Knackers's blog

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/28/939675/-Why-is-this-not-ANat...

Brisenia Flores. a nine year old. killed in her own home, after both her parents were shot. By thugs.

I know, it's no longer "fashionable" to be racist. Now you join a "militia" or an "anti-immigrant" or "doctor-murdering" group.

I hate having to write this... I'm far from the first person to be for gun control.

But if the Right can't be responsible enough to stop people from hunting blacks or illegal aliens...

the worst part? You can't even say that if the flores folks had had guns, they could have adequately defended themselves.

I'm all for self-defense. but a gun is not a good defense.

NOAA has the stats, paid for by your tax money.

While there are many honest critiques of Global Warming as something to guide policy, there isn't a single unbribed-by-Exxon scientist purporting to believe that Global Warming doesn't exist.

This makes it more of a scientific consensus than gravity -- where people publish peer reviewed articles about other perspectives.

When the shoe fits, wear it.

I know, I know, such an Idea seems tantamount to heresy, don't it? But do yourself a favor, and try it on for size. How much % of an American's income do you think goes towards gas/car bills?
Do you know how much you use? (for me, it's about 2.4%)

Turns out, you can figure this pretty easily. But it does vary widely, and that's based on how high the taxes are. Because when your local gov't steals your freedom by lowering taxes (freedom to drive a MiniCooper, say, which gets much higher gas mileage than the pickup that is mandatory down in Arkansas, and has fewer maintenance problems to boot), you have to pay for it too!

I'm not saying that every doggone puddle deserves a paved road. But when the majority of your state is inaccessible by anything that isn't a pickup truck, that costs money, out of your pocketbook.

Izzit worth it? Do your own math.

Over 2 trillion dollars per year is spent on health care in this country. Divide it out, go on.
Easily 20% of that goes towards waste. Ahem. "Overhead."

Why, again, do we need to ration health care? It's fairly simple to afford the money to put people on maintenance meds, so they don't make you sick.

Is it possible that some people (lubbock, tx, If i remember the article right) are robbing insurance companies blind? Sure. and I call that prosecutable.

But most of the cost of health care is the revolving emergency room door. And it fixes nothing. First they take a toe, and then a foot, and then your leg -- little fixes that would be much cheaper to fix with a medication to control your blood sugar.

National Road
Interstate Highways
Rural Electrification
Hoover Dam
Intercontinental Railroads
Internet
Social Security
National Forests
Man on the Moon
US Postal Service
US Metereological Service
VA

When yinz rail about these thingummies, you do realize that the alternatives are use taxes, amiright? You know, things like a GAS TAX? And actually letting people pay the REAL prices for their electricity?

NB socialism as a codeword for Communism is utterly indecipherable to a majority of Americans.

That's what put yinz over the top (links are frontpaged on kos).

Take note, or you won't get reelected next time.

Jobs first, "principles" later.

Welcome to bigger government, government in your business. And by that we mean less public smoking, more seatbelts, fewer sodas -- and salt free zones!

What, you thought insurance companies were out to help YOU?

Profit is a corporation's almighty G-d. And the government can work miracles to help a corporation profit.

Also big winners: Nelnet, and the other gov't handout banks.
Losers: the next generation of leaders
Wasn't usury a bigtime Christian sin?

A special plea to Chairman Issa (last seen holding congressional hearings on black helicopters): please don't hold hearings on Obama's birth certificate. If nothing else, it's undignified.

Answer me a few questions:

Do blacks often get special treatment in employment over those of a different race?

Are Latinos or those of Mixed Race (Mexicans) more prone to crime than Indians or the Japanese?

Why do blacks have fewer jobs and a higher rate of incarceration than whites?

Do you believe in Welfare Queens?

Do you believe in crack babies?

To quote Ronald Reagan's term, do you believe that "big black bucks" are scarier than an ordinary Bubba?

Why do blacks vote less than whites?

How much of your current wealth stems from racist policies?

Do you believe that a black middle class wage earner should be treated just the same as a white middle class wage earner?

Do you "not have a problem with all blacks"?

Are there "good" blacks and "bad" blacks? Do you know one when you see one?

Why have blacks not improved their condition, in the main?

Do you believe that the state of the black community would be helped by more guns?

Which is more dangerous? Driving across country, or walking through Harlem?

Are you concerned that abortions are disproportionately used by whites? Why is that, anyway?

I appreciate your responses, and I hope you enjoy responding!

This is Knackers/Maleficient/RisingTide signing out. As many of you know, I've got to get a new job, and that means no time for chat on the net.

Been a pleasure, and I truly mean that. I wish yinz the best of luck in reforming your party and helping to save our nation with smarter solutions.

I still don't get what the moderators have against remote psychological analysis of politicians based on body language...

Two things I'm gonna say, to finish up old conversations:

Ahmanijad came in third, based on the best smuggled figures we've got.

Watch the Colbert Show in Iraq. Thanks be to the USO for making it possible! (and Obama nailed his mark in one take.)

Howdy folks, and I'm here to talk about ettiquette.

Believe it or not -- and I'm not talking about dressage!

In an age where your words are not permanent as written, where they can be in some ways erased by you or others -- what are the boundaries of polite conduct?

On some things there is an emerging consensus -- it is NOT acceptable to merely edit your blog. You should post what has been edited, and why -- that way subsequent commenters don't look foolish.

On other issues, the consensus, if there is one, is less clear. Take a blog such as this one -- where you have a group of "Front Pagers" and the hoi polloi.

Is it okay to remove a post entirely? How about when it was done by one of the frontpagers? This site has in the past chosen to delete hoi polloi diaries when they do not comport with the decorum of this site. On other sites (like Kos and MyDD), people may see their posting priviledges revoked, but their posts retain a certain level of permanency in of themselves.

This has come up because freerepublic has recently decided to remove a post lauding the shooter in Washington DC in the Holocaust museum.

I personally, tend to take the middle road -- Admins should at minimum post notes saying "this site disagrees with this statement", and at maximum delete the post at time of posting. I believe, however, that no site should remove a post long after the fact. That's rather a violation of journalistic integrity, to the extent that it exists in a free medium. The admins, may, of course, put notes like "read this. didnt' realize he was an antisemetic violent retard. post looked harmless enough, erred on the edge of caution" or other comments addressing the problem.

Surely there are other debates -- like what to do if your FrontPager goes off the deep end... (ahem. 538 and RCP's rather public feuding).

Weigh in, the pools free.