Lockeing Up Leviathan

I came across this accidently while engaged in a philisopical debade with one of my freinds; Lockeing Up Leviathan .  It is  agreat artical by Jerry Salcido, and place it high on my recomended reading list.  The comments are also outstanding.

"Without need of either advocating or rejecting Hobbes' arguments in favor of a strong State, one can hardly look upon modern governments, including the United States federal government and the individual United States, without agreeing that Hobbes' depiction of the State as a Leviathan, that is, a threatening, powerful beast, was spot-on.
Like any carnivorous beast, Leviathan has a ravenous appetite, but it differs in that its appetite is never satisfied and it has even been known to eat itself to death. Leviathan's only and favorite staple is, of course, taxes. "

Tuts My Barreh / Karaoke Fail

Click read more for the original.  There is lots of  Mariah Care strutting around nearly naked.

My Review of Onkyo 5.1 Channel Home Theater Black Receiver

Originally submitted at Abt Electronics

Onkyo 5.1 Channel Home Theater Black Receiver - TXSR507B/ 80 Watts Per Channel/ Four 1080p capable HDMI Inputs (v1.3a Repeater)/ WRAT Technology/ Discrete Amp Construction/ Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Decoding/ 4 DSP Gaming Modes/ Audyssey Dynamic Volume/ 192K/24-Bit DACs/ Black Finish

Onkyo 5.1 Channel Home Theater Black Receiver

A lot of bang for the buck.

By BruHa from Jax on 2/8/2010

5out of 5

Pros: Good Power Output, Great Sound Quality, Clean Sound
Best Uses: Multiple Rooms / Whole House, Home Theater
Describe Yourself: Practical, Tech Savvy

Was upgrading from an old Kenwood system that lasted me many years, but I had to get into this century.
This receiver met all my requirements:
5.1 system.
Price.
Four HDMI Inputs.
Two Zones.
Quality/Reputation of brand.

Set up was not that bad, but read the instructions. This receiver has a lot of capabilities that may add a level of complexity for the not so patient. Sound set up with the enclosed mic worked great. I have an "L" shaped TV room that I thought would be difficult to set up, but the receiver Auto-calibrated and set up just fine. If you have a subwoofer make sure you set it up as recommended in the instructions, it will sounds great!

The two zone feature works very well though it requires set up to work properly. Not that hard, but once again, read and be patient.

Bottom line; if you need two zones and don't need a 7.1 system and upconversion, this is an outstanding choice. With Four HDMI in ports you cant go wrong.

(legalese)

Political Correctness Definition

Political Correctness.

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

Submitted by she who must be obeyed.

TOTUS strikes again!

This proves he has no real Idea about the context of his speech. The word meant nothing to him. NOTHING! It was just a bunch of letters on TOTUS. Go through the motions, move on. It would have been better to say Navy or Marine Medic ( if this person is a Corpsman; but could be a CTI or Interpretive Cryptologic Technicians that handles language translation).  This at least would have just shown his lack of understanding of our armed forces.

However this proves; He speaks without understanding!  Gulp!




I remember Clinton made a speech on board one of our CVN’s years back. He said something like, “thanks to all the great sailors of this fine ship, from the Stern, (He points aft) to the Bow”, (pronounced as in “bow neck tie” or rimes with “Big Toe” and points forward while glancing at his notes) That was good for a chuckle, this on the other-hand is scary.

Soaped But

This just in from The La-salamander.

"While checking ticket prices for the Willy Nelson concert happening next week, I was prompted to this security check page before seeing the ticket prices. After seeing the prices of tickets and seats available, I think I know why they have this security check."

Sen. Gregg Blasts WH Budget Chief on Capitol Hill Over Obama's Plan to Use TARP as a "Piggy Bank"

When the goverment refuses to recognize the law it is called what?
What is the citizens duty?
(I am friggen Fuming!)
 
Found at: http://www.sondrak.com/
 
 


Related: Found at: http://curmudgeonlyskeptical.blogspot.com/

What Is the First Amendment For?

