October 15, 2014

BTW that storm line is still coming.

It is truly a Southern storm as it moseys along. I don't think it packs the same wallop, but you never know.
NE SC.

October 15, 2014

The DSCC can kiss my ass.

I understand the need to prioritize where their funds go. However, to PUBLICLY announce they are out of the Kentucky Senate race at this crucial moment isn't smart politics nor good for the party. If they want to cut ad buys and slide more money elsewhere, then do it on the down low. This move is short-sighted to say the least.

The Kentucky race is still winnable. It is a volatile race with many moving parts. While ALG has had some bad moments, The Mertle hasn't exactly been pulling away. ANY move can have significant ramifications and the DSCC declaring their move away does not help.

If I am a candidate with considerable support and name recognition in an area, this would make me think twice about running. If I did, I probably would try to line up other sources in case they got cold feet and wanted to throw me under the bus. The money matters but this negative move now is much worse.

One rumor is that they don't like the way she has run her campaign. Guess what? She has run for office there for years and knows what will fly. If it is about running against Obama, then they need to look at the incumbents they are touting. A lot of them haven't exactly been rushing to tout his policies, his name or have him campaign for them.

The DSCC can go to hell.

October 14, 2014

Tater and Moonpie are readying for possible tornadoes.

However, the first order of business this morning is to determine who rules the roost.
It is still undecided. They have taken time out to nap.

Tater is on the left.

October 14, 2014

I'm now in a tornado watch until the end of time. NE SC.(Warnings in NW counties now-8am)

The storm line edge is moving over me as I type. I'm sure there will be warnings at some point.
I'm as ready as one can be.
Gonna get blowed away one of these days.

October 14, 2014

Leon Panetta needs to rethink what he is doing to put it mildly.

Leon Panetta was Secretary of Defense as late as 2013. The people he put in place at the DOD and the CIA are probably still in place. Policies that he supported are also probably being enacted and his influence can still be felt in those institutions.

For him to come out NOW and criticize President Obama is not right nor helpful. If he had a principled disagreement with the President, he should have spoken up then. If he did and it was not heeded, his actions now smack of someone who wants to push his agenda in public now. The fact that another path was taken than he deems correct now indicates other voices were also heard.

If he did support policies that were and are being enacted then this is a very late conversion to a different view. He is and has been very close to the Clintons. Whether they are or not, his actions smack of a political move to bolster a possible Hillary candidacy by creating more room from President Obama's actions in order to help her continue to separate herself from his policies.

In addition, he was and he may still be privy to top secret information. He may not be giving specifics, but his statements have to be informed by some of what he has heard. His interpretation of it is colored by his beliefs.

Panetta is not the end all and be all of defense policy, security policy, or any other policy. He is being by the media treated as the one true source of the truth. This is dangerous and does not present any other opinions or courses of action.

The situation in the Middle East is a Gordian hot mess. Anything we do will have unforeseen consequences that may backfire on us. Trying to get rid of ISIS is fraught with danger in many ways. This factor does not obviate the need to take some action but those who act as if there is an easy solution are fooling themselves and others.

Panetta and others are in a different position than most. They have a special position by virtue of the offices they held. They need to think carefully about the ramifications of their statements. Their pronouncements made as fact are misleading and do not present a balanced view.

October 12, 2014

So 'The Fix' is clutching his pearls over Wendy Davis's nasty ad.

Ya know?
He can STFU!
There have been a brazillion nasty ads about President Obama alone much less anybody else. These ads have been bigoted, filled with lies, and beyond anything seen in a while both in contemt and number.
So when The Fix climbs on his high horse to point out A nasty political ad I want to know where the hell he has been. He needs help since he just returned to this planet after a long stay in another universe.

Is Davis's ad tough? You bet. It points out the hypocrisy of Greg Abbott in denying others any justice when wronged in various ways. His involves an accident that unfortunately resulted in him having to use a wheelchair. He sued the homeowner but wanted punitive damage caps.

I have no problem with it. It forcefully illustrates the fact that Abbott has tried to somewhat overcome a very rough problem with money. That never gets rid of the trauma but it can help people obtain the help they need and some justice for what they go through.

That wheelchair represents a lot of hardships to a lot of people. It may not be a wheelchair, but what people are left to go through life with can be just as tough.

So spare me the pearls and the vapors. This ad doesn't even register on the nasty meter. Lee Atwater quipping that a candidate who had been through shock treatments had been 'hooked up to jumper cables' was nasty. Get a grip and think about what nasty looks like because it's been out and about for a long time.

