Saturday, April 29, 2017

100 days of Trump: Holding Fast When He Can, Negotiating When He Must

Surprise! One hundred days in and the MSM has declared Trump’s first quarter a complete disaster.

renault. gambling in casablancaThis is my shocked face, Rick.

Although to be fair, they did that before he was even inaugurated. I leave it to others to provide the 100 Days of Trump analysis – Charlie Martin’s is quite good especially given that he was not Trump’s #1 fan in the beginning, having tweeted just before the election “My worst fears are being realized: One of them is going to win.” And the Gateway Pundit claims to have the complete list of accomplishments.

As far as I’m concerned if he had done nothing other than ensconcing Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court and decreasing Illegal border crossings by 75% I would be content. That he has managed to drive everyone in the MSM stark raving mad is just an additional benefit.

cupcakes Like frosting on the cupcake – with sprinkles!

In some ways I think it more telling to look at the “accomplishments” of the other side in the same timeframe to determine how this first hundred days is going.

philly antifaAntifa Anti-Trump rally in Philly: way to go lefties!

Anti-Trump-protest worse than hitler and 911Leftists determine Trump is worse than both Hitler AND 9/11

calvin truthIsn’t it though?

Here’s  Mike Huckabee’s take on the left’s questionable achievements during the timeframe:

The antics of the left since November have shown us the massive cannonball we dodged. Simply by occupying the office, refusing to be intimidated, and advancing the agenda he promised, he caused the "other side" to show itself for what it is: irrational, arrogant, hysterical, hateful, sometimes even violent, and unable to relinquish control over the most basic American liberties.

The thing is, the left doesn’t really know how to get anything done absent the histrionics of irrational, arrogant, hysterical, hateful and sometimes violent behavior. Everything else requires work.

calvin work ethic One of the main reasons the left just doesn’t get Trump

But I guess the #1 best thing about Trump’s first 100 days is the fact that there are still 2823 to go. Imagine how great America will be again after all 2923 Days of Trump - holding fast when he can, negotiating when he must.

compromise

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Friday, April 28, 2017

Evacuate K Street

The Media – who during the Obama years never encountered any deficit spending they didn’t like - are now suddenly concerned that Trump’s “tax cut for the rich”  is not being offset by spending cuts.

I wonder how nouveau riche ex-president Barry feels about the proposed cut. Given that he’s already established his starter speaking fee at $400k a pop,

Even as President Obama faced criticism for getting $400,000 for a speech to a Wall Street bank, he pocketed the same amount of money for a second speech, The Post has learned.

Obama made another $400,000 on Thursday when he appeared at the A&E Networks advertising upfront at The Pierre Hotel. He was interviewed over 90 minutes at the Midtown Manhattan event by presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin in front of the cable network’s advertisers.

and given how much he loves the sound of his own voice, he could easily be a bona fide member of the 1% in no time.

Meanwhile, back at the Schoolhouse of Rocks,

school house rocks

I understand that the Freedom Caucus lobbyists have authorized the “Obamacare Repeal” bill and waved it through but that now the moderate Republican (RINOS) lobbyists are opposed to it; because, not a big enough piece of the pie. (For additional info on how this works Janice the Elder recommends TCT’s updated civics class material: Understanding Why President Trump Has Not Received Legislative Action From Congress…. The process is far from new, corporations have had paid lobbyists on payroll for decades, but few Americans outside the Beltway and corporate executive suites understand just how insidious the machinations are.

lobbyists

Corporations (special interest group) writes the law. Lobbyists take the law and go find politician(s) to support it. Politicians get support from their peers using tenure and status etc. Eventually, if things go according to norm, the legislation gets a vote.

Within every step of the process there are expense account lunches, dinners, trips, venue tickets and a host of other customary way-points to generate/leverage a successful outcome.

But the important part to remember is that the origination of the entire system is EXTERNAL to congress. - TCT

md_copy-fantasia-hippo-and-alligator-trotWashington: the only place on earth where the Hippos dance with the Alligators

Since most lobbyists are trained by working on Capital Hill first I would like to submit a modest proposal: a slight modification to the Constitutional process of electing representatives. In lieu of voting for Senators and Representatives directly why don’t we just vote for the K Street lobbyists instead? That way we’d be at least one step closer to the actual crafters of the laws we’ll be required to live by.

Please, Mr. Trump, begin the swamp draining. Evacuate K Street.

k-street_large evacuation pg

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Thursday, April 27, 2017

These Vacations Don’t Pay For Themselves You Know

the-ap-reported-that-obama-traveled-to-the-island-by-private-jet-from-nearby-tahiti

“Too often,” Obama lectured Wall Street in March 2008, “we’ve excused and even embraced an ethic of greed, corner cutting and inside dealing that has always threatened the long-term stability of our economic system. Too often, we’ve lost that common stake in each other’s prosperity.”

obama vacation tweet

If by “quick” you mean 3 months, chauffeured from one exotic island paradise to another by multi-billionaires. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Think of it as just another way to find “that common stake in each other’s prosperity.”

