‘A corporate culture that has lost its sense of shame’
So says Dana Milbank at The Washington Post:
If Don Blankenship had any sense of shame, he’d crawl into a mine and hide.
As CEO of Massey Energy, he has presided over a coal company that had thousands of violations in recent years, leading up to the April explosion that killed 29 of his miners. The company now faces a federal criminal investigation into what the government has called negligent and reckless practices.
But Blankenship must have no sense of shame, because he visited the National Press Club last week to complain about “knee-jerk political reactions” to mine deaths and to demand that the Obama administration lighten regulations on his dirty and dangerous company. “We need to let businesses function as businesses,” an indignant Blankenship proclaimed. “Corporate business is what built America, in my opinion, and we need to let it thrive by, in a sense, leaving it alone.”
The CEO was asked what he could have done to prevent the deadly explosion. “I probably should’ve sued MSHA” — that’s the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration — “rather than waiting” until now, he said. In the future, he added, “you’ll see not only coal companies but many companies resist the efforts of EPA and others that are impeding their ability to pursue their careers, or their happiness.”
Poor CEO Blankenship. That mean federal government is not allowing him to pursue his happiness, just because his employees are dead….
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489 comments Add your comment
Soothsayer
July 24th, 2010
12:23 pm
Booger: I freely admit I know nothing about the oil industry. However, I am very knowledgeable about our energy predicament in the U.S.
Mick
July 24th, 2010
12:24 pm
josef
DADT?
booger
July 24th, 2010
12:24 pm
Soothsayer,
I have no idea what you are talking about. I didn’t say anything about oil under Gull Island. You said there is no Gull Island, I said there is and that I have seen it. I said nothing more than that and you have made up all the rest in your tortured little mind.
Not so casual observer
July 24th, 2010
12:25 pm
jt,
Nice post @11:57.
There are also geologists who believe the earth continues to produce oil as part of the geologic process, a theory that could be supported by your post on the insulating effects or conversely the insulating theory supported by the constantly reproducing theory.
However, nothing will allay the rants of the anti-oil crowd who see our disproportionate use as evil but our disproportionate support of poor nations around the world as necessary. These left loons somehow equate our prosperity with the desparate conditions in other nations as a cause and effect – we have their money.
The reality is that economic condition is not a win/lose game. Both parties to a transaction can, and should in my view, win. If I sell a piece of commercial real estate and suck all of the potential profit out on the front end, where is the incentive for the purchaser? Please ignore those who believe that as long as you have cash flow (government?) you can survive. Profit is primary to every business endeavor.
How does this relate to the poor nations? The US is prosperous because we have abundant natural resources and the human talent to turn those resources into a commodity others require, such as wheat or other food products. We sell, and share without cost, those products with the rest of the world. This did not create the poor nations, the poor nations have either been forced into poverty by despots who have drained the resources or by the lack of resources in the beginning.
Again, none of this will allay the left loons who think their money is theirs and our money is theirs to redistribute or spend as only a lib could see fit.
booger
July 24th, 2010
12:26 pm
Soothsayer,
I know you don’t.
Soothsayer
July 24th, 2010
12:27 pm
Booger: the U.S. does not produce (on a daily basis) enough oil for even one day. That’s why we are so reliant on imports. Each and every day we import approximately 13,400,000 bbl of the approximately 20,000,000 bbl of oil that we use.
josef nix
July 24th, 2010
12:27 pm
MICK
Colonialist capitalist running dogs of Yankee imperialism,,,
stands for decibels
July 24th, 2010
12:28 pm
I don’t have any record of the history of what he has said in the past so I can only judge him on what is presented.
Fair enough; I figured most political junkies posting here had already been introduced to the World According to Don Blankenship.
I hereby withdraw a full 85% of the implicit snark content of my post @ 10.24; that’s a better deal than you’ll find at most retail outlets!
In other news, I see that my porch thermometer shows it’s about 99° in the shade. Maybe mowing the lawn at high noon wasn’t such a bright idea.
stands for decibels
July 24th, 2010
12:29 pm
oh, and CAPITALIST RUNNING DOG #101!
stands for decibels
July 24th, 2010
12:29 pm
oops, did I ever screw that up. I claim heat exhaustion.
Soothsayer
July 24th, 2010
12:31 pm
jt, booger, Not So Casual: I believe that within five years reality will wash over the sand castle beliefs you maintain.
I’m sorry I am not going to waste anymore time on this goodbye!
Dusty
July 24th, 2010
12:33 pm
By Golly, MICK,
I would complain about those people teams trying to beat our beautiful BRAVES. Those lousy teams! Don’t they know who is supposed to win?
