{"id":27987,"date":"2014-11-21T08:58:02","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T13:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=27987"},"modified":"2014-11-21T08:58:13","modified_gmt":"2014-11-21T13:58:13","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-wednesday-november-19th-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=27987","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Wednesday, November 19th, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Wednesday, November 19th, 2014&#8230;but before we begin, a few more random thoughts on the passing scene.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b>First, what will it take for Liberals to realize that while most of the MSM remains willing to assist them in realizing the rewriting of history along the lines of\u00a0<em>1984<\/em>, the internet renders their efforts futile?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201c<em>I know zero credible evidence to support that conclusion,\u201d Gruber told the non-partisan FactCheck.org <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>in Feb. 2008<\/strong><\/span> about proposals offered by Obama and his Democratic challenger at the time, Hillary Clinton. Gruber also offered his candid suggestion for how to actually control health-care costs. \u201cAt the end of the day, the only way to control health-care costs in America is to deny Americans health care they want,\u201d Gruber said.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Perhaps this is why the Left remains so keen on gaining control of both access to and content on the web.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Second, how could anyone, in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any way<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, <strong>continue to support animals who would celebrate the slaughter of five innocents, praying or not, by handing out candy and urging their children to act in a similarly heinous manner?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/GazacelebrateMercaz.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27940\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/GazacelebrateMercaz.jpg\" alt=\"GazacelebrateMercaz\" width=\"350\" height=\"272\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/GazacelebrateMercaz.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/GazacelebrateMercaz-300x233.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>And was the mislabeling by <em>CNN<\/em> of this butchery as an attack on a mosque rather than a synagogue an inadvertent mistake&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6ej8VsYvlKw\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;or simply a subliminal message conveying where their loyalties lie?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Furthermore, given this act of barbarism was <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>utterly<\/em><\/span> unjustifiable, what could <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>possibly<\/em><\/span> possess <em>Reuters\u00a0<\/em>to even <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>consider<\/em><\/span>&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dQ6k8OLRf1o\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;offering <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any<\/em><\/span> Palestinian defense of the altogether indefensible?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Third, since we&#8217;re on the subject, Progressives&#8217; penchant for embracing the indefensible is perhaps best exemplified by the homage they continue to pay&#8230;\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/sharptonweb2-articleLarge.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27937\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/sharptonweb2-articleLarge.jpg\" alt=\"sharptonweb2-articleLarge\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/sharptonweb2-articleLarge.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/sharptonweb2-articleLarge-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;the lowest form of life on the planet. \u00a0Admittedly, we wouldn&#8217;t piss on Sharpton were he on fire; yet we never cease to be amazed at the hypocrisy and complete lack of any discernible morals in those who afford him legitimacy, let alone offer him praise.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lastly, this headline from <em>Politico<\/em>\u00a0begs the question how bad must this sitting Senator&#8217;s chances of reelection be to have her own people<\/strong>\u00a0<b>fail to pass what is essentially a meaningless measure?<\/b><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a title=\"Fail Mary: Senate rejects Keystone bill\" href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2014\/11\/keystone-xl-senate-vote-113008.html\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900; text-decoration: underline;\">Fail Mary: Senate rejects Keystone bill<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Mary_Landrieu_Parents_Basement.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27938\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Mary_Landrieu_Parents_Basement.jpg\" alt=\"Mary_Landrieu_Parents_Basement\" width=\"350\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Mary_Landrieu_Parents_Basement.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Mary_Landrieu_Parents_Basement-300x190.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>After all, it&#8217;s not like the new Republican majority won&#8217;t pass the same bill come January. \u00a0Maybe her Senate colleagues just don&#8217;t think that much of Mary; after all, there&#8217;s a lot of her not to like!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, here&#8217;s The Gouge!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First up, Thomas Sowell offers a brief history detailing the true impact of Progressivism:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a title=\"A Legacy of Liberalism\" href=\"http:\/\/townhall.com\/columnists\/thomassowell\/2014\/11\/18\/a-legacy-of-liberalism-n1919904\/page\/full\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"color: #800080; text-decoration: underline;\">A Legacy of Liberalism<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/2013-07-29T110215Z_2_CBRE96S0E5O00_RTROPTP_3_USA-DETROIT-BANKRUPTCY.