkable happened: one of our deputies was killed in December of 1998, due to a small eye-placement driving error -- an error that WE knew how to easily correct. After that, commissioning our EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operations Course) site became a priority. Unfortunately, a deputy had to die on duty to make it so.

We had great crews. Work was a joy, not just a job. Deputies came and went for various reasons. The experience and knowledge was passed on, as would be expected.

We chalked down exercises. We bought cones. We had our courses officially certified. We had 2,000 deputies to teach. These were stirring times, filled with electricity and energy.

We initially started with one small trailer, above, for all the offices of our instructors. There were five instructors, for example, crammed into a miniscule room no room than about 10-feet long. We were so grateful; the air conditioner actually worked in the blazing-hot summers. Our bathrooms, as you can see, consisted (for years!) of Porta-Potties. Running water, ceramic toilets? Not so much. . .

I was lucky enough to be one of the founding instructors that year, in 1998. I designed and wrote all our courses, had them certified. I worked at EVOC from 1998 to 2001, when I was promoted and then worked in Communications. I next became the department's Rangemaster. A few years later, I was able to tranfer back to my first love: EVOC. I've been there ever since.

This is my last day at work. And I'm the end of an era. I'm the last of the people who opened up this show for our customers back in 1998. And we've gone from one Lieutenant, one Sergeant and five deputies to, as of this Sunday, one Lieutenant and three deputies -- perhaps soon to be only two deputies. Budget cuts and Draconian measures.

Overall, I had the time of my life here. And I'm making this post today as much or more for me than for you; I can come back here and relive these memories.

I still have a job, yet with 30 years on the department I didn't have the juice to stay, nor could I save my "baby." I fear it's simply dying, given a little more time. But it is what it is, and so is life. Things change.

There is so much more I could say but, as I write this from my wife's house in the absolute stillness of Thursday morning, at 2:30 am (haven't been able to much sleep since Dad's death earlier this year), I have to wrap up because, now, as I check the clock, it's almost 4:30. And I want to be there, standing just outside my office for one more day, to see the sunrise.

BZ

Ramdown: ObamaKare

Two brief points for today:

1. Sotomayor:

She will be confirmed. Some Republicans will cave. This is a dead issue. No one wants to touch a "latina" and risk enraging La Raza ("The Race" -- in itself a racist organization believing in Reconquista) and the demographically-burgeoning Mexican vote.

2. ObamaKare Ramdown:

From Bloomberg.com:

July 14 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama may rely only on Democrats to push health-care legislation through the U.S. Congress if Republican opposition doesn’t yield soon, two of the president’s top advisers said.

“Ultimately, this is not about a process, it’s about results,” David Axelrod, Obama’s senior political strategist, said during an interview in his White House office. “If we’re going to get this thing done, obviously time is a-wasting.”

Mr Obama is in a horrendous time-crunch. He HAS to RAM ObamaKare and Cap & Tax and another StimPackage down the throats of the US electorate before the US electorate awakens and actually realizes: the economy isn't getting better, none of these items will work, and each of these plans individually and collectively will bring down the nation.

Mr Obama is counting on your stupidity and ignorance.

Please go here to sign the petition attempting to stop ObamaKare.

BZ

History Proves: EnviroRegulations Kill Commerce, Jobs, And Force Costs To Skyrocket

Regarding Cap & Tax, I posted about my Congressman, Tom McClintock, pointing out the ruination of Fornicalia due to the passage of AB 32 (Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006). Mr McClintock said, in part:

What is it that happened in January of 2007? AB 32 took effect and began shutting down entire segments of California’s economy. Let me give you one example from my district. The City of Truckee, California was about to sign a long-term power contract to get its electricity from a new, EPA-approved coal-fired electricity plant in Utah. AB 32 and companion legislation caused them to abandon that contract. The replacement power they acquired literally doubled their electricity costs.

