No Runny Eggs

The repository of one hard-boiled egg from the south suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (and the occassional guest-blogger). The ramblings within may or may not offend, shock and awe you, but they are what I (or my guest-bloggers) think.

Archive for December, 2009

December 18, 2009

Is this what Obama and Feingold wanted?

by @ 12:44. Filed under Law and order, Politics - National.

(H/T – Ed Morrissey)

Back when the United States Senate was debating a “born-alive” protection act, then-Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) asked Russ Feingold (Moonbat-WI) what should happen if a baby happened to be born alive during an abortion procedure. Feingold’s answer of leaving it up to the woman and the doctor proved to be so repugnant that Feingold had the Senate record scrubbed of the answer.

Meanwhile, when he was in the Illinois State Senate, President Barack Obama voted against a “born-alive” protection act no less than three times, and went on to infamously say on the Presidential campaign trail, “But if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”

Fast-forward to Rustburg, Virginia, where WSLS-TV is reporting that one fucked-up repugnant piece of repugnant shit bitch of a “mother” who smothered her newborn won’t be charged with anything because the baby was still attached to the mother. I’ll let Investigator Terry Emerson explain the state of the law in Virginia:

In the state of Virginia as long as the umbilical cord is attached and the placenta is still in the mother, if the baby comes out alive the mother can do whatever she wants to with that baby to kill it. She could shoot the baby, stab the baby. As long as it’s still attached to her in some form by umbilical cord or something it’s no crime in the state of Virginia.

Before you think that this is the first case of its type in Virginia, guess again. The WSLS story goes on:

The Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office worked unsuccessfully to get the law changed after another baby died in the county in a similar case. Emerson says they asked two delegates and one state senator to take the issue up in the General Assembly. He says the three lawmakers refused because they felt the issue was too close to the abortion issue.

What. The. FUCK?!?!?!

And The Winner Is….

by @ 5:08. Filed under Politics - Minnesota, Politics - National.

At the end of each sport’s season, the end of each school class, the end of the film season, the end of each pageant, awards are given for various achievements.  Some of the awards are for “the best….”  These awards are often based on objective criteria.  Other awards are for “most….”  These awards are typically more subjective i.e. most liked, most likely too etc.

As the year comes to an end it seems appropriate to offer the DC legislative awards. 

You are entering at the end of the awards show with only one award yet to be given; the award for the Senator most likely to feud.

Al Franken, the junior senator from Minnesota, had barely made it out of the swearing in ceremony when he had his first, publicized, anger management issue.  Not even a month after entering office, Franken was noted dressing down T. Boone Pickens at the end of a lunch.  According to reports, T. Boone stepped to Franken to introduce himself whereupon Franken started a tirad over the issue of Mr. Pickens’ financial support of the swift boat ads against John Kerry.  What makes this incident most ironic is that T. Boone Pickens is a big support of wind farms and other alternative energy which is a pet project of Franken’s.

Franken stayed mostly out of the limelight for the next several months.  Actually, he nearly didn’t make it as a nominee in this category except that he’s had a stellar December!

In the first couple of days of December, Franken had a senate floor exchangewith Senator Bob Corker.  The issue was over articles and stories that ran and claimed that Republicans had voted against an anti rape law that Franken championed.  Franken claimed he had nothing to do with the articles but also did nothing to stop them or correct the record.  When Corker and Lamar Alexandar wrote an op-ed explaining their side of the vote, Franken verbally attacked corker on the Senate floor.

Less than two weeks later, Franken was involved with his next Senate feud.  This time the recipient of his anger was Senator John Thune.  During the Placebocare debate, Thune showed a graph that represented how the taxes started immediately while any real benefit of the plan didn’t start for several years.  Franken became indignant over Thune’s representation and, in his best representation of the childish Stewart Smalley, refused to answer Thune’s question or yield time to Thune.

Not to rest on his laurels, Franken got one more performance in before votes were tabulated this evening.  Today, as he was offering comments during the Placebocare debate, Senator Joe Lieberman was cut off by Franken without being able to finish his remarks.  The Senate has a long standing practice that allows Senators to complete their comments by the granting of an extra minute or two by the person currently presiding over the senate.  Franken was that person today.  When Lieberman’s time was up, Franken abruptly cut him off and refuse to give Lieberman the nearly always automatic extra minute or two.

With all the enormous egos in the Senate, one would think that Franken’s brand of boorish behavior would be fairly commonplace.  In fact, Senate members are hard pressed to remember a senator who was as abrasive, rude and intentionally vindictive as Franken. 

It’s really no contest.  Al Franken is this year’s unanimous pick for senator most likely to pick a feud!

You just stay classy Al, so all us Minnesotans can continue to be embarrassed for you!

December 16, 2009

Cartoon of the day

by @ 22:19. Filed under Health Care Reform.

Sarjex, the semi-official cartoonist of Hot Air, captured the struggle to keep PlaceboCare from becoming law…

Go back Demon Placebo, back from whence you came. Leave the good people of America alone.

Milblog silence – supporting CJ Grisham

by @ 12:36. Filed under The Blog.

Several of the milblogs I read, from Blackfive to CDR Salamander, to This Ain’t Hell to Confederate Yankee to Argghhh! to Neptunus Lex to Uncle Jimbo, have gone into radio silence to protest the treatment of milbloggers in the military, and especially C.J. Grisham of A Soldier’s Perspective. As DrewM said, even though I’m not familiar with Master Sgt. Grisham’s blog, the fact so many who I trust have decided to back him speaks volumes. I’ll use John’s version:

15 DECEMBER 2009

MILBLOGS GO SILENT FOR FELLOW BLOGGER

Milblogs Go Silent

On Wednesday 16 December 2009, many milblogs – including This Ain’t Hell, From My Position, Blackfive, Miss Ladybug, Boston Maggie, Grim’s Hall, Bouhammer, and those participating in the Wednesday Hero program – are going silent for the day.  Some are choosing to go silent for a longer period of time.

