WC Varones

Athens News:

A 61-year old pensioner was found hanging from a tree on Wednesday, in the Agios Filipos park of the Nikaia area. The lifeless body of the pensioner was discovered by a park attendant, who also found his suicide note which read as follows:

"The police does not know me. I have never touched a drink in my life. Of women and drugs I have never even dreamed of. I have never been to a kafenio (coffee house), I just worked all day! But I commited one horrendous crime: I became a professional at age 40 and I plunged myself in debt. Now, I’m an idiot of 61 years and I have to pay. I hope my grandchildren are not born in Greece, seeing as there will be no Greeks here from now on. Let them at least know another language, because Greek will be wiped off the map! Unless of course there was a politician with Thatcher’s balls so as to put us and our state in line. Signed, Alexandros 29/5/2012”

His neighbours described the pensioner – a father of two- as a hard working man. He had been employed in ship repairs and construction sites and up until recently, he had been working as an electrician on a merchant ship.

He was facing sizeable financial problems and it was these that pushed him over the edge.

So to all who say that America, with its 100% debt/GDP and serial 8% - 10% GDP deficits, is exactly like Greece: this irrefutably proves that America is not Greece.  In America, the guy would have blown it on booze, drugs, and hookers.

This warms my heart:

MoveOn, a giant in the progressive political world and an early endorser of Barack Obama in 2008, warns that it might have to “pull the plug” on key campaigns to help Obama and Senate Democrats if its 7 million members don’t pony up with at least $5.

Without a rush of new cash, MoveOn says it will have to give up efforts to elect Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, help the recall fight against Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and energize younger voters who’ve soured on Washington.

“It's like picking which of your kids you love the most. I just can't do it,” said MoveOn in an email plea. “If we can’t increase our budget, we might have to dramatically scale back or pull the plug on some of MoveOn’s most important election efforts this year.”

"MoveOn" got its start during the Monica Blewclinsky affair, pretending to be a common sense, nonpartisan group that wanted to "move on" from impeachment for the good of the country. Then when GW Bush got elected, they suddenly no longer wanted to "move on" any more.

It's a testament to the colossal failure of Barack Obama that he has so dispirited his base that they won't even kick in five bucks any more.

I can't say it any better than John Aziz did:

I don’t have a problem with Obama — or anyone else — smoking dope. As far as I am concerned, consenting adults have the liberty to do whatever they like so long as they don’t hurt others, or take their liberty or property.

I don’t have a problem with Obama — or anyone else — defining themselves by smoking dope.

I have a problem with hypocrisy.

Not only did Obama use marijuana in his youth, he also used cocaine, and reportedly crack. Today around 400,000 Americans are jailed for non-violent drug related offenses. That’s 400,000 outside of the workforce who could be out working and producing, instead of burdening the taxpayer, who pays to create profits for well-connected corporations in the prison-industrial complex.

Put more simply, there are more black people in prison as a result of the drug war today than there were slaves in 1850.

What’s President Obama — as a black man and a drug user — doing about that? There are still thousands of people being arrested for nonviolent drug offenses who are facing life in prison.

How did a guy who grew up as Jeff Spicoli end up as an adult mutant cross of Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter?

Bloomberg


Just blew through $30 like a hot knife through a turd sandwich.

Greenspan goes to Connecticut:

Two weeks ago, police discovered the bodies of Florence, 85, and Susan Beran, 57, on Friday, May 11 in the home. Investigators concluded that Susan Beran, a longtime caregiver for her elderly mother, killed Florence with her late father's shotgun and then used the weapon to take her own life some time later. Neighbors hadn't reported any gunfire that week. Police suspect the murder-suicide occurred sometime in the 48 hours before police discovered the gruesome scene, less than a month after the house was auctioned off as part of a tax foreclosure.

Florence Beran owed the city $52,364 in back taxes as of this past March. She also owed $6,136 to CL&P [Connecticut Light & Power], which won a legal judgment against her in January, and $12,358 to a debt collection agency called Midland Funding. A CL&P spokesman did not return calls for comment Friday.

Susan Beran, a former nurse, couldn't afford to hire full-time medical care for her mother, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. She also couldn't leave her alone long enough to find her own job, according to Deborah Gebhard, a friend of Susan's who lives in Michigan.

Greenspan's Body Count stands at 215.

American Idol loser Jessica Sanchez could get only $30,000, far less than previous losers.

I like to do my part for GDP growth by clicking through Facebook ads from statists.  Every click adds to GDP!



You can sign Fauxcahontas's petition here.  (Incidentally, Fauxcahontas is right on this issue, but she's become such a parody that you've got to hit that.)

I've mentioned the documentary Forks over Knives before.  It's about the Big Ag - Government Industrial Complex, and how the USDA is controlled by factory farms and doesn't work in the interest of consumers.  The government is lying to you about the health benefits and risks of meat and dairy.  As Roger Ebert says, "A film that can save your life."

Our friend Charlie recommends it enthusiastically.

Two of the interesting points: 1) Cancer cells in many cases depend on animal protein for growth.  Shut off the animal products and you shut off the cancer. 2) Countries with high milk consumption have higher rates of osteoporosis, not lower. This is the exact opposite of what your bribe-driven government scientists have been telling you.

Please watch it here on Amazon Prime for free, or get the DVD for $14.96 , or get it on Netflix or Redbox otherwise.

Video link.

Indeed they have!



They've been laying pipe all year long!

Meg Whitman is the right woman to lead Hewlett-Packard. She has lots of experience laying pipe from her 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

... says my friend Left Coast Rebel in a long overdue rant.

We all know about how Boehner has folded to Obama and Reid at every opportunity on spending and debt.

But the latest outrage is that Boehner has just signaled support for Chuck Schumer's Citizenship Equals Slavery Act. The U.S. is already the only major country that taxes its citizens' income even when they don't live or work in the country. Schumer and Boehner want to take this even further and make citizens permanent wage slaves of the Treasury even if they want to renounce citizenship. As Simon Black says,

It’s truly extraordinary that the Land of the Free has deteriorated to the point that the government must now resort to threats, coercion, and intimidation in order to keep its most productive citizens inside.

No other Western nation treats its citizens remotely like this.

Click on over and read the whole thing.