But… there are standards. I support the Whale in exposing rorts of credit cards for private meals, flowers, underpants and other things.

Like McCrystal, I have been at times scathing about my employers. I have had confrontations with the suits. I have advocated for staff. That is part of my job. However, if a reporter was present… I would turn into a jargon spouting eunuch. It’s called survival.

Then, after Vietnam, an ethos of exposure swept the culture. The assumption among many journalists was that the establishment may seem upstanding, but there is a secret corruption deep down. It became the task of journalism to expose the underbelly of public life, to hunt for impurity, assuming that the dark hidden lives of public officials were more important than the official performances…

In other words, over the course of 50 years, what had once been considered the least important part of government became the most important. These days, the inner soap opera is the most discussed and the most fraught arena of political life.

And into this world walks Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

General McChrystal was excellent at his job. He had outstanding relations with the White House and entirely proper relationships with his various civilian partners in the State Department and beyond. He set up a superb decision-making apparatus that deftly used military and civilian expertise.

But McChrystal, like everyone else, kvetched. And having apparently missed the last 50 years of cultural history, he did so on the record, in front of a reporter. And this reporter, being a product of the culture of exposure, made the kvetching the center of his magazine profile.

By putting the kvetching in the magazine, the reporter essentially took run-of-the-mill complaining and turned it into a direct challenge to presidential authority. He took a successful general and made it impossible for President Obama to retain him.The reticent ethos had its flaws. But the exposure ethos, with its relentless emphasis on destroying privacy and exposing impurities, has chased good people from public life, undermined public faith in institutions and elevated the trivial over the important.

via Op-Ed Columnist – General McChrystal and the Culture of Exposure – NYTimes.com.

It may be that McCrystal has more honour that I, or any other Kiwi, has.

It failed.

Now the Left have abandoned the proletariat, and instead advocate identity politics. Which consists, simply of forcing us to approve their decisions, regardless of what they are.

America is not yet remotely comparable to Orwell’s England of 1984. We’re still a rich people…though Washington has impeded our ability to advance and prosper as we've historically done. We’re still largely free to speak our minds…though Washington, the Left, and the barons of the Main Stream Media are doing their best to make sure only their preferred messages are widely heard. We’re still permitted to vote out our current scoundrels and vote in a new set, every two years…but have you noticed how little things have changed these past few decades, no matter who's “in” and who's “out?” (And that’s before we address the effect of ever-expanding vote fraud and voter intimidation.)

No, not everyone who advocates for increasing federal activism, taxation, and regulation is a would-be tyrant. Some sincerely if naively believe that what they advocate would only be for the best. But their opinions are, to an increasing degree, handed out to them by others — and those others are predominantly persons of no morals, consumed by a great lust for power.

It’s time we ceased, once and for all, to attribute good intentions to our adversaries as a default condition of our discourse. As the old English order of chivalry, the Order of the Garter, inscribed as its motto: “Honi soit qui mal y pense:” “Shame upon him who thinks evil.” Those who can be led to understand better might be many, but they must not be credited with better intentions than they display by their deeds. Those who already understand perfectly well, and approve of the damage to freedom and prosperity wrought by Leftist policies, must get no shrift at all.

via Francis W. Porretto – Eternity Road.

I’d sugges that we should not permit those in power to shut us up. We should not permit them to ruin our businesses. For the elite rule only with our consent.

And it is time to take that consent back.

Our appreciation for what happened on a hot summer day in Philadelphia all these years ago is often limited to a fleeting, warm feeling about an ancient generation of Americans who, against great odds, stood up to a powerful oppressor, and claimed their natural right to liberty. This is an accurate but incomplete understanding of the revolution begun that day. For written on that piece of yellowed parchment is not only the bold assertion that thirteen former British colonies were and forever would remain free and independent states, but also the once radical idea that history has a right side and a wrong side, and that Americans stood and would always stand on the right side.

