SNL.. Hilarious, In a Way...

Rational Nation USA
Liberty-vs-Tyranny
aka: Reason Versus Progressivism

Site hours are changing. Site will be on line for public viewing and to take comments from 5:00 PM until 10:30 PM Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Thursday from 9:00 AM TO 12:30 PM and from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM, Friday from 8:00 PM TO 11:30 PM, and Weekends at my pleasure.

Power Line - Reality has been outrunning satire for a while in the Age of Obama, but the folks at Saturday Night Live seem to think they can pull it off. As we approach the shifting deadline for Obamacare enrollment on Monday, Obama adviser “Mike” (he looks an awful lot like Obama flack Dan Pfeiffer) and social media expert “Mara” are featured talking Obama into taking promotional photographs that are guaranteed to go viral and deliver ten million additional sign-ups in the next 48 hours. How low will Obama go?

Obama is shown submitting to a photograph in Pharrell’s hat while holding sign touting Healthcare.gov. He takes a group photo with Kim Kardashian, Harry Styles, and BatKid holding “a cat dressed like Princess Elsa from Frozen.” Then comes the Pope (because “he’s hot right now”). As I say, reality outruns satire in the Age of Obama.

The bit with the Pope makes me wonder: where is Father Guido Sardcucci? He isn’t familiar to the target demographic, but he would be able to make comedy out of the selling of Obamacare.

For their final shot, the White House crew brings in Justin Bieber (Kate McKinnon) for an intimate photo. Now that is low, but lower than Zach Galifianakis and Between Two Ferns? This satire thing is hard.

PS: New viewing hours begin April 1, 2014.

Via: Memeorandum

The Grizzly Bear Calls The Cub...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

The president and Mr. Putin have been locked in a tense standoff since Russian forces rolled through Crimea earlier this month and Russia annexed the region of Ukraine, a move that the United States and its allies refuse to recognize.

Over the past several days, Mr. Obama has urged European nations and other allies to consider broadening sanctions against Russia if Mr. Putin escalates the situation in Ukraine. Mr. Obama has also vowed to enhance, with other nations’ help, NATO’s protections of member countries along the border with Russia.

According to the White House Russian President Vladimir Putin has contacted President Obama to discuss a proposal put forth by Obama to diffuse the current "stand of" between the two nations.

While it appears neither side is prepared to fall back and give any ground Putin and Obama agreed that Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov should meet soon for discussions.

As the Grizzly and the Cub posture for the advantage position in their international diplomatic dance the world waits. And, the absurdity of humans vying for the ultimate pinnacle if power and control over the lives of continues.

NYT - RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia called President Obama on Friday to discuss a proposal by Mr. Obama for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis in Ukraine, and the two leaders agreed that their chief diplomats should meet soon to explore it, the White House and Kremlin said.

In a statement from the White House, officials said that the telephone call from the Russian president followed a proposal presented by Secretary of State John Kerry to Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, during talks at the Hague earlier this week.

While there was no immediate indication that either side was prepared to give ground, Mr. Putin’s telephone call in itself appeared to represent a shift in tone aimed at defusing a serious rupture in relations and Russia’s increasing isolation.

American officials did not describe details about the proposal but said that Mr. Obama told Mr. Putin during the call that the United States would like to see a diplomatic solution that involves Russia pulling back its troops from the Crimean Peninsula and not making any further steps to invade other parts of Ukraine.

The statement said that Mr. Obama, who was visiting Saudi Arabia on Friday, “urged Russia to support this process and avoid further provocations, including the buildup of forces on its border with Ukraine.”

White House officials said that Mr. Obama and Mr. Putin agreed during the call that Mr. Kerry and Mr. Lavrov would meet soon “to discuss next steps.”

Officials did not say when that meeting might happen. Mr. Kerry has been in Europe with Mr. Obama during the past week and was in Riyadh Friday with the president for a meeting with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

White House officials said Mr. Obama took the call from Mr. Putin at the Ritz Carlton hotel here in Riyadh Friday evening after he finished a two-hour dinner with King Abdullah to discuss Iran, Syria and other security issues.

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Political unrest in Ukraine escalated into a full-blown crisis reminiscent of the Cold War last month when protesters forced Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin president, Viktor F. Yanukovych, to flee.

Russia has since asserted that it has acted to defend its legitimate interests in Ukraine, which was once a part of the Soviet Union, and has accused the interim government there of seizing power in a Western-backed coup.

Find the complete story BELOW THE FOLD

Via: Memeorandum

PS: Be sure to check Derv the Swerve's spoof blog "Lying Lester" for any mental masturbatory delights ole Swerve may post over the weekend. Back next week. And Derv, keep them delights of yourn coming!

Announcing "Lying Lester", the Spoof Blog Set Up By Dervish Sanders, aka Derv the Swerve...

Whirling Dervish, aka Dervish Sanders, proprietor of the notoriously infamous and rip roaring hilarious blog known as Sleeping with The Devil has taken it upon himself to set up a spoof site named Lying Lester. Of course the entire content of this spoof blog, a parody on Rational Nation USA, is the delusions of its creator Dervish Sanders, or Derv for short.

Joe Kelly of Truth 101 summed Mr. Sanders up very accurately and succinctly when he described him as… “a shithead” some time back. Now I don’t know much about Mr. Sanders being “a shithead”, but I do know he enjoys his time spent in mental masturbation. But as has been said, each to his own.

