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.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
As if we need another reason
I was in Kansas City, MO at a rugby tournament when there was a double dose of news: The Saturday Night Massacre and the first Arab Oil Embargo. At that time we imported just over 20% of our daily oil consumption. We now import nearly 60%. And that all arrives via sea lanes.
Investors Business Daily has an article which shows how Congress has made us incredibly vulnerable.
Our good close personal buddy, pro-liberty Hugo Chavez, has invited the Russian Navy to engage in joint naval exercises in the Caribbean. Now, considering that as we import so much of our oil from overseas, this joint exercise points again to why we need to drill now!
That we depend for so much of our oil on the kindness of others that are not favorably disposed to kindly view us and now we face a military threat that could disrupt oil deliveries should move (repeat SHOULD move) the left wing controlled Congress to protect the vital interests of the United States.
My suggestion: write to Amy Klobuchar and cite the IBD article. Write to Norm Coleman and tell him to resign from the Gang of 16. And again cite the IBD article.
If you live in any Congressional district where you have a Democrat representing you, write to them.
Go here to locate the Senators' and Congressmens' addresses.
I just sent the following letter to Senator Klobuchar:
Investors Business Daily has an article which shows how Congress has made us incredibly vulnerable.
Our good close personal buddy, pro-liberty Hugo Chavez, has invited the Russian Navy to engage in joint naval exercises in the Caribbean. Now, considering that as we import so much of our oil from overseas, this joint exercise points again to why we need to drill now!
That we depend for so much of our oil on the kindness of others that are not favorably disposed to kindly view us and now we face a military threat that could disrupt oil deliveries should move (repeat SHOULD move) the left wing controlled Congress to protect the vital interests of the United States.
My suggestion: write to Amy Klobuchar and cite the IBD article. Write to Norm Coleman and tell him to resign from the Gang of 16. And again cite the IBD article.
If you live in any Congressional district where you have a Democrat representing you, write to them.
Go here to locate the Senators' and Congressmens' addresses.
I just sent the following letter to Senator Klobuchar:
Senator:
I have just read an alarming article in Investors Business Daily ( http://ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=305766737761086 ).
Hugo Chavez has invited the Russian Navy to engage in joint naval exercises in the
As the
This again points to the need to have access to our own domestic oil supplies.
I therefore urge you to eliminate any and all impediments to drilling for oil in any and all areas of the
Respectfully,
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Ella's Adventures Updated
Finally got the new pictures from the 2008 convention up on Ella's site.
Just click on Ella's Adventures in either menu bar or go to:
http://www.savagerepublican.com/ella
Just click on Ella's Adventures in either menu bar or go to:
http://www.savagerepublican.com/ella
Friday, September 05, 2008
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Off to St. Paul
I received a call on Monday from the MN GOP, telling me that there was a ticket for me to the RNC on Wednesday. Later that day , I talked to Savage Republican and he told me that Ron Carey, Exec. Chair of the MN GOP had arranged for the ticket and the call.
I've been invited to a bloggers lunch today by Ed Morrissey. So, though I promised I wouldn't get close to St. Paul even if a 9mm were pointed at my brain stem. Well, though the MSM would erroneously call this a flip flop, well, I'm using the occasion to introduce myself to people to promote another cause:
On June 6th, 1944, then Lt. Dick Winters (Band of Brothers), in his and the 101st Airborne first day in combat, took a squad of men to attack and silence four 105mm howitzers that were zeroed in on Utah beach and threatened the landings (intelligence first thought the howitzers were 88mm). Lt. Winters took his squad and formulated an attack against a German heavy platoon/light company that were in charge of the artillery battery.
This action is still studied at West Point as a perfect fire and maneuver action.
Lt. Winters was cited and recommended for the Medal of Honor. Lost in the decades of history is the reason that citation was downgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross. Stephen Ambrose wrote that there was a directive that there would only be one Medal of Honor per division in the Normandy campaign. I've never heard of any evidence to either support or refute that statement. Lt. Robert Cole was the only man from the 101st to receive the MOH.
What I've wanted to do, and Savage Republican is giving great help, is to have that original Medal of Honor citation re-instated. There have been a couple of attempts to have this done. Unfortunately, there were too local and not also not widely publicized.
I also need to be VERY clear: this is NOT an upgrade. This a re-instatement of the original citation! An upgrade would be if the original citation were for a DSC and people are trying to get that citation changed to the MOH. That is not the case here.
We have bought the domain name www.honoreasy.com . We are in the process of getting the website up. It is an informational website only. We urge people to contact their Congressman/Congresswoman to urge them to pass a resolution affirming and re-instating the original citation for MOH for Dick Winters. We urge people to call and write the White House and President Bush to right this wrong.
We will have all the information you'll need to do this.
If you have a blog, include the link www.honoreasy.com .
Savage Republican and I will be updating you here and on the website.
BTW, here are two scenes from YouTube and the Band of Brothers DVD showing the action that Lt. Winters was cited for.
I've been invited to a bloggers lunch today by Ed Morrissey. So, though I promised I wouldn't get close to St. Paul even if a 9mm were pointed at my brain stem. Well, though the MSM would erroneously call this a flip flop, well, I'm using the occasion to introduce myself to people to promote another cause:
On June 6th, 1944, then Lt. Dick Winters (Band of Brothers), in his and the 101st Airborne first day in combat, took a squad of men to attack and silence four 105mm howitzers that were zeroed in on Utah beach and threatened the landings (intelligence first thought the howitzers were 88mm). Lt. Winters took his squad and formulated an attack against a German heavy platoon/light company that were in charge of the artillery battery.
This action is still studied at West Point as a perfect fire and maneuver action.
Lt. Winters was cited and recommended for the Medal of Honor. Lost in the decades of history is the reason that citation was downgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross. Stephen Ambrose wrote that there was a directive that there would only be one Medal of Honor per division in the Normandy campaign. I've never heard of any evidence to either support or refute that statement. Lt. Robert Cole was the only man from the 101st to receive the MOH.
What I've wanted to do, and Savage Republican is giving great help, is to have that original Medal of Honor citation re-instated. There have been a couple of attempts to have this done. Unfortunately, there were too local and not also not widely publicized.
I also need to be VERY clear: this is NOT an upgrade. This a re-instatement of the original citation! An upgrade would be if the original citation were for a DSC and people are trying to get that citation changed to the MOH. That is not the case here.
We have bought the domain name www.honoreasy.com . We are in the process of getting the website up. It is an informational website only. We urge people to contact their Congressman/Congresswoman to urge them to pass a resolution affirming and re-instating the original citation for MOH for Dick Winters. We urge people to call and write the White House and President Bush to right this wrong.
We will have all the information you'll need to do this.
If you have a blog, include the link www.honoreasy.com .
Savage Republican and I will be updating you here and on the website.
BTW, here are two scenes from YouTube and the Band of Brothers DVD showing the action that Lt. Winters was cited for.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
RNC Convention
Like in 2004, Ella the Elephant is attending the convention.
For her daily updates please visit her daily blog at the savage pacer
http://www.savagepacer.com/community/blog/ella
One more drop redux
Yah gotta love video camcorders everywhere. This nasty bit of left wing true thought was captured on a flight from Denver to Charlotte (link here-read the comments! The below YouTube is a cleaned version from the Red State link so as to be better able to hear these two heartless creatures)
The speaker is none other than former Chair of the DNC Don Fowler. His companion is Congressman Jon Spratt (D-SC).
Like Michael Moore last week, they are giddy that Hurricane Gustav is going to hit the Gulf Coast during the Repubs Convention. No thought of concern for the misery, suffering, injury and death that a now Category 4 hurricane will cause. Just laughter. What an absolutely despicable lot! Absolutely despicable!
When will the decent people of America finally wake up and dump the Dems and the left?
There is NO compassion there. No belief in liberty, goodness, decency, America. None.
And those of you who vote Democrats into power ignore this bit of wisdom:
"Absolute power corrupts even when exercised for humane purposes. The benevolent despot who sees himself as a shepherd of the people still demands from others the submissiveness of sheep." -- The Longshoreman Philosopher
Again, be sure to read the comments in the link from above.
The speaker is none other than former Chair of the DNC Don Fowler. His companion is Congressman Jon Spratt (D-SC).
