Truth

There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.

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Showing posts with label public. Show all posts
Showing posts with label public. Show all posts

Monday, September 27, 2010

Incestuous Narcissism Part 1

For about 15 years if someone asked me to sum up my philosophy about the people I ranted about I would say “Unenlightened Narcissism” but now I have revised that.
It’s now “Incestuous Narcissism”. Where both parties are consensual in the narcissism and incestuous need for the other, to the exclusion of “the extremists” who don’t buy into their relationship or try to break it up.
Intervention in their incest is not best. It is to be fought to the bitter end.
Part I: Unions
Unions, especially public sector unions, are the perfect example of this relationship.
As a matter of disclosure I have never like Unions, ever. I grew up in a “union town” but was never in a union.
I used to watch them play their games with GM, this being the UAW- United Auto Workers.
They would go on strike because $28/hr in 1975 was too little. And then GM would fire them and then re-hire them. It was  game.
But now, it’s just incest.
The recent booze and pot mess at a Chrysler plant is merely the tip of iceberg. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVmKyJXHXRE)
What you have is simple. (This is a California graphic, but it applies nationally)
Taxpayer gives money to Government, Government gives money to Union and then gives money back to Government Officials in the form of political and lobbyist contributions.
It’s an incestuous circle.
And when they need more money the government simply borrows more money from China or it takes it from you.
The GM bailout was not about GM, the company. It was about The UAW, which now has bigger stake (and thus more power) in the company and will be even harder to discipline.
The 15 workers identified in the video were suspended by Chrysler, but the Union is saying nothing.
The $30 Billion bailout that Congress had to interrupt their summer vacation for was for government teachers unions, nothing else.
Albany Police Officers Union President Chris Mesley says that, regardless of the faltering economy, a no-raise new contract is unacceptable.
And to hell with the public.
“I’m not running a popularity contest here,” Mesley said. “If I’m the bad guy to the average citizen . . . and their taxes have go up to cover my raise, I’m very sorry about that, but I have to look out for myself and my membership.”
Mesley added: “As the president of the local, I will not accept ‘zeroes.’ If that means . . . ticking off some taxpayers, then so be it.”
Here are some of the facts;
Public pensions have unfunded liability of $1 trillion to $3.5 trillion
Federal workers take home twice pay and benefits as private workers. Local and state workers also make more.
Total                      Pay           Benefits           Difference
Private                 $59,909      $50,028         $9,881
Local/state          $67,812      $52,051        $15,761
Federal               $119,982     $79,197        $40,785
– Average TWU (NY Transit Workers) union worker makes $60K without overtime or benefits.
– 25% took 15 or more sick days.  Average was 8 sick days.
– Fox average 3 sick days (same for men and women)
– No FOX employee took 15 days
Relative Danger of Jobs (Deaths per 100,000 workers)
– Fishing      128.9
–Logging     115.7
–Iron workers  46.4
–Farmers       39.5
–Firemen   3.8
–Transit workers 1.4
(Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, except Transit worker death, that is from interview with TWU Local100 President)
Some people argue that there’s no alternative to the government monopoly on municipal work, but Sandy Springs, Georgia, privatized most of it’s jobs in 2005.  Now the city pays about ½ of what it used to pay.  It enjoys a $14 million surplus, in addition to funding a $20 million reserve. (John Stossel)
And the Union bosses defense: They have a dirty job. People Spit on them! Boo Hoo! Women get Pregnant! (really, he said it repeatedly).
Though Statistics show that the deadliest profession is Deep Water Fishing (aka Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch”).
But you don’t seem getting these kinds of perks. They aren’t pimping or whoring for the government and vice versa like Union are.
That mean nothing to our Union Narcissist. He doesn’t care about fishing. It’s all about him and his own.
He’s entitled to retire at 50 with a pension you will never even dream of.
Compensation A. State and Local B. Private Sector Ratio A/B
Total Compensation $39.66 $27.42 1.45
Wages and salaries $26.01 $19.39 1.34
Benefits $13.65 $8.02 1.7
Paid Leave $3.27 $1.85 1.77
Supplemental Pay $0.34 $0.83 0.41
Health insurance $4.34 $1.99 2.18
Defined benefit pension $2.85 $0.41 6.95
Defined contribution pension $0.31 $0.53 0.58
Other benefits $2.53 $2.40 1.05
(redstate.com)
http://www.foxnewsinsider.com/2010/09/24/john-stossel-hosts-the-battle-for-the-future/
Whole Program  John Stossel “Battle for the Future”  in Six parts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7PGbZSs4xM
Then there’s The NEA, the National Teachers Association, a government union.
They are also incestuous.
John Stossel again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXFVeATlCDo
Like the fact that, despite pouring ever more money into the schools these past 40 years, America has fallen behind dozens of industrialized countries in math and science.
And the fact that every day in this country, 7,000 kids drop out of high school.
And that at this rate, by the year 2020, there will be 123 million American jobs for highly skilled and highly paid workers, but only 50 million Americans will be qualified to fill them.
Because of their political sway, teachers, no matter how good, are almost never rewarded. And no matter how bad, they are almost never fired. Contract rules in New York City even keep unwanted teachers on the payroll for unlimited amounts of time when they’re not in the classroom at all.