By the way, I’m a Republican and have NOT killed a single coal miner. You think Jay will throw me out when he finds out the TRUTH???
__________
JOSEF
Cubans? Those happy people who chew on sugar cane all day and have doctors at their fingertips?
Nawwww. They even let a few citizens out of prison the other day. They even sent cigars to Bill Clinton. Cubans are just fine cha cha cha ….
Mick
July 24th, 2010
12:33 pm
josef
Always damn glad and proud to be a yankee from nj. That being said, aside from not having slavery in the north, racism doesn’t adhere to any state line or for that matter any single human being. Some just like to keep it front and center while the rest give way to reason and humanity.
Hillbilly Deluxe
July 24th, 2010
12:33 pm
I would argue that it isn’t just “corporate culture” that’s lost it’s sense of shame. It’s so widespread now days, that I wonder if anybody has a sense of shame, anymore.
Southern Comfort
July 24th, 2010
12:34 pm
Yet another installment of the left/right battle. Too bad most of y’all are gonna end up on the losing side anyway. Everything in this country boils down to power and money. If you don’t have either, you don’t matter. Corporations will continue to do as they please without much punishment as they collectively own the very people who would dish out that punishment. The average consumer is only going to do what will benefit him. So the drill/no drill fight will end up in a draw.
Oh well, I think cutting grass at noon will be more fun than this. See y’all later.
Scout
July 24th, 2010
12:36 pm
josef:
We know “what kind”.
“NEVER AGAIN” !
josef nix
July 24th, 2010
12:37 pm
Dusty
Oh, not the ones back where they came from. The ones here! Babalu-u-u-u!
BTW
What’s on the menu for your family today. From the looks of it so far here, a mess of fresh quibbles for me…
Mick
July 24th, 2010
12:38 pm
dusty
I don’t recall ever reading bookman blaming repubs for mining deaths? That ceo is really an arrogant piece of work on the other hand, whether he be a dem or repub. Go marlins…..You are a real fan, I admit to being a very fair weathered observer at best.
josef nix
July 24th, 2010
12:39 pm
SoCo
Cutting grass at noon…are you a mad dog or an Englishman?
Mick
Scout
July 24th, 2010
12:40 pm
josef:
I just read the 10:23 ………. HA ! HA ! HA !
Will copy and pass on !
josef nix
July 24th, 2010
12:43 pm
Laying the jokes aside for a moment, and not to bring up racism so early in the day, but I was amused in yesterday’s thread on “what we don’t talk about when we talk about race.” I kept trying to bring up something besides black and white and I might as well have been talking to the hand! I have noticed something significant in what Ms Sherrod has been doing on the talk show trail..she keeps saying “among the races” instead of the tired, old “between the races.” That’s a giant step forward in my opinion…
Hillbilly Deluxe
July 24th, 2010
12:43 pm
Anybody know how this story is progressing?
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/lockerbie_confirms_bomber_lobbied_XICrpsLVk4HlWK9JfvZ6KM?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME=
Southern Comfort
July 24th, 2010
12:44 pm
josef
I’m a Southerner with a very crowded calendar. I saw a strange-looking guy wearing a loincloth swinging in the tree in my backyard muttering something about a Jane. It’s more out of necessity than madness that I have to get that grass cut!!
stands for decibels
July 24th, 2010
12:46 pm
Mick two things about NJ:
1) on the minus side, they only formally abolished slavery in 1846.
2) on the plus side, this guy.
Paulo977
July 24th, 2010
12:49 pm
barkingfrog..re: corporate sense of shame …indeed indeed..never never had any. But of course this here United States of A is comfortable with the ‘pillaging’and knocks any effort to curb it!!
Dusty
July 24th, 2010
12:49 pm
Well, Josef,
Looks like it is going to be TOTAL LEFTOVER REJECTION DAY . Someone just said”I’ll try the rice but the rest….I’ll leave for you, Mom.” So much consideration here.
Happily we are all eating OUT tonight and that means NO COOKIN!!! Yayyyy. While you nibble on your quibbles, I go to eat cold chicken with a smile .(Gotta fool ‘em into thinking I’m enjoying those lousy leftovers.)
Scout
July 24th, 2010
12:51 pm
josef:
Question :
I hear what you are saying but it is my understanding that Ms. Sherrod also stated during the 43 minute speech that Republicans who opposed Obama’s health care plan were racists.
“If” that is true then she should remain fired in my opinion.
