Archive for category Uncategorized
Superwoman’s Love Handles Stop a Speeding Bullet
Posted by Lance Haley in Health & Diet, Humor, Obesity, Uncategorized on February 26th, 2010
YOU GOTTA LOVE HER REASONING
Premise #1: Bullets fired from guns can kill.
Premise #2: Being overweight can stop bullets.
Conclusion: The more overweight you are, the less likely you will die from a gunshot.
Based on that line of reasoning, one obviously stupid woman concludes that it’s better to be obese than to risk being killed by a gunshot wound. The invalidity of her reasoning may astound you, but it is indicative of a deeper, more pervasive problem in this country. Resorting to logical fallacies like this in order to rationalize beliefs and/or behaviors is the primary reason why America is in so much trouble.
Although this incident may represent the extremes of poor critical thinking skills, most Americans are frequently guilty of using faulty reasoning in order to reach preconceived conclusions far more than they realize. The absence in American schools and universities of a requirement to pass a course in Introduction to Logic & Reasoning as a pre-requisite to receiving a degree prevents the general public from being able to filter out the excessive “noise” so omnipresent in our daily lives – television, talk radio, print media, the internet, etc. – that is masked as expert opinion and gospel truth.
So laugh at her logic – or lack thereof. And then honestly assess your own.
Oh, and a little advice to Ms. Frazier: the next “bolt of lighting” that hits you will likely come from a double cheeseburger.
Why Good Non-partisan Politicians Like Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Dennis Moore (D-KS) Throw in the Towel
Posted by Lance Haley in 2010 Election, 2012 Election, Campaigns, Conservatives, How and Why We Get Screwed, Uncategorized on February 16th, 2010
These two men are the “poster children” for what’s really wrong with Congress and American Politics
You only need to look at their recently announced retirements – Bayh’s came yesterday and Moore’s was back in November 2009 - in order to divine that something is seriously amiss.
They are NOT Liberal Democrats. These are both very mainstream Centrists, at times even leaning a bit to the Conservative side. Moreover, it is highly unlikely either one of them would have lost their seats in the next election cycle. They were both very popular – especially with independents and Republican moderates – and they both have huge campaign war chests.
So why quit?
Evan Bayh’s stated reasons given at the press conference for his retirement announcement yesterday speaks volumes:
“There is too much partisanship and not enough progress — too much narrow ideology and not enough practical problem-solving,” he said yesterday. “Even at a time of enormous challenge, the peoples’ business is not being done.”
And although Dennis Moore has not stated the same sentiments publicly – and I have known Dennis for a number of years – I have a very strong visceral instinct that such is the case. If so, we are witnessing the disappearance of the political Centrists/Moderates, and an even greater polarization of the political spectrum.
Moreover, the inexplicable hatred of President Obama by the Right Wing - and blanket criticism of everything he does (or does not do) – defies logic and reason. Because of this insane hatred and the incendiary punditry, we are now treading down a very dangerous pathway; it does not bode well for the future of our country, or the security of this nation.
Are you listening America?
Jon Stewart Eviscerates Fox News’ Viewers For Drinking the Bong Water
Posted by Lance Haley in Bill O'Reilly, Business and Money, Conservatives, Cultural Issues, Culture Wars, Fox News, Glenn Beck, Media & Communication, Sarah Palin, The Daily Show, Uncategorized on February 4th, 2010
Just kidding . . .
That was a shameless attempt to get Jon Stewart to reference this blog. On last night’s The Daily Show (TDS), in a segment called The Blogs Must Be Crazy , Stewart lampooned the blogosphere’s use of certain words – particularly “eviscerates” – to describe how strongly some media talk show hosts respond to one another when critiquing their respective competitors.
Jon Stewart’s appearance on The O’Reilly Factor has created quite a buzz this week, and whatever you think of either Stewart or Bill O’Reilly, their willingness to appear on one another’s shows is quite refreshing, with a spirited but civil discourse taking place between the two of them. I suppose the one irony in the show was O’Reilly’s cheap shot at Daily Show viewers by referring to them as “stoned slackers” – when surveys have routinely shown that they are some of the best informed news audiences.
It comes as no surprise that ”stoned slackers” would actually be every bit as informed as Fox News viewers, and are probably significantly smarter than Fox News’ talk show hosts – even when they are “lit up”. If Daily Show viewers ever watched Fox News - which they are way too smart to do – wonder what they would think?
“Man I wish I could get ahold of whatever theses dudes are smoking, because that must be some really high-grade SH!T” . . . or . . . . “Dudes, you are not supposed to drink the bong water.”