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27919\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/2013-07-29T110215Z_2_CBRE96S0E5O00_RTROPTP_3_USA-DETROIT-BANKRUPTCY.jpg\" alt=\"2013-07-29T110215Z_2_CBRE96S0E5O00_RTROPTP_3_USA-DETROIT-BANKRUPTCY\" width=\"400\" height=\"205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/2013-07-29T110215Z_2_CBRE96S0E5O00_RTROPTP_3_USA-DETROIT-BANKRUPTCY.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/2013-07-29T110215Z_2_CBRE96S0E5O00_RTROPTP_3_USA-DETROIT-BANKRUPTCY-300x153.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;If we wanted to be serious about evidence, we might compare where blacks stood a hundred years after the end of slavery with where they stood after 30 years of the liberal welfare state. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>In other words, we could compare hard evidence on &#8220;the legacy of slavery&#8221; with hard evidence on the legacy of liberals.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;Ending the Jim Crow laws was a landmark achievement. But, despite the great proliferation of black political and other &#8220;leaders&#8221; that resulted from the laws and policies of the 1960s, nothing comparable happened economically. And there were serious retrogressions socially.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\">Nearly a hundred years of the supposed &#8220;legacy of slavery&#8221; found most black children being raised in two-parent families in 1960.<\/span> But thirty years after the liberal welfare state found the great majority of black children being raised by a single parent.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>The murder rate among blacks in 1960 was one-half of what it became 20 years later, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>after a legacy of liberals&#8217; law enforcement policies<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> Public housing projects in the first half of the 20th century were clean, safe places, where people slept outside on hot summer nights, when they were too poor to afford air conditioning. That was before admissions standards for public housing projects were lowered or abandoned, in the euphoria of liberal non-judgmental notions. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>And it was before the toxic message of victimhood was spread by liberals.<\/strong> <\/span>We all know what hell holes public housing has become in our times. <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>The same toxic message produced similar social results among lower-income people in England, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>despite an absence of a &#8220;legacy of slavery&#8221; there<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">If we are to go by evidence of social retrogression, liberals have wreaked more havoc on blacks than the supposed &#8220;legacy of slavery&#8221; they talk about.<\/span> Liberals should heed the title of Jason Riley&#8217;s insightful new book, &#8220;Please Stop Helping Us.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here&#8217;s a case in point, again courtesy of the great Thomas Sowell:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Racial Quota Punishment\" href=\"http:\/\/townhall.com\/columnists\/thomassowell\/2014\/11\/18\/racial-quota-punishment-n1919905\/page\/full\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #800080; text-decoration: underline;\">Racial Quota Punishment<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Not_My_Fault.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27920\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Not_My_Fault.jpg\" alt=\"Not_My_Fault\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Not_My_Fault.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Not_My_Fault-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Under the Obama administration, both the Department of Education and the Department of Justice have been leaning on public schools around the country to reduce what they call the &#8220;disproportionate&#8221; numbers of black male students who are punished for various offenses in schools.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Under an implicit threat of losing their federal subsidies, the Minneapolis Public Schools have agreed to reduce the disparity in punishment of black students by 25 percent by the end of this school year, and then by 50 percent, 75 percent and finally 100 percent in each of the following years. In other words, there are now racial quota limits for punishment in the Minneapolis schools.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">If we stop and think &#8212; as old-fashioned as that may seem &#8212; there is not the slightest reason to expect black males to commit the same number of offenses as Asian females or any other set of students.<\/span> When different groups of human beings have behaved differently in all sorts of ways, in countries around the world, for thousands of years of recorded history, why would we accept as dogma that the only reason one set of students gets punished more than others is because the people who are doing the punishing are picking on them?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Politically &#8212; <em>which is the way the Obama administration looks at <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">everything<\/span><\/em> &#8212; any time they can depict blacks as victims, and depict themselves as their rescuers, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>that means an opportunity to get out the black vote for Democrats<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><b>While at the same time increasing Black dependency, decreasing what little remains of any sense of Black self-responsibility and condemning at least one more generation of Black Americans to what amounts to indentured servitude. \u00a0The question\u00a0<\/b><strong>inquiring minds want answered is:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Black-Americans-Democrats.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27951\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Black-Americans-Democrats.jpg\" alt=\"Black Americans &amp; Democrats\" width=\"321\" height=\"157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Black-Americans-Democrats.jpg 321w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Black-Americans-Democrats-300x146.