The Romans had it
right.
The benefits of a
daily siesta . . .
Unleash The Power Of The
Nap
Art of Manliness blog
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Send in the Clowns
|
SOMEBODY
DID A LOT OF WORK ON THIS MESSAGE.
THIS
SHORT VIDEO IS REALLY SOMETHING TO
WATCH.
IT'S
AN AMAZING, CREATIVE DIGITAL MASTERPIECE.
|
Neighbors
By the way, Blessed Charles de
Foucauld was a French monk living in Algiers who was executed by his Muslim
(religion of peace) neighbors – a gang of Islamic Radicals in 1916.
"We must stand up for the rights of our
neighbour who is suffering from injustice; we must defend them all the more
vigorously because we see Jesus present in them. Surely this is our duty
because of our love for others for his sake. We have no right to be 'sleeping
watchmen' or dumb watch-dogs. Whenever we see evil we must sound the alarm."
— Blessed Charles de Foucauld
— Blessed Charles de Foucauld
Obama Seizes Control of the Internet
You Will Soon Pay Much More For Much Less
Another Government Takeover – The Internet
If you like your broadband, you can keep
it.
Like a
cancerous growth spreading throughout an otherwise healthy body, government
overreach, regulation, and control of every aspect of our free-market system
continues to expand, infesting and damaging economic activity one organ, or
industry, at a time. The Internet, that bastion of freedom and
entrepreneurship, is about to become the government’s newest victim.
Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Tom Wheeler, an Obama appointee, is
presenting the president’s “net neutrality” plan for the commission’s vote in
two weeks. As promoted publicly by the administration, even on the White House
website, the concept sounds meritoriously egalitarian, preventing internet
providers from doling out more bandwidth to some paying customers, like Netflix
users, than others. But it’s clearly designed to facilitate much more.
The
administration’s plan calls for reclassification of the Internet, in toto,
as a Title II telecommunications service. Such a designation would allow the
government to regulate the Internet based on the Communications Act of 1934,
just like the telephone industry.
The 332-page
proposal has not yet been made public, though the recommendations are widely
known. The “net neutrality” proposal wording was enough for one FCC
commissioner to conduct a news conference this week to warn the public of the
“secret plan to regulate the Internet.” FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai said the plan was even “worse
than I imagined,” and will invariably lead to “rate regulation and taxes.”
The full report
and recommendation will not be released to the public until after the FCC
approves it at their Feb. 26th meeting. FCC Chairman Wheeler must subscribe to
the Nancy Pelosi regulatory and legislative mantra, that it has to be passed so
we can know what’s in it. Yet another administration slap in the face of
“transparency.”
As reported in
National Journal, commissioner Pai acknowledged that the actual regulations
take up just eight pages of the document. Another 79 pages are citations of the
Communications Act, which will also dictate the practices of broadband
providers. The rest of the document is a summary of public feedback and
reasoning for the FCC’s decision, which Pai said is “sprinkled” with unofficial
rules.
According to
Pai, about the worst part of the proposal is exercising FCC dominion based on
Title II. By implementing “net neutrality” under Title II, regardless of the
prima facie reason for the new order, the FCC is “giving itself the authority
to determine whether a variety of practices—including prices—are ‘just and
reasonable.’” In other words, it’s the camel nose in the tent door metaphor.
Pretty soon, the camel (government regulators) occupies the tent–and the
providers are out on their ears.
The evidence
seems to be on Pai’s side. He explains specifically: “The plan repeatedly
states that the FCC will apply sections 201 and 202 of the Communications Act,
including their rate regulation provisions, to determine whether prices charged
by broadband providers are ‘unjust or unreasonable.'”
Commissioner Pai
cautioned that not only does the proposal “open the door to billions of dollars
in new taxes on broadband”; but that with the Title II reclassification,
technically the government could exercise control over content, as well.
Current
broadband consumption illustrates how ludicrous the proposal is. According to
Sandvine data, “in home data consumption is approximately 150 to 200 times
greater than mobile consumption. Google (including YouTube) and Netflix account
for 45% of fixed broadband traffic. iTunes, Facebook, Amazon, and Hulu account
for 6% in aggregate. Google and Facebook account for 42% of mobile data.
Netflix, Pandora, and iTunes take an additional 14%.”
According to
the new rules, broadband usage must be shared equally, without allowing providers
the ability to adjust for consumption and demand, and other factors. So if you
think you’re sick of seeing the spinning “buffering” wheel when watching video
online, you “ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Welcome to the world of net neutrality, a
euphemism for broadband socialism – everyone gets their “fair share.”
These are the
reasons John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, said: “To go back to a 1950s voice
mentality with Title II and net neutrality would be a tremendous mistake for
our country… this is a very bad decision. I think the whole country has to
rally [against it]. This will cost the country jobs and economic leadership.”
