DOJ: Attkisson's Computer Wasn't Hacked.. It's a Bad Keyboard... That's the Ticket

Ok?

In her book “Stonewalled,” Attkisson had issued a wide-ranging set of claims — that her CBS News work computers and her personal computer had been hacked, that a strange wire was found hanging from the cable TV/broadband box outside of her home and that her phone service went fuzzy. The inspector general’s report found that the cable in question was a “common” cable used by Attkisson’s broadband provider. Here’s how the report sums up the situation: 

Lastly, Attkisson reported to the OIG that a “suspicious” cable was attached to her Internet Service Provider’s connection box installed on her house. She opined to the OIG that perhaps this cable was being used to “tap” her house. Further investigation by the OIG revealed that the cable was a common cable used by the provider and could not be used to monitor or otherwise affect the phone or internet service at her residence. 

And in response to Attkisson’s videotape of an alleged hacker deleting content from her computer screen, the report says that the activity was caused by “the back space key being stuck.”

So I haven't seen her videotape nor seen the investigation. But deleting content from a screen cause the backspace key got stuck tells me one of two things:

Either this is the stupidest cover up ever or Sheryl Attkisson has a typical reporter's acumen when it comes to technology.

Now, given the IRS email scandal, I won't put anything past the government for stupidity with technology. But if you've worked in the tech sector and you've seen how the the media portrays technology, how reporters constantly misreport technology, or just worked on your family's computers and know not only how god awful ignorant they are about technology, but the interesting explanations they may come up with on how it all works.... well.... maybe the backspace key DID get stuck.

I assume more to come.

Scott Walker Round-Up

Scott Walker -- Race Polarizer... Because Why Not. Seriously, he's a total bigot now, so you know he's gaining traction.

Bouie further observed that there is a vigorous debate among political analysts as to whether Republicans can win in the White House in 2016 (though probably not in 2020 and certainly not in 2024) by simply expanding their current base of primarily white voters, many of whom failed to turn out at the polls in 2012. “Which brings us back to Scott Walker,” Bouie wrote.

“Unlike Mitt Romney—who was merely adopted by the world of racially polarized politics—Walker was born in it and molded by it,” he added.

Quoting former The New Republic editorialist Alec MacGillis, Bouie asserted that Milwaukee – where Walker served as a county executive – is home to “profound racial equality, political segregation, [and] a parallel-universe news media.”

And

So Now Celebrating Hard Work Is Racist

Sounds rather egalitarian, doesn’t it? Aside from Walker’s mention of voter-identification laws—which was a blip in the overall speech, somewhat overshadowed, to be honest, by the section in which the governor described labor protestors threatening to “gut” his wife “like a deer”—you might be somewhat baffled as to how this speech, praising equal opportunity, could be racially charged. The subtext, as Bouie explained to me in a rather interesting Twitter exchange, is this: “The suggestion that there are people who celebrate dependence and refuse to work hard is racially polarizing.” 

For Bouie, skin color—and black skin color, to be explicit—immediately pops to mind.
Really? Is it? I guess it depends on where you’re coming from. When I hear that suggestion, I don’t reflexively view it in racial terms. There are plenty of white people on welfare or government assistance, after all, who are not living the most responsible lives. There are also many poor people, of all shades of the rainbow, who are disadvantaged out of misfortune or hard luck. To say that we have individual opportunity doesn’t negate that. But for Bouie, skin color—and black skin color, to be explicit—immediately pops to mind.

He’s not alone, either. His Slate article links, quotes, and praises a rather sensational hit piece that ran on Walker last year, accusing him of “toxic racial politics.” Written by Alex MacGillis in The New Republic, it was called, somewhat amazingly, “The Unelectable Whiteness of Scott Walker.”

“Wait,” you might be thinking. “That’s kind of a racially polarizing headline to be approvingly citing in a piece bemoaning racial polarization!” Yes, my friend, it is.

Still, he had a good week, even for a filthy racist.

