Blue Narrative Falling Apart But It's Not Going Away.

The Mid-Terms are over but the train wreck continues.   Gruber is driving the Democrat brand down as this architect of Obamacare says misdirection and the stupidity of voters was key to getting the law passed.    Post-election Obama, instead of presiding, has threatened both houses of Congress he'll make up his own laws on immigration, laws opposed by 70% of the electorate.   The Blue cities in America are the ones in the biggest trouble for debt and crime.   And W.R. Mead, the Philosopher of Blue, shows the Blue social model is breaking down, the idea that an ever increasing social dividend can be diverted from an increasingly prosperous electorate through the hands of big government to the underdog.  Look at the Democrat back bench for talent and the light shines on an aging Hillary, while there's a striking number of younger voices and some women and blacks vying in Republican land.  Until that back bench looks fresher, the Republican brand is going up.  Governorships, the presidency, the House of Representatives and perhaps even the Senate are going to turn redder in 2016.

Blue is not going away.  The idea that someone should do something about something, the inclination to help the less fortunate from our plenty, envy of the rich, the tendency to suppress risk and change with rules about rules are all natural expressions of human nature.  To boot, the richest like politicians who buy the votes of the poor with food stamps.    Neither the Republican nor the future Libertarian party will be forever.

 (If you haven't seen it or the five following videos, cynicism and manipulation is policy.)

Gruber:

"Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage, and basically, you know, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass," Jonathan Gruber said at the Annual Health Economics Conference.

World Leader Harper to Putin: Get out of Ukraine. (Americans envious).

Quoted from Bloomberg and CBC 

At the G20 meeting, Putin reached out to shake the prime minister’s hand.   Harper acknowledged his Russian counterpart, saying: “I guess I’ll shake your hand, but I only have one thing to say to you: you need to get out of Ukraine. “Putin did not respond positively,” MacDonald told Canadian reporters. “Indeed Harper told Putin that Russia should leave Ukraine,” Peskov said by phone today in Brisbane. “Putin told him that this is impossible because they are not there.”  Asked about the tone of the meeting between the two leaders, Peskov said “it was within the bounds of decency.”   

Picked up in the US by Instapundit:  "Smart diplomacy, the Real Thing".

A sampling of the comments there:

"I remember when the US president was the leader of the Free World. Good times."
"Anybody know off the top of their head what one must do to legally emigrate to      Canada?"
"BIG ones. No mom-jeans to poop in. I'll bet he has a pin-up girl Hawaiian shirt, too."

The picture is from the last G20 summit in St Petersburg.

The little guy on the left is making a lot of noise lately, including sending
a column of tanks into Ukraine and sending his warships  just off Australia to
the G20 meeting after he was dumped from the G8.

President One Note: Amnesty or Bust

President Obama is in love with defeat, trumpeting in advance where he will attack.  Sun Tzu's advice is to do the exact opposite.  Make nice to the enemy (Republicans and rubes) while making plans in secret. Obama's secret plan to amnesty millions of illegal visitors is about as secret as Kim Kardashian's wardrobe.   He's going to be shot down or diminished and appears to have no Plan B.

If he and his camp followers are correct that borders should be no barrier, then disband the IRS and send your taxes to the UN.

Pretty much the first responsibility of a government is to protect the border. From the US constitution, defense is listed right after paying back public debt and before general public welfare in the first statement of duties of Congress:

"The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States. (Section 8)"

President Scott Walker?: "Does he sit upon a throne made of the skulls of his enemies"?

From The Federalist:

Does Walker sizzle? Not exactly. Is he a particularly charismatic speaker? No, he isn’t. But does he sit upon a throne made of the skulls of his enemies? Yes, yes he does.

Rick Cromwell's article makes a good case for President Walker.  It's an alternate to my view that America wants a time-out with a decent competent guy like Matt Romney.