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 321px) 100vw, 321px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Only if they&#8217;re ignorant, stupid or&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/B1_-R32CIAEb7el-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27952\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/B1_-R32CIAEb7el-1.jpeg\" alt=\"B1_-R32CIAEb7el (1)\" width=\"400\" height=\"223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/B1_-R32CIAEb7el-1.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/B1_-R32CIAEb7el-1-300x167.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;making a fortune off the status quo.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/33337f68ece7c9eee95844396ffef813.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27956\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/33337f68ece7c9eee95844396ffef813.jpg\" alt=\"33337f68ece7c9eee95844396ffef813\" width=\"236\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/33337f68ece7c9eee95844396ffef813.jpg 236w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/33337f68ece7c9eee95844396ffef813-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The status quo; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>NOT<\/em><\/span> something Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn appears ready to accept based on this video clip supplied by our son Mike:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T7MAO7McNKE\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>If only professionally-sensitive, situationally-ethical and selectively-outraged Progressives could find it in their hearts to put aside politics for just a moment and view the problem from a dispassionate, factual perspective, they&#8217;d see the greatest threat to Black Americans today is&#8230;<\/strong><strong>Progressives themselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Next, writing at <em>NRO<\/em>, Victor Davis Hanson accurately describes the desolation, demoralization and dysfunction The Marxist-in-Chief is leaving in his wake:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"A Moral Primer\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/article\/392868\/moral-primer-victor-davis-hanson\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span class=\"article_title\" style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">A Moral Primer <\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"A Moral Primer\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/article\/392868\/moral-primer-victor-davis-hanson\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span class=\"article_subtitle\" style=\"color: #333399; text-decoration: underline;\">Obama\u2019s legacy: government-induced chaos at home, moral equivalence abroad. <\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/myworkhereisdone.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27928\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/myworkhereisdone.jpg\" alt=\"myworkhereisdone\" width=\"400\" height=\"282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/myworkhereisdone.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/myworkhereisdone-300x211.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span class=\"drop\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>T<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>he last but long gasp of the Obama administration is characterized not so much by deceit and incompetence as by growing chaos.<\/strong> <\/span>Everything appears to be coming apart. The chariot of state now veers up and down with a terrified Phaethon clueless at the reins. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Whether it is ISIS, Ebola, Putin, or Obamacare, the common strain is not simple incompetence, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>but a maladroitness born of intolerant ideological fundamentalism<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Have our government agencies <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>ever<\/em><\/span> seemed more corrupt or useless or both, staffed by political cronies and leftist zealots?<\/strong><\/span> What ever happened to the old IRS, GSA, VA, Secret Service, NSA, NASA, EPA, or Justice Department? <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>All seem now mere appendages to a larger agenda of fundamentally transforming America<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>We only wish we were attending <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>his<\/em><\/span> wake&#8230;today&#8230;at this very moment!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moving on, the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>&#8216;s Tim Carney exposes the hypocrisy at the heart of every Liberal pretending to be a person of the people:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"hd-font entry-title color3\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Gruber's Obamacare payday highlights ulterior motives behind 'do something' cry\" href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/article\/2556348\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #008000;\">Gruber&#8217;s Obamacare payday highlights ulterior motives behind &#8216;do something&#8217; cry<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/gruber.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27953\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/gruber.png\" alt=\"gruber\" width=\"318\" height=\"191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/gruber.png 318w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/gruber-300x180.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 318px) 100vw, 318px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><em>Follow the money!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;Democratic politicians\u2019 uncontrollable urge to <em>do something<\/em> is tied up with their view of government\u2019s role as the champion of justice, the wise arranger of the economy and shaper of culture.