Scott Walker has had a pretty good week, and the results of this survey shouldn't change it. Walker has once again won the first, second and consensus choice survey questions in the Hot Air Primary Survey, increasing his leads in each category. In fact at the end of Tuesday night, Walker had a full 50% of the first choice vote and nearly 85% of the consensus, figures which dipped Wednesday evening as strong Mitt Romney supporters flooded the zone.

First choice top three are Walker, Ted Cruz, and Romney. No one else breaks 5%. 

Well good news, Romney is no longer in play.

After putting considerable thought into making another run for president, I've decided it is best to give other leaders in the Party the opportunity to become our next nominee.

Let me give you some of my thinking. First, I am convinced that with the help of the people on this call, we could win the nomination. Our finance calls made it clear that we would have enough funding to be more than competitive. With few exceptions, our field political leadership is ready and enthusiastic about a new race. And the reaction of Republican voters across the country was both surprising and heartening. I know that early poll numbers move up and down a great deal during a campaign, but we would have no doubt started in a strong position. One poll out just today shows me gaining support and leading the next closest contender by nearly two to one. I also am leading in all of the four early states. So I am convinced that we could win the nomination, but fully realize it would have been difficult test and a hard fight.

So that's good. I mean.. Oh.. Mitt.. why? So disappointing.

Can We Just All Agree That Code Pink Are Terrible People?

These women are fascists. They have no desire to engage or work within the system, they just want shut you down. They don't care about due process, truth, or facts. They are just spoiled, nasty, useless people.

McCain's had enough of them.

And Kissinger can't stop laughing.

MSNBC: American Sniper was a Serial Killer

Or words to that effect.




Racist. Serial Killer. Chris Kyle was a frothing nutbag going out on killing sprees and enjoying it.

I'm assuming Aman Mohyeldin actually saw the movie and yet still says this about Chris Kyle. This is not just beyond sick, it's a complete and willful distortion of reality. Whether or not Aman actually lives in this reality or just wants it to be so, I can't tell. But I can tell that MSNBC regularly employs these people, puts them on TV, and gives these lunatics a forum to spout this kind of crap.

Also, I want everyone to understand a leftist mind: It's clear that Kyle did not think all Iraqis were savages. Yet this dirtbag assumes he does. This is because leftists always think in terms of groups, the collective, if you will. So if you comment on a terrorist's actions, you are disparaging all brown people, according to the left. This is because they don't see any differences between any brown people and do not want to say bad things about brown people, lest be known as a racist. So they first apologize for the actions of terrorists, and then second, deem those who attempt to stop terrorists as racists... because the left doesn't actually see any difference between all brown people.

In other words, the left knows racists when they see them because it takes one to know one. They simply accept their racism and are above you because they actually want to help brown people. The brown people need the left's help because what can you expect from brown people? They are victims of bigoted white people and can't be expected to succeed on their own. Or they are savages because if you were the victim of white Americans, you'd be savage too.

So remember, all brown people are disadvantaged without the means to better themselves cause... you know... whites are racists. Again, the non-racist left believes ALL white people are bad and all brown people are limited in some way.

This is how you become non-racist. If it makes your head spin, then congrats. You have an actual functioning brain. If it makes total sense to you, you'll have a long career at MSNBC with all the other non-racist racists.

Facebook beginning of month: "Je Suis Charlie!" Facebook Now: "We Don't Offend The Prophet."

Well that was quick.

On January 9, Zuckerberg posted a message under his own name, taking credit for standing up to demands that Facebook censor images of Muhammad.

“Facebook has always been a place where people across the world share their views and ideas,” Zuckerberg wrote. “We follow the laws in each country, but we never let one country or group of people dictate what people can share across the world.”

He ended his post with “#JeSuisCharlie,” a show of support for the murdered members of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo who lost their lives in an attack by radical Islamists on January 7.

A week later, Zuckerberg was still defending his condemnation of the attack on the French tabloid and pledged that he and Facebook would continue to offer “a service where you can speak freely without fear of violence.”

But now, only 18 days after his initial show of bravado, Zuckerberg and Facebook have agreed to censor images of Muhammad in Turkey. In fact, Facebook is even censoring the very images from Charlie Hebdo that sparked the terror attacks early this month, the very images Zuckerberg made to support his “#JeSuisCharlie” proclamation.