The reason for this is two-fold.  First, milblogs are facing an increasingly hostile environment from within the military.  While senior leadership has embraced blogging and social media, many field grade officers and senior NCOs do not embrace the concept.  From general apathy in not wanting to deal with the issue to outright hostility to it, many commands are not only failing to support such activities, but are aggressively acting against active duty milbloggers, milspouses, and others.  The number of such incidents appears to be growing, with milbloggers receiving reprimands, verbal and written, not only for their activities but those of spouses and supporters.

The catalyst has been the treatment of milblogger C.J. Grisham of A Soldier’s Perspective (http://www.soldiersperspective.us/).  C.J. has earned accolades and respect, from the White House on down for his honest, and sometimes blunt, discussion of issues – particularly PTSD.  In the last few months, C.J. has seen an issue with a local school taken to his command who failed to back him, and has even seen his effort to deal with PTSD, and lead his men in same by example, used against him as a part of this.  Ultimately, C.J. has had to sell his blog to help raise funds for his defense in this matter.

An excellent story on the situation with C.J. can be found at Military Times by clicking here.

While there have been new developments, the core problem remains, and C.J. is having to raise funds to cover legal expenses to protect both his good name and his career.

One need only look at the number of blogs by active duty military in combat zones and compare it to just a few years ago to see the chilling effect that is taking place.

Milblogs have been a vital link in getting accurate news and information about the military, and military operations, to the public.  They have provided vital context and analysis on issues critical to operations and to the informed electorate critical to the Republic.

On Wednesday 16 December, readers will have the chance to imagine a world without milblogs, and to do something about it.  Those participating are urging their readers to contact their elected representatives in Congress, and to let their opinions be known to them and to other leaders in Washington.

Some milblogs will remain silent for several days; some just for the day.  All have agreed to keep the post about the silence and C.J. at the top of their blogs until Friday 18 December.

The issues go beyond C.J., and deserve careful consideration and discussion.  We hope that you will cover this event, and explore the issues that lie at the heart of the matter.  Contact the milbloggers in your area or that you know, and hear the story that lies within….

You can donate to CJ’s Legal Fund by logging into PayPal, go to the send money page, and put in his email: dj_chcknhawk (AT) yahoo (DOT) com; or, you can send donations directly to:

Grisham Legal Fund
c/o Redstone Federal Credit Union
220 Wynn Drive
Huntsville, AL 35893

Please write “Grisham Legal Fund” in the memo line if you use this option.

Milblogs have been a vital link in getting accurate news and information about the military, and military operations, to you. Today, many milblogs are gone and others are under attack from within and without. Today, you have the chance to imagine a world without milblogs, and to do something about it. Make your voice heard by writing your congressional representatives and others, and by making donations as you see fit.

The battle for freedom of speech and the marketplace of ideas is fought on many fronts and in many ways. Without your help, the battle may well be lost.

Eggs on the road – pre-Christmas edition

by @ 11:14. Filed under Miscellaneous.

There’s so many events tomorrow, and so little time. I’ll start tomorrow evening’s festivities at Leah Vukmir’s Christmas Party over at Alioto’s (3041 N Mayfair in Milwaukee) at 5:30 pm tomorrow. I had originally hoped to make it to the Racine County GOP’s Pints and Politics Christmas Party over at Spokes Restaurant (14001 Washington Ave in Yorkville, just west of I-94) at 6:30, but I’ve got an invite to an informal AFP bloggers’ get-together over at Mama’s Italian Cuisine (7718 W Burleigh St in Milwaukee, and yes, it’s right next to Papa’s Social Club) at 7:30.

And here come the Iranian missiles

by @ 10:08. Filed under War.

(H/T – Ed Morrissey, who erroneously gave me full credit for correcting a typographical error in the post)

Yesterday, I ran with the news that the next ICBM-interception test from the Missile Defense Agency will simulate an Iranian launch on the continental US. Today, John McKittrick, who works in the industry, reports on and dissects Iranian claims of a successful test-fire of a two-stage solid-fuel missile, the Sajjil-2, with a range of about 1,200 miles.

A few points, culled from both McKittrick’s own analysis and those of others he links to (assuming, of course, that the Iranians are 100% truthful; they have been known to exaggerate rocketry claims in the past):

  • Switching to an all-solid-fuel rocket (the previous long-range rockets had been at least partially-liquid-fuelled) allows Iran to fuel and store a rocket for a much longer time. Liquid-fuel rockets tend to need to be fuelled shortly before launch and need fixed sites, while solid-fuel rockets can be made road-mobile (think about the Sovi…er, Russian SS-25. In fact, the video of the launch over at Closing Velocity appears to show it taking place from a Transporter-Erector-Launcher unit.
  • The speed of that missile is reportedly faster than that of previous Iranian missiles. While it doesn’t make it invulnerable to radar like the Iranian Defense Minister claims, it makes it harder to intercept.
  • It takes relatively-little tweaking to extend the range of that missile, especially with the effort the Mad Mullahs are ordering put into the program.
  • While making a 2-stage solid-fuel intermediate-range missile work is not a guarantee of making a 3-stage ICBM work, it is a shorter leap to go from 2 stages o 3 than it is to go from 1 stage to 2.