Do you know anything about that?
josef nix
July 24th, 2010
12:53 pm
SFD
Don’t forget NJ’s gift to the world…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPudiBR15mk&feature=related
stands for decibels
July 24th, 2010
12:55 pm
HD, a few days ago I heard the NYTimes London bureau chief bring us up to speed on this story; might want to go here for a listen
http://beta.wnyc.org/shows/bl/2010/jul/20/bp-connection-lockerbie-bomber-release/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=%24{feed}&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+%24{bl}+(%24{Brian+Lehrer})
or read his reporting…
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/world/europe/16britain.html?_r=1&ref=john_f_burns
wet wiccan
July 24th, 2010
12:56 pm
A corporate culture that has lost its sense of shame.
OR
We screw our employees and PASS THE SAVINGS on to YOU!
Not so casual observer
July 24th, 2010
12:56 pm
Soothsayer @ 12:15 and 12:31,
You are wrong and have been with every post. Your “I am very knowledgeable about our energy predicament in the U.S.” is laughable.
Your numbers as indicated by someone earlier, would have us depleting our oil in a matter of days. That is just nonsense, but apparently you are unable to do the math.
I am glad to see you run from the discussion, as any good little lib would when faced with facts, since you offer nothing of substance.
Soothsayer
July 24th, 2010
12:56 pm
Some of the main tactics used by the mainstream media to mislead the masses are as follows:
Lie Big, Retract Quietly [Sherrod]
Unconfirmed Or Controlled Sources As Fact [Who really said that?]
Calculated Omission
Distraction, and the Manufacture of Relevance
Dishonest Debate Tactics
And:
1) Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.
2) Never go outside the experience of your people, and whenever possible, go outside of the experience of the enemy.
3) Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.
4) Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.
5) A good tactic is one that your people enjoy.
6) A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
7) Keep the pressure on with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.
9) The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.
10) If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside.
11) The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.
12) Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.
The next time you view an MSM debate, watch the pundits carefully, you will likely see many if not all of the strategies above used on some unsuspecting individual attempting to tell the truth.
When you watch the news watch and listen for as many of these as you can recognize.
stands for decibels
July 24th, 2010
12:58 pm
j-nix, for the lonnnnnngest time I resisted so much as liking Bruce, simply because as a Jerseyite I was supposed to worship the guy, or something.
It took until I heard his Magic ellpee in 2004 that I completely got over it.
Soothsayer
July 24th, 2010
12:59 pm
Not So Casual: I never said that we would exhaust our reserves. We simply don’t produce enough oil in the U.S. every day to meet our needs. Why on Earth do you think we import oil?
josef nix
July 24th, 2010
1:01 pm
Scout
There’s a whole lot more to the Sherrod story than meets the eye and that’s for sure…I don’t know enough yet to be drawing any conclusions about that…I just think she got a raw deal on the one that’s been before the public eye the last few days…
SoCo
But did he have a pet monkey that likes to get drunky and sing boogie woogie and did it sound real funky?
Soothsayer
July 24th, 2010
1:03 pm
Not So Casual: As I said earlier, you are a “low-information” person. Everything you believe has been given to you by way of “thought-transfusion.” I haven’t run from anything, I’m just tired of discussing this issue with low-information person. So far you have not post a single thing to back up any of your assertions. You just parrot what someone told you.
Saul Good
July 24th, 2010
1:03 pm
Soothsayer…thanks for summing up Foxy-Chick News…#1 rated cable news show for HOW long now? Can’t get much more MSM compared to being #1 huh?
josef nix
July 24th, 2010
1:04 pm
SFD
Understood on the Jerseyite thingie…felt the same way about The King, being a Mississippian myself…only now truly beginning to appreciate him…
theyeshaveit
July 24th, 2010
1:04 pm
So, old Wrath of Sour Grapes mike led this off this morning with cracks about the popularity of the media. Well, there is media and then there is media. I am tempted to say, “We knew Walter Cronkite, and mike, you’re no Walter Cronkite.”
Mick
July 24th, 2010
1:05 pm
Sorry, not in the springsteen camp, prefer this band-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfmYCM4CS8o&feature=related
theyeshaveit
July 24th, 2010
1:07 pm
Scout,
I have not heard anything about what you are saying regarding the 43 minute video. When I have 43 minutes of free time, I might take a listen.
theyeshaveit
July 24th, 2010
1:12 pm
By the way, I saw that Blankenship at the Press Club on C-Span. I could only take about five to ten minutes of him. The gist was his company did no wrong. As for the Massey safety, he said it was compared inaccurately against other companies which had merged. So, he is intimating the safety records for the merged companies only show their safety records since the completion of the mergers. He stunk up the place with factoids.
stands for decibels
July 24th, 2010
1:13 pm
#1 rated cable news show
Just remember, this is a pretty lame thing to be #1 in, given that (viewership-wise) you’re still getting your ass kicked by the likes of Spongebob Squarepants and Hannah Montana…
Saul Good
July 24th, 2010
1:13 pm
BTW….DON….the Grand Poo Bah of Massy….well Don’s little company is located WHERE??? In Richmond VA…far, far away from where the mines are… Kinda like Dick Cheney “safe” away from all that “dirty stuff” going on…. Was recently in West VA while I was away…I think I have one of their newspapers…talked about Massy and Don…let me see if I can find it. I’m pretty sure it was not recycled yet. From what I read…those living there are NOT FANS of him (Don)…and the way Massy runs things in their state.