So when Barry told us back in 2009 that he didn’t run to help a bunch of Wall Street fat cats:

obama's fat cats

you can take that to the fat cat’s bank, so to speak. I ran this through my fact checker just for fun,

fact check

And determined Barry’s comment to be tom-mostlytrue

Barry has never done anything to help anyone – other than himself. He did not not run for office to help Wall Street bankers, he ran for office so they could help him. And as was pointed out earlier this week everything is progressing according to plan.

mo paddleboardLet’s Moove! MO, paddle boarding in Polynesia

obama-has-been-enjoying-activities-since-hes-been-away-on-his-blog-branson-shared-photos-of-the-former-us-president-kitesurfing-off-nearby-moskito-islandBarry, parasailing in the Caribbean

These vacations don’t pay for themselves you know.

godfather lawyer briefcaseDitto a politician with a sharp crease in his trousers.

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Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Why Is Common Sense So Controversial?

How much obesity has to be created in a single decade for people to realize that diet has to be responsible for it? - Dr. Robert Atkins, the much maligned early advocate of the low carb diets.

There may be other things more important but I’m more interested in junk science this week; I blame Earth Day, Climate Change and Trump. In any event I thought you might like to know about this article related to your health and diet: Vegans Suck at Science. Here’s Proof. It debunks several decades long myths about meat such as “Meat Eating Leads to Heart Disease!”

Vegans-Suck-at-Science-Heres-the-Proof

That study suggests that the metabolism of the amino acid L-carnitine to TMAO accelerates artery clogging. This adds to a previous study posted two years prior in the same journal showing that high levels of TMAO equated to an increased risk of heart disease.

Fortunately, it's not as straightforward as it sounds. There's no need to drop the steak. The initial experiment was an observational study on just six people (five meat-eaters, one vegetarian) and the second study used an isolated carnitine supplement on mice.

In other words all the “studies” and conclusions drawn from them were junk science, or “post-normal” science if you will. Quelle surprise!

Meanwhile, In other nutrition news some of the additional food items we’ve been warned against for years - butter, cream and cheese – aren’t the culprits either:

butter

The doctors, led by cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra, said the widely held belief that saturated fats clog the arteries is misguided. 

Apparently the “scientists” were just wrong:

“One thing that's very clear when you look at the totality of the evidence: saturated fat does not clog the heart arteries. And sadly, for many years — for decades, in fact — this has been the primary focus of treatment of heart disease and public health advice.” Malhotra said in an interview.

And it’s not just your heart that suffered from the medical community’s decades long campaign against saturated fat; insulin levels were impacted as well:

diabetesMore and more type 2 diabetes, diagnosed at younger and younger ages: what’s up with that?

As a result of warnings about saturated fat, some people shifted their diets towards carbohydrates. But an excess of processed carbs and refined carbs also plays a part in developing cardiovascular diseases.

Eating too much white bread, pasta and potatoes raises blood glucose rapidly, Malhotra said. Our bodies respond to those carbs by producing too much insulin.

When insulin levels are chronically high, the hormone stops being able to do its job of getting glucose into cells to provide energy.

When the body becomes resistant to insulin, an inflammatory response is triggered, said cardiologist Dr. Michael Farkouh, who is the chair of multinational clinical trials at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital and was not involved in the editorial.

Good grief, 100% wrong again? Shocking! Of course there is a catch; you do have to exercise moderately.

“Coronary artery disease is a chronic inflammatory disease and it can be reduced effectively by walking 22 minutes a day and eating real food. There is no market to help spread this simple yet powerful intervention.”

Dr Malhotra said doctors have become obsessed with fat reduction, whereas the real culprits are processed food and ready meals.

Operative phrase here is “There is no market to help spread this simple yet powerful intervention.” The low-fat high carb junk snack food market is yuge, walking is free. Which is exactly the problem Dr. Atkins ran into 50 years ago when he began promoting a low-carb rather than a low-fat diet. Not only was he bucking “the consensus” of scientists that carbs were good and fat was bad for you, but he was bucking the big foods diet industry.

FoodLabelslight-foods

Although I note that the heirs to Dr. Atkins’ estate and legacy have tried to rectify that:

atkins-products-bannerCapitalizing on an essentially free concept. I’ve tried a couple of these; don’t waste your money.

Here’s the diet/lifestyle recommendations in a nutshell: generally avoid white (!) foods (potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, sugar) and processed foods, cook your own food and using whole-fat dairy, meat and unprocessed fruits and veggies.