Revisions/extensions (10:40 am 12/16/2009) – It is telling that House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-OH) has a reaction before either the White House or the State Department:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) today issued the following statement after Iran’s successful test-firing of an improved, long-range ballistic missile capable of striking Israel and U.S. assets across the Gulf region. The test came after The Times of London this week revealed evidence that Tehran had been working on a trigger for a nuclear weapon.

“Coming on the heels of revelations that Iran is working to weaponize its nuclear program, this missile test raises the specter of danger to U.S. national security interests. The clock has been moved forward and the world’s largest state-sponsor of terrorism now is closer to having a deliverable nuclear weapon. Should that day come, global stability and efforts to combat nuclear proliferation will be permanently compromised.”

“The United States must not fall silent in the face of Iranian aggression and provocation, and we must lead the international community to impose sweeping sanctions against the Iranian economy until Iran changes course. On Tuesday Congress authorized the administration to sanction any international companies or individuals who sell or ship gasoline to Iran. We encourage the President to follow through on this authority immediately, and to unite the international community to implement a strong new round of sanctions against Iran.”

First Climategate, Now Placebocaregate?

by @ 10:01. Filed under Health Care Reform, Politics - National.

You’ve all heard about climategate.  A few emails get leaked and the entire basis for global warming comes to a scientific crash because the data had all been rigged to produce the results that those who controlled the data wanted.

I’ve been puzzled for some time as to how Placebocare could be anywhere near deficit neutral even after taking into account that revenues start well before benefits and CBO reported increases in insurance costs, particularly for younger people.  Previously, I had shared studies done by various health industry groups that showed dramatic increases in insurance costs under any of the iterations of Placebocare.  It always appeared to me that the CBO’s numbers weren’t reconciling with what the industry was saying, even at a macro level.  I had always thought the answer lied in me not being smart enough to see the differences in how things were analyzed.  However, with some new information I now believe that I couldn’t see why because the “why” wasn’t there.

Cato institute has uncovered what could do to Placebocare, what the leaked emails did to global warming.  Just read this post and see if you don’t agree:

What Bill Is This?

by @ 9:18. Filed under Health Care Reform, Politics - National.

I actually saw my headline on a post over at Politico.  It struck a chord with me.  With all of the Christmas Carols that were being rewritten for Tiger Woods i.e. “I’m dreaming of a white mistress,” I hadn’t heard any that had been written for Placebocare.  I decided to rectify that oversight.

Without further ado, my contribution, perhaps the start, of Christmas Carols about Placebocare:

Sung to the tune of “What Child is This?”

What Bill Is This? 

What bill is this, that sits at rest
On Harry’s desk while debating?
Who Joe and Ben would love to pass
But can’t find the terms that ally them!

Chorus:
This, this is Obamacare,
Whom liberals ward and others scorn:
Haste, haste to pass it now,
What gets us a sixtieth Senator?

 
We tried a takeover, tried control
The peasant people are rioting
We tried to obfuscate, tried to hide
The impact on lives we were planning

Chorus:
This, this is Obamacare,
Whom liberals ward and others scorn:
Haste, haste to pass it now,
What gets us a sixtieth Senator?

 

Tried buying votes, with earmarks and threats
But nothing seems to corral them
When one steps in one more disagrees
I can’t find a plan that calms all of them

Chorus:
This, this is Obamacare,
Whom liberals ward and others scorn:
Haste, haste to pass it now,
What gets us a sixtieth Senator?

 

So bring me Snowe and Jim and Joe
A place in history taunts me
All’s up for grabs don’t let me down
A cloture vote’s near don’t torment me!

Chorus:
This, this is Obamacare,
Whom liberals ward and others scorn:
Haste, haste to pass it now,
What gets us a sixtieth Senator?

It was suggested that if I ever recorded this, it should be done with a choir of children and at the end they should add:

“mmm mmm mmm Barack Hussein Obama.”

Revisions/extensions (10:28 am 12/16/2009, steveegg) – For those of you who don’t know the tune, I’ll take a page from Doug from Upland and provide one for you. Just don’t ask me to try to sing it; your pets and ears would not survive.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4WnzcrUci0[/youtube]

Time to retire Obey

by @ 8:16. Filed under Politics - National, Politics - Wisconsin.

Sean Duffy is doing what they said can’t be done – working on retiring ossified liberal Democrat Rep. David Obey (D-WI). As part of that, and in the spirit of the first Tea Party 236 years ago today, he has launched the Strike a Blow for Freedom money bomb.

Make it happen, now and in November 2010.

Roll bloat – Time to open fire

by @ 7:31. Filed under The Blog.

Uncle Jimbo has opened up his own shop (again) over at In the Crosshairs. He has more ways to kill you than you can imagine, so don’t make him angry – put him on your feed reader today.

Questions for Tom Barrett

by @ 7:18. Filed under Education, Politics - Wisconsin.

(H/T – Charlie Sykes, who called it his Wednesday Hot Read a day early)

Rep. Brett Davis (R-Oregon), ranking member on the Assembly Education Committee, sent the following letter to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett regarding the proposal before the Legislature to have the mayor take over Milwaukee Public Schools (letter courtesy WisPolitics):

Dear Mayor Barrett:

As the former chair and current ranking Republican on the Assembly Education Committee, I am alarmed at the current state of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). With 65% of eighth grade math students scoring below basic levels, it is clear that drastic changes must take place.

