Archive for the ‘opinion/news’ Category

The San Francisco Weekly

Posted: December 16, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news
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…had an article (via Glenn) that is a scathing critique of the City and how it is run, two things jumped out at me, neither of which were a surprise:

#1 The Rush was Right moment.

If you actually Listen to Limbaugh show, you will note that for years he’s said that liberals are all about intentions and not about actual results. It doesn’t matter what you actually DO as long as you believe the right thing and mean well. From the article:

In 2007, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) held a seminar for the nonprofits vying for a piece of $78 million in funding. Grant seekers were told that in the next funding cycle, they would be required — for the first time — to provide quantifiable proof their programs were accomplishing something.

The room exploded with outrage. This wasn’t fair. “What if we can bring in a family we’ve helped?” one nonprofit asked. Another offered: “We can tell you stories about the good work we do!” Not every organization is capable of demonstrating results, a nonprofit CEO complained. He suggested the city’s funding process should actually penalize nonprofits able to measure results, so as to put everyone on an even footing. Heads nodded: This was a popular idea. emphasis mine

How dare you prove that you are actually accomplishing something, or providing measurable peer reviewed results! What do you think, we have the entire Climate change industry to help manage data?

#2 Yomi Agunbiade.

The story of Yomi Agunbiade is the story of a man whose incredible fiscal and organizational incompetence was not enough to remove him, but the following was:

Rec and Park spokeswoman Rose Dennis claimed that Agunbiade had been sexually and religiously harassing her for years, and produced letters he’d sent to her home as evidence. She confirmed to SF Weekly that Agunbiade’s letters urged her to stop wearing revealing clothes so that she could get right with Jesus.

Don’t get me wrong, this guy belonged out. If the fiscal stuff wasn’t enough he has no business pressuring a subordinate on religion, but the irony is delicious. What type of harassment can actually get someone fired in SF? Not sleeping with an employee (like the Mayor) but urging them to dress modestly. That’s crossing the sexual line! If only he had promoted fisting to youngsters, he could have gotten a federal job and Media Matters could have backed him up.

Considering the reputation and demographics of the City, what were the odds that the poster child for bad bureaucracy in a San Francisco Paper would be a zealous Christian? Then again you have to sell the papers IN San Francisco.

The really sad thing about this is the taxpayers really mean well. They want to do good but they are betrayed by their own principles.

My poetic answer to Al Gore et/al

Posted: December 15, 2009 by datechguy in fun, opinion/news
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With thanks to Tim Blair for the idea and Kipling who did all the work.

Take up the Green Man’s burden–
Send forth the best ye breed–
Go bind your children to exile
To serve your planet’s need;
To wait in conference meetings,
And airports expanses–
To change the western masses,
From carbon them to wean.

Take up the Green Man’s burden–
In patience to abide,
To ease the fear of Polar Bears
And all the creatures mild;
By dire speech and warnings,
A hundred times made plain
To stop that corporate profit,
For mother Gaia’s gain.

Take up the Green Man’s burden–
Impose your ways to bring,
And end for planets glory–
Those common comfort things.
Escew the modern toilet,
Water/paper,that they use,
And change to greener lightbulbs,
In cool neat windy tubes.

Take up the Green Man’s burden–
And reap his old reward:
The jobs at Boards and NGO,
And make old Berkley proud–
At dinners, conferences and parties
express your deep concern:–
“And oh that private Jet I took…
From Carbon Credits earned!”

Take up the Green Man’s burden–
Ye dare not stoop to less–
Nor worry too loud on Freedom
The movement it knows best;
By all ye cry or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
Make the masses one with nature
As ‘fore population grew.

Take up the Green Man’s burden–
Remove their childish ways–
The electricity, heat, and travel,
Those common people crave.
In schools and Media make them see
That Red, oops green is true.
Then they will learn to live and love,
The benevolence of your rule!

Take up the Green Man’s burden–
The savage ways of green–
Cull surplus population
For Earth’s abiding need;
And when your goal is nearest
The end that Al Gore sought,
Watch e-mails and true science
Bring all your hopes to naught.

Update: Camp of the Saints links, thanks muchly.

Update 2: Mad Minerva links too, thanks.

Did you notice what was missing from MSNBC’s hit on Palin this morning?

Posted: December 15, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news, Uncategorized
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I’ve always liked Chris Hitchens even though he is seriously embedded with Palin Derangement syndrome and it was because of that syndrome that he made it on the last segment on MSNBC’s Morning Joe today.

In between talking sense on the war (which he always does) and pointing out that Joe Biden insulted Afghanistan with his “Good luck in your senior year” crack; (BIG NEWS) he backed up Eugene Robinson on his Palin Hit today and derided and insulted the governor so strongly that his old friends on the left might be tempted to have him back. Andrea Mitchell agreed but nobody can throw an insult like Chris Hitchens can, his insults are almost high art.

Somehow nobody at that MSNBC table mentioned climategate as a probable cause for any shift:

The president’s decision to attend the international climate conference in Copenhagen needs to be reconsidered in light of the unfolding Climategate scandal.

That is the first line in her Facebook post. Let’s look at the first line of her post op-ed

With the publication of damaging e-mails from a climate research center in Britain, the radical environmental movement appears to face a tipping point.

This point never made it to the table. For MSNBC Climategate doesn’t exist unlike say Glenn Reynolds who this morning had 6 posts on the subject between 7:50 & 8:45 this morning.

Morning Joe is the best MSNBC has, and Joe and Mika are the fairest people on that entire network, yet one blogger in Tennessee sees the elephant in the room that they can’t.

If they aren’t embarrassed then that is only because they have lost the capability to be so.

Update: Welcome fellow readers of Conservatives for Palin. Take a peek around. Check out my review of the Governor’s book here and on Amazon and note the tags. See my critique of Recovering Liberals post on Sarah Palin, Check out today’s death panel news, and remain calm when reading Mad Magazine and check out my poetic answer to Al Gore.

…but don’t call them death panels

Posted: December 15, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news
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When Sarah Palin referred to death panels she was called a liar, or ignored and is still hit for it, even as the section was pulled.

When examples from England’s NIS of brought up we were told that is had nothing to do with the US.

When the mammograms recommendations came out we were told that it isn’t an example of how Government health care would work.

We were told all these things, but there is one important thing about reality, it exists whether or not you want to acknowledge it:

New York used to screen women of all ages, but this year the budget crunch has forced them to focus on those considered at highest risk and exclude women under 50. “It’s a scary thought. It really is,” said LaBarge, who fears she’s at a higher risk because her grandmother died of breast cancer.

Well that is just one state that is on the brink, it’s not like a bunch of states are doing it…oh wait:

At least 14 states cut budgets for free cancer screenings this year: Colorado, Montana, Illinois, Alabama, Minnesota, Connecticut, South Carolina, Utah, Missouri, Washington, Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Arkansas.

Via Gateway and Say anything who got to it yesterday.

This story should be a whole lot bigger than it is.

Let me tell you something, if we as a society give the power of life and death to government bureaucrats, we better not be surprised when they will use it.

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