{"id":29402,"date":"2015-02-08T18:16:15","date_gmt":"2015-02-08T23:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=29402"},"modified":"2015-02-08T18:16:30","modified_gmt":"2015-02-08T23:16:30","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-friday-january-30th-2015-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=29402","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Friday, January 30th, 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>It&#8217;s Friday, January 30th, 2015&#8230;but before we begin, a brief personal note followed by one quick question.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>First, we&#8217;ll be heading down to sunny Puebla, Mexico on Saturday for a week-long mission trip assisting a local church with the construction of the 2nd floor of their sanctuary building. \u00a0And although we&#8217;ll have access to the internet, time and a likely level of fatigue will probably preclude our publishing. \u00a0We&#8217;ll return a week from Monday&#8230;<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iwbsx6LvnfY?start=55\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b>Now, for the question: did <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>no one<\/em><\/span> ever teach this incredible boor <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any manners<\/em><\/span>?!?<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F8ajCxVF8vs\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wQ7nZoxsbdU\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Obama-gum-India.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29360\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Obama-gum-India.jpg\" alt=\"Obama-gum-India\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Obama-gum-India.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Obama-gum-India-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Obama-gum-China.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29359\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Obama-gum-China.jpg\" alt=\"Barack Obama, Yoshihiko Noda\" width=\"400\" height=\"239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Obama-gum-China.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Obama-gum-China-300x179.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Barry, you boob; chew all you want in your limo. \u00a0But if you&#8217;re bound and determined to continue embarrassing the country by\u00a0gnawing on Nicorette during official ceremonies, at <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>least<\/em><\/span>\u00a0cover your mouth with a tissue or some other taxpayer-funded implement when you finally decide decorum dictates discarding it.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Now, here&#8217;s The Gouge!<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>First up, courtesy of Bill Meisen and Townhall.com, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>here&#8217;s<\/em><\/span> a real shocker!<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Taliban Leader Obama Swapped For Alleged Deserter Bergdahl Suspected of Going Back to Fight\" href=\"http:\/\/townhall.com\/tipsheet\/katiepavlich\/2015\/01\/29\/surprise-taliban-leader-obama-swapped-for-bergdahl-went-back-to-fight-n1950252\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #008000;\">Taliban Leader Obama Swapped For Alleged Deserter Bergdahl Suspected of Going Back to Fight<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Bergdahls-Dad-offers-Muslim-prayer.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-29372\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Bergdahls-Dad-offers-Muslim-prayer-300x248.jpg\" alt=\"Bergdahls-Dad-offers-Muslim-prayer\" width=\"300\" height=\"248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Bergdahls-Dad-offers-Muslim-prayer-300x248.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Bergdahls-Dad-offers-Muslim-prayer.jpg 443w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;According to an exclusive obtained by CNN, one of the five Taliban commanders President Obama swapped for alleged Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl last year has attempted to reengage in &#8220;militant activity&#8221;&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><b>But as with most clouds, this one too has a silver lining; The Dear Misleader&#8217;s misstep has Hillary on record suggesting all is well with the swap:<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tGM3x12mUjk\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Which provides a ready-made campaign ad for any prospective Republican presidential candidate willing to actually go after their Dimocratic opponent&#8230;which leaves out Mitt Romney or John McCain.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And as the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>&#8216;s Noemie Emery details, certain elements of the MSM are, albeit belatedly, acting like rats finally realizing their dream boat has sprung a fatal leak:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"hd-font entry-title color3\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" title=\"Liberation Theology\" href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/article\/2559256\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Liberation theology<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/obama-hitler.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29332\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/obama-hitler.png\" alt=\"obama-hitler\" width=\"500\" height=\"234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/obama-hitler.png 500w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/obama-hitler-300x140.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;It was May 2013 when President Obama first talked about his wish to &#8220;go Bulworth.&#8221; The reference is to a 1998 film in which a compromised senator, having arranged to have himself killed so that his daughter could collect his insurance, is free for the first time in his sad, shabby lifespan to speak his unfettered and luminous mind. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The time came for Obama late in 2014, when having lost all he could \u2014 both houses of Congress and many state governments \u2014 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>he had no more to lose by losing his bearings and getting lost in a world all his own<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>The first sign that he gave of being unmoored from reality was his insistence that the votes that counted in the midterm elections were those not in fact cast by the people who refrained from voting.<\/strong><\/span> He seemed to believe they were all in his corner and that their silence spoke volumes on his and his party\u2019s behalf. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>He started to swagger on the theory that if he acted like a winner, people would think that he had won and treat him accordingly<\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;\u201cThere\u2019s a real world out there he didn\u2019t really talk about,\u201d said Christopher Matthews. \u201cHis projection of success \u2026 is not close to reality,\u201d said Andrea Mitchell. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>When the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>choir<\/em><\/span> rebels, you <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>know<\/em><\/span> you\u2019re in trouble.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u201c<em>It sounds like the president was outlining a world that he wishes we were all living in, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">but which is very different than the world you described<\/span><\/em>,\u201d Richard Engel informed NBC\u2019s Brian Williams.<\/span><\/strong> \u201cSo there was a general tone, maybe even suspended disbelief, I think, when he started talking about foreign policy. There\u2019s not a lot of success stories to be talking about in foreign policy right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">But nevermind. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #333399;\"><em><strong>If the facts don\u2019t exist, Obama will make up some facts he likes better and even invent some supporters who\u2019ll think that they\u2019re real<\/strong><\/em><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>FYI, Hitler still had the support of a substantial portion of the German people right up until the moment he blew his brains out. \u00a0Here&#8217;s to history repeating itself.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a related item, the <em>WSJ<\/em>&#8216;s Dan Henninger perfectly describes The Obamao: a boy who never grew up&#8230;and thus has never experienced life in the real world:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"wsj-article-headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Obama's Peter Pan Economics\" href=\"http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/dan-henninger-obamas-peter-pan-economics-1422490788\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">Obama\u2019s Peter Pan Economics<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"sub-head\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Obama's Peter Pan Economics\" href=\"http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/dan-henninger-obamas-peter-pan-economics-1422490788\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\">Other than the president, perfect fairness is an obsession mainly among children.<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/All-you-need-Obama-344x344.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-29352\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/All-you-need-Obama-344x344-300x300.png\" alt=\"All-you-need-Obama-344x344\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/All-you-need-Obama-344x344-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/All-you-need-Obama-344x344-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/All-you-need-Obama-344x344.png 344w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;parents, ever since Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, have felt obliged to instruct their children on the reality. Life isn\u2019t going to be \u201cfair.\u201d And the path into the future requires more than envy, tantrums and grabbing what belongs to others.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><em>Cradle-to-grave fairness may be infantile, but the idea lives on, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">especially<\/span> in politics <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and most of all in Mr. Obama\u2019s mind<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">He says middle-class economics means \u201ctwo years of free community college, so we can keep earning higher wages down the road.\u201d\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>How can community college be \u201cfree\u201d for everyone? <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">This isn\u2019t <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>middle-class economics<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>It\u2019s Peter Pan economics<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">In the story of the boy who never grows up, Peter tells the Darling children they can fly if they \u201cthink lovely thoughts.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Since we&#8217;re on the subject of Peter Pan economics, we present a case in point, courtesy of Keith Koffler and <em>White House Dossier<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"White House Suggests Combating Deficit with More Spending\" href=\"http:\/\/www.whitehousedossier.com\/2015\/01\/27\/white-house-suggests-combating-deficit-spending\/?awt_l=JjjEU&amp;awt_m=3YCCoWs.raTM1Od\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">White House Suggests Combating Deficit with More Spending<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/govt-spending-obama-ice-cream-sprinkles-cartoon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29364\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/govt-spending-obama-ice-cream-sprinkles-cartoon.jpg\" alt=\"govt-spending-obama-ice-cream-sprinkles-cartoon\" width=\"400\" height=\"306\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/govt-spending-obama-ice-cream-sprinkles-cartoon.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/govt-spending-obama-ice-cream-sprinkles-cartoon-300x230.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;the deficit is set to start rising again in just a couple of years, to heights rivaling the levels of the last recession. And that\u2019s all assuming we don\u2019t have another recession.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The White House acknowledges this, and suggests a fix:<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><em>CBO\u2019s longer-term budget and economic projections confirm the need for Congress to act to strengthen our economy for the middle class while putting our debt and deficits on a sustainable trajectory, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">including by making the investments that will accelerate economic growth<\/span> and generate good new jobs for our workers to fill.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Investments. Get the joke? <strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Investments<\/span> are what liberals\u00a0call <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">spending<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>That<\/em><\/span> <em>will cure the deficit<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><em><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">And so I\u2019m headed out right now to Dairy Queen to work on my diet<\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>They&#8217;re total incomprehension born of utter lack of experience is exemplified in the following, courtesy again of\u00a0<\/strong><strong>the <em>WSJ<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"wsj-article-headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Obama's 529 Surrender\" href=\"http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/obamas-529-surrender-1422404519\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #333399; text-decoration: underline;\">Obama\u2019s 529 Surrender<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"sub-head\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Obama's 529 Surrender\" href=\"http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/obamas-529-surrender-1422404519\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; text-decoration: underline;\">But the middle-class should realize they\u2019re where the money is.