America: Ten Years From Now, Recall When You Believed Health Care Reform Was Too Expensive
Posted by Lance Haley in Budget Deficit, Uncategorized, economy on February 4th, 2010
Let’s see. Obama’s Health Care Reform was way too expensive. We just could not afford it. It was going to financially break the country.
Read this little statistic released this week, and then you just keep telling yourself that . . .
Sarah Palin is the Real Retard in this Political Correctness Brouhaha
Posted by Lance Haley in Conservatives, Cultural Issues, Fox News, Media & Communication, Morality, Politics, Sarah Palin, Uncategorized on February 3rd, 2010
Levi Johnston - the father of Bristol Palin’s baby – contends that his “ex-mother-in-law”, Sarah Palin, would say ”where is my retarded baby”. Sarah and Todd Palin have a “special needs” child, and Sarah Palin denies that she ever referred to her baby that way. Frankly, I can see Sarah Palin saying something like that “tongue-in-cheek” (in jest). Having a sense of humor about these things is normal human behavior (as in the heading of this post).
Nevertheless, I digress.
For decades now in the United States, minorities and their advocates – most of which are Liberals – have long protested the use of certain derogatory terms as socially unacceptable. The most common example are racial slurs like the “N” word. This drive to “scrub” the English language of these terms was labeled as “political correctness” – a concept that references the agenda to create a social sensitivity to members of our society who are not part of mainstream America. Conservatives have routinely criticized “political correctness” as liberal nonsense, and ironically, Rush Limbaugh referred to “liberal activists” as retards . Now you want to talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Moerover, where was Sarah Palin’s outrage regarding on his political incorrectness?
Recent reports have surfaced stating that Rahm Emmanuel, President Obama’s White House Chief of Staff, was addressing a group of Liberal Democrat politicians last summer regarding their intended strategy to use “attack ads” against Conservative Democrats, and referred to them as “Fxxking retarded“. Now Sarah Palin has said that Emanuel should be fired.
I guess the irony of a “kike using ”politically incorrect” language while addressing a group of liberals is lost on Palin.
P.S. For those of you who are offended by my use of a politically incorrect term, you too are missing my point. 
President Obama, Now You’re Talking . . .
Posted by Lance Haley in Economics, Middle Class, Uncategorized, economy on January 25th, 2010
but it is still just talk.
IF you are going to successfully implement these proposals - which have been a long time coming, and would show that the U.S. government really does care about the Middle Class – a little word of advice.
USE THE DAMN BULLY PULPIT – Teddy Roosevelt style!
Now that is really talking.
Furthermore, the American people will start listening if you have the courage of your convictions to place unrelenting pressure on both your political allies and opponents into taking strong action, regardless of the consequences. You are too worried about being liked by everyone. Teddy Roosevelt was not particularly popular with many of his political friends, nor any of his enemies – especially the rich and powerful. Nonetheless, he was both respected and feared by all. Most importantly, he won the majority of the American public’s heart and soul.
So can you.
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
President Teddy Roosevelt, “Citizenship in a Republic,”
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
All Proposed U.S. Budget Deficit Reduction Plans Are “Nothing Burgers”
Posted by Lance Haley in Bailouts, Banking, Budget Deficit, Campaigns, Congress, Conservatives, Economics, Financial Crisis, Government, How and Why We Get Screwed, Politics, Senate, Show Them the $$$, Uncategorized, Wall Street, Wealth Disparity & the Ultra Rich, economy, financial industry on January 24th, 2010
“Nothing Burger“: Two pieces of bread slapped together with nothing in between. Usually eaten when you have nothing in the house except bread or are too lazy to spend 2 minutes making a decent sandwich.
- definition in the The Urban Dictionary
This is utter laughable.
Senator Gregg Judd (R-New Hampshire), the highest ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, claims the Democrats are not serious about cutting the deficit. He first offered a plan co-sponsored by Democratic Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D – North Dakota), that would require Congress to establish a bi-partisan commission to study deficit reduction recommendations, and if a fixed number of its members could agree on specific budget cuts, Congress would then be compelled to vote on those measures before the 2010 mid-term elections this Fall.
President Obama and the Democrats endorsed a similar deficit-reduction plan, but without the requirement of a mandatory vote in the Senate on the issue. Senator Gregg then criticized the Democrats, calling their plan a “nothing burger“, insinuating that they were not serious about deficit reduction. And the Republicans are?