Just as Cap & Tax would result in the massive ruination of the national economy, so has it now been proven that its smaller brother, AB 32, IS in fact responsible for helping to kill Fornicalia's economy.

A study conducted by Sanjay Varshney and Dennis H. Tootelian concludes:

Our study released today finds that small businesses in California will pay an additional $49,691 as a result of the California Air Resources Board’s implementation of AB 32. The study, which we conducted at the request of the California Small Business Roundtable, analyzes the potential economic impacts of AB 32 on the state of California, its consumers and its small businesses.

Go here to view the study itself. Further:

Our report reveals that when the plan is fully implemented, California families will be facing increased annual costs of $3,857 and that in order to cope with the increased costs generated by the Greenhouse Program, consumers will be forced to cut their discretionary spending by 26.2%. We conclude that when California’s climate change program, AB 32, is fully implemented, the average annual loss in gross state output from small businesses alone would be $182.6 billion, approximately a 10% loss in total gross state output. This will translate into nearly 1.1 million lost jobs in California. Lost labor income is estimated to be $76.8 billion, with nearly $5.8 billion lost in indirect taxes. This decline in revenues will have a severe impact on future state budgets.

Fornicalia has certainly set the pace all right -- in terms of economic collapse -- promulgated by its ruling Demorats.

And now, national Demorats wish to precisely emulate Fornicalia's demise with the passage of Waxman-Markey (HR 2454), clearly having learned nothing from Fornicalia's experience and, moreover, purposely wanting not to learn from history.

The study proves that those who demanded passage of AB 32 lied in terms of economic and business costs:

The study’s cost analysis was based on the California Air Resources Board’s own findings, which revealed significant cost increases. The study’s findings are consistent with the Peer Review analysis commissioned by CARB, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) review of the Scoping Plan and an analysis conducted by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC). These independent analyses concluded that the cost of the AB 32 Scoping Plan would be significant, and that CARB had significantly underestimated these costs.

You think the Pushers of Waxman-Markey are any different?

Now there is no doubt. Cap & Tax WILL hammer the final nail into this country's economic coffin.

BZ

Ladies And Gentlemen:

I'm busy at work cleaning out the office and wrapping up various issues; I likely won't be posting for a day or two. It's pretty amazing how much stuff one accumulates and how much stuff there is to trash over a period of about six years.

BZ

That Other Shoe?

It came down and dropped on me, Saturday afternoon, July 11th.

I checked the voicemail on my work cell phone (repossessed at the end of this month) and received the info I dreaded and, yet, suspected was coming.

I just didn't quite suspect it would come with the various proscriptions attached.

I lost my position at work.

Persons with less seniority than me were kept; I was told to leave. In terms of sergeants, I have the most seniority of all four in the division. Apparently that held little water. In overall division seniority, I have more than the other three sergeants. Apparently that held little water. And in the department, if I were demoted from sergeant to deputy, I would be number three in the entire department. Apparently that held little water.

Additionally, I was told that I do not have "bumping" rights in the division.

A steaming helping of "politics," anyone?

Unfortunately, now glaringly-obvious, over the years in the division, in retrospect, I was likely considered an "obstructionist." I did not immediately "buy off" on each and every money-losing and/or hare-brained scheme in the Training Division and -- obviously -- those around and above me have memories. I made some -- ahem -- public statements in various meetings that I suppose could be construed to be, uh, well, not particularly supportive.

Further, I ruffled feathers when I wrote, in Blogger (http://leftcoastevoc.blogspot.com/), of a particularly egregious and dangerous driving act performed in public by a law enforcement officer. This blog was sent to my EVOC instructors. Rather than admit they had a problem in the street, the union president called our Sheriff and had my blog shut down. When the Sheriff gets involved personally, you've drawn attention. So, rather than solve the problem, the illuminator of the problem -- me -- was silenced.

I guess, in consideration, I really shouldn't be quite shocked. I brought all of this down upon myself by questioning practices, pointing out reality, and not being completely congruent with political forces.

