Sarge

Double-dutch, Double dumb

Barack Obama, in true form and ready recognition he never had a thought that wasn’t given to him by an underpaid staff writer, read the Teleprompted State of the Union Address (SOTU) to the nation Tuesday night. It was jingoism (an appeal intended to arouse patriotic emotions) and doublespeak reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984.

Technocratic babble

Michael Walker-Jones, the Director of the Louisiana Association of Educators opposes the educational programs backed by Bobby Jindal. Bobby Jindal says it’s: “incredibly offensive and exactly what is wrong with the top-down approach."

Paste masquerading

In the mind of some seeking to understand people running for high public office, the discussion of carat count as it applies to diamonds might be an apt analogy when considering a choice for office. The 5 Cs of diamonds are: Certification, Carat count, Clarity, Color and Cut. They have equivalencies in the sense of a candidate’s 5Cs: Character, Conscience, Courage, Competence and Compassion. So let’s take a look at the comparisons.

Pimping and pandering

When campaigns are conducted it’s virtually impossible to discount the affect the media has on the candidates and the issues. The Press (both print and broadcast media) has the effect of helping the candidates to construct and destroy edifices. These false fronts are where they posture and preen so they can create more false fronts to present to the American people. The media constructs the silk screen the candidates hide behind with strategically placed holes through which they’ll sneak a peek. They report what they see from a limited viewpoint.

Eating the shrapnel

Keystone (n): A central stone at the summit of an arch, locking the whole together. The central principle or part of a policy, system, etc., on which all else depends. Pennsylvania’s motto is: The Keystone State. This is because of its fundamental importance to the colonies as an entity in the in the 1600s. It was a center for commerce, energy production and became the site of the fledgling United States’ capitol and seat of government for a short period of time. Its symbol is the Keystone as it’s represented in the construction of bridge or structure supporting an arched doorway.

SOPA meets PIPA

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA and the Protect IP (Internet Provider Act (PIPA) are bad ideas. Congress is worried about Hollywood and writers losing billions of dollars to on-line piracy. The issue’s important for people sincerely worried about having their intellectual property stolen, used without permission and profited from by people having no connection to its production. A couple of nefarious keystrokes result in the theft of personally developed ideas. The genuine producer loses income. Movies are pirated regularly amounting to billions of dollars lost.

Pulling the weeds

This is one of those days where yesterday’s events stimulate my aggravation intolerance program. I despise some people’s tendency for seeking the spotlight when other guerrillas in the mist need shadow to function best. As the self-possessed hero jumps from protective cover so all can see his splendid cape and tights, he runs the risk of giving away the hidden agenda and placement of his comrades. In their own way they self-inflict wounds (and possibly kill their efforts) by “friendly fire”.

Opening the artery

The other day Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas Governor, political analyst and heavyweight presidential candidate/contender in the last election said where Iowa was a boxing match South Carolina was a “Cage Match”. He was alluding to the relative savagery of the candidates’ use of character assassination as a viable tactic in the primaries.

Obama’s gambling problem

Success isn’t always part of “Free” Enterprise or Capitalism when practiced by the Federal government. A look at Solyndra shows the incompetence of the administration where it pertains to gambling your taxes away as investment capital.

It’s depressing

What takes precedence: LSU or Romney winning in New Hampshire with Ron Paul and Huntsman climbing in the polls? I don’t know; all of it’s depressing.

A country of laws; not men

What we see, we seek to understand from its genesis, through its adolescence and into the senior elements of its consequence. This column approached an issue yesterday. It was published on-line today in The Hayride ©.

The Emperor

So, everybody knows Obama appointed four people to posts normally requiring approval by the Senate. This is in violation of the Constitution because the President is only allowed to make appointments like this when the Senate is NOT in session. Technically the Senate is in session with a token force of Senators on scene in Washington to man the gavel, sit in a seat and speak about worthless matters of no interest before a bunch of empty seats. The Republicans are screaming “NO FAIR” and fretting about a Constitutional crisis coming about because Obama slid this bullcrap through based on an interpretation of a technicality.

Distorted images

As Iowa fades into political reality’s rearview mirror we ask: what the heck happened? Did voters speak or did political operatives covertly whisper their marching orders into the ears of the unthinking? Is Romney really the anointed one or just another slick snake-oil peddler gaining traction? Is his lubricity only on the surface like his understanding of the issues, or is he just that stupid?

Shorted again

'Short Selling' is selling a security the seller does not own, or any sale that is completed by the delivery of a security borrowed by the seller. Short sellers assume that they will be able to buy the stock at a lower amount than the price at which they sold short. ~Investopedia.com 2012

The lies of those elected

Definition: Representative (n): a.) a person exemplifying a class or kind; b.) acting as a deputy or proxy for another or others; c.) acting for a constituency, being an agent or delegate for the constituency. MEMO To: Self-Possessed Politicians everywhere in America From: a citizen

Just another guy

Whenever the going gets tough in the Obama administration the weak scream racism. This group’s refusal to accept ANY responsibility for what happens on their watch is stupid, if not outright criminal, as in the homicide of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent with the weapons supplied by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Ivory towers

Is anybody else suffering the pain of Ocular Dysfunctional Tear Displacement or as we know it, Dry Eye Syndrome? It comes about from the fact the voters’ eyes collectively glaze over after saturation with the shellac of so many disingenuous statements from the chief resident of the oval office.

Go away

Big “brudda”, in the form of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), is suggesting a mandate that ALL telecommunications be banned from the interior of an automobile. NO phone. NO text. NO nothing. They hope this ban will prevent crashes and more highway mayhem caused by stupid people with their heads stuck up their rear-ends before they rear-end somebody else.

No Master and Commander

I’m a fan of anything nautical or a Great Ship, sails billowing, powering majestically across endless expanses of ocean. Metaphorically it’s a grand allusion to this greatest of nations: America.

Barack Holder

I was out early this morning. Dogs need walking as they occasionally do or they do what they do where you want NO do-do. As we sauntered along, me sniffing back terminally frozen sinuses and he sniffing every other dog’s claim to territorial ascendency since the dawn of time, I saw my buddy Charlie walking his AKC Registered mutt: Barack Holder.