The signers put their names and ransomed their lives to a universal, not just a national ideal; that all human beings everywhere, not just Americans, not just the mostly well-off white men gathered in Philadelphia for the occasion, ‘are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’

We’ve not always been true to that ideal, and the rights guaranteed by our Constitution. Slavery, Jim Crow, the disenfranchisement of women were betrayals of the principles enshrined in our founding documents, and had to be conquered before we could claim without qualification to be firmly on the right side of history. But we overcame our faults, corrected our mistakes and in the unfinished story of our Republic, we continue our progress toward ‘a more perfect union.’ And, in the struggle to do so, we have achieved greatness.

Our wealth and power, unequaled by any nation before or since, are not the cause of our greatness. Our ideals have made us great. We are strong and prosperous because we are free, not the other way around. We have marched, in fits and starts, toward the right side of history and have ascended to a most exalted station in the affairs of mankind – ‘leader of the free world.’ It’s a great tribute to us, but also a great responsibility.

We share a kinship of ideals with every man and woman on earth who struggles for their God-given rights. The world must never doubt where we stand in the liberation struggles of our time. We stand with those who risk the anger of tyrants and their lives for the proposition that just government is derived from the consent of the governed; that all people are entitled to equal justice under the law.

via John McCain on Independence Day and the Iranian protests.

Hat tip here. And the Borg for pushing your political agenda on such a day, shame.

Oh I forgot. You had that removed.

And ii is cold. Full winter cold. Too early.

Philip Duncan, of Weatherwatch, said the wild weather was caused by the return of the low front that brought cold temperatures last week.

“Cold snaps are not unusual but for it to stick with us so long is strange,” he said. “We had such a warm April but we’ve been robbed of autumn. We’re having July weather in the middle of May, when the coldest time of this year is still to come.”

MetService figures show temperatures are only slightly cooler than last year. In Auckland, the mean temperature for May so far is 11.9 degrees, compared to last year’s average of 13.6.

Comparisons for the other main centres showed similar decreases.

“These temperatures are typical of late May to early June so they’ve occurred two weeks earlier than normal,” said MetService weather ambassador Bob McDavitt.

“We’ll probably have the temperatures we’ve got right through into June.”

via Snow, rain and gales bring winter chill – National – NZ Herald News.

I’m not a believer in CO2 as a major factor: I think water and sunspot / solar cycles have more to do with this. If Gore is right, can everyone fire up their V*s and open a few more coal fired stations, because we are two degrees down, and that matters.

Of course the Goreists would argue two degrees up proved their point. If that is the case, does this disprove it?

Today is the last day of the legislative session here in Minnesota. The action has been furious over the past couple of weeks, with the Democrats, who control both houses of the legislature, enacting a billion dollar tax increase along with spending bills that contain explosive increases.

Governor Tim Pawlenty has played the role of Horatius at the Bridge, and so far he is winning hands down. He vetoed the Democrats’ giant tax increase, and yesterday his veto was sustained in the House, with two Democrats joining all Republicans. Also, the Democrats made a grave tactical error by sending Pawlenty spending bills ready for his signature. But, with a constitutional requirement of a balanced budget and the Dems’ tax increase vetoed, cuts will have to be made. In the present posture, Minnesota law allows Pawlenty, in effect, to write the state’s budget for the next two years. He can use a combination of line item vetoes and “unallotment” to direct spending where he thinks it needs to go, while maintaining a balanced budget. The whole situation, which right now looks great for Republicans and for the people of Minnesota, is a testament to Pawlenty’s political skill and to the determination of a rock-solid Republican caucus in the House, under the leadership of Marty Seifert.

But the Democrats haven’t given up. The session lasts until midnight tonight, and they are likely to propose a different package of tax increases, seek further overrides, etc. Thus, at 5:30 this afternoon there will be a “Storm the Capitol” rally on the Capitol steps. The purpose is to oppose veto overrides, increased taxes, and last-minute deals that will result in wasteful spending. It also should be a victory party of sorts, as Minnesota conservatives have shown how much can be achieved, even against apparently daunting odds.

via Power Line – Hold the Line on Taxes and Spending.

