Oh, Boy...

I can hardly wait for tonight's debate.  Not for the political content; I'm not expecting much of interest there.  Not because I think the debate is likely to be consequential, either – I suspect the VP debate won't mean as much to the outcome of the election as will the weather on election night.  I'm looking forward to this for the pure entertainment value.  Ryan vs. Biden in a vice presidential debate is kind of like F-35 vs. MiG-1 in a dogfight...

I'll be watching, with a glass of wine and a snack or two...

Little Red Hen, 2012 Edition...

Via my mom, whom I suspect is not voting for Obama:

The Little Red Hen

"Who will help me plant my wheat?" asked the little red hen.

"Not I," said the cow.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself." She planted her crop and the wheat grew and ripened.

"Who will help me reap my wheat?" asked the little red hen.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Out of my classification," said the pig.

"I'd lose my seniority," said the cow.

"I'd lose my unemployment compensation," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen, and so she did.

"Who will help me bake the bread?" asked the little red hen.

"That would be overtime for me," said the cow.

"I'd lose my welfare benefits," said the duck.

"I'm a dropout and never learned how," said the pig.

"If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen.

She baked five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see. They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share but the little red hen said, "No, I shall eat all five loaves."

"Excess profits!" cried the cow (Nancy Pelosi)

"Capitalist leech!" screamed the duck (Barbara Boxer)

"I demand equal rights!" yelled the goose (Jesse Jackson)

The pig just grunted in disdain (Harry Reid)

And they all painted 'Unfair!' picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

When the farmer (Obama) came, he said to the little red hen, "You must not be so greedy."

"But I earned the bread," said the little red hen.

"Exactly," said Barack the farmer. "That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and idle."

And they all lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, "I am grateful, for now I truly understand."

But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her. She never again baked bread because she joined the 'party' and got her bread free. And all the Democrats smiled. 'Fairness' had been established.

Individual initiative had died but nobody noticed; perhaps no one
cared so long as there was free bread that 'the rich' were paying for.

And perhaps...this is the end.

And the next week, there was no bread, or anything else to eat. So, they all starved equally.


EPILOGUE

Bill Clinton is getting $12 million for his memoirs.

Hillary got $8 million for hers.

That's $20 million for the memories from two people, who for eight years repeatedly testified, under oath, that they couldn't remember anything.

DO WE LIVE IN A GREAT BARNYARD OR WHAT?

Remember this when you vote next month...

Summary: Obama Administration on the Benghazi Attack...

I Hope Voters Listen to This Man...

About a decade ago, I worked for a now-defunct company called FutureTrade.  We made an electronic trading platform aimed at professional traders (mainly in hedge funds).  The company went through the usual sad failing company maneuvers, including a string of layoffs in which I lost my job there.  Eventually, months after I was gone, the company was sold to Interactive Brokers.  Their founder and CEO is Thomas Peterffy, who grew up in Hungary when it was a satellite of the Soviet Union.  He knows first-hand what socialism does to a country and its people, and he emigrated to America to escape that.  Listen to what he has to say:

LOTR Palate Cleanser...

If you're a Lord of the Rings fan, you'll get a chuckle from this:

What Do Doctors Think of Obamacare?

Anecdotally I know that many doctors despise Obamacare, and are planning major changes to their practices to deal with it.  Basically those changes involve them not accepting Obamacare-funded patients.  But is there a better measure than the stories I've heard locally?

Here's the best thing I've seen yet: a poll of doctors to see whether they supported Obama (a proxy for Obamacare) or Romney (who has repeatedly said that he'd repeal Obamacare).  The answer: doctors want Romney, by more than 2 to 1...

Stiff Duties on Solar Panels...

The U.S. government has just slapped stiff import duties on Chinese-made solar panels and solar cells.  This is the kind of thing that just makes me crazy – an action that is clearly against the national self-interest, an action that raises prices for American citizens.  Why would we do such a thing?  Because it's very popular politically, that's why.  It allows a politician (Obama) to claim that he is protecting American jobs from those hateful, marauding Chineses faux entrepreneurs who want to push prices so low that it's unfair to American manufacturers.  American manufacturers stuck with the costs of unions, labor costs near the global top, chained down with regulations that inhibit innovation, and just plain beat by eager Chinese entrepreneurs.

Import duties never work to protect American industry.

Import duties always hurt consumers, both directly and indirectly (from the ensuing trade wars).

And yet we keep trying them.

How long can a nation of idiots survive, anyway?

Disturbing...

I happen to be a white male, so this is unlikely to happen to me were I to visit New York City.  But if it did happen to me, I would be royally ticked off.  Why are we doing this to American citizens?  Why are our courts allowing it?

This doesn't seem like the America I grew up in...