BluegrassBulletin.com

Religion Of Peace Update: New Olympics Threat

When anybody tells you that Islamists are really peace loving people, direct them to this report.

 

Or, remind them of this one.

Serious Arctic Blast Could Spell Large Scale Damage

A significant blast of very cold air coming in behind a warm and rainy weather pattern could produce a heavy accumulation of ice tonight causing widespread power outages repairs of which could be hampered by more freezing weather and snow which will fall on top of the ice on Friday, according to the weather service.

Areas to be affected are identified on the maps below.  Those of us in the Ohio Valley will not be spared the ice and sleet but may only get a couple inches of snow. [Weather.com]

Thomas Massie's Goose Egg Cost America A Bunch

Here's what you get when a bunch of angry neophytes get elected to Congress with the help of anarchists and think that their only job is to throw a wrench in the gears of government as they act out their temper tantrums to the delight of a news media which is using their antics to splinter the GOP and help Obama.

The recent government shutdown and confrontation over the federal debt ceiling gained the Republicans nothing, at best – and may have cost them politically as a party. But it slowed the economy and undermined confidence in public finances in a way that will have a significant negative impact on future budgets of the United States. None of this should make for an appealing strategy, but Tea Party Republicans are giving every indication that they want to do the same thing again early next year. Their more moderate colleagues need to take a firmer hand.

On the political gains from recent tactics, it is hard to find any good news for the Republican side as a whole. Representative Thomas H. Massie, Republican of Kentucky, got it right when he said, “Goose egg, nothing, we got nothing,” in terms of policy changes. And opinion polls moved more sharply against Republicans than some had expected.

The shutdown and debt ceiling brinkmanship did real damage to the economy. The immediate and direct costs are nicely summarized in a blog post by James H. Stock – an academic economist on the president’s Council of Economic Advisers. His assessment is that the effect is a

0.25 percentage point reduction in the annualized G.D.P. growth rate in the fourth quarter and a reduction of about 120,000 private sector jobs in the first two weeks of October (estimates use indicators available through Oct. 12th).

Members of the Tea Party movement express concern about the longer-run federal budget – and the potential negative impact of future debt levels. But their tactics are directly worsening the budget over exactly the time horizon that they say they care about.

The major long-term issue the United States faces is rising health-care costs (not just the part that the federal government pays for), but an important part of our projected future deficits is interest costs, i.e., what the government needs to pay holders of its debt.

The United States dollar is the world’s primary reserve currency and safe haven; the asset that major investors, such as central banks and big international companies, actually buy is United States Treasury debt. In the short term, when Congress acts in a crazy and irresponsible fashion that makes the world feel more unstable, investors “seek safety” and actually buy American government debt, pushing down yields (bond prices and yields move inversely to each other).

Over a longer period of time, of course, investors get the message: United States Treasury debt is not so safe and cannot be trusted as in the past. They should look for alternative assets. The euro may bounce back. The British pound, Swiss franc and Japanese yen have all been contenders in the past. And the most real threat over the next 20 years is probably the rising international role of China’s renminbi.

In the American system, with its carefully conceived checks and balances, an organized and well-funded minority can do a lot more damage – as we have just been reminded. The only force that can rein in Tea Party extremism – and get the nation off the road to fiscal ruin – is resurgence among Republican moderates. [NY Times]

It is clear that reckless behavior like that of Massie, Amash, Cruz and others is doing harm to the United States.  Oh it might make you feel good to hear somebody echo your disdain for Congress, but in the end, which is better for you, a doctor who tells you what you want to hear or one with the skill and commitment to do what is required in order to save your life?

Heading In To Fair And Fall Festival Season

Every year at this time little towns and counties begin making final preparations for their annual fall fairs and festivals.  It is a wonderful time for people to get out, see each other, taste unique foods, see crafters and artists, and enjoy the last of the nice weather around Kentucky, Indiana and along the Ohio River.

From barbecue in Danville to Apple Butter in Paintsville, Art in Madison Indiana and wool in Falmouth the last half of August through early October there are events around the region every weekend.

For more information about some of the great outdoor experiences you can visit:

Kentucky Tourism

Kentucky Festivals

Royal Feltner

Festival Network Online

Indiana Festivals And Fairs

Festivals4Fun

Hidden Talents In America

See you at the festival!

Stuck In A Hot Car With No Air

I've developed a new appreciation for Florida, in the winter that is.  Because until recently my only experience with Florida had been our annual summer vacations there as a child.  Dad got his vacation time in late July, piled all of us into an old station wagon and rumbled down the road to the Sunshine State.

Of course in those days there was no air conditioning, no seat belts, we had a metal dash board, the windows had no tinting and by the time our three days on the road brought us to our destination, I was already sunburned, hot, sweaty and hated Florida, except that the motel room had air conditioning which we didn't have even back at home.

My job on those treks was to be the "navigator".  Dad and I would sit down with the newest maps from the local gas station and using a colored marker we'd trace out our route.  One map would cover Kentucky and Tennessee, another Georgia and the third Florida.  In those days the Interstate was under construction so we were on parts of it, then on detours which took us into the swamps and now forgotten back roads of the "old south".