And, in reflection, I wouldn't have done anything differently; I wouldn't change a thing.

All along, I supported my troops. All along, I provided material to my managers when I believed their power was being challenged or usurped. Some recognized it; some did not.

I cannot complain when my position is eliminated; I can complain, however, when -- in consideration of seniority -- I am not allowed to "bump" persons in the division with lesser seniority and stay in Training.

Training is the cornerstone and the foundation of any good law enforcement department.

When you pull that cornerstone, when you diminish and corrupt that foundation -- sooner or later, you will pay the price.

Overall, I will survive. I know that.

My wife is taking three furlough (unpaid) days per month from the State of Fornicalia. Additionally, her pay was cut another 5% last Thursday. That's a 25% cut in pay for her. I've lost my 12% training pay and my position. I'll likely wind up in the jails somewhere.

But: I still have a job -- with 30 years under my belt. She still has a job. 300 On-Call deputies were eliminated in my department. 209 full-time deputies were laid off.

How about you? Do you have your job? Were you laid off, suffered a reduction in pay, work hours, job conditions?

It's time, ladies and gentlemen, to stick TOGETHER as AMERICANS.

Maybe, somehow, we can provide help and support and positivism to each other. . .

You have to take these times, bear down, grit your teeth and declare: I am a survivor. I will not be a victim.

I am not a victim.

BZ

Demorats & Mr Obama: MORE Taxes the ONLY Answer

(Thanks to A Jacksonian):



Taxman (The Beatles):

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I will tax your feet.

Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more

'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

And you're working for no one but me.

BZ

Obama Truisms:

BZ

G8 "Nice-Ass" Summit

Jesus.

Can't a brutha catch a break?

Okay; so she has a fine ass. Global what? Shove that over here; I'll sign it.

One comment:

Of course Obama wasn't looking at this woman, he doesn't appreciate feminine looks. Just consult his wife. Anti jungle-fever, anyone?

BZ

P.S.

Check out Sarkozy's smirk.

Fornicalia: Certifiably INSANE

Though Fornicalia's budget was due July 1st, Sacramento politicians argue about AB 606, which "creates a commission to serve the marketing interests of the blueberry industry. Another bill defines "honey" to mean the natural food product resulting from the harvest of nectar by honey bees, and a third bill adopts regulations establishing definitions and standards for 100-percent pomegranate juice."

The state ship is sinking. SINKing.

Governor Schwarzenegger thinks solving the budget crisis should be the focus:

The governor is not against condiments. The governor's not against fruits of any kind," said spokesman Aaron McLear. "But he believes we ought to be focused on solving our budget crisis first and foremost."

Demorats responded:

Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Fresno) called Governor Schwarzenegger's criticism "childish" and said he is fed up.

"The fact that he doesn't understand these things worries me," he added.

The state ship is sinking. SINKing.

And the Demorats worry not about the rents in the hull nor the gushing water, but polishing the doorknobs of the staterooms.

This is insanity.

BZ

America: Here's Your Islamist Future

Thanks to Always On Watch.

Please, do me a favor. Watch this video. Yes, I know, it is 10 minutes long. That's almost an eternity on the internet. However, if you care for your country, you'll watch for the future of your community.



Now, having watched the video, what do you think?

It looks to me like Muslims, in concert with their own local security and various plants, do their level best to impede free speech -- and freedom in general -- right here on the beloved soil of our very own United States of America.

Did you ever forecast a time when, at a public fair, one man with two others carrying video cameras couldn't somehow manage to ask even ONE question regarding one religion at one booth?

It was the presence of those cams that lends and will lend credence to claims and contestations in the future. And the Muslims at this so-called "fair" fully realize that any questioning whatsoever of their religion cannot stand in the light of day.

Please trust me, it was difficult to keep my own BP below 210/190 when I wanted nothing more than to apply a little physicality to those who attempted to suppress the FREE SPEECH of persons who only had questions for Islam.

