Elections: One Week and One Day to Go

We begin with a reminder that it is just one week and one day to go before we have elections for congressoids and others to deal with.

I like to remind people, when elections are coming, that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, expecting a different result.

Sending the same people back to join the Washington Cartel who got us into the current state of affairs (I get Obamacare horror stories emailed in readers several times a week) are at best unlikely to get us out of our sad predicament.  And yes,m Benghazi still matters.

Here in Texas, there is a hot contest for governor is underway between Wendy Davis and Gregg Abbott.  The Abbott attack ads came out this weekend on radio and make the point that a “Vote for Davis is a vote for Obama…”

I won’t argue for one side or the other in this.  But I will point you to Sharyl Attkisson’s new book is due election day morning.  Remember, she’s the former CBS reporter who’s won ooodles of good journalism awards (something like 5 Emmy’s).  So when her book comes out, please read it.

“Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama’s Washington.” 

Why is her book out a week later than maximum usefulness? Or is that a coinky-dink, too?

The upshot of it is that there’s a cadre at the top of the corporate media food chain that wants the whole country to think like they do.  And frankly, that should scare the hell out of you. It does me…and even after my meds.

That, along with the weasel wording, sleazy, question-dodging PR flacks who are called out in the book. 

The only thing wrong with the book I can see is that it didn’t out in advance of next Tuesday’s voting.  It’s a damn shame people like me will be reading it on their Kindles on election day morning before voting late in the day after the worst of our suspicions are confirmed.  But, at least, I can maybe see who from Texas got named…

In the meantime, I’m still asking who will have the goanies to start up the campaign to limit election email.  One per candidate per week ought to be more than enough.

There should also be a national “Do Not Email” list.  Because the next time someone sends me an email asking for money to sign president-to-be-Hillary’s birthday card, I might just be tempted to send back a rather insulting reply…to ALL.

Unproductive Monday

Before we get to the rest of this morning’s jetsam, the good news is that male productivity may suffer a bit nationally today.  Sears Tool Club has a new email out and thousands of male “tool sluts” (like me) may be planning their own Christmas presents….

See you in the power tools aisle…although it will give us Type A males a little less time on task of screwing up the world.  Gotta have our priorities…which we work weekends on in the caves.

Markets Mixed

At least for now, futures were indicating down a tad.  But that may pick up speed later on since there are some changes in the wind:  Brazil politics and the Shanghai losing streak.

Big data morning tomorrow with Durable Goods and Housing data…but for this morning the Dow looks to drop 50 near the open.

Add to Your Ebola Notes

This from a reader:

George,

“Weatherford Bill” here.

Here is the email I received at “11:53 p.m.” canceling my order for Antiviral Face Masks.

Shortages caused by the Ebola virus are here…

Hello,
Due to the Ebola virus issue, the manufacturer of this product has reserved all remaining stock for government agencies.
We were also not able to find the product from other sources. 
This means we will not be able to provide you with this product at this time.
We are sorry for any inconvenience.
We have refunded your order.
Please contact us with any questions.

The Peoplenomics shopping list was our three weeks ago…just sayin…  Food worries are still months out, but planning ahead never hurts, does it?

ComputerWorld  Goes Partisan

Hate to break it down to you this way, but did you see what ComputerWorld headlined about Tesla boss Elon Musk’s comments about artificial intelligence being dangerous?  “Is Elon Musk obsessed or POSSESSED with Artificial Intelligence?”

A simple thought question always works to sort out the wheat from the electric chair, so here goes:

“Imagine that everything in the world was done by artificial intelligence and their human interfaces – the robots.

Now, where are the jobs?”

You see?  Musk gets it.  ComputerWorld?  Well, since their whole income picture is computerly people and their associated interests (and ad revenues) it looks to me like they have gone partisan in the debate over whether AI is good, or bad.  They are obviously on the side that will make and benefit from AI – many of their readers presumably are on the invention side of things, after all.

But the other side has something to say…and Musk gave voice to it.

I’d like to be the first to welcome Elon Musk to my Luddite Division of the Future. 

Ned Ludd has been made fun of ever since the British Factory Owner Class seized power (which they still hold, and we have a division of them here in the USA). 

The problem is, we Luddites will be shown right, over time.  The evidence will pile up as resource depletion, energy shortages, peak oil, mass pollution, or The Machine vs. Samaritan if you follow Person of Interest.

When I see someone write “Obsessed” or POSSESSED  I think “Aha!  Partisans.” 

It’s really a hallelujah moment around here that someone, besides me and a few friends, groks dead-end economics when the growth model eventually kills all jobs or kills off all workers…. ain’t no other way out of that maze visible, yet.

Musk is a damn smart fellow…as most of us “Luddites will be right in the End” types are. Eventually we’ll be right…got the latest CO2 readings?  See what I mean, yet?

Forrest Gump Was Right

Remember all his references to “chock-oh-lit”?  Turns out cocoa improves memory.

Call it What It Is

Jihadists are bad for the world.  Latest case out of Africa where another batch of young kids has been kidnapped for ransom and rape.  Yessir, that’s some religion now, ain’t it?

Canadians are slowly awakening to the reality of Muslim extremism in their midst, too.  Just because open immigration has worked out well  for Canada with the Chinese doesn’t mean lightning will strike twice in the same way; know what I mean?  The Ottawa gunman was another crazed jihadist no matter how sugar-coasted the MSM tries to paint it.

We have to be the dumbest country on the planet.  There’s a parallel you know spoken of in hushed tones out here in the Outback.  The other word for an excessive consumption ultra-high leveraged lifestyle is “feedlot.” 

Which, unfortunately the j-dists have figured out before we have.

Quake Watch

We are keeping our eyes open for a Big One (or several) because of all the X-class flaring on the sun and our (totally unscientific – for now) belief that planets condense energy into matter…Einstein’s equation being a two-way street…”

So as we wait, did you see where the lava flows on dah Big Island, bra, have picked up?

Target-rich news day…more to write about than I can shake a mouse at.  More tomorrow, and by then the mouse should stop biting.  Doesn’t like the shaking, apparently, although we’ll trying damn near anything once…

Here come the animal rights emails….tell ‘em I’ve gone to the local steakhouse for lunch and I rarely have time for such things.