DOE funds temperature fakery

Temperatures from DOE-funded USHCN are 30% made up and 100% twisted to make them hotter.  The GIF from Stephen Goddard's blog is unforgettable. Analysis at the link.  (DOE funding mentioned here.)

This reminds me of the joke about accountants.  The truth is whatever they want it to be:

A businessman was interviewing applicants for the position of divisional manager. He devised a simple test to select the most suitable person for the job. He asked each applicant the question, "What is two and two?" The first interviewee was a journalist. His answer was "Twenty-two." The second was a social worker. She said, "I don't know the answer but I'm glad we had time to discuss this important question." The third applicant was an engineer. He pulled out a slide rule and showed the answer to be between 3.999 and 4.001. The next person was a lawyer. He stated that in the case of Jenkins v. Commr of Stamp Duties (Qld), two and two was proven to be four. The last applicant was an accountant. The business man asked him, "How much is two and two?" The accountant got up from his chair, went over to the door and closed it, then came back and sat down. He leaned across the desk and said in a low voice, "How much do you want it to be?" He got the job.

h/t smalldeadanimals

Climate craziness best predictor of your vote.

From WUWT this exit poll of republicans and democrats who were asked:  "Do you think climate change, also known as 'global warming' , is a serious problem?"

John Hinkeraker comments: "Why is global warming such a partisan issue? I think because there is hardly any evidence to support the alarmists’ case, so the whole thing is a matter of faith and politics, not science."

The voter split is bigger than the political party split and that goes for Canada too.   Even conservatives with a microphone give a lot of lip service to doing something about climate.

I'll know I'm rich when...

1984 version:
I don't have to go to work right away but can enjoy a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice, a fresh-baked croissant and read the Financial Post.

2014 version:
Semi-retired, and self-employed, I don't have to go to work right away.
(60% complete)
A glass of Not-From-Concentrate orange juice goes down well.  (70%)
I buy a gross of frozen Costco croissant starters, let a couple rise overnight and give them 15 minutes in the toaster oven before breakfast.   (90%)
And instead of the Financial Post, with PC or smartphone I skim the surface of the whole earth reading what is deemed news and wisdom.  (100%)

So, I'm rich.
The price of wealth came down.
Thanks to markets.

Obama: "Did I do that?"

Obama and Urkel:  "Did I do that?"
Remember, his policies are "on the ballot".
As the cartoonist says,  Obama is offering amnesty to millions because they are willing to do the jobs Americans aren't willing to do: Vote Democrat.

What would you take in a time machine to the Stone Age? Update: Software

If I brought a smartphone, it would probably be torn down and reprocessed as blade edges.  In one hand I'd carry a piece of scrap steel and in the other some mirrors and patterned silk.  Stuffed in my pocket would be plasticized Google satellite maps.

The men and women of thirty thousand years ago would be quick learners.  You can think of lots more if your goal is to kickstart the industrial revolution.  I'm thinking of what the people would be ready to accept:   Sharp edges for battle and things to make women look stunning to men.

Added:  Probably the stuff you bring would be taken by force. If you don't want to try for the Number One position, perhaps a retreat to the forest with a personal survival kit would be wiser.

Update:  Bring software not hardware.  Language is software and it seems to have been upgraded maybe six thousand years ago to have a word for everything we see and do and to let us tell stories.  No one can steal my language.

All Politics Is Old Politics When Smartphones Are Lie-detectors.

Cheap smartphones on the net are upending party politics.  There is no longer a memory hole to throw stuff down.  The sound bits and video clips are starting to resurface at election time. Those who run for high office have to match their walk and talk better.  Now there's news of effective lie-detector apps to add to your phone.   (What happens when your friend’s smartphone can tell that you’re lying?)  Do you think the voters won't be checking it out?    

The average person has a random chance of spotting a lie while good poker players and trained interrogators can get above 70%.  We all give out tells when we lie, a little glance, finger fidget, change of pitch, "let me be clear".    Voters are about as smart as politicians but they have been handicapped for lack of information.  That is changing and not because of policy, just because that's what people do with cheap smartphones and internet access.