The courage of liberals.

Do you Hate Humanity and People Should Be Confined To Small Areas?

Then the cubitat is for you!

Despite the Cubitat’s size problem, the designers envisioned the cube as a theoretically mobile object, based on the concept of a transformable home. “The idea is to hoist and slide Cubitat onto a condo floor mid-construction. Build a platform for Cubitat in the cottage country of your dreams. Ship Cubitat from the city to the country so you retire in your own home,” a project description states.

Whatever keeps us from taking up more space on spaceship Earth I guess. Suddenly the McMansions have some character.

Like THIS, Facebook

Ok, am I the only lone holdout that can't bring himself to get into Facebook? I know I could pimp the site and the podcast on it but I just can't seem to get into it. I found a use for Twitter but Facebook is irritating to me. Maybe it's the constant stream of crap from people's personal lives. Oh and if I wanted to keep in touch with you after high school, I would have.

Any one else feel this way? Is Facebook finally losing steam or am I just the grumpy old man who was just fine with bulletin boards and modems?

Episode 29: Rape Culture, Michael Moore, and More Crap #Podcast

We talk about... Oh hell you'll find out.

Ok.. FIIIINE...sigh..

We talk about DeBlasio and his idea of integrity. "Rape Culture," Scott Walker's rise in Iowa, Michael Moore and American Sniper some more, an economics lesson, and a lot of miscellaneous stuff. Jim and Mark decide they hate each other and then have sex.

#Podcast Episode 28: SOTU and the Oscars!

We talk about the State of the Union, Mark blows a gasket over Obama's unbelievable disingenuousness, and Jim cries a little. On the way back, we go over the Oscars! Who got snubbed? What's our predictions? Do you care?

#Podcast is a Little Late! What's Up?!

Well it's coming. We are recording today so look for it tonight or tomorrow. MLK day messed up our schedule.

SOTU: How Many Unfulfilled Promises Will He Give Us Tonight?

Cause right now, the count is at 112. Click through to see the whole list.

2009

1. The stimulus bill will create 3.5 million jobs over the next few years, 90 percent of which will be in the private sector.

2. Create program that will enable Americans facing foreclosure to lower their mortgage payments and save their homes.

3. Double the supply of renewable energy within the next three years.

4. The “largest ever” federal spending program on science will yield breakthroughs in energy, medicine, science, and technology.

...

2010

23. The health-reform law will bring down the deficit $1 trillion over the next 20 years.

24. Starting in 2011, government spending “ will be frozen for three years.”

25. Cut programs we don’t need to maintain a balanced budget.

...

2011

37. Secure America’s borders.

38. Enforce existing immigration laws.

39. Reduce unemployment by increasing the number of people working on infrastructure projects – ensuring these projects are “fully paid for.”

On a different but same note... his dinner in Hawaii cost more than his tax credit he's giving the middle class.

At that rate, the $500 credit wouldn't cover two weeks of infant care. For a four-year-old, the costs can reach $12,280, or $236 a month, meaning the credit would just cover two weeks of fees. The report is below.

Ditto for commuter costs. Take Columbus, Ohio, as the example. The Center for Neighborhood Technology’s “Affordability Index” puts the cost of “average annual transportation” at $14,001. That’s about $538 every two weeks, or more than enough to eat the president’s tax credit.

Put another way, the credit wouldn't even cover the tab for two at Hawaii's Vintage Cave restaurant where the president and first lady dined on New Year's Day. And that didn't include wine.

I know there's something on Netflix I could be watching instead of this SOTU crap.

I Know I'm On the Right Track When I Align With Thomas Sowell

I've made no bones about my support for Scott Walker for President. He's conservative but more importantly, he's effective. Turns out, my instincts are better than even I thought:

We can certainly hope that the country has learned that lesson -- and that Republican rookie Senators get eliminated early in the 2016 primaries, so that we can concentrate on people who have had some serious experience running things -- and taking responsibility for the consequences -- rather than people whose only accomplishments have been in rhetoric and posturing.

