Sunday, August 19, 2012

LTE Forum MO 08/20/12

Good AM, folks! Busy week ahead.

New member of the family, so to speak: I have been car shopping for the better part of a year, finally made my choice when it became apparent that I needed to hand down my aging Escape to one of Susan's kids. I had vacillated over Toyota's Highlander and Prius, and Ford's new Escape. In the latter vehicle's case, I was making an exception to my preference to buy non-UAW, but at least Ford would have been non-bailout. But, as it happened, a dark horse arose.

So, landing in my driveway Friday evening was a Subaru Outback, which had the right combination of equipment for me and Susan, 2-zone climate control for the front seat, in particular, and some mandatories for me, such as all-wheel drive. Yes, it is non-union assembled, but assembled in Lafayette, IN, of 40% US content. The plant is also zero-landfill. The materials used in assembly all either become Subarus or are recycled. Coincidentally, the night after I agreed to purchase the car, I saw a segment on the Science Channel about the plant.

Word watch: "kick the can down the road," on CNN on XM radio today. The utterer was discussing the budget and the impending sequestration. I suggest retiring this weary phrase in favor of, "delay," "postpone," "defer," or to be more accurate, "dereliction of duty."

Unions: I regret I am sufficiently ignorant that I am unable to post links on my own site, but I post the following for those interested in copy/pasting. Please note that it is from the Los Angeles Times, hardly a right-wing bastion. The Times' former labor reporter, Nancy Cleland, is now the mouthpiece for the union-controlled NLRB. The article reports on the iron grip that the CA Teachers Association has on the state budget and policy in general, sometimes placing it in conflict with even leftward Dems in the state. It has no conflict with Governor Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown, however. Please note the union's fevered opposition to simplifying the years-long process to fire a serial sexual predator. I paste it without further comment, look forward to hearing why this state of affairs is really good for California.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cta-20120819,0,2515386.story

OT, I offer myself for condemnation for my HTML ignorance.

Why do R's nominate idiots?: Todd Akin, the R nominee challenging Claire McCaskill for the MO Senate seat explained his opposition to any abortions by averring that rape victims have a biological mechanism that prevents pregnancy in such instances. I believe the R's have electoral deathwishes. Romney picks Ryan, which stirs the Medicare debate, an issue on which Obama might have been vulnerable, and now this bozo shows his colors, fortunately before the election. The Senate will remain in Dem hands, and I'd say the WH will remain President Obama's residence. "What were they thinking?" is one of my word watch peeves, but sometimes the query is legitimate.

62 comments:

  1. Not so sure about senate, Mike. MO may still elect old rapin Akin. The dark force (dark money) is strong in that one.

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  2. Ok cuz, you've got me laughing again. Headline:

    Stab Buys Hippy Car

    Probably 85-90% of the old hippies that I know drive an Outback. Some have been driving the same one for 15 years or more. Why?

    Many for the same reasons that you cite. And others simply because it is an excellent, well made, economical, non-threatening vehicle.

    Word Watch The other day I was walking along behind another pedestrian who was having a very loud conversation with someone. About 90% of his end consisted of the words "Y'know", "whatever" and "cool". The last word, instead of "good-bye", was "awesome".

    I feel like one of those characters in that awesome fiction series "Left Behind".

    Unions Nice try, but you're not sucking me into any more "U" word debates. I have much better things to do with my time.

    On the other hand, your HTML is looking quite good. You've got bold face for your topics and managed to get a clickable link to entice me to the LA Times site, which I refused to fall for.

    It really is quite simple. Even Dunce managed it the other night, although his link was to an insipid stir fry recipe that even the middle school kids who I have been tutoring would laugh at.

    Why do R's nominate idiots? I would submit that it has become a part of the culture of the party. Romney is a poor candidate for many reasons, but he is way too smart to actually want Ryan on his ticket. Ryan was imposed, as was Silly Sarah Palin, to assuage the fury of the right wing nut cases that yet another "moderate" had won the party's nomination.

    The funny part of that is that it plays right into the hands of the Democratic strategists who have been promoting Ryan, who was virtually unknown two years ago, in hopes of having his ridiculous budget, not to mention his abortion stance which matches dunce Akin's, as a target for the stretch run. They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.

    After the President wins reelection in November, I expect the Republican Party to self destruct in a frenzy of recriminations. They can change their nickname to the GO(S)P(EL) Party and become truly marginalized.