This seems to show a couple of things. Firstly, most of the left are economically ignorant. They cannot see the results of history, for the progressive doctrine they espouse indicates that we should repeat what is a failed experiment. The US idea of separation of powers in part was designed to protect the republic from the populace voting bread, circuses and bankruptcy.

Now if the other 49 states will emulate this…

However, the budget is bloated. Taxes are soooo high that firms and people are leaving. This demonstrates,  almost perfectly, that tax and spend policies are economically disastrous.

It is a perfect experiment: 300 people who can move through 50 states with no restrictions: firms that can also move in a similar manner. The consequence is that Calif. is going to tank. Or be rescued, which will mean that the federal government will have more toxic debt that it can swallow.

I agree with Megan McArdle…

So what about California? A reader asks. Ummm, that’s a tough one. No, wait, it’s not: California is completely, totally, irreparably hosed. And not a little garden hose. More like this. Their outflow is bigger than their inflow. You can blame Republicans who won’t pass a budget, or Democrats who spend every single cent of tax money that comes in during the booms, borrow some more, and then act all surprised when revenues, in a totally unprecedented, inexplicable, and unforeseaable chain of events, fall during a recession. You can blame the initiative process, and the uneducated voters who try to vote themselves rich by picking their own pockets. Whoever is to blame, the state was bound to go broke one day, and hey, today’s that day!

There is a surprisingly sizeable blogger contingent arguing that we have to bail them out because however regrettable the events that lead here, we now have no choice. But actually, we do have a choice: we could let them go bankrupt. And we probably should.

I am not under the illusion that this will be fun. For starters, the rest of you sitting smugly out there in your snug homes, preparing to enjoy the spectacle, should prepare to enjoy the higher taxes you’re going to pay as a result. Your states and municipalities will pay higher interest on their bonds if California is allowed to default. Also, the default is going to result in a great deal of personal misery, more than a little of which is going to end up on the books of Federal unemployment insurance and other such programs.

Then there are the actual people involved. Whatever you think of, say, children who decided to be born poor, right now they are dependent on government programs, and will be put in danger if those programs are interrupted.

On the other hand, I don’t really see another way out of it. If Uncle Sugar bails out California, California will not fix its problems

via Is California Too Big to Fail? – Megan McArdle.

But there is one fly in the ointment. The Obamaborg owes Pelosi. Pelosi was infected with Peronism a long, long time ago. This could be the beginning of the USA slide towards being, like Argentina, a banana republic.

President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending “unsustainable,” warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries.

“We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,” Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. “We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.”

Holders of U.S. debt will eventually “get tired” of buying it, causing interest rates on everything from auto loans to home mortgages to increase, Obama said. “It will have a dampening effect on our economy.”

Mate, It’s happening. I cashed up three years ago to fund a new house and gaining adequate care for my children after my marriage broke up. If and when I have cash again, I want it to be in a country with a strong currency (not the US) rule of law (not the US under the current administration) and where there will be social mobility (not the US, where there is now a functional nomenkultura)

The president pledged to work with Congress to shore up entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare and said he was confident that the House and Senate would pass health-care overhaul bills by August.

“Most of what is driving us into debt is health care, so we have to drive down costs,” he said.

If you cut health care you will either non fund the rare and costly –  or not fund the new. If you don’t fund innovation you will NOT get new cures. People will die and they will protest. It is very hard to deal with a cute kid who is dying becuase you won’t dunf a new drug… and this happens. In New Zealand, where there is a monopoly drug purchaser run by suits who only care about getting under budget, it happens frequently. If you don’t beleive the NZ experience, I suggest you look at the good Dr Crippen, who documents how the UK NHS is now run by a bunch of retarded monkeys.