Senator Gregg, you need a little lesson in transparency.
First, there is serious doubt about whether you can even get the support of your own party on this issue – both Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R – Kentucky) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (D – Ohio) stated they will not back the plan because the Republicans are philosophically opposed to tax increases. In other words, Republicans tacit acknowledge that deficit cutting would likely involve raising taxes, and they would rather let the country go bankrupt before they would make it pay its own way – now that is fiscal responsibility at its finest.
Second, that nasty little chart just below indicates that the real explosion in the government debt started in 1981 – after Ronald Reagan took office and the Neo-Conservative movement began. The largest deficit increases (as a percentage of the previous deficit) occurred from 2003 to 2006, not ironically when President Bush and the Republicans controlled both the White House and Congress. Moreover, that does not even account for the estimated $600 Billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that we borrowed from China through 2007, – projected to increase to $1.6 Trillion before Obama took office - and which was “kept off the books” by the Bush Administration, Enron style.
Ouch!
Third, no Washington politician is ever going to be serious about fiscal responsibility, regardless of which party they belong to – it just does not make political sense if you are an incumbent running for re-election. Besides, Senator Gregg, proposing mandatory deficit reduction is easy when you are being disingenuous about the political realities of the issue.
One final word on that lesson about transparency, Senator Gregg: While serving as the Senate Republican’s lead negotiator and author of the TARP program (Wall Street bailouts) in the Fall of 2008, you recommended that Bank of America receive $45 Billion from the TARP funds – at a time when you owned millions of dollars in Bank of America stock. After your Bank of America stock recovered rather nicely this past year, you are now proposing that the TARP fund be terminated so as to not create a “piggy bank” for politicians.
And you have the audacity to criticize the Democrats, Senator Gregg?
You Can Have Milk With Your Porn, Just Maybe Not the Cookies
Posted by Lance Haley in Business and Money, Humor, Uncategorized on January 15th, 2010
MSN Money reported this week that the porn industry is back on the upswing . They also did a story noting that there may be a shortage of Nestle cookie dough due to concerns over E. Coli contamination.
Do these stories really qualify as business news, or should they have been reported as health stories?
Besides, who wants cookie crumbs all over their computer keyboard?
He May Not Change the World, But He is Changing His World
Posted by Lance Haley in Climate Change, Environment, Global Warming, Pollution, Uncategorized on January 10th, 2010
Talk about one seemingly powerless man “thinking outside the box” to save both his house and village.
Voraphol Duanglomchan gives a whole new meaning to “Think Globally, Act Locally”.
December 21, 2012: Apocalyptic End or a Little Nothing?
Posted by Lance Haley in 2012 Election, Conservatives, Humor, Sarah Palin, Sports, Uncategorized on January 1st, 2010
Having just read an Op-Ed piece on the Y2K “problem” that was to occur on January 1, 2000, one cannot help but be amused by the predictions now being bandied around regarding the Mayan Calender’s prediction of a global “End of Days” scenario for December 21, 2012.
The pending Y2K catastrophe predicted a global-encompassing technological calamity which would result in utter chaos and wide-spread death as a consequence of a systemic computer-chip design flaw in their internal clocks that failed to account for the change from the calender years of the 1900’s over to the 2000’s . Untold billions of dollars were spent worldwide for both preparation and prevention of the potential problems associated with this impending disaster – including concerns over airplanes falling out of the skies, as well as nuclear reactors melting-down and exploding – all of which had the feel of an apocalyptic ending to life as we knew it.
What ultimately occurred was a big nothing.
Since man first walked the face of the earth, predictions of doom and gloom have filled his vivid imagination. Religion and mystical beliefs have served as a buffer against the seemingly hopelessness of these scenarios. The associated writings and stories told of global catastrophe are offered as prophetic warnings to our vulnerable minds of the need to prepare ourselves for survival, and our souls for redemption.
This author’s prediction for December 21, 2012: just another Winter Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth, marking the tilting of the planet in a position furthest from the Sun .
In other words, too freaking cold to play golf for roughly ninety days. If repenting will change that, please forgive me all my earthly transgressions ASAP so I can go back out on the golf course next weekend with all my heathen buddies and commence to sinnin’ all over again.
P.S. Of course, my prediction is predicated on the notion that Sarah Palin will not win the Presidential election on November 6, 2012. If she does . . . all bets are off given that Mother Earth is probably just going to end it all before Palin gets her chance to fulfill the prophecy. In that case, I will play golf on December 20, 2012 no matter how much freaking snow there is on the ground.