    Maybe then some folks will create a new major party. Excellent opportunity for Chris Christy.

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    1. Anytime people start to obsess about intelligence, it usually means they have been berated, with good cause, belittled and embarassed in front of a group.

      Sarah Palin looks like an absolute genius in comparison to the former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. And comparing her to 'Rush', the forum NW, she looks stunningly brilliant.

      I think that's about all that needs to be said.

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    2. OT, surprising you would duck an issue, especially since I provide a mainstream press link.

      HTML: apparently, one can copy and past links in posts, but not in comments, so I remain vulnerable to scorn re HTML. The italics and bold in the original post because they applied the same way as with MS Word.

      Delete
    3. Aha! I was not aware that blogspot was so limited.

      Not ducking...just sick of the subject...no doubt that unions cause some problems...but in the big picture, not enough to waste time on...as with everything, those matters will work themselves out eventually.

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    4. Unions have basically bankrupted California. But I wouldn't expect you to know that, given your peaheaded world view, and your limited reading ability.

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    5. Good enough, OT. There to read as you will. I will retire the subject for the time being.

      Delete
    6. Stab: Just happened to stop by and noticed you're having problems with html in your posts. There is a way to do it from your dashboard; it's gonna take a little a little while, but I'll pull out my notes and send you a link in the next few days.

      Delete
    7. I'm back, Stab. Couldn't find my notes, but from your dashboard go to the "new post" screen and you'll see "post settings" to the far right side of the screen. Click on "options" (the 'gear' icon), then click on the "interpret typed HTML". There's also an option to save and/or preview a draft before you post. Play with these options a little to get the hang of it. FYI: the buttons above the posting box could be fun to use, also.

      Delete
    8. Hi cuz…I decided to take a peek inside "blogger" and found that you can easily do any type of HTML stuff to your posts using the simple tools at the top of the page.

      As LaSombra mentions, hen you are on the page for posting a new comment, look at the tool bar near the top of the page.

      One tool should say "Link", or maybe show a chain link. Click on that and follow the directions…just paste in whatever URL you want and give it a name and the name will appear in your post as an HTML link.

      If you want to include a picture, just click on the icon right next to the link one. That will allow you to insert a pic from your computer or from any online URL.

      You can even include a video, from your computer (if you shot video of Sarah in Act I, Scene I of becoming a Carolina girl, for instance) or a URL, by using the next tool icon.

      To capture a URL for any of the above, whenever you are on a page that you want to post a link to, just select everything in the address bar and hit "Control-c". That will copy it to the clipboard. Then you can paste it into any of the above options.

      But you cannot copy another link until you have used that one, because the next copy will override the first. On my Mac I use a freeware program called ClipMenu that allows me to copy and paste stuff endlessly. There are apps for Windoze that do the same thing. Just Google "windows freeware clipboard" and you will find them.

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    9. Yeah, it's highly complicated and worth worrying over-not.

      More liberal babble from the forum NW.

      Let's talk about anything other than Obama's miserable handling of the economy. Right, Rush?

      Pathetic.

      Delete
  3. "A disservice"

    The Winston-Salem city council members who voted against supporting Kalvin Michael Smith's retrial effort — Wanda Merschel, Robert Clark, D.D. Adams, Molly Leight and Vivian Burke, and City Attorney Angela Carmon, who advised the council to that action — have done a disservice to Winston-Salem and to justice for Kalvin Smith, Jill Marker, her family and friends, and the many, many people who have labored so long to get a retrial ("City won't support retrial," Aug. 11).

    And for what reason? Their reasons seem weak. They were asked to do little, and instead did nothing. To quote Jet Hollander of the Silk Plant Forest Truth Committee, "We didn't ask them to give an opinion on the merits of the petition. It's legal baloney." That statement was affirmed when Frayda Bluestein, a professor of public law at the UNC School of Government, said that now that discussions have finished, the city is allowed to release the minutes of the meetings, though it is within its rights to keep them confidential if the release frustrates the purpose of the closed meeting.

    As Duke University law professor Jim Coleman said, "These people lack any moral conviction" and, I believe, have a desire to forget history and get on with business as a matter of political expediency (it is only one man — and it happened long ago) and political power, and, finally, cowardice and failure to do the right thing.

