Obama's 1984

From Libertarian Reddit.  Posted here so I can find it for later reference. 
This won't change the mind of a single Dem voter. 

Obama extends Patriot Act without reform - http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-05-27/news/29610822_1_terrorist-groups-law-enforcement-secret-intelligence-surveillance


Obama sends more troops to Afghanistan - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8389778.stm

Obama signs NDAA 2011 - http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/02/president-obama-signed-the-national-defense-authorization-act-now-what/

Obama appeals the Federal Court decision that “indefinite detention” is unconstitutional - http://www.businessinsider.com/unbelievable-obama-administration-has-already-appealed-ndaa-ruling-2012-9

Obama uses his Presidential Drone “Kill List” to kill American cleric without trial - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/world/middleeast/07yemen.html?_r=2&hp&

and his 16 year old son in a separate strike - http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/anwar-al-awlakis-family-speaks-out-against-his-sons-deaths/2011/10/17/gIQA8kFssL_story.html

Continues to approve drone strikes that kill thousands of innocent civilians including women and children in Pakistan, Yemen, and other countries that do not want the US intervening - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/7361630/One-in-three-killed-by-US-drones-in-Pakistan-is-a-civilian-report-claims.html

Protects Bush’s war crimes as State Secrets - http://www.salon.com/2010/09/08/obama_138/ https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/obama-doj-worse-than-bush http://washingtonindependent.com/33985/in-torture-cases-obama-toes-bush-line

Support for countries use of child soldiers - http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/10/26/why_is_obama_easing_restrictions_on_child_soldiers

Appointing Monsanto, GMO company with multiple unsafe practice violations, lobbyist to head the FDA - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/monsanto-petition-tells-obama-cease-fda-ties-to-monsanto/2012/01/30/gIQAA9dZcQ_blog.html

Continuing prohibition and Federal attacks on legal marijuana dispensaries - http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=685_1342311527

Protects AG Holder from Congressional “Fast and Furious” gun walking investigations - http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/06/white-house-invokes-executive-privilege-on-fast-and-furious-documents/

Bringing no charges against bank executives that misused bailouts - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/opinion/sunday/no-crime-no-punishment.html

Engaging in a war on whistleblowers - http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/31/the-obama-administrations-war-on-whistleblowers/

Grants immunity to CIA torturers - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/31/obama-justice-department-immunity-bush-cia-torturer

Quadrupling the numbers of warrantless wiretapping since Bush era - http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/09/28/ACLU-Obama-Has-Quadrupled-Warrantless-Wiretaps

Continuing military tribunals he vowed to end - http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-07/politics/obama.guantanamo_1_guantanamo-detainees-guantanamo-bay-facility-military-commissions?_s=PM:POLITICS

Failing to close gitmo - http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/guantanamo-bay-how-the-white-house-lost-the-fight-to-close-it/2011/04/14/AFtxR5XE_story.html

Allowed innocent man to die at gitmo - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/suzanne-nossel/the-death-of-guantanamo_b_1878375.html

Violating the War Powers Act of 1973 - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/21/opinion/21Ackerman.html

Signed Anti-protest law - http://rt.com/usa/news/trespass-bill-obama-secret-227/

Deported more immigrants than any other president - http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/aug/10/american-principles-action/has-barack-obama-deported-more-people-any-other-pr/

Increasing Drug War budget - http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/the-national-drug-control-budget-fy-2013-funding-highlights

Defends raids on Amish raw milk farmers - http://reason.com/blog/2011/06/10/obama-food-safety-czar-defends

Granting the FBI access to private electronic communication without warrant - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/opinion/30fri1.html?_r=3

Building an even more intrusive TSA - http://www.presstv.ir/usdetail/218543.html


Says it’s legal to track individuals by pinpointing their cellphone without warrant - http://www.businessinsider.com/government-says-its-to-track-cell-phones-2012-10

Renewing FISA and NSA’s unregulated spying and banking of all wireless communication - http://truth-out.org/news/item/11540-uncle-sam-is-watching-you http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/20/whistleblower_the_nsa_is_lying_us

More Art to be seen in Fort Worth !!

