Month: November 2014
Peter’s Pack of Pickled Pigskin Picks- Week 12
The Dirty Dozen, a baker’s dozen, a dozen eggs. And here is the “dozenth” entry in the Pigskin Picks. Another attempt by us amateurs to pick the winners in ten college football games. Since it’s the twelfth week, I picked a dozen games! This way we can include a lot of our favorite teams, including Army and Navy. Have at it folks. There are a lot of exciting opportunities for upsets this week as some usually great teams go up against each other.
Get your picks in by noon eastern on Saturday, November 15th to be eligible for the honor of being the top pickled picker of the week. TRW was our winner last week and he picked the tie breaker, a game I might have chosen myself if Arizona were off this week.
And here are your choices:
1. #21 Clemson @ #24 Georgia Tech
2. #2 Florida State @ Miami (FL)
3. #15 Oklahoma @ Texas Tech
4. #1 Mississippi State @ #5 Alabama
5. #3 Auburn @ #20 Georgia
6. South Carolina @ Florida
7. Iowa @ Illinois
8. Washington @ #19 Arizona
9. San Diego State @ Boise State
10. Army @ Western Kentucky
11. Georgia Southern @ Navy
12. Tie Breaker (pick winner and guess the score) Missouri @ Texas A&M
News/Politics 11-12-14
What’s interesting in the news today?
1. As the grand jury decision approaches, businesses and authorities are preparing for the worst.
From YahooNews “Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said on Tuesday the National Guard would be on standby to respond to any violence after a grand jury decides whether or not to indict a white police officer for shooting dead an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson.
In addition to the National Guard, police officers from across the state could be called on to restore order if protests get out of hand, Nixon told a news conference.”
“”These measures are not being taken because we are convinced that violence will occur, but because we have a responsibility to prepare for any contingency,” he said.”
“Some businesses in Ferguson have boarded up windows and made plans for protecting themselves and their property if protests ignite into violence.”
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2. Political donations prove liberal bias dominates American culture.
From CapitalCityProject “Conservatives have long believed American culture is entrenched with a liberal bias, only to be scoffed at and called paranoid. However, three new charts dealing with political donations from academia, media, and Hollywood prove this to be the case.
Business Insider was provided a data set of federal campaign contributions dating all the way back to 1980, making the sample size considerable. The data set confirms that media, academia, and the entertainment industry are some of the most liberal professions in America. The findings were provided by CROWDPAC, a non-partisan analytics firm based out of California.
“In compiling all this data, and building these tools, we have the opportunity to shine some light on the political system and reveal some interesting insights and trends,” Crowdpac CEO Steve Hilton said of the findings. “For example, our real data conforms with the claims that have been circulated about the extremely liberal profile of the entertainment and media sectors.””
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3. And Harry has the nerve to whine about the Koch brothers…..
From TheFreeBeacon “The network of political and policy groups backed by the shadowy liberal donor club the Democracy Alliance was responsible for more than one of every three dollars spent by super PACs during the 2014 election cycle, public records show.
Members of the Democracy Alliance network that disclose political spending dropped more than $250 million on the midterms, according to data reported to the Federal Election Commission.
That included more than $180 million in expenditures by super PACs, more than a third of the $515 million spent by all such groups during the 2014 election cycle.
The groups’ extensive involvement in Democrats’ political efforts undercuts common media characterizations of the Democracy Alliance, which generally present the array of groups it supports as less involved in electioneering than those of similar collaborative donor networks on the right.
Such reports frequently downplay the scale of the Democracy Alliance network, commonly reported as consisting of fewer than two dozen organizations.”
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4. This is getting out of hand. They’re abusing these laws for profit. Since when is law enforcement a for profit business?
From MSN.com “The seminars offered police officers some useful tips on seizing property from suspected criminals. Don’t bother with jewelry (too hard to dispose of) and computers (“everybody’s got one already”), the experts counseled. Do go after flat screen TVs, cash and cars. Especially nice cars.
In one seminar, captured on video in September, Harry S. Connelly Jr., the city attorney of Las Cruces, N.M., called them “little goodies.” And then Mr. Connelly described how officers in his jurisdiction could not wait to seize one man’s “exotic vehicle” outside a local bar.