However, before taking a vote on such an important issue that will affect thousands of families in MPS, I need to gather more information to alleviate some of my concerns. Rather than blindly handing complete control of the system over to you without any specific details, I am requesting that you share your vision of how to improve MPS. It is imperative that the status quo is not allowed to continue for the future of Milwaukee students and taxpayers.

Specifically, I would like information from you, including:

Your plans to address the unfunded pension liability issues that were raised in the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute report this week.

The specific labor contract changes you believe are necessary to ensure long term fiscal stability for the school district.

How you will address failing schools.

Your plans to address the abysmal MPS academic performance highlighted in the recent Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) report from the Institute of Educational Sciences.

The tools you are willing to use to hold schools and teachers accountable for their performance in educating the children entrusted to them.

You are welcome to come to our Republican caucus to address these specific issues. Should you have any questions regarding my request, please contact me at 608-266-1192. I look forward to learning your specific ideas on reforming MPS and increasing student achievement.

Sincerely,

Brett Davis
State Representative
80th District

Given the only semi-successful mayoral takeovers of public schools in recent memory happened in New York City and Washington, DC, and both school districts still lag so far behind the private schools that in DC, Marion Berry (yes, THAT Marion Berry) is a school-choice advocate, those are just starting points for the questioning of the effectiveness of taking MPS away from the school board.

Do note I’m not saying that the MPS board, and indeed the entire culture of MPS, doesn’t need to be replaced wholesale; indeed, that needs to be done post-haste. My concern is that one failed leadership regime will be replaced by another like regime.

December 15, 2009

The fisk of the day

by @ 20:45. Filed under Miscellaneous.

Robert Stacy McCain shows how a fisk is done by pounding overhead smash after overhead smash on the carcass formerly known as the head lizard:

Actually, it had sort of been brewing in my subconscious for a long, long time. . . .
(Ever since he went off his meds.)
Something just triggered it off, I don’t know what it was. . . .
(He ran out of commenters to ban.)
I actually fought against being classified as a right-wing blog for a long time. . . .
(He also fought being classified as a textbook case of borderline personality disorder, with less success.)

Memo to self – always try to stay on Stacy’s good side. It’s actually pretty easy to do if one is not an asshat.

PlaceboCare mini update – 12/15/2009

by @ 18:28. Filed under Health Care Reform, Politics - National.

I’m not sticking around for all the votes of the amendments, but there’s a few items to touch on (mostly courtesy my friends at The Weekly Standard:

  • Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) went back to his roots and said that dumping the Medicare-expansion option was good enough for him.
  • Michael Goldfarb reports that the White House has threatened Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) with closure of Offutt Air Force Base (home to the United States Strategic Command, which handles all military things WMD, space, and command-and-control related) if he didn’t jump on board.
  • Mary Katharine Ham broke out some classic movie cliff scenes in response to a quote from President Obama saying that the ‘Rats were on the precipice of an “achievement”. I’m partial to the use of the “Themla and Louise” one, as it was entirely self-inflicted just like PlaceboCare.
  • The Senate Doctors, Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) and John Barrasso, M.D. (R-WY) hammered home the pratfalls of going to that precipice, especially going there alone…
    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfr1SLC2sUM[/youtube]

Tuesday Hot Read – Mary Katharine Ham’s “Women and the GOP”

by @ 16:53. Filed under Politics - National.

When I make comments on Twitter about the need for Fox News to give Mary Katharine Ham her own show, it’s pieces like this one from the current edition of The Weekly Standard that form the main body of exhibits:

The storyline relies on a misunderstanding of Scozzafava, willful ignorance of the recent behavior of women voters, and denial of the GOP’s 2010 candidate field.

Scozzafava’s ouster had little to do with her sex and a lot to do with the fact that she was a “moderate” Republican only if you believe “moderates” are endorsed by Markos Zuniga of Daily Kos, support card-check and the stimulus, work closely with ACORN-entangled liberal advocacy groups, and are funded primarily by Planned Parenthood and the Service Employees International Union.

Scozzafava is far from the model for reasonable, moderate Republican women. She’s the kind of woman who calls the cops on a reporter for asking her policy questions. But she’s the woman liberals wish represented Republicans–because she’s a liberal herself, which is why she became an improbable fetish of the Fourth Estate.

If the media had cared to look beyond the fluky, three-way race in NY-23 for national implications, they could have considered women voters in battleground Virginia.

I could have just as easily taken the analysis of the voting patterns in Virginia, or the lineup of women in and running for prominent offices, or her calling out Carly Fiorina’s playing of the gender card in California’s Republican Senate race against her primary opponent Chuck Devore, but I don’t want to steal her entire work.

Here we grow again

by @ 15:12. Filed under The Blog.

Once again, Shoebox has come through with a high-quality guest-blogger who goes by the nom de blog Birdman. In addition to the brief bio he sent Shoebox, I’ll add that he has a lot of experience in Twin City-area politics. I’ll let his bio do the talking:

Born in ’61.
Happily married to my first wife.
Two children.
Sexual preference: A lot.

Believe truth is absolute, and that pursuit of truth is a life-long
enterprise.

You can learn all you need to know about the current political trends in
America by reading “The Road to Serfdom” by F.A. Hayek.

Favorite writers: George Will and Robert Bork.

Favorite movies: A Few Good Men and Oh God!

Roll change – back from the grave

by @ 13:30. Filed under The Blog.

I should’ve done this a couple months ago, but better late than never (I blame that overstuffed reader). Dean has reopened Musings of a Thoughtful Conservative.