I'm probably going to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth for the first time this weekend.  (I've made dozens of trips to the Kimball and Amon Carter already.)

I'm looking forward to seeing this piece:

Here's the description, from The Modern's website:

Diagonal of May 25


1963

Dan Flavin

American, 1933-1996

Warm white fluorescent light, edition 2/3

96 inches

Although Dan Flavin is invariably described as one of the patriarchs of Minimalist sculpture—along with his colleagues Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Carl Andre, and Robert Morris—he has generally rejected the appellation "Minimalist" and even the term "sculpture" as too confining a designation, often pointing out that his works are ephemeral, temporary, and installed in relation to given architectural conditions. Flavin began making his signature works of industrially prefabricated fluorescent tubes and fixtures in 1963. Emanating different colors of light, Flavin's installations have an indeterminate volume and appear virtually without mass, and it is true that their ethereal presence remains distinct from the emphatic physicality of most Minimalist sculpture. A more rigorous connection can be seen with Marcel Duchamp’s Readymades, which offer an important precedent for Flavin's off-the-shelf materials and his reliance on the common, found object. Like Duchamp, Flavin considered his works to be "proposals" rather than sculptures, part of a system of investigations rather than static objects.

Diagonal of May 25, 1963, 1963 is one of Flavin's first and most important investigations into the formal possibilities of using standard fluorescent light fixtures in commercially available colors. The image of the diagonal was a critical early theme executed by the artist, in series and according to simple mathematical configurations. Flavin made a number of diagonal "proposals" in different colors, alternating their angles from right to left. Flavin executed the first diagonal in gold light, subsequently making diagonals in green, yellow, and red. The Museum's Diagonal of May 25, 1963 may be the most conceptually and formally pure work in the series: pure white, ultraviolet light.

In his 1965 essay "'...in daylight or cool white.' an autobiographical sketch," Flavin refers to the Diagonal of May 25, 1963 as a "diagonal of personal ecstasy" describing its "forty-five degrees above horizontal" position as one of "dynamic equilibrium." The artist envisioned the diagonal as a contemporary symbol that "in the possible extent of its dissemination as a common strip of light or a shimmering slice across anybody's wall, had the potential for becoming a modern technological fetish."(1)

– Michael Auping

(1) Dan Flavin, "'...in daylight or cool white.' an autobiographical sketch," Artforum 4 (December 1965): 20–24.

********

Which do you think took longer?  Going to a hardware store and buying an 8-foot flourescent light fixture, or writing the excess verbiage posted above? 

For an explanation of this, check out Tom Wolfe's mini-masterpiece "The Painted Word". 

I can't wait. 

Which Green Energy "Company" will go under next?

The Heritage Foundation has compiled a list of the Green Energy Scams that were financially blessed by Barry, Bringer Of Light. 
The ones with asterisks are the ones that have already gone under.  The others are still a few laps from the drain.  Amuse yourself with betting pools, setting the over/under, and guessing how much money each company donated to Barry's election. 

The dollar amounts reflect the amount that was offered to each CEO, not what was actually accepted.  This amount doesn't include any state, county, or city graft.   Don't worry about the CEO's of the bankrupt companies, their children, or their homes.  Seriously.  I have a feeling that they'll get by....  

Why people are still confused about the failure of the $700 billion stimulus remains a mystery.  Barack Obama couldn't pick the winner of The Atlanta Falcons vs. The North Sunflower Academy Rebels. 