“A guy drives up in a 2008 Mercedes, brand new,” he explained. “Just so beautiful, I mean, the cops were undercover and they were just like ‘Ahhhh.’ And he gets out and he’s just reeking of alcohol. And it’s like, ‘Oh, my goodness, we can hardly wait.’ ”
Mr. Connelly was talking about a practice known as civil asset forfeiture, which allows the government, without ever securing a conviction or even filing a criminal charge, to seize property suspected of having ties to crime. The practice, expanded during the war on drugs in the 1980s, has become a staple of law enforcement agencies because it helps finance their work. It is difficult to tell how much has been seized by state and local law enforcement, but under a Justice Department program, the value of assets seized has ballooned to $4.3 billion in the 2012 fiscal year from $407 million in 2001. Much of that money is shared with local police forces.
The practice of civil forfeiture has come under fire in recent months, amid a spate of negative press reports and growing outrage among civil rights advocates, libertarians and members of Congress who have raised serious questions about the fairness of the practice, which critics say runs roughshod over due process rights. In one oft-cited case, a Philadelphia couple’s home was seized after their son made $40 worth of drug sales on the porch. Despite that opposition, many cities and states are moving to expand civil seizures of cars and other assets. The seminars, some of which were captured on video, raise a curtain on how law enforcement officials view the practice.”
They view it as a cash cow.
Is it just me, or does this DoJ seem to be run like an organized crime outfit?
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5. Why is it OK to be racist if you’re supposedly doing it to fight racism? Isn’t it bad all the time?
From TheDailyCaller “Minneapolis Public Schools are implementing a new policy aimed at eliminating the gap between the races when it comes to suspensions. Nothing will change for white students, they will still be suspended at the discretion of each school’s principal. But for minority students, specifically black, Hispanic and Native American students, the Minneapolis Schools Superintendent’s office will personally review each case.
This new policy is part of an agreement with U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights announced last week after an investigation into why minority students made up such a high percentage suspended students in the past.
Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson told NPR, “I and all of my staff will start to review all non-violent suspensions of students of color, especially black boys, to understand why they’re being suspended so we can help intervene with teachers, student leaders and help give them the targeted support they need for these students.”
In a press release announcing the new policy, which begins Monday, Johnson’s office said, “Moving forward, every suspension of a black or brown student will be reviewed by the superintendent’s leadership team. The school district aims to more deeply understand the circumstances of suspensions with the goal of providing greater supports to the school, student or family in need. This team could choose to bring in additional resources for the student, family and school.””
The DoJ is doing this nationwide. Look for more to come.
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6. This isn’t surprising, and neither is the reaction to it within this “community.”
CONTENT WARNING!!! for adult subject matter.
From TheFederalist “Our culture seems pretty much “to each his own” when it comes to elective bodily mutilation and the regret thereof. And there’s a lot of regret out there. According to a British poll, a whopping 65 percent of those who’ve had various cosmetic surgeries regret it. People who regret their tattoos, plastic surgery, or more extreme body modifications (here’s a sad Buzzfeed pictorial on the effects of ear gauges) can read up on the Internet and find an open array of remedies. Plastic surgeons make money both puttin’ it in and takin’ it out.
Hollywood stars can speak openly about misgivings over their boob jobs and whatnot. Regarding her lip enhancement surgery, Courtney Love said: “I just want the mouth God gave me back.”
But the difference between Love and the guy with phantom &%#@$ syndrome is that the guy isn’t allowed to talk about his regret. Not openly. The transgender lobby actively polices and suppresses discussion of sex-change regret, and claims it’s rare (no more than “5 percent.”) However, if you do decide to “de-transition” to once again identify with the sex in your DNA, talking about it will get you targeted by trans activists. So it’s a challenge to understand the scope of regret for sex change surgery. It’s out there, but…”
“Finch went on to sue the Australian gender identity clinic at Melbourne’s Monash Medical Center for misdiagnosis. He also was involved in starting an outreach to others called “Gender Menders.” The reaction from the transgender community was fast, furious, and abusive, particularly in the Susans.org discussion forum as described in Sheila Jeffrey’s book, “Gender Hurts.”
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Our Daily Thread 11-11-14
Good Morning!
Today is Veterans Day, or if you’re in Canada, Remembrance Day.
