our society has become so dependent on government that we will call 911 in the middle of a freaking hurricane as though it is someone’s job in the government to save your sorry butt when you get yourself in a bind.
I think I saw on the CBS news that the President is supposed to come by in his hybrid SUV and pull every idiot out of the water personally. That is unless he’s a Democrat in which case his SUV is goinng to be busy taking out evidence that could convict him.
The Whistler - 06:05pm on 05/30/2006
This is ass-covering for the MSM. They got everything wrong about Katrina, and now they want to shift it all onto someone else. Those guys couldn’t pour piss out of a boot with directions on the heel.
robert108 - 07:05pm on 05/30/2006
Speaking of our collective (pun intended) reliance on government, rather than ourselves, in the two posts below in which both Rob and I noted the Supreme Court ruling against expanded “whistle-blower rights” there is reference in the quote NYT article to the fact that some 20 million of us are government employees.
Think about that for a moment, please. 20 million. Approximately one out of every nine adult Americans is on the public payroll, supported by a dwindling number of taxpayers. One out of nine!
And that does not include those drawing unemployment benefits, Social Security payments, government pensions of one sort or another, welfare, etc.
I can’t help wondering just how much more generosity with our tax money we can actually afford.
Bat One - 08:05pm on 05/30/2006
Bat One:
Think about that for a moment, please. 20 million. Approximately one out of every nine adult Americans is on the public payroll, supported by a dwindling number of taxpayers. One out of nine!
You think this is bad, see Palestine. Roughly 90% of the population is either directly on the payrolls or receiving welfare checks from them.
Carrick - 08:05pm on 05/30/2006
Carrick,
I’m aware that there is virtually no economic activity of note in either Gaza or the West Bank territories. Which is why I am so horrified that so many of us “work” for the government. If anything, the example you cite should scare us all, as it is indicative of what happens as more and more people go on various government payrolls and benefit programs, while an ever decreasing percent of the population is expected to support the rest.
Incidentally, I do object to your labeling of “Palestine” as you have. According to the US Supreme Court, the Palestinian Authority is NOT a government with any sort of legal sovereignty… a point of view which should be heartily endorsed so long as Palestinian Arabs continue to refuse to behave in a responsible, socially coherent manner. At present they are little more than a rather large tribe of bloodthirsty savages, notwithstanding their many romance-intoxicated apologists around the world.
Bat One - 08:05pm on 05/30/2006
You think this is bad, see Palestine. Roughly 90% of the population is either directly on the payrolls or receiving welfare checks from them.
Carrick on May 30, 2006 at 11:06 PM
Well, what do you expect when they pay for services and the Israelis withhold them?
What do you expect from a group of people who had European Jews kick them out of their homes and take over their land and then treat them like animals, forcing them into refugee camps and bulldozing their homes, businesses and groves?
It’s amazing they have the intelligence and persistence to withstand the abuse. I’m sure the two of you would have succumbed long ago.
diane - 09:05pm on 05/30/2006
If we get with a string of natural disasters again, Chickenhawk will be overwhelmed. His little world is falling apart:
Just when President Bush was trying to accentuate the positive in Iraq and declare a new beginning in the war on terror, a rash of bad news comes from multiple fronts in the global struggle.
...Bush has tried to keep the nation behind him with repeated talk about the importance of defeating the terrorists abroad so they cannot attack the United States again.....He has not yet commented publicly on an incident in Iraq that Rep. John Murtha, a decorated Marine war veteran and prominent critic of Iraq policy, has contended could undermine U.S. efforts there even more than Abu Ghraib did.
...The military also is dealing with defiant prisoners at Guantanamo Bay who are trying to draw attention to the fact that some have been held for up to 4 1/2 years without charges and with little contact with the outside world....The Supreme Court, however, is expected to rule in June on whether Bush overstepped his authority by ordering war-crimes trials for some of those held at Guantanamo Bay.
*******************
Not that he deserves it.
diane - 09:05pm on 05/30/2006
YAWN.
Carrick - 10:05pm on 05/30/2006
You should get some sleep. What is it where you are....2:30 a.m. or so (if you’re in ND)? Guess troubled consciences find it difficult.
I think I saw on the CBS news that the President is supposed to come by in his hybrid SUV and pull every idiot out of the water personally. That is unless he’s a Democrat in which case his SUV is goinng to be busy taking out evidence that could convict him.
This is ass-covering for the MSM. They got everything wrong about Katrina, and now they want to shift it all onto someone else. Those guys couldn’t pour piss out of a boot with directions on the heel.
Speaking of our collective (pun intended) reliance on government, rather than ourselves, in the two posts below in which both Rob and I noted the Supreme Court ruling against expanded “whistle-blower rights” there is reference in the quote NYT article to the fact that some 20 million of us are government employees.
Think about that for a moment, please. 20 million. Approximately one out of every nine adult Americans is on the public payroll, supported by a dwindling number of taxpayers. One out of nine!
And that does not include those drawing unemployment benefits, Social Security payments, government pensions of one sort or another, welfare, etc.
I can’t help wondering just how much more generosity with our tax money we can actually afford.
Bat One:
You think this is bad, see Palestine. Roughly 90% of the population is either directly on the payrolls or receiving welfare checks from them.
Carrick,
I’m aware that there is virtually no economic activity of note in either Gaza or the West Bank territories. Which is why I am so horrified that so many of us “work” for the government. If anything, the example you cite should scare us all, as it is indicative of what happens as more and more people go on various government payrolls and benefit programs, while an ever decreasing percent of the population is expected to support the rest.
Incidentally, I do object to your labeling of “Palestine” as you have. According to the US Supreme Court, the Palestinian Authority is NOT a government with any sort of legal sovereignty… a point of view which should be heartily endorsed so long as Palestinian Arabs continue to refuse to behave in a responsible, socially coherent manner. At present they are little more than a rather large tribe of bloodthirsty savages, notwithstanding their many romance-intoxicated apologists around the world.
You think this is bad, see Palestine. Roughly 90% of the population is either directly on the payrolls or receiving welfare checks from them.
Carrick on May 30, 2006 at 11:06 PM
Well, what do you expect when they pay for services and the Israelis withhold them?
What do you expect from a group of people who had European Jews kick them out of their homes and take over their land and then treat them like animals, forcing them into refugee camps and bulldozing their homes, businesses and groves?
It’s amazing they have the intelligence and persistence to withstand the abuse. I’m sure the two of you would have succumbed long ago.
If we get with a string of natural disasters again, Chickenhawk will be overwhelmed. His little world is falling apart:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060529/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_bad_news
Just when President Bush was trying to accentuate the positive in Iraq and declare a new beginning in the war on terror, a rash of bad news comes from multiple fronts in the global struggle.
...Bush has tried to keep the nation behind him with repeated talk about the importance of defeating the terrorists abroad so they cannot attack the United States again.....He has not yet commented publicly on an incident in Iraq that Rep. John Murtha, a decorated Marine war veteran and prominent critic of Iraq policy, has contended could undermine U.S. efforts there even more than Abu Ghraib did.
...The military also is dealing with defiant prisoners at Guantanamo Bay who are trying to draw attention to the fact that some have been held for up to 4 1/2 years without charges and with little contact with the outside world....The Supreme Court, however, is expected to rule in June on whether Bush overstepped his authority by ordering war-crimes trials for some of those held at Guantanamo Bay.
*******************
Not that he deserves it.
YAWN.
You should get some sleep. What is it where you are....2:30 a.m. or so (if you’re in ND)? Guess troubled consciences find it difficult.
Which teletubbie is the yellow one?