The more optimistic among us may hope that the Republicans will nominate somebody who stands for something, rather than the bland leading the bland -- the kind of candidates the Republican establishment seems to prefer, even if the voters don't.

If the Republicans do finally decide to nominate somebody who stands for something, and who has a track record of succeeding in achieving what he set out to do, then no one fits that bill better than Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who has put an end to government employee unions' racket of draining the taxpayers dry with inflated salaries and extravagant pensions.

That Governor Walker succeeded in reining in the unions, in a state long known for its left-leaning and pro-union politics, shows that he knows how to get the job done. It also shows that he has the guts to fight for what he believes, and the smarts to articulate his case and win the public over to his side, rather than pandering to whatever the polls show current opinion to be.

So if you don't believe me, believe the man I probably most respect in economics, politics, and media, Thomas Sowell.

(whisper whisper)

Wait, Sowell's black? That can't be right. As a conservative, I'm racist after all.

(whisper whisper)

I can't understand anything you're trying to tell me when all you do is type the words "whisper whisper."

Anyway, look into Scott Walker people. We need to start the campaign now and get those polls up there. The establishment needs to have Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, and what ever blandy-bland get soundly rejected.

Media Dutifully Reports Wealth Idiocy Story

Oxfam has a typically froth inducing story that the media eats up without any scrutiny whatsoever. 

Turns out, the rich really are getting richer. And they'll soon own more than the rest of us put together.

So says a new report, which estimates that the richest 1% will have as much wealth as the other 99% combined by next year.

"The richest 1% have seen their share of global wealth increase from 44% in 2009 to 48% in 2014," Oxfam says in a report Monday.

At that rate, the wealthiest will own more than 50% by next year, according to the report.

"Do we really want to live in a world where the 1% own more than the rest of us combined?" asked Winnie Byanyima, executive director of the international aid agency.

Yes.

The question is bullshit. One, do we really think there is a finite amount of wealth in the world? How is that possible? The world's GDP is far greater now than it was 50 years ago and even inflation doesn't take into account all the things we have and built now. Wealth is not finite. You can write a book and create wealth if it sells. You can write a blog and create a podcast and create wealth. (It's takes time though. C'mon guys, spread the word and click an ad here and there!)

More importantly is the fallacies about wealth. One, what obstructs people from acquiring wealth? Second, is wealth income? And third, are people who are wealthy always so? Are people who are poor remain so?

Wealth is the accumulation of money or assets. So I ask you, if a rich person buys a yacht, did some poor person in middle africa lose said yacht? Absurd, yet that's what the media wants you to believe. If someone has money, it was stolen from someone else.

If the rich person pays money for the yacht, then people who built the yacht get paid! Duh! So now the rich person has acquired more wealth and the people that built it ALSO are now more wealthy. The richer people get, the richer EVERYONE gets. Only in a society where the government controls wealth does money get stolen from one group of people to be put in the hands of another.

Hint: Governments typically tax the wealthy at levels higher than others and typically the poor are given monies in the form of welfare, education, housing, etc. In this system, the wealthy are the ones who lose.

In a free market system everyone wins IF everyone is putting something into the system. It's the only system where you can get more out of it than you put in. Now we can debate on how much more some goods and services are worth as compared to others but worth of these things are what they are. In the above example, both the yacht maker and the rich person are wealthier. The rich person values the yacht above the monies he has collected. The yacht maker sells the yacht for more than what it cost to build it. BOTH are now wealthier because wealth is not income and it is not measured solely in money.

The media would have you believe the opposite. This way they can stoke the easiest of emotions to stoke: envy and sloth. Someone has something you don't, that stokes the envy. It's a lot easier to take something away from someone using force of government than to put in the hard work to make yourself successful, that's the sloth.

Don't buy into this crap. It will only result in the same government programs. By the way, the wealthy will always get more wealthy but the poor will have a tougher time if you keep taking more wealth from the rich. They don't get a tenth of what actually gets taken away.

We've been trying this for the last 50 years. It's time to stop and try less envy, sloth, and government bullshit. We want everyone to be able to acquire wealth and the lame idea that wealth is finite and that if some people have more than others is the surest way to make sure no one is wealthy.