    ANTHONY POLICELLI
    Winston-Salem

    "Torn apart"

    Kudos to Capt. Billy Baker for his Aug. 11 letter "Out of touch" regarding Maya Angelou's racist statement.

    Our country has been torn apart over the last four years by increased racism from all sides; it needs to stop! We are all Americans; we may have different ethnic backgrounds and we can honor and celebrate that heritage, but in the end, we are Americans and must pull together for our country, not divide it with comments such as Angelou's.

    Shame on Appalachian State University for picking her to speak at its 29th Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration in January 2013 and shame on Novant for continuing to use her name and pay for that "privilege" on its women's health center.

    LISA CROZIER
    Winston-Salem

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    1. More options

      As a proponent of local foods, I was glad to read Kathy Norcross Watts' column ("Farmers markets thrive," Aug. 11) about the success of local farmers markets. However, readers need to know that farmers markets are not the only source of fresh local produce. There are several private CSAs (community-supported agriculture) operating in the area along with Triad Farm to Table Co-op, which is a cooperative made up of local (Forsyth and surrounding counties) growers and consumers with delivery points throughout the county.

      Since not every grower or consumer has the time to attend farmers markets, the co-op delivers produce boxes mid-week to convenient work sites, businesses and churches. So far more than 25 growers, both large and small, have marketed produce through the co-op. Throughout the season boxes have contained a variety of local produce including lettuce, cabbage, collards, mustard, cantaloupe, table grapes, peppers, beans, okra, honey, summer squash, winter squash, cucumbers, potatoes, peaches, eggplant, spinach, tomatoes and corn. Consumers also receive recipes and farmer contact information in case they wish to purchase more produce.

      SUSAN WILLIAMSON
      CO-MANAGER
      TRIAD FARM TO TABLE CO-OP
      Rural Hall

      "Consequences"

      As I read the news article "Two charged in gasoline attack on woman" (Aug. 11), I shook my head with disbelief. If the facts of the story are correct, I am appalled that the gasoline victim, Shannon Lowell, had the audacity to call the authorities for help.

      She involved herself in an illegal act and then she feels she should be protected from the consequences of her choices? She should be in jail with her attackers.

      DEBBIE ELLER
      Winston-Salem

      Delete
  4. oh my
    Akin Breakin heart. Let's get drunk and go skinny dipping in the Sea of Galilee.

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  5. Re: Akin, I decided a while ago that the GOP has been taken over by people like some of the old commenters on Journalnow (And Bucky, and Wes, and Deb). This latest comment isn't all that surprising...a lot of Republicans think this way.

    I'm back in town, so the next time y'all get together for lunch or coffee, please let me know!

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    1. Akin is a piece of work. He looks like he just left a Chamber of Commerce prayer breakfast. And he likes to use the term "legitimate rape".

      Here's something you didn't know..."legitimate" rape is even rarer than pregnancies caused by rape. There are only about a dozen "legitimate" rapes per year, all committed by Democrats. All of the other 80-something thousand are just bad women trying to make trouble for some poor man.

      Delete
    2. At least Republicans can count-$15 trillion (approx) in debt is more than $8 trillion (approx), which is where the debt was when GW Bush left office.

      Democrats are just too stupid to admit they made a mistake with Obama, that's the bottom line.

      If you're ever in a group of people, and someone starts spouting off a bunch of stupid questions, is it not usually a Democrat? Just admit it, I double dee dare you!

      Note: I have to put 'approx.' beside certain numbers for the forum NW, or he'll go crazier.

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    3. Don't use the "Reply" button to attach your irrelevant rants to other people's posts. It interrupts other people's conversations.

      Use "Add comment" to post your rubbish.

      Delete
    4. Akin isn't the first pol to make an "any woman who is really raped can't get pregnant" remark. In fact, one of NC's finest, Henry Aldridge, made the same comment in 1995:

      "The facts show that people who are raped -- who are truly raped -- the juices don't flow, the body functions don't work and they don't get pregnant," said Aldridge, a 71-year-old periodontist. "Medical authorities agree that this is a rarity, if ever."

      Read more:

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    5. Rush, I like to throw in a few 'sane' comments amid your incoherent babble, just keep things moving.

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    6. Actually, what you like to do is to interfere with sane conversations on the forum by throwing in your irrelevant comments.

      In the web world, that is known simply as "trollery", the style of fools.