<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/ObamaWhiteFlag.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-29340\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/ObamaWhiteFlag-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"ObamaWhiteFlag\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/ObamaWhiteFlag-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/ObamaWhiteFlag-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/ObamaWhiteFlag.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Well, that must have polled badly. The White House on Tuesday dropped its proposal to tax 529 education savings accounts, a week after President Obama floated the idea in the State of Union. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333399;\">This is a cut-their-losses move, but we wish the idea had rotted in the sun for a few more months.<\/span> It would have been instructive to the same middle-class taxpayers Mr. Obama claims to serve.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>It\u2019s a shame there won\u2019t be a vote, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>because the 529 tax increase is a rare example of the President\u2019s policy sincerity<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Liberals sooner or later <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>must<\/em><\/span> raise taxes on the middle class <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>because taxing the rich alone can\u2019t possibly finance all of the Democratic Party\u2019s entitlement schemes<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong> <\/span><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>The middle class is where the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>real<\/em><\/span> money is. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">So while taxing 529s may die for now, it\u2019s only a matter of time before liberals are back with a carbon tax or value-added tax or something.<\/span> That\u2019s the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>real<\/em><\/span> meaning of \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>middle-class economics<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span>\u201d&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><b>To wit, Bill Whittle&#8217;s classic <em>Eat the Rich<\/em>:<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/661pi6K-8WQ\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>As the largely misguided citizens of Maine might say, &#8220;Ya CAHN&#8217;T git thar frum heyah!&#8221; Particularly&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">&#8220;<em>As of March 2014, close to ten percent of 529 accounts are owned by households with income below $50,000, over 70 percent are owned by households with income below $150,000, and almost 95 percent of 529 accounts are in households with income below$250,000<\/em>.&#8221;<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Speaking of abject surrender, as the <em>WaPo<\/em> reports&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #ff9900;\">Two weeks after Zuckerberg said \u2018je suis Charlie,\u2019 Facebook begins censoring images of prophet Muhammad<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/mark-zuckerberg.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29355\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/mark-zuckerberg.jpg\" alt=\"mark-zuckerberg\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/mark-zuckerberg.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/mark-zuckerberg-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>Only two weeks after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a strongly worded #JeSuisCharlie statement on the importance of free speech, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Facebook has agreed to censor images of the prophet Muhammad in Turkey<\/em><\/span> \u2014 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>including the very type of image that precipitated the Charlie Hebdo attack<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">It\u2019s an illustration, perhaps, of how extremely complicated and nuanced issues of online speech really are. <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong>It\u2019s also conclusive proof of what many tech critics said of Zuckerberg\u2019s free-speech declaration at the time: <em>Sweeping promises are all well and good, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">but Facebook\u2019s record doesn\u2019t entirely back it up<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>No, the concept of online free speech&#8230;or free speech anywhere else on earth&#8230;<em>isn&#8217;t <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">nuanced<\/span><\/em>; it&#8217;s actually quite simple&#8230;as is the concept of cowardice.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mark, relax; all this means is, like Tom Steyer, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Diane Feinstein, Nancy the Red and the rest of the Dimocratic elite, you&#8217;re an uber-rich, hypocritical douchebag!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Next up, as James Taranto notes at\u00a0<em>Best of the Web<\/em>, submitted for your approval&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008080;\">Orwellcare<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/TwilightZone.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29336\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/TwilightZone.jpg\" alt=\"TwilightZone\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/TwilightZone.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/TwilightZone-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">From a CNN commentary by Theresa Brown:<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>Journalist Steven Brill has written a new book about our dysfunctional system of health care and it\u2019s getting a lot of attention. In \u201cAmerica\u2019s Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System,\u201d he describes the various struggles to implement the Affordable Care Act and dissects the ongoing opposition to the bill.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>As a nurse, I\u2019ve always supported the ACA as a way for more Americans to get needed health care. <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>But many people, including many nurses, view Obamacare as a government intrusion into individual lives. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">I can see their point of view, but I believe it\u2019s mistaken.<\/span><\/strong> <strong>The ACA does not allow government to interfere in our lives; it compels government to keep us as safe and healthy as possible.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>That last sentence is a masterpiece of doublespeak<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #008080;\">How in the world is it <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>possible<\/em><\/span> for the government to \u201ckeep us .\u00a0.\u00a0. safe and healthy\u201d <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>without interfering in our lives<\/em><\/span>?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Welcome to <em>1984<\/em>!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On the Lighter Side&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/mrz012715dAPR20150127084517.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29344\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/mrz012715dAPR20150127084517.jpg\" alt=\"mrz012715dAPR20150127084517\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/mrz012715dAPR20150127084517.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/mrz012715dAPR20150127084517-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/12_15921220150128050224.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29345\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/12_15921220150128050224.jpg\" alt=\"12_15921220150128050224\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/12_15921220150128050224.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/12_15921220150128050224-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/bg012815dAPC20150128024516.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29346\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/bg012815dAPC20150128024516.jpg\" alt=\"bg012815dAPC20150128024516\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/bg012815dAPC20150128024516.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/bg012815dAPC20150128024516-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/81_15920220150128013312.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29347\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/81_15920220150128013312.jpg\" alt=\"81_15920220150128013312\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/81_15920220150128013312.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/81_15920220150128013312-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/lb0128cd20150127081401.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29348\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/lb0128cd20150127081401.jpg\" alt=\"lb0128cd20150127081401\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/lb0128cd20150127081401.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/lb0128cd20150127081401-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/gmc12726920150128110600.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29349\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/gmc12726920150128110600.jpg\" alt=\"gmc12726920150128110600\" width=\"462\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/gmc12726920150128110600.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/gmc12726920150128110600-300x221.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/gmc12729120150129075900.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29375\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/gmc12729120150129075900.jpg\" alt=\"gmc12729120150129075900\" width=\"462\" height=\"334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/gmc12729120150129075900.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/gmc12729120150129075900-300x217.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/payn_c12726720150129120100.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29376\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/payn_c12726720150129120100.jpg\" alt=\"payn_c12726720150129120100\" width=\"462\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/payn_c12726720150129120100.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/payn_c12726720150129120100-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-115.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29377\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-115.jpeg\" alt=\"download (1)\" width=\"450\" height=\"572\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-115.jpeg 450w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-115-236x300.jpeg 236w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-27.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29378\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-27.jpeg\" alt=\"download (2)\" width=\"492\" height=\"483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-27.jpeg 492w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-27-300x295.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-32.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29379\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-32.jpeg\" alt=\"download (3)\" width=\"466\" height=\"468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-32.jpeg 466w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-32-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-32-300x300.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 466px) 100vw, 466px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-41.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29380\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-41.jpeg\" alt=\"download (4)\" width=\"450\" height=\"548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-41.jpeg 450w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download-41-246x300.jpeg 246w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download25.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29381\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download25.jpeg\" alt=\"download\" width=\"478\" height=\"382\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download25.jpeg 478w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/download25-300x240.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 478px) 100vw, 478px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, we&#8217;ll call it a month with one more installment of Thomas Sowell&#8217;s priceless&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/vote-democrate-race.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29342\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/vote-democrate-race.jpg\" alt=\"vote-democrate-race\" width=\"350\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/vote-democrate-race.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/vote-democrate-race-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Who says President Obama doesn&#8217;t promote bipartisanship? <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>His complicity in Iran&#8217;s moving toward nuclear bombs has alarmed some top Senate Democrats enough to get them to join Republicans in opposition to the Obama administration&#8217;s potentially suicidal foreign policy.