All Those "FOX News Lies" Articles? They're...Well...Lies

At the very least, exercises in heavy misleading.

But the study is clearly not simply designed to discover whether certain Americans believe things that are not true, and that such beliefs correlate with partisan affiliation, ideology, media preferences, etc. That’s the sort of thing you can do all day: Democrats, for example, are about twice as likely as Republicans to believe in astrology, and are significantly more likely than Republicans to believe in a great deal of other superstitious nonsense, such as ghosts and fortunetellers. It is no surprise that the signature piece of legislation produced by the united Democratic triumvirate of Obama-Pelosi-Reid produced a health-care program that will pour subsidies into such discredited claptrap as chiropractic, homeopathy, and acupuncture. (Given the demographics of cable-news audiences, it’s a safe bet that MSNBC viewers believe in astrology at much higher rates than Fox News viewers.) That the nation is scandalized by conservatives pushing “intelligent design” but not by a federal law mandating subsidies for equally nonsensical quackery has nothing to do with our alleged regard for science and everything to do with the class biases of media people.

I myself decided to check out a Fox News meme, this on the subject of whether or not FOX was given the ability to legally lie. It turned out to be horse pucky.

Fox is not on the team and this is their sin. There's something vaguely mafia-esque about the left and FOX. See they won't play ball, see. FOX isn't towing the line like the other news media such as CNN, MSNBC, and -the Don of lefty media- the New York Times. It isn't that FOX is really that much more conservative. They have lefty voices on all the time. But they allow the right to have as much of a voice as the left and that can't be allowed. You really think the left is about free speech? They apologize for Islam (who had a field day today) and condemn Christians. They are about control and fascism. Don't think otherwise.

Trailer Is Misleading for Paddington

Ok, not THIS misleading

I saw the trailer for Paddington and wrote it off immediately. Lots of silly potty humor. I guess that gets the kids in but for me and my kids, we rolled our eyes. See for yourself:

I mean seriously. He's eating ear wax? This looked Alvin and the Chipmunks bad.

Well looks like the reviews are in and it appears this is a huge hit with critics at 97%. This begged the question, do the marketers of these movies believe that kids are just into this? Maybe writing off adults entirely? The trailer just stinks of cynicism with the basest humor, and it appears this isn't really representative of the movie.

Bad trailers really can make or break a movie and if this movie is good, I hope it can overcome very bad marketing. Kids need better than the Smurfs movie.

Google Glass Gone?

Damn, I never got a chance to start annoying people with this. 

Ivy Ross, the current head of Glass, will retain day-to-day duties and authority, but will start reporting to Fadell, according to another report from The Verge.

"We realize that we've outgrown the lab and so we're officially "graduating" from Google[x] to be our own team here at Google." the company said in a statement. "As part of this transition, we're closing the Explorer Program so we can focus on what's coming next. January 19 will be the last day to get the Glass Explorer Edition."

Walker Disappointed You With Right-To-Work? Look Closer...

This guy knows what he's doing.

Some conservatives are disappointed by Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s apparent reluctance to push for right-to-work legislation in his new term. Today the Wall Street Journal joins the chorus, calling it “unfortunate that he’s ducking a chance to make Wisconsin the country’s 25th right-to-work state.” But Walker has made it clear that such legislation is not a priority and that he wants to focus instead on education reform and on cutting Wisconsin’s woefully bloated budget.

Walker is right, and it demonstrates yet again that he’s got the right formula for conservative reforms.

As Walker explained to me last May, Wisconsin is already essentially a right-to-work state. The major union power was in the public sector, which was squeezing the state’s finances and economy, and Scott Walker broke that stranglehold in his first term, with the passage of Act 10. Public-sector union membership has fallen by more than 50,000.

Meanwhile, private-sector union membership in Wisconsin is down below 7 percent of the workforce. Basically most people in Wisconsin already have a de facto right not to join a union, because the vast majority of firms are not unionized. A right-to-work law would be great; it just wouldn't affect that many people.

Look, I'm all for right-to-work but I'm not for legislation for legislation's sake. Walker's instincts are to leave shit alone if it ain't broke. Once legislation is taken up, even for an ostensibly good cause, chances are government will screw it up somehow.