      Grow up or go away.

      Delete
    7. Why do you hate the truth so much Rush?

      Delete
  6. Stab..congrats on the new ride. That tends to refresh one's soul.

    "Kick the can down the road" is truly tiresome but makes a good mental picture. The entire developed world is so far into debt overhang-growing at nearly 12%, while global growth is slowing to under 4%. Something will be kicked pretty soon.

    Unions have become the Ds gangrene leg to drag around year after year. No end in sight.

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  7. The National Debt on January 16th, 2009, 4 days before President Obama took office was 10,628,881,485,510.23, the economy was losing around 700,000 jobs a month and the gdp was shrinking at 9% instead of the 4% that was projected at the time.

    http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/NPGateway

    Debt to the Penny history.

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    Replies
    1. so it was closer to around 11trillion than it was to 8.

      Delete
    2. And getting worse. The nearly zero rate of interest now used to service this debt can't last and more debt is coming: 16trillion total so far. When rates rise, the cost of debt service will gradually become unbearable requiring ever more money to be taken from the private sector economy, slowing "growth" further with fewer people employed. An economic death spiral.

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    3. Phargo, you shouldn't be so hard on poor Dunce. Your facts are boring because they are accurate.

      His are not accurate, but they are never boring, because they are fantasies, and fantasy is azlways more fun than reality.

      Delete
    4. yes, I suppose you are correct. He was only off by mere 37%

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    5. Is that all? He's usually more than 50% wrong...especially when he starts talking about the thousands...or is it millions...of illegal aliens swarming to the polls...the ones that intensive investigations in state after state have been unable to find.

      Delete
    6. Sorry, I was slightly off on the current debt amount too.

      It's nearly $16 trillion now. But who's counting.

      http://www.usdebtclock.org/

      I noticed that Bob didn't correct me on that figure though. Oh no....

      Whitewall, don't bother trying to tell these liberal dunderheads the truth. They have their heads buried in the sand, because they don't want hear how they've screwed up by voting for Obama.

      Hee hee......liberals you got love 'em. They're always up to something.

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    7. Just another of Dunce's lies...I mean "trivial mistakes".

      What's $3 trillion, more or less?

      As Senator Everett Dirksen (R-IL) once said "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money."

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    8. You might want to tell that to Obama. He, and the Democrats, fecaled away $1 trillion on a stimulus package that didn't work.

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  8. Why do R's nominate idiots?: Idiots are not limited to the Rs...Al Franken is a US Senator. This nut in Missouri would make a good bunk mate for our sitting VP. They can meet on the quiet lawn outside the "home" and exchange baffling gaffes and try them out on staff. Our VP will still be on the ticket while this clown in Missouri will probably walk back/ amend his comment before the day ends.

    I most strongly disagree with your take on the Senate and who wins it and I do strongly disagree with the doubts about Ryan. I am not so pessimistic and still give the American people more credit. But if we have sunk so far down that what is our "new normal" is ok, then the devil can take us and we will become not Greece or Spain very soon, but France is the closest failed state we will come to resemble. Any remaining Americans will be found in nursing homes like what is left of England and Englishmen--found only in their senior care facilities. Paul Ryan is bringing to light Obama's greatest enemy : math.

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    1. Ryan is a lunatic...ignore all his christian right jibber jabber and focus on his "budget"...which would eliminate capital gains, virtually the only tax still paid by the top 3% while increasing regular income tax for the middle class.

      When asked repeatedly to give some real figures regarding his "budget", he has been unable to do so. Asked a few days ago how long it would take for his "budget" to balance the books, he admitted over and over that he had no idea.

      He is a fraud and mentally ill to boot, and the best thing that has happened to the Obama campaign since it started, as we shall see.