I encourage all who are desirous of a belly splitting laugh to visit Lying Lester (as well as Sleeping with The Devil) and leave comment at Derv's spoof site (as well as his progressive site). Of course I won’t be checking in and leaving comment (other than my initial one right after Derv e-mailed me to let me know he had created the site), but as Mr. Sanders, the ultimate narcissist will appreciate your attention and accolades please take a moment to visit and make his day.

We Don't Need Non Attorney Types As Comittee Chairmen...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth



Well by gosh, unless you're a lawyer you apparently can't represent your constituents or handle ethical and complex issues properly. At least according to Iowa democratic senate candidate Braley.

What is more likely, and certainly a lot more truthful is that we have too damn many lawyers and shysters in the senate already.

The remarks by Braley, a trial lawyer and congressman who is running in the high-stakes open race for retiring U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin’s seat, quickly caught fire on Twitter and various national news sites, as politics watchers predicted that this incident will bruise a campaign that they’ve been confident would see victory in November.

And Grassley’s staff pulled no punches in responding this today, National Agriculture Day, when a statue of an Iowa ag hero was unveiled in the U.S. Capitol.

“If you help me win this race,” Braley says in the video, posted online by a donor after the Jan. 23 fundraiser in Corpus Christi, Texas and released today by the conservative America Rising PAC, “you may have someone with your background, your experience, your voice, someone’s who’s been literally fighting tort reform for 30 years in a visible and public way on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“Or you might have a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school, never practiced law, serving as the next chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee,” Braley says. “Because if Democrats lose the majority, Chuck Grassley will be the next chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

Full article BELOW THE FOLD

What's Happening To Freedom Of the Press?...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Many have long believed the federal government has slowing but steadily been working to limit the freedom of the press. While the Obama administration has arguably been one of our nation's least transparent, it is no more quilty of attempts to limit press freedom than any other. Things are relative when viewed in the proper context. Obama's administration is continuing a trend and as people and the press have become less watchful and the current administration has simply accelerating the efforts of prior administrations.

Andrew Beaujon, writing for Poynter, discusses this concern HERE. If what Mr. Beajon presents becomes reality it will have chilling consequences for present and future generations of Americans. Government limitations on the press and reporting is contrary to everything our founders believed. A free press is essential to maintaining oversight on federal power and instrumental in insuring the citizenry remains informed. As well as safe guarding our freedoms.

The teaser...

“It won’t take me long to alienate everyone in the room,” Jeffrey Toobin told an audience in New York Friday. “For better or worse, it has been clear there is no journalistic privilege under the First Amendment.”

The New Yorker staff writer and CNN commentator was appearing on a panel as part of a George Polk Awards conference called Sources and Secrets at the Times Center. A lot has already been written about the conference (links below), so I’m going to pull out a theme that appears again and again in my notes: How much protection do reporters really have with regard to sources, and how much, if any, protection would a federal shield law give them?

New York Times reporter James Risen, who is fighting an order that he testify in the trial of Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer accused of leaking information to him, opened the conference earlier by saying the Obama administration is “the greatest enemy of press freedom that we have encountered in at least a generation.” The administration wants to “narrow the field of national security reporting,” Risen said, to “create a path for accepted reporting.” Anyone journalist who exceeds those parameters, Risen said, “will be punished.”

The administration’s aggressive prosecutions have created “a de facto Official Secrets Act,” Risen said, and the media has been “too timid” in responding.

Read the full article BELOW THE FOLD

Via: Memorandum

Mandates and Other Such Stuff... Senator Boxer Compares Abortion Pill to Viagra on MSNBC

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

I question just why the hell the federal government should be mandating that taxpayers, or company sponsored insurance should pay for women's birth control? Is it really the governments business?



Further, Boxer makes a valid point... why should Viagra be mandated coverage for company sponsored insurance or taxpayer funded coverage for those on assistance?

As an aside... from a logical, rational viewpoint why is religion even being discussed? If you're of the mind many religionists have, that birth control is somehow immoral, just don't use the damn stuff.

Via: Memeorandum

A Chronology... And, Some Leftist BS...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Interesting, from reason.com...

Q: What is the Gadsden "Don't Tread on Me" flag?

A. (1775): A banner designed by Continental Col. Christopher Gadsden, using colonial rattlesnake imagery popularized by Benjamin Franklin, that accompanied the first-ever mission of the nascent U.S. Navy.

A. (1991): A song and album cover from Metallica.

A. (2004): A common sight at anti-Iraq War protests.

A. (2009): According to law enforcement officials, “the most common symbol displayed by militia members and organizations,” possibly indicative of “terrorist or criminal operations.”

A. (2009): According to anti-Tea Party commentators, a historical indicator of white resentment against blacks.

A. (2013): According to the mayor and the city council of New Rochelle, New York, a symbol so “offensive,” so drenched with “right-wing connotations,” that it must immediately be taken down from the New Rochelle Armory.

A. (February 2014): According to David Tinney, vice president of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters, the equivalent of the Confederate flag, and therefore reason to (successfully) agitate to remove it from a New Haven fire department’s flagpole.

A. (March 2014): According to Democratic strategist and daughter-of-the-House-minority-leader Christine Pelosi, a symbol to be re-appropriated in the service of defending the heavy-treading Affordable Care Act:

As ever, the richest symbolism is often in the eye of the beholder.

INDEED IT IS SO!!!