I'll give a free dachsund (great as pets or for scientific experiments!) to whoever guesses which of these Green Money-Laundering Shells goes under next:

1.Evergreen Solar ($24 million)*


2.SpectraWatt ($500,000)*

3.Solyndra ($535 million)*

4.Beacon Power ($69 million)*

5.AES’s subsidiary Eastern Energy ($17.1 million)

6.Nevada Geothermal ($98.5 million)

7.SunPower ($1.5 billion)

8.First Solar ($1.46 billion)

9.Babcock and Brown ($178 million)

10.EnerDel’s subsidiary Ener1 ($118.5 million)*

11.Amonix ($5.9 million)

12.National Renewable Energy Lab ($200 million)

13.Fisker Automotive ($528 million)

14.Abound Solar ($374 million)*

15.A123 Systems ($279 million)*

16.Willard and Kelsey Solar Group ($6 million)

17.Johnson Controls ($299 million)

18.Schneider Electric ($86 million)

19.Brightsource ($1.6 billion)

20.ECOtality ($126.2 million)

21.Raser Technologies ($33 million)*

22.Energy Conversion Devices ($13.3 million)*

23.Mountain Plaza, Inc. ($2 million)*

24.Olsen’s Crop Service and Olsen’s Mills Acquisition Company ($10 million)*

25.Range Fuels ($80 million)*

26.Thompson River Power ($6.4 million)*

27.Stirling Energy Systems ($7 million)*

28.LSP Energy ($2.1 billion)*

29.UniSolar ($100 million)*

30.Azure Dynamics ($120 million)*

31.GreenVolts ($500,000)

32.Vestas ($50 million)

33.LG Chem’s subsidiary Compact Power ($150 million)

34.Nordic Windpower ($16 million)*

35.Navistar ($10 million)

36.Satcon ($3 million)*

Enjoy !  Unlike the comps you might sometimes get in Vegas, you aren't playing with "house" money.  This time the house is playing with your money.  Might as well have fun watching them blow it. 

Liberal vs. Libertarian

On Libertarian Reddit, someone posed the question "What's the difference between Liberal vs. Libertarian?"

Here's the best answer:

I'm not sure if this relates to what you mean, but "liberal" used mean what libertarian means today, but the socialists co-opted the word, and so in now the USA "liberal" means socialism-lite.


Anyhow, to understand the false dichotomy between "liberal" and "conservative" you need to understand it's a divide and conquer strategy. Take those who believe very strongly in personal property rights over their body, and the right to do what they want with their bodies, and play them as enemies against those who believe very strongly in private property rights that are external to the body, and who believe they have the right to use their property in any peaceful way they see fit. And then try to sideline and treat like a loon, anybody who believes in both.

So today the liberals tend to believe very strongly in personal rights, but tend not to give a shit about economic liberties, and today the conservatives tend to believe rather strongly in economic liberties, but tend not to give a shit about personal liberties, and the libertarians believe in both personal liberties, and economic liberties. So in that sense, the conservatives try to treat the libertarians as liberal enemies, and the liberals try to treat libertarians as ultra conservative right-wing enemies. And libertarians tend to think of conservatives and liberals, well, as the same, not giving a shit about peoples' freedoms.

There you have it. 

A personal letter from Gary Johnson

Dear Whited,

I hope you are doing well.  How are the dachshunds?  Shipped many fruitstands?  And how was that 45 minute meeting on the impact of ObamaCare that your President and CEO conducted this morning?  Scared the shit out of you didn't it? 

Think many of your fellow supervisors and managers will be voting for the Godfathers of ObamaCare and RomneyCare?  Ha !!  ROFLMAO. 

Just joking.  I've met Gary Johnson 3 times, but he doesn't know me from Hillary Clinton.  Here's the real letter that he sent out today: 

**********

Many of you have been involved in political campaigns before.  Many of you haven’t.  But either way, the amount of campaign material we have distributed all across the nation in the past few months is amazing!

Counting all the home-made signs and literature our great volunteers have created and passed out, well over a million Americans have received or are displaying our message of liberty, small government and non-intervention.  I have more than 300,000 fans on Facebook, almost 80,000 followers on Twitter, and more than a million on Google+ (more than Mitt Romney!).

That has happened because of you.  The kind of grassroots campaign that can distribute a million pieces of literature not only requires thousands of volunteers, but it also requires money.  You have provided that money, and words cannot give justice to my personal gratitude for your support.