So if you come across any veterans today, remember to thank them for their service.
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On this day in 1620 the Mayflower Compact was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower when they landed in what is now Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod. The compact called for “just and equal laws.”
In 1918 World War I came to an end when the Allies and Germany signed an armistice. This day became recognized as Veteran’s Day in the United States.
In 1920 the body of an unknown British soldier was buried in Westminster Abbey.
In 1921 the Tomb of the Unknowns was dedicated at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia by President Harding.
And in 1984 President Ronald Reagan accepted the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as a gift to the nation from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
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Quote of the Day
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.”
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“We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.”
George S. Patton
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Flash mob, Air Force Band style.
And the US Army Band.
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Anyone have a QoD?
Prayer Requests 11-11-14
Anyone have a request or praise to share?
Psalm 128
¹Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.
2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.
5 The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
6 Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.
News/Politics 11-11-14
What’s interesting in the news today?
1. Great, just what we need. Now they will improve the internet like they did health insurance. I wonder if we’ll pay more too, so that others can have it for free?
From CNet “President Obama urged the US government to adopt tighter regulations on broadband service in an effort to preserve “a free and open Internet.”
In a statement released Monday, Obama called on the Federal Communications Commission to enforce the principle of treating all Internet traffic the same way, known in shorthand as Net neutrality. That means treating broadband services like utilities, the president said, so that Internet service providers would be unable “to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas.”
Obama wades into a contentious debate that has raged over how to treat Internet traffic, which has only heated up as the FCC works to prepare an official guideline. Those rules were expected to be made available later this year, though reports now claim they may be delayed until early 2015. The debate has centered on whether broadband should be placed under Title II regulation under the Telecommunications Act, which already tightly controls phone services.”
And of course they plan new taxes, because that’s what Democrats do.
More here from Forbes “American politicians of all stripes clearly see and oppose the abuses of the Internet abroad. But our government officials are not aware that the Federal Communications Commission, without statutory authority, is proposing to expand its taxation and regulation of the Internet.
The relationship between the Internet and government has become a useful barometer of personal and economic freedom. Oppressive governments use the Internet to oppress political enemies, censor ideas, and spy on citizens. The United Nations and other international organizations see the Internet as an untapped opportunity for tax revenues and regulations to support political favorites.
Of course Congress can and does pass symbolic laws to protect the Internet, such as the recent extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act that prohibits new state and local taxes on broadband access. Congress is eager to block state and local tax collection on the Internet on the reasonable theory that taxes will harm the Internet, one of the few engines of growth in our otherwise recession-prone economy.
Yet Congress is oblivious to Federal Communications Commission efforts to undermine the spirit if not the letter of ITFA by extending substantial new federal fees on broadband access. These fees could be as harmful, if not more so, than any that state and local governments might imagine. Yet many in Congress, unaware of the fees that might be applied to the Internet, applaud the FCC.”
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2. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Well what did you expect when Sharpton made the pick?
From ABCNews “President Obama has said he’s “confident” that his nominee to replace outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder “will get confirmed by the Senate.”
But a look at where Loretta Lynch, the federal prosecutor out of Brooklyn, N.Y., has fallen on some of the more controversial issues dogging Holder for years suggests the confirmation process may be a bit bumpy. She and Holder seem to be eye-to-eye on many of the issues that made him such a lightning rod for Republican criticism.”
She’s obsessed with race too.
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3. Big Brother is watching…. your Tweets. And they’re using them to squash/suspend the rights of conservatives.
From TheFreeBeacon “The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee sent a letter to the head of the National Science Foundation (NSF) on Monday, demanding answers about the origins of the nearly $1 million taxpayer-funded project to track “misinformation” on Twitter.
The Truthy project, being conducted by researchers at Indiana University, is under investigation for targeting political commentary on Twitter. The project monitors “suspicious memes,” “false and misleading ideas,” and “hate speech,” with a goal of one day being able to automatically detect false rumors on the social media platform.
The web service has been used to track tweets using hashtags such as #tcot (Top Conservatives on Twitter), and was successful in getting accounts associated with conservatives suspended, according to a 2012 book co-authored by the project’s lead researcher, Filippo Menczer, a professor of Informatics and Computer Science at Indiana University.