Isn’t the NEA’s only recourse to say they need more money?
According to NEA-NH Insider the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (The Stimulus)…
…represents a huge win for education thanks to unprecedented funding increases targeted to local districts.  ARRA also included increases for Title I, stabilization funding, and school construction bonds. This adds up. The US Dept. of Education saw funding increase $159.4 billion – an increase of 169%.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has saved approximately 325,000 education related jobs nationwide. Dr. Christina Romer, head of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), stated that state stabilization funding to states has been “one of the triumphs” and has had “more bite than we would have thought.” Dr. Romer’s observation affirms the economic value to the nation of what was one of NEA’s major priorities in the stimulus package, and reinforces our argument in favor of continuing such aid through an Education Jobs Fund.
That’s “saved or created” for you… :)
And given the Incestuous circle of Taypayer-Government-Union-Lobbyist Contribution is it any wonder that pouring more money down this rathole isn’t working? :(
The National Education Association, the larger of the two national teachers unions, considered spending $3.5 million to create an ad campaign to counter “the media propaganda of this summer’s series of anti-teacher union documentaries,” according to an agenda from its July meeting.
In the end, union officials decided it wasn’t worth it, said John Wilson, executive director.
“I think the films are a blip. They will come and go, but the union will still be there, our members will still be in these schools,” he said. “We don’t see any advantage of going to war with documentarians.” (Sacramento Bee)
Well, when you’re f*cking the boss (aka government) and creating the next generation of people who will view themselves as entitled to the fruits of others and that government must save them from themselves it’s Orwellian incestual indoctrination at it’s best.
Is it any wonder that the Democrats #1 base supporters are their own whores, The Unions, and that they care more about them than you.
And if you want to intervene in their mutual incest-fest you’re an “extremist”, a “kook” a “loon” and have to be stomped on.
Narcissistic personality disorder symptoms may include:
  • Believing that you’re better than others
  • Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
  • Exaggerating your achievements or talents
  • Expecting constant praise and admiration
  • Believing that you’re special and acting accordingly
  • Failing to recognize other people’s emotions and feelings
  • Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
  • Taking advantage of others
  • Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
  • Being jealous of others
  • Believing that others are jealous of you
  • Trouble keeping healthy relationships
  • Setting unrealistic goals
  • Being easily hurt and rejected
  • Having a fragile self-esteem
  • Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional
Although some features of narcissistic personality disorder may seem like having confidence or strong self-esteem, it’s not the same. Narcissistic personality disorder crosses the border of healthy confidence and self-esteem into thinking so highly of yourself that you put yourself on a pedestal. In contrast, people who have healthy confidence and self-esteem don’t value themselves more than they value others.
When you have narcissistic personality disorder, you may come across as conceited, boastful or pretentious. You often monopolize conversations. You may belittle or look down on people you perceive as inferior. You may have a sense of entitlement. And when you don’t receive the special treatment to which you feel entitled, you may become very impatient or angry. You may insist on having “the best” of everything — the best car, athletic club, medical care or social circles, for instance.
But underneath all this behavior often lies a fragile self-esteem. You have trouble handling anything that may be perceived as criticism. You may have a sense of secret shame and humiliation. And in order to make yourself feel better, you may react with rage or contempt and efforts to belittle the other person to make yourself appear better. (Mayo Clinic)
Tell Me that doesn’t sound like your garden variety Liberal?
Go on…I dare you…
Part 2: The People and Unemployment