More evidence Iran’s nuclear program is explosive, US to test missile defense on an Iranian attack scenario

by @ 11:49. Filed under War.

(H/T – Drudge)

The Jerusalem Post reports some rather disturbing items regarding the Mad Mullahs’ “peaceful” nuclear program:

  • In recent days, diplomats have been worried that Iran has been testing neutron initiators. As the Post puts it, “A neutron initiator begins the implosion that ends with a nuclear blast, and as a component of the nuclear cycle has no use in civilian or military programs unless in the production of atomic bombs.”
  • On Monday, The Times (of London) reported that an Asian intelligence agency found said neutron initiator work had been going on between 2003 and 2007, during which Iran claimed that its program was “peaceful”.
  • Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly, head of the Missile Defense Agency, said that for the first time, the agency would test a scenario based on an Iranian ICBM launch on the continental US.

Two quick reactions:

  • I agree with Mark Fitzpatrick, senior fellow for non-proliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, who said, “If Iran is working on weapons, it means there is no diplomatic solution…. Is this the smoking gun? That’s the question people should be asking. It looks like the smoking gun. This is smoking uranium.”
  • One of the reasons the original Eastern European missile defense plans were the way they were was to intercept Iranian ICBMs inbound to CONUS. I’m sure John McKittrick could correct me if my impressions of the various BMD programs are wrong, but an SM-3-based system will not deal with that particular threat no matter where in or around Eastern Europe it is based.

The ball’s been dropped for too long, and I have absolutely no confidence that Obama will pull the trigger on any action against Iran.

Revisions/extensions (6:05 pm 12/15/2009) – John McKittrick pretty much confirmed my suspicions in a longer piece devoted to the BMD test, and noted the (ex-Army) THAAD also doesn’t handle ICBMs mid-flight.

He also gave the key difference between the January test and the previous ICBM BMD tests – unlike the side-on approach with the target launched from Alaska down the West Coast (to simulate a North Korean launch on CONUS), the target’s coming pretty much straight at Vandenberg from the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll. That’s a few extra thousand miles per hour in closing velocity.

NFC playoff picture – After Week 14

by @ 10:49. Filed under Sports.

If it’s December, it’s time to take a look at who’s where in the playoff picture. Everybody has 3 games left, and to be in the wild-card picture, a team has to be able to finish at least 8-8 and finish no worse than 6-6 in the conference (the worst that the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals can do) to make it through the tiebreakers. The St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins can’t make it to 8-8, while the Chicago Bears can’t finish better than 5-7 in the conference. That leaves 11 teams for 6 spots, with 2 already claimed.

In the playoffs

New Orleans Saints (13-0, 9-0 NFC, 1st in the NFC South) – The Saints, who have already claimed the NFC South crown and a first-round bye, are in the driver’s seat. However, unlike the also-undefeated Indianapolis Colts, they do not yet have home-field advantage locked up. In fact, if they and the Minnesota Vikings tie, the Vikings would win the tiebreaker based on a better conference record. The magic number for home-field advantage through the playoffs is 1.5 (any combination of Saints wins or Vikings losses, with a tie counting as a half). Given the schedule of the Dallas Cowboys (8-5) on Thursday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-12) on 12/27 and the Carolina Panthers (5-8) on the road on 1/3, it is at least even money the Saints will finish 16-0.

Minnesota Vikings (11-2, 8-1 NFC, 1st in the NFC North) – The Vikings have not yet locked up the NFC North crown, but they do have at least a wild-card berth locked up. They can win the NFC North with a win or a Green Bay Packers loss (or two ties between the two teams) as they swept the Packers. Assuming they win the NFC North, and they and the Arizona Cardinals (who beat the Vikings) do not both finish 11-5, their magic number to lock up a first-round bye is 1.5 (any combination of Vikings wins or Philadelphia Eagles losses, with a tie counting as half). They have the Carolina Panthers (5-8) on the road Sunday, the Chicago Bears (5-8) on the road 12/28 (so much for ESPN’s hope that game would mean anything), and the New York Giants (7-6) at home on 1/3.

In the driver’s seat

Philadelphia Eagles (9-4, 8-2 NFC, 1st in the NFC East) – The Eagles already swept the New York Giants, beat the Atlanta Falcons, and would hold any tiebreakers involving the Minnesota Vikings (conference record) and/or the Arizona Cardinals (common opponents). They can get two more head-to-head tiebreakers and the three-way East tiebreaker with games against the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys. A win against the Niners (6-7) at home on Sunday (or a tie by either team in any remaining game and a tie/loss by the Giants, or one win in their other two games) gets them into the playoffs. If necessary, a win at the Cowboys (8-5) on 1/3 gets them the division crown based on winning either the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Cowboys (division record) or a three-way against the Cowboys and the Giants (games against each other). Beyond that, the magic number for the division is 2.5 versus the Cowboys and 0.5 versus the Giants. Sandwiched between the two games with possible playoff implications is a game against the Denver Broncos (8-5) on 12/27.