Thanks to you, we have also aired almost 1,000 radio spots, and will continue to do so right up to Election Day.   And thanks to you, we will also be airing TV spots across the country.  Go to www.garyjohnson2012.com and help us do even more!

As an entrepreneur who knows the value of the dollars you have contributed, I can safely say that we get more “bang for the buck” than Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, with their hundreds of millions of special interest dollars, can ever imagine.  As you may have read in the press, I don’t even check my suitcase when I fly – which is virtually every day.  I know my plane ticket was purchased with dollars provided by supporters like you, and I refuse to spend the extra $30 to check a bag I can carry myself.

So here we are.  21 precious days until the election – and until we make history.  You and me.

We have come an amazingly long way.  After largely ignoring me, even the New York Times has taken notice, publishing a major story  yesterday on the war being waged  by the Republican Party to keep us off the ballot. 

Now, the final push is upon us --  and I need your help.  Please go to www.garyjohnson2012.com today and make the contribution that will let us keep the literature going out, the radio spots running, and otherwise reach those millions of voters who are right now looking at the Republican and Democrat and – surprise – not finding a candidate who will protect our liberty, get us out of useless and costly wars, and get the government off our backs.

Our task over the next three weeks is simple:  Make sure those voters know there is another option.  I am the only candidate who will stand up for liberty, who will bring our troops home, and who will bring this great nation back from the brink of economic catastrophe.  Your contribution at www.garyjohnson2012.com will let us keep my name and our message in front of those voters right up to election day.

We have come too far to let up now!  I am in New York today and tomorrow, headed to Wyoming Thursday and Colorado on Friday.  Next week, I will be in more key states reaching out to as many people as I possibly can.  Your contribution is what will help me reach those people I can’t see personally in the next 21 days.  Go to www.garyjohnson2012.com and help me spread the word!

Again, as we enter these final hectic weeks, I cannot possibly express my gratitude to you for your support, your confidence and your friendship.  We truly are on the cusp of history, and with your help, this will be the election that changes the political landscape in America for years to come.

Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Gary

A Rant

1. I’m tired of seeing Anti-War bumperstickers and Barack Obama stickers on the same car.


2. I’m tired of hearing about tax and budget “plans”, plans that will involve careful allocation of resources for decades, and that don’t take into account new technology, wars, inflation, or other surprises, all from people who haven’t passed a budget in something like 1,300 days.

3. I’m tired of reading about debates where Civil Liberties weren’t discussed.

4. I’m tired of reading about debates where the miserable failure of our public schools isn’t discussed.

5. I’m tired of speeches from Democrats that don’t mention how many black men are in jail for victimless crimes.

6. I’m tired of speeches from Republicans who act horrified at the very thought of cutting out military pork.

7. I am starting to enjoy political discussions in my bar. I’ve had this one three times…. Sincere Young Statist: We as a society owe it to each other to provide a safety net. That’s why we need Social Security. Me: Social Security is broke. I’m older than you are. Cover my bar tab so I’ll have more money for a vacation.

8. I’m tired of hearing about “Jobs Created And Saved” from a man who has never, to the best of my knowledge, created or saved a job in his working life. Private industry creates jobs. Government creates overhead.

9. I’m tired of hearing my Republican friends try to explain why Paul Ryan voted for the bailouts. And TARP.

10. I’m trying to figure out why the G.M. bailout was superior to a controlled bankruptcy. Did those guys have to change anything at all about the way they do business?

11. I’m tired of explaining the Wasted Vote Fallacy to people who don’t support the Drug War, don’t support the Bush Wars, don’t support the Wall Street control of Obama, but who are going to vote for Obama anyway.

12. I’m tired of backing people into logical corners, and then having them say “we’ll just have to agree to disagree”.

13. I’m tired of going to this map of the Stimulus Bill spending in my area, and looking for things that make any sense at all.  (Put in your zip code, and hunt down the pork.) 

14. Yesterday, I got tired of my friends Roger and John trying to convince me to watch the McDonald’s vs. Burger King debates Tuesday night.