I love this guy. He wants to go after the budget because it's a real problem and has no use for legislation that really does nothing except help him politically. If we as conservatives are mad at him because "right-to-work" is just "our thing," then we are in danger of becoming liberals. "Our thing" should be "government needs to leave shit alone." Walker is doing just that.

We know he will take action when it's warranted. If he's not going to take action on something, I think we ought to give him the benefit of the doubt. This guy is great because he's effective, he produces positive results and most importantly, he doesn't care about making himself look good politically. That's what WE need to support, not falling into the trap of "legislate my stuff or else I'm not supporting you!"

If it changes nothing and simply adds another law on the books, what the hell good is making Wisconsin the 25th right-to-work state? So we can hit the number 25?

This is a true conservative. Take another look people.

Well, It's Not Quite Hover-Converting Your Old Vehicle...

But interesting nonetheless.

Verizon Communications Inc unveiled an Internet and wireless car service on Tuesday that lets drivers of older cars get help during a breakdown or find out about repairs and maintenance that might be needed.

The wireless company said at the Detroit auto show that it will make its "Verizon Vehicle" service available in the second quarter of this year. The subscription-based service will work on models dating back to 1996.

The monthly service charge for Verizon's new product aimed at modernizing older cars is $15, said Erik Goldman, president of Verizon Telematics.

The service is intended to help drivers of older cars, who can opt to receive alerts via text, call, smartphone notifications or email. Other features allow drivers to diagnose mechanical problems, talk to car mechanics in real time and access help in an emergency.

Scandinavian Countries Aren't That Great

Ok good article.  But the pull quote is spit-take inducing (emphasis mine).

Visitors say Danes are joyless to be around. Denmark suffers from high rates of alcoholism. In its use of antidepressants it ranks fourth in the world. (Its fellow Nordics the Icelanders are in front by a wide margin.) Some 5 percent of Danish men have had sex with an animal. Denmark’s productivity is in decline, its workers put in only 28 hours a week, and everybody you meet seems to have a government job. Oh, and as The Telegraph put it, it’s “the cancer capital of the world.”

So how happy can these drunk, depressed, lazy, tumor-ridden, pig-bonking bureaucrats really be?

How indeed?

#Podcast Episode 27: Emails, Paris, and American Sniper

We read an email from a listener which we should have read last week. We talk more about Charlie Hebdo, Jim indulges his feminine side, Obama doesn't go to Paris showing his pussy side, and Mark talks about the new movie: American Sniper.

Escalation-- Terror Hacks CentCom

Well this can't be good.

Apparently the ISIS douchebags got a hold of CentCom's twitter account. Aside from being able to reign down hashtags from hell, this shows that these guys aren't backing off, they are pressing. 9/11 was the first shot in starting the terror war. Looks like Paris is the start of Terror War II.

Reuters Also Reports

Watch Live

**Update**

Terror apparently loves irony:

As President Barack Obama addressed the nation regarding national cyber security efforts, hackers claiming to represent the Islamic State (IS) took over the Twitter account of the Pentagon division in charge of the Middle East.

Hackers with the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, posted links on U.S. Central Command’s official Twitter page to what it claimed was “confidential data from your mobile devices.”

I guess NOT going to Paris made ISIS love us now, huh Barry?

Slate Is Off And Running Again: American Sniper is Full Of Lies

Slate is pissed that Amercian Sniper is full of lies. Why? Because he doesn't tell the stories outside of American Sniper's story.

But when critics catch a film in a lie, we have to ask it, “Why?” That’s what matters. Take American Sniper, one of the most mendacious movies of 2014. Clint Eastwood was caught in a trap: His subject, murdered Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, lied a lot. In his autobiography, he said he killed two carjackers in Texas, sniped looters during Hurricane Katrina, and punched Jesse Ventura in the face. None of that was true. So Eastwood was stuck. Should he repeat Kyle’s lies as truth? Expose him as a liar? Instead, he pretended Kyle never claimed any of it, but when a film erases the fact that its subject was a fabricator, then that itself is a lie.