Arizona Cardinals (8-5, 6-3 NFC, 1st in the NFC West) – They blew a chance to clinch the NFC West last night by getting swept by the San Francisco 49ers. However, they did beat the Minnesota Vikings, so they do have a theoretical shot at a first-round bye (it requires a two-way tie; the Cardinals would lose in a 3-way tie with the Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles). Their magic number to clinch the NFC West is 1.5 (any combination of Cardinals wins or Niners losses, with ties counting for half), as they swept the Seattle Seahawks, though a three-way tie would give the NFC West to the Niners based on games against each other. On the wild-card end of things should they degenerate to that point, their magic number is 3 against the Dallas Cowboys, 2 against the Atlanta Falcons, and 1 against the Carolina Panthers. They also hold head-to-head tiebreakers over the New York Giants (by win) and Cowboys (common opponents), and have to play the Green Bay Packers (9-4) on 1/3, but lose head-to-head tiebreakers to the Eagles (common opponents) and the Panthers (by loss). They also would have the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Falcons (6-7) via conference record unless they both finish 8-8 and the Falcons win their remaining conference game; in that case, the Falcons would take it based on the record against common opponents. Their other games are at Detroit (2-11) Sunday and against St. Louis (1-12) 12/27.

Green Bay Packers (9-4, 7-3 NFC, 2nd NFC North, 1st wild-card) – The Packers still have a theoretical chance to take the NFC North crown, but since they got swept by the Minnesota Vikings, it would take a total collapse (outlined above). They hold head-to-head tiebreakers against the Dallas Cowboys (by win), San Francisco 49ers (by win) and Atlanta Falcons (conference record), and have to play the Arizona Cardinals (8-5) 1/3, but lose the head-to-head tiebreaker to the New York Giants (common opponents). Their magic number is 1 over both the Cowboys and Giants. Their other games are at the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-7) Sunday and against the Seattle Seahawks (5-8) 12/27.

Scrambling to get in

Dallas Cowboys (8-5, 6-3 NFC, 2nd NFC East, 2nd wild-card) – The formula is deceptively-simple – win out and they’re in as NFC East champs by virtue of sweeping the Philadelphia Eagles (9-4). Unfortunately, not only do they have a horrid December record over the last several years, they also don’t have the tiebreaker against the Packers (lost to them) or the Giants (got swept by them). They did, however, beat the Eagles once (they play in Dallas on 1/3), the Falcons, the Panthers and the Seahawks, and hold the tiebreaker over the Niners (common opponents). Besides the Eagles to close the season, they get the New Orleans Saints (13-0) on the road Sunday and the Washington Redskins (4-9) on the road 12/27.

New York Giants (7-6, 5-4 NFC, 3rd NFC East, 3rd wild-card) – Their chances took a body blow when they got swept by the Philadelphia Eagles, but things could get very interesting in a 3-way tie in the NFC East. Outside of that, they do hold head-to-head tiebreakers over the Green Bay Packers (common opponents), Dallas Cowboys (swept them), Atlanta Falcons (beat them), and Seattle Seahawks (common opponents), have to play the Panthers (5-8) at home 12/27, and would lose the tiebreaker to the Arizona Cardinals (lost to them). Sandwiching the Panthers game are trips to the Washington Redskins (4-9) Monday night and the Minnesota Vikings (11-2) 1/3.

On life support

San Francisco 49ers (6-7, 5-4 NFC, 2nd NFC West, 4th wild-card) – They do hold all the tiebreakers against their NFC West foes (swept the Arizona Cardinals, have a better division record than the Seattle Seahawks, and have the best record against each other). They also would have the tiebreaker against the Dallas Cowboys (conference record), and have to play at the Philadelphia Eagles (9-4) Sunday, but would lose the tiebreaker to the Green Bay Packers (lost to them), Atlanta Falcons (lost to them) and Carolina Panthers (conference record). After Sunday’s game, they get Detroit (2-11) at home 12/27 and St. Louis (1-12) on the road 1/3.

Atlanta Falcons (6-7, 5-6 NFC, 2nd NFC South, 5th wild-card) – Atlanta holds only the head-to-head tiebreaker against the San Francisco 49ers outright by virtue of beating them, while they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, and would lose the tiebreaker to the Carolina Panthers (split, but the Panthers would have a better record against common opponents). Also, there is one and only scenario where they would have the tiebreaker over the Arizona Cardinals – they both finish 8-8 and the Falcons win their remaining conference game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-12) 1/3. Before then, they play the New York Jets (7-6) on the road Sunday and the Buffalo Bills (5-8) at home 12/27.

Being fitted for a toe-tag

Carolina Panthers (5-8, 5-4 NFC, 3rd NFC South, 6th wild-card) – First, they have to beat the Minnesota Vikings (11-2) on Sunday, the New York Giants (7-6) on the road 12/27 and the New Orleans Saints (13-0) on 1/3. Next, they must have the Giants (who they would have beaten), Atlanta Falcons (6-7, with whom they split), Dallas Cowboys (8-5, who beat them) and San Francisco 49ers (6-7) end up with at least 8 losses, with the Niners and/or the Giants (and/or the Arizona Cardinals if the Niners go 8-8 to win the NFC West) ending up at 8-8 along with them and the Cowboys. If that happens, no matter what the combination is, the Panthers would be in the playoffs.

Seattle Seahawks (5-8, 4-6 NFC, 3rd NFC West, 7th wild-card) – The good news is getting to 8-8 is easier for the Seahawks, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-12) on Sunday, the Green Bay Packers (9-4) on the road 12/27, and the Tennessee Titans (6-7) on 1/3. The bad news is they do not win any division tiebreakers nor any head-to-head tiebreakers with teams that can finish 8-8. The only possible way for them to make the playoffs is if neither the Carolina Panthers (5-8) nor the San Francisco 49ers (6-7) get 8 wins, if the Dallas Cowboys (8-5), New York Giants (7-6) and Atlanta Falcons (6-7) finish 8-8, AND the Falcons win their remaining conference game to create a 3-way conference record tie between the Falcons, Giants and Seahawks, AND THEN it depends on strength of victory (which doesn’t look good for the Seahawks, seeing three of their victims have a grand total of three wins).