That's all for now. Hope you have a GREAT Day !!!!!

A comparison of The Obamneys

From the "End Of The American Dream" website....Someone named Michael has put together the definitive list comparing and contrasting The Obamneys. 

Some of these, from a Libertarian point of view, are horrific. In other cases, you've gotta wonder what Michael was getting worked up about. For instance, #25 is iffy.  Both Obamneys slam Free Trade when addressing an audience of the economically illiterate, but often do a few things to support rational trade and exchange. #33, the abortion issue, is IMHO, best left up to mothers and doctors. #34 is nobody's business but The Boy Scouts, as long as they aren't receiving tax dollars. All in all, though, this is a good effort.

GARY JOHNSON FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES !! THE ONLY WAY TO "WASTE" YOUR VOTE IS TO BE OPPOSED TO THE MESS BELOW, AND CONTINUE VOTING FOR IT !!!!

The following are 40 ways that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are essentially the same candidate....
1. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both supported TARP.
2. Mitt Romney supported Barack Obama's "economic stimulus" packages.
3. Mitt Romney says that Barack Obama's bailout of the auto industry was actually his idea.
4. Neither candidate supports immediately balancing the federal budget.
5. They both believe in big government and they both have a track record of being big spenders while in office.
6. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both fully support the Federal Reserve.
7. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are both on record as saying that the president should not question the "independence" of the Federal Reserve.
8. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have both said that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did a good job during the last financial crisis.
9. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both felt that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke deserved to be renominated to a second term.
10. Both candidates oppose a full audit of the Federal Reserve.
11. Both candidates are on record as saying that U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has done a good job.
12. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have both been big promoters of universal health care.
13. Mitt Romney was the one who developed the plan that Obamacare was later based upon.
14. Wall Street absolutely showers both candidates with campaign contributions.
15. Neither candidate wants to eliminate the income tax or the IRS.
16. Both candidates want to keep personal income tax rates at the exact same levels for the vast majority of Americans.
17. Both candidates are "open" to the idea of imposing a Value Added Tax on the American people.
18. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both believe that the TSA is doing a great job.
19. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both supported the NDAA.
20. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both supported the renewal of the Patriot Act.
21. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both believe that the federal government should be able to indefinitely detain American citizens that are considered to be terrorists.
22. Both candidates believe that American citizens suspected of being terrorists can be killed by the president without a trial.
23. Barack Obama has not closed Guantanamo Bay like he promised to do, and Mitt Romney actually wants to double the number of prisoners held there.
24. Both candidates support the practice of "extraordinary rendition".
25. They both support the job-killing "free trade" agenda of the global elite.
26. They both accuse each other of shipping jobs out of the country and both of them are right.
27. Both candidates are extremely soft on illegal immigration.
28. Neither candidate has any military experience. This is the first time that this has happened in a U.S. election since 1944.
29. Both candidates earned a degree from Harvard University.
30. They both believe in the theory of man-made global warming.
31. Mitt Romney has said that he will support a "cap and trade" carbon tax scheme (like the one Barack Obama wants) as long as the entire globe goes along with it.
32. Both candidates have a very long record of supporting strict gun control measures.
33. Both candidates have been pro-abortion most of their careers. Mitt Romney's "conversion" to the pro-life cause has been questioned by many. In fact, Mitt Romney has made millions on Bain Capital's investment in a company called "Stericycle" that incinerates aborted babies collected from family planning clinics.
34. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both believe that the Boy Scout ban on openly gay troop leaders is wrong.
35. They both believe that a "two state solution" will bring lasting peace between the Palestinians and Israel.
36. Both candidates have a history of nominating extremely liberal judges.
37. Like Barack Obama, Mitt Romney also plans to add "signing statements" to bills when he signs them into law.
38. They both have a horrible record when it comes to job creation.
39. Both candidates believe that the president has the power to take the country to war without getting the approval of the U.S. Congress.
40. Both candidates plan to continue running up more government debt even though the U.S. government is already 16 trillion dollars in debt.