Posts Tagged ‘reality’

Unfortunately not only in Malaysia

Posted: July 5, 2010 by datechguy in opinion/news
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Yesterday I noted the 4th of July parade where The Jews and Muslims marched one after the other and noted: Only in America.

Today Atlas via Jihad watch reminds of the other side of Islam that our pols like to ignore:

Christians in Kerala now started getting the true taste of Jihad . Five Jihadi fanatics today chopped of the hands of Malayalam Professor.

A Malayalam professor T J Joseph of the Newman College, who is under suspension for preparing a defamatory question for an exam paper, was attacked by a gang of five men at Muvatupuzha when he was coming back from church.

His crime – A question prepared by the professor for a Exam was offensive to Jihadis.

Unfortunately we can’t look at Islamic violence and say “Only in Malaysia”

The Bookstores they are a changin’

Posted: July 5, 2010 by datechguy in internet/free speech, oddities, opinion/news
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Went to breakfast with a friend who is in town for the 4th. When I brought up the parade with John Olver and Bill Gunn, he expressed satisfaction that Olver was being challenged but expressed doubt that he could be beaten. It’s been a few years since he lived in this neck of the woods, if he had followed me to the local Barnes and Noble he might have changed his mind.

One of the signs of a down economy is that business that once catered to political whims don’t have that luxury, they have to make money to survive and act accordingly. Just two years ago at the local B & N you would find plenty of liberal books in your face while you need to search for conservative volumes near the back.

I’ve mentioned that last year conservative authors started to get more space but I was still shocked when in the prominent works section I found The Road to Serfdom not only in the area for notable books and new bestsellers, but with only 3 copies left on a practically empty shelf.

My surprise was even greater when as I headed for the history section, there on the featured author table were the works of…Glen Beck!?!

Glenn Beck a featured author in Leominster Massachusetts? Totally unheard of. Even worse for the left was the lack of liberal volumes on display. I found Stephen Colbert in the bargain section and he wasn’t alone. He was joined by Bill Bradley (not so odd) but also by…Ted Kennedy?

Run that through your head for a moment. The last of the Kennedy Brothers, the man who won 69% of the vote in 2006. Gone less than a year yet Liberal Lion the fall and rise of Ted Kennedy. is in the bargain bins. 47 years in the Senate and he is an afterthought. His widow had better take that into account when 2012 comes around.

If you want to know why John Olver and company feel the need to run like the wind, this is it. People are voting with their wallets and retailers can’t waste shelf space on unwanted liberal books.

Oh and there is bad news for Mitt Romney as well. Both his new book and Sarah Palin’s were available as audio books. Sarah’s Going Rogue was discounted 20% after being out nearly a year. Mitt’s No Apology was discounted 40% after being out 3 months.

If this is Massachusetts what must be happening in New Jersey?

Talk about grading on a curve

Posted: July 2, 2010 by datechguy in Uncategorized
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If your goal is to make a political point then ranking a sitting president all time is useful, but frankly any group that ranks President Obama over Reagan is idiotic and not to be trusted.

In terms of ranking he also has the unfair disadvantage of the expectations game, if you compare him to expectations he would rank near Hoover except that he didn’t have you know anything near the actual accomplishments of Hoover before the presidency.

My own rankings of presidents is here but they are not numerical they are by group. I still think he has to potential to end up almost anywhere in the list because of the major crisis that he has to deal with. The trick is the results of many of them aren’t going to be apparent for a while, maybe even not until years after he is out of office.

I don’t care for this president, but it’s just not fair to try and rank his place in history right now. I’m too close to it and there are too many variables.

For example regardless of the reason for it the appointment of Petraeus could dramatically change things, if congress changes sides as is likely how he manages to work with such a congress can make a difference. We are still not even half way into his first term.

Do I expect positive changes? Frankly no, but that doesn’t mean the can’t or won’t happen. He is the president of my country and I want the best for my country, I don’t think he will bring it but I’d be very happy if he did.

When those historians rank this president where they do they once again create a set expectations that have great potential to be unmet. They serve him and the country very poorly.

Update: Smitty makes the same point I did

“The ones who aren’t supporting themselves are buying more.”

Posted: July 1, 2010 by datechguy in oddities
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at least on lottery tickets.

Hit the market today before supper and I noticed that there was yet another new $10 ticket offered at the local store.

Even when I was working I would rarely buy a lottery ticket. One in a great while I’d spring for a $1 ticket for the wife saying: “Hey it’s a gift to my brothers if I lose” (both work for the state). A $5 ticket was out of the question and a $10 ticket represented just too much work. I couldn’t imagine people paying that kind of money in tough time.

As I was checking out I asked the kid who had been working there for a few years if people’s lottery habits had changed, he answered: “It varies” and the conversation went like this:

“Varies?”

“Yeah it depends on the customer, the ones who are working or just lost jobs have cut down or stopped buying tickets all together, but the customers on food stamps, the ones who aren’t supporting themselves are buying more, a lot more.”

“Why do you suppose that is?”

“Well the state is taking care of them so they figure why not?”

Where have I heard this before?

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