Via: Memeorandum

On Hypocrisy...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Coming across this articular on Memeorandum it drew my attention. Something about the headline told me something of interest was waiting inside the article. Sure enough there was.

Hypocrisy is a subject discussed and talked about frequently on blogs representing every side and social issue all over the internet. Gay rights and Gay pride is but one among the many.

While this article is is from the Catholic League it is relevant, balanced, and does have truth in it. The author, Bill Donohue make his point concisely and respectfully. The ring of truth to it is almost palatable.

Draw your own conclusions...

Bill Donohue comments on his exchange with officials from New York’s Heritage of Pride parade:

For the past few days I have been engaged in an e-mail conversation with officials from the Heritage of Pride parade, New York’s annual gay event; the dialogue has been cordial. I asked to join the parade under a banner that would read, “Straight is Great.” The purpose of my request was to see just how far they would go without forcing me to abide by their rules. It didn’t take long before they did.

Today, I informed Heritage of Pride officials that I objected to their rule requiring me to attend gay training sessions, or what they call “information” sessions. “I don’t agree with your rule,” I said. They responded by saying that attendance was “mandatory.”

The St. Patrick’s Day parade has mandatory rules, too. It bars groups representing their own cause from marching, which is why pro-life Catholics—not just gays—are barred from participating under their own banner. But only gays complain: they refuse to abide by the rules. Indeed, they went into federal court seeking to force a rule change. They lost. In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that private parades have a First Amendment right to determine their own rules.

It is hypocritical for gay activists to complain about having to abide by the mandatory rules of the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and then inform me that I cannot march in their parade unless I respect their mandatory rules, rules that I reject.

Good luck to the Heritage of Pride participants. I may be watching it from afar, but I sure won’t be downing a Guinness afterwards.

Big Bang and Multiverses...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

This is big, really Very Big. Of course there will be the naysayers (socon fundies are likely), but, as science continues to push the envelope of knowledge it will be ever more difficult to hold on to those myths humans have created for themselves.

WGBN - It’s being called one of the biggest scientific discoveries in history. Over the weekend, the theory of “inflation,” described as the “smoking gun” of the Big Bang, was proven. Inflation was theorized by physicists Alan Guth and Andrei Linde back in the 1970s. Guth now teaches just down the road at MIT, and Linde works at Stanford.

A big hat tip goes to my brother. Thanks bro! This rocks...

UPDATE:

In the interest of fair and balanced we are providing a bit of Creationism, please click on the highlighted link. Perhaps a bit off the Multiverse concept and topic but giving the creationists equal time here at Rational Nation USA is our goal. When the creationists come out with their response to Mutiverses we'll be sure to run it for em.

Cry Me A River - Ella Fitzgerald, 1961

"Democrats Get Clobbeed In Midterms"... President Barack Obama

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Really it comes as no surprise. With President Obama's approval ratings suffering, partially the result of a horrific ACA roll out, the fact that "if you like plan you can keep your plan you can keep your plan", and "if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor" turning out not to be a totally accurate statement, concern with the President's, and his parties handling of foreign affairs it is evident the President has entered defense mode. His statement (the headline quote) may very well be as accurate as it gets.

THE HILL - President Obama complained Thursday that Democrats “get clobbered” in midterm elections, blaming a “toxic” atmosphere in Washington for suppressing Democratic constituencies.

“The challenge is that our politics in Washington have become so toxic that people just lose faith,” Obama told a group of top Democratic donors gathered at the home of former Miami Heat star Alonzo Mourning. “They say, ‘Y’know what, it doesn’t matter, I’m not that interested, I’m not gonna vote.’ And that’s especially true during the midterms.”

Obama noted that young, female, black and Hispanic voters were more likely to vote in elections with a presidential contest.

“Suddenly a more representative cross section of America
gets out there, and we do pretty well in presidential elections,” Obama said.

“But in midterms, we get clobbered, either because we don’t think it’s important or because we get so discouraged about what’s happening in Washington that we think it’s not worth our while. And the reason today is so important, and the reason that I’m so appreciative for all of you being here is because we’re going to have to get over that. This is a top priority.”

The President has repeatedly signaled his concern about Democratic turnout during a series of high-dollar fundraisers he’s attended in recent months.

I guess BIG MONEY, presumably from very wealthy donors is highly important to the President and democrats. Hm, special interest money maybe?

Democrats are defending 21 of the 36 Senate seats up this fall, and election watchers widely expect the party to lose seats as they protect a fragile six-seat majority.

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Many of those Democrats have also refused to campaign with Obama, sensing the president’s diminished approval ratings could create a liability.

The White House is looking to counteract that by having Obama raise money for Democratic candidates in cities where he remains extremely popular.

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Proceeds benefitted the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and the president has pledged at least another five fundraisers for the committee in the coming months.

Earlier in the afternoon, Obama attended a roundtable, where 25 supporters contributed up to $32,400 benefitting the DNC.

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“Even though the economy is growing again — incomes, wages, they’re flat. ... People are having a hard time getting traction and feeling confident that their children are doing better than they are,” he said.

Hope and Change, Hope and Change. We're still waiting for that positive change ya promised Mr. President... with a big batch of hope. Our guess here is that if in the next couple of years things aren't looking any better 2016 is gonna be a major concern for your party and its presidential candidate in 2016 as well. Just sayin...