Friday, August 6, 2010

Think Happy

I don’t claim to be an economics wiz. Never will.
But consider the following from two different sources:
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing momentum.
The U.S. economy lost 131,000 jobs in July, with the private sector adding only 71,000 to its payrolls. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.5%.
Companies in the U.S. added workers in July for a seventh straight month at a pace that suggests the labor-market recovery will be slow to take hold.
Private payrolls that exclude government agencies rose by 71,000 after a June gain of 31,000 that was smaller than previously reported, Labor Department figures in Washington showed today. Economists projected a 90,000 July increase, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Overall employment fell 131,000 and unemployment held at 9.5 percent.
How can you lose 131,000 jobs but have job gains for 6 months in a row??
I don’t get it.
“Non-census payroll growth has averaged just 12,000 in the latest three months, which, no matter how you might try to spin it, is just plain lousy,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief US economist at MFR.
Those figures are expected to show that the US economy lost 63,000 jobs in July with the unemployment rate ticking up to 9.6 per cent. However, private sector employment is projected to rise by 90,000.
How does the unemployment rate increase, and employment rise at the same time?
And how can you have job gains and say the economy is recovering if unemployment is still 9.5 %  (and this figure doesn’t even touch the people who aren’t even looking anymore) and have Treasury Secretary Geithner say it’s going up before it goes down. How is that a “recovery”??
It’s not. But it sounds good. It’s Happy News.
Structural unemployment is defined as unemployment arising from technical change such as automation, or from changes in the composition of output due to variations in the types of products people demand. For example, a decline in the demand for typewriters would lead to structurally unemployed workers in the typewriter industry.
And it’s new buzzword.
And so, because of globalization and the the fact that the games has changed the nearly 10% unemployment is here to stay. That the long-term unemployed come to be seen as unemployable or as forgotten.
Shrinkage.
It’s not our fault.
It just is.
That seems to be the new line coming from the Elites.
We can’t do anything about it, so stop bitching about it. :(
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who were excluded from the Financial “reform” lost $1.5 billion for the 12 quarter in a row!
But don’t worry, everything’s fine. Nothing to see here. Think happy thoughts.
**********************
The fundamental issue dividing America right now is whether the people with power represent those they govern. Democrats certainly won lots of elections in 2008, and they have large majorities in both House of Congress, but have those majorities done their job of accurately representing majoritarian opinion in the U.S.? Or did the president, campaigning as a centrist, usher in a hard left Congress and then himself lurch left?
I believe that there is a deep, deep disconnect between the elites and the mainstream, and the anger that is surging on both sides of the divide grows out of the sense that majorities are being trampled on. Left-wing activists point at the Senate and argue that a minority of Republican senators is blocking the majority’s will. Center-right activists applaud those Republicans as representatives of the genuine mainstream and point to the votes and polls noted above and argue that the current Congressional majorities are false positives, unrepresentative of where the country truly is, delivered in large part by an Obama-awed MSM dominated by Journolistas moving in lock step to promote the left’s agenda.
The self-righteous and angry rhetoric of scorn and indignation employed by Bloomberg (On The Ground Zero Mosque issue) and the opponents of Prop 8 this week, and routinely by the president and his Congressional allies over the past many months, provide the perfect fuel for the fires of the neopopulism of the Tea Parties. The vast majority of Tea Party participants are mainstream Americans who work hard, pay taxes –lots and lots of taxes– and are concerned about the huge lurch left. They are fearful about the incompetence of the economic team and the vast gusher of deficit spending which continues to flow out of D.C. –another $26 billion Wednesday!– and they are concerned that their childrens’ futures are being compromised by ideological zealots. They are sick to death of the media gamesmanship of “summits” and the president’s refusal to answer questions directly or to engage his political opponents with other than sneers. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are the “leaders” of the left and they are mean-spirited and do not appear to be either very bright or at all good humored.