The first step
of governmental encroachment into an area of the private sector is always the
most crucial. For once the proverbial foot is in the door, they just keep
pushing and shoving until the door is clear off the hinges–and they control the
industry. We’ve seen it time and time again, from banking, telephony, energy,
manufacturing, and, most recently, health care insurance. The promises are
always minimalist; yet the eventuality always exceeds even extreme
expectations. Consequently, control increases, costs of production and services
increase, and those costs are passed from companies in the private sector down
to consumers. And the process always seems most costly and punitive to the
middle and lower classes.
Ronald Reagan
explained this governmental cycle years ago. “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps
moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Except in the case
of “net neutrality,” they’re regulating it first; and then will come the
taxation, the fees, and perhaps even control over accessibility and content.
We’ve seen just
recently how governmental control over private sector services changes an
industry dramatically, a la Obamacare. It appears we’re about to see
“Obamacare” for the Internet, if the FCC rules go into effect. But don’t worry:
they promise us that everything will be just fine. If you like your broadband,
you can keep it. That sounds eerily familiar.
Read more at http://www.westernjournalism.com/another-government-takeover-internet/#GEjCEsvV9uTP56u3.99
Saturday, February 7, 2015
The Truth About The Crusades
The First Crusade began in 1095.
460 years after the first Christian city was overrun by Muslim armies.
457 years after Jerusalem was conquered by Muslim armies.
453 years after Christian Egypt was taken by Muslim armies.
433 years after Muslims first plundered Christian Italy.
427 years after Muslim armies first laid siege to the Christian capital of Constantinople.
380 years after Spain was conquered by Muslim armies.
363 years after France was first attacked by Muslim armies.
249 years after the capital of the Christian world, Rome, was sacked by a Muslim army and only after centuries of church burnings, killings, enslavement, and forced conversion of Christians.
By the time the Crusades finally began, Muslim armies had conquered two-thirds of the Christian world.
So much for Muslims being the victim.
Islam has never been a religion of peace.
460 years after the first Christian city was overrun by Muslim armies.
457 years after Jerusalem was conquered by Muslim armies.
453 years after Christian Egypt was taken by Muslim armies.
433 years after Muslims first plundered Christian Italy.
427 years after Muslim armies first laid siege to the Christian capital of Constantinople.
380 years after Spain was conquered by Muslim armies.
363 years after France was first attacked by Muslim armies.
249 years after the capital of the Christian world, Rome, was sacked by a Muslim army and only after centuries of church burnings, killings, enslavement, and forced conversion of Christians.
By the time the Crusades finally began, Muslim armies had conquered two-thirds of the Christian world.
So much for Muslims being the victim.
Islam has never been a religion of peace.
Myths of the Spanish Inquisition
Interesting videos (especially the
Monte Python scenes) . . .
Myth
of the Spanish Inquisition
The
Black Legend
The Black Legend of the Spanish Inquisition is
a term used by authors who consider the existence of a romanticized or
exaggerated image of the Spanish Inquisition as the epitome of
terror and human barbarity. As such, it is a part of the Spanish
Black Legend and one of its most recurrent themes.
Peters defines it as:
a body of myths and legends that between the sixteenth
and twentieth centuries, established the perceived character of inquisitorial
tribunals that have influenced all subsequent attempts to recover the
historical reality
A
Catholic View of the Black Legend
[The Black
Legend: How Lies, Jealousy, and Hatred of Spain Have Influenced World Opinion
for More Than Five Hundred Years]
In order to
begin to understand this complex topic, we must first settle on a working
definition of the meaning of the term “Black Legend.” Let us then start with
the man who coined the phrase, the Spaniard Julian Juderias, in his book, La
Leyenda Negra (The Black Legend), of 1914: “(It is) The environment
created by the fantastic stories about our homeland that have seen the light of
publicity in all countries, the grotesque descriptions that have been made of
the character of Spaniards as individuals and collectively, the denial or at
least the systematic ignorance of all that is favorable and beautiful in the
various manifestations of culture and art, the accusations that in every era
have been flung at Spain.”
$24,000 Of Your Money Going To Illegal Aliens
Also, illegal immigrants will receive earned income tax
credit from the IRS because of amnesty bonuses in the tax codes, getting
upwards to $24,000 in tax credits.
~ as reported on the Mark Levin Show (but not reported in the
major news media because they are controlled by leftist Democrats who support
amnesty)
Obama administration issues 5.5M work permits to
non-citizens; critics call it 'shadow' immigration system
Since 2009, the Obama administration issued roughly 5.5
million work permits to non-citizens beyond what Congress has authorized,
according to recently-released documents that critics of U.S. policy say
reveals a "shadow" or "parallel" immigration system
stifling wages and taking jobs from Americans.
The information was obtained by the conservative-leaning
Center for Immigration Studies through a Freedom of Information Act request and
has prompted Alabama GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions to call for an investigation.
"This request has unearthed the operation of a
shadow immigration system previously unknown to the American public," said
Sessions, one of Capitol Hill's most outspoken critics of President Obama's
immigration policy. "A full investigation is warranted."
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