Read the full article BELOW THE FOLD

Via: Memeorandum

Thoughts On the Civil War and What Precipitated It...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Over at Contra O'Reilly Will Hart has been running a interesting series on the Civil War and what the primary causes were. Historians continue to disagree with the root, or primary causes. However it is generally accepted among knowledgeable and unbiased experts that slavery had very little to do with the onset of the War Between the States. Causes were primarily economic and constitutional. Will, in his posts has done a good job of pointing this out with supporting documentation.

This site offers the following, a July 2013 article by David Hirsch in support of Will Hart's arguments. Arguments this site wholly concurs with.

Arthur Hirsch's recent article about the Battle of Gettysburg reveals a disturbing ignorance of the political dynamics that brought this nation to a war that 150 years later remains the most cataclysmic event in our history ("A defining day relived," July 2).

It accepts the shallow but unchallenged premise that the Civil War occurred because slavery was practiced in the South, and that righteous resolve to abolish the institution left the U.S. with no option other than a resort to arms. This is a myopic view with which many historical facts simply cannot be reconciled.

The war resulted from causes unrelated to slavery and abolition. It was entirely a consequence of the Southern states' secession, which occurred despite the undeniable fact that the slave states could not have hoped for better protection of slavery than that afforded by the U. S. Constitution — provided they remained in the Union.

Both Lincoln and the slaveholders well knew in 1860 that a constitutional amendment ending slavery would never be mathematically feasible. But Lincoln further understood that the South was gravitating toward secession as the remedy for a different grievance altogether: The egregiously inequitable effects of a U. S. protective tariff that provided 90 percent of federal revenue.

Foreign governments retaliated for it with tariffs of their own, and payment of those overseas levies represented the cost to Americans of their U. S. government. Southerners were generating two-thirds of U. S. exports, and also bearing two-thirds of the retaliatory tariffs abroad.

The result was that that the 18.5 percent of America's citizens who lived in the South were saddled with three times their proportionate share of the federal government's costs.

Campaigning At New York's Cooper Union, Lincoln, arguing for unlimited federal control of slavery in America's territories, seduced his audience with research disclosing how 21 of the 39 Signers of the Constitution, by joining elsewhere in various other acts of legislation that awarded this territorial authority to the U. S. government, revealed that delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention included a clear majority whose intent had in fact been that this authority be granted to the federal government.

But in 1860, the overriding issue of the day was not slavery in the territories: it was secession. And when addressed in this latter context, Lincoln's same research undeniably proves there had been majority intent among delegates to the 1787 Convention that each state was to retain a permanent right of exit. Ten of Lincoln's foregoing 21 Signers represented slave states. Absent a retained secession option, not one of them would have signed a Constitution that empowered the U. S. to prohibit territorial slavery. Alone, the Northwest Territory represented the potential in 1787 for five new non-slave states, which would promptly have reduced the Old South to just one-third of eighteen total states: and the Constitution they were crafting was to permit any amendment that was opposed by only one-quarter of the states — including one that could abolish slavery if six more non-slave states were thereafter admitted. Lincoln could not have failed to recognize that the Signers had been in agreement upon a right to secede, without which no constitution would have gelled at all. Accordingly, secession remained in 1860 a right both legal and honorable.

In the face of all these considerations, Lincoln could have proposed a Southern slave emancipation reciprocated by sweeping federal fiscal reform that would replace the protective tariff with a nationwide income tax. Instead, Lincoln's remedy was the catastrophic one that denied Southerners their exit by military force: which represented exercise of a federal authority conspicuously absent from the all-inclusive list of powers granted by the Constitution to the U. S. government. Such a transformative quid-pro-quo may or may not have proven achievable. But in as much as it was not even attempted, no Gettysburg visitor should ever be led to believe that the Civil War objective of the U.S. was anything other than preservation of its protective tariff in the Old South.

Thank you Will for opening up the discussion over at your place. I'm relatively confident that this age old discussion will likely never be settled.

Health Insurance Premiums To Rise...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

ObamaCare, also known as the Affordable Care Act, a misnomer if ever there was one, is destined to become even more unaffordable for many people in the near future. Setting the miserably inept roll out aside, and the President's assurances that "if you like your plan you and keep your plan and "if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor" The Hill is reporting that "O-Care premiums are set to skyrocket."

It is becoming more evident that the concerns expressed by the skeptics, and indeed there were and remain many, are coming to pass. With premiums that may triple in some regions can anyone blame people for questioning the President's integrity at this juncture?

Republican's have been looking for a major issue that could be a real game changer for the party in the 2016 presidential election. Hitting people hard in their pocketbooks usually has a significant or even huge impact. Certainly this news has the Democrats sweating.

Health industry officials say ObamaCare-related premiums will double in some parts of the country, countering claims recently made by the administration.

The expected rate hikes will be announced in the coming months amid an intense election year, when control of the Senate is up for grabs. The sticker shock would likely bolster the GOP’s prospects in November and hamper ObamaCare insurance enrollment efforts in 2015.

The industry complaints come less than a week after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sought to downplay concerns about rising premiums in the healthcare sector. She told lawmakers rates would increase in 2015 but grow more slowly than in the past.

“The increases are far less significant than what they were prior to the Affordable Care Act,” the secretary said in testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee.

Her comment baffled insurance officials, who said it runs counter to the industry’s consensus about next year.

“It’s pretty shortsighted because I think everybody knows that the way the exchange has rolled out … is going to lead to higher costs,” said one senior insurance executive who requested anonymity.