Islam CANNOT tolerate questions.

Islam is as Islam DOES. You can plainly see what Islam does.

The fight is coming, ladies and gentlemen. And you will either, in the United States, triumph over Islam or you will be genuflecting towards Mecca five times daily.

This isn't fiction. I'm not insane. This is America. Right here. Right now.

BZ

Videos For The Obtuse: 1. Cap & Tax; 2. ObamaKare

I hand selected these videos purposely so that even the dimmest of bulbs amongst us, who "drive-by" various Conservative blogs, could understand Mr Obama's nation-and-economy-shattering plans. Demorats: go upstairs and get your Mommy to explain the ramifications (ram·i·fi·ca·tion -- Function: noun -- consequence, outgrowth) of the videos to you (we're fully cognizant your baby-daddy won't possess the Mental HP to do so). You may then go back down to the basement and resume play of World of Warcraft. If the phone rings, remember: it's McDonald's wanting their shirts back.

I. Cap & Tax:



II. ObamaKare:



Enjoy.

Consider yourself warned.

BZ

Texas Senator "Booed" at TEA Party

From Statesman.com:

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn drew boos from a crowd outside the Texas Capitol this afternoon as he spoke at a “tea party” rally organized by the Texas office of Americans for Prosperity.

Cornyn was booed at the start and close of his remarks, which assailed actions in Washington; there were no boos while he awarded a Purple Heart to a Copperas Cove resident injured in Iraq in 2006.

“You’re the problem,” a crowd member hollered.

Another crowd member yelled that Cornyn voted for the initial federal bailout of Wall Street approved by Congress last year, the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Let me guess: the "crowd member" was Texas Fred.

BZ

Civility: Take A Breath

I posted on Friday about the announcement by Sarah Palin that she was stepping down from her governor's position, effective July 26th. It's abundantly clear, from the comments under that post, that Sarah Palin brings out sharp rancor, heretofore cloaked, in many persons.

Towards the bottom of the comments, A Jacksonian weighs in with his thoughtful and measured tones. He wrote, in part:

I cannot and will not put feelings about personality above my Nation. We are damned to a very hot place when we have so many who do that. If you let yourself be distracted by the damned MSM and what has been going on, then you are willingly being led to get your emotions involved and stop thinking. Once you do that, no matter your claim to a part of the political 'spectrum', you are then becoming one who is led, not making true choices out of all the choices we have has free people, but letting your choices be limited by others. As a culture and a people we will not survive with this continuing onwards.

Do not give those who despise liberty and freedom a handle to grab you by . . . do not let them play with your emotions . . . be civil in your outlook and hold by civility until your last breath. Or until you have to pull the trigger yourself. Lose your cool in combat and all is lost. You help no one in this Cold Civil War if you let your passions be manipulated.

Think. Pick your target. Take aim. Keep your SA up and never, ever lose sight of the target. By being civil you demonstrate that we can BE civil towards each other . . . and nothing so enrages those trying to manipulate you by your emotions as being civil and keeping your cool.

It is damned hard work to be civilized.

And it all rests upon you. Only you can make yourself civilized. We are damned near the end of our civilization already without helping those who seek to tear down civil society by becoming as uncivilized as those attacking it are.

Reading those lines made me reflect for quite some time -- to the point where I realized this was a timely topic for my Sunday post.

For I too find myself caught up in the temper of the times. One look at NewsMax or HuffPo or WorldNetDaily or Drudge or NYT or WSJ and the least religious of persons could be convinced it's the End Times.