      Delete
    2. I don't pay attention to someone's religious jabber as I am voting for Pres/VP in chief not theologian in chief. I approve of eliminating capital gains tax as a special tax and favor making it a tax as regular income within the structure of a flat tax in stead of this twisted gordian knot that is our current tax code. Capital gains tax is avoidable because the sale of assets is almost always avoidable/ or deferred...I am avoiding/deferring it right now by using legal remedies within the aforementioned twisted tax code. " Real numbers" in a nonbudget are impossible due to the scam of current budgeting statute called " baseline budgeting". It assumes all current spending as a baseline and then goes up from there by a percentage--x amount is assumed by official Washington, any suggestion by anyone that the increase be one percent less than x amount is called a "cut in spending" and shrieking and wailing results. The is the DC two step. There is no known date certain as to when a budget can be balanced by anyone's budget from any quarter. It is not possible to know because of what I wrote above. If he had given numbers for a date certain then that would be a flight of fancy. Unless and until someone begins reform of entitlements, no budget numbers or projections are worth a damn. Anyone that can not grasp this and is running for the top job is a fraud and a coward. Mental illness does not play a role

      The surest way to end Medicare/aid as we know it....is medicare/aid as we know it. The surest way to end SS as we know it is...SS as we know it. Unavoidable.

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    3. WW, I agree re idiots on the Dem side, especially the cited Al Franken. And yes, Joltin' Joe is indeed gaffe prone. Akin's comment is not a gaffe IMO, instead is strongly revelatory of questionable intellect and values, more so than Joe's idiocies.

      As for the Senate, the FL contest is becoming more iffy. OTOH,I think a fair number of voters' choices haven't gelled yet, but Akins' forthright comment and the stirred Medicare discussion may encourage some gelling.

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    4. Medicare had better do some stirring fast. It is the 800lb primate in the room. The current senior generation and those soon to sneak up on it are a different breed of voter than prior ones. They are not so AARP fooled and have seen what is going to happen to our national General Ledger if nothing is done. They have had 40-50 years to watch. I don't worry about "intellects" in the Senate. God know too many of them there for too long have driven us to near fiscal insolvency.

      Delete
    5. Ryan has long been known for his intellect. He's supposedly twice as smart as Obama. That I don't really find surprising, at all.

      Here's some more on the economic train wreck that we are facing. And what has Obama done about it. He's added more debt.

      http://money.msn.com/money-video/stocks.aspx?videoid=f07ca2da-186e-4fe4-99de-493909d091ac

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    6. Chooooooooooo....Choooooooooo....let's get on the Obama train wreck.

      Oh brother, 'liberals'......you can't tell 'em anything.

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    7. I hear the train a comin!

      Sing it Johnny!

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1xSt7iganA

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  9. Wham, Bam, Sonogram.
    This isn't the first time Akin has expressed fringe views about rape in the context of the abortion debate. Last year, Akin, vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), and most of the House GOP co-sponsored a bill that would have narrowed the already-narrow exceptions to the laws banning federal funding for abortion—from all cases of rape to cases of "forcible rape."

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  10. Daily History Search Application

    To find the total public debt outstanding on a specific day or days, simply select a single date or date range and click on the 'Find History' button.

    The data on total public debt outstanding is available daily from 01/04/1993 through 08/16/2012. The debt held by the public versus intragovernmental holdings data is available:

    Yearly (on a fiscal basis) from 09/30/1997 through 08/16/2012.
    Monthly from 09/30/01 through 03/31/05
    Daily from 03/31/05 through 08/16/2012

    finding correct information is so easy these days.

    http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

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  11. Good afternoon folks!
    LTE 1: There appears to be some evidence presented that does cast doubt on the conviction of Mr. Smith. After the Darryl Hunt debacle, you would think the city would want to at least do everything it can to confirm once and for all whether the correct verdict was rendered in the Marker case.

    LTE 2: "...regarding Maya Angelou's racist statement." Ms. Angelou, a black woman in her 80's grew up under segregation on the wrong side of the skin color. Unless you've walked in her shoes and experienced what she has, you have no right to characterize anything she says as "racist". She was mistaken in her belief about the police targeting Mr. Martin when it was actually a police wannabe, but having the police target someone because of their skin color was indeed a matter of fact in Ms. Angelou's early years up until she was an adult.

    LTE 3: Thanks to Ms. Williamson for a very helpful suggestion.

    LTE 4: Lordy, have mercy. So, we should simply start looking the other way whenever someone attempts or succeeds in murdering someone over a drug deal gone bad?? No, the victim should not have been involved in selling drugs, but that does not grant automatic immunity to anyone who decides to kill her.

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    1. I'll call her racist any day I want to. Thank you very much.

      Delete
  12. Word watch: "misspoke." Senate candidate Aiken states that he misspoke when he described post-rape contraception. This weaselly word has been popular with several WH press secretaries over the years. For the the rest of us, misspoke is not permitted. We must get by with synonymous utterances, such as "I lied," or "I believe what I said, but I really wish I hadn't said it," or "I had no idea what I was talking about," or "I don't know when to keep my mouth shut."