The insurance official, who hails from a populous swing state, said his company expects to triple its rates next year on the ObamaCare exchange.

The hikes are expected to vary substantially by region, state and carrier.

Areas of the country with older, sicker or smaller populations are likely to be hit hardest, while others might not see substantial increases at all {emphasis mine}.

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Much will depend on how firms are coping with the healthcare law’s raft of new fees and regulatory restrictions, according to another industry official.

After this story was published, the administration pointed to some independent analyses that have cast doubt on whether the current mix of enrollees will lead to premium hikes.

ObamaCare also includes several programs designed to ease the transition and stave off premium increases. Reinsurance, for example, will send payments to insurers to help shoulder the cost of covering sick patients.

But insurance officials are quick to emphasize that any spikes would be a consequence of delays and changes in ObamaCare’s rollout.

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Federal health officials have also limited the amount of money the government can spend to help insurers cover the cost of new, sick patients.

Perhaps most important, insurers have been disappointed that young people only make up about one-quarter of the enrollees in plans through the insurance exchanges, according to public figures that were released earlier this year...

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These factors will have the unintended consequence of raising rates, sources said.

“We’re exasperated,” said the senior insurance official. “All of these major delays on very significant portions of the law are going to change what it’s going to cost.”

“My gut tells me that, for some people, these increases will be significant,” said Bill Hoagland, a former executive at Cigna and current senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Hoagland said Sebelius was seeking to “soften up the American public” to the likelihood that premiums will rise, despite promises to the contrary.

It sure is looking as if the much ballyhooed Democratic insurance reform plan, which is what the ACA really is, is going to be a bitter pill to swallow for millions.

You can continue reading the story BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

Do You Know?...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth



Reasonable questions? Reasonable concerns? Do we as citizens as well as the press have a right, indeed a responsibility to question our government boldly?... regardless of party in power? Does doing so make one unpatriotic? A conspiracy theorist? A looney tune looking for attention?

Given the rhetoric of some sometimes one cannot but help to wonder.

Laughter, the Best Medicine!...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Received an e-mail from my Dad the other day. He's getting up in age and at 81 I look forward to his occasional electronic communications. Being one of those guys who has always had the knack for telling jokes, and believe me when he gets going they roll off is tongue effortless, he often sends jokes by e-mail to his family and friends.

This morning as I clicked on my web mail sure enough Dad had sent along some vintage Rodney Dangerfield quips. One of the best one liner comedians in the business Dad, maybe without realizing it had started my day off laughing and I knew it was going to be a very good day! Thanks Dad. Rodney, we miss ya... and thanks for all the laughs ya gave us over the years.

Enjoy!

My wife only has sex with me for a purpose. Last night she used me to time an egg.

It's tough to stay married. My wife kisses the dog on the lips, yet she won't drink from my glass!

Last night my wife met me at the front door. She was wearing a sexy negligee. The only trouble was, she was coming home.

A girl phoned me and said, 'Come on over. There's nobody home.' I went over. Nobody was home!

A hooker once told me she had a headache. I went to a massage parlor. It was self-service.

If it weren't for pickpockets, I'd have no sex life at all.

I was making love to this girl and she started crying I said, 'Are you going to hate yourself in the morning?' She said, 'No, I hate myself now.’

I knew a girl so ugly... they use her in prisons to cure sex offenders.

My wife is such a bad cook, if we leave dental floss in the kitchen the roaches hang themselves.

I'm so ugly I stuck my head out the window and got arrested for mooning.

The other day I came home and a guy was jogging, naked. I asked him, 'Why?' He said, 'Because you came home early.'

My wife's such a bad cook, the dog begs for Alka-Seltzer.

I know I'm not sexy. When I put my underwear on I can hear the Fruit-of-the- Loom guys giggling.

My wife is such a bad cook, in my house we pray after the meal.

My wife likes to talk to me during sex; last night she called me from a hotel.

My family was so poor that if I hadn't been born a boy, I wouldn't have had anything to play with.

It's been a rough day. I got up this morning... put a shirt on and a button fell off. I picked up my briefcase, and the handle came off. I'm afraid to go to the bathroom.

I was such an ugly kid! ...When I played in the sandbox, the cat kept covering me up.

I could tell my parents hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and radio.

I was such an ugly baby that my mother never breast fed me. She told me that she only liked me as a friend.

I'm so ugly my father carried around a picture of the kid who came with his wallet.
When I was born, the doctor came into the waiting room and said to my father, "I'm sorry. We did everything we could, but he pulled through anyway."

I'm so ugly my mother had morning sickness...AFTER I was born.

I remember the time that I was kidnapped and they sent a piece of my finger to my father. He said he wanted more proof.

Once when I was lost, I saw a policeman, and asked him to help me find my parents. I said to him, "Do you think we'll ever find them?" He said, "I don't know kid. There's so many places they can hide."

My wife made me join a bridge club. I jump off next Tuesday.

I'm so ugly, I once worked in a pet shop, and people kept asking how big I'd
get.

I went to see my doctor. "Doctor, every morning when I get up and I look in the mirror I feel like throwing up. What's wrong with me?" He said..."Nothing, your eyesight is perfect."

I went to the doctor because I'd swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills. My doctor told me to have a few drinks and get some rest.

With my old man I got no respect. I asked him, "How can I get my kite in the air?" He told me to run off a cliff.

Some dog I got. We call him Egypt because in every room he leaves a pyramid. His favorite bone is in my arm. Last night he went on the paper four times - three of those times I was reading it.