A few examples:

- Karl Malden dies at 97;

- Harve Presnell dies of cancer at 75;

- North Korea fires seven missiles, as South Korea prepares to react;

- India joins Russia and China in removing the US dollar as primary currency;

- Former Ravens and Titans QB Steve McNair found shot to death;

- The World Health Organization says the swine flu is out of control and cannot be halted;

- H1N1 is now resistant to Tamiflu;

- London forecasts 40 deaths a day due to swine flu;

- Michael Jackson's funeral dominates the media;

Our national debt cannot be avoided, and Mr Obama is doing his level best to ensure it increases at geometric rates. Our current debt is estimated at $11.4 TRILLION dollars. That is the equivalent to about $37,000 for each and every American. And it's expanding by over $1 trillion a year.

And from whom does the US government borrow this money? An excellent question, answered:

The debt is largely financed by the sale of Treasury bonds and bills. Even today, amid global economic turmoil, those still are seen as one of the world's safest investments.

That's one of the rare upsides of U.S. government borrowing.

Treasury securities are suitable for individual investors and popular with other countries, especially China, Japan and the Persian Gulf oil exporters, the three top foreign holders of U.S. debt.

But as the U.S. spends trillions to stabilize the recession-wracked economy, helping to force down the value of the dollar, the securities become less attractive as investments. Some major foreign lenders are already paring back on their purchases of U.S. bonds and other securities. And if major holders of U.S. debt were to flee, it would send shock waves through the global economy - and sharply force up U.S. interest rates.

As time goes by, demographics suggest things will get worse before they get better, even after the recession ends, as more baby boomers retire and begin collecting Social Security and Medicare benefits.

I freely admit; I'm frequently operating in Informational Overload Mode, and in combination with Personal Stress Mode. My personal life, since the begining of the year and the death of my father, the selling of his house, the issues at work -- will I have a job, will I not have a job -- have resulted in the tumultuous explosion of emotions and non-stop thoughts and plots and plans that my mind cannot seem to stop at the expense of sleep, work, home.

AJ is right; I need to somehow manage, despite all this, to bring some civility and measured rationality to my life. I've let the discourse and the bad news and the trials allow all the local torrential currents to pull and push me in directions that have been less than pleasant. It seems I've allowed myself to be plunged into these dangerous waters without even having thought of unfurling my sail and putting a steady hand on my rudder. I've lost control.

I need to do both those things, and very soon, in order to gain some semblance of control. And I need to step back and at least attempt to put all in some sort of perspective. Because allowing myself to be forced into a Nantucket Sleighride, with my own personal line tied to a harpoon deep into the flanks of a whale insane with pain -- that only spells horrendous trouble.

I need to breathe.

I will try.

BZ

July 4, 2009: An Independence Day Reflection

I'm sure that many bloggers across the nation are going to proffer a few photographs of fireworks this year, or display pull-quotes out of the Declaration of Independence.

Instead, I'd like to fast forward to now. I'd care to reminisce and ruminate on this country in general. Because too many people blow this holiday off and equate it only to cheap and dangerous fireworks, drinks, shouting and unruly children and sunburns.

This country is more; so much more. But no one seems to notice and no one seems to much care.

Uncle Sam is sad and growing sadder. He is watching not only the emasculation of his once-great country but the denigration of those documents which allowed the Unites States of America to be created from, essentially, swamps and flies and dirt.

Further, our true Founding Fathers are consistently being minimized, excoriated, their thoughts and motivations re-written, emphasized to blasphemous and false terms, reduced to controlling Privileged, Slave-Owning White Males. It is as if their contributions, thoughts, deeds, desires for freedom, grand words, acts and philosophies are completely inconsequential. I refuse, out of hand, to even remotely accept this.

We may shortly have to take back our country. The actual adults left the table on January 20th of this year. Is it time for a Second Revolution?

On the other hand, I pause and reflect on what my grandfather wrote to my father but upon his enlistment to defend our country. Wonderful words indeed.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said: "If we make peaceful revolution impossible, we make violent revolution inevitable."

Where is my country actually going, I ask? Do we desire Socialism or do we desire a Republic?

Is it time to call all the Clans together?