So that is where we are, 89 days from what may well be a historic “U Turn” election. The stakes are very very high, and the left has gone a long way beyond their previously announced goals and agendas.
And they will do anything to win. And after all, it’s all Bush’s Fault anyhow! :)
The left is, in a word, exposed. Clarity is a wonderful thing, as my friend Dennis Prager likes to say. As August unfolds, there isn’t any need to guess which way the Democrats and the cultural left wants to take the country. The only question is whether the country wants to go along, and that will be answered on November 2. (Hugh Hewitt)

So the counteraction is, REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER and vote them out.
Unless you like the status quo of Orwellian overuse of  “racism”, structural unemployment, debt, deficits, and a government running every facet of your life, that is. :)
And Just to make you feel good and happy: Even the innocence of childhood is being trampled by bureaucrats!

lemonade1JPG.JPG
It’s hardly unusual to hear small-business owners gripe about licensing requirements or complain that heavy-handed regulations are driving them into the red.
So when Multnomah County shut down an enterprise last week for operating without a license, you might just sigh and say, there they go again.
Except this entrepreneur was a 7-year-old named Julie Murphy. Her business was a lemonade stand at the Last Thursday monthly art fair in Northeast Portland. The government regulation she violated? Failing to get a $120 temporary restaurant license.
Turns out that kids’ lemonade stands — those constants of summertime — are supposed to get a permit in Oregon, particularly at big events that happen to be patrolled regularly by county health inspectors.
“I understand the reason behind what they’re doing and it’s a neighborhood event, and they’re trying to generate revenue,” said Jon Kawaguchi, environmental health supervisor for the Multnomah County Health Department. “But we still need to put the public’s health first.”
It was for your good. Doesn’t that make you feel better that the government is looking out for rogue lemonade stands! :)
And in the news story about Riverhead, NY officials using Google Earth to spot unlicensed pools and boy you just gotta thank your lucky stars that the government is there to protect you.
That is, unless you’re in Arizona, then you’re not allowed to do that. :)

Julie had become enamored of the idea of having a stand after watching an episode of cartoon pig Olivia running one, said her mother, Maria Fife. The two live in Oregon City, but Fife knew her daughter would get few customers if she set up her stand at home.