I have always advocated that freedom of speech is freedom of all speech, particularly political speech.  Let the good ideas as well as the bad compete unfettered by particularly the government.

Good read, especially if you consider yourself a conservative.

Story: What Is the First Amendment For?

"Citizens United v. Federal Election commission — the recent case in which the Supreme Court invalidated a statute prohibiting corporations and unions from using general treasury funds either to support or defeat a candidate in the 30 days before an election, and overruled an earlier decision relied on by the minority — has now been commented on by almost everyone, including the president of the United States in his state of the union address." 



"Only Thomas has the courage of the majority’s declared convictions. Often the most principled of the judges (which doesn’t mean that I always like his principles), he is willing to follow a principle all the way, and so he rebukes his colleagues in the majority for preferring the value of more information to the value the First Amendment mandates — absolutely free speech unburdened by any restriction whatsoever including the restriction of having to sign your name. Thomas has caught his fellow conservatives in a consequentialist moment."

Awkward Family Photos

Found at : Awkward Family Photos
Captions Welcome!

And if you dare!  Click for more!

This Is Sparta!

This is Sparta!

PAK FA Russian Fifth Generration fighter.

Story:  Russia unveils top secret new fighter.
Specifications:  Global Security

Video:


My observations:

I do not believe this aircraft will have true stealth capabilities that the F-22 enjoys. Stealth is in the details and the details tell all.  On the fuselage, in typical Ruski fashion I observed riveting, the engine intakes appear to be non stealthy as well as exhaust nozzles.  The fan blades of the engines will look as big as a barn to a modern western radar if careful consideration is not taken to the shape and placement of the engine.  This is very difficult to do and maintain high performance. It is unclear if the aircraft has an internal bay, one would assume it must to be a true Gen.V aircraft.  There is also a lack of "Z" notching of panels and doors seams, or any type of stealth coating on the canopy.  The cockpit of an aircraft as well as door/panel seams are huge radar reflectors and is difficult to mask.

My bet is that this aircraft has an ordinary RCS (Radar Cross Section) and is not a stalth aircraft at all. It will have to rely on  ECM techniques to mask it'self from western radars and at that point you know something is ouththere.  This bird is nothing more than a target when compaired to the F-22.

Assault weapon Ban

Here they go again.  The state government in Washington has introduced an assault weapons ban, SB6396-Banning the sale of assault weapons . 

No ugly black plastic allowed.  That is too scary!

Ukrainian Great Patriotic War Tribute

This just sent to me by my Domestic Commander.

This video shows the winner of "Ukraine’s Got Talent," Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.

Albert Einstein - Does Evil Exist?

RC B-29

  Some thoughts:

• Wow!  That's big!
• The guy that starts those engines has to have guts x4.    Lost a fingernail as a kid and that hurt like hell with an 0.49 engine and  these are what; chainsaw engines? I would be afraid of loosing a hand.
• From a distance it probably be hard to make out the scale.
• Would you be allowed to fly one of these in Japan?
• Should have an opperational Bomb-Bay.

UN's push for Arms Trade Treaty could affect American gun ownership.

Story: Ban by baby steps

"In Hillary's world, radical ideas progress at first with baby steps that ultimately become great strides to harness the destructive forces in society. That's why the current Secretary of State and the other Hillarys in her world are drawing a bead on gun owners, mainly those in the United States"

"Essentially, the international community doesn't understand why Americans respect and protect their Second Amendment rights because in most countries no such rights exist," said Sanetti, who is presiding over the annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) show. "Of course, the Founders added the Second Amendment as one of the safeguards, and it's not something open for discussion as far as we're concerned.


"The current (Obama) administration has gone on record as saying it's time for this country to rejoin the community of nations and get more in line with various international goals. So, definitely, gun control is moving to the forefront, though not in such an-in-your-face, confrontational manner that we've seen before in this country. Gun control advocates go in one direction, try and fail, and then go in another direction. That's been the pattern."

