Free Republic

Common Core ping

According to a historical novel about Rome I am currently reading, when the Gauls came in, most people fled to a nearby town they had recently conquered (Veii I think it was). The Gauls managed to burn and destroy a lot of Rome, and after they left it was decided to rebuild Rome and take most of the building materials from the other town’s buildings.

If a man is paid the same as a man, how do some men get to be the boss? Stop working smarter and better. Won’t happen. Silly poem.

And if Cantor looses, how strong is the Democrat candidate vs. a tea party candidate?

What does jump the shark mean??

I read an economic report on Russia and the impact of recent Ukraine events. Their GDP is expected to drop almost 2% this year, their stock market is down 10%, and around $70 billion has fled the country. Putin can enjoy his popularity today, but what about next winter?

Ukraine ping

My first thought was, what kind of idiot doesn’t excavate for the parking garage and then build up from there. The link supplied by rolling stone has lots of interesting info.

Oye veh ping.

Let’s hope those troops learned something about guerrilla warfare (asymetrical warfare), they’ll need it.

Are there any rock paintings or rock art in that area?

Why would I want an assault weapon in a big city? Really hard to carry up and down stairs and to the basement laundry. Isn’t a 357 enough?

relationship sex ping

Medical ping

The article says the bill would put fracking decisions in the control of cities and counties. Why would this be a problem? We don’t believe in local decision making? I’ve driven across the state of Colorado from the east. Your’re right, nothing until the Front Range.

Tune in for the next exciting installment.

I’m sure my son with years of Special Forces duty would agree, but I will ask him. During Gulf War I his Guatemalan friend who was also one of his groomsmen took up the task of forwarding supplies and food to his post in Saudi Arabia.

Where and when was this collapse? Was it earthquake related?

Keystone XL Pipeline ping.

cybersecurity ping.

At the time Christianity was developing it was in direct competition with Mithraism. This was a very masculine cult, with blood initiations and favored by Roman soldiers. It certainly did not include marriage for its god. Perhaps marriage was underplayed to appeal to adherants of that group. I also think one reason it died was that there was no role for women in it at all.

Just because a gospel was rejected by the politicians who were most succesful in ruling the church doesn’t mean they are any more true or false that the gospels that were chosen to be included. The words may be inspired from God, but the selection of which works to approve was done by men.

It say 900 cattle on desert land. What is the carrying capacity of such land. Ranchers have a right to run cattle on public lands for a fee (usually fairly low which it says he is not paying), but they don’t have a right to destroy the land with over grazing. It sounds like he is just plain against. Of course, with 14 children, he may not have the money.

I don’t do much of anything financial on line. My Pay Pal is linked to a bank account that has under $500 in it and I plan to keep it that way. I don’t pay bills on line and don’t plan to. My sweetheart keeps urging me to pay and buy on line. I refuse, and pay him to buy things for me on line if necessary.

A former CIA guy was talking on radio the other day. He said Russia could probably take Ukraine in 3 to 5 days, but then they would have to hold it. Ukraine had plenty of experience with partisan warfare, sounds like maybe Afghanistan plus lots of trees.

I don’t know about other plans, but my Kaiser Permante plan went up between 3% and 4% this year.

He speaks of his plan vanishing. How and why did it vanish. A number of people have lost their health care because of actions by their insurance companies. What are the facts here. Blaming Obamacare is a soft target, but plenty of people were loosing their care every year because of company decisions. Of course, it was stupid of Obama to promise things he might have no control over. Personally, I still have the same health care I have had for a number of years, Kaiser Permanente. No one has asked me to change anything.

Have they ever figured out who was doing all the sniping last month?

And while we are on the subject of computer security, what about this “heartbleed” bug? Anybody know anything or had a bad experience or whatever?

I’ve read that he used this kind of provocation to give him the excuse to attack Chechnya. Ukraine is bigger with a history of partisan warfare. Apparently it also produces a number of military product that Russia needs.

Not to mention, the 6,000 year old earth, and dinosaurs with humans theory.

One more trick for the rich to get richer and the poor get poorer.

It’s nice to know we will have help in the heavy lifting in South Asia.

While in a given year one might earn a lot above even a 90% tax max, there are many who only earn that for only a few years. I’ll bet there were many who were earning from $300,000 to $600,000 before the economy went bust in 2008 who wish now that more of their income had been put into SS so they would have a better retirement.

Capitalism, no, entrepreneurialism, yes, and state planning that developed from concensus rather than dictated by Mao and perhaps one or two others. When farmers were actually given control over part of the land, productivity mushroomed. State directed irrigation, nitrogen fertalizer and newly developed seeds helped. The situation was worse than just eating grass. The bodies of the dead were actually dug up and eaten by the starving. Look for the book Tombstone, by a Chinese researcher who had inside access to information, records, interviews, etc.

Years ago, my late husband was visiting friends at the Amana Colonies, a primative socialist/communist religious colony in Iowa and other places (also producers of Amana appliances). He watched the man assigned to plowing that day take out the tractor, and later run out of fuel when he was far across the field. He walked back, got a gallon, went back to the tractor, drove back to the barn, filled the tank and continued plowing. At least an hour of work lost. He said no self respecting independent farmer would do anything so stupid as starting plowing without filling his gas tank. Entrepreneurship is more efficient than either socialism/communism or many large scale capitalist enterprises.

Gay presidential candidate ping.

British EU exit ping

Ukraine invasion ping.

Palin ping.

Has there also been neglect of Russian armed forces?

How far can it shoot accurately?

Are they giving up on Christie after Bridgegate?

The recent former President of the Ukraine is reported to have absconded to Russia and is probably responsible for $36 billion being missing from the country’s treasury. Sounds like Russia was happy to help.

What do you expect when you lock up all those horny young upper class boys in their private “public” schools and keep them away from nice young debutantes. Anybody remember the McLain/Burgess scandals involving the Soviet Union and spying.

What I get is based on what I paid in and is assigned by the Social Security Administration. There is no way I or anyone else can “help myself” to more of your money. If, however, you were earning above the wage cap since 1983, then you have been the beneficiary of our government’s failure to follow the agreement made in 1983, for most of the years since then.

I hope this answers what you are not following. In 1983 it was agreed that people with income up to 90% of all aggregate US income would pay SS on their income. Anyone whose income was above the 90% level did not pay SS on the amount above. In other words if 90% of all income averaged below $100,000, then anyone earning an income above $100,000 would not pay SS on the amount above the $100,000. Because after 1983 there was a sharp increase in salaries earned at higher levels, but the wage cap only increased a little each year, soon the wage cap no longer represented the amount below which 90% of all income fell. Thus the rich continued to get much richer but paid less of their income into SS, which is why experts are now worried SS is in trouble. I hope this helps. You might also Google “wage cap”. Perhaps someone has explained it better than I have.

ping

I radio commentator (former CIA I think) said that Russia could probably take the Ukraine in 3 to 5 days, but then the fun would begin because the Ukrainians are very good at partisan warfare. Another Afghanistan, but with trees to hide among?

I was listening to an analyst on radio (former CIA I think) who was asked about the results if Russia invades Ukraine. He said it would probably take 3 to 5 days to get the job done, but then the fun would begin. He said the Ukranians are very good at partisan warfare. Look what fun Russia had in Afghanistan, and they didn’t even have trees. The Ukranian Cossaks were always an independent minded bunch.

It is more addictive than alcohol and marijuana because it deadens psychic pain, but does not usual impair performance.