There are actually those to whom patriotism, on any level, in any form, is considered jingoistic, overbearing, oppressive. To those I would say, off the cuff: go straight to flaming Hell. Find another country. See if your bullshit will play in any other NON-Western country. My guess: not so much.

This John Trumbull painting was objected-to by John Adams, the 2nd President of the United States. Mr Adams said, essentially, that the declaration was signed but only upon its signators appearing on various days and never at one time. They were never all in one room at one time.

One very little recognized point of history:

Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day -- July 4th, 1826 -- precisely 50 years after the founding of this great nation.

And a bit of editorializing: I am glad that my grandparents died when they did. I also find a small portion of comfort knowing that my father died when he did as well -- his deserved Tricare having been cut by Mr Obama. In the few months since his death, he wouldn't recognize his nation now -- the nation he enlisted and fought for.

He would ask, if he were alive and lucid: how can an individual president think he can spend his way out of a recession? Spending money not possessed got this nation where it is now. How can Mr Obama think that he even has billions of dollars to spend when -- in truth -- he possesses naught but air-dollars?

Our government now seems to be disavowing most every point of common sense and point of law embraced in our past. It is a growing government the likes of which has never been seen, at any level, on the planet, in its entire history.

What would our Founding Fathers think?

That is, if the Demorats and Leftists and Socialists now in charge believed there were even any Founding Fathers.

They are rewriting history as we sit at our government troughs of FREE CHEESE.

In the meantime the waves crash, the sun rises and sets. And our nation attempts to purposely diminish its place in history and global importance. All because it is guided by eminently the wrong person at the wrong time. Mr Obama is callow, ignorant, naive, arrogant, megalomaniacal. He is the epitome of the Chicago Machine but yet imported into our nation's capitol by wrongheaded and ignorant, shallow individuals. It is what it is. The elections were what they were.

Ladies and gentlemen, I write this post in anticipation of jubilation on our country's 233rd anniversary.

I actually fear for the continuation of my most beloved country. Think of this for a moment, please, if you will:

In and considering the Grand Scheme of Life, how is it that YOU somehow managed to be born and possess the skin you do -- in this country -- right here -- right now -- when you very EASILY could have been possessed of a soul at most ANY time in ANY country? Is there a reason you're here? Could helping to save this country play a part in your existence now?

I fear for my country. I believe that storm clouds occlude her horizon. And I, again, believe in this quote from Thomas Jefferson himself: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

If Mr Obama isn't like an Anti-Christ as some foretell, well, then, he's frighteningly-close enough for me.

BZ

P.S.

Click on each photo for a full sized reproduction.

Sarah Palin To Step Down As Governor

Sarah Palin announced today that she will be stepping down as governor of the state of Alaska, effective July 26th.

The Lt. Governor will step up into place at that time.

Some are indicating that Sarah Palin wants more time with her family. Others are saying that she's turning to concentrate more fully on preparations for a 2012 presidential run.

I suspect that, at least initially, she's done with the potshots at her family and herself by those in the media and in government. I suspect this is more a personal decision than it is a strategic decision.

I don't see too many viable candidates lining up on the GOP side for 2012. If she truly has withdrawn from politics completely, I find that disconcerting. I am sorry to see her give up the fight and allow wrong-headed forces to prevail. I believe, however, that I understand her reasoning.

BZ

Illegal To Idle Your Car

As I've written, every day seems to bring a new rescission of our freedoms. Add this one to the growing list of things we won't be able to do in our cars:

NEW YORK - The fumes from idling taxicabs and delivery trucks can be so bad outside city schools that teachers race to close their classroom windows at certain times of the day to protect their students.

A new law seeks to cut that pollution by giving vehicles just 60 seconds to idle in a school zone.The measure signed into law this month cuts the allowed idling time from three minutes to one minute around schools, and gives more city agencies the power to issue violations. It also requires an annual violations report so officials can track enforcement.