Fool Me Once….

by @ 5:50. Filed under Health Care Reform, Politics - Minnesota.

I’ve recorded for you the, at best, hypocrisy or, at worst, out right lying of Christan Romer. 

Ms. Romer has been an economist for a number of years.  Ms. Romer was selected by President Obama to be chair of the Economic Council of Advisers.  In this later capacity, Ms. Romer was one of the co authors of that fondly remembered document that promised that if we spent a bunch of money on a stimulus package, the unemployment rate would not move above 8%.  If you need a reminder, re look at this document.

Ms. Romer is also the person who as I pointed out here, argued on behalf of the administration, that stimulus spending would have a greater effect on the economy than tax cuts.  Of course, as I pointed out in the same post, Ms. Romer’s own published research showed just the opposite was the truth!

Yesterday, Ms. Romer pontificated on the cost saving efficacy of Placebocare.  As reported at Politico.com, Ms. Romer held a conference call that claimed:

health insurance reform legislation will lower health care spending in both the public and private sectors, reduce premiums, increase wages and provide substantial benefits to the economy. From a CEA report out today: “Reform will slow the growth rate of public sector health care spending and reduce the federal budget deficit over the long run: CEA estimates that by 2019, total Federal spending on the Medicare and Medicaid programs will be lower than it would have been absent reform. … CEA estimates that reform is also likely to reduce private-sector health care cost growth by approximately 1 percentage point per year.”  (CEA = Council of Economic Advisers)

So, we have Ms. Romer and the Council of Economic Advisers, who were wrong about unemployment and wrong about the effectiveness of the stimulus, now telling us that they have the benefits of Placebocare all figured out.  Not only that but they tell us not to believe the CBO.  They tell us that not only will Placebocare reduce the deficit but it will actually substantially bend the curve on health care cost increases!

What?  You’re having trouble believing that?  Just trust them, they’re economists!

Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me!

Amen!

by @ 5:19. Filed under Defending the American Dream, Miscellaneous.

I can’t figure out how to make the video link work so, just go and watch. No additional comments are necessary!

Amen!

Revisions/extensions (10:53 am 12/15/2009, steveegg) – Let’s see if the semi-hidden embed code works…

December 12, 2009

Now, That’s An Apology

by @ 11:05. Filed under Miscellaneous.

I’ve remained silent (at least here) throughout the 3+ weeks of the Tiger Woods saga.  It’s not because it didn’t interest me, it did.  Not in the “did you hear he’s started the back nine” kind of way but, in the “gee, with the image that he has and the size of the scandal, will Tiger be “Tiger” after all this is done?”  It’s to that second point that I want to make my comments.

Tiger Woods announced today, that he will be leaving golf for an “indefinite” time.  His statement said that he wanted to work on repairing his marriage and

being a better husband, father, and person. 

I watch Tiger Woods play every chance I can.  I fully appreciate and marvel at the skill he has to consistently make the shots and play at the level he does.  One of the things that has fascinated me about Woods is his ability to mentally block all other things out of his thought or focus, except for the next shot.  While many golfers let a bad shot on an early hole destroy their round (hello Phil Mickelson), Tiger is able to set that bad shot aside so that it is only “that shot” and does not impact any of the remaining shots in the round.  He’s able to do the same thing with a bad lie.  How many times has Tiger hit “that amazing shot?”  Along with his skill, he hits them because of his ability to eliminate all other considerations (oh, maybe I should have used a longer iron) and focus on the successful delivery of the shot he has decided on.   If I had to describe Tiger’s unique mental ability I’d say he is able to “compartmentalize” his strokes.

I’ve had several conversations with male friends regarding Tiger.  In every conversation we eventually get to the point of discussing “What kind of a conscience do you have to serially cheat when you have a wife and two small children?”  I’ve heard numerous reasons that I’m sure most of you have heard; “he has no conscience,” “his marriage is a sham,” “his ego,” “he’s famous,” etc.  I’ve got a different theory; Tiger is able to compartmentalize.

We’re told that a person’s greatest strength is also their greatest weakness.  I believe this is especially true for Tiger.  While Tiger’s ability to compartmentalize his strokes gives him the gift of being the world’s greatest golfer, the same ability to compartmentalize is what I believe has done Tiger in in his personal life.  I believe that while all of the other factors people offer play a role in Tiger’s failing, it is his ability to separate his rational thinking about his wife from that of the other women he has been with.  His ability to compartmentalize is also how he is able to keep the guilt he feels (I have no doubt he has some) separated and controlled so that it doesn’t overtake him and keep him from cheating again.  It’s this point in my theory that brings me to a cross roads of deciding whether Tiger will ever be “Tiger” again.

For Tiger to succeed at his marriage, he will have to learn how to uncompartmentalize his relationships.  If he doesn’t, he will never develop the emotional tie with his wife that will cause him to give up philandering.  If he does that, does that also mean that he will lose the ability to compartmentalize other issues?  Will he still be able to separate himself mentally from a bad shot or maintain focus on a chosen shot and not allow other options to cloud his ability to execute his chosen shot?

While I don’t like this answer, I don’t think it will be possible for Tiger to save his marriage and maintain the skill level he has had in golf.  If he is successful with his marriage and returns to golf, I believe the golf world will refer to Tiger as “remember when?”  However, if he maintains his golf skill, I’m afraid that means he will not uncompartmentalize his personal life and that will mean the end of his marriage.  I hope I’m wrong, I hope Tiger can do both.  If not, I hope he chooses his marriage.

