Ok, so I’ve been neglecting this blog, but I still haven’t decided what to do with it, and……. I’m still sorting out this sea-level thing and trying to articulate in a proper manner, just how improperly our satellites are being used. We’ll get there, but in the mean time……..
The big headline in the news today is about the sparring over the debt limit between congress and the president.
Examples….. Obama Warns Cantor ‘Don’t Call My Bluff’ As Debt Talks Stall and http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/14/obama-debt-enough-is-enough/ ….. where we get the same quote, “President Obama ‘stormed out of the room’ after daring the GOP leader to ‘call my bluff’ . (And, yes, I read both Huffpo and Foxnews.) It keeps me imbalanced. 🙂
Now, I understand our politicians are mentally impaired. And most lack the real world experience of the average person. So, it comes as no surprise they’re not familiar with the nuances of poker. For those who may not be familiar, (no need for a show of hands) to “call someone’s bluff’, is a poker expression. In poker, one bets on the strength of the cards in his hand. His opponent will either concede the hand (fold), match the bet (call), or raise the bet. On occasion, a person may wish to bluff. (See bluff below)
When Obama warns someone not to call his bluff, he’s stating that he doesn’t have the cards, he’s just working from bravado. Or using a different vernacular, he’s fronting. At that point, you raise your hands, high five (or ten!) your teammates, call the bet and prepare to move the pile of money to your side of the table. The fact that he’s announcing that he’s bluffing is hilarious to me. He’s telling the world he has nothing. If the situation didn’t involve other nearly brain-dead individuals, I’d be optimistic that we’d get some real spending cuts done. But, knowing the GOP as I do, I’m still betting they will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, which is no easy task seeing that their opponent is even more brain-dead than they are, but I still think they’ll do it.
Why do I say that? Because they’re letting the media and the president frame the discussion. The problem isn’t that we’re not taxed enough, though one could make the argument the “poor” aren’t paying their share. We have an entire class of people who basically contribute nothing to the system and take much from it. Leaving them very little incentive to change their status. And, yes, it irks the hell out of me that people who don’t work can afford vehicles, TVs, steak dinners!!! which I cannot. The problem is, we spend entirely too much. I could take all day listing give away programs our government does and still not come close to listing them all. From asinine emission studies for farm animals to idiotic out reach programs by NASA to federal subsidization of political advocacy media. We spend too much and much of it is senseless waste. (See this federally subsidized work of art.) Do these imbeciles really believe I should pay for someone’s blasphemy? Look, I’m not saying you can’t engage in it. Just do it on your own dime. Same goes for Planned Parenthood. Hey, its a free country! Freak freely. But don’t pretend its an exercise of liberty when you oblige me and every one else to pay for it. That’s the antithesis of freedom and I, for one, am sick of subsidizing aberrant and abhorrent behavior. And, I’m sick of the idea that I’m somehow not paying my share when I see this frivolous largess. (Frivolous, not of the trivial sort, but lacking in intellectual substance and not worth serious consideration.)
Taxes shouldn’t even be in the discussion. If we eliminate these incredibly vapid forms of spending, and we still have a bit of a shortfall, then come back and talk about taxes……. and then I’ll show you how the net income for the federal govt. won’t change by adjusting the taxes up. But, that’s for another discussion.
NOTE!!!! I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that I’ve made a few dollars, on occasion, by feigning a bluff. This is a difficult procedure to do properly. First, it entails prior bluffs. Not only prior bluffs, but bluffs that intentionally contain a disguised, but detectable tell. (See explanation of a tell below.) Additionally, your opponent(s) must be able to discern the tell, but not discern the tell is intentional. (Stupid, but not too stupid.) It is very helpful to engage in such when alcohol is involved.
A bluff – the act of bluffing in poker; deception by a false show of confidence in the strength of your cards.
A tell in poker is a subtle but detectable change in a player’s behavior or demeanor that gives clues to that player’s assessment of his hand. A player gains an advantage if he observes and understands the meaning of another player’s tell, particularly if the tell is unconscious and reliable. Sometimes a player may fake a tell, hoping to induce his opponents to make poor judgments in response to the false tell.
suyts space 
I was told in 2008 that Obama was playing chess. Maybe he’s so good at chess that he temporarily forgot the word “feint”.
I would be shocked if I learned Obama was good at chess. In spite of the media portrayal, I really don’t believe he’s all that cerebral.