Grilled_Tbone_V2A perfectly healthy meal

Oh, and don’t forget to go for a walk once a day. Be sure to take your best friend.

camel_on a walkThat’s right, it’s hump day.

 

I didn't realize I was going to be fighting the whole world. Dr. Robert Atkins

I know somebody who knows exactly how Dr. Atkins felt:

trump3
Q. Why is common sense so controversial? A. Because, Liberals.

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Tuesday, April 25, 2017

At Some Point, You’ve Done Enough Damage. At That Point Just Shut-Up.

After a grueling 8 years Barry decided to take a little R&R - about 100 days. He reemerged where he originally crawled out of his chrysalis – Chicago- to give his first post-presidency speech to a group of future community organizers/agitators:

Former President Barack Obama on Monday kicked off his first public appearance since leaving office by jokingly asking if he's missed anything important.

"So uh, what's been going on while I've been gone?" Obama asked with a smile. The Hill

I presume he meant after he’d left office.

024372-benghazi-consulate-attackWe all know what happened when he was MIA on the job

“If you had pictures of everything I had done when I was in high school, I probably wouldn’t have been president of the United States,” Obama said with a chuckle. Breitbart

obama_smoking-weed11

And I would just add that if we had pictures of even half the things he had done when he was in the White House, he probably wouldn’t have been re-elected president of the United States either.

Obama-Scandals1

Future generations will still be discussing why it was that we didn’t get any of those pictures.

A well rested Barry gave yesterday’s speech for “free” – a gesture of support for his former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan who is mentoring young people these days. Future speeches however will draw down fees in the Bill and Hillary  range: reportedly $400k for  a speech at Cantor Fitzgerald's (TRIGGER WARNING! WALL STREET!) healthcare conference this September. I think it’s just their way of saying “thank you” for all the money that spilled their way thanks to the great Obamacare health grab of 2009. I wonder if he’ll remind them that “at some point you’ve made enough money.”

at-some-point-youve-made-enough-money-dixon-diaz-03-07-2017-16074905

Or does that just apply to the little people who don’t have any money?

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Monday, April 24, 2017

I’m Not a Real Scientist, But I Have a Master’s Degree…in Science!

It’s not surprising that a Liberal  protest that began as an Earth Day pro-science march turned into another leftist anti-Trump rally.

anti trump

What else would you expect from an event that was inspired by the Women’s March on Washington?

The idea to create a march was inspired by the 2017 Women's March of January 21, 2017, and originated from a discussion in Reddit. 

Because if you read it on Reddit, it must be important.

ST-NYE0424Hello, I’m  Dr. Science. I’m not a real doctor but I do have a Masters Degree…in Science!

(The March was) organized by scientists skeptical of the agenda of the Trump administration, and critical of Trump administration policies widely viewed as hostile to science. The march's website states that an “American government that ignores science to pursue ideological agendas endangers the world.”Wiki

As opposed to the former administration that “ignored science to pursue ideological agendas.”

obamas-new-mission-for-nasa-obama-nasa-muslim-relations-political-poster-1278379428

And just like the Women’s March organizers who disinvited pro-life women, the March for Science had no use for those who didn’t subscribe to their interpretation of data (man made global warming aka climate change):

Organizers describe the march as “a call to support and safeguard the scientific community.” But then they silence and expel those who won’t bow to the community’s majority opinion — the “scientific consensus.”

Because, as John Stossel states, their “science” must be accepted on faith, not facts. Just like religion.

The alarmists claim they’re marching for “science,” but they’re really marching for a left-wing religion. - Earth Day Dopes

And who indeed could object to marching for “science?”

Marching for science might seem comfortingly straightforward. Science activism has a shiny allure of certainty. Your placards come with citations. You’re on the side of evidence. You. Have. A. Graph.

bring a sine

Consider for a  moment however that our Constitution did not create government to pursue either religion or “scientific endeavor” but rather “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

What appears to be a war on science by the current Congress and president is, in fact, no such thing. Fundamentally, it is a war on government. To be more specific, it is a war on a form of government with which science has become deeply aligned and allied over the past century. To the disparate wings of the conservative movement that believe that US strength lies in its economic freedoms, its individual liberties, and its business enterprises, one truth binds them all: the federal government has become far too powerful.

Science is, for today’s conservatives, an instrument of federal power. They attack science’s forms of truth-making, its databases, and its budgets not out of a rejection of either science or truth, but as part of a coherent strategy to weaken the power of the federal agencies that rely on them. Put simply, they war on science to sap the legitimacy of the federal government. Mistaking this for a war on science could lead to bad tactics, bad strategy, and potentially disastrous outcomes for both science and democracy. - Perspective: Its not a war on science.

static.politico.comKeeping it real, man.