Chance of spotting a lie.
Remember, 50% isn't a pass, it's the baseline, strictly random

  Another four or five elections will pass before it's obvious.  We're only a dozen years into the eWorld where Everyman has a phone.  Politicians will put policy brakes on it but it will spread anyway because they want it too.  Cheap quick information is addictive.

The ultimate compliment

"Mustafa, now you may die".

Source

Some years back in a Palestinian camp in Jordan,  a Western optimist tried to interest the camp leaders in digging a well for their own supply of fresh water.  They thought it was a hopeless project.  He ended up recruiting the kids.  They dug down over thirty feet, shoring up the sides as they went and truly did find water.  The community came to see and a cup of water was drawn up for the eldest to sip.   He turned solemnly to the volunteer and said, "Mustafa, now you may die".

This one act made his whole life worthwhile to the community.  The ultimate compliment.

I read this in a book about thirty years ago and haven't found it on the Internet or in Google Books. If anyone knows the source, I'll add it.

Christmas Math

Grandpa and Grandma are sending $150 to buy all the kids presents this Christmas.  At our end, we don't know what G&G need and have decided to send them $100 to get something they really like.  You see where I am going.

Source

 
All the love can be handled in a single clearing entry.    Make a phone call.  The high bidder does a $50 transfer on their smartphone. Not only is this cheaper, it's greener.  No cars drive around burning gas and no Christmas card paper is consumed.

On the receiving end, I used to bank the cheque.  Next time we talked, I'd mention the nicest thing I'd bought since then and give them the credit.

US Voters have favourite brands.

Amazon, Craftsman, Johnson & Johnson make everybody's list.  They serve and don't lecture.  But Google is mistrusted, by Republicans and Independents and PBS only matters to Democrats.   (So much for "public" radio.)  

This is the Google that styles their logo to celebrate thug Chavez' birthday on Easter Sunday 2013.  It cooperated with China to censor search results, but later relented.  It cooperated with NSA to spy on Americans.  It's pretty much the biggest snoop into our lives, more even than the government and uses data about how we live our lives in way we never quite get to see.  A clue should be that you don't get the same search results as your neighbour because they've been edited by what they know about you.

Source of list at yougov.com.

A modest proposal for November 5th

Stunned democrat voters won't have the option November 5th of moving to Canada to get away.  That was the Republican refuge.   Venezuela does photo ops with the American left but it's not a great place to set up house.  There is a better way:   The tens of thousands hired to peddle Obamacare and get folks signed up can be repositioned as Grief Counsellors.  They weren't busy anyway.

Waiting to take your call.

"Hit the refresh button every ten minutes".  A former worker at Serco's processing facility in Wentzville, Mo., Lavonne Takatz, said she and other workers played games or slept because there was nothing for them to do. She and other workers said company and government supervisors knew they were being paid to do little or no work at all.

Midterms cure S.A.D.

Folks who live in the north call it Seasonal Affective Disorder.  They get depressed by long dark winters.  For the rest of us it's a political disease called Shut-Out Affective Disorder when conservative & libertarian voices aren't heard.  The last time I had it, Chretien was ruling in Ottawa and Glen Clark was the NDP rooster in Victoria.   Lately it's the U.S. of A that's been getting me down.  It's so fricking big that it's politics affect our politics.  The 2014 midterms look set to change a lot of roosters and the more that change, the better it will be.

Suddenly I'm cured.   Getting out of bed briskly,  I post early and often, and every glass is half full.

"Mein Fuhrer, I can walk! " Link to clip from Dr. Strangelove.

Optics is morality: Obama lies about the White House Drapes.

Standing in the Oval Office August 2010, Obama told C-Span they hadn't remodelled the room.   Because, Austerity.  Two weeks later the White House asked C-Span to can the story because the Washington Post was doing an expose on millions spent remodelling the Oval Office.  Morality is optics.   This is reported at the Washington Post and sourced from Cheryl Attkisson's book, "Stonewalled".