Menczer has also said that Truthy monitored tweets using #p2 (Progressive 2.0), but did not discuss any examples of getting liberal accounts suspended in his book.”
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4. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Also from TheFreeBeacon “More than 80 wounded U.S. combat veterans and their families have filed suit against several of the world’s largest banks, which they accuse of facilitating financial transfers on behalf of Iran that directly led to the killing and wounding of U.S. troops in Iraq, according to court documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The suit filed early Monday accuses multiple banks of “committing acts of international terrorism” by helping Iran fund and arm Iraqi terrorists who have killed scores of U.S. troops, according to the complaint.
More than 200 plaintiffs have signed onto the suit, which targets some of the largest international banks, including: HSBC Bank USA, Barclays, London’s Standard Chartered Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Credit Suisse, and London-based Bank Saderat.
The veterans argue that the banks helped Iran illegally move “billions of dollars” to terrorist entities that later targeted U.S. troops in attacks.
The suit alleges these banks are knowingly acting as key cogs in Iran’s efforts to evade U.S. sanctions and provide “material support” to Hezbollah and other terror groups, which, at Tehran’s behest, have carried out attacks against U.S. interests in Iraq.”
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Our Daily Thread 11-10-14
Good Morning!
On this day in 1775 the U.S. Marines were organized under authority of the Continental Congress. The Marines went out of existence after the end of the Revolutionary War in April of 1783. The Marine Corps were formally re-established on July 11, 1798. This day is observed as the birth date of the United States Marine Corps.
In 1801 the state of Tennessee outlawed the practice of dueling.
In 1919 the American Legion held its first national convention, in Minneapolis, MN.
And in 1969 “Sesame Street” made its debut on PBS.
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Quotes of the Day
“Walter, who had been in the lead all day, was the first to scramble up; a native Alaskan, he is the first human being to set foot upon the top of Alaska’s great mountain, and he had well earned the lifelong distinction.”
Hudson Stuck
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“Prayer is a strong wall and fortress of the church; it is a goodly Christian weapon.”
Martin Luther
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Today is Francois Couperin’s birthday. From GalleryOfGuitar
And it’s Henri Rabaud’s too. From DuoAlfageme
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Anyone have a QoD?
Prayer Requests 11-10-14
Anyone have something they’d like to share?
Psalm 127
¹Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
News/Politics 11-10-14
What’s interesting in the news today?
1. I was just thinkin’ this would be the perfect guy to invite to the White House to discuss how to work with the GOP. 🙄
From Mediaite “There’s obvious and then there’s painfully obvious. And in the case of Al Sharpton declaring that Tuesday’s resounding defeat for his party was not the fault of an unpopular president nor inept candidates, but of Hillary and Bill Clinton, it’s painfully obvious where the activist/host/liaison is getting his marching orders are coming from:
Valerie Jarrett.
As he’s enjoyed mentioning in the past, Sharpton has a direct line to the White House. He’s visited numerous times, trades daily emails with Ms. Jarrett. So when the Democrats went down in flames three days ago, guess who President Obama met with the next day? Not Mitch McConnell, not John Boehner, not DNC Chairwoman (for now) Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Instead, it’s was MSNBC’s ratings — challenged 6:00 p.m. host (along with other civil rights leaders), a White House official had confirmed. On the docket–because Sharpton is obviously an expert in all of these things — was Obamacare implementation, education and criminal justice. Speaking of criminal (in)justice, just what is Tawana Brawley up to these days?
Per the White House communication team: “The President also highlighted how we are looking forward to working with the leaders over the next two years to advance these and other crucial issues facing the country.”
It appears Sharpton must have been in the bathroom during the whole working-with-other-leaders part, as he proceeded to stage an upside down protest (seen here) of Republicans on his show yesterday.”
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2. Also over at MSNBC they have decided that the reason Democrats lost so bad is because they didn’t dumb down their message enough for you stupid voters.
From NewsBusters “Appearing as a panelist on the November 6 Hardball, liberal talk show host Joe Madison offered his assessment for why Democrats lost the 2014 midterms: Liberals, being the intellectuals they are, talk above the heads of the average voter, rather than communicating their ideas in an accessible manner for the layman to understand. They need to “put it where the goats can get it,” as Madison’s grandfather would say.
