Rebane's Ruminations

About

November 2026
S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930  

ARCHIVES

OUR LINKS

YubaNet
White House Blog
Watts Up With That?
The Union
Sierra Thread
RL “Bob” Crabb
Barry Pruett Blog

  • Shoring up Obama’s religion

    George Rebane

    Time again to put some nasty gossip to rest about the President and his religion.  I received an email from a correspondent citing a 29dec13 piece in the NYT about how “Mr. Obama’s faith is a more complicated, more private, and perhaps … a more inclusive affair.”  Well, we know that it’s a faith that has omitted a number of traditional Christian observances in our capital, and doesn’t include much church attendance given the experience he had with the Rev Wright.

    But my correspondent did point out that our president may be even more distant from his fervently claimed Christianity than he thinks.  The NYT reports, “He has turned to his faith during difficult times, and is comfortable invoking Scripture; his speeches and remarks are peppered with the phrase “I am my brother’s keeper,” echoing the Old Testament phrase.”

    My correspondent thinks that perhaps the President should recheck his echoes a bit more carefully.   For example, like the true socialist he is, Mr Obama instinctively reversed the biblical question Cain asks in Genesis – ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ – into the more correct collectivist version.   (You’d think that this would have been caught by the crack journalists at the nation’s leading liberal voice.)

    In any case, it is good that the President thinks enough of the public’s apprehension about his religion to have his minions publish this clarification in the west’s answer to Pravda.

    Posted at

    in

    , ,
    4 comments on Shoring up Obama’s religion

  • Collapse of Commercial Collectivist Talk Radio

    George Rebane

    TalkRadioNews Item – Next year commercial talk radio of the liberal bent is slated to completely collapse in the remaining major media markets of New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.  The problem is that the audiences for such content are miniscule and diminishing.  Leftwing talk radio survives on non-profit outlets such as NPR which are funded through government grants and private donations.  (More here, here, and here)

    Now anyone who has been a longtime resident of Earth will not be surprised by this news, even though its dissemination has never been a high priority item on the nation’s lamestream outlets.  The question worth considering once more is why such talk radio cannot get purchase in commercial markets, why are so few people listening to the collectivist side of the political spectrum when a large and growing number are listening to conservative and libertarian commentators.

    To people like me, the answers are simple and straightforward.  These answers are also totally rejected by progressives who respond to the asymmetry by their continuing attempts to shut down commercial rightwing talk radio on public airwaves (and now also on private channels) based on sinister yet hilarious arguments of ‘fairness’ and ‘balance’ that completely beg the question of why audiences differ in their preferences for such contents.

    (more…)

    Posted at

    in

    , , , ,
    140 comments on Collapse of Commercial Collectivist Talk Radio

  • Sheriff Royal on Gun Control

    George Rebane

    The 26dec13 Union has a piece (here, paywalled?) about our Sheriff Keith Royal being listed among the country’s sheriffs who oppose broad attacks on Second Amendment rights.  I recently hosted an hour program on NCTV’s Breaking Bread with Sheriff Royal.  What he said on the air is consistent with what he told The Union.

    Sheriff Royal’s main concern is that the mentally unstable and criminally disqualified persons should not have access to guns.  On the face of it, all reasonable people would agree with that statement per se.  The part of the discussion that becomes hard is the degree of risk we are willing to accept in disqualified people getting guns as a tradeoff to what extent should we weaken (legally or constructively) Second Amendment rights for the rest of the population.

    If, as is often heard, when some silly says that we should accept no risk from crazies getting guns, then that means we effectively abrogate gun rights for everyone.  But no one wants to debate risk levels as a reasonable way to evaluate and guide public policy on the private ownership of firearms.  The gun controllers talk only about hunting and the narrow types of guns that this recreational activity entails.  Self defense, maintaining civic order, and the ability to oppose tyranny are deemed to be topics dear only to fringe ideologues and not worthy of further consideration.

    Posted at

    in

    , ,
    27 comments on Sheriff Royal on Gun Control

  • Emmanuel has come!

    Nativity
    Let us celebrate the joy of His coming.

    Posted at

    in

    , , ,
    7 comments on Emmanuel has come!

  • Ruminations – 22dec2013

    “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”  Mark Twain

    George Rebane

    In ‘The End of the Beginning’ Bill Whittle spells out the overall impact of Obamacare and the pack of Washington’s lying scumbags that continue to foist this atrocity on America.  It can viewed as Exhibit A confirming Mark Twain’s wise remark above.  (H/T to RR reader)

    Obama’s gratuitous and self-serving abandonment of the rule of law is now the mainstay of our country’s retreat from being a civil society.  The latest departure from law by executive fiat is this president’s selective lifting of Obamacare’s individual mandate in order to delay torches and pitchforks showing up in town squares across the land.  This arbitrary removal is being justified under the law’s hardship clause designed to help, of all people, those who have become ‘victims of Obamacare’.  More here.