Air America Fail

 Story: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/air-america-to-cease-broadcasting-immediately/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100122/ap_on_en_ot/us_air_america_bankruptcy


Air America was doomed from the very start and I am suppressed it lasted as long as it did. What doomed it was a “Failed Concept” that merely an opposing point of view can be successful in Talk radio.

What makes a talk radio show successful or any other show for that matter is compelling and entertaining content. Example: A large audience portion of Rush’s show do not agree with him politically, but listen to him because he is compelling and entertaining. The same can be said for Howard Stern. Huge numbers of listeners found “lesbian strippers” to be distasteful and disgusting but tuned in buy the thousands every day. I listened to Air America and I rarely found it compelling or entertaining. It did not hold my attention. In short its content sucked. I fully expected to be yelling at my radio but found myself underwhelmed and turned the station in short order.

That said, political talk radio, whether Conservative, Libertarian, or Religious, has a coherent philosophy that subjects are discussed within, resulting in consistent discussions that are often compelling. Couple that with a competent host, some good business practices and you will have a marketable show on your hands. Do this with a superior host and you will have a great show worth millions.

Progressive/Liberal talk fails because its underlying philosophy is incoherent, hidden or nonexistent. Even a great host will suck if the underlying content is crappy. For example, Al Franken is a very skilled comedian and host, but he failed because the content of his show was not coherent, compelling or very entertaining.

In short, Progressive/Liberal ideas fail because of its underlying philosophy or lack thereof. Throwing money, “mad skills”, does not change this. Progressive/Liberal talk radio was doomed from the start, assuming a free market of course.

Follow up: From NewsBusters

Happy Birthday

A Birthday Present For The Dugester.  I hope your eyes bleed.

Epic Loss?

Story: Democrats seek back footing after epic Mass. loss

"Obama himself grimly faced a need to regroup on Wednesday, the anniversary of his inauguration, in a White House shaken by the realization of what a difference a year made."

"The local election played out against a national backdrop of animosity and resentment from voters over persistently high unemployment, Wall Street bailouts, exploding federal budget deficits and partisan wrangling over health care."

I dont necessarily agree this was an "Epic loss for the Dems, but I do feel this race is going to turn the tide between the "Progressives" and the "Constitutionalists", just as the Battle of Midway changed the war in the Pacific in WWII.  This is a battle that by all rights the Dems should have won, but didn't.


Why?

• The Progressive can not state their political ideals out loud, "Statism",  because if they do, the ideas are rejected.

• The progressives dismissed the Tea Party  "A bunch of Nuts".  This can not be further from the truth.  The Teabaggers are a mix of Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and others that strongly believe that the Constitution is actually a real document that limits our government; and that the Constitution is being ignored and our liberties debased. These Teabaggers are actually constitutionalists that see the big picture.  The Kennedy Martha Coakley campaign and the Progressive administration did not and could not run against this.  To run against these "Teabaggers"would be to admit their existence, give credit to their ideas, and that is the last thing the progressives can afford.

• The present administration ran and won a campaign on the premise of  "We are not George Bush".  This worked, but it is a tactic and not a strategy.  Tactics may win battles, but they don't necessarily win wars.  Tactics must be coupled with sound strategy, and in the political sense, strategy means a sound philosophy. "I am not Bush" is not a philosophy. Statism is a bankrupt political philosophy.  Adherence to the constitution is a sound political philosophy as well as promoting Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Brown ran on this,  Kennedy Martha Coakleydid not.

A quick note to the RINOS out there.  "I am not a Democrat" is not a philosophy. Statism is a bankrupt political philosophy. You will loose also.

Rahm Emanuel blames everyone for Martha Coakley impending loss.

Fox news reported that Rahm Emanuel Is blaming everyone and everything for the impending victory of Brown over Martha Coakley.  Cant be failed ideas, Rahm cites, bad strategy, poor campaign and the Mooninites.

Cant wait to see the results in the morning.