The trainwreck is coming. But printing money and calling it a stimulus just greases the tracks. The US desperately needs a few people who will think this through advising a president who is grossly inexperienced, if not frankly dumb.

via Obama Says U.S. Long-Term Debt Load ‘Unsustainable’ (Update1) – Bloomberg.com.

Reminds me of SCO.

Or Hollywood.

Or Obamaborg… o hell, that was his first gasp.

Pop quiz: You’re a troubled media dinosaur struggling to find your way on the Web. What steps can you take to actively discourage people from linking to you, thus reducing your pageviews and revenue?

DMCA Take Down Notice: The NYTimes Goes to War & Wants to Shut us Down (Thanks, Scott!)

via New York Times sends legal threats to blogs – Boing Boing.

From Microsoft: where the only secure OS is on service pack 5 or at the end of its useful live. I still think they peaked at NT4…

Now many on the right were interested to see how the press ordained Barak Obama as “the ONE”. It was at least embarassing and (for those of us with a catholic faith, including the reformed varieties) at times blasphemous. Barak was (and is) a fairly standard product of the Chicago Democratic Machine, in fact the comparisons with JF Kennedy are at times appropriate as JFK owed his election to the very same system. It was corrupt then and it is corrupt now.

But there is no option. We are told by the left we must drink this cordial despite the poison it contains. As with the Borg  or the Microsofties, no other option is considered.

It would be unfair to say that Obama is the Borg, but the Democratic party machine has become quite Borglike. Obama is a member of good standing and the face of this system (it would be very, very hard to sell Pelosi, Reid or Biden, by the way).

And the Borg should be resisted in any form. Use any other OS. Vote any other way. And if the US trashes its constitution, leave for an environment where free speech, personal responsbility and the rule of law is part of the DNA: that will mean Australasia until Southern Africa regains its senses (and is post-ANC,

Ann Coulter is doubleplusnogoodthink in Obamaspeak. At time her nicotine filled New Yorker (sorry, Ann, but Connecticut is a superb of Gotham) grates, but as Andrew says she believes aplogising is wrong…

But the whole way liberals work is to redefine manners and morals in such a fashion that conservative common sense automatically becomes hateful. If you note that women and men are different, you’re misogynistic. If you denounce the destruction of marriage in black communities, you’re racist or moralistic. If you call for the defense of America against the world-wide Islamist menace, you’re a bigoted warmonger. If we take this garbage seriously even for an instant, we spend our whole lives playing catch-up, saying sorry, going on defense.

via Klavan On The Culture » Misconstruing Miss Coulter.

What the Obamaborg beleives is that if they say YAY it is alright and if htey say BOO it is wrong. This is very primitive ethics. The Philistines approved of sacrifiving children … the Inca of sacrificing entire villages. That is wrong. and no amount of cheering can make ir right. The Yay|Boo ethica position is discussed, along with nihil ad hominem, post hor propter hoc and nihil ad naturam as classical errors in logic that one should remove by the enf of one’s freshman year.

So why do they still exist? The answer was given, by Francis Schaeffer when he pointed that modernism was irrational and “modern man has both feet firmly in the air”. The post modernists took this to the logical extreme of fracturing meaning as successfully as Joyce fractcured English in Finnegan.

SInce most liberals are not prepared to look at the ancient knowledge — a position pointed to us by Falluci, Ratzenberger, Guinness and McIntyre (and although at least two of those are practising Christiaons, Falluci’s duscussion of Christian ethics leading to a foundation for secular nobility is a fuideline for those who queruloursly resist the Church) — they are left with irrationaily, emotion, or submission to a nonwestern theology. Most of the intellectuals are not able to cope with the rigors of Buddhism, and end up relying on feelings.

But we are mammals Our feelings are distorted by our physiology, by our circumstances. This philosophy has no consolation, except the primitve ability to project hatred to those outside the clibb. The intellectual has now become the slave of a demogogue: a person who will beleive anything