Not having seen the movie or read the book, I can see that Chris Kyle was a Naval Seal and Jesse Ventura was a loudmouth truther. Slate has made a point of making our military and people on the right look like thugs and murderers. So I have a pretty biased view on who is telling truth here.

Regardless, the point is, the movie is centered around Chris's experiences in Iraq and psychological effects it had on him and his marriage. Not including incidents that may be ancillary to the story being told is not necessarily lying. It may simply be an artistic decision.

Jim and I spoke at length regarding "Unbroken." I did bemoan the lack screen time given to the fact that Louie Zamperini forgave his captors and found God after the war. He also has a tough time after the war and had a lot of trouble with nightmares. None of that is in the movie. A lousy omittance but did Angelina Jolie "lie?" Of course not.

Welcome to The New Blog, Same as the Old Blog

I made a few changes in the layout. The Stitcher list will always be available for all our new listeners, now on the right. Thanks to all the new people that have found us recently! We will continue to talk about conservativism and movies in a politically incorrect manner on our long car rides once a week as long as you continue to listen! As always I will continue to rant on the blog and tweet with my favorite stories tweeting out as they come up. As always, you can email us at carpoolconversations@hotmail.com or tweet at me anytime you like. Thanks for being here and here's a to great 2015!

#Podcast Episode 26: Paris Shooting, Wes Anderson Movies, Hate and Cowardice

So we talk about the Paris shooting at Charlie Hebdo and Mark is spun up at the spineless cowards the liberals have become. The word "Islamophobia" meaning in today's day and age. We also talk about the Grand Budapest hotel and Wes Anderson movies in general. On the way home, we talk a bit about the police getting targeted again in New York and Philly, Jim waxes philosophical, and we talk about the new Marvel shows coming out on Netflix.

I'm Islamophobic. How About You?

I know what you're thinking.

"But Yoda, I'm not afraid of muslims for no reason. It's not irrational. And there is a slew of evidence that Islam is very violent. Isn't being wary of a very real threat prudent?"

Of course it is. But actual word meanings don't mean anything anymore, at least for the left.

First off, Islamophobia no longer means "Irrational fear of Muslims." It now means racist.

Second, If you see a beheading, a shooting of cartoonists in retaliation for...um... cartoons, planes flying into buildings, cafe bombings, etc. and you react with anger at these events like a normal human, then you are Islamophobic. See Racist.

So you as a normal thinking human are a racist. Or an Islamophobe if you prefer. This is the left's definition.

So I'm embracing it. If being horrified by actual events, actual deaths, and indifferent to imaginary backlash that has yet to really happen is Islamophobic, then I'm your man.

I encourage all of you to be Islamophobic too.

Do we need a little MORE Islamaphobia?

Stay with me here.

Back in World War II, the Japanese were pretty much propagandized in every which way. Much of it could be called racist. We are really ashamed of it. And in truth, the internment camps are a stain on our history.

But we were also united with one goal: Defeat Japan. The propaganda went a long way towards keeping us united in that goal. We had no beef with them until Pearl Harbor. (Oh I'm sure some historian will correct me here but let's face it, Pearl Harbor was the big turning point.)

December 7th 1941 the war starts. VJ day is August 14, 1945. Just shy of four years. Four bloody awful years where they hated us and we hated them.

And then they were defeated. Not "we withdrew troops at some predetermined date to make the president look good politically." We dropped two atom bombs and pushed their faces in the dirt.

Then something amazing happened. The hate stopped. Oh not all at once mind you. But by the 50's they were making Godzilla movies. We were buying their products. Cars were being sold here by the 60's. We started eating up Japanese culture and they dug a lot of ours too. We got crazy karate movies, Sony, Nintendo (Mario is a Japanese import of an Italian stereotype... who we also destroyed in the war. Weird.)

Point is, we only had 4 years of war. Bloody horrific, no holds barred, war. It was bad. Enough horrific stuff to make movies about for decades. No one played nice. If you think the Japanese weren't just as committed to death as the islamist, look up Kamikaze.