One thing I DID read in the paper while there…their unemployment rate in WV is WAY less then our own. Lowest county was around 4%…highest county…about 8%… pretty easy to figure out why…their economy was not built upon “speculative” real estate….
Know what else?
Their kids do better in school on a national level as well…
Go figure!
josef nix
July 24th, 2010
1:15 pm
mick
@ 1:05
Yeah! Him, too!
stands for decibels
July 24th, 2010
1:18 pm
eh, I reserve my right to go right on loathing Bon Freaking Jovi. I’d rather listen to housecats being tortured.
TGT
July 24th, 2010
1:19 pm
As
CEO of Massey Energymembers of congress and occupiers of the White House and the Supreme Court,he hasliberals have presided over acoal companypolicy thathad thousands of violations in recent yearsfor nearly four decadesleading up to the April explosion that killed 29 of his minershas led to the deaths of millions of children in their mothers wombs.But
Blankenshipliberals must have no sense of shame, becausehe visited the National Press Club last week to complain about “knee-jerk political reactions” to mine deaths and to demand that the Obama administration lighten regulations on his dirty and dangerous companythey continue to nominate and support judges such as Elena Kagan…Poor
CEO Blankenshipliberals.ThatThose meanfederal government isconservatives are not allowinghimthem to pursuehistheir happiness, just becausehis employeesmillions of babies are dead….larry
July 24th, 2010
1:20 pm
Just remember, this is a pretty lame thing to be #1 in, given that (viewership-wise) you’re still getting your ass kicked by the likes of Spongebob Squarepants and Hannah Montana…
They are more reliable than that so-called no. 1 rated opinion show.
SPQR(laissez Faire)
July 24th, 2010
1:21 pm
^5 @TGT …Rangel is such a corrupt piece of sh*t, that I resent him telling me to do a god dmn thing..and that goes for nearly every member of congress and especially for the marxist in the white house.
Soothsayer
July 24th, 2010
1:22 pm
Internet trolls, also known as “paid posters” or “paid bloggers,” are increasingly being employed by private corporations as well, often for marketing purposes. In fact, it is a rapidly growing industry.
Trolls use a wide variety of strategies, some of which are unique to the internet, here are just a few:
1) Make outrageous comments designed to distract or frustrate
2) Pose as a supporter of the truth, then make comments that discredit the movement
3) Dominate Discussions: Trolls often interject themselves into productive web discussions in order to throw them off course and frustrate the people involved.
4) Prewritten Responses: Many trolls are supplied with a list or database with pre-planned talking points designed as generalized and deceptive responses to honest arguments.
5) False Association: This works hand in hand with item #2, by invoking the stereotypes established by the “Trojan Horse Troll.”
6) False Moderation: Pretending to be the “voice of reason” in an argument with obvious and defined sides in an attempt to move people away from what is clearly true into a “grey area” where the truth becomes “relative.”
7) Straw Man Arguments: A very common technique. The troll will accuse his opposition of subscribing to a certain point of view, even if he does not, and then attacks that point of view.
How many of these tactics have you seen here today?
Saul Good
July 24th, 2010
1:25 pm
Sorry…My mistake….I found the article…Lowest County unemployment in WV is Monongalia County: 5.9 %…WV’s state rate for Unemployment is 8.6%…. either way.. WV is doing WAY better compared to GA and the economy we built upon speculative real estate.
What I read about Massy in their paper had to do with workers suing them because of “overtime pay withheld”…. seems to be that Massy refuses to pay their workers for the time it takes to get down into a mine a out of it…sometimes it takes an hour or more each way…
Clean Coal…kinda like calling “Clean Sewage” when it comes to what they discharge into Lake Lanier… yup…it’s “clean” alright… ig you believe it is…go fill up a glass of that water and GUZZLE! UHHMMMM! Yummy!
larry
July 24th, 2010
1:28 pm
You can actually get paid for blogging, wow.
Saul Good
July 24th, 2010
1:28 pm
Sooth @ 1:22pm.
Thanks for summing up Foxy News in one post! Awesome job!
