Time Doesn’t Know the Half Of It

Time Magazine showcased Detroit on its October 5 cover:

They try to present a “fair and balanced” approach – which is hard, given the facts - because they surely don’t want to blame Detroit’s demise on 50 years of failed liberal policy and leadership.

But the stories are devastating anyway: Assignment Detroit: Why Time Inc. Is in Motown, and then there’s The Detroit Blog, and finally Detroit: The Death — and Possible Life — of a Great City. We have previously documented the wrenching death knells of Detroit here, here, here and here.

But none of the above adequately tells the story of Detroit. For that you must watch this tale of three cities:

Hiroshima, Nagasaki & Detroit 64 Years Later

There are only a few facts required to fully comprehend the implications of this slide show. Prior to WWII, Imperial Japan had a rich culture, and very little of anything else. They pursued prosperity by warring with those who did. Post WWII, occupied Japan learned the tenets of free markets, democracy and capitalism from America. They applied them with a vengeance and created a stunningly prosperous economy, albeit with periodic business cycles of boom and bust.

Prior to WWII America applied the principles of free markets, democracy and capitalism with a vengeance and created a stunningly prosperous economy, albeit with periodic business cycles of boom and bust. Post WWII, America began to embrace it’s inner compassion for the common man. We decided that most “common” men can not make it on their own, cannot be held accountable for either their situation or salvation. With good intentions galore we created a class of people that are now moving into their third generation dependent upon the government for their sustenance.

And still, half the country fails to see the cause and effect of these well intentioned policies that kill initiative, kill spirit, kill self-determination, kill major cities and will kill America if we continue along this path.

Why is this so hard get?

So far, the periodic business cycles of boom and bust have continued. We pray we continue to have booms, so everyone can whine about the wretched excess of the culture, and vote to increase the taxes on the “rich” so we can afford to continue the compassionate caring for the next 3 generations of wards of the state.

H/T free republic and BFF from Notre Dame

 

Update 11/30/09: SaltShaker has correctly noted that the alleged pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 2009 are actually pics of Yokohama. Review of actual current photos of the two cities show them to be sturdily and aesthetically rebuilt. Which is more than can be said of Detroit.

Apologies for passing on what is apparently a hoax photo essay, but the morality play aspect of the comparison is still valid.

So just a reminder: “Believe none of which you hear, and only half of what you see.”

The Prime Minister Rocks!

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper sings Beatle tune with Yo Yo Ma at the Canadian National Centre of Arts gala.

I’ll trade you one post-racial, post-partisan president, one angry first lady that might be prouder to be a Canadian anyway and 37 czars, for one prime minister.

What do you say? Do we have a deal?

Come on, you guys are already stuck with national health care and socialized medicine anyway. You do want to be able to get   medical care somewhere don’t you?

OK. We’ll throw in the Detroit Red Wings. Deal?

H/T Small Dead Animals

“ Jane, You Ignorant Slut” *

* tag line from SNL’s infamous Point/Counterpoint segment in the late 70’s with Dan Akyroyd and Jane Curtin.

A frequent feature of Update during this time was Point/Counterpoint, in which Curtin and Aykroyd made ad hominem attacks on each other's positions on a variety of topics. Aykroyd regularly began his reply with "Jane, you ignorant slut," which became another of the many SNL catch phrases (Curtin frequently began her reply with, "Dan, you pompous ass").

Janeane Garofalo, like rust, never sleeps. Yep, up late last night again on Real Time with Bill Maher to inform us “it's obvious to anybody who has eyes in this country that tea-baggers, the 9-12ers” are “clearly white power movements.” She called all Republicans racists – again - and accused the Republican party of “carrying water for racists” since the 50’s. And being a highly esteemed American political scholar, she would know. Oh, wait, no she isn’t a scholar, but she does play one on TV. She’s really a third rate actor/comedian. Apparently that’s a skill set that works well for elected officials these days (ala Al Franken), so maybe she’s really just preparing to run for office.

