No matter who wins on 4 November, I've been thinking about the 2012 race. Here are my picks as who should run on the Republican side along with a few Cabinet picks:
President: Sarah Palin
Vice President: Michelle "Give 'Em Hell with the Truth" Bachmann
Secretary of State:Ted Nugent
Secretary of Defense: Samuel J. Wurzelbacher (aka Joe the Plumber)
Attorney General: Janice Rogers Brown (on her way to being appointed to SCOTUS)
Press Secretary: Megyn Kelly of Fox News
Secretary Treasury: Steve Forbes
Chair JCOS: General David Petraeus
SECDEF and SOS candidates are interchangeable.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The ads McCain should be running
I came across the site Never Find Out yesterday from Freedom Dogs.
These are the ads McCain/Palin should be running.
Three examples:
The only exception I'd take is in the second ad: it's not big corporations, it is those Americans who make more than $250,000 a year-the small business owner, who employees the majority of Americans. They will be hit, and hit hard. But the concept Never Find Out brings out is correct: to maintain profit margins,in the face of higher taxes, corporations either increase prices (not the best solution) or cut expenses or a combination of the two. Either way, the middle class takes it in the shorts: higher prices or lower salaries, lay-offs, no new jobs created.
These are the ads McCain/Palin should be running.
Three examples:
The only exception I'd take is in the second ad: it's not big corporations, it is those Americans who make more than $250,000 a year-the small business owner, who employees the majority of Americans. They will be hit, and hit hard. But the concept Never Find Out brings out is correct: to maintain profit margins,in the face of higher taxes, corporations either increase prices (not the best solution) or cut expenses or a combination of the two. Either way, the middle class takes it in the shorts: higher prices or lower salaries, lay-offs, no new jobs created.
Over under
I'm looking for the over under on Code Pink or some other lefty fringe group disrupting the debate this evening with McCain speaking. I'll put the wager point at 39 minutes.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
9 minutes and 46 seconds well spent
An intelligent rapper is what it took for me to listen to this from beginning to end:
And it's approved under Obama's National Healthcare Plan
After this exchange:
We have this from The People's Cube (be sure to go to the first link and read the entire article):
Quick- somebody put this on the back of a T-shirt!
We have this from The People's Cube (be sure to go to the first link and read the entire article):
Quick- somebody put this on the back of a T-shirt!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Anniversaries
Today hundreds of people observed the murder of Matthew Shepard.
Will these same people observe the anniversary of the torture death of Jesse Dirkhising?
Never heard of him have you? He was thirteen and was raped and tortured by two homosexuals.
From the article:
Another example of the SOS radical left taking a tragedy and exploiting it. No shame. None.
Will these same people observe the anniversary of the torture death of Jesse Dirkhising?
Never heard of him have you? He was thirteen and was raped and tortured by two homosexuals.
From the article:
News of the Dirkhising case was surprisingly muted throughout the country, perhaps because it involved a homosexual crime, said WND readers, who voted it one of the most spiked stories of 1999.
At one point, Farah took the Washington Post to task over it, and most major newspaper's, lack of coverage of the case. In response the Post's ombudsman, E.R. Shipp, blasted Farah and WND in a column she penned defending her paper's decision to focus more attention on the death of Matthew Shepard, a homosexual student who was murdered in Wyoming in Oct. 1998.
Another example of the SOS radical left taking a tragedy and exploiting it. No shame. None.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Rucks and mauls
Many of you know that I played rugby for two decades. In rugby there are some terms for what happens when a man is tackled and the forwards (the "linemen" of rugby) close around the tackled ball carrier: ruck or maul.
Some years back, we were in SW Minnesota playing rugby. It was a game with a number of fights. After about the fourth or fifth fight, the referee, after blowing the whistle and untangling the mess, had one guy by the arm. "Whenever I sort out a fight, you're always the one I find at the bottom of the pile. You're off the field!" And so, he was sent off.
In rugby, back then, when you were kicked off the field, you were not replaced. Your team played a man short for the rest of the game.
Today, every time there is a disaster, much more often than not, there is a government program, directive, agency somewhere in the mix either causing the problem or causing the problem to be worse or become worse. Witness the sub-prime mortgage and resultant financial collapse. All brought to you by: government. Aided and fully abetted by Democrats. And yet, John McCain can not make or will not make that connection.
Time is short.
And I'm losing hope that McCain has the will to fight.
He faces a man who has no respect for and seeks to destroy all that John McCain fought for, risked his life for and suffered for five horrible years in the Hanoi Hilton (and still suffers from those years). McCain's response: "Senator Obama is a fine family man."
President-elect Obama. And Nancy Pelosi will preempt the Constitution (nothing new there) and call Congress back if Obama does win the election to get a head start on the left wing mischief.
The Republicans have no one but themselves to blame.
http://tinyurl.com/3ruf7j
And this is what we have to look forward to (thanks to Powerline):
And believe that this one campaign promise Obama will keep.
Yup. The bottom of a lot more rucks and mauls.
Some years back, we were in SW Minnesota playing rugby. It was a game with a number of fights. After about the fourth or fifth fight, the referee, after blowing the whistle and untangling the mess, had one guy by the arm. "Whenever I sort out a fight, you're always the one I find at the bottom of the pile. You're off the field!" And so, he was sent off.
In rugby, back then, when you were kicked off the field, you were not replaced. Your team played a man short for the rest of the game.
Today, every time there is a disaster, much more often than not, there is a government program, directive, agency somewhere in the mix either causing the problem or causing the problem to be worse or become worse. Witness the sub-prime mortgage and resultant financial collapse. All brought to you by: government. Aided and fully abetted by Democrats. And yet, John McCain can not make or will not make that connection.
Time is short.
And I'm losing hope that McCain has the will to fight.
He faces a man who has no respect for and seeks to destroy all that John McCain fought for, risked his life for and suffered for five horrible years in the Hanoi Hilton (and still suffers from those years). McCain's response: "Senator Obama is a fine family man."
President-elect Obama. And Nancy Pelosi will preempt the Constitution (nothing new there) and call Congress back if Obama does win the election to get a head start on the left wing mischief.
The Republicans have no one but themselves to blame.
http://tinyurl.com/3ruf7j
And this is what we have to look forward to (thanks to Powerline):
And believe that this one campaign promise Obama will keep.
Yup. The bottom of a lot more rucks and mauls.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Cartoon Saturday
Growing up in the '50's Saturday mornings were for cartoons.
So today, here a few cartoons I came across this past week:
So today, here a few cartoons I came across this past week:
Friday, October 10, 2008
I'm not surprised at not being surprised
"Troopergate Probe Shows Palin Had Power , but Abused It to Fire Trooper". Oh.
And the fact that the investigation was headed by Obama supporters is not news. That the report was rushed to be released now is not news.
If she did abuse her authority, bad on her. So what. I expected nothing less:
What is news that somehow I can't find in any MSM outlet is the rampant, and I mean rampant voter fraud from Obama's organization, ACORN. That concerns me that ACORN is stealing an election. This CNN report uncovers is being repeated around the country especially in battleground states. Look at the video again the previous post. This, again, is what's happening in many states. ACORN needs to be indicted in the next 10 days. ACORN organizers need to perp walked out of their offices. Those indictments need to be open. American citizens need to open lawsuits against ACORN for disenfranchisement.
To quote Arnold Schwarzenegger;"Dew whit. Dew whit nauuwgh!"
And to quote Indiana Jones-"This is serious!"
And the fact that the investigation was headed by Obama supporters is not news. That the report was rushed to be released now is not news.
If she did abuse her authority, bad on her. So what. I expected nothing less:
What is news that somehow I can't find in any MSM outlet is the rampant, and I mean rampant voter fraud from Obama's organization, ACORN. That concerns me that ACORN is stealing an election. This CNN report uncovers is being repeated around the country especially in battleground states. Look at the video again the previous post. This, again, is what's happening in many states. ACORN needs to be indicted in the next 10 days. ACORN organizers need to perp walked out of their offices. Those indictments need to be open. American citizens need to open lawsuits against ACORN for disenfranchisement.
To quote Arnold Schwarzenegger;"Dew whit. Dew whit nauuwgh!"
And to quote Indiana Jones-"This is serious!"
Do crushed acorns make acorn butter?
I had a question after I watched this video to the end (HT to Ed Morrissey at Hot Air):
Now that Barack Obama has thrown ACORN under the bus, after giving them $800,000, what next?