Saul Good
July 24th, 2010
1:30 pm
Sorry Sooth…i should have provided the source:
http://www.foxnews.com
There ya go! All the internet trolls and the 7 points you made found in 1 place! Easy!
Thanks again!
-d
SPQR(laissez Faire)
July 24th, 2010
1:31 pm
I knew anyone publicly supporting socialism and obama had to getting paid for the humiliation…
Don't forget
July 24th, 2010
1:32 pm
The world isn’t running out of oil. It’s running out of CHEAP oil. It’s getting harder to find, the reservoirs are smaller and it’s getting more and more difficult to extract. In California they are heating rocks several hundred feet under the surface to several hundred degrees just to get it to flow. Prudhoe Bay is only able to produce about 50% of what it used to. Mexico’s oil production is dropping rapidly and at the current rate they will not be able to export oil in just a few years. Environmentalists preventing drilling on land? Well, 2/3 of the worlds land based drilling rigs are in the US, so they haven’t done a very good job have they? These are not my observations, they are the observations of Mathew Simmons, a member of the National Petroleum Council who has been working with the petroleum industry for over 35 years and served as energy advisor to George W. Bush. Drill baby drill won’t solve this problem. As you have to go deeper and deeper in more and more remote and difficult environments your drilling costs go up. As the size of the reservoirs get smaller and the production per well goes down, those drilling and production costs go up because they are being applied to a smaller revenue base. In 2008 gas went up to $4 per gallon, more in some places, without any disruptions or threatened disruptions. The price has since fallen but so has demand with the fall in GNP. Industry analysts say the supply/demand curve has shifted and you can expect the return of 4$/gallon gas as soon as demand returns to 2008 levels. This problem will only get worse. You don’t have to believe me or anyone else. You can just keep sticking your head in the sand but don’t come crying to me or anyone else when your gas prices go through the roof and you have no alternative but to send even more billions of dollars to other countries, many of whom want to see us destroyed. The alternative fuels issue is about who will control our destiny. Us or somebody else.
D. Strait
July 24th, 2010
1:32 pm
There’s a whole lot more to the Sherrod story than meets the eye
The GAO determined that 60% of the claims by African American farmers were fraudulent. While waiting to addressin that fact, Hispanic and Native-Americans were told to wait at the back of the line.
No class action status for them.
Blankenship
July 24th, 2010
1:34 pm
TGT,
You certainly earned that $5.00. Excellent post.
Soothsayer
July 24th, 2010
1:36 pm
Government Disinformation Methods
Here are just a handful of the most prominent tactics used by government agencies and private think tanks to guide public opinion, and establish the appearance of consensus:
1) Control The Experts: The problem is that much of the professional class is indoctrinated throughout their college years, many of them molded to support the status quo. Any experts that go against the grain are ostracized by their peers.
2) Control The Data: By controlling the source data of any investigation, be it legal or scientific, the government has the ability to engineer any truth they wish, that is, as long as the people do not care enough to ask for the source data.
3) Skew The Statistics: This tactic is extremely evident in the Labor Department’s evaluations on unemployment, using such tricks as incorporating ambiguous birth / death ratios into their calculation in order to make it appear as though there are less unemployed people than there really are, or leaving out certain subsections of the population, like those who are unemployed and no longer seeking benefits.
3) Guilt By False Association: Governments faced with an effective opponent will always attempt to demonize that person or group in the eyes of the public.
4) Manufacture Good News: This falls in with the skewing of statistics, and it also relies heavily on Media cooperation. [Green shoots, everything's OK. Really, it is!]
5) Controlled Opposition: Men in positions of power have known for centuries the importance of controlled opposition. If a movement rises in opposition to one’s authority, one must usurp that movement’s leadership.
6) False Paradigms: By framing a polarized debate according to artificial boundaries, and establishing the two poles of that debate, social engineers can eliminate the perceived possibility of a third alternative.
The best way to disarm disinformation agents is to know their methods inside and out. This gives us the ability to point out exactly what they are doing in detail the moment they try to do it. Immediately exposing a disinformation tactic as it is being used is highly destructive to the person utilizing it. It makes them look foolish, dishonest, and weak for even making the attempt. Internet trolls most especially do not know how to handle their methods being deconstructed right in front of their eyes, and usually fold and run from debate when it occurs.
Saul Good
July 24th, 2010
1:36 pm
Don’t forget:
Thanks for your copy and paste…anyway….
2 simple words:
PEAK OIL
Soothsayer
July 24th, 2010
1:40 pm
Don’t forget: Excellent post!
Don't forget
July 24th, 2010
1:42 pm
Saul, no it’s not a copy and paste. That is my writing.