Madison made his comments as part of a panel discussion in which Hardball host Chris Matthews lamented how Democrats, including Barack Obama, have not sold the American public on the economic rebound happening under the president’s watch.”
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3. Stop me if you’ve heard this joke before…..
From TheDailyCaller “Bassem Masri hates the police, or “pigs” as he calls them. He supports the terrorist group Hamas and he hoped for Joan Rivers to “burn in hell” after her recent death because of the opinions she expressed about the ongoing fight between Israel and the Palestinians.
This is the man that the Department of Justice invited to a meeting to provide input on police reforms following the police shooting death of Michael Brown on Aug. 9.”
“He does not make clear which DOJ meeting he attended, but the timing coincides with a two-day event being held by the agency’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) division.
The stated goal of that meeting, which was closed to the press, is to “build trust and strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve is the first of several regional collaborative reform trainings on law enforcement strategies and best practices.””
Was he Sharpton approved?
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4. Not surprising.
From DefenseOne “Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has just a 26 percent approval rating among individuals currently serving within the national security community, according to findings from a new survey commissioned by Defense One.
The findings come as scrutiny on the Obama administration’s handling of the war in Iraq and Syria grows. At the same time, a variety of media reports hint that President Barack Obama, himself trailing in the polls after a poor showing for the Democrats in Tuesday’s election, is considering a shake-up of his national security staff. That could include Hagel.
The “Defense One National Security Survey” released Friday found few individuals inside the national security government think highly of the Obama administration’s national security strategy. The survey found that only 4 percent of respondents “strongly agree” and 16 percent “agree” that the White House has “a clear national security strategy.” Conversely, 73 percent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with that statement.”
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5. They haven’t learned a thing. They continue to use the IRS and DoJ against political enemies.
From Examiner.com “In the midst of the ongoing investigation of the alleged Internal Revenue Services (IRS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) collusion in targeting conservative and Tea Party organizations for added scrutiny when applying for tax-exempt status, a source in one of the DOJ’s law enforcement agencies claims the IRS and DOJ are both probing the finances of members of one of the nation’s wealthiest families. Their alleged crime? Financially supporting what are considered conservative causes and Republican organizations.
To many Americans who follow the political scene in the U.S., not a day goes by without some Democrat or liberal-left pundit throwing out the name “Koch Brothers” as if it’s a proven fact that they are criminal conspirators of sorts. But according to a law enforcement source who contacted the Examiner, Democrat lawmakers – many of whom are the same Senators and House members who pushed for the IRS to target groups such as True the Vote – have secretly contacted both IRS and DOJ officials to scrutinize the philanthropic activities of the two multi-billionaires.
Thanks to soon-to-be-former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the Democratic Party alone spent millions of dollars insinuating illegal ties between Republicans and the ultra-wealthy Charles and David Koch. The strategy of vilifying to two men is even starting to bother some Democrats especially when Sen. Reid told friendly news media outlets that even after his party’s drubbing he planned to continue his pursuit of exposing the evil Koch (pronounced coke) brothers, Charles and David.
In one of the most hypocritical moves, David Brock who runs the left-wing web site Media Matters, has openly said he was going to pursue the Koch’s spending into the 2016 election. This exercise in hypocrisy seems lost on the Democrats since Media Matters would cease to exist without the deep pockets of multi-billionaire and Republican-hater George Soros.”
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Our Daily Thread 11-8-14
Good Morning!
It’s Saturday!!!!
Cheryl sent the header photo for us today. Hitchcock could have used this one for his movie poster. 🙂
On this day in 1793 The Louvre Museum, in Paris, opened to the public for the first time.
In 1887 Doc Holliday died at the age of 35.
In 1923 Adolf Hitler made his first attempt at seizing power in Germany with a failed coup in Munich that came to be known as the “Beer-Hall Putsch.”
And in 1965 the soap opera “Days of Our Lives” debuted on NBC-TV.
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Quote of the Day
“Every year of my life I grow more convinced that it is wisest and best to fix our attention on the beautiful and the good, and dwell as little as possible on the evil and the false.”
Richard Cecil
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Today is Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax’s birthday.
Today is also Roy Wood’s birthday.
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Wandering Views 