Progressive Cognitive Dissonance

The left says Fox News is a partisan front for the republican party and not to be taken seriously. But the left obsesses over everything Fox broadcasts. It’s a strange strategy to suggest they are not worth listening to while forensically deconstructing all of their reporting.

The left says Rush Limbaugh is a gassy windbag. It’s a horror that he’s even still on the radio. But they simultaneously spend extraordinary effort to silence him through boycotts and campaigns.

What drove it home for me was Mitt Romney. First he was a flip-flopper, incapable of making a decision and sticking to it, and clearly not a serious candidate. Then he was the evil vulture capitalist at Bain, spreading corporate shutdowns, employee terminations and outsourcing like a plague. And now we’ve swung back to Romney the gaffe-laden “Wimp” who is too insecure for the job.

Seriously. Make up your damn minds. If Romney is so scary and evil, how do you expect me to believe he’s an incapable flip-flopper? And if he’s a “3 Stooges” level gaffetastic wimp, do you really expect me to bite on the evil “Darth Vader” of capitalism schtick?

What’s next? Mitt Romney: The Bumbling and Precise Financial Death Clown from Utah? I can see it now: “With his partner, ‘Roof’ the dog, who plays dead when Romney honks his horn or destroys a corporation! Yuk, Yuk!”

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Friday Morning News and Links

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Amtrak and the Normalcy of Debt

If you’ve never heard of a P&L, or had to make payroll, or you’ve worked for government all your life, Amtrak’s loss on food service, as reported by the Washington Examiner, won’t seem like that big of a deal:

Taxpayers lost $833 million over the last decade on the food and beverages supplied by Amtrak, which managed to spend $1.70 for every dollar that received in revenue.

“Over the last ten years, these losses have amounted to a staggering $833.8 million,” said Rep.John Mica, R-Fla., in a statement previewing a House hearing today.  “It costs passengers $9.50 to buy a cheeseburger on Amtrak, but the cost to taxpayers is $16.15.  Riders pay $2.00 for a Pepsi, but each of these sodas costs the U.S. Treasury $3.40.”

Amazon.com is currently selling 24-packs of 12 ounce Pepsi cans for $8.94 — which averages to about 75 cents per can.

Amtrak President Joe Boardman tried encourage House investigators by telling them that last year’s losses represent an improvement over previous years. “Our ongoing programs have certainly delivered measurable financial efficiencies,” Boardman told Congress in his written testimony today. “In 2006, our food and beverage service recovered 49 percent of their costs. In 2011, these services recovered 59 percent of their costs,” he testified.

My mind exploded when I read that last quote. BOOM. Joe Boardman is trying to give encouraging news to Congress by letting them know their food service is running 41% in the red. Negative forty-one percent. For the food. That’s staggering. This falls well into the “hemorrhaging money” category. If you’re a small business owner, improvement to -41% is nonsense. Here’s reality: If you had a burger joint, would you take $6 out of your pocket every time you sold a burger, and $1.40 for every Coke?

Exactly. That would be insane. But that’s exactly what they’re doing.

And just what the hell does, “Our ongoing programs have certainly delivered measurable financial efficiencies” even mean? It means nothing. If I take $20 out of your pocket, you’ll have delivered a measurable financial efficiency that amounts to a loss of $20.

What’s disturbing is the fact that this is an ongoing and known issue through at least two annual budget cycles. And yet, for whatever reason, they have not dealt with it to the tune of nearly a billion dollars. For the food.

I’m sure it’s an anomaly. The rest of Amtrak is probably doing fine.

Posted in Economy, Government/Politics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

On the Right Track

I’ve only had the blog running since March 29th and the last post, “Quote of the Day” was #500. That’s a lot of articles for a dumb ground squirrel.

I’ve kept an eye on traffic and patterns and tried to provide more articles like the ones that receive traffic. Of course I don’t know if people enjoy the blog or hate it, as I don’t get a whole lot of feedback. I have two regular commenters, and one is my Dad, who I have to pay…  So it’s tough to tell. Regardless, I keep plugging away.

My posts on the Chick-fil-A appreciation day hit a nerve on the left. Hits from facebook have skyrocketed. I don’t get three comments a month. But mention that the tolerant progressives don’t understand the basic concept of liberty and suddenly I get three in a matter of hours. I must be doing something right.

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Quote of the Day

Hat tip NewsBusters:

“The media bias towards President Obama is just, it’s something we have to accept. It is just the air we breathe in the political environment” – Sen. John McCain

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Shepard Smith: Unclear on the Concept (Updated)

I continue to be struck by the public and media figures (and human beings) who, based on their comments about the Chick-fil-A appreciation day yesterday, can’t grasp the concept of liberty. NewsBusters is reporting that on his Fox News show Studio B, Shepard Smith noted that it was “National Badminton Day” as they were about to cut to break. He continued,

“Forget National Day of Intolerance, let’s just stay with badminton.”

Sadly, Smith is poster boy for “Not Getting It.” This isn’t about homosexuals or same sex marriage or tolerance. It’s about Government Officials publicly intimidating Americans for their opinions and beliefs.

That said, I’m getting the clear impression that this whole battle isn’t about advocacy for same sex marriage or gay rights. It’s not enough that I accept that homosexuality is OK and that gays can marry. I must also publicly express support because if I don’t it proves I’m an intolerant homophobe. What’s more, I must expressly cease any statements of public support for traditional marriage because it’s hate speech.

This vilification of supporters of traditional marriage signals a turning point in this culture war: Heterosexuality and traditional families have become politically incorrect.

[Update:]

This:

A record sales day

The Washington Examiner helps me drive home the point with the story of activist reporter Mark Krzos, with the News-Press in Southwest Florida, who said this on his facebook page:

“I have never felt so alien in my own country as I did today while covering the restaurant’s supporters.”

“The level of hatred, unfounded fear and misinformed people was astoundingly sad. I can’t even print some of the things people said.”

Truly twisted.

Meanwhile, there were no arrests. No incidents of violence. No windows broken. No spray paint. No fires.  Just people lining up and voting to support free speech with their dollars. Because that’s how patriotic Americans roll.

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Thursday Morning News and Links

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