Eventually when the Interstate was finished and we could drive with ease all the way stopping only for gas and "pottie" breaks, the trip took on a new fascination.  Navigating was no longer required, so I had lots of time to sit and think.  And so did Dad, who sometimes looked sleepy behind the wheel.

On several trips I began to wonder if maybe, just maybe one day they could bury a cable in the road and make cars that would drive themselves, keeping the proper distance, warning the occupants of an upcoming exit and allowing the new "navigators" of the future to set the course in advance and let everybody, Dad included, sit back and enjoy the ride without worrying about other cars or staying awake.

Well that day is almost here, according to developers at Google.

Over the next few years, one of the biggest technological changes will be in the real world of driving a car. Or being driven by one.

The largely self-driving car is no longer just a vision, thanks to rapid advances in lasers, radar, GPS and mapping databases. If it weren't for fear among innovators of getting too far ahead of U.S. laws and regulations, there would already be cars on the road doing almost as much driving as humans.

California, Nevada and Florida made it legal to operate self-driving cars on public roads two years ago. Google's GOOG +1.28% fleet has since traversed more than 435,000 miles in cities and on highways without causing an accident.

The Google StreetView database has already been largely completed. Google co-founder Sergey Brin has predicted self-driving cars will be a technical reality within five years. [Wall Street Journal]

San Fran Plane Crash Predicted Here?

When that Boeing 777 crashed and burned at the San Francisco Airport the first person blamed was the fairly new pilot.  But now the investigation will include a hard look at what role the shut down of the automatic glide path system at the airport played in the tragedy.

San Francisco International Airport, with its tightly spaced runways that extend right up to the water, requires more skill for landing than most of the nation's big airports, experienced airline pilots say. That challenge was further complicated by the shutdown of a ground-based instrument landing system and the movement of runway thresholds prior to the crash Saturday of a Korean airliner.

The instrument landing system, or ILS, uses radio signals to create a three-dimensional "glide slope" for planes to follow so they aren't too high, too low or too far to the right or left. The ILS for runway 28 left, where the plane crashed, had been shut down since June and the beginning of the runway was moved 300 feet to the west to accommodate construction at the airport, according to pilots who use the airport. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman said Sunday investigators will look at what role, if any, the absence of the ILS may have played in the accident. [myway.com]

Why was the ILS system down? I hope it wasn't what I predicted.

Sequester: It's More Than Flight Delays, It's Flight Danger

I have in my hands a copy of a letter from US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood discussing with the FAA how Obama's mandatory furloughs will work.  For example, if an airport experiences some serious electrical problem with its navigation lights, or system, emergency repairs will have to wait until the furlough day is over.

That might sound bad in the abstract, but consider how it will affect you if you are in the air, about to land and instead of scrambling a team of electricians to make sure your pilot can safely find the runway you are left in the hands of a guy trained to land with the assistance of navigation beacons but now has to actually fly the plane onto the runway in rain, fog, darkness or all three of the above.  That is what is happening.

Sure, the media will tell you that Obama's version of sequestration will result in flight delays and some inconvenience for travelers, but the risk to safety is a far bigger problem, and his administration is more than willing to put Americans in harms way to make a point.

You ought to call your Congressman today and insist that they take every step necessary to protect the lives and safety of airline passengers by re-directing funds away from Obama projects like sending F-16's to the Muslim Brotherhood and spending that money on our own citizens and their welfare.

God forbid, but if a plane goes down, blood will be on his hands.

Guess Which Air Traffic Towers Are NOT Closing

Here's an interesting read.  According to one opinion, it seems that the issue with air traffic tower closings might not be so much about 'how many' are closing, but 'which ones'.   It seems that the ones chosen for closure are all staffed by contracting companies, whereas the ones being spared are run by the union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

The Federal Aviation Administration spared 24 towers on its original list of 173 subject to closing, it said in an email Friday. All towers being shut down are run by private companies, not the government as at larger facilities. [Oakland Press]

 

If Obama Says So, The Constitution Doesn't Apply To You

I can do no better describing this shocking reality than the original author.   I will give you a taste of what has become the norm with the Obama administration exercising its will to trample Constitutional rights whenever they deem it necessary.  No courts, no due process, not warning, just flagrant, arrogant violation.

Consider the prohibitions contained in the Fourth Amendment protecting citizens from unreasonable searches and seizure, declaring us secure in our persons, houses papers and effects.  And then try to square that pre-eminent protection with this. (hint: You Can't)

[T]he DHS has apparently decided to void the Constitution if you live within 100 miles of the U.S. border. Your electronics may be seized and your data searched if you live or are travelling within 100 miles of the border.

This draconian policy, neglected by Congress, has been unilaterally declared just fine and dandy by the DHS itself in yet another example of the Executive unilaterally claiming unconstitutional powers over citizens with their only check being their own rubber stamp.

To get an idea of the scope of this “Constitution-free Zone”, consider this map:

Consider too that fully two-thirds (2/3)  of the United States’ population lives within this Constitution-free Zone.   That’s 197.4 million people, including everyone in Hawaii. And Florida, Rhode Island, Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Michigan. Aloha!

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Just Enjoy

Just enjoy this.  Have a nice weekend.