    Speaking of keeping one's mouth shut, President Obama has been rather reticent with respect to press conferences, perhaps fearing that he might misspeak. TelePrompters are far less likely to do so.

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    1. He spoke correctly. He just thought incorrectly.

      Delete
    2. He sure did think incorrectly, coming up with the oxymoron "legitimate rape." This guy must be stupid.

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    3. Todd Akin's remarks serve as a reminder that the difference between genius & stupidity is genius has its limits.

      Delete
    4. 'Goin put ya'll back in chains'---Joe Biden.

      What's the difference between the two that misspoke? One's a Democrat, so he gets a pass.

      Delete
    5. The difference is that Joe's hyperbole, while stupid, tends more to campaign puffery and the usual pandering by Dems to a core constituency; Akin's remark was dismissive of rape victims. Both utterances were stupid, but the difference is a matter of degree, and Akin's is a lot worse, IMO. Note that Romney is backing away fast.

      Delete
    6. So making racially inflamatory remarks vs sexually insensitive remarks, the racial ones are not as bad. Hmmmmmmmmm?

      I think they're both equally bad.

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    7. Well, there's your proof of Wordly's statement. We can always rely upon the Dunce, who has no limits.

      Delete
  13. Idiocy is an American favorite, and one need not study Presidential politics to find it. As in:

    In May, Kaitlin Nootbar, in her valedictory speech at Prague High School in Oklahoma echoed an incident in Eclipse: The Twilight Saga by saying "How the hell do I know? I've changed my mind so many times." The school refused to give her her diploma until she makes a written apology, which she says she will not do. She is already attending college on a full scholarship, so who cares what the school fools do?

    In June, in Ohio, the school system told Anthony Cornist that he could not have his diploma until he had done 20 hours of community service because his friends and family cheered too wildly for him as he walked across the stage. They should attend a NC School of the Arts graduation.

    Last August, several Republican House members joined their Israeli hosts in a brief skinny dip in the Sea of Galilee. I find that refreshing, the idea that a usually tightly wound Republican could actually relax for a moment.

    But tightly wound Eric Cantor was present and, we are told, became "livid" and took it upon himself to scold the others. I don't know how they could tell that he was livid at that moment, since he always seems to be livid.

    Someone even had the FBI investigate the incident. Maybe they thought that that one of the men had left himself open to blackmail because of his small, Dunce-like, equipment.

    Maybe our new savior, the towering intellect Paul Ryan, will go over there and walk on the water like Jesus did. If so, let's hope that, like Jesus, he keeps his clothes on.

    As to recent comments here about Senator Franken of Minnesota, it would be interesting to see some examples of his idiocy from his accusers…no talking head rumors please. Of course, unlike Ryan, he is not on the presidential ticket, so is not equal to nutcase Ryan in that respect.

    I doubt if he can touch such icons of idiocy as Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, Ricky Perry, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Ann Coulter, Virginia Foxx, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Mike Huckabee, Todd Akin, Christine O'Donnell, Bill O'Reilly, Haley "Boss Hog" Barbour, Jan Brewer, Bobby Jindal, Allen West, Mel Tillis and his pals in Raleigh who have passed a bill commanding the sea not to rise…I could go on and on but my keyboard is showing signs of overheating, so…

    Want some real idiocy? Here's Joe Nocera, a New York Times op-ed writer: "“Even though Osama bin Laden was wrong to want to destroy America, he was right that we allow too much sex on television.” Huh?

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    1. Based on all of the idiotic comments you make in the forum Rush, you are obviously one of the founding fathers of idiocy. I don't know what you're going on about?

      Delete
  14. Replies
    1. "An opinion"

      Your letters column is only read by idiotic right-wing mouth-breathers who should be denied the right to vote due to insufficient brains.

      What's wrong? I'm just expressing my opinion. Just like Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy.

      RICKY S. PHILLIPS
      Winston-Salem

      "The Ryan budget"

      I was surprised to see "Fact-Checking claims from Romney and Ryan," an Associated Press story, in the Aug. 12 Journal.