In 2007 there were 526 idling violations and all but 10 were for diesel vehicles.

This is a continuing attempt to kill the diesel engine in America, despite the fact that diesels in Europe are the most fuel-efficient and very popular.

But let's do what I call the "Logical Extension" to this law:

I submit it's another way to create more funding for the city -- any city -- by way of fines levied against "offenders."

I also submit it's another way of ensuring that ONLY hybrid vehicles are allowed in this nation, because hybrids customarily kill the ICE (internal combustion engine) at a stop.

Please note this remark, however:

Now, Kalin said, the main problems are vehicles that have nothing to do with the school but are simply idling nearby, like delivery trucks and general street traffic.

Again, the Logical Extension: when stopped, you may find yourself having to continuously stop and start your car. And therein lies your Catch 22: municipalities have consistently refused to repair, widen or build new streets, resulting in horrendous traffic crushing. So, having created that problem they may end up fining you for their problem and neglect.

That's any municipality's Wet Dream, the best of all possible worlds: less work, more cash.

If it's happening in NYC you can bet administrators and the Religious Left, nationally, are salivating at the thought of enabling this law in your area.

BZ

Fewer Cops? Expect MORE Crime

A major central Fornicalia law enforcement agency (of which I am familiar) must, due to lack of cash, cut its complement of deputies back to 1970s levels:

Patrol staffing will be knocked down by 74 percent – leaving just 10 cars patrolling the entire unincorporated county at any given time. Detective staffing will be halved. Helicopters will be grounded, the Problem-Oriented Policing program will be disbanded and dispatchers will be in triage mode as they assign precious few resources to calls for service.

The department will look "pre-1970," said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran.

"While the population of the county has grown exponentially and so has crime, we'll have the same number of deputies patrolling the streets of Sacramento County as we did in 1970," Curran said. "The impact will be devastating to the taxpaying citizens of Sacramento."

On Friday, (Sheriff) McGinness said his department will have to lay off 80 more deputies than initially anticipated – for a total of 209 – to cut $57 million. In addition, 22 non-sworn employees will be laid off.

"There's nothing good about it," he said, "unless you're a criminal."

The Sheriff was taken to task, recently, by publicly revealing that the budget cuts would in fact decimate the department. The fight for public safety funding, between the Sheriff and the County Executive, who controls the budget figures before sending them to the Board of Supervisors (and few persons trust the CEO), went into the media domain recently and, it would appear, the County Executive's Office is winning.

Some time ago, our County Executive promised to make this county the "shining star" in the state in terms of providing social services. Police and fire response? Ehh, not so much. Let's just say he's not the Prime Cheerleader for my department, and leave it at that.

Remember the final sentence from the above quote? It's odd our Sheriff would say that, because a local TV channel began to interview inmates leaving the massive downtown jail this past Monday and Tuesday. One quote from the article:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Inmates inside the Sacramento County Main Jail are using deep budget cuts as an opportunity to plan more crimes, KCRA 3 has learned.

"There's going to be hella crime. There's going to be a lot of crime," said Alfredo Gaeta, a man who admitted he just recently got out of jail for assault with a deadly weapon. "People are actually talking about it."

Those cuts set to begin as early as next week, according to sheriff's staff, could mean the number of patrol cars working at any given time would drop from 38 to just nine countywide.

The sheriff's union said such cuts would mean that its deputies could not adequately enforce the law or protect people from crime.

"There's no doubt the ability to protect the innocent and the most vulnerable people in the county is going to be compromised," Sheriff John McGinness said.

The final lines in the article?

According to Gaeta, that reality could mean a spike in crime if those cuts are made as planned. "There's a lot less eyes looking at crime," Gaeta said.

On the other hand, our Sheriff has said he'll have no alternative but to begin issuing more CCW permits.

It'll be the Wild West all over again.

BZ

P.S.

I carry a gun and I'm glad I live 79 miles away from where I work.