Never Go Back

Open Thread. Grace Potter. +1

High Crimes and Misdemeanors

White House to contractors: Hold off on layoff warnings

By Jeanne Sahadi @CNNMoney,   September 28, 2012

The White House on Friday told government contractors worried about fiscal cliff spending cuts to hold off on warning employees about possible layoffs.

The government said it would cover legal costs if contractors are forced to slash their payrolls because of the looming $109 billion in automatic cuts next year and are alleged to have violated the WARN Act.

The federal WARN Act requires businesses with more than 100 employees to notify workers at least 60 days in advance of a mass layoff or plant closing. Some states require more notice.

“Any resulting employee compensation costs for WARN Act liability as determined by a court, as well as attorneys’ fees and other litigation costs (irrespective of litigation outcome) would qualify as allowable costs and be covered by the contracting agency, if otherwise reasonable and allocable,” the Office of Management and Budget said in its guidance.

Defense contractors in particular have warned for months that the upcoming sequester would cost jobs in their industry. And Lockheed Martin‘s CEO has said publicly he may be forced to issue notice this fall of possible layoffs in 2013.

If other contractors follow suit, there could be a rash of layoff notices spooking employees right before Election Day.

So, according to Obama, his OMB is not subject to the Federal WARN Act.  Last week, also according to Obama, we learned that his Secretary of HHS is not subject to obeying the Federal Hatch Act.

Instead of a nation of laws, this nation, under Obama, risks becoming a nation of pay-to-play.

It is time for Congress to their duty and draft Articles of Impeachment right away.   This unlawful pattern of behavior endangers the Republic, and must not be allowed to stand.

Also at  Jeremy Herb, The Hill, and Battleground Watch

So long, Andy Williams.

84 years. RIP, Andy.
We never missed his show growing up. The Osmond Brothers, Claudine Longet (oo la la), Ray Stevens; every week someone new, someone sharing their talent for song, or dance, or story telling. No, we never missed it.

11/07/12: See you at the polls!

I remember Stern’s crew doing this in time for the ’08 election. Seems like the Obama supporters haven’t learned much.

To all Obama voters: be sure and get to the polls on Wednesday, November 7, 2012.

Obama 2016: The movie.

h/t rayra

Three months to live

Writing a blog post generally begins with an idea, followed by a quick run-through, getting as much down as I can without losing the original inspiration.  After that, a quick edit or three, and finishing touches of a photo, then a title.

Today, I began with the title first.  Now I’m trying to backfill with a post.

Today is Friday, September 21, 2012.

Today, there are 46 days till Election Day.

Today, according to the Mayan calendar, we’ve got three months to live.

Today, Mississippi State is making final preparations to raise their record to 4-0 against another Sunbelt Conference opponent.

Today, if the Mayans are correct, the December 20, 2012 football polls will have Mississippi State ranked #1, and scheduled to face a Big-12 opponent, probably Oklahoma, in the BCS National Championship Game.

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This is the World Famous Friday Open Thread, End of the World edition.

WFFOT:  And I feel fine.

 

 

update:  this is too good not to post

 

Happy 65th Zoomies!

The National Security Act of 1947 established the Department of the Air Force.

To Fly, Fight, Win, in air, space and cyberspace.

Happy 65th Birthday.  Thank you for what you do every day.

See Also, Matt Bracken’s new  short story, What I Saw at the Coup

NFL has more integrity than Mainstream Media

Poor ol’ Brian Stropolo.  He posted pictures of himself at a New Orleans Saints pre-season tailgate party on Facebook.  ESPN found out and told on him.  Rightly so, I believe.  Especially since he was supposed to officiate a Saints game.

At least the NFL had the integrity to remove  him.  The NFL pulled him from the game to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

You probably heard about it.

Now I know that politics is nowhere near as important as professional football.  So, I guess I’m not real surprised to see this story at Fox News.

A CNN political reporter last week tweeted a link to a fundraising page for the Obama campaign — one selling tickets for as much as $5,000 for a Milwaukee, Wis., reception. 

But, still.  Seriously CNN?  You care nothing about the appearance of impropriety?

When asked, CNN didn’t even respond.

Yazoo Gator Hunt

This is a great story from Brian Bloom at the Jackson, MS, Clarion Ledger …

When Jason Waddell of Learned and his crew of fellow first-time alligator hunters set out for the evening, expectations were not terribly high.

“We thought we’d see some, but we didn’t know if we’d catch one,” said Waddell.

As beginner’s luck would have it, the team soon hooked up on what they thought was a big one …

Yeah, it was a big one, all right. Nearly thirteen feet long! As they say  READ IT ALL .

 

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Polygamy and shariah, revisited

Mitt Romney made news recently for his family having historical ties to the practice of polygamy. Described by liberal pundits as “the ultimate Mormon oddity”, the truth is that the Mormon church officially repudiated polygamy in 1890. It was, in fact, a requirement for the admission of Utah to the Union.

Polygamy is an affront to the principle of equality between the sexes. You would think that this would be an issue that is championed as a women’s issue. Sadly, it gets little attention from international organizations, even on International Women’s Day.

The practice is common in the Muslim world, and is becoming common practice in Europe, as well:

“the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten reported statements from Norway’s Directorate of Immigration (UDI) that there are an increasing number of men with multiple wives in Norway. “The reason is married men travel to countries where polygamy is legal and then add a wife.” Though polygamy is illegal in Norway, “this is something that Norwegian authorities cannot prevent,” said UDI spokesman Karl Erik Sjøholt. …The Islamic Cultural Center Norway (ICCN), an immigrant organisation subsidised by the Norwegian state, advises Muslims in Norway to take several wives because polygamy “is advantageous and ought to be practiced where conditions lend themselves to such practice.”

