Sunday, January 9, 2011

Sometimes the stories just write themselves


News items from Yahoo News:
Snowshoe walks at Snoqualmie Pass offer chance to see beauty of winter.

Followed by:
Four lost snowshoers found near Snoqualmie Pass

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On the Az shooting. In looking at current events I must note that we are at present a nation on edge. There's some 15 million plus out of work and it will take some time before things turn around. Most of the safety nets were cut under Reagan with more under Bush. Now it's the states' turn. With no other choice governors are closing down mental health facilities and cutting other programs. It's as if the entire government is turning its' back on the very people who need it most. They may save a few cents now but what about the long term costs to society? Isn't it cheaper to put a few stitches in a garment before it becomes a big tear and an even greater expense to fix? If we do this to our people and we do this to our infrastructure then what will we have left?
As we have seen from this current action it doesn't take much to push someone over the edge. And those on the right sure aren't helping with their rhetoric. You don't go around shouting armed insurrection any more than you wouldn't shout fire in a movie theater. And in my opinion that is what they've been doing for the last year and a half. Free speech is one thing but it also has to be responsible speech. There are after all as the congresswoman herself said consequences to what you say.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Martial law nation wide five years away, at the outside.

The Blog Fodder said...

The man is an optimist. Full scale fascism is less than five years away.

The Blog Fodder said...

I read a comment on a BBC blog that said one could hardly blame Othello but exonerate Iago. Good counter point to the "not political" crowd.

BBC said...

Anarchy, that has a nice ring to it. I enjoy living in interesting times. Of course it helps that I'm retired, loaded for bear, and pretty damn mobile if need be.

The youth will have to figure out how to build a better government on top of the ashes, I hope they do a better job than we have.

It amuses me that these monkeys still get lost when GPS units are now so cheap.

Tom Harper said...

"Isn't it cheaper to put a few stitches in a garment before it becomes a big tear and an even greater expense to fix? If we do this to our people and we do this to our infrastructure then what will we have left?"

No biggie. The Haves and the Have Mores -- the 1% of Americans who count for something -- already have their savings and investments in other countries. It doesn't matter what happens to the riffraff that's left here in this crumbling has-been of a country.

squatlo said...

I would have lost a bet when the debate started at work about whether or not Curious George would invoke martial law before leaving office... I thought it was a no-brainer lock to happen.

As mega-fucked as everything is right now, I still remember watching the Democratic convention in '68, seeing people gassed and clubbed in the streets of Chicago, with assassinations and murders of journalists and politicians as common as Mexican drug lord murders are today down south.
There are some who live to see the race war they've been planning and preparing for all their lives, and others who would take any excuse to loot and pillage, be it from a flood, hurricane, or another Lakers title. One good blackout during a deep freeze, coupled with 15% unemployment in a tightly compressed urban environment might be all that's required for a major meltdown.
But, in my humble opinion, the only thing I can think of that would spark the ultimate conflagration would be the assassination of Obama. That fire would never die down.
And that's what worries me most. I fear for the man's life and this country's future every time he appears in public.

jmsjoin said...

You know Demeur I like it when I hear the truth as you told. Reagan started this crap.

What I don't understand it how people fall for all the crap that politicians don't understand what's happening when they are doing it and the people do not matter and are an inconvenience to be dealt with.

S.W. Anderson said...

"It's as if the entire government is turning its' back on the very people who need it most. They may save a few cents now but what about the long term costs to society?"

The costs are literally incalculable. Capitalism runs on the business cycle, which inevitably goes up and down. Always has, always will.

Unregulated or badly regulated capitalism intensifies and magnifies the business cycle into boom-and-bust cycles. (Speculation often plays a big part.) The difference between cycle types is significant, because in a well-regulated system, the business cycle tends to cost everyone some setback but is rarely disastrous for more than a relative few over-leveraged individuals and businesses. Booms and busts, OTOH, are usually ruinous for many individuals and businesses, not just the over leveraged. That makes it possible for the wealthy to buy property, debt paper and businesses for cheap. They later, after recovery, sell these at tidy profits, adding greatly to their wealth.

Smarter countries such as Germany adopt socialist-type curbs on and hedges against the business cycle, and fight like hell to avert boom-bust. People pay higher taxes but have greater job security. Most get to keep their job, house, vehicle and decent credit rating, even when the economy goes south. Government subsidizes businesses to keep them on the job. Personal bankruptcies are relatively rare.

Think of it as an ongoing rainy-day fund the government operates to maintain stability, nationally and for the states and localities, for businesses and for individuals. It works, and over time it saves a lot of cost and grief.

BBC said...

I fear for the man's life and this country's future every time he appears in public.

The future you need to be most concerned about is your own, and without help from government or others. This takes some careful planning, and a stock pile of bullets, just in case.

A country can fail, but it doesn't mean you have to.

Ranch Chimp said...

Good Morning Demeur!

Straight to the point there brother ... true ... and we all knew or should have expected this or similar ... I been pointing out this shit for nearly 3 year's in my journal on what to expect ... and all the sign's were there of what to expect ... even more, and more domestic terrorism. Then you have these folk's that push people through their media's ... I dont need to mention name's ... but it's also because of these mother fucker's like Loughner and alot of these other extreme right winger freak's why liberal's coast to coast are bitching about our gun's ... I been an NRA member for over 3 decade's as well and very pro 2nd amendment ... so action's like this also sicken me. As far as your anonymous commentor above .... "martial law" in 5 year's ... that's stupid, unless we as a whole/ society do something to bring something like that about and create a state of emergency, it's stupid comment's like that in my opinion that is why these mother fucker's go by the name as anonymous too. No one want's no fucken martial law at the top ... it would hit to hard on the economy and spending ... and all the big dawg's would whine like the pussies they are after losing money. I'll shut the fuck up now ... later brother!

BTW ... I also done a posting on this Tucson event ... if you make it by ... check it out ... I DID point out the reality clearly, rest assured.

squatlo said...

"The future you need to be most concerned about is your own, and without help from government or others. This takes some careful planning, and a stock pile of bullets, just in case."

Yep, that's what we need right now, a call to arms. Gather your K-rations and stockpile your arsenal.

Maybe you're right BBC, but I'm not sure I want to be there when you "survivors" come out of your man-caves.

heavy sigh...

Every time there's an incident like this, some folks want the country to disarm and others see that as a threat to their right to own weapons. But these events happen all too frequently for us to be shocked, and at some point wouldn't it make sense to have a rational discussion about SOLUTIONS and not react with even more hardline attitudes that reflect our personal positions?

Best to you, sir. I wish you all the best. I say that to anyone who makes a public display of their gun-totin' bravado...

Anonymous said...

Morning Demeur,

"Ranch Chimp" just ain't too fuccking bright sometimes huh?

Happy hunting and good luck to ya.




"Harry"

Randal Graves said...

I'm shocked this occurred in a state whose ruling class & culture celebrate violence.

BBC said...

Hum, I guess I could live with Martial law, I don't know, but I can keep a low profile and stay out of the way.

If the country goes ballistic of course the capitalists are going to hurt and whine. And a lot of things may be hard to come by.

But I've collected a lot of stuff, I could get by for the next ten or so years with nothing much more than food, but I don't eat much so I'm not worried about that.