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>But there\u2019s a deeper motivation to <em>do something<\/em>, and the Republican leadership shares it: When government takes a more active role in the economy, it creates private-sector employment opportunities for the policymakers \u2014 and for their advisors, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>like Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Gruber, the MIT professor who won almost $400,000 in contracts from the Obama administration in a non-competitive contract process, came into the spotlight again this month when a new video surfaced in which he admitted that \u201clack of transparency\u201d was crucial to passing Obamacare. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>My colleague Byron York pointed to a more interesting Gruber detail: After the bill passed, Gruber won hundreds of thousands of dollars <span style=\"color: #008000;\">(Make that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>millions<\/em><\/span>!)<\/span>\u00a0in contracts with state governments setting up the exchanges under Obamacare.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Gruber, then, had to mislead Americans (or maybe just their senators) in order to pass Obamacare, and that opened a gusher of lucrative contracts for him.<\/strong><\/span> There is no doubt that Gruber sincerely thought the country needed health-care reform. <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>(A benefit of the doubt we&#8217;d never grant Gruber.)<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0But still, his financial interest in the bill ought to have raised some skepticism about the numbers he was peddling.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>If Gruber had looked at his budget models and told Congress, \u201cthere\u2019s no way you can accomplish what you want to accomplish without more taxes,\u201d he would be a much poorer man today.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Congressmen and their staffers face the same incentives: Craft a sweeping reform, push it through Congress, and thereby make yourself very valuable to the states and private companies facing new mandates, regulations, and subsidies. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Obamacare made many congressional staffers wealthy, but also some lawmakers.<\/span> Even if <em>doing something<\/em> often makes an incumbent vulnerable to attack, it also helps him get a raise once he loses \u2014 and Obamacare is again a prime example of this<\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Take Bart Stupak for example; here&#8217;s how his surrender on ObamaScare was initially portrayed:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/coward-9295227317.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-27954\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/coward-9295227317-300x239.jpeg\" alt=\"coward-9295227317\" width=\"300\" height=\"239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/coward-9295227317-300x239.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/coward-9295227317-600x479.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/coward-9295227317.jpeg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/stupak-as-chamberlain.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-27955\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/stupak-as-chamberlain-300x277.jpg\" alt=\"stupak-as-chamberlain\" width=\"300\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/stupak-as-chamberlain-300x277.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/stupak-as-chamberlain-600x554.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/stupak-as-chamberlain.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>In reality, he was simply offered a number he finally found worth his principles. \u00a0In other words, like any other whore, he wasn&#8217;t about morals; just price.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Meanwhile, back at the ranch with The Gang Who Still Hasn&#8217;t Demonstrated the Ability to Shoot Straight,\u00a0Byron York reports on the latest Republican strategery to rein in The Obamao&#8217;s lawlessness:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"hd-font entry-title color3\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a title=\"Government shutdown? GOP has a better strategy\" href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/article\/2556286\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\">Government shutdown? GOP has a better strategy<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/shutdown_image.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-27924\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/shutdown_image-300x263.png\" alt=\"shutdown_image\" width=\"300\" height=\"263\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/shutdown_image-300x263.png 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/shutdown_image-600x526.png 600w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/shutdown_image.png 927w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;Once GOP leaders decide on a course of action, there&#8217;s little doubt it will have the support of all 54 Republicans expected to be in the Senate next year. (That&#8217;s assuming Bill Cassidy wins in Louisiana.) <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>But will some Democrats join to push the GOP over the 60-vote filibuster threshold?<\/strong><\/span> A number of Republicans believe they will.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">But even if a move to counter Obama passes the Senate with 60 votes, the president will veto it. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">At that point, a shutdown battle could occur \u2014 but it would be a battle over shutting down the small part of the federal government tasked with enforcing the immigration order.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Everything else would remain up and running<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">That&#8217;s a far cry from what happened in October 2013. And now, in light of the GOP&#8217;s midterm victories, some Republicans are re-assessing that epic shutdown battle, too&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><b>Which brings us to an update, again from the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, on one endangered species whose extinction cannot come fast enough to suit us:<\/b><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"hd-font entry-title color3\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Dwindling House Blue Dogs strive to stay relevant\" href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/article\/2556294\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #333399; text-decoration: underline;\">Dwindling House Blue Dogs strive to stay relevant<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/120416_bluedogs_wuerker_328.