One year they wanted to make me a poster boy - for birth control.

My uncle's dying wish was to have me sitting in his lap; he was in the electric chair.

Why the United States Shouldn't Waste Time or Money On the Ukraine/Crimea...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Exactly why the USA and the Obama administration consider the situation in Crimea a proper use of our time and or resources is puzzling. Especially given the small patch of land has no real strategic or tactical impact on our security or national interests. Further, the people of Crimea voted over this past weekend to join the Russian Federation. Crimea is 60% ethnic Russian and they voted (self determination) in what they believed their interest to become a part of the RF rater than remain an autonomous region of Ukraine. Democracy at work, right?

Ron Paul, in an editorial piece in USA TODAY spells out the reasons most Libertarians believe the administrations stance is misguided. Mr. Paul's arguments are hard to argue against if viewed with an eye to democracy, self determination of the Crimean peoples, and even our own Constitution.

Residents of Crimea voted over the weekend on whether they would remain an autonomous region of Ukraine or join the Russian Federation. In so doing, they joined a number of countries and regions — including recently Scotland, Catalonia and Venice — that are seeking to secede from what they view as unresponsive or oppressive governments.

These latter three are proceeding without much notice, while the overwhelming Crimea vote to secede from Ukraine has incensed U.S. and European Union officials, and has led NATO closer to conflict with Russia than since the height of the Cold War.

What's the big deal? Opponents of the Crimea vote like to point to the illegality of the referendum. But self-determination is a centerpiece of international law. Article I of the United Nations Charter points out clearly that the purpose of the U.N. is to "develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples."

Why does the U.S. care which flag will be hoisted on a small piece of land thousands of miles away?

Critics point to the Russian "occupation" of Crimea as evidence that no fair vote could have taken place. Where were these people when an election held in an Iraq occupied by U.S. troops was called a "triumph of democracy"?

Perhaps the U.S. officials who supported the unconstitutional overthrow of Ukraine's government should refocus their energies on learning our own Constitution, which does not allow the U.S. government to overthrow governments overseas or send a billion dollars to bail out Ukraine and its international creditors.

Ron Paul is correct on this issue and it remains puzzling how our own government fails to recognize this. But then again, come to think of it, this certainly is not the first time,

Read the rest of the article BELOW THE FOLD

Via: Memeorandum

Help Obama Kickstart World War III!

Given the Russian Ukraine situation and the Obama Putin stare down perhaps this???

Tit for Tat...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth




President Obama poked a stick in Russian President Vladimir Putin's eye Monday when he announced sanctions would placed on several high-profile Russian and Ukrainian officials. As one might expect it is being reported that Strong Arm Putin will respond by, you got it, placing sanctions on certain United States Senators.

TPM - Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to release a list of U.S. officials who will be sanctioned, which likely means a freeze on their assets in Russia and a prohibition on travel there, the Daily Beast reported Monday.

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Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who has been outspoken in criticizing Putin and Russia, is expected to be on the sanctions list. Other potential names include Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Bob Corker (R-TN), both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, though the list is still being finalized, according to the Daily Beast.

The sanctions are a retaliation against the Obama administration's announcement Monday that it would place sanctions on several high-profile Russian and Ukrainian officials.

Hm, perhaps we best think our follow up strategy through carefully. We could face another missile crises as the two strong men play chess on the international stage.

Via: Memeorandum

Republicans To Craft and Present Alternative To the ACA...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor if Truth

House Republican leaders are adopting an agreed-upon conservative approach to fixing the nation’s health-care system, in part to draw an election-year contrast with President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.

The plan includes an expansion of high-risk insurance pools, promotion of health savings accounts and inducements for small businesses to purchase coverage together.

Well by gosh it's about time! Finally the Republicans are getting their proverbial s**t together on a healthcare plan. Only problem is the ACA is moving steadily along its path to full implementation like the lumbering bureaucratic behemoth that it is. In other words the Republicans are five years too late and a few million (or is it a billion) dollars short.

In any case this is a welcome development. At the very least it should be hoped by everyone of all political persuasions that it opens honest and constructive dialog between the two parties. If it does maybe, just maybe, the nation will wind up with a first rate affordable health care system.

“We’ve got to get to where you can compare the two perspectives, Republican and Democrat,” House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said in an interview. “We’ve got all of these bills out there, so we’re going to take this core of policies and grow from there.”

Absolutely! Presenting a comprehensive plan with open honesty verifiable data will be key. Washington DC from top to bottom has become a city of politicians and lawmakers the public simply no longer trusts.

“It’s going to be all about giving people a choice,” said Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), an anesthesiologist.

Freedom of choice with a multitude of options is where health care insurance choices should be. Democrats and Progressives want a one size fits all universal government ran and operated national health system. Make no mistake, the ACA was designed precisely with that ultimate end in mind. A system to make that happen is already being put in place. By design it can and will grow

Democrats dismissed the Republican approach as a purely political gesture ahead of this year’s midterm elections, saying the focus on long-held conservative ideas was more of an attempt to rally Republicans than to find bipartisan solutions.

“If they had fixes, I’d certainly consider it,” Sen. Timothy M. Kaine (D-Va.) said. “But if they are trying to scrap it all, going back to the bad old days, it’s not going to go anywhere.”

We'll just have to wait and see if the Democrats are really willing to listen and work to better a flawed ACA.