Don't forget
July 24th, 2010
1:49 pm
Soothsayer
Thanks. The subject of Peak Oil is debated and not everyone agrees. The question with many issues comes down to how much risk do you want to take? Most people are in favor of deep water drilling at least for the time being but few would say that BP took reasonable risks for example. This is all balanced with the benefit and finally who is getting the benefit and are they the same ones that bear the risk.
Saul Good
July 24th, 2010
1:49 pm
For those who disregard history and “empires”…what was it that “did in” the British Empire?
Their faith in “coal” being the world’s energy source…
Yup…we still mine coal…but it’s not what drive economies like oil does…and just like GB put everything they had into coal…we as a nation have put everything into oil…and just like coal takes a back burner now…yes, we’ll still use it…but it WON’T be our “primary” source forever…
Just like coal both built and sank the last British Empire…Oil built our current Empire and is sinking it as well…
Sad to those who can’t handle living in a nation not “ruling” the Empire.
China’s next.
All Empires end…history teaches that over and over and over… it also teaches us that those “clinging” to the failing Empire…well they chose to fight back with war… yet they lost each and every time…
Yes… history repeats itself… sad when those can’t see it and learn from past mistakes…
Being 2nd or 3rd… it’s just TOO HARD for some to digest… yet you have no control over it. Maybe that’s why some try to continually go out fighting…no matter what “facts” there are to show them how this Empire has already faded…
Perhaps being citizen of the “world” and trying to get along with the “others” is just what this nation needed… being the world’s Bully got us what??????
barking frog
July 24th, 2010
1:53 pm
@theyeshaveit; you posted a while back that you were in wakkanai,me too 66-67
SPQR(laissez Faire)
July 24th, 2010
1:55 pm
what a dumb ass statement. China is now the worlds second largest user of oil, and 1/2 their nation still lives as piss poor subsistance rice farmers. When oil prices rise, china will suffer as much as ANYONE. We are #1 as long as we are willing to do whatever it takes to stay there. Liberals act like thei want a commuppance in life, that they just can;t control themselves and they need someone else to kick their ass..well I will volunteer on a individual basis.
Paulo977
July 24th, 2010
1:57 pm
Mick @ 1:05pm …. loved it!
barking frog
July 24th, 2010
2:00 pm
SPQR1;55; Number One has the biggest Gun.
stands for decibels
July 24th, 2010
2:05 pm
We are #1 as long as we are willing to do whatever it takes to stay there.
In the mind of the delightfully naive Lazy Fairies, this means “we have to act stupidly and annoy as many people as possible because, well, we’ve acted stupidly and annoyed a lot of people before and SUCCEEDED! Somehow!”
meanwhile, well, this.
http://www.correntewire.com/murder_spreadsheet
Saul Good
July 24th, 2010
2:08 pm
SPQR…and THEIR GDP Vs. OURS? You missed the point… They will continue to “produce” more then we do…
Sad that you’re “afraid” for another nation to become 1st place… kick and scream all you want to…it’s already happening… same thing every “Empire” did as it slipped… what are you SOOOO “afraid” of?
Don’t worry..we’ll still have the NFL and MLB… we’ll still have Micky Dees creating more obese citizens…nothing will change…. your kids will STILL be able to say “under god” while in school…
Be a citizen of “earth”… because last I read in the bible… I don’t recall jesus saying ANYTHING about the USA “ruling” the world as we know it…
anyway…i’m out for a bit…enjoy the worry… (but don’t worry about having to speak Chinese… they’ll cater “down” to us and learn English…)….
bye!
Mick
July 24th, 2010
2:10 pm
stands for decibels
@
July 24th, 2010
1:18 pm
Most beloved band in jersey? Beatles hands down…..as for bon jovi, never bought a ticket or album for him but he does have some catchy hooks in a few songs. In the 70’s zeppelin ruled above all…
Blankenship
July 24th, 2010
2:11 pm
We are #1 as long as we are willing to do whatever it takes to stay there.
Lie, cheat, steal, kill… whatever. It’s the Republican way. As long as the corporation is happy, we’re all happy.
stands for decibels
July 24th, 2010
2:16 pm
Mick, if I had to name a favorite band of mine to actually emerge from NJ, it’d be Fountains of Wayne.
Outa here for awhile…
@@
July 24th, 2010
2:18 pm
Drinking and music is a deadly mix.
15 dead in Love Parade stampede
Fifteen people have been killed in Germany during the country’s annual “Love Parade”, held this year in the former industrial Ruhr city of Duisburg.
