By Noel Bagwell
November 30, 2008
I usually try to avoid a lot of personal anecdotes and whatnot on this blog. I’m very excited, however, that I have (finally) taken the initiative to learn to convert .vob files to .mpg files, thus enabling me to convert some “home video” to an uploadable file format for YouTube.
The result is entertaining, I think:
By Noel Bagwell
November 24, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving to you all, from NoelBagwell.com.
The First Thanksgiving
I am thankful for each of you, my readers, regardless of your ideology, pedigree, socioeconomic status, ethnic background, religious beliefs or political persuasions. I thank you for continuing to read my blog, and for your comments – whether they be insightful or misguided. I appreciate all your varying points of view, and I want to thank you for sharing them, in the spirit of the holiday season.
I hope you all spend as much time as you can with your families and friends, this Thanksgiving. Try not to eat too much, and try to watch the Macy’s parade (or do whatever your family traditionally does). If you don’t see anything here before December 1st, it’s because I’m out of town for Thanksgiving. You can expect me to resume posting regularly after the 1st of December.
See you then!
By Noel Bagwell
November 24, 2008
People continue to compare Obama to FDR. Sweetness & Light has an interesting article about this phenomenon. They quote an article written by Meg Sullivan back in 2004 for the UCLA Newsroom entitled “FDR’s policies prolonged Depression by 7 years, UCLA economists calculate,” which I will reproduce, in part, here:
FDR’s policies prolonged Depression by 7 years, UCLA economists calculate
Two UCLA economists say they have figured out why the Great Depression dragged on for almost 15 years, and they blame a suspect previously thought to be beyond reproach: President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
After scrutinizing Roosevelt’s record for four years, Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian conclude in a new study that New Deal policies signed into law 71 years ago thwarted economic recovery for seven long years.
“Why the Great Depression lasted so long has always been a great mystery, and because we never really knew the reason, we have always worried whether we would have another 10- to 15-year economic slump,” said Ohanian, vice chair of UCLA’s Department of Economics. “We found that a relapse isn’t likely unless lawmakers gum up a recovery with ill-conceived stimulus policies.”
In an article in the August issue of the Journal of Political Economy, Ohanian and Cole blame specific anti-competition and pro-labor measures that Roosevelt promoted and signed into law June 16, 1933.
. . .
Cole and Ohanian calculate that NIRA and its aftermath account for 60 percent of the weak recovery. Without the policies, they contend that the Depression would have ended in 1936 instead of the year when they believe the slump actually ended: 1943.
I find this fascinating for a couple of reasons, but primarily because Obama continues to emulate failures in policy-making. His popularity, despite this monumental flaw, demonstrates the short-sightedness and/or ignorance of history that is a prevailing trait in today’s generation of Americans.
I wrote an extensive analysis of Obama’s foreign policy agenda, a while back. Back then, he was talking about how much he admired George Marshall, whose failures contributed to – if, indeed, they did not directly lead to – the Communists’ victory over our ally, Chang Kai-shek, in China in 1949.
Not satisfied with repeating the failures of George Marshall in the field of foreign policy, Obama is set to also relive the failures of FDR at a time when we face the second greatest economic crisis in the last 100 years of our nation’s history. Perhaps choosing admirable 20th century historical figures to be role-models is not our new President-elect’s forte. He’s been talking a lot about his admiration of Lincoln, lately; so, maybe he’s realized this. I would encourage him to go even further back in history, though… back to John Smith of Jamestown, and forget the New ‘New Deal’.
People dislike the TSA, says Institute for the Study of Obvious Things
by Aaron Hotfelder Dec 21st 2007 @ 10:30AM
Searching Nuns: Reason Number 73956 Why I Hate the TSA
A new AP survey shows that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), in charge of security at US airports, ranks just behind FEMA, and ties with the IRS, in a list of the most unpopular federal agencies. Since its creation under the Department of Homeland Security as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the TSA has been at the center of a number of controversies and the target of frequent complaints. Many of the nearly 9,000 complaints that the TSA received between January and October of 2007 were for long wait times going through security, seemingly arbitrary rules, and employee rudeness. In addition, screeners have drawn criticism for failing to detect fake bombs in government tests– as many as 75% passed through unnoticed in one airport.