My guess, they'll give the Republicans the middle finger. After all, that is what they believe the Republican did to them during the work up to the ACA (with some justification) and as it as been said, payback is a bitch.

Read the rest of the article BELOW THE FOLD

Via: Memeorandum

Humor of the Week.., or Would That be the Weak..., Hell, Nevermind

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook

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h/t Progressive Eruptions

Liberal Professors At Rutgers University Displaying Liberal Lunacy... Want to Cancel Condoleezza Rice Invitation To Speak At Commencement Ceremony

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

How is the public served by muzzling one of the most thoughtful, accomplished and respected political voices of her time just because she happens to be a Republican?

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was extended an invitation to speak at Rutgers University graduation ceremonies, as well as receiving an honorary degree from the University. Rutgers University obviously feels this highly intelligent, accomplished, patriotic African American woman was deserving of both the honorary degree and the speaking invitation. Most Americans would agree. Unless you happen to be a liberal professor with a political agenda.

Following is what the New Brunswick Faculty Council of Rutgers University had to say with respect to the university extending the invitation when they voted last week to ask the universities leadership to cancel their invitation.

Condoleezza Rice lacks “moral authority.” She fails to meet the standards of “exemplary citizenship” and she does not have what it takes to “inspire” graduating college seniors.

When something smells of fish, or pure political ideology run amuck, it simply smells, and badly.

Juan Williams, a rational and reasonable liberal with whom it is possible to find agreement with, finds the facts cited by the faculty council to be correct but their conclusion way off the mark.

Yes, apparently the first African-American woman to serve as National Security Adviser and the nation’s Secretary of State doesn’t have what it takes to be honored by Rutgers.

Rice holds a Ph.D. in political science. She has taught college for decades. She was Provost of Stanford University. She worked her way up from a working-class family in the segregated South to the highest echelon of world power and politics.

But according to the Rutgers faculty council, all of that is negated by her service in President George W. Bush’s administration.

They cited her roles in pushing the false claim of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They also point to her support for using enhanced interrogation techniques to get information from terror suspects.

The facts are right. The conclusion is wrong.

I, too, disagreed with many of the policies Rice faithfully supported as a member of the Bush administration. But only partisan hatred can blind the faculty to her extrao

Indeed. Only the blind pursuit of political correctness and the desire to hush the voices of those you disagree with will lead supposedly intelligent, qualified professors to partake in such blatantly partisan actions.

Read the full article and view the video BELOW THE FOLD.

As an aside, thinking about the Debo Adegbile nomination that went down in flames I see some similarities at work after here. After doing a bit more research on Adegbile it's looking more and more like groupthink and political fear may have had a part. But perhaps that's just me.

I would be most interested in hearing what my more liberal leaning readership has to say about the New Brunswick Faculty Council of Rutgers University request to nix the invitation extended to Ms. Rice, PHD and former Secretary of State.

Via: Memeorandum

Rational Thought Prevails In The Senate...

by: Les Carpenter
Ration Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Today the Senate rejected President Obama's nomination of Debo Adegbile to head the DOJ's civil rights division. In a surprising 47-52 vote seven democratic senators joined republicans to deny Mr. Adegbile confirmation.

This defeat highlights the break with the Obama administration and Senate leadership by more moderate centrist democrats. In what is developing as a tough election cycle for democrats seeking reelection to the Senate this defeat only adds to the democratic parties potential difficulties in holding the Senate.

From THE HILL:

The Senate rejected President Obama’s nominee to lead the Justice Department’s civil rights division on Wednesday in a stunning 47-52 vote in which seven Democrats abandoned their leadership.

The vote was all the more remarkable for the five Democrats in tough reelection races this year who voted in vain to move Debo Adegbile’s nomination forward.

Their votes now become ammunition for Senate Republicans, who argued Adegbile was unfit to serve because of his legal work in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of killing Philadelphia

police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981.

The vote was a stinging defeat for the White House that showed President Obama is politically out of step with some centrist Democrats heading into the midterm elections.

Obama labeled the vote a “travesty” based on “wildly unfair” character attacks.

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Every Republican voted against the nomination, forcing Reid to secure the support of at least 50 members of his 55-person caucus. Vice President Biden presided over the vote and would have been available to break a tie, but his vote was not needed.

It was the first time a nomination has gone down since Democrats changed the Senate’s filibuster rules to require simple majority votes on many procedural motions.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) insisted the vote was not a sign that Obama is losing support among Senate Democrats.

“The vast majority of Democrats voted to confirm him so I don’t think it says anything about the president,” said Reid, who switched his vote from “yes” to “no” in a procedural move that allows him to bring the nomination up again for a future vote.

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Democratic leaders immediately faced questions about whether it was wise to schedule a vote without knowing for certain the nominee could attract enough support.

“These 2014 Democrats can’t be happy with their leadership over the Adegbile vote. They all walked the plank while others got to vote ‘no,’ ” said a Senate GOP leadership aide.

A senior Democratic leadership aide said the White House and Adegbile were informed that he might fall short of the 50 votes needed to advance his nomination but both wanted to roll the dice and proceed.

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Abu-Jamal has long been a cause célèbre in leftist political circles who argue his case exposed racism in the criminal justice system — he even has a street named after him in Paris. But Republicans say he was an unrepentant cop killer and noted there was overwhelming evidence he shot and killed Faulkner at point-blank range.

GOP senators claimed Adegbile’s record of “left-wing advocacy” would further politicize the Justice Department.