Like Michael Moore last week, they are giddy that Hurricane Gustav is going to hit the Gulf Coast during the Repubs Convention. No thought of concern for the misery, suffering, injury and death that a now Category 4 hurricane will cause. Just laughter. What an absolutely despicable lot! Absolutely despicable!
When will the decent people of America finally wake up and dump the Dems and the left?
There is NO compassion there. No belief in liberty, goodness, decency, America. None.
And those of you who vote Democrats into power ignore this bit of wisdom:
"Absolute power corrupts even when exercised for humane purposes. The benevolent despot who sees himself as a shepherd of the people still demands from others the submissiveness of sheep." -- The Longshoreman Philosopher
Again, be sure to read the comments in the link from above.
Grab the queen bee
From True North, I came across this link. What I found interesting was the third and second to the last paragraph as a counterpoint to the report of a search warrant served in St. Paul.
Chief states that talking to some MPD officers, he learned that as two uniform officers on bikes approach about a hundred "youths" the "youths" scattered. I wonder why?
The officers went on to say: " The police said there has been a large dispersal of many hives already, but they will surely re-connect by Monday or Tuesday. They said they have found stockpiles of re-bar rods, 2 x 4s with nails in the ends, buckets of feces, bike locks, hacksaws and other destructive toys of anarchist youth." Rebar, 2x4's with nails? Of real concern for me are the bike locks. They would be used to put across door handles to prevent exiting. And what would prevent one or more of these pukes from throwing a firebomb inside, then locking the door with a bike lock?
I am as concerned about about 4th Amendment rights as anyone. I've repeatedly spoken out against the USA PATRIOT ACT. I despise McCain/Feingold. However, this sign:
does not give these pukes super 4th Amendment protection when it involves them seeking to harm those of us who seek to peaceably assemble for a legal and legitimate purpose.
Reap what you sow.
Bye-bye anarkids!
Chief states that talking to some MPD officers, he learned that as two uniform officers on bikes approach about a hundred "youths" the "youths" scattered. I wonder why?
The officers went on to say: " The police said there has been a large dispersal of many hives already, but they will surely re-connect by Monday or Tuesday. They said they have found stockpiles of re-bar rods, 2 x 4s with nails in the ends, buckets of feces, bike locks, hacksaws and other destructive toys of anarchist youth." Rebar, 2x4's with nails? Of real concern for me are the bike locks. They would be used to put across door handles to prevent exiting. And what would prevent one or more of these pukes from throwing a firebomb inside, then locking the door with a bike lock?
I am as concerned about about 4th Amendment rights as anyone. I've repeatedly spoken out against the USA PATRIOT ACT. I despise McCain/Feingold. However, this sign:
does not give these pukes super 4th Amendment protection when it involves them seeking to harm those of us who seek to peaceably assemble for a legal and legitimate purpose.
Reap what you sow.
Bye-bye anarkids!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
One more drop
Like we need more evidence that the left is evil, supports evil or spreads evil, we have, for your due consideration, the male harpy of the left, the honors graduate of the Joseph Goebbels/Leni Riefenstahl School of Propaganda, his satanically benighted holiness, Michael Moore.
St. Michael commented on Keith Olberman "
St. Michael commented on Keith Olberman "
I was just thinking, this Gustav is proof that there is a God in heaven,” Moore said, laughing. “To have it planned at the same time – that it would actually be on its way to New Orleans for day one of the Republican Convention, up in the Twin Cities – at the top of the Mississippi River." A hurricane. A Category 3 hurricane that has already killed 80 people in the Caribbean. A hurricane that has wreaked havoc, destruction, fear, misery, pain and suffering.That threatens more of the same and is projected to hit the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast where fears from Katrina still linger. And his quackiness proclaims that, in his malicious, malevolent purview, that he's pleased as he believes that a killer storm is rich in irony as it relates to the Republicans. And he says so shamelessly, but attempts to lessen his gross callousness by saying that he hoped nobody got hurt, completely ignoring the 80 already dead and the misery and injury already caused.
This is the sought out one who was given a seat of honor next to Little Jimmy Carter at the 2004 Democratic Convention.
Further proof the left is not caring, not sensitive, not compassionate.
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