On the other hand, the article notes that “53 percent of air travelers think TSA does a “very” or “somewhat” good job,” and it’s unlikely that many people write in to the TSA to compliment the job performance of their personnel, even when they do a good job. TSA’s spokeswoman Ellen Howe said that the travelers should realize that TSA employees are “good people motivated by the mission.” She added: “Our officers take a lot of disrespect from the public… These people are on the front lines and they deserve our respect.”
Personally, I’ve never had a complaint about a TSA employee, but some of the agency’s policies do strike me as rather arbitrary. For instance, a three-ounce bottle of liquid can’t blow up an airplane, but a four-ounce bottle can?
For a closer look at airport security personnel, check out Barbara Peterson’s March 2007 investigative piece in Conde Nast Traveler, “Inside Job: My Life as an Airport Screener.”
By Noel Bagwell
November 23, 2008
Whatever happened to ‘Change We Can Believe In’? As President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama continues to make selections for his cabinet, White House staff and other advisors, one is given to wonder what happened to the constant drum beat of ‘Change Change Change Change Change’. From my point of view, it’s more like, ‘Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.’
This is hardly surprising, given Obama’s Chicago-machine-politics background and history (which you can read all about in the well-researched, well-written book The Case Against Barack Obama by David Freddoso). Still, Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State? Not repealing the Bush tax cuts? This is a very different Barack Hussein Obama than The One we heard from on the campaign trail.
Now, Obama “Vows Swift Action on Vast Economic Stimulus Plan,” according to the NYTimes. Now, does that sound familiar to anyone? Who was doing that not too long ago? Oh, that’s right… President George W. Bush. Now, I’m not saying it was a good (or bad) idea. I’m just saying, It’s not change. Well, it kind-of is… like… coin change (and a LOT of it). Maybe that’s what Obama really meant on the campaign trail: he wanted to take the change from the rich and distribute it to the poor, via his now-infamous “spread the wealth around” plan. Now that’s change liberal socialists can believe in!
Philip J. Berg, Esq. is leading the charge to challenge Obama’s Presidential candidacy credentials. There is an ad that will be run (or is running?) in the Washington Times. You can see it here for yourself. If you’re motivated, you can even fill out the slip at the bottom of the ad and send it to Mr. Berg to be added to his petition.
Obama Draws Heavily on Clinton Era and Congress for Appointees; Daschle Gets HHS
By LAURA MECKLER and JONATHAN WEISMAN
WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama campaigned on the slogan of “change.” But his early appointees, including two top choices that emerged Wednesday, show that experience is one of his main criteria.
President-elect Barack Obama is looking to fill his administration with longtime Washington hands. Above, Rahm Emanuel, the chief of staff.
His choice for secretary of Health and Human Services, officials said, is former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who has a long Washington résumé. Jacob Lew, one of President Bill Clinton’s budget directors, is favored to direct the National Economic Council.
The latest transition news highlighted the three personnel pools supplying Mr. Obama with his picks. Most prominent are Clinton administration veterans — including, possibly, former first lady Hillary Clinton for secretary of state. Some high-profile appointments are also long-serving members and staff from Capitol Hill. Then there are the influential Chicagoans — a group that seems smaller than the hometown crowd that usually accompanies a new president to Washington.
Linking them all is Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who has played prominent roles in each group.
By Noel Bagwell
November 20, 2008
Thank you to the Los Angeles Times for providing such excellent coverage of the true face of homosexual activism in America. This is about anger and hatred, not love. In a twist from what you may be used to being fed by the MSM, it is anger and hatred that liberals – specifically homosexual liberals (theoretically not a redundancy), in this case – have towards conservatives in general, and Christians in particular.
Matthew McKelligon of Los Angeles protests Proposition 8 in front of the Mormon temple in Westwood.
I wrote recently about how images and what I call “image words” are replacing arguments. I think that’s a bad practice, generally speaking, because it contributes to the distortion of truth by questionable use of images that are subject to interpretation, rather than its explicit exposition in the form of words comprising rational, cogent and objective arguments.
Still, if a picture is worth 1,000 words, here are a few thousand words to mull over while you consider the assertions I’ve made:
 Proposition 8: Full coverage |
 Photos: Proposition 8 protests |
 Google: More angry homosexual protesters |
SocialVibe