    None other than NYC’s departing Mayor Bloomberg is now advising us that the country’s cities are going under fiscally, being dragged there by hundreds of unfunded public service pension plans that were nefariously negotiated by the “labor-electoral complex”.  This sinister relationship between progressive politicians and unions was long identified as being toxic to America.  But national dumbth constantly salved by the liberal lamestream kept everyone fooled (note the wrath of the local lackeys in these pages when such information was presented).  Now we have a progressive mayor spilling the beans in his swansong speeches as he explains away the fourfold increase in NYC’s pension costs over the last decade.  More here and here.

    The Bush2 policies of expanding America’s energy production have so lowered the cost of electricity in the land that some manufacturing is actually beginning to return to our shores.  Obama and the socialists have done everything possible to reverse this trend in energy prices, but right now there is enough momentum to attract overseas manufacturers so that even Chinese companies are offshoring to the United States.   A poster child in this is Keer Group Company from Hangzhou, a yarn manufacturer, that is relocating its mill to South Carolina’s traditional textile territory, and creating 500 jobs in the process.  Of course, when the transition is complete Team Obama et al will crow that it is their socialist policies that are bringing about such things.  And don’t be amazed at how many people will actually believe that crap.  More here.

    SixCaliforniasHear about California divided into six states?  That is the initiative proposed by investor Tim Draper.  For many people some form of The Great Divide cannot happen soon enough.  More here and H/T to RR reader.

    Posted at

    in

    , , , , ,
    116 comments on Ruminations – 22dec2013

  • Then what will WE do?

    George Rebane

    [This is the transcript of my regular KVMR commentary broadcast on 20 December 2013.]

    If you have been following the non-political side of the news recently, you no doubt have picked up on a hot topic getting hotter – robots and robotics.  In these commentaries we have covered the social impact of robots, and there is more to be said about that.  But today there is a new buzz on new robot developments and how robots have already become part of our everyday lives.  By robots we mean software, machines, and humanoid looking characters that have more than a little intelligence built into them, and that intelligence is growing daily at an astounding rate.

    (more…)

    Posted at

    in

    , , , ,
    10 comments on Then what will WE do?

  • Nancy Garcia responds to Gratuitous Charge

    George Rebane

    On 16 December 2013 a local leftwinger and RR reader Mr Joe Koyote threw out the following gratuitous charge of the kind that is not only his hallmark on these pages, but also resonates with most of the deep thinkers on our progressive flank.  He wrote –

    Outside money in local politics? What about the mysterious and anonymous $10 grand received by the local Tea Party for distribution during the campaign when Diaz/Pruett and others were running? Most, if not all, went to conservative candidates for non-partisan offices. If you don't think the Koch Bros. and their ilk are funneling dark money into local campaigns you should take the blinders off.  Posted by: Joe Koyote | 16 December 2013 at 10:09 AM

    I communicated this to Ms Nancy Garcia, NC Tea Party president.  She asked me to post her emailed response, which follows below –

    If Mr. Koyote is going to grace this blog with comments about the Tea Party, it would indeed be appreciated if he took the time to verify his suspicions with facts – and then present these facts in his comments. Instead he chooses, like a malfunctioning cannon , to shoot in all directions, hoping to land a blow – and missing wildly!

    In 2010, our local Tea Party applied for a grant in the amount of $10,000.00. This money was indeed donated to our national organization by an anonymous citizen and there were strict guidelines if you applied.  The money could only be spent in a non-partisan effort to get out the vote.  It was spent as follows:

    Union newspaper – Four full-color ads                       $2,333.00
    Five 4 x 8 foot signs, poles and ties                           $   752.7l
    325 KNCO 60 second spots – 10/11 -010/31                $6,909.00

    The following is one of our radio spots delivered on KNCO:

    "If you owned this country, would you be happy with what your board of directors and employees have been doing for America? Well – you do own this country and there are many candidates asking to be hired by you.  Study their resumes, check their background and records and then select the very best among the field to handle your most valuable asset – this wonderful country called America.  Your vote counts!"

    To clear up Mr. Koyote's "facts", The Nevada County Tea Party has never financially supported any candidate.  It would be a violation of our 501C4 tax status we worked so hard to establish and due to the harassment we endured, are now part of a class action lawsuit against the government agency who targeted us – the IRS.

    Nancy Garcia
    President, Nevada County Tea Party

    Posted at

    in

    , ,
    22 comments on Nancy Garcia responds to Gratuitous Charge

  • Fools and Charlatans – Obamacare

    George Rebane

    Obamacare4As the propaganda blitz is gearing to frenzied heights about ‘all will soon be well’ with Obamacare, the country is dividing naturally into those too smart to believe the stream of demonstrated lies and incompetence, those with not enough between the ears who continue to believe the pap from Pennsylvania Ave, and those who are dedicated to deceiving Americans as they continue working on the country’s fundamental transformation.  Fortunately the first group of our countrymen now comprise well over half of the population.

    But one thing you can count on is that in the coming months the lies will grow in number, intensity, and sophistication.  Already HHS’ Sebelius has progressed to the second phase of misleading the public by not disclosing meaningful statistics of how many applications have actually been submitted to insurance companies, and how many of those have been sufficiently correct to result in acceptance and invoicing the applicant, and how many applicants have paid their premiums for the new and improved Obamacare policies.  Instead, we get another shovelful of crap on how many people visited the site and were able to select a policy – which tells us nothing.