      The "nonpartisan" Congressional Budget Office is not a research institution. It provides estimates based on parameters given to the office by members of the Congress. It is impossible to judge the meaning of a report issued by this office without knowledge of the question asked and the given figures and constraints.

      The Ryan budget was called "sensible, straightforward, honest, serious" by Erskine Bowles, a prominent Democrat and chairman of Obama's bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Rep. Paul Ryan's handling of Medicare follows some of the recommendations of the Breaux-Thomas bipartisan 1999 Medicare reform commission and was endorsed by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. Sen. Wyden, a Democrat, has developed amnesia recently and in a very principled manner has forgotten the Ryan-Wyden Medicare plan (a most convenient lapsus mentis.)

      The article, without further evidence, calls Ryan a consistent "if occasionally plucky conservative." He is accused of being a no-compromise congressman in spite of the facts above. He has authored a budget that addresses the complex budget issues and that has a better chance at congressional approval than the Obama budget.

      I hope the Journal stops publishing this rubbish and joins the adult conversation that the country must have.

      LUIS DOMINGUEZ
      Winston Salem

      "Not racist"

      This is in response to the Aug. 4 letter "A slap in the face" about the statement made by Maya Angelou ("Angelou at town hall with Martin's family," July 26). If you are a black mother, you can understand Maya Angelou making that statement. For black mothers, there is a fear the day her son is born that one day he may be a Trayvon Martin simply because he is black.

      That statement by Angelou was not a racist statement but a fact about black men.

      BARBARA BUIE
      Winston-Salem

      Delete
    2. Innovative ideas

      I want to put animal shelters out of business. But until pet owners accept responsibility to care for and spay/neuter their pets, the need will continue.

      Bravo to Tim Jennings, director of Forsyth County Animal Control, and shelter manager Matt Smith and the great team of professionals at the Forsyth County Animal Shelter. Innovative ideas like Stay Together training by Melissa Legere and beautiful photographs by Project Pearl are really making a difference ("Who's a good dog? These!" Aug. 3). Keep up the great work until there are no unwanted pets.

      I hope Legere will find an appropriate space to continue her program during the winter. Maybe a school gym or an existing dog training facility will work. It is a terrific program that deserves community support.

      And to really make a dent in the number of euthanizations being done, adopt, don't shop.

      MARY McNAUGHT
      Pinnacle

      "Matters little"

      The writer of the letter "A make-believe world" (Aug. 7) conveniently left out a couple of President Obama's accomplishments. Namely, the high unemployment and the out-of-control deficit. He was going to take the budget line by line to fix things.

      If you don't have full employment and some of plan to lower the deficit, then all the rest matters little.

      Being a conservative, I will not vote in this or probably any other election because no one can fix the fiscal mess we're in. I just hope down the road people won't wring their hands and say, "What happened?" So I'll stay home Election Day and watch the people go to the polls in their rose-colored glasses.

      ELMO POWERS

      Wilkesboro

      "Circumstances"

      I find it sad that many people, whom I know to be good people, seem to resent anyone receiving food stamps, welfare or health care. Some say they are too lazy to work and don't deserve help. I think there will always be some who take advantage of the system, but that shouldn't keep us from helping those in need.

      Maybe people just don't understand the circumstances some others are born into.

      There are those of us who were born to parents who loved us, and taught us the right way to live, but there are also those who were born to parents of addiction, abuse and obtuseness.

      I did nothing to deserve the loving family I was born into, and neither did others deserve the disadvantages they received through no fault of their own. Do they have the same chance that I had? No.

      Jesus showed more concern for the disadvantaged, handicapped and poor than those of wealth who built bigger barns in order to store their wealth in. He hung out with the least of those, and instructed us to care for them.

      Maybe we should remember what Boaz said, in the Book of Ruth. He told the gleaners in the fields not to glean everything, but to leave something for the poor.

      NAOMI J. DAVIS
      Winston-Salem

      Delete
    3. "Tax returns"

      Tell the liberals, "I am not worried about Mitt Romney's tax returns, but I am worried about my tax return."

      PAUL ARMSTRONG
      Winston-Salem

      "Correction"

      The Aug. 20 letter "Repeat offender" should have stated that Lance Snyder was driving a car. Because of an editing error, it said that he was driving a motorcycle.

      Delete
  15. On March 25, 2009, Al Franken was presented with the USO's Merit Award for his 10 years of service to the organization through visiting injured and deployed service members.

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