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Before the current measles outbreak, measles was once almost wiped out in the United States. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\">But an article in a medical journal more than a decade ago had many parents afraid to have their children vaccinated, for fear that the vaccine causes autism.<\/span> <em>After scientific studies refuted that claim, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">the medical journal repudiated the article<\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and the doctor who wrote it had his license revoked<\/span><\/em>.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\">(Yet Educated Idiots continue to consume the poison he prescribed.)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>If not a single policeman killed a single black individual anywhere in the United States for this entire year, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>that would not reduce the number of black homicide victims by one percent<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> When the mobs of protesters declare &#8220;Black lives matter,&#8221; does that mean ALL black lives matter &#8212; or only the less than one percent of black lives lost in conflicts with police?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>In politics, never assume that because something is insane, it will not be done.<\/strong><\/span> The Holocaust was as insane as it was a moral horror. But it was done. Even after the tide of war turned against Germany and it faced invasion and devastation, Hitler continued to pour scarce resources into the mass killing of people who were no threat.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>When someone tries to lay a guilt trip on you for being successful, remember that your guilt is some politician&#8217;s license to take what you worked for and give it to someone else who is more likely to vote for the politician who plays Santa Claus with your money.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>So long as public schools are treated as places that exist to provide guaranteed jobs to members of the teachers&#8217; unions, do not be surprised to see American students continuing to score lower on international tests than students in countries that spend a lot less per pupil than we do.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Would you go to a funeral if <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>you knew<\/em><\/span> that your presence would be unwelcome and would just add to the pain of the mourners?<\/strong><\/span> Probably not. But New York&#8217;s mayor Bill de Blasio went to both funerals for the two New York City policemen recently murdered &#8212; and gave speeches. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>That epitomized what a truly despicable human being he is, even by the low standards of politicians.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Demographic &#8220;diversity&#8221; is a notion often defended with fervor but seldom with facts.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Few things are more irritating, or more phony, than statements from various organizations about their &#8220;privacy policy.&#8221; What that really means is their invasion of privacy policies &#8212; how much information about you that your bank, hospital or Internet service is going to pass on to other people without your permission.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Somewhere Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes says that the purpose of an education should be to produce a mind that cannot be humbugged. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>But today our educational system, from kindergarten to the universities, is engaged in the mass production of fashionable humbug &#8212; propaganda rather than education.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Some people see discrimination when schools punish black students more often than white students. But schools punish white students more often than Asian students. Lenders turn down black applicants for loans more often than white applicants &#8212; but they turn down whites more often than Asians. <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Most statistics on such things <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>omit Asians<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>rather than spoil a politically correct story<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">President Obama may have gained something politically or ideologically by recognizing Cuba, but just what did the United States gain? <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Like so much that has been done by this administration, the diplomatic recognition of Cuba demonstrates how safe it is to be our enemy, while our policies toward Ukraine and Israel demonstrate how risky it is to be our ally.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Despite radical feminist organizations&#8217; frequent bursts of outrage, these same radical feminists&#8217; response to the mass capture of school girls by Islamic terrorists in Nigeria, and turning those girls into sex slaves, has been strangely muted. <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Is this because there is no political mileage or lawsuit settlements to be achieved by expressing outrage at such unconscionable raw savagery in Nigeria?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"firstHeading\" lang=\"en\"><strong>We&#8217;re with Jake&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"firstHeading\" lang=\"en\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-ukFAvYP3UU?start=4\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"firstHeading\" lang=\"en\"><strong>&#8230;provided you substitute &#8220;Liberal Democrats&#8221; for &#8220;Illinois Nazis&#8221;!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"firstHeading\" class=\"firstHeading\" lang=\"en\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">Hasta ma\u00f1ana<\/span><\/strong><strong style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">, amigo!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Friday, January 30th, 2015&#8230;but before we begin, a brief personal note followed by one quick question. First, we&#8217;ll be heading down to sunny Puebla, Mexico on Saturday for a week-long mission trip assisting a local church with the construction of the 2nd floor of their sanctuary building. \u00a0And although we&#8217;ll have access to the [&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-29402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29402","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=29402"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29403,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29402\/revisions\/29403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}