What should have been a celebration of techno-music and dance turned into horror near the field where hundreds of thousands gathered during the afternoon. Many continued to party even as the air was filled the noise of police sirens, unaware of the tragedy taking place behind them.
Rescue squads had to fight their way through an ocean of people, many of whom were inebriated although friendly. “They simply had no idea of the scale of the tragedy,” said a police spokesman.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/7908522/15-dead-in-Love-Parade-stampede.html
Since so many of you profess to drinking during Friday night’s music fest, I’ll be looking for a pile of letters. I’ll know then that you’ve had way too much to drink.
Fang1944
July 24th, 2010
2:45 pm
Scout
July 24th, 2010
10:30 am
Jay:
I really don’t think this is “off topic” :
“The presidential cabinet with the highest percentage of private sector experience was that of Dwight Eisenhower at around 58%. The lowest — until Obama — was Kennedy at about 28%. The average ran between 35% and 40% … until, as I said, Obama. Care to guess what percentage of Obama’s cabinet has prior private sector experience? Try 7%.
————————————–
Try the real number: a full third.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/dec/02/glenn-beck/beck-says-less-10-percent-obama-cabinet-members-ha/
The wonderful man Mr. Blankenship has a private sector job. So do the fine people at BP. Look what they’ve done for us.
OTH, the people who sent men to the moon, the people who won WW2, the people who built our highway system … they all had government jobs.
Could business people please quit kissing themselves on the back of the neck?
Carpet Kitten
July 24th, 2010
3:08 pm
Hmphf. Hillary ticking off China over some rocks and North Korea is threatening to nuke South Korea over some war exercises between South Korea and the US (as if it’s the first time or something). Then we have the disastrous economy and 17% under/unemployment well over a year now after a trillion dollar stimulus bill was passed that according to “Smart Ass” Biden was supposed to stop unemployment from going above 8%.
I guess it’s time for Obama to go on vacation again.
Normal
July 24th, 2010
3:08 pm
Everybody sing along…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJTBPdVpdMc
Normal
July 24th, 2010
3:14 pm
Carpet Kitten
July 24th, 2010
3:08 pm
And I wish President Bush had gone on more vacation instead of just around a third of his tenure. Then maybe our economy would not have collapsed, and around 5000 young American men and women would not have lost their lives…
theyeshaveit
July 24th, 2010
3:21 pm
barking frog said, @theyeshaveit; you posted a while back that you were in wakkanai,me too 66-67
barking frog,
Yes, I caught that before. I have been trying to catch you on here to talk. I was at Wakkanai from September, 1967 to January 1969. Hopefully, I will find you here another time.
Don't forget
July 24th, 2010
3:23 pm
Fang, let me add a few more government projects that played a critical role in the development and growth of the country. First, the Erie Canal which opened up large areas of the midwest creating both markets and a means to export goods. The intercontinental railroad which allowed the movement of people and goods accross the country. It promoted settlement and was a huge boost to economic activity. The Hoover dam and similar reservoirs which allowed not only population and economic growth to California but which created millions of acres of farmland which were not viable without irrigation. The interstate road system which connected almost every part of America and ushered in the age of the automobile as families could travel more easily which, of course, resulted in tremendous econimic growth through tourism and the dollars spent all along the way. There are plenty of smaller examples too. Capitalism has done tremendous things but they didn’t create these things, they capitalized on them.
Soothsayer
July 24th, 2010
3:26 pm
Like to post an article from another webpage to this blog? What follows is HTML (hypertext markup language) Here’s how: (It looks complicated but it’s not—you just have to be very careful and do it exactly or it won’t work.)
1) Open a new tab: click on the small square just to the right of the current tab. (AJC name of topic)
2) In this tab choose a browser (MSN, Yahoo, etc.)
3) Find article you wish to link to
4) Copy the URL (this should be at the very top of your browser). It’s the address of the page that you are on. Right click and then left click on “copy.”
5) Now return to the original tab (the one with the blog)
6) Type “less than” (shift of comma) followed immediately by the letter “a” then a space then letters “h,” r,” “e,” and “f” with no spaces followed immediately by the “equals” sign (right next to the backspace).
7) Now place your cursor right after the “equals” sign and right click. Then left click “paste.”
9) Go back to the tab with the article you wish to link and select any relevant text you want to appear on the blog page. Highlight that text and copy it. (See instructions above.) Now come back to the blog tab and paste the text. This text will appear in blue and will take the reader to your linked page.
10) End by using the “less than” key (shift of “comma”) followed immediately by the “backslash” key followed immediately by the letter “a” followed immediately by the “greater than” key (shift of “period” key)
Print these instructions for future reference.
Congratulations you have just linked an article to the blog!