But we have good cause to question science’s current “forms of truthmaking” as most of it creates untruths. Science has been producing government subsidized “studies” for years now based on nothing more than epidemiologic studies. No matter how you feel about epidemiology in it’s current application it is not real science (real science requires physics and chemistry); like political polls if you know the answer you’re trying to get you know how to ask the questions in order to get it. Besides sometimes intentional design flaws the very way data is collected and analyzed is questionable. Whenever you rely on people’s memory, responses and accuracy over the course of years-long studies you are going to get inaccurate data. The published results tend to be researchers’ best guess given the data they’ve managed to collect. That leaves much room for error. Hence we continue to get conflicting advice like this latest:

“We were told for decades to avoid yolks and limit our dietary cholesterol to help protect against heart disease. Yet in 2015, the U.S. dietary guidelines dropped the daily cap on cholesterol. It turns out that studies since the 1950s had found that dietary cholesterol had little meaningful effect on blood cholesterol. What a shame for all of those delicious omelets we never got to eat. And, more seriously, for all the vitamins we missed — egg yolks are far more nutrient-dense than the whites, with super-rich amounts of biotin , choline and lutein.” - Healthy Substitutes

eggs

We’ve seen the same type of reversal on recommendations for things such as salt and saturated fat. And yet over 90% of doctors, nutritionists and diet “experts” continue to recommend the same low-fat, low-salt diet regimen that they have been promoting for decades based on government pseudo-studies.

Liberals always believe they have the market on facts and science; worse they have the arrogance to believe they know how to fix everything through government dictum and policy.

One problem is that many of the marchers apparently believe that scientific evidence necessarily implies the adoption of certain policies. This ignores the always salient issue of trade-offs. For example, acknowledging that man-made global warming could become a significant problem does not mean that the only “scientific” policy response must be the immediate deployment of the current versions of solar and wind power. – Reason

burning windmillsPower AND light!

But hey! It was a nice day for a March for Science. And maybe it will save the world, you never know.

nasaIf you’re lucky, honey, President-anti-science-Trump will let NASA to do more than promote the self-esteem of Muslims.

Several of the references above from: Untangling the March For Science, an excellent read.

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Sunday, April 23, 2017

Enough of This Crap, We’re Taking the Country Back

On March 30 the Venezuelan Supreme Court ruled that they could remove all of Congress’ constitutionally provided powers and assume them themselves:

Venezuela's Supreme Court ruled it can take over the powers of congress in what opponents of socialist President Nicolas Maduro as well as foreign governments denounced as the latest step toward installing a dictatorship in this South American nation.

In a decision late Wednesday, the magistrates said that as long as lawmakers remain in contempt of past court rulings nullifying all legislation coming out of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, the high court can step in and assume congressional duties itself.

Shortly thereafter they rescinded their ruling, at the request of President Maduro. Apparently the Dictator-in-Waiting decided that – given the level of protests from both within and  outside the country – he would go down one way or the other if he didn’t.

venezuela-politics-anti government protestsAnti-government in Venezuela

Do you see now why the Supreme Court is so important? And it’s especially nice if they are independent from the Executive Office and base their rulings on the country’s constitution rather than the president’s wishes.

But I digress; despite rescinding the order to go full-dictatorship the people have been escalating their demonstrations of displeasure. In fact they’ve grown quite violent.

23Venezuela2-1492867047230-superJumboIn Venezuela the police are allowed to shoot: with real bullets

This is possibly due to the fact that normal citizens have failed to thrive under the most recent version of communism being tried in Latin America.

recycled communism socialism

Maduro’s version started out like all the others: seizure of oil rigs, seizure of Nestlé chocolate plants, seizure of bakeries and ultimately the seizure of supermarkets when nobody had anything to eat. And the results so far are tracking history as well, with the entire country successfully losing weight on the Maduro Diet.

So just for good measure Maduro’s government seized the assets of a General Motors assembly plant last week:

GM called the expropriation of its factory “an illegal judicial seizure of its assets” and announced that it would cease operations in the country, where it employs nearly 2,700 workers.

Some speculated that this seizure had different motivations that the previous:

But the timing of the move also led to suspicions that Maduro may be looking to escalate tensions with the United States and blame his government’s struggles on a brewing confrontation with the Trump administration. Maduro claims that his opponents are colluding with U.S. authorities to overthrow him. – WaPo

puffy hillary“Forget it Nicolás, I tried that argument too and it didn’t do any good.” 

Even if, like Hillary, you have MSNBC on your side:

Because when you are completely, unequivocally morally bankrupt eventually the people figure it out and take their country back.

Good luck France, we can only hope that you follow the lead of Britain -

england

and the United States.

enough-of-this-rx8y3f

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