Some time ago, a blog we used to visit regularly, pointed to a reprint of an article at The American Muslim that encouraged the development of sharia law in America by using the model of Tribal Courts, as practiced by American Indians.

I recommend that as a first step, supporting organizations dealing with Islamic family law be established immediately. A professional association of Muslims in the law field (of whatever specialty) is a must. A law school students’ support group should be formed, and Muslim youth should be encouraged to enter this field. A second step would be to establish institutes in the U.S. which can supplement legal education with courses in Islamic family law. At the same time, pressure should be put on law schools to include courses in Shariah taught by Muslims.

This is not assimilation. This is not acceptance of American Civil Law. This is unacceptable. Inasmuch as the political left has resisted the logical step of protecting the institution of marriage through the amendment process, is there any other remedy that has legal and historical precedent? There is. And it goes back to that “ultimate Mormon oddity.” Joshua Trevino at Brussels Journal laid out the case in an excellent post from last year.

The precedent is the 1887 Edmunds-Tucker Act, which effectively disestablished the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints until that entity gave up its doctrine of polygamy. The Mormons were effectively declared an organized-crime outfit: their properties were confiscated, and their leaders were driven underground. It took three years, but in 1890 they abandoned polygamy, Utah became a state, and the Mormons … have been good, patriotic, and peaceful Americans ever since. One, Mitt Romney, even has a shot at being President shortly. They were forced to join the civilized world by the United States government, which cared more for the norms of American culture than the values of the Mormon faith – and rightly so. Looking back, it is difficult to deny that this vigorous action – in which no American was killed, deported, put into camps, or hunted down – was to the ultimate benefit of the country and the Mormons.

If we could act with that degree of sanity, self-preservation, and humanity in 1887-1890, why not now? If we cannot, it is not because Muslims now – or any other immigrant community now – are worse than Mormons then: it is because we have lost the self-confidence to do it.

Reprinted by request: 03/08/2007

Rick Rescorla: The man who saw it coming

Rick Rescorla predicted 9/11/01.

 

Better SOONER Than Later

Since 2000 the OU Sooners have had an officially produced introduction video that is shown on the giant screen at Owen Field before the first home game.

The video is now done completely in house and the production value has improved considerably.

The recurring theme for the past several years, including this one, has been the expression “There is only ONE OU.”  In the following video, which was revealed just before this evenings 6p.m. CDT kickoff, former OU great football players are mixed in with current ones, including the coach.  The framing is done as to pay tribute to the tradition of excellence, as former players are presented as both being the force that fuels future success and as having the backs of the current coaches and players.

As a life long Sooner fan I don’t deny my bias, but in all honesty I believe this is the best of the intro videos to date.

As an added bonus, click here for the “Making of the 2012 OU Football Intro.”

BTW, a tip of the hat to Nuke for adding the SoonersFans rss to the home page, that is where I was finally able to find the above videos.

This Lady Can Sing

No offense intended to the members of The Nocturnals, but when do you get a chance to jam with this lineup???

Grace Potter, Joe Satriani, Steve Kimock, Reed Mathis, Willy Waldman and Stephen Perkins cover Cortez the Killer at the Jammy’s.

Before tonight, I had never heard of Grace Potter and The Nocturnals.   I happened across a blog post while looking for something else.  But, there it was, and I was quickly hooked.  Their studio music isn’t bad, but their live performance is like nothing I’ve heard in a long, long time.  Grace has just the right mix of emotion, vocal ability, and raw sex appeal.

Notice Satch and Willy at the end of the song.  Their reaction tells everything:  this lady can sing!

 

The Friday before the State-Auburn game, and other interesting stuff

In today’s racially charged political environment, if any political disagreement with the current occupant of the White House gets characterized by the drive-by’s as racism, what does this button (seen at the demo convention) mean?

 

Other than illustrating the Democrat penchant for shallow-thinking-bumper-sticker politics, does voting for someone because of their race mean the same as not voting for that person for the same reason?

 

This is the World Famous Friday Open Thread. Hubba, hubba, hubba.

WFFOT: disagreeing with the current administration since 2008.

Same old Barry

FINALLY! NCAA Football Is Here!

It has been a long eight months since the BCS Championship game was played.  I (we?) have been counting down the days for the past three months, anxiously awaiting another season.

The alleged experts have all opined as to who will win it all this year and they have all designated who they believe will be competing for the Heisman, which of course means less than nothing to the final results.

I’m tired of all the talk-talk and opinions, I’m ready to see what the young men do on the field.  I’m ready to see what the experienced players are going to do, as well as what the freshmen phenoms are capable of.

We all have our favorite teams, whether it is from a life time attachment or due to which school we attended.  In my case it is due to the former, growing up admiring the OU Sooners as a child in the midst of their record 47 game winning streak which no one has come close to matching.  Here are some facts about the success OU football has had in its storied history.

As fate would have it, I would attend UT-Austin, the biggest rival of OU.

So in honor of this rivalry and the fact that OU lives rent free in ‘Smack’ Brown’s head, I bring you an ad for the Longhorn Network.(*Contact your local cable/satellite provider and tell them you DO NOT want the LHN*)

Let the games begin!!