Innocent Bystanders

June 14….Flag Day June 14, 2010

Posted by wintersetruss in News.
5 comments

  This isn’t the best song on the album (“London 0, Hull 4″), but the title is topical today.

Military & Defense Industry: Assume the Position!! June 11, 2010

Posted by geoff in News.
29 comments

I’ve been predicting for about 6 months that defense cuts were inevitable – that given his policies, President Obama wouldn’t really have a choice. And…Here…They….Come!!!

A panel commissioned by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is recommending nearly $1 trillion in cuts to the Pentagon’s budget during the next 10 years.
…
Not cutting the Pentagon’s budget could lead to higher taxes and spending cuts detrimental to the environment, housing and highway construction.

The acceptance of the recommendations would depend on a “philosophical change” and a “redefinition of the strategy,” Frank said at press conference on Capitol Hill.

Specifically, Frank is recommending:

• Reductions to the F-35 program (the one that was supposed to make additional F-22 buys unnecessary)
• Delaying the Air Force’s top priority: a refueling tanker
• Reducing the Navy to 230 ships (instead of building to 313, as their 30-year plan calls for)
• “Reforming” military compensation
• “Reforming” military health care
• Reducing recruiting funding
• Downsizing the Army and Marines as they withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan
• Reducing nuclear warheads to 1050 (from the 1550 in the latest treaty)
• Cancelling the V-22 Osprey
• Cancelling the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle

That sounds great. Really great. Gutting the military just as we enter a period where our geopolitical supremacy is waning. And I’m sure it’s just a start.

How to Kill a Recovery June 10, 2010

Posted by geoff in News.
90 comments

None of us were happy with the passage of Obamacare; we’re all pretty much convinced that it’s going to do far more harm than good, and that it will end up costing more and providing less. But I don’t think that we’re as unhappy as we should be, because the health care reform bill damaged our economy even before it was passed. [The rest is below the fold. If you just want to skip to the punchline, click here.]

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Venus Flytrap June 9, 2010

Posted by Michael in News.
9 comments

I thought this video presented a useful way to think about how the Tea Party movement works.

I could be wrong.

The Most Pathetic Article of June 8, 2010 June 8, 2010

Posted by geoff in News.
9 comments

…generated by the very liberal Boulder Daily Camera. First the title:

Coping with caffeine: How to handle the buzz with moderation

Oh yeah – the life-destroying struggle with the caffeine monkey on your back. Let’s check in on the terrible plight of the addicts:

“I’ve been drinking at least one cup every day for the past 15 years or so,” said Alkhawaja, 28. “I always have a cup in my hand. I’m definitely addicted.”

One cup a day. Pretty scary. Boy, don’t come to me unless you’re drinking 10 cups a day and always have a coffee pot in your hand.

So after the scary title and the compelling story of one out-of-control addict, where do we stand?

Yet according to Boulder nutritionist Eileen Faughey, there may be nothing wrong with that. So far, she said, studies have been unable to directly link caffeine to health problems.

Um yeah. Some college dweeb talking about his lightweight “addiction” to a substance which has been around for centuries and which apparently causes no ill effects. What a scoop!