My question is, if we were as committed as we were back then, (and yes that means silly cartoons and nasty movies, and a little more name calling, instead of hand wringing and worrying about islamophobia,) maybe this war would've been over a long time ago. Maybe, just maybe, if we really went in guns blazing, we could be importing Arabic culture by now.

The left's hand wringing and constant accusations of racism or islamophobia is making these wars take far longer and costing more lives. Is there an end in sight? Not without a helluva lot more resolve.

And maybe a few more offensive cartoons.

Dear Islam: Eat a Bag of Dick. Signed, Civilization

Horrible.

Black-clad gunmen shouting "Allahu Akbar!" stormed the Paris offices of a satirical publication known for lampooning Islam Wednesday, killing 12 and injuring as many as 15 before escaping, French officials said.

As many as three Kalashnikov-toting shooters were being sought following the 11:30 a.m. attack at Charlie Hebdo, the publication known for challenging Muslim terrorists with a 2011 caricature of Prophet Muhammed on its cover and which recently tweeted a cartoon of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Two policemen and several journalists - including the cartoonist behind the weekly publication's provocative images, were among the dead.

“We’ve avenged the honor of the prophet!” the killers shouted, according to witnesses who spoke to Sky News. Other witnesses said the men shouted "Allahu Akbar," Arabic for "God is great." The gunmen spoke French without any accent, according to Le Monde.

I'm sure the liberals will label it workplace violence.

News Round-Up

• 20th Century Fox Is Doing Quite Well, Thank You.
• Arizona Ordered To Break Law By Law Enforcers... wait, what?
• Oh Geez. Look if every crime is a hate crime, nothing is.
• New York Liberals Think ingratitude is a good method to reach out to cops.
• Equality is a dirty word.
• We Just Can't Handle Anything Anymore 

Episode 25: DeBlasio, Oil, Interview, Unbroken, and the Hobbit

Welcome back! Happy New Year! This episode we talk about DeBlasio and the murder of the two cops that got murdered, The Interview and whether or not Hollywood is nothing but pussies (Hint: yes.) We talk for a while about the move Unbroken, the oil price drop, and the Hobbit series. Enjoy!

News Round-Up

And here we go with another year. Here's to 2015 and the arrival of hover-boards.

• Humans like to Dehumanize
• Fighting Net-Neutrality
• Sly Bringing Back Rocky and Rambo For One More Ride
• Hollywood Needs The Force to Be With It in 2015
• France's 75% SuperTax Dies
• Republicans are Ready For Hilary

You Thought Health Care Was Expensive Before Obamacare? Just Wait Til You See How Much It Costs Now that it's Free

Get ready for some new taxes!

Obamacare enrollees who received subsidies to help pay for coverage will soon have to reconcile how much they actually earned in 2014 with how much they estimated when they applied many, many months ago. 

This will likely lead to some very unhappy Americans. Those who underestimated their income either will receive smaller tax refunds or will owe the IRS money. 

That's because subsidies are actually tax credits and are based on annual income, but folks got their 2014 subsidy before knowing exactly what they'd make in 2014. So you'll have to reconcile the two with the IRS during the upcoming tax filing season.
It won't be surprising if many enrollees guessed wrong. The sign up period began in October 2013 and many people did not know what they'd earn in 2014. Some went off what they earned in 2012. 

Also, it was up to consumers to report major changes in their circumstances, such as landing a new job or getting married, so their subsidy amounts could be recalculated.

Yea free health care! Are you surprised? You are if you were silly enough to believe in this crap.

News Round Up

• Box Office Drops 5% This Year
• Dollar has its best year since 2005
• States Raise Minimum Wage Today
• Couldn't have happened to Nicer Guys
• Mario Cuomo Dead at 82
• FBI says Oops
• Israel Finally Wiped Off The Map

Carpool Conversations -- Now With Retsin! #podcast

Or some such nonsense. We've moved Carpool Conversations over to Podbean! All the episodes are now hosted there and we've even set up our own website: http://carpoolconversations.conservativeyoda.com!

As always, you can listen to us on Stitcher! And now if you want to download them, it's a bit easier now. Thanks for your support and new episodes coming for 2015!