Now that Barack Obama has thrown ACORN under the bus, after giving them $800,000, what next?
Mark Twain revisited
I heard a few days ago a quote attributed to Mark Twain-"History doesn't repeat itself, at best it rhymes."
My evidence is as follows:
BTW, do you think these children sang as well to Benito Mussolini as those children sing about Obama?
(Here is the caption for the above picture from the Mrs. Music website:
The W.L.A. Children's Choir truly participated in the democratic process this spring by shooting a commercial for Barack Obama and then singing for Hillary Clinton! The commercial was shot on location at the picturesque Ahmanson Ranch in Calabassas and will be part of a competition on MoveOn.org. The winning director will have his commercial aired on National T.V. later in the campaign.)
My evidence is as follows:
BTW, do you think these children sang as well to Benito Mussolini as those children sing about Obama?
(Here is the caption for the above picture from the Mrs. Music website: The W.L.A. Children's Choir truly participated in the democratic process this spring by shooting a commercial for Barack Obama and then singing for Hillary Clinton! The commercial was shot on location at the picturesque Ahmanson Ranch in Calabassas and will be part of a competition on MoveOn.org. The winning director will have his commercial aired on National T.V. later in the campaign.)
Thursday, October 09, 2008
The twist tie
In my post below I wrote that McCain/Palin need to tie Obama and all the Democrats together.
Here is a headline:
"HUD: Five Million Fraudulent Mortgages Held by Illegals".
Let that sink in: 5,000,000 fraudulent mortgages held by illegals.
The story goes on to state:"The problem began years ago when banks were forced to give mortgages without confirming social security numbers or borrower identification. As a result, illegal immigrants were able to obtain home mortgages which they could not afford."
Who did this? The Democrats. The Democrats forced banks to do this. The rest of us were required to play by the rules. The rules that a real world of risk assessment dictates. Not those who couldn't afford a house. They had the Democrats to make the world "fair" with rules to match.
And do you think that HUD has understated or overstated the number, if you had to bet?
I'm waiting to hear this story repeated as often as John McCain says "My friends".
BTW, how does it feel to have to pay $1,000,000,000,000's for the world to be "fair"?
Here is a headline:
"HUD: Five Million Fraudulent Mortgages Held by Illegals".
Let that sink in: 5,000,000 fraudulent mortgages held by illegals.
The story goes on to state:"The problem began years ago when banks were forced to give mortgages without confirming social security numbers or borrower identification. As a result, illegal immigrants were able to obtain home mortgages which they could not afford."
Who did this? The Democrats. The Democrats forced banks to do this. The rest of us were required to play by the rules. The rules that a real world of risk assessment dictates. Not those who couldn't afford a house. They had the Democrats to make the world "fair" with rules to match.
And do you think that HUD has understated or overstated the number, if you had to bet?
I'm waiting to hear this story repeated as often as John McCain says "My friends".
BTW, how does it feel to have to pay $1,000,000,000,000's for the world to be "fair"?
Is this 1992 redux
I remember a quote a few years back regarding the election of Bill Clinton in '92 and '96-"In 1992 we didn't know anything about but elected him. In 1996 we knew all we needed to know and elected him anyhow." I have that same feeling today.
In 1992 we had a current president who kept hitting the character issue. And it didn't work. Clinton was a polished campaigner and it showed. The character issue did not resonate with the public at all. George Bush was playing catchup and losing.
In 1996 we had a horrible candidate in Bob Dole. He was certainly a war hero. That does not make one qualified to be President. It always appeared to me that the Republicans somehow thought that it was Senator Doles turn to run. That he was rewarded for his long service to the party. A horrible reason to be nominated for President.
This brings me to the 2008 election. I do not see the Barack Obama/Bill Ayers connection as a winner. It goes to character but this is all too reminiscent of the '92 election. In 1992 people were hearing the left scream "The worst economy in 50 years", "It's the economy stupid!". Sound familiar?
I've written so many times and reminded Republicans in Minnesota that the greatest book I've ever read about campaigning is David Horowitz's book "The Art of Political War and Other Radical Pursuits". It was written for 2000 election cycle. And precious few Republicans have ever read it! The takeaway for me-"Republicans look at politics as the Oxford Debating Society. Democrats look at politics as a knife fight." There are no Marquess of Queensbury Rules in politics. The Republicans are still looking for the rule book however, confident that they'll find it real soon.
My read on the remaining on the remaining time until the election:
It's a one act play with three characters: McCain, Obama, Palin. There are four scenes and some supporting players: Biden, Ayers, Wright, Dodd, Frank. The whole play had better have a single plot theme :"These democrats did it you! Here's the proof." The main Republican actors had better tie all the Democrat players together through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Raines, Johnson and ACORN.
And the Republicans had better start now. It can be done. But the Repubs need to start now.
The Repubs have this much time to get this point across:
In 1992 we had a current president who kept hitting the character issue. And it didn't work. Clinton was a polished campaigner and it showed. The character issue did not resonate with the public at all. George Bush was playing catchup and losing.
In 1996 we had a horrible candidate in Bob Dole. He was certainly a war hero. That does not make one qualified to be President. It always appeared to me that the Republicans somehow thought that it was Senator Doles turn to run. That he was rewarded for his long service to the party. A horrible reason to be nominated for President.
This brings me to the 2008 election. I do not see the Barack Obama/Bill Ayers connection as a winner. It goes to character but this is all too reminiscent of the '92 election. In 1992 people were hearing the left scream "The worst economy in 50 years", "It's the economy stupid!". Sound familiar?
I've written so many times and reminded Republicans in Minnesota that the greatest book I've ever read about campaigning is David Horowitz's book "The Art of Political War and Other Radical Pursuits". It was written for 2000 election cycle. And precious few Republicans have ever read it! The takeaway for me-"Republicans look at politics as the Oxford Debating Society. Democrats look at politics as a knife fight." There are no Marquess of Queensbury Rules in politics. The Republicans are still looking for the rule book however, confident that they'll find it real soon.
My read on the remaining on the remaining time until the election:
It's a one act play with three characters: McCain, Obama, Palin. There are four scenes and some supporting players: Biden, Ayers, Wright, Dodd, Frank. The whole play had better have a single plot theme :"These democrats did it you! Here's the proof." The main Republican actors had better tie all the Democrat players together through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Raines, Johnson and ACORN.
And the Republicans had better start now. It can be done. But the Repubs need to start now.
The Repubs have this much time to get this point across:
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
A Touch of Grey
I went over to Hot Air and saw a post from Allahpundit for an old 1980's video.
Well, I took his idea.
I searched for this video. It's the video that's credited with introducing The Grateful Dead to a new generation.
I put it into my You Tube favorites an irresistible catchy song with nonsense verses (there is one stanza that's dropped from the video)
Hope you enjoy it:
Well, I took his idea.
I searched for this video. It's the video that's credited with introducing The Grateful Dead to a new generation.
I put it into my You Tube favorites an irresistible catchy song with nonsense verses (there is one stanza that's dropped from the video)
Hope you enjoy it:
Monday, October 06, 2008
Will George help?
This from Hot Air:
And this:
I've mentioned on these pages a number of times that Bernie Ebbers, Ken Lay, et al from WorldCom, Enron, Tyco have all been arrested in public:
These men were arrested for fraudulent accounting practices. The resulting financial collapse was in the tens of billions. People were screaming for their heads. "This is what corporate greed in America is all about!" clucked all the people on the left. "More regulations!" they shouted.
Well, here is a nicely timed "October Surprise" all ready to deliver:
Obama advisors Franklin Raines and Jim Johnson cooked the books at Fannie and Freddie. There is/was a $200,000,000,000 collapse of these two. If Enron and Worldcom executives were arrested for tens of billions...
Time to have Raines and Johnson arrested, ala Ebbers and Lay, perp walked out of their offices, in front of many cameras. This has to be done around 25 October.
And there is plenty of evidence over at the SEC, the FBI and Postal Service to have this done in the next two weeks.
Yup- equal treatment under the law is all we ask.
Come on George. The left hates you anyhow.
Try for a legacy with all us conservatives.
And this:
I've mentioned on these pages a number of times that Bernie Ebbers, Ken Lay, et al from WorldCom, Enron, Tyco have all been arrested in public:
These men were arrested for fraudulent accounting practices. The resulting financial collapse was in the tens of billions. People were screaming for their heads. "This is what corporate greed in America is all about!" clucked all the people on the left. "More regulations!" they shouted.
Well, here is a nicely timed "October Surprise" all ready to deliver:
Obama advisors Franklin Raines and Jim Johnson cooked the books at Fannie and Freddie. There is/was a $200,000,000,000 collapse of these two. If Enron and Worldcom executives were arrested for tens of billions...
Time to have Raines and Johnson arrested, ala Ebbers and Lay, perp walked out of their offices, in front of many cameras. This has to be done around 25 October.
And there is plenty of evidence over at the SEC, the FBI and Postal Service to have this done in the next two weeks.
Yup- equal treatment under the law is all we ask.
Come on George. The left hates you anyhow.
Try for a legacy with all us conservatives.
Overoptimism is a killer
From Drudge this morning:
Bush: 'It's going to take awhile'...
Pope says world financial system is 'built on sand'...
Dow Plunges 550 Points; off lows...
STAMPEDE AT NBC: Jim Cramer warns investments could lose 20% of value...
FLOOD AT FED: Doubles Cash Sales to $900 Billion...
London suffers sharpest fall since '87...
Bush: 'It's going to take awhile'...
Pope says world financial system is 'built on sand'...
Dow Plunges 550 Points; off lows...
STAMPEDE AT NBC: Jim Cramer warns investments could lose 20% of value...
FLOOD AT FED: Doubles Cash Sales to $900 Billion...
London suffers sharpest fall since '87...
President Bush said that "It's going to take a while..."
Many who know me know that I'm active in a number of 2nd Amendment organizations.
As I heard people cautioning about setting our expectations TOO high regarding the bailout (now gently renamed "an economic rescue package") I'm reminded of a bill that passed in the 1990's called "The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act" aka "The Assault Weapons Ban" that did nothing to prevent handgun violence. I remember a newsclip that was recorded literally moments after the bill passed the Senate. There was Senator Bob Dole, on the floor of the Senate, again, just moments after the bill passed, telling us not to expect too much from the just passed bill. That it was not a panacea. The deed was done and the excuses were already flowing from the mouth of the man, one Senator Bob Dole, who could have stopped it square in its tracks (scroll down to "The Brady Bill Passes" and see how Senator Bob Dole, with two words or one hand signal, could have prevented this awful bill from becoming law).
So now, this weekend and this morning, we see how the politicians who have strapped us with trillions of dollars of debt and risk are now telling us not to expect TOO much from their misdeeds.
There were no hearings on this bill. There were no considerations for any alternatives (eliminate capital gains, taxes on dividends, zero out corporate taxes all of which would have involved private capital fro America and around the world. Sir John Templeton once said that if Congress eliminated the capital gains tax, there would be such a rush of money into the capital markets it would be breathtaking). But alas, no hearings. Nothing. Your money only was at risk.
My advice on politician who voted for this: Sweep them all out office. Every last one.
Many who know me know that I'm active in a number of 2nd Amendment organizations.
As I heard people cautioning about setting our expectations TOO high regarding the bailout (now gently renamed "an economic rescue package") I'm reminded of a bill that passed in the 1990's called "The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act" aka "The Assault Weapons Ban" that did nothing to prevent handgun violence. I remember a newsclip that was recorded literally moments after the bill passed the Senate. There was Senator Bob Dole, on the floor of the Senate, again, just moments after the bill passed, telling us not to expect too much from the just passed bill. That it was not a panacea. The deed was done and the excuses were already flowing from the mouth of the man, one Senator Bob Dole, who could have stopped it square in its tracks (scroll down to "The Brady Bill Passes" and see how Senator Bob Dole, with two words or one hand signal, could have prevented this awful bill from becoming law).
So now, this weekend and this morning, we see how the politicians who have strapped us with trillions of dollars of debt and risk are now telling us not to expect TOO much from their misdeeds.
There were no hearings on this bill. There were no considerations for any alternatives (eliminate capital gains, taxes on dividends, zero out corporate taxes all of which would have involved private capital fro America and around the world. Sir John Templeton once said that if Congress eliminated the capital gains tax, there would be such a rush of money into the capital markets it would be breathtaking). But alas, no hearings. Nothing. Your money only was at risk.
My advice on politician who voted for this: Sweep them all out office. Every last one.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Jim Ramstad can be had
Once again, someone else's great idea becomes the way you live your life if that someone is a Senator or Representative.
Congressman Jim Ramstad will now vote "Yes" on the $700,000,000,000 bailout bill. Why the change? Because of a "sweetner" that anyplace else would be called a bribe. And it was your money that was used to bribe Congressman Ramstad.
P.S.-
I just watched this from Glenn Beck:
After watching this I thought about the above blog entry and feel I really needed to add this:
Mr. Ramstad- If you vote for the bailout bill: YOU are what is exactly wrong with America. YOU are exactly what is wrong with Congress. YOU are a prime example of what is wrong with Republicans and the the Republican Party. YOU have no ethics. YOU have no morals.
YOU are exactly why Congress enjoys a 9% approval rating. YOU are all that.
These are your last months in office.
Good riddance.
Congressman Jim Ramstad will now vote "Yes" on the $700,000,000,000 bailout bill. Why the change? Because of a "sweetner" that anyplace else would be called a bribe. And it was your money that was used to bribe Congressman Ramstad.
P.S.-
I just watched this from Glenn Beck:
After watching this I thought about the above blog entry and feel I really needed to add this:
Mr. Ramstad- If you vote for the bailout bill: YOU are what is exactly wrong with America. YOU are exactly what is wrong with Congress. YOU are a prime example of what is wrong with Republicans and the the Republican Party. YOU have no ethics. YOU have no morals.
YOU are exactly why Congress enjoys a 9% approval rating. YOU are all that.
These are your last months in office.
Good riddance.
Letters, or "Speak now or forever hold your peace"
With the travesty of the Senate Bailout Bill behind us, I sent off this letter to my Congressman John Kline. It contains the text of letters I sent to Senators Coleman and Klobuchar:
John,
Here is an exact copy of the email I sent to Senator Norm Coleman and Senator Amy Klobuchar:
Senator Klobuchar:
I have four questions on your recent vote for the "bailout bill" that I am submitting to you and to Senator Norm Coleman.
As these are direct and unique questions, they will not be able to be adequately answered with a form email reply. Therefore I will expect a direct reply.
The four questions are as follows:
1. Did you read all 415 pages of the bill?
2. In voting for the bill, did you know the amount of $700,000,000,000 was not even a guess, but just a big sounding number from the Treasury? This was reported at forbes.com ("It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number." )
3. If you didn't know where the amount requested by the Treasury came from, why didn't you know if I could easily find out this critical piece of basic information?
4. If you did know, why did you vote for this bill?
I look forward to your reply.
Respectfully,
There was no language dissolving Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (the only mention of those GSE's was on page 99 and referred only to stock treatment under the 1986 IRS rules).
The original Treasury request was three pages long. The House Bill was what, 140 pages? The Senate bill was 415 pages? Reducing excise taxes on children's wooden arrows? Mental health parity?
John, as I was against the original House Bill, I am certainly stridently against the Senate bill.
I urge you to vote "No" on the new House bill.
John,
Here is an exact copy of the email I sent to Senator Norm Coleman and Senator Amy Klobuchar:
Senator Klobuchar:
I have four questions on your recent vote for the "bailout bill" that I am submitting to you and to Senator Norm Coleman.
As these are direct and unique questions, they will not be able to be adequately answered with a form email reply. Therefore I will expect a direct reply.
The four questions are as follows:
1. Did you read all 415 pages of the bill?
2. In voting for the bill, did you know the amount of $700,000,000,000 was not even a guess, but just a big sounding number from the Treasury? This was reported at forbes.com ("It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number." )
3. If you didn't know where the amount requested by the Treasury came from, why didn't you know if I could easily find out this critical piece of basic information?
4. If you did know, why did you vote for this bill?
I look forward to your reply.
Respectfully,
There was no language dissolving Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (the only mention of those GSE's was on page 99 and referred only to stock treatment under the 1986 IRS rules).
The original Treasury request was three pages long. The House Bill was what, 140 pages? The Senate bill was 415 pages? Reducing excise taxes on children's wooden arrows? Mental health parity?
John, as I was against the original House Bill, I am certainly stridently against the Senate bill.
I urge you to vote "No" on the new House bill.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The Monsoon of incompetence
Heritage has an article which outlines two more glaring instances of Congressional incompetence. Again, this is all about the onrushing Social Security and Medicare tsunami.
The title is " $700 Billion bailout? You ain't seen nothin' ".
A number of times in the article Congress has been apprised of this coming situation. And just like the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac implosion, the Maxine Waters, Barney Franks and Chris Dodds of Congress smiled, yawned and tell us all is OK.
If you need a graphic (double click on the graphic, then again to expand):
BTW, the $40,900,000,000,000 is a conservative current figure. It means that $40,900,000,000,000 needs to be put away TODAY, NOW to meet all future obligations. $4,650,000,000,000 is added to that figure each year. Every year.
The title is " $700 Billion bailout? You ain't seen nothin' ".
A number of times in the article Congress has been apprised of this coming situation. And just like the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac implosion, the Maxine Waters, Barney Franks and Chris Dodds of Congress smiled, yawned and tell us all is OK.
If you need a graphic (double click on the graphic, then again to expand):
BTW, the $40,900,000,000,000 is a conservative current figure. It means that $40,900,000,000,000 needs to be put away TODAY, NOW to meet all future obligations. $4,650,000,000,000 is added to that figure each year. Every year.
The polls
Rush Limbaugh states that the most expensive commodity in America is ignorance. What is even more disturbing is willful ignorance.
Jay Cost at Real Clear Politics shows us this graph:
Despite all the evidence, facts and history showing the Democrats (Jimmy Carter and the Democrat controlled Congress of 1977, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Bill Clinton) and groups like ACORN (Obama's parent organization for his "community organizing") are the parties responsible for this financial disaster, the polls show that the public supports those who brought the crisis to the fore.
Perhaps this is a carryover of what Basswood Research found two years ago.
Some time ago I wrote that we are all cursed by Congress with inefficient toilets that flush 1.6 gallons that do not adequately flush and therefore waste my time as I wait to be sure that there isn't a,well, liquid disaster. So, we have a Congress that can't get flush toilets right, but the electorate trusts them to get the economy right.
Jay Cost at Real Clear Politics shows us this graph:
Despite all the evidence, facts and history showing the Democrats (Jimmy Carter and the Democrat controlled Congress of 1977, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Bill Clinton) and groups like ACORN (Obama's parent organization for his "community organizing") are the parties responsible for this financial disaster, the polls show that the public supports those who brought the crisis to the fore.
Perhaps this is a carryover of what Basswood Research found two years ago.
Some time ago I wrote that we are all cursed by Congress with inefficient toilets that flush 1.6 gallons that do not adequately flush and therefore waste my time as I wait to be sure that there isn't a,well, liquid disaster. So, we have a Congress that can't get flush toilets right, but the electorate trusts them to get the economy right.
"We don't need you. We have your children"
No explanation needed:
Comment from Savage Republican:
It should be noted that the top Video was produced by none other than
Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC
Comment from Savage Republican:
It should be noted that the top Video was produced by none other than
Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC
Why nearly everyone should leave Washington D.C. forever, now...today
When Katrina hit Louisiana and New Orleans in particular, what we saw was three disasters:
We have the perpetrators of this fraud, the Dems and one Rep. Barney Frank accusing the Repubs of killing the bailout bill when there were 94 Democrats that voted against the bill. The Dems could have absolutely ridden roughshod over the Repubs as the Dems have an absolute majority in the House. Listen to Karl Rove tell how Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama either couldn't or didn't get the bailout passed:
So one of two things is true: Nancy Pelosi is incompetent or this whole thing was planned by the left. And Obama has been AWOL on this whole thing. He couldn't even convince the Illinois Congressmen/women to vote for this thing.
This situation has always been termed a "crisis". Can't be much of a crisis if Congress takes off for two days for Rosh Hashana.
But, the most damning piece of information I've heard was this: where did the figure $700,000,000,000 come from? Computers on Wall Street and in Washington cruching volumes and columns of numbers? Captains of finance and Treasury officials burning out computer memory running figures 24/7? Uh, well, no. Not at all. Here is the filthy, dirty, little secret: " 'It's not based on any particular data point,' a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. 'We just wanted to choose a really large number.' " And there you have it. You and yours have been put at risk for $700,000,000,000 by using the Treasury Department's Magic 8 Ball combined with the Omniscient Never Fail Dart Board bolstered by the Always Accurate Coin Flip (2 out 3 tosses to be sure).
It really is time to reset the trip odometer and for We, the People to take the country back. Time to re-establish the constitutional republic.
See you at Concord Bridge.
- Hurricane Katrina
- Left government (Governor Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin)
- Big government as witnessed by FEMA
We have the perpetrators of this fraud, the Dems and one Rep. Barney Frank accusing the Repubs of killing the bailout bill when there were 94 Democrats that voted against the bill. The Dems could have absolutely ridden roughshod over the Repubs as the Dems have an absolute majority in the House. Listen to Karl Rove tell how Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama either couldn't or didn't get the bailout passed:
So one of two things is true: Nancy Pelosi is incompetent or this whole thing was planned by the left. And Obama has been AWOL on this whole thing. He couldn't even convince the Illinois Congressmen/women to vote for this thing.
This situation has always been termed a "crisis". Can't be much of a crisis if Congress takes off for two days for Rosh Hashana.
But, the most damning piece of information I've heard was this: where did the figure $700,000,000,000 come from? Computers on Wall Street and in Washington cruching volumes and columns of numbers? Captains of finance and Treasury officials burning out computer memory running figures 24/7? Uh, well, no. Not at all. Here is the filthy, dirty, little secret: " 'It's not based on any particular data point,' a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. 'We just wanted to choose a really large number.' " And there you have it. You and yours have been put at risk for $700,000,000,000 by using the Treasury Department's Magic 8 Ball combined with the Omniscient Never Fail Dart Board bolstered by the Always Accurate Coin Flip (2 out 3 tosses to be sure).
It really is time to reset the trip odometer and for We, the People to take the country back. Time to re-establish the constitutional republic.
See you at Concord Bridge.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The debate
Tomorrow night, the first debate between John McCain and Barack Obama is scheduled to take place. Whether or not is happens as scheduled is up in the air.
The Christian Science Monitor has proposed fifteen questions for the two large party presidential candidates.
Well, as I am constitutionally qualified to president, I think I'll answer the questions:
1. When horrific war crimes or a humanitarian crisis occurs in another country, should the United States intervene – even if the United Nations refuses to approve? What would be your threshold for such a crisis to justify US military action? Unless there are legitimate concerns and issues regarding the United States, economically or militarily, there is no humanitarian or war crime crisis that would prompt me to intervene. The United States has for far too long been the default rescuer of foreign government and/or their citizens. America has been castigated and pilloried for "not doing enough" when the blood of our sons has long ago soaked into foreign soil. I will address the United Nations in a following question.
By the way, on my watch, the United States military will never, ever be used as a guarantor of an international "Meals on Wheels" or any other type program such as was witnessed in Somalia. This is strictly under the purview of the United Nations
2. Some experts contend that the US should address the security fears of Iran, Russia, North Korea, and China in order to prevent these countries from becoming threats to others. Do you agree with this approach? First of all I'd ask: which "experts" have said this? It appears that the concerns of these countries have little to do with "security fears" and have more to do with "ideological expansion". Iran's President and the ruling imams seems hell bent (a term I specifically use) on introducing the 12th Imam. Russia pines for the days of the Grand Soviet and seems quite willing to use energy to extract tribute from Europe and become a world arbiter at the minimum. North Korea is run by a despot who is willing to starve his own citizens to accomplish his own ends. China, make no mistake about it, is a police state that uses a form of capitalism to threaten a region then a hemisphere. It would appear that the United States and many other countries should be the one that have legitimate security concerns.
3. What are the three most important steps to achieve American energy security?
1. The government, especially Congress, accepts its limits under Article 1 section 8 and the 10th Amendment. In other words, it gets out of the way. 2. Drill here. 3. Drill now. I would also reduce any and all taxes on revenue from new domestic oil production by at least 75% for any and all new wells brought in in the next two years, 50% for any new oil wells brought in the next 3 years. I'd issue tax credits, not tax deductions for all investments in new wells for the next 10 years. All restrictions on off shore drilling within 50 miles of the shoreline will be eliminated. Lawsuits against oil companies will be severely restricted. Clean coal technology will be fast tracked. Ethanol subsidies will be eliminated. As will all CAFE standards. Nuclear power stations will also be fast tracked.
4. Would you compel Americans to adopt standards on carbon emissions even if China and India do not take similar actions? Absolutely not.
5. And why do you prefer a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gases when that approach has not worked in Europe – whereas a carbon tax in Sweden did help lower greenhouse-gas emissions? I don't. It would appear that you don't know me well enough, or the lack of science behind the fraud called "climate change" or "global warming" or whatever you're calling it today, or you wouldn't have even thought of asking me that question.
6. If US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan largely ends during your first term, how would you then change the American military based on your reading of its potential roles? My concern since that horrible day in September 2001 has been the changing nature of the threats that face the United States. And it appears that the left, especially in Congress have dramatically failed in every and all respects to realize that change and address it. The United States military is made up of the finest men and women in the world. Period. It is the military that ensures that the left can complain about what a miserable place they believe America to be. I have friends who are members of the Band of Brothers. And they hold the modern day troopers and air assault soldiers in the highest regard. That being said, the military faces a dual mission: they must be prepared to fight asymmetrical assaults by radical terrorists all the while being prepared to fight the 21st century version of conventional war in the near future. I believe that certain nations and governments encourage and support asymmetrical assaults against the United States to keep us off balance while planning more conventional conflict. A case in point is the arrival of Russian ships of the line to participate in joint military exercises with the government of Venezuela. This represents a direct threat to the United States sea lanes where we import so much of our oil. This is just one example of why drilling for domestic oil is vital to the United States.
7. The international community has helped reduce extreme poverty by almost half a billion people since 1990. What would you do to reduce poverty in other countries, especially in Africa, in addition to what President Bush has already done? I'm very curious as to how you arrived at that conclusion. What's your evidence? If I may, I'd like to direct you to the United States efforts to reduce poverty via the failed programs of "The Great Society" and their expansion. Those programs have wasted $1,000,000,000,000's of dollars and yet we have the same percentage of poor that we did in 1965 when these programs went into effect. So, it would appear that poverty is not defined by the absence of money. It also appears that poverty is not cured by throwing money at poor people. Anecdotally some lottery winners who have won millions have lost it all with years. So, money is not the problem. The best and proper thing for governments to do is to protect liberties that allow people to exercise their talents and to fully reap and keep the fruit of the labor and enterprise.As far as foreign aid: I will not send American's hard earned money to foreign governments where most of that money goes into the pockets of tyrants and bureaucrats.
8. Every president who has tried to solve the Palestinian question has failed. How would your approach be different? Your question presupposes that there is a solution to the "Palestinian Question". All the evidence over decades points to the fact that the Palestinians are incapable of self-government. It also leads one to rationally conclude that the Palestinians have only one answer in mind: the complete destruction of Israel and the Jews.The Israelis have given up much in compromise and have received Katusha rockets and murder bombers in return. Let me ask you a question: The Palestinians, in direct contradiction to their rhetoric, want the Israelis dead. The Israelis don't want to die. Where is the middle ground or compromise between those two positions?
9. Is it possible to greatly reduce illegal immigration from Mexico by helping improve the quality of life in that country? How would you do that? To answer the first part of your question- it's possible IF and WHEN the MEXICAN government improves the quality of life in ITS country. In case you haven't notice and in direct refutation of La Raza's philosophy, Mexico is a sovereign nation. To help Mexico along those lines, I propose an impenetrable wall along our southern border to keep the labor pool of Mexicans in Mexico. The people that are leaving Mexico are obviously risk takers and are exactly the type of person that Mexico needs to keep. No need to thank me Presidente Calderon. More than happy to do it.
10. Name three things the United Nations does well.
A.The UN wastes money, and more of it, than any other international organization.
B. If you need an international scandal that may include raping children, keeping horrific tyrants in power or completely abandoning its mission, the United Nations is the go to entity.
C. The United Nations has no equal when it comes to sharply worded and completely ineffective resolutions.
I could go on but in the interest of time,and you only asked for three, I'll stop here.
11. Does the US have a special role in the world as the guardian of international security and as the indispensable leader of the world community? I've answered this in previous questions.
12. Both of you support Georgia and Ukraine joining NATO, making them allies. Are the American people ready to jeopardize their soldiers in defense of these countries if they are attacked? I support this only, and I mean ONLY with the full and equal inclusion of all NATO members. This will reflect the implementation of my policy as outlined in my answer to questions 2,3 and 6. I will never engage in another failed NATO incursion such as Bosnia where the combined military efforts of Great Britain, Germany, Denmark and France by themselves were so completely inadequate on their own that they could not address this pitifully small problem without the inclusion of the American Air Force. Never!
13. What steps would you take to open foreign markets now closed to US goods, to allow export of products and services that the US does well? First off is to rid American enterprise of all illegal and unConstitutional encumberances. To name just a few: OSHA, EEOC, Sarbanes-Oxley. I will also aggressively press Congress to totally eliminate the Karl Marx induced inheritance tax. The United States governement will not have the IRS be the first person who talks to a grieving family after the undertaker. The inheritance tax is unconscienable at any level! I will aggressively press Congress to reduce the Capital Gains tax to zero. I will also aggressively press Congress to reduce the corporate tax to zero. I would then aggressively press Congress to repeal the 16th Amendment to the Constitution or affix a truly flat tax whereby every citizen of the United States pays roughly the same tax per citizen. This will free Americans to profitably exercise their talents either directly or via investments. It will free up Americans to compete in the world market. Should a country decide to erect barriers to trade, my Cabinet will explore an appropriate response. However, the government will remove itself as a barrier to the great American engine of enterprise.
14. Roughly what proportion of US resources should go toward helping and protecting other nations compared with the resources that are needed to build up America? Little if any. The United States is always willing to fully and truly partner with others as long as it is beneficial to and in the interests of the United States. That's what the idea of "partnering" is.
15. Twenty years ago, Islamic terrorism was a sleeper issue. Some people warned about it, but few paid much attention to it. Same thing for climate change. In your opinion, what is today's sleeper issue? A sleeper issue is not and certainly was not "climate change". Nice try trying to sneak that one into the conversation. Again, my concern is the many faceted threat posed by the lack of aggressively exploiting our own oil resources, the failure of Congress to be able in any way to perceive a crisis long before it kicks down the door and the rise of state sponsored expansion of ideology across a wide range of venues.
The Christian Science Monitor has proposed fifteen questions for the two large party presidential candidates.
Well, as I am constitutionally qualified to president, I think I'll answer the questions:
1. When horrific war crimes or a humanitarian crisis occurs in another country, should the United States intervene – even if the United Nations refuses to approve? What would be your threshold for such a crisis to justify US military action? Unless there are legitimate concerns and issues regarding the United States, economically or militarily, there is no humanitarian or war crime crisis that would prompt me to intervene. The United States has for far too long been the default rescuer of foreign government and/or their citizens. America has been castigated and pilloried for "not doing enough" when the blood of our sons has long ago soaked into foreign soil. I will address the United Nations in a following question.
By the way, on my watch, the United States military will never, ever be used as a guarantor of an international "Meals on Wheels" or any other type program such as was witnessed in Somalia. This is strictly under the purview of the United Nations
2. Some experts contend that the US should address the security fears of Iran, Russia, North Korea, and China in order to prevent these countries from becoming threats to others. Do you agree with this approach? First of all I'd ask: which "experts" have said this? It appears that the concerns of these countries have little to do with "security fears" and have more to do with "ideological expansion". Iran's President and the ruling imams seems hell bent (a term I specifically use) on introducing the 12th Imam. Russia pines for the days of the Grand Soviet and seems quite willing to use energy to extract tribute from Europe and become a world arbiter at the minimum. North Korea is run by a despot who is willing to starve his own citizens to accomplish his own ends. China, make no mistake about it, is a police state that uses a form of capitalism to threaten a region then a hemisphere. It would appear that the United States and many other countries should be the one that have legitimate security concerns.
3. What are the three most important steps to achieve American energy security?
1. The government, especially Congress, accepts its limits under Article 1 section 8 and the 10th Amendment. In other words, it gets out of the way. 2. Drill here. 3. Drill now. I would also reduce any and all taxes on revenue from new domestic oil production by at least 75% for any and all new wells brought in in the next two years, 50% for any new oil wells brought in the next 3 years. I'd issue tax credits, not tax deductions for all investments in new wells for the next 10 years. All restrictions on off shore drilling within 50 miles of the shoreline will be eliminated. Lawsuits against oil companies will be severely restricted. Clean coal technology will be fast tracked. Ethanol subsidies will be eliminated. As will all CAFE standards. Nuclear power stations will also be fast tracked.
4. Would you compel Americans to adopt standards on carbon emissions even if China and India do not take similar actions? Absolutely not.
5. And why do you prefer a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gases when that approach has not worked in Europe – whereas a carbon tax in Sweden did help lower greenhouse-gas emissions? I don't. It would appear that you don't know me well enough, or the lack of science behind the fraud called "climate change" or "global warming" or whatever you're calling it today, or you wouldn't have even thought of asking me that question.
6. If US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan largely ends during your first term, how would you then change the American military based on your reading of its potential roles? My concern since that horrible day in September 2001 has been the changing nature of the threats that face the United States. And it appears that the left, especially in Congress have dramatically failed in every and all respects to realize that change and address it. The United States military is made up of the finest men and women in the world. Period. It is the military that ensures that the left can complain about what a miserable place they believe America to be. I have friends who are members of the Band of Brothers. And they hold the modern day troopers and air assault soldiers in the highest regard. That being said, the military faces a dual mission: they must be prepared to fight asymmetrical assaults by radical terrorists all the while being prepared to fight the 21st century version of conventional war in the near future. I believe that certain nations and governments encourage and support asymmetrical assaults against the United States to keep us off balance while planning more conventional conflict. A case in point is the arrival of Russian ships of the line to participate in joint military exercises with the government of Venezuela. This represents a direct threat to the United States sea lanes where we import so much of our oil. This is just one example of why drilling for domestic oil is vital to the United States.
7. The international community has helped reduce extreme poverty by almost half a billion people since 1990. What would you do to reduce poverty in other countries, especially in Africa, in addition to what President Bush has already done? I'm very curious as to how you arrived at that conclusion. What's your evidence? If I may, I'd like to direct you to the United States efforts to reduce poverty via the failed programs of "The Great Society" and their expansion. Those programs have wasted $1,000,000,000,000's of dollars and yet we have the same percentage of poor that we did in 1965 when these programs went into effect. So, it would appear that poverty is not defined by the absence of money. It also appears that poverty is not cured by throwing money at poor people. Anecdotally some lottery winners who have won millions have lost it all with years. So, money is not the problem. The best and proper thing for governments to do is to protect liberties that allow people to exercise their talents and to fully reap and keep the fruit of the labor and enterprise.As far as foreign aid: I will not send American's hard earned money to foreign governments where most of that money goes into the pockets of tyrants and bureaucrats.
8. Every president who has tried to solve the Palestinian question has failed. How would your approach be different? Your question presupposes that there is a solution to the "Palestinian Question". All the evidence over decades points to the fact that the Palestinians are incapable of self-government. It also leads one to rationally conclude that the Palestinians have only one answer in mind: the complete destruction of Israel and the Jews.The Israelis have given up much in compromise and have received Katusha rockets and murder bombers in return. Let me ask you a question: The Palestinians, in direct contradiction to their rhetoric, want the Israelis dead. The Israelis don't want to die. Where is the middle ground or compromise between those two positions?
9. Is it possible to greatly reduce illegal immigration from Mexico by helping improve the quality of life in that country? How would you do that? To answer the first part of your question- it's possible IF and WHEN the MEXICAN government improves the quality of life in ITS country. In case you haven't notice and in direct refutation of La Raza's philosophy, Mexico is a sovereign nation. To help Mexico along those lines, I propose an impenetrable wall along our southern border to keep the labor pool of Mexicans in Mexico. The people that are leaving Mexico are obviously risk takers and are exactly the type of person that Mexico needs to keep. No need to thank me Presidente Calderon. More than happy to do it.
10. Name three things the United Nations does well.
A.The UN wastes money, and more of it, than any other international organization.
B. If you need an international scandal that may include raping children, keeping horrific tyrants in power or completely abandoning its mission, the United Nations is the go to entity.
C. The United Nations has no equal when it comes to sharply worded and completely ineffective resolutions.
I could go on but in the interest of time,and you only asked for three, I'll stop here.
11. Does the US have a special role in the world as the guardian of international security and as the indispensable leader of the world community? I've answered this in previous questions.
12. Both of you support Georgia and Ukraine joining NATO, making them allies. Are the American people ready to jeopardize their soldiers in defense of these countries if they are attacked? I support this only, and I mean ONLY with the full and equal inclusion of all NATO members. This will reflect the implementation of my policy as outlined in my answer to questions 2,3 and 6. I will never engage in another failed NATO incursion such as Bosnia where the combined military efforts of Great Britain, Germany, Denmark and France by themselves were so completely inadequate on their own that they could not address this pitifully small problem without the inclusion of the American Air Force. Never!
13. What steps would you take to open foreign markets now closed to US goods, to allow export of products and services that the US does well? First off is to rid American enterprise of all illegal and unConstitutional encumberances. To name just a few: OSHA, EEOC, Sarbanes-Oxley. I will also aggressively press Congress to totally eliminate the Karl Marx induced inheritance tax. The United States governement will not have the IRS be the first person who talks to a grieving family after the undertaker. The inheritance tax is unconscienable at any level! I will aggressively press Congress to reduce the Capital Gains tax to zero. I will also aggressively press Congress to reduce the corporate tax to zero. I would then aggressively press Congress to repeal the 16th Amendment to the Constitution or affix a truly flat tax whereby every citizen of the United States pays roughly the same tax per citizen. This will free Americans to profitably exercise their talents either directly or via investments. It will free up Americans to compete in the world market. Should a country decide to erect barriers to trade, my Cabinet will explore an appropriate response. However, the government will remove itself as a barrier to the great American engine of enterprise.
14. Roughly what proportion of US resources should go toward helping and protecting other nations compared with the resources that are needed to build up America? Little if any. The United States is always willing to fully and truly partner with others as long as it is beneficial to and in the interests of the United States. That's what the idea of "partnering" is.
15. Twenty years ago, Islamic terrorism was a sleeper issue. Some people warned about it, but few paid much attention to it. Same thing for climate change. In your opinion, what is today's sleeper issue? A sleeper issue is not and certainly was not "climate change". Nice try trying to sneak that one into the conversation. Again, my concern is the many faceted threat posed by the lack of aggressively exploiting our own oil resources, the failure of Congress to be able in any way to perceive a crisis long before it kicks down the door and the rise of state sponsored expansion of ideology across a wide range of venues.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The direction
A few weeks ago I heard a very disturbing phrase on the radio from a candidate. I didn't hear who it was, but I kept thinking about that phrase over and over as it was so disturbing and at the same time also revealing. Coming home today, I heard it again. And a parallel phrase to boot. It was from His Selected Oneness, Barack Hussein Obama.
BHO was responding to a call from McCain suggesting that this Friday's debate be postponed as Congress reviews to what extent Congress will screw the taxpayer.
Here was the money statement "And move the country in the direction we want." He said that twice. Then also commented about "moving the economy in the direction we want." Twice.
Haven't these clowns showed us over the past forty years the direction they "want to take the country"? What about the direction that I want to take my life? Well, thanks to the fact that we now live in a functional democracy where we were supposed to live in a constitutional republic where I had protection from the will of the majority, I'm screwed. Unless of course I want to go to prison.
Land of the free...as long as you're going in the direction "we want you to go".
BHO was responding to a call from McCain suggesting that this Friday's debate be postponed as Congress reviews to what extent Congress will screw the taxpayer.
Here was the money statement "And move the country in the direction we want." He said that twice. Then also commented about "moving the economy in the direction we want." Twice.
Haven't these clowns showed us over the past forty years the direction they "want to take the country"? What about the direction that I want to take my life? Well, thanks to the fact that we now live in a functional democracy where we were supposed to live in a constitutional republic where I had protection from the will of the majority, I'm screwed. Unless of course I want to go to prison.
Land of the free...as long as you're going in the direction "we want you to go".
Your grief counselor
There is at least one point that where I disagree with Jim Angle : we had an opportunity to avoid this mess by never getting into it. There is no authority in the Constitution for Congress to authorize a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae type entity. None at all. There is no authority in the Constitution for Congress to pass a Community Reinvestment Act. There is no authority in the Constitution for the President to sign such acts. We got into this mess by government doing what is was never allowed to do. This is like letting your three year old drive the SUV and shaking your head when he wrecks the Explorer. And then buying him a new one-with pedal extensions and GPS navigation!
Time and time again the government screws up big time then comes to the rescue with another band aid for cancer.
And why would we trust these people to come up with a solution?
That makes as much sense as having Ted Bundy be the grief counselor for his victim's family.
I now hear that the Dems in Congress want to punish the execs of Wall Street. Only after Chris Dodd and Barney Frank are frog walked off the floor of Congress. And after the execs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac share a cell with Bernie Ebbers.
Friday, September 19, 2008
A larger carbon footprint from burning the midnight oil...I'm sure
Those intrepid ABC reporters are at it again, wasting no time in discovering a document, more than likely the Golden Key, that will send Sarah Palin crashing to earth!
Nixon had his Oval Office tapes, Bill Clinton a stained blue dress. And now Sarah Palin has this document from ABC that is a torpedo at her waterline.
And I am of course convinced beyond any doubt that ABC is searching and demanding with equal vigor access to the documents that Obama wants to keep hidden regarding his complicity with Bill Ayers' with the Annenberg Challenge ( Ayers is a convicted American terrorist who Obama just describes as "a guy who lived in my neighborhood") .
Well, let's see what Stanley Kurtz has discovered, or not as the case may be, shall we?
Maybe Mr. Kurtz could enlist the help of those even minded, non-biased ABC truth seekers?
BTW, here is the text of an email I sent off to Mr. Kurtz:
Dear Mr. Kurtz:
I noticed over at Hot Air that ABC has discovered a document that they represent as putting the lie to Sarah Palin’s version of “Troopergate” (article here).
Perhaps the courageous truth seekers of the fourth estate currently residing at ABC might be willing to help you pry loose the documents you’ve been seeking from the University of Illinois at Chicago regarding Barack Obama’s relationship with Bill Ayers and their work on the Annenberg Challenge?
Should that be the case, I’ll be diligent in watching for low flying sows and boars.
Best regards,
Nixon had his Oval Office tapes, Bill Clinton a stained blue dress. And now Sarah Palin has this document from ABC that is a torpedo at her waterline.
And I am of course convinced beyond any doubt that ABC is searching and demanding with equal vigor access to the documents that Obama wants to keep hidden regarding his complicity with Bill Ayers' with the Annenberg Challenge ( Ayers is a convicted American terrorist who Obama just describes as "a guy who lived in my neighborhood") .
Well, let's see what Stanley Kurtz has discovered, or not as the case may be, shall we?
Maybe Mr. Kurtz could enlist the help of those even minded, non-biased ABC truth seekers?
BTW, here is the text of an email I sent off to Mr. Kurtz:
Dear Mr. Kurtz:
I noticed over at Hot Air that ABC has discovered a document that they represent as putting the lie to Sarah Palin’s version of “Troopergate” (article here).
Perhaps the courageous truth seekers of the fourth estate currently residing at ABC might be willing to help you pry loose the documents you’ve been seeking from the University of Illinois at Chicago regarding Barack Obama’s relationship with Bill Ayers and their work on the Annenberg Challenge?
Should that be the case, I’ll be diligent in watching for low flying sows and boars.
Best regards,
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Timing is everything...and the 35W Bridge
I got up this morning at 3:15 a.m. to get ready to pickup my Mom for our great adventure to cross the 35W Bridge.
My concern was that we would get there too early when I heard that MNDOT and the Highway Patrol were going to slow down the crossing. After I picked up Mom, I had planned to get to the Bridge by going over to Hiawatha Avenue and coming in from the south. We heard on the radio that the Highway Patrol was not letting anyone line up for the Bridge crossing. So, I took a detour south on Hiawatha to make sure we didn't get to the Bridge too early. It worked out well.
As we approached the Bridge, it appeared that befitting a new bridge, there was a traffic jam. Well, as we got a bit closer, we saw about 100 yards ahead of us a whole slew of flashing lights and I realized that we were behind the rolling barricade composed of MNDOT trucks and Highway Patrol cruisers that were opening the Bridge. This meant that Mom and I were one of the first 100 cars across the Bridge!
And as took low quality videos with my cell phone:
Here is the approach (the flashing lights you see to the mid center right is the rolling blockade):
Here we are on the Bridge:
And here we are at the end of the Bridge from the south(you'll notice that the rolling blockade has exited to the right at the University/4th Street S.E. exit):
And here we are on the immediate return trip from north to south (and zip-zap and we're over the bridge!) As we exited at East Hennepin for the return trip, I asked Mom if she'd be interested in a real first: the first accident on the new 35W Bridge. She decided that that would not be a resume enhancing event for her.:
I have no idea what the background noise is as on my original you hear my Mom and me in the background.
Well, anyhow, it was a momentous morning.
My concern was that we would get there too early when I heard that MNDOT and the Highway Patrol were going to slow down the crossing. After I picked up Mom, I had planned to get to the Bridge by going over to Hiawatha Avenue and coming in from the south. We heard on the radio that the Highway Patrol was not letting anyone line up for the Bridge crossing. So, I took a detour south on Hiawatha to make sure we didn't get to the Bridge too early. It worked out well.
As we approached the Bridge, it appeared that befitting a new bridge, there was a traffic jam. Well, as we got a bit closer, we saw about 100 yards ahead of us a whole slew of flashing lights and I realized that we were behind the rolling barricade composed of MNDOT trucks and Highway Patrol cruisers that were opening the Bridge. This meant that Mom and I were one of the first 100 cars across the Bridge!
And as took low quality videos with my cell phone:
Here is the approach (the flashing lights you see to the mid center right is the rolling blockade):
Here we are on the Bridge:
And here we are at the end of the Bridge from the south(you'll notice that the rolling blockade has exited to the right at the University/4th Street S.E. exit):
And here we are on the immediate return trip from north to south (and zip-zap and we're over the bridge!) As we exited at East Hennepin for the return trip, I asked Mom if she'd be interested in a real first: the first accident on the new 35W Bridge. She decided that that would not be a resume enhancing event for her.:
I have no idea what the background noise is as on my original you hear my Mom and me in the background.
Well, anyhow, it was a momentous morning.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
B,B,B,B...and Thoreau Part III
Power Line and Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air have the best short explanations of the one of the trunks (not roots) of the current financial disaster brought to you the people under the marble dome in Foggy Bottom.
BTW, the real roots of the crisis: no constitutional authority for Congress in all this. Congress functioning as a democracy rather than a constitutional republic.
BTW, the real roots of the crisis: no constitutional authority for Congress in all this. Congress functioning as a democracy rather than a constitutional republic.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
B,B,B,B...and Thoreau Part II
It as if they haven't learned a thing:
"Fed rescues AIG with $85 billion loan for 80% stake" (There is no place, repeat no place in the Constitution that allows this or even hints at the government owning an insurance company)
"Pelosi orders wide Wall Street probe" (Notice, not a probe of the crisis, but only of Wall Street).
If I may translate: "Trust us not to investigate ourselves, ignore history and economists and blame Bush, Wall Street, Big Banks, greed, Republicans all in one move."
"Fed rescues AIG with $85 billion loan for 80% stake" (There is no place, repeat no place in the Constitution that allows this or even hints at the government owning an insurance company)
"Pelosi orders wide Wall Street probe" (Notice, not a probe of the crisis, but only of Wall Street).
If I may translate: "Trust us not to investigate ourselves, ignore history and economists and blame Bush, Wall Street, Big Banks, greed, Republicans all in one move."
Bridges, Banks, Bernake, Band aids...and Thoreau
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root" Thoreau
Last week, as we heard the news that the new 35W bridge would probably be completed this week, my Mom and I planned on driving across it the first day it was open for public traffic. We were returning from the funeral of a classmate of my Dad's who had also become a friend of Mom's and we took the scenic route across the 10th Avenue bridge that parallels the 35W bridge. I commented that they should open the 35W bridge at 2:00 a.m. so as to avoid traffic jams. when I saw the 5:00 a.m. opening, it occurred to me that at 2:00 a.m. the drunks would still be out being bottle brave and stupid. At 5:00 a.m., they'd be either sober or sleeping. So, I'm planning an early morning pickup of Mom and a cell phone camcorder recording of "Amendment X's Most Excellent Adventure on the New St. Anthony Bridge... With His Mom in Tow". What does this have to do with my blog title? I'll get to that now.
When the bridge went down, and I've blogged on this, that many people said that it would take five years to replace. well, I've got enough construction background to be dangerous and have faith in real American know how and ingenuity , so I corrected the five year people. I said that if the government got out of the way, the bridge could easily be built in under two years. So, the powers that be "fast tracked" the new bridge (read: got the hell out of the way by cutting and burning a whole slew of red tape and regulations. In other words, they struck at the roots of inefficiency and delay) and "Shazamm and Kazowee!!!". The Bridge is done in under a year from start up. I truly love being wrong to the good side.
The "banks": Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, WAMU, Bear/Stearns, etc. So, what happened here? In a word: government. In a phrase: insuring the moral hazard. The thought on Wall Street "They bailed out Bear/Stearns. They'll bail out us." Like the floods in North Dakota in the 1990's, people kept building their houses on the flood plain of the Red River of the North because, well after all, the government would step in and help them build anew. Insuring/ensuring the moral hazard. The big wakeup call on Wall Street: Secretary Paulson said to the meeting of bankers on Saturday:"No government money guys. Find a way out of this yourselves." And scramble they did. The little known secret is that this was a hand grenade with the pin pulled and the spoon released. It was going to explode. It happened to explode now. It was all set up during the Clinton years with the silly notion of "affordable housing" which means "welfare/subsidized housing" and "the right to own a house". People who couldn't buy the house they were in were given loans. Freddie Mac and Fannie May were the major underwriters of loans and/for mortgages that people couldn't pay back. Then Bear/Stearns, Lehman Brothers, et al started to issue "mortgage backed securities". Then Alan Greenspan started to flood the market with low interest rates to banks and the banks went out and loaned money like there was no tomorrow. The bubble was created. And no bubble lasts. When the bubble burst, it was a ripple effect. And we see the disaster now: the government created the bubble, then protected the bubble and now blames everyone else when the bubble bursts. And Bernake has started down the same path as Greenspan. Who pays for it all? You do. I do. My widowed eighty old mother does. The single Mom does. The newlyweds do. The retirees who depend on their retirement funds.
The good news: Secretary Paulson stood by that line in the sand and said "No bailout boys." The bad news: McCain and Obama have no clue as to the real problem. They will pile on new regulations that will finally fix what all the old regulations didn't. They will "make Wall Street pay". They will cut at the branches of the problem but not strike at the roots. They will put a new band aid on the old band aid but not treat the underlying wound. How do I know? John McCain just said that people need to held responsible (I agree); that Wall Street has been reckless and will be held responsible. Nothing said about Congress being held responsible. Nothing about holding the Federal Reserve responsible. Nothing said about the executives at Freddie Mac and Fannie May and their huge contributions to left wing Democrats. But Wall Street responds to the market disruptions and distortions from Washington and then Wall Street is "held responsible".
My point on all this plus the 35W bridge? Things work well/best when the the government is out of the way.
But "holding Wall Street responsible", "holding Big Oil responsible" make for a better sound bite then "The Congress and the Federal Reserve are out of control and need to be regulated". Well, Congress is regulated-by Article 1 section 8 of the Constitution and the 10th Amendment in the Bill of Rights. Sorry- Congress is supposedly and is supposed to be regulated by...oh,forget it. People like me are ignored.
A few links for further reading:
Cato Institute
John Lott
Investors Business Daily
Masters of the Universe
Hot Air
Be sure to listen to Glenn Beck on CNN in the evening this week as he exposes the financial disaster that is engulfing America and what really needs to be done. And next week he'll be talking about energy.
As I look at this mess and what McCain and BHO and Congress will and will not do and as I look over the horizon at the looming three hundred foot tsunami headed for us called Social Security and Medicare, I'm reminded a quote from Will Smith in "I, Robot"-"Yah know, somehow saying "I told you so" just doesn't seem to cut it!"
And I fear that that is what I and others will be saying in a few years.
Last week, as we heard the news that the new 35W bridge would probably be completed this week, my Mom and I planned on driving across it the first day it was open for public traffic. We were returning from the funeral of a classmate of my Dad's who had also become a friend of Mom's and we took the scenic route across the 10th Avenue bridge that parallels the 35W bridge. I commented that they should open the 35W bridge at 2:00 a.m. so as to avoid traffic jams. when I saw the 5:00 a.m. opening, it occurred to me that at 2:00 a.m. the drunks would still be out being bottle brave and stupid. At 5:00 a.m., they'd be either sober or sleeping. So, I'm planning an early morning pickup of Mom and a cell phone camcorder recording of "Amendment X's Most Excellent Adventure on the New St. Anthony Bridge... With His Mom in Tow". What does this have to do with my blog title? I'll get to that now.
When the bridge went down, and I've blogged on this, that many people said that it would take five years to replace. well, I've got enough construction background to be dangerous and have faith in real American know how and ingenuity , so I corrected the five year people. I said that if the government got out of the way, the bridge could easily be built in under two years. So, the powers that be "fast tracked" the new bridge (read: got the hell out of the way by cutting and burning a whole slew of red tape and regulations. In other words, they struck at the roots of inefficiency and delay) and "Shazamm and Kazowee!!!". The Bridge is done in under a year from start up. I truly love being wrong to the good side.
The "banks": Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, WAMU, Bear/Stearns, etc. So, what happened here? In a word: government. In a phrase: insuring the moral hazard. The thought on Wall Street "They bailed out Bear/Stearns. They'll bail out us." Like the floods in North Dakota in the 1990's, people kept building their houses on the flood plain of the Red River of the North because, well after all, the government would step in and help them build anew. Insuring/ensuring the moral hazard. The big wakeup call on Wall Street: Secretary Paulson said to the meeting of bankers on Saturday:"No government money guys. Find a way out of this yourselves." And scramble they did. The little known secret is that this was a hand grenade with the pin pulled and the spoon released. It was going to explode. It happened to explode now. It was all set up during the Clinton years with the silly notion of "affordable housing" which means "welfare/subsidized housing" and "the right to own a house". People who couldn't buy the house they were in were given loans. Freddie Mac and Fannie May were the major underwriters of loans and/for mortgages that people couldn't pay back. Then Bear/Stearns, Lehman Brothers, et al started to issue "mortgage backed securities". Then Alan Greenspan started to flood the market with low interest rates to banks and the banks went out and loaned money like there was no tomorrow. The bubble was created. And no bubble lasts. When the bubble burst, it was a ripple effect. And we see the disaster now: the government created the bubble, then protected the bubble and now blames everyone else when the bubble bursts. And Bernake has started down the same path as Greenspan. Who pays for it all? You do. I do. My widowed eighty old mother does. The single Mom does. The newlyweds do. The retirees who depend on their retirement funds.
The good news: Secretary Paulson stood by that line in the sand and said "No bailout boys." The bad news: McCain and Obama have no clue as to the real problem. They will pile on new regulations that will finally fix what all the old regulations didn't. They will "make Wall Street pay". They will cut at the branches of the problem but not strike at the roots. They will put a new band aid on the old band aid but not treat the underlying wound. How do I know? John McCain just said that people need to held responsible (I agree); that Wall Street has been reckless and will be held responsible. Nothing said about Congress being held responsible. Nothing about holding the Federal Reserve responsible. Nothing said about the executives at Freddie Mac and Fannie May and their huge contributions to left wing Democrats. But Wall Street responds to the market disruptions and distortions from Washington and then Wall Street is "held responsible".
My point on all this plus the 35W bridge? Things work well/best when the the government is out of the way.
But "holding Wall Street responsible", "holding Big Oil responsible" make for a better sound bite then "The Congress and the Federal Reserve are out of control and need to be regulated". Well, Congress is regulated-by Article 1 section 8 of the Constitution and the 10th Amendment in the Bill of Rights. Sorry- Congress is supposedly and is supposed to be regulated by...oh,forget it. People like me are ignored.
A few links for further reading:
Cato Institute
John Lott
Investors Business Daily
Masters of the Universe
Hot Air
Be sure to listen to Glenn Beck on CNN in the evening this week as he exposes the financial disaster that is engulfing America and what really needs to be done. And next week he'll be talking about energy.
As I look at this mess and what McCain and BHO and Congress will and will not do and as I look over the horizon at the looming three hundred foot tsunami headed for us called Social Security and Medicare, I'm reminded a quote from Will Smith in "I, Robot"-"Yah know, somehow saying "I told you so" just doesn't seem to cut it!"
And I fear that that is what I and others will be saying in a few years.
Monday, September 15, 2008
See I told you so.
Amendment X often criticizes my eating habit -
Such as my latest discovery "Chick Fried Bacon"
(Winner Best Food Texas State Fair)
But science proves that maybe us Meatatarians are onto something:
Eating veggies shrinks the brain
MELBOURNE: Scientists have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain-with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage.
As a proud member of PETROV (People for the Ethical Treatment of Rutabaga and Other Vegetables) I feel vindicated.
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