Scout
July 24th, 2010
3:28 pm
Fang:
It would be good to have your source and my source debate that point.
theyeshavit:
If you have the time that would be great. Although we differ often, at least I know I will get an honest answer from you.
Scout
July 24th, 2010
3:29 pm
“Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.”
“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert , in five years there’d be a shortage of sand.”
Nobel prize-winning economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006)
Scout
July 24th, 2010
3:32 pm
wet wiccan:
Or ……………. without corporations no one would have a job.
Also, did you know that motorcycles don’t have doors ?
theyeshaveit
July 24th, 2010
3:34 pm
Scout,
I feel the same about you. Just don’t make too many disparaging remarks about the Air Force!
Hey, unless, barking frog was a swabbie, it looks like we have one more USAF vet in here.
Mick
July 24th, 2010
3:38 pm
Like her or not, rachel maddow is the best tv talking head when it comes to putting together the FACTS of an issue. Scout, I think you should check her out. She absolutely should be doing meet the press, instead of the current doofus.
Kamchak
July 24th, 2010
3:38 pm
Le petit caporal
Look……..a birth certificate!
Soothsayer
July 24th, 2010
3:42 pm
Scout: with all due respect, Milton Friedman is an idiot. His neoliberal capitalism model is now discredited and lies on the junk-heap of history. Neoliberal capitalism is the cause of the collapse of our economy if not the entire nation.
Many, many people have jobs who don’t work for corporations. I’m one of them. In fact, working for a corporation might be hazardous to your economic well-being when you get sacked and your job is offshored.
larry
July 24th, 2010
3:45 pm
Mick @ 3:38 ……. I like Dr. Maddow too ,she does put the facts out there and she also puts people in their place. Ask Mr. Paul .
I also liked the way she put it too O’Realy the other night.
Scout
July 24th, 2010
3:49 pm
Soothsayer :
Not anymore. He’s dead.
Scout
July 24th, 2010
3:49 pm
theyeshavit:
Well, we are the “FEW”, the proud, the Marines ………………..
Mick
July 24th, 2010
3:50 pm
larry
She has a hard time getting republicans on her show. They fear her, the truth, and facts. She took that zombie marco rubio to the woodshed a couple of days ago.
Scout
July 24th, 2010
3:51 pm
Kamchak :
Short-form or long-form ?
Pogo
July 24th, 2010
3:54 pm
Jay loves to talk about anything, and I mean anything, but the failures of the Democrat controlled Congress and his beloved black socialist, Obama. His silence on their dismal record pretty much tells me that even Jay, the liberal of liberals, the King Keynesian/Progressive of the South, cannot find much to say good about them and if he did, he would trumpeting it from the rooftops. So day after day he pathetically tries to divert attention away from them by attacking conservatives. Same with Cynthia Tucker and the same with the AJC. Nobody is going to change their the voters minds between now and November Jay. Wishing it won’t make it so. Obama is a boat anchor and so are Pelosi and Reid.
larry
July 24th, 2010
3:57 pm
Id like to see her interview Sharon Angle.
From the looks of things , Angle is going to try out for the U.S. track team in 2012.
She must be trying to lose weight, all this running from the press. Oh well, its good she believes in excersise.
TaxPayer
July 24th, 2010
4:00 pm
Soothsayer,
Did you leave out some quotes:
<a href=”URL”>Text</a>
Mick
July 24th, 2010
4:02 pm
Pogo
Huff and puff all you want but the alternative to obama and crew is not exactly encouraging (boehner? Mcconnell?). So, in a way people might like to complain but will stick with the status quo even if by default.
Soothsayer
July 24th, 2010
4:04 pm
Taxpayer: are you saying that the URL has to have quotes around it. I’ve never had to do that.
theyeshaveit
July 24th, 2010
4:04 pm
Call me a corporatist…
Lloyd Blankfein, CEO, Goldman Sachs: “I’m doing God’s work.”
Don Blankenship, CEO, Massey: “Most people wouldn’t believe that coal is the most important thing to the environment.”
Bernie Madoff, prisoner: “F— my victims. I carried them for twenty years, and now I’m doing 150 years.”
Carl-Henric Svanberg, Chairman, BP: “And we care about the small people.”
Tony Hayward, CEO, BP: “I’d like my life back.”
Edward Liddy, CEO, AIG: “Because of this, and because of certain legal obligations, AIG has recently made a set of compensation payments, some of which I find distasteful.”
Who is YOUR favorite? Vote here.
Scout
July 24th, 2010
4:04 pm
josef:
Isn’t South Carolina supposed to do this ?
Headline: “Tennessee Republican floats secession threat”