It’s nice that the First Amendment allows her to show up on these forums to demonstrate her ignorance and insanely hysterical view of the rest of America. It might calm her down if she were to actually meet a conservative some time. You know, so she could see that there isn’t any actual head-spinning and vitriol spewing out of our mouths. That was your mirror, babe.

But as Brent Bozell said this morning on FOX (part of the racist white power movement, per Janey) “she hasn’t been within 5 zip codes of a tea party.” And yet she’s an expert on their motivation and knows that these “white power groups” engage in a “tacit nudging towards violence.” Thanks for the insight. And I bet she thinks Roman Polanski has already suffered enough too.

I’ll mention this yet again: The louder you yell “racism” at the other team, the more it reveals about your own inner demons. If you see racism going on everywhere, there’s something clouding your lens. As for Janey, I can’t speak to whether she’s tamed her inner racist tendencies, but I can say her lack of meaningful education is reflected in her inability to comprehend complex concepts: like principals. You know - those basic tenets that you hold while rationally disagreeing with someone who doesn’t hold the same tenets. Preferably without calling them names. But that requires that you hold two conflicting thoughts at the same time. Why don’t you give that “diversity” a try sometime, Janey.

Update: JammieWearingFool has an excellent post on Janeane too.

Technorati Tags: Janeane Garofalo,Bill Maher,white power groups,racists,Roman Polanski,tea parties,Dan Akyroyd,Jane Curtin

Sarkozy Thinks Obama Is All “Oui Oui-ed” Up

In Charles Krauthammer’s WaPo column today, French Lessons,  he lands a knockout punch regarding Obama’s dealings with nuclear Iran:

When France chides you for appeasement, you know you're scraping bottom.

And if you think that’s bad, it gets much, much uglier:

Confusing ends and means, the Obama administration strives mightily for shows of allied unity, good feeling, and pious concern about Iran’s nuclear program — whereas the real objective is stopping that program. This feel-good posturing is worse than useless…

Don’t take it from me. Take it from Sarkozy, who could not conceal his astonishment at Obama’s naïveté. On September 24, Obama ostentatiously presided over the Security Council. With 14 heads of state (or government) at the table, with an American president in the chair for the first time ever, with every news camera in the world trained on the meeting, it would garner unprecedented worldwide attention.

Unknown to the world, Obama had in his pocket explosive revelations about an illegal uranium-enrichment facility that the Iranians had been hiding near Qom. The French and the British were urging him to use this most dramatic of settings to stun the world with the revelation and to call for immediate action.

Obama refused. Not only did he say nothing about it, but, reports Le Monde, Sarkozy was forced to scrap the Qom section of his speech. Obama held the news until a day later — in Pittsburgh…

Why forgo the opportunity? Because Obama wanted the Security Council meeting to be about his own dream of a nuclear-free world. The president, reports the New York Times, citing “White House officials,” did not want to “dilute” his disarmament resolution “by diverting to Iran.”

Diversion? It’s the most serious security issue in the world. A diversion from what? From a worthless U.N. disarmament resolution?

Sarkozy had to advise our President that we live in a real world, not a virtual one.

He explained: “President Obama has even said, ‘I dream of a world without (nuclear weapons).’ Yet before our very eyes, two countries are currently doing the exact opposite.”

If raising the specter of  a nuclear armed totalitarian regime that has gone on record – repeatedly - as saying that they want to “wipe Israel off the face of the earth” is a diversion, what do you call stumping for the Olympic games? A national security initiative?

After 9 months of nearly non-stop apologizing for America, Obama is finally giving us something we really might have to apologize for. For the first time in my adult life, I might not be proud of our country. Or at least not of our country’s naive and dangerous elected leader.

 

Technorati Tags: France,Sarkozy,barack obama,nuclear Iran,nuclear disarmament

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