Petty, unpresidential, immoral.

Russia snooping in White House computers. WH says yes but everything's cool.

The White House finally says yes, we were hacked from Russia, but not to worry, it's the non-secure part of the President's network.  Is that where Obama orders up a salami-arugula sandwich for lunch? You and I both know it's all secure and no one drops in.  What can a president lose that isn't about national security?  2014 election insider stuff and tit-for-tat deals with politicians and press?

The White House admits the probe came from Russian territory.  Read the saccharine assurances that all is well.  The weaselly blather is hard to stomach: "In the course of assessing recent threats we identified activity of concern on the unclassified EOP network. Any such activity is something that we take very seriously. In this case we took immediate measures to evaluate and mitigate the activity,"

You want to believe they have it in hand. Then you learn they didn't find out until a foreigner told them. Britain or maybe  Israel sent a tweet along the lines of "Do you feel a breeze on your bum?"  If nothing of significance was compromised or planted in the net of the Executive Office of the President, maybe most of the office could be eliminated  as a cost-saving measure.

While the Washington press was ignoring the story, John Hinderaker of Powerlineblog was the only one for some days that even said "boo".  

Replace the census with data mining:

That door-to-door stuff is like using a Gestetner to duplicate something instead of  "right click-copy-print" with your mouse.

 Here's  another study showing that data mining cell phone traffic can, for example, tell planners what they need to know about where people work and relax, in what numbers, and the routes they follow.  One glance at the chart confirms your suspicions.  No more long form census interrogations are needed, just a little ingenuity in data scooping.

The University of Southampton study was reported at Science Daily News.

A little drinky poo helps old people remember things.

Science Daily News reports that moderate alcohol consumption in seniors can improve memory for events.  Light drinkers had a larger hippocampus.  The hippocampus is a part of the brain that goes downhill in early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

This connects to another study reported this week showing that flavonols in chocolate and cocoa can reverse memory decline by affecting a different area, the dentate gyrus in the brain.  This reversal of age-related memory decline is different from the episode memory discussed above.  "A cup of cocoa, then bed, keeps you smart in the head".

Two life forms in one body

People are a symbiosis of two life forms, the XY-Guy and the Identity (I.D.)  I'm calling XY-Guy the behaviour baked into the genes for the organism to survive with food, sex and air.  I.D. is the "I" thing that happens in the same organism.  A few years after being born, every little kid starts calling himself "I" using the same name his neighbours call themselves..    Experience and thought is structured with a life of its own and eventually I.D.'s structured data exceeds the amount of information in XY-Guy's genome.  Both life forms infuse the same organism.

Men and women form couples with a double union.  The XY-Guy is somewhat generic but powerful while I.D. has character and more options.    Their respective goals can be out of sync but somehow, as couples, we blink at those moments and refocus.  It's similar to falling asleep and waking up.  The two different but related worlds aren't quite compatible but they reflect each other and share places in our brain with the help of a little forgetfulness at the door from one to the other.  

I may call my wife honey (a food word) or nibble her ear and at the same time listen to her presentation strategy for a meeting.   At the same moment I admire her kindness to a stranger I can get a bump in my pants.  Two life forms share the leadership with a little blink as they hand off to one another.

This is nothing new.  The cells of our body seem to be alive with several subordinate life forms.  The mitochondria even have their own DNA lineage.    We also exist in two radically different forms at the moment leading up to conception.  Just as a mushroom can exist as a mycelium cloud underground or a gilled lump after a rain,  XY-Guy can exist either as a brainy organism or as eggs and a million spermicules wriggling about with a sense of destiny.   They are alternating life forms (haploid and diploid).

Can Identity reproduce without a body?  This is where AI is heading.

(Semantics:  ID and I.D. make a good word pair but there's too much baggage with Freud's term.)