    But the real problems will become a cascade in the coming year as the effect of not having a working ‘back end’ to the system that is able to handle the scrubbing, editing, and transmitting of application data to insurance companies.  And, of course, there all those delays and special exemptions that have to be handled.  And we haven’t even come to the ‘you can keep your doctor’ travails that will include the long waits and limits on provided services.

    We Americans are about to get our first real lesson in socialism when our fiscally distraught government attempts to force down our throats the workings of an outrageously expensive ‘benefit’ guaranteed to outrage 80+% of the country’s healthcare consumers.  Stanford economics professor Michael Boskin does an excellent job of spelling out that future for us in ‘Obamacare’s Troubles Are Only Beginning’.

    Posted at

    in

    , , ,
    17 comments on Fools and Charlatans – Obamacare

  • It Could Happen Again – Liberals Controlling Board of Supervisors

    Russ Steele

    [My friend Russ Steele, among his many activities, is also a climate change skeptic, blogger (The Next Grand Minimum), retired Air Force officer, and a Nevada County native.  His former blog on local affairs and national issues was NC Media Watch, which I have unsuccessfully tried to get him to ressurrect.  In the interval he is always welcome on these pages.] 

    In the 1990s four liberals, who had a major influence on the future economy of the county, controlled the Nevada County Board of Supervisors.  They put in place land use regulations and zoning that made it very difficult for big box and name brand stores to locate in Nevada County.  Now those stores and associated tax dollars are locating on the southern border of the County, luring customers from local stores.

    We could end up with another liberal controlled Board of Supervisors if we do not pay attention.  We once had a very strong conservative Board, but John Spencer was not paying attention and let Terry Lamphier and his lefty team of volunteers out smart him.

    John was confident, too confident, that he was going to win re-election, and did not run a strong campaign.  From past experience, it was clear that Grass Valley voters respond well when candidates walk their neighborhoods and greet them one-on-one. Terry Lamphier had a strong team of left leaning strategists and volunteers, plus he dedicated himself to walking District 3 neighborhoods.

    Fran Cole, a liberal lawyer, has announced she is running in the 4th District against Hank Weston, and is counting on support from middle of the road, environmental and progressive supporters.  Fran has been establishing a support base in our local liberal community.  She has been a member of the Land Trust Board since 2007, and has served as a director at the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition, and a volunteer at Sammie’s Friends.

    Candidate Cole recently announced that she has made it through a competitive application process and has been accepted to Emerge California, a seven-month leadership-training program for women Democratic candidates.  According to their web site, Emerge California is one of the premier political leadership training programs for women in the nation, and the alumnae who have run for office, 68% have won, including every single alumna on the ballot in November 2013.  

    With a well financed and managed competitor, this is going to be a strong challenge for Hank Weston, and he needs to develop a strong support team.  Every District has a unique challenge, in District 3 it was house to house canvassing. District 4 covers Penn Valley, North San Juan, Rough & Ready, Lake Wildwood, Spenceville, and unincorporated areas along Highways 20 and 49.  That is a lot of rural neighborhoods to walk, so there has to be a better method for reaching and convincing District 4 voters he is still the best leadership choice.  Hank had better figure out how he is going to be more effective than his highly trained woman competitor if he wants to stay in office.  Just being a Republican in a strong Republican district will not be enough this time.

    Posted at

    in

    ,
    75 comments on It Could Happen Again – Liberals Controlling Board of Supervisors

  • Ruminations – 13dec2013

    George Rebane

    Obama&BoehnerThe new budget compromise – Dems 1; Repubs 0.  Let’s see if I got this one right.  The sequester is out, new taxes, er fees, are in.  Obamacare has unlimited drawing rights on the federal fisc and the liberal agenda is again in full force.  The deficit will continue to increase for the first two years, and then over the next eight years we are promised about $27B of TOTAL reduction of deficits that will run around $1T annually.  That’s less than 0.3% per year, a fraction so small, … never mind.  And that budget agreement is what we are now supposed celebrate?!  BTW, does anyone want to bet the ranch, or even the south 40, that we will ever get the average $2.7B/yr deficit reductions over the next ten years?

    Remember the scandal of IRS targeting the tea parties.  You’d think that they would have pulled back after the embarrassing exposes in front of congressional committees.  Not a chance.  They have redoubled their efforts to get tea parties off their 501c4 tax code designations.  And all this while agreeing that the poster child of liberal propaganda organizations, the League of Women Voters, gets to maintain its 501c3 designation.  For those who forgot, a c4 organization is a non-profit that doesn’t have to pay taxes on its income, but contributions to it are NOT tax free.  A c3 non-profit also doesn’t have to pay taxes, but its contributors get to deduct contributions from their taxable income.  (more here)

    (more…)

    Posted at

    in

    , , , ,
    34 comments on Ruminations – 13dec2013

RR FUNDAMENTALS

About the Bastiat Triangle

Glossary & Semantics

A Conservetarian Credo

Commenting Rules

RECENT POSTS

RECENT COMMENTS

CATEGORIES

4 comments on Shoring up Obama’s religion