As I said earlier, Tiger announced that he will be leaving golf for an indeterminate time.  In his announcement, he gave an apology for his actions:

“I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children,” Woods said. “I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I’ve done, but I want to do my best to try.”

I’ve always believed Tiger to be a quality individual.  Obviously, the recent revelations shows my lack of ability to correctly judge people.  Tiger’s apology is the kind of apology that we should see more often.  Note that Tiger didn’t apologize “if you were offended.”  Note also that he calls it what it is, “infidelity.”  Finally, note that he doesn’t talk about his wife’s failings or the pressure of being on tour or any other nonsense.  Tiger takes responsibility and takes blame for HIS actions and no one’s else.  Tiger could teach a number of political figures how to write an apology.

Obviously writing an apology is easy.  The hard part is showing that you actually mean it and that it is not just words provided by a quality publicist.  The only way we will know whether Tiger actually feels remorse will be in watching his future actions.  If Tiger works to approach his marriage with the same forthrightness that he has in his apology, we may be referring to Mr. and Mrs. Tiger Woods for a long time to come.  I hope this time I’m right.

December 11, 2009

In the End, it’s too Expensive

by @ 11:33. Filed under Miscellaneous.

The health care legislation making its way through Congress is a classic illustration of why “it is better that we not know how laws and sausages are made.”  After a trip through the House, the Senate, and most likely a conference committee, nobody will truly understand what is being passed.  Does it REALLY contain a public option?  Does it provide public funding for abortions?  Those issues, among hundreds of others, will not be fully understood.

But in the end, the price tag will sink this program.  People of all political stripes acknowledge that spending is out of control beyond all comprehension.  You can fool the “folks” with fancy language about abortion and the public option.  But everyone understands that Washington is spending money to the point of putting America’s future at risk.  Come November 2010, the public will judge those politicians who have ignored the call for fiscal sanity. Self-interested politicians (pardon the redundancy) will take note and act accordingly over the coming weeks.

The Grass Is Always Greener….Or Not!

by @ 5:47. Filed under Obama worship, Politics - National.

Remember that big election a little over a year ago? 

Remember all the desire for “hope and change?” 

Remember all the chants of, “Yes we can, Yes we can?” 

Remember all the Bush Derangement Syndrome, how low Bush’s approval rating had gotten and how badly people wanted to get rid of Bush?

Yeah, not so much.

In addition to finding that Obama is barely eking out a net approval rating, 49% to 47% unfavorable, the latest Public Policy Polling poll finds another interesting bit of information:

Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama’s declining support is that just 50% of voters now say they prefer having him as President to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they’d rather have his predecessor.

 Can you hear the “oh, shit!” coming from the White House?

Let’s see, the fitting close line for those previous shouting “Yes we can!” should be:

“The grass is not always greener,”

“Be careful what you wish for”

Or,

“I told you so!”

Just One Question

by @ 5:07. Filed under Economy, Politics - National.

Since his inauguration, President Obama has explained away every negative facing him, economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, bank lending, unemployment, etc., etc., etc., as having “inherited it.”

From the AP yesterday:

The federal deficit for the first two months of the new budget year is piling up faster than last year’s record imbalance.

I only have one question:  When will Obama’s inheritance run out?

December 10, 2009

The Fallacy Of The Latest Non Public, Public Option

by @ 5:32. Filed under Health Care Reform, Politics - National.

Expand Medicare!

That’s the latest non public, public option.  Even Politico.com recognizes that this new plan is really the “public option” with a new name:

To win over liberals disappointed at losing the public option, Democrats would allow older Americans starting at age 55 to buy into Medicare, the popular program for the aged. The Medicare expansion would be a significant victory for Democrats, who spent years pushing for it. The proposal would in effect create a public health insurance option for older Americans, since Medicare is government-funded and government-run.

On its Health Policy Blog, Mayo clinic posted in part:

Expanding this system to persons 55 to 64 years old would ultimately hurt patients by accelerating the financial ruin of hospitals and doctors across the country. A majority of Medicare providers currently suffer great financial loss under the program. Mayo Clinic alone lost $840 million last year under Medicare. As a result of these types of losses, a growing number of providers have begun to limit the number of Medicare patients in their practices.

Did you get that?  Did you pick up what what Mayo said?  Let’s pull out the key piece:

As a result of these types of losses, a growing number of providers have begun to limit the number of Medicare patients in their practices.

Time and again, the Democrats, including President Obama, have assured us that the implementation of Placebocare would not cause any form of rationing.  In fact they argue that more people will have access to health care with Placebocare than today.  How can you significantly increase participation in a bankrupt program and not get rationing?  You can’t!

Within the past month SK&A, a national health care information solution company released a study that looked a physician acceptance rates of Medicare and Medicaid. The study found that less than 83% of all physicians still accept Medicare or Medicare patients. Also found in the study is that large, hospital settings are more likely to accept Medicare than small group clinics, the North region of the US was most likely to have physicians that accepted Medicare (87%) while the West was the least likely (78%). Finally, the study found that high volume physicians (those who saw 31 or more patients per day), were more likely to accept medicare than those who saw 20 or fewer patients per day.

As recently as 2002, a study by the Medicare Advisory Council found that 90% of physicians accepted Medicare.  In less than 7 years 7% of physicians have exited the Medicare program.  I don’t know how the Democrats define rationing but I’d say that a shrinking supply of physicians or being limited to less than 15 minutes per visit because the economics dictate it, is a pretty good example of rationing.

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