October 3, 2014

Why Ebola is very unlikely to go airborne

<snip>
'We've never seen a human virus change the way it is transmitted'
But why are experts so confident Ebola won't become airborne? It's worth reading this long post by Vincent Racaniello, a virologist at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University.

He goes into detail about how viruses mutate, but here's his bottom line: "We have been studying viruses for over 100 years, and we've never seen a human virus change the way it is transmitted":

When it comes to viruses, it is always difficult to predict what they can or cannot do. It is instructive, however, to see what viruses have done in the past, and use that information to guide our thinking. Therefore we can ask: has any human virus ever changed its mode of transmission?

The answer is no. We have been studying viruses for over 100 years, and we've never seen a human virus change the way it is transmitted.

This jibes with what Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Senate in mid-September: "Very, very rarely does [a virus] completely change the way it's transmitted."

Fauci noted that viruses do mutate a lot, in ways that might make the disease more virulent or a little bit more efficient at spreading. That's why researchers are currently trying to monitor the mutations. But with all the dire things to worry about with Ebola, he said, the prospect of the disease going airborne is not "something I would put at the very top of the radar screen."

Further reading: For more on the science of Ebola transmission, check out this previous post by Susannah Locke. She notes that, yes, some pigs infected with Ebola may be able to transmit the disease by coughing and sneezing large droplets. But there's a huge caveat here: Ebola affects pigs in a completely different manner than it does humans (in pigs, Ebola shows up as an infection of the lungs; in humans, it mainly targets the liver).
<snip>
http://www.vox.com/2014/9/19/6543157/ebola-is-unlikely-to-go-airborne

There's always a first time. That said, all this scaremongering worries me more than the virus. People who should know better are spouting 'facts' like they are Republicans.

The worst thing that can happen is all out panic. Then we will really be up s*** creek. I don't believe we know the entire story but who does.

The best plan is to take precautions against infection and get checked if you have symptoms. This is true not just because of ebola. That enterovirus that's making kids sick and paralyzing some needs to be kept in mind. It could become more widespread in older populations.

September 30, 2014

Donald Trump Got Tricked Into Retweeting an Image of Serial Killers

Donald Trump is always happy to retweet a glowing compliment.

So when Philip Bradbury sent along a picture of two people he claimed were his parents, asking Trump to share it, he quickly did so — to his nearly 3 million followers. The only problem: The image in question was not of Bradbury's parents. It was a picture of notorious serial killers Fred and Rosemary West.


Other users were quick to point out Trump's mistake, requesting retweets for their own villainous "family members."

Hi @realDonaldTrump. My parents who passed away always said you were a big inspiration. Can you RT for their memory?
8:24 AM - 29 Sep 2014
<snip>
More:
http://mashable.com/2014/09/29/donald-trump-twitter/#:eyJzIjoidCIsImkiOiJfaWJ5MDRvejYyNjNnYzV2ZiJ9

He is such a smug jackass especially on Twitter. He actually tweeted that he might sue because of this.
In one of previous tweets he endorsed McConnell. HA!

September 22, 2014

Lindsey Graham is hysterical and blubbering about ISIS

blowing up Charleston or whatever.
He needs to calm down.
If I was going to worry about somebody blowing up Charleston it would be Citadel cadets.

September 21, 2014

Get off my tractor! Get out of my barn and fields! Get off my porch!

I like country music. I realize some of you don't. There are genres of music I don't care for. However to dismiss all of it is short-sighted and trashes a culture that deserves better.

Not all of country music screams about 'Merica' and love it or leave it. Looking at you Lee Greenwood, Hank Williams Jr and Toby Keith. Beyond the jingoism, there is a long history of people and songs worth keeping.

That said, popular country music these days is populated by cute boys singing about beer, trucks, farms, screwing, and not necessarily in that order. I have nothing against any of those things. However, the songs are lacking in creativity and sound the same. Looking at you Luke Bryan.

The distaff side is better with such performers as Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert and others. However after watching one truly noxious song called 'God Made Girls' I was ready to shoot my teevee. It was singularly the worst thing I have ever seen or heard. That's saying a lot considering I'm a boomer and have witnessed a lot whether I remember it or not.

There are other people worth watching but you have to wade through a lot of dreck to find them. I have no doubt that people don't like country as it's presented on country channels or in the award shows.

There are several good acts off the beaten path, but I am waiting for this horrible wave of Palmetto Bug Boys to subside. I would like to see the better side of country music being presented again.

So get off my land! Leave the beer!

PS Take Taylor Swift with you. She has never really gotten past songs about breaking up with whoever.