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27922\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/120416_bluedogs_wuerker_328.jpg\" alt=\"120416_bluedogs_wuerker_328\" width=\"400\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/120416_bluedogs_wuerker_328.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/120416_bluedogs_wuerker_328-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>\u201cEvery time they have the opportunity to buck their leadership and really get something done, the Blue Dogs act more like Rep. Pelosi\u2019s house cats,\u201d said a senior House GOP aide.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">But Schrader said he and his fellow Blue Dogs pride themselves on voting their consciences and that his votes reflect their districts. \u201cMy [constituents] are just tired of the fighting [in Congress]. <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong>They don\u2019t know who to blame \u2014 is it the president, is it [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell, is it Boehner, the Tea Party?\u201d he said. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">\u201cThey just say &#8216;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>We need you to work together<\/em><\/span>.&#8217;<\/span> And our stock in trade is doing just that.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Yeah&#8230;sure they do. \u00a0Like The Obamao channeling the thoughts of those who couldn&#8217;t be troubled to vote in one of the most important elections in American history, this is simply another instance of Liberals hearing voices telling them Republicans need to compromise.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And if Schrader truly believes working with Republicans to be the Blue Dogs&#8217; stock in trade, we&#8217;d short it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b>On the Lighter Side&#8230;<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/sk111914dAPC20141119104513.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27950\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/sk111914dAPC20141119104513.jpg\" alt=\"sk111914dAPC20141119104513\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/sk111914dAPC20141119104513.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/sk111914dAPC20141119104513-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/gmc12497520141117115500.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27916\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/gmc12497520141117115500.jpg\" alt=\"gmc12497520141117115500\" width=\"462\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/gmc12497520141117115500.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/gmc12497520141117115500-300x234.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/gv111914dAPR20141119034545.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27949\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/gv111914dAPR20141119034545.jpg\" alt=\"gv111914dAPR20141119034545\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/gv111914dAPR20141119034545.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/gv111914dAPR20141119034545-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image004.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27934\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image004.jpg\" alt=\"image004\" width=\"462\" height=\"284\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image004.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image004-300x184.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/bg111714dAPC20141117044546.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27917\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/bg111714dAPC20141117044546.jpg\" alt=\"bg111714dAPC20141117044546\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/bg111714dAPC20141117044546.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/bg111714dAPC20141117044546-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/gmc12500120141118075500.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27933\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/gmc12500120141118075500.jpg\" alt=\"gmc12500120141118075500\" width=\"462\" height=\"344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/gmc12500120141118075500.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/gmc12500120141118075500-300x223.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/download-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27894\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/download-1.jpeg\" alt=\"download (1)\" width=\"450\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/download-1.jpeg 450w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/download-1-300x288.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/download-2.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27895\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/download-2.jpeg\" alt=\"download (2)\" width=\"492\" height=\"458\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/download-2.jpeg 492w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/download-2-300x279.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/download.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27896\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/download.jpeg\" alt=\"download\" width=\"460\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/download.jpeg 460w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/download-300x260.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Wednesday, November 19th, 2014&#8230;but before we begin, a few more random thoughts on the passing scene. First, what will it take for Liberals to realize that while most of the MSM remains willing to assist them in realizing the rewriting of history along the lines of\u00a01984, the internet renders their efforts futile?\u00a0 \u201cI know [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1988,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1988"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27988,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27987\/revisions\/27988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}