Plus, Fife had just attended Last Thursday along Portland’s Northeast Alberta Street for the first time and loved the friendly feel and the diversity of the grass-roots event. She put the two things together and promised to take her daughter in July.
The girl worked on a sign, coloring in the letters and decorating it with a drawing of a person saying “Yummy.” She made a list of supplies.
Then, with gallons of bottled water and packets of Kool-Aid,  they drove up last Thursday with a friend and her daughter. They loaded a wheelbarrow that Julie steered to the corner of Northeast 26th and Alberta and settled into a space between a painter and a couple who sold handmade bags and kids’ clothing.
Even before her daughter had finished making the first batch of lemonade, a man walked up to buy a 50-cent cup.
“They wanted to support a little 7-year-old to earn a little extra summer loot,” she said. “People know what’s going on.”
Even so, Julie was careful about making the lemonade, cleaning her hands with hand sanitizer, using a scoop for the bagged ice and keeping everything covered when it wasn’t in use, Fife said.
After 20 minutes, a “lady with a clipboard” came over and asked for their license. When Fife explained they didn’t have one, the woman told them they would need to leave or possibly face a $500 fine.
Surprised, Fife started to pack up. The people staffing the booths next to them encouraged the two to stay, telling them the inspectors had no right to kick them out of the neighborhood gathering. They also suggested that they give away the lemonade and accept donations instead and one of them made an announcement to the crowd to support the lemonade stand.
That’s when business really picked up — and two inspectors came back, Fife said. Julie started crying, while her mother packed up and others confronted the inspectors. “It was a very big scene,” Fife said.
Technically, any lemonade stand — even one on your front lawn — must be licensed under state law, said Eric Pippert, the food-borne illness prevention program manager for the state’s public health division. But county inspectors are unlikely to go after kids selling lemonade on their front lawn unless, he conceded, their front lawn happens to be on Alberta Street during Last Thursday.
“When you go to a public event and set up shop, you’re suddenly engaging in commerce,” he said. “The fact that you’re small-scale I don’t think is relevant.”
Kawaguchi, who oversees the two county inspectors involved, said they must be fair and consistent in their monitoring, no matter the age of the person. “Our role is to protect the public,” he said.
From Childhood, obviously! :)

The county’s shutdown of the lemonade stand was publicized by Michael Franklin, the man at the booth next to Fife and her daughter. Franklin contributes to the Bottom Up Radio Network, an online anarchist site, and interviewed Fife for his show.

As for Julie, the 7-year-old still tells her mother “it was a bad day.” When she complains about the health inspector, Fife reminds her that the woman was just doing her job. She also promised to help her try again — at an upcoming neighborhood garage sale.
While Fife said she does see the need for some food safety regulation, she thinks the county went too far in trying to control events as unstructured as Last Thursday.
“As far as Last Thursday is concerned, people know when they are coming there that it’s more or less a free-for-all,” she said. “It’s gotten to the point where they need to be in all of our decisions. They don’t trust us to make good choices on our own.”
No they don’t.
But they can be pressured into sounding like they care, especially when they’ve been embarrassed into it.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A county official in Oregon has apologized after a 7-year-old’s business venture was soured because health inspectors shut down her lemonade stand.
Multnomah County Chairman Jeff Cogen, the county’s top elected official, said Thursday that running a lemonade stand is a “classic iconic American kid thing to do.”
He says he called Julie Murphy’s mother, Maria Fife, to offer his apology and says she appreciated it.
Fife helped her daughter set up a lemonade stand last week at a local arts fair in northeast Portland. They had to pack up and leave after being approached by two inspectors who said the stand lacked a license.
Cogen says while the inspectors were doing their job, the rules are meant for professional food service operators. He adds he ran lemonade stands as a child.
Cogen said the inspectors were “following the rule book,” but should consider that food-safety laws are aimed at adults engaged in a professional food business, not kids running lemonade stands.
But if someone does it again, what do you want the “fair” inspectors will be back. :)
And just what does it say about the mindset that would even go there on a lemonade stand to begin with?
How about this comment on the story: So the moral of this is that if you take your little darling to another location in the city away from your home and have them sell food or drinks from a stand, the health inspectors should do nothing to insure the food or beverage is safe. Great. Why even bother having health inspectors? This is a bad precedent to set. The inspectors did nothing wrong.
The government must be ever-present to save you from yourself!
Personal Responsibility is the Government’s job after all! :)
And if they can’t be there every minute of every day to protect you from yourself, anarachy will rain down upon us all!
Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, “biblical”?
Dr Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Exactly.
Dr Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes…
Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!
Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!
So what happens with us adults when we want to do something the “rules” says we can’t do or we want the government to live up to it’s own rules that it’s ignoring? Or if we want the rules changed?
Like object to Health Care Mandate for instance? Or Illegal Immigration?
Hmmm… :)