The choice of Adegbile split civil rights and law enforcement groups and put Democrats in an awkward position of having to pick a side.

“It was a tough one because you had the NAACP on one side and police officers on the other so people voted the best they could given the circumstances,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who voted for Adegbile.

Complete article BELOW THE FOLD.

Sometimes reasoned moderate heads within the Democratic Party act to do the right thing. Hope springs eternal...

Via: Memeorandum

Putin, Obama, and Irrationality All Around...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

As the United States and the World watch and react (or not react, sometimes the best response) we are witnessing geopolitical posturing (and hyperbole) kicking into high gear. The management of this site has stocked up on healthy snacks (and not so healthy beverages :-) ) to watch the irrationality place itself out.

As much as it is tempting to pontificate on the current political idiocy unfolding before our eyes a sense of calm prevails here at Rational Nation USA. Knee jerk reactions, something our rather intellectually challenged officials and politicians in both parties seem to suffer from, are never advisable and usually always turn out badly.

Thinking Vietnam, Iraq, and the whole host of costly nation building endeavors that failed to produce the desired results the government of the United States had told the populace it would this site ain't gonna say too much. Other than provide links to several articles readership an click on for the most recent idiocy.

Putin's Press Conference Proved Merkel Right: He's Lost His Mind

Rubio, Cotton: Congress must act quickly to punish Putin, support Ukraine

"We Are Speaking Very Loudly. We Are Carrying a Small Stick."

In the Ukraine crisis, the U.S. has a credibility problem

Lindsey Graham Blames Benghazi For Ukraine Crisis


Putin's claim of no Russian troops in Crimea stuns Kerry

Obama, the feckless tyrant

Yep, I'm ready for a good stiff Scotch, straight up please.

Enjoy...

Via: Memeorandum

The Invasion Of Imposter Bloggers

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

The internet is a wonderful place. A world of almost unlimited information and knowledge is available at a mere click of the mouse. If one has a computer, a smart phone, a notebook, or other such equipment access to a a wealth of information and facts are available in seconds. A person only need to take the time to do a bit of searching.

Unfortunately the internet has a dark side as well. Individuals with a bit of knowledge and limited computer expertise can set up a site, or multiple sites and generate a lot of misinformation, total fabrications, outright lies, engage in defamation of someones character, and do it anonymously. In fact in the world of blogging it is fast becoming commonplace for unethical bloggers to set up a site, steal the avatar of another blogger, slightly change the original bloggers site names, and then go after the blogger whose positions they don't agree with. The unethical blogger's (imposter) MO is to amply present false information or representations of the authentic blogger they are impersonating or attempting to defame.

This has happened to me, as well as other bloggers I have association with. The fakes as I call them are basically the scum of the blogoshere. They operate anonymously and without scruples, lacking the character to represent who they really are.

Some bloggers go to a great deal of effort to identify the fake bloggers and expose them for what they are. While I do not have the time, nor the inclination to go to that extent the following are just a few examples of thise type of blogger;

"Frieda Van Wiener" (exposed by Progressive Eruptions As pointed out by this blog owner Frieda has also went by the names of; "Just Joanna," "Right Klik," and "Hildegard Hammerasshat"

Shaw Keewee

Rational Nation USSR This was a new imposter that commented on FreeThinke, another libertarian/conservative blog on a post that was up early this morning. Rational Nation USA was the first commenter, followed by the imposter Rational Nation USSR with a off topic disparaging comment, followed by a short comment by FreeThinke, followed by another comment by RN USA. Interesting enough the post was taken down shortly thereafter. Odd methinks. At the link to Rational Nation USSR disappeared with the post.

While it is likely this phenomenon of imposters and fake bloggers exists on both the conservative and liberal side of the political equation it appears that it is much more prevalent with conservative and libertarian bloggers. Here's why in my estimation.

This site is a fiscal conservative social libertarian website. It has a Conservative Manifesto page which fairly identifies the sites core principles. However, it does not have as one of it's tenets that all liberal thought is incorrect and should be discarded out of hand. Nor does it say that liberals by definition are either fascists or communists and therefore enemies of our representative form of government. Unfortunately however many seem to believe that is so. It was not until this site began to engage in dialogue and give and take with liberal and moderate sites that Rational Nation USA started experiencing constant attacks and ultimately imposters setting up sites with my picture in order to misrepresent this blog and it's positions. While there were a couple liberal bloggers who attacked this site the majority were conservative and the only one to steal my picture was a conservative. At least to my knowledge anyway.

So, the point being made here is fakes operate in the shadows and no legitimate blogger who has been around awhile is immune from the depravity of the imposter blogger. Particularly those with strong opinions and ESPECIALLY those who refuse to conform to the GROUPTHINK of party politics.

For all you ethical bloggers out there, regardless of political, governmental, social, environmental, or religious views keep on blogging and don't let the asshats get to you.

Healthy Eating Choices Made Easier...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth



Kudos once again to the First Lady for her efforts in keeping healthy eating in the spotlight and championing new and improved nutritional labeling om prepared foods products.

As a NASM CPT (Certified Personal Trainer) I understand and can relate to exactly what the First Lady is saying.

There will likely be those who will make fun of Michelle Obama's video, and expresses the argument that the eating choices of children are best left to the discretion of their parents. They are technically right. But there is nothing like easily assessable and easily understandable accurate information when making those choices that effect the health and well being of your children.

Full article BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum