As an economist, I have often been frustrated in explaining the wrongheaded policies of the 
Friday, December 26, 2008
A Corrected View of Roosevelt,s Depression
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Bush to Blame - Absolutely say Some
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/21/business/21admin.php
The Libs hold sway with the media anyway. The story of the housing collapse is laid bare in this article and Bush takes the fall for the ENTIRE debacle. I think it is more complcated than this story presents. I think Bush began his presidency with a desire to get some economic sense into the financial markets but after 9/11 the thinking turned to "how can we get as much money spent as possible into our markets and world markets to goose economic growth" which for all practical purposes was headed for the tank. It was a fateful change of policy and it was highly contrary to the tenants of Republican conservative financial stewardship. It was a plan merrily
accepted by the Democrats because it was key to their long-term plan to increase the economic power of its own voter base. Add to that a ballooning bubble that nobody wanted to prick or even let the air out of under regulatory pressure.
The Libs hold sway with the media anyway. The story of the housing collapse is laid bare in this article and Bush takes the fall for the ENTIRE debacle. I think it is more complcated than this story presents. I think Bush began his presidency with a desire to get some economic sense into the financial markets but after 9/11 the thinking turned to "how can we get as much money spent as possible into our markets and world markets to goose economic growth" which for all practical purposes was headed for the tank. It was a fateful change of policy and it was highly contrary to the tenants of Republican conservative financial stewardship. It was a plan merrily
accepted by the Democrats because it was key to their long-term plan to increase the economic power of its own voter base. Add to that a ballooning bubble that nobody wanted to prick or even let the air out of under regulatory pressure.
so ... here is the story that blames Bush... remember up to now - our conservative resources have played to our suspicions that the key culprits were mostly Democrats, including many who are about to rule the government. http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/21/business/21admin.php
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Excellent Blogger for Economists-Investors
I am impressed by the analysis and presentation of many of the current financial issues from this analyst. Many links to further discussion on the topics he covers here. The quick take? Probably a choppy stock market until shortly after inauguration and if not soon after then pretty soon - a serious return to more stock declines. This blog is worth a bookmark!
 clipped from alephblog.com
 clipped from alephblog.com
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An interesting Investor's Blog
 clipped from www.investmentpostcards.com
 clipped from www.investmentpostcards.com
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Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Some Sign Posts -- Are we Watching?
David FRY is an excellent blogger on seekingalpha.
 clipped from seekingalpha.com
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"Son, We are Going to Hell" - epic story
More about this topic from the film at www.buzzcreek.com
 clipped from zakary7258.theblogs.de
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Monday, December 08, 2008
Col. John W. Ripley's Funeral
A marine sent this to me. This man remains an icon for generations of Marines.
December 1941 not a Conspiracy
 clipped from mwcnews.net
Why Those Pearl Harbor 'Conspiracy' Theories Ain’t So
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Sunday, December 07, 2008
Debate to save Detroit
Michigan Gov. Granholm / Woodruff - A News Program
I hope there is an alternative view expressed on Bloomberg. This interview was a platform to save the Unions and not much else even though the word "Union" was carefully avoided from what I could hear.
Both the high tax governor's preference of a federal bailout and the unstated conservative's preference for chapter 11 roceedings are legitimate approaches to saving American car industry. In BOTH cases many jobs will be lost. However, many who watched the corrupt unions kill their own industry over the years - are eager to see their hold broken and the companies to flourish with a fresh approach to management and labor. Chapter 11 will allow that.
This "news piece" by Woodruff is a "Save the Union" plea and not much else. In my view - high taxes by the State of Michigan and union abuses in the old manufacturing belt around the Great Lakes have driven new industry elsewhere and kept the union buggy whip makers fully employed in a world where buggy whips are gone. Woodruff and the governor are pleading in this puff piece to save the unions because they were solid behind Obama. Where is the other side of this discussion?
I hope there is an alternative view expressed on Bloomberg. This interview was a platform to save the Unions and not much else even though the word "Union" was carefully avoided from what I could hear.
Both the high tax governor's preference of a federal bailout and the unstated conservative's preference for chapter 11 roceedings are legitimate approaches to saving American car industry. In BOTH cases many jobs will be lost. However, many who watched the corrupt unions kill their own industry over the years - are eager to see their hold broken and the companies to flourish with a fresh approach to management and labor. Chapter 11 will allow that.
This "news piece" by Woodruff is a "Save the Union" plea and not much else. In my view - high taxes by the State of Michigan and union abuses in the old manufacturing belt around the Great Lakes have driven new industry elsewhere and kept the union buggy whip makers fully employed in a world where buggy whips are gone. Woodruff and the governor are pleading in this puff piece to save the unions because they were solid behind Obama. Where is the other side of this discussion?
Friday, December 05, 2008
Season's Greetings
To All My Democrat Friends:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that
To My Republican Friends:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Some Navy Heritage
PLAYING FOR TIME - A book about WWII in a four piper destroyer the USS Stewart. An excellent read for students of the Pacific War and the Asiatic Fleet. Read the talk given by Vic at the Asiatic Fleet Reunion (in the reviews).
The Cost of Green - IBD
IBD ARTICLE HERE I have long noted in my writing that the Green Revolution is a religion that has bastardized common sense conservation of the environment. It is expanded to the latest mutation known as "Global Warming". This artlcle may help put some of the insanity into perspective.
BAILOUTS - 18 Years Ago - READ.
It is COOLER so it is PROOF there is Global WARMING ???
Excellent Article on The Financial Meltdown and Wall Street.
BAILOUTS - 18 Years Ago - READ.
It is COOLER so it is PROOF there is Global WARMING ???
Excellent Article on The Financial Meltdown and Wall Street.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Confederate Bail Out is Due
Maybe the Confederate States can get a government bailout like some of the other failed financial and industrial organizations are now enjoying. It has been a good investment for America and it brings a lot of tourism dollars to the economy.I think the CSA needs a bailout !!
Yes, Benjamin (Jewish) was Sec. Treasury for CSA ... lot of folks don't know that. I'd like to get this but am thinking investments in FORD or GM might be better SHORT TERM bets for now - given the Unions Survival being of utmost importance to the Democrats who formerly waged war against "THE Union" at the time of this certificate of loan. Click for MORE.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Old Man Winter
This is a clipped post from facebook to my blog.
 clipped from www.facebook.com
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Thursday, November 27, 2008
Seaside, Florida
I like this place. It is not far from my hometown off the coast and inland in the cotton and peanut country of NW Florida.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Having a BAD DAY?
Think you are having a bad day?
Fire authorities in California found a corpse in a burned-out section of forest while assessing the damage done by a forest fire. The deceased male was dressed in a full wet suit, complete with scuba tanks on his back, flippers, and face mask.
A postmortem test revealed that the man died not from burns, but from massive internal injuries. Dental records provided a positive identification. Investigators then set about to d etermine how a fully clothed diver ended up in the middle of a forest fire.
It was revealed that on the day of the fire, the man went diving off the coast, some 20 miles from the forest. The fire fighters, seeking to control the fire as quickly as possible, had called in a fleet of helicopters with very large dip buckets. Water was dipped from the ocean and emptied at the site of the forest fire.
You guessed it. One minute our diver was making like Flipper in the Pacific, the next, he was doing the breast stroke in a fire dip bucket 300 feet in the air.
Still think you're having a bad day?
A man was working on his motorcycle on the patio, his wife nearby in the kitchen. While racing the engine, the motorcycle accidentally slipped into gear. The man, still holding onto the handlebars, was d ragged along as it burst through the glass patio doors.
His wife, hearing the crash, ran in the room to find her husband cut and bleeding, the motorcycle, and the shattered patio door. She called for an ambulance and, because the house sat on a fairly large hill, went down the several flights of stairs to meet the paramedics and escort them to her husband.
While the attendants were loading her husband, the wife managed to right the motorcycle and push it outside. She also quickly blotted up the spilled gasoline with some paper towels and tossed them into the toilet.
After being treated and released, the man returned home, looked at the shattered patio door and the damage done to his motorcycle. He went into the bathroom and consoled himself with a cigarette while attending to his business. About to stand, he flipped the ciggy butt between his legs.
The wife, who was in the kitche n, heard a loud explosion and her husband screaming. Finding him lying on the bathroom floor with his trousers blown away and burns on his buttocks, legs and groin, she once again phoned for an ambulance. The same paramedic crew was dispatched.
As the paramedics carried the man down the stairs to the ambulance they asked the wife how he had come to burn himself. She told them. They started laughing so hard, one slipped, the stretcher dumping the husband out. He fell down the remaining stairs, breaking his arm.
Still having a bad day? Just remember, it could be worse...
The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdes oil spill in Alaska was $80,000. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were being released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later, in full view, a killer whale ate them both.
Still think you are having a bad day?
A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen shaking frantically, almost in a dancing frenzy, with some kind of wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she whacked him with a handy plank of wood, breaking his arm in two places. Up to that moment, he had been happily listening to his Walkman.
STILL think you're having a bad day?
Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn , Germany . Suddenly, all two thousand pigs broke loose and escaped through a broken fence, stampeding madly. The two hapless protesters were trampled to death.
What?! STILL having a bad day??
Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet didn't pay enough postage on a letter bomb. It came back with 'return to sender' stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb, he opened it and was blown to bits.
There now, feeling better?
Fire authorities in California found a corpse in a burned-out section of forest while assessing the damage done by a forest fire. The deceased male was dressed in a full wet suit, complete with scuba tanks on his back, flippers, and face mask.
A postmortem test revealed that the man died not from burns, but from massive internal injuries. Dental records provided a positive identification. Investigators then set about to d etermine how a fully clothed diver ended up in the middle of a forest fire.
It was revealed that on the day of the fire, the man went diving off the coast, some 20 miles from the forest. The fire fighters, seeking to control the fire as quickly as possible, had called in a fleet of helicopters with very large dip buckets. Water was dipped from the ocean and emptied at the site of the forest fire.
You guessed it. One minute our diver was making like Flipper in the Pacific, the next, he was doing the breast stroke in a fire dip bucket 300 feet in the air.
Still think you're having a bad day?
A man was working on his motorcycle on the patio, his wife nearby in the kitchen. While racing the engine, the motorcycle accidentally slipped into gear. The man, still holding onto the handlebars, was d ragged along as it burst through the glass patio doors.
His wife, hearing the crash, ran in the room to find her husband cut and bleeding, the motorcycle, and the shattered patio door. She called for an ambulance and, because the house sat on a fairly large hill, went down the several flights of stairs to meet the paramedics and escort them to her husband.
While the attendants were loading her husband, the wife managed to right the motorcycle and push it outside. She also quickly blotted up the spilled gasoline with some paper towels and tossed them into the toilet.
After being treated and released, the man returned home, looked at the shattered patio door and the damage done to his motorcycle. He went into the bathroom and consoled himself with a cigarette while attending to his business. About to stand, he flipped the ciggy butt between his legs.
The wife, who was in the kitche n, heard a loud explosion and her husband screaming. Finding him lying on the bathroom floor with his trousers blown away and burns on his buttocks, legs and groin, she once again phoned for an ambulance. The same paramedic crew was dispatched.
As the paramedics carried the man down the stairs to the ambulance they asked the wife how he had come to burn himself. She told them. They started laughing so hard, one slipped, the stretcher dumping the husband out. He fell down the remaining stairs, breaking his arm.
Still having a bad day? Just remember, it could be worse...
The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdes oil spill in Alaska was $80,000. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were being released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later, in full view, a killer whale ate them both.
Still think you are having a bad day?
A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen shaking frantically, almost in a dancing frenzy, with some kind of wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she whacked him with a handy plank of wood, breaking his arm in two places. Up to that moment, he had been happily listening to his Walkman.
STILL think you're having a bad day?
Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn , Germany . Suddenly, all two thousand pigs broke loose and escaped through a broken fence, stampeding madly. The two hapless protesters were trampled to death.
What?! STILL having a bad day??
Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet didn't pay enough postage on a letter bomb. It came back with 'return to sender' stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb, he opened it and was blown to bits.
There now, feeling better?
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Time for a Laugh
Thanks to Clinton Wright for below. So true.
Rules of Montana , Wyoming , Idaho , WA & OR and the rest of the Wild West are as follows:
1 Pull your pants up. You look like an idiot.
2 Turn your cap right, your head ain't crooked.
3 Let's get this straight: it's called a 'gravel road.' I drive a pickup truck because I want to. No matter how slow you drive, you're gonna get dust on your Lexus. Drive it or get out of the way.
4 They are cattle. That's why they smell to you. They smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? I-80 goes east and west, I-5 goes north and south. Pick one.
5 So you have a $60,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 combines that are driven only 3 weeks a year.
6 Every person in the Wild West waves. It's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.
7 If that cell phone rings while a bunch of geese/pheasants/ ducks/doves are comin' in during the hunts, we WILL shoot it outa your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time.
8 Yeah. We eat trout, salmon, deer and elk. You really want sushi and caviar you can get
them at the bait store on the corner.
9 The 'Opener' refers to the first day of deer season. It's a religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.
10. We open doors for women. That's applied to all women, regardless of age.
11. No, there's no 'vegetarian special' on the menu. Order steak, or you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham turkey.
12. When we fill out a table, there are three main dishes: meats, vegetables, and breads We use three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup! Oh, yeah.... We don't care what you folks in Cincinnati call that stuff you eat... IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!!
13. You bring 'Coke' into my house, it better be brown, wet and served over ice. You bring 'Mary Jane' into my house, she better be cute, know how to shoot, drive a truck, and have long hair.
14. College and High School Football is as important here as the Lakers and the Knicks, and a dang site more fun to watch.
15. Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards -- it spooks the fish and
scares off the ducks and honkers.
16. Colleges? We have them all over. We have State Universities , Universities, and Vo-techs.
They come outta there with an education plus a love for God and country, and they still wave
at everybody when they come home for the holidays.
17. We have more folks in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines than all of you put together, so don't mess with us. If you do, you'll get whupped by the best.
18. Turn down that blasted car stereo! That thumpity-thump crap ain't music, anyway.
We don't want to hear it anymore than we want to see your boxers! Refer back to #1!
19. a true westerner gets a bumper sticker from www.neworleansbest.biz that says,
"Don't blame me I voted for Sarah." A true Westerner will send this to at least 2 others!!!
================================================================
Rules of Montana , Wyoming , Idaho , WA & OR and the rest of the Wild West are as follows:
1 Pull your pants up. You look like an idiot.
2 Turn your cap right, your head ain't crooked.
3 Let's get this straight: it's called a 'gravel road.' I drive a pickup truck because I want to. No matter how slow you drive, you're gonna get dust on your Lexus. Drive it or get out of the way.
4 They are cattle. That's why they smell to you. They smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? I-80 goes east and west, I-5 goes north and south. Pick one.
5 So you have a $60,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 combines that are driven only 3 weeks a year.
6 Every person in the Wild West waves. It's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.
7 If that cell phone rings while a bunch of geese/pheasants/ ducks/doves are comin' in during the hunts, we WILL shoot it outa your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time.
8 Yeah. We eat trout, salmon, deer and elk. You really want sushi and caviar you can get
them at the bait store on the corner.
9 The 'Opener' refers to the first day of deer season. It's a religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.
10. We open doors for women. That's applied to all women, regardless of age.
11. No, there's no 'vegetarian special' on the menu. Order steak, or you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham turkey.
12. When we fill out a table, there are three main dishes: meats, vegetables, and breads We use three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup! Oh, yeah.... We don't care what you folks in Cincinnati call that stuff you eat... IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!!
13. You bring 'Coke' into my house, it better be brown, wet and served over ice. You bring 'Mary Jane' into my house, she better be cute, know how to shoot, drive a truck, and have long hair.
14. College and High School Football is as important here as the Lakers and the Knicks, and a dang site more fun to watch.
15. Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards -- it spooks the fish and
scares off the ducks and honkers.
16. Colleges? We have them all over. We have State Universities , Universities, and Vo-techs.
They come outta there with an education plus a love for God and country, and they still wave
at everybody when they come home for the holidays.
17. We have more folks in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines than all of you put together, so don't mess with us. If you do, you'll get whupped by the best.
18. Turn down that blasted car stereo! That thumpity-thump crap ain't music, anyway.
We don't want to hear it anymore than we want to see your boxers! Refer back to #1!
19. a true westerner gets a bumper sticker from www.neworleansbest.biz that says,
"Don't blame me I voted for Sarah." A true Westerner will send this to at least 2 others!!!
================================================================
Where all the Money Goes - the Pit
Should US Stop Dumping Money Into Hole? @ Yahoo! Video
more interesting Links examining the concept of polarization and "spin".
How The Left Elected Obama What Caused the Crisis - Blame WHO? The MONEY HOLE THE ONION Move ON - Youtube clips Bush Gives us European Socialism?
Monday, November 17, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Great Crash of 2009
READ Carefully and Understand.
Article from "Seeking Alpha"forums. What got us here. What will happen. This was published in August but is only now finding a large audience. Pre or post election would probably not have made a difference .. this is largely beyond any current political mix.
Article from "Seeking Alpha"forums. What got us here. What will happen. This was published in August but is only now finding a large audience. Pre or post election would probably not have made a difference .. this is largely beyond any current political mix.
Asiatic Fleet Survivor
USS Houston and POW survivor Stanley Woody ARTICLE. I had the pleasure of knowing “Woody” while I was growing up in Norfolk. He is a wonderful and inspiring person. Submited for this blog by Jim Outland -- Midlothian, Va. -- The Asiatic Fleet was to be supported when Japan attacked by the Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor. The support never showed up. www.usshouston.org.
EPITAPH FOR THE ASIATIC FLEET
they have no grave but the cruel
sea. no flowers at their head.
a rusting hulk is their tombstone.
at rest on the ocean floor
EPITAPH FOR THE ASIATIC FLEET
they have no grave but the cruel
sea. no flowers at their head.
a rusting hulk is their tombstone.
at rest on the ocean floor
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
American Tune Changes - A History
The British at their surrender in Yorktown, played a tune called "The World Turned Upside Down". It happens sometimes. It happened in America this year. As one of the losing side in this perpetual argument we call a nation, I can sulk, or I can try to find some nuggets in this wreck of government that was never ideal to start with. I'll be looking for some nuggets to share with you over time. Meanwhile, I am presenting here an recent historical analysis of critical points leading up to the upside down world. The New American Tune (listen here)
Lyndon Johnson comes to a torn America and promises to heal it with a "Great Society" in a time when he also needed to prove he was boss on the world stage. So he added Vietnam to his agenda. Feeding money and lives into these two meat grinders left him damaged and weak. Nixon was the answer.
Nixon pursued Vietnam with a vengeance and brought it to an end with a token of honor. He opened a new front to save the environment. Money flowed freely. He was the most popular president ever. Then, his loyalty to staff got in the way of his legal obligations. His political enemies who had not yet realized their "Great Society" struck hard. America's media found itself with new power and soon destroyed any memory of Nixon's superb legacy. Ford was the result and without enough time to brand himself, a wave of emotion over the media invention of an evil Nixon (who was pardoned by Ford) led us to Carter.
It was a narrow win for Carter. Ford nearly regained the lead by election day because the public was beginning to see how flawed Carter really was. But it was too late. Enter Carter. In four years, he managed to open the gates to hell in Iran leaving the middle-east an open sore for the next 30 years (and counting). A failed energy policy and trade dynamics left the nation with inflation and a "misery index". Carter was morose. He blamed Americans - not policy.
It was one of those rare times in politics, "A PERFECT STORM". Reagan rode to the rescue with a positive message of free market capitalism and low taxes. This generated a huge surge in business and jobs and tax revenue to the government. The lingering "Cold War" with the USSR was draining world resources from better use and now Reagan saw an opportunity to bring it to a close. But vision for long-term value required up front cash for a big navy and some high tech space technology. The plan worked but the huge tax revenues from the era were not enough to overcome the deficit spending for the "Cold War" endgame.
This brought us to Bush 41 who began to pare down the military spending and to bring the deficit under control. It was working. There was an economic hit from reduced military industrial complex spending, the result being a mild recession following his Desert Storm expidetion. Given Bush 41's weakness with public image and his ill thought out alliance with Democrats to add a small tax increase - he was vulnerable.
Enter the one man who set up the nation for the Upside-Down-World that occurred in November of 2008. Ross Perot. This third party candidate ran in the two campaigns that followed and drew off enough votes from Bush41 and later, Dole - to hand over the presidency and eight years of blithe progress to Bill Clinton.
Clinton was able to ride the continuing Reagan wave of economic growth with little effort. He could add some social programs and managed to avoid any costly military expenditure or adventures. Things were so good, he could even raise taxes without much harm to the economy and still have high government revenue. A surplus was projected five years out. But there was a bubble of technology businesses that over-reached and fell to earth in Clinton's last six months. This would take the projected surplus to a projected deficit of huge proportions in the next five years. The superior image machine of the Democrats never allowed this fact to have an shelf-life.
With a busted tech bubble and crying investors, Bush 43 was able to wrest the ticket and win the 2000 election. Immediately taxes were cut and the economy was clawing its way back with prosperity for America and the world looking better every day. The tech crash deficit projection was turned around and a surplus was easy to imagine in only a few years. Then the world stopped on September 11, 2001.
It turns out Bush 43 had great economic plans for domestic growth and business that would lead to prosperity for everyone from top to bottom. He was not a great speaker but he was folksy. And he was loyal to his team. People accepted his leadership to take the nation to war against terror. He focused on that. While he achieved a number of domestic initiatives and foreign policy initiatives that were remarkable, he never publicized them. The Bush 43 image and the Republican image were never considered important to the task at hand.
His flaws began to wear on him and his party by late in term one. His loyalty led him to keep Rumsfield in charge of Defense after huge mistakes were made in the consolidation of Iraq. He should have been gone a year before the second term. He left his party hanging with no viable "president in training" by keeping Cheney as VP for the second term. Cheney could have been eased out and used as an adviser without the VP office. This campaign season began with nobody warmed up in the bullpen and with Iraq still hot.
From the time of Carter - the housing initiatives for the poor were building in size and scope. It was a Democrat domain - their strong suit - a social issue.
Corruption among Democrats and high finance and the Federal Mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie built up over time and led to massive sums of money at risk - and guaranteed by the taxpayers. It was like free money, but it was considered private investment. Meanwhile Bush 43 was encouraging government spending too. Both private and government spending were salvaging the mess of 9/11 and fortunes were made at the levels of high finance. A combination of things led to some mortgages failing in 2007. This was the crack in the dam. You know the rest of the story.
The Republicans who were no longer in control of congress and for whom congress had been already a paper thin margin earlier in the Bush 43 administration - were incompetent with explanations of how the economic disaster occurred. It was an easy task for the Democrats to deflect all attention to a failure of Bush 43 who presented his case poorly and used the most un-telegenic bureaucrats in history to make the case for him. Democrats understand the importance of Image. Rarely is this the case of the Republicans.
Image was everything in this election. McCain is a marginally better communicator than Bush 43. He could not get over the hump of "defending tax cuts"when people were watching the (mostly Democrat - strange but true) high finance officers from Wall Street walk away with billions in bonuses while taxpayers foot the bill for their failures. Meanwhile the Democrats again have successfully convinced enough uneducated voters that higher taxes will cure the problem - along with government jobs for those who want a job. McCain's Joe the Plumber came as close to explaining the issue for the public but even so - the whole image machine for McCain and the Republicans failed to connect with the people (the people that counted).
Obama had plenty of obstacles to overcome. This blog and hundreds more make it pretty clear that he is loaded with issues that will affect his administration in a negative way and will in many cases be very harmful for America. But if perception is what counts - he has certainly created one for a large segment of eager believers.
The nation is now is a difficult time. The choice was between free market capitalism under a low tax burden to generate a stream of tax revenue that serves the people or regulated capitalism that taxes achievement dearly at the expense of private jobs so that more government jobs can be supported. Add to that a redistribution of worldwide energy resources (cap and trade CO2) designed to hobble America's industry and allow emerging nations to compete with lower energy costs. I feel sure the people who most supported Obama will be the people who are hurt the most. Their jobs and their hope for a better life will be delayed. I am guessing 16 years - about the time it took to work through the Roosevelt-Truman years. And "peace" presidents are historically noted for "war" inititation which puts a lot of people back to work very quickly.
America is now in the hands of the Left-Wing Democrats who earned their stripes in the 1960's. They remain trapped in a social dogma that has already been tested in Europe and elsewhere and failed. But they insist they must carry that worn banner forward. They now control all of congress and their puppet president. America is theirs to lose. When they do, I am sure they will successfully blame the Republicans.
Lyndon Johnson comes to a torn America and promises to heal it with a "Great Society" in a time when he also needed to prove he was boss on the world stage. So he added Vietnam to his agenda. Feeding money and lives into these two meat grinders left him damaged and weak. Nixon was the answer.
Nixon pursued Vietnam with a vengeance and brought it to an end with a token of honor. He opened a new front to save the environment. Money flowed freely. He was the most popular president ever. Then, his loyalty to staff got in the way of his legal obligations. His political enemies who had not yet realized their "Great Society" struck hard. America's media found itself with new power and soon destroyed any memory of Nixon's superb legacy. Ford was the result and without enough time to brand himself, a wave of emotion over the media invention of an evil Nixon (who was pardoned by Ford) led us to Carter.
It was a narrow win for Carter. Ford nearly regained the lead by election day because the public was beginning to see how flawed Carter really was. But it was too late. Enter Carter. In four years, he managed to open the gates to hell in Iran leaving the middle-east an open sore for the next 30 years (and counting). A failed energy policy and trade dynamics left the nation with inflation and a "misery index". Carter was morose. He blamed Americans - not policy.
It was one of those rare times in politics, "A PERFECT STORM". Reagan rode to the rescue with a positive message of free market capitalism and low taxes. This generated a huge surge in business and jobs and tax revenue to the government. The lingering "Cold War" with the USSR was draining world resources from better use and now Reagan saw an opportunity to bring it to a close. But vision for long-term value required up front cash for a big navy and some high tech space technology. The plan worked but the huge tax revenues from the era were not enough to overcome the deficit spending for the "Cold War" endgame.
This brought us to Bush 41 who began to pare down the military spending and to bring the deficit under control. It was working. There was an economic hit from reduced military industrial complex spending, the result being a mild recession following his Desert Storm expidetion. Given Bush 41's weakness with public image and his ill thought out alliance with Democrats to add a small tax increase - he was vulnerable.
Enter the one man who set up the nation for the Upside-Down-World that occurred in November of 2008. Ross Perot. This third party candidate ran in the two campaigns that followed and drew off enough votes from Bush41 and later, Dole - to hand over the presidency and eight years of blithe progress to Bill Clinton.
Clinton was able to ride the continuing Reagan wave of economic growth with little effort. He could add some social programs and managed to avoid any costly military expenditure or adventures. Things were so good, he could even raise taxes without much harm to the economy and still have high government revenue. A surplus was projected five years out. But there was a bubble of technology businesses that over-reached and fell to earth in Clinton's last six months. This would take the projected surplus to a projected deficit of huge proportions in the next five years. The superior image machine of the Democrats never allowed this fact to have an shelf-life.
With a busted tech bubble and crying investors, Bush 43 was able to wrest the ticket and win the 2000 election. Immediately taxes were cut and the economy was clawing its way back with prosperity for America and the world looking better every day. The tech crash deficit projection was turned around and a surplus was easy to imagine in only a few years. Then the world stopped on September 11, 2001.
It turns out Bush 43 had great economic plans for domestic growth and business that would lead to prosperity for everyone from top to bottom. He was not a great speaker but he was folksy. And he was loyal to his team. People accepted his leadership to take the nation to war against terror. He focused on that. While he achieved a number of domestic initiatives and foreign policy initiatives that were remarkable, he never publicized them. The Bush 43 image and the Republican image were never considered important to the task at hand.
His flaws began to wear on him and his party by late in term one. His loyalty led him to keep Rumsfield in charge of Defense after huge mistakes were made in the consolidation of Iraq. He should have been gone a year before the second term. He left his party hanging with no viable "president in training" by keeping Cheney as VP for the second term. Cheney could have been eased out and used as an adviser without the VP office. This campaign season began with nobody warmed up in the bullpen and with Iraq still hot.
From the time of Carter - the housing initiatives for the poor were building in size and scope. It was a Democrat domain - their strong suit - a social issue.
Corruption among Democrats and high finance and the Federal Mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie built up over time and led to massive sums of money at risk - and guaranteed by the taxpayers. It was like free money, but it was considered private investment. Meanwhile Bush 43 was encouraging government spending too. Both private and government spending were salvaging the mess of 9/11 and fortunes were made at the levels of high finance. A combination of things led to some mortgages failing in 2007. This was the crack in the dam. You know the rest of the story.
The Republicans who were no longer in control of congress and for whom congress had been already a paper thin margin earlier in the Bush 43 administration - were incompetent with explanations of how the economic disaster occurred. It was an easy task for the Democrats to deflect all attention to a failure of Bush 43 who presented his case poorly and used the most un-telegenic bureaucrats in history to make the case for him. Democrats understand the importance of Image. Rarely is this the case of the Republicans.
Image was everything in this election. McCain is a marginally better communicator than Bush 43. He could not get over the hump of "defending tax cuts"when people were watching the (mostly Democrat - strange but true) high finance officers from Wall Street walk away with billions in bonuses while taxpayers foot the bill for their failures. Meanwhile the Democrats again have successfully convinced enough uneducated voters that higher taxes will cure the problem - along with government jobs for those who want a job. McCain's Joe the Plumber came as close to explaining the issue for the public but even so - the whole image machine for McCain and the Republicans failed to connect with the people (the people that counted).
Obama had plenty of obstacles to overcome. This blog and hundreds more make it pretty clear that he is loaded with issues that will affect his administration in a negative way and will in many cases be very harmful for America. But if perception is what counts - he has certainly created one for a large segment of eager believers.
The nation is now is a difficult time. The choice was between free market capitalism under a low tax burden to generate a stream of tax revenue that serves the people or regulated capitalism that taxes achievement dearly at the expense of private jobs so that more government jobs can be supported. Add to that a redistribution of worldwide energy resources (cap and trade CO2) designed to hobble America's industry and allow emerging nations to compete with lower energy costs. I feel sure the people who most supported Obama will be the people who are hurt the most. Their jobs and their hope for a better life will be delayed. I am guessing 16 years - about the time it took to work through the Roosevelt-Truman years. And "peace" presidents are historically noted for "war" inititation which puts a lot of people back to work very quickly.
America is now in the hands of the Left-Wing Democrats who earned their stripes in the 1960's. They remain trapped in a social dogma that has already been tested in Europe and elsewhere and failed. But they insist they must carry that worn banner forward. They now control all of congress and their puppet president. America is theirs to lose. When they do, I am sure they will successfully blame the Republicans.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
NEVER FIND OUT
Please watch ALL the videos in this series (and share them widely) from LET FREEDOM RING. These are clear and concise and speak to the issues in ways that McCain's speaking skill cannot match. And for sure not Bush. Consider donating to help air more of these commercials. Listen to the RADIO SPOTS HERE.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Like a Box of Chocolates
it is getting stupider and stupider...
moma always used to say
"Stupid is like a box of chocolates ... you can only get so many in the box - and those are the ones that wreck your glycemic index just before the heart attack".
moma always used to say
"Stupid is like a box of chocolates ... you can only get so many in the box - and those are the ones that wreck your glycemic index just before the heart attack".
Has this Occurred to YOU?
Perhaps the rapid rise in oil prices this year were encouraged at some point by the Islamic and communist controlled oil barons to lay waste to the capitalist nations around the world? SURE it was a quick boom and large windfall for the oil rich nations - but they overdid it and they drove markets to a recession that in turn are driving oil to a recession. It is typical cyclical economics of a free market ... but what if the original run-up was assisted by worldwide anti-Bush - Anti-American sentiment - hoping to drive America to a regime change ... a whole "sea change" of government? It is happening, if it was intended or not.
The result is - the American economy is in shambles (as well as the rest of the world). The world blames America for the problem (the housing issue - set off by a time bomb the Democrats built in Fannie and Freddie) and we are about to elect a left leaning Euro-Philic government with a short sighted view that opposes drilling for more oil and opposes the only real help to gain energy independence (nuclear power). " WHEW !!" say Iran, Russia and Venezuela. That was close!!
With real energy reform off the table again ... the oil cartels can again rebuild their profits.
Meanwhile, Obama will be subsidizing (with tax dollars) low margin high cost replacements for oil, like "ethanol" "bio fuels" , solar, geothermal and wind. All of these will find their markets in due time and a little research subsidy is a good idea -- but the Obama approach will be to SUPERFUND these efforts at the expense of nuclear, clean coal and more oil drilling. The oil cartels will be very happy! And the American taxpayer will pay for its fuel through taxation rather than profits to realistic capitalist solutions.
So sad. There is nothing that will stop Obama. Republicans have completely failed to bring humor programming against the Democrats to Youtube.
The result is - the American economy is in shambles (as well as the rest of the world). The world blames America for the problem (the housing issue - set off by a time bomb the Democrats built in Fannie and Freddie) and we are about to elect a left leaning Euro-Philic government with a short sighted view that opposes drilling for more oil and opposes the only real help to gain energy independence (nuclear power). " WHEW !!" say Iran, Russia and Venezuela. That was close!!
With real energy reform off the table again ... the oil cartels can again rebuild their profits.
Meanwhile, Obama will be subsidizing (with tax dollars) low margin high cost replacements for oil, like "ethanol" "bio fuels" , solar, geothermal and wind. All of these will find their markets in due time and a little research subsidy is a good idea -- but the Obama approach will be to SUPERFUND these efforts at the expense of nuclear, clean coal and more oil drilling. The oil cartels will be very happy! And the American taxpayer will pay for its fuel through taxation rather than profits to realistic capitalist solutions.
So sad. There is nothing that will stop Obama. Republicans have completely failed to bring humor programming against the Democrats to Youtube.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Covering up the Fannie Freddie Scam
And the people now facing foreclosure and failed businesses and lost jobs are blaming Republicans??? All I can say is the Republicans are the worst communicators in the history of the nation. It is OBVIOUS the Democrats killed all reform of this financial mess and set up the country for the huge failures cascading through the country now.
Yet, So many will be voting for Democrats for congress and will vote for Obama for president.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Stuff Like This Bothers Me
First Generation American - of a Kenyan father(University of Hawaii), Hussein Obama (Harvard) , has taken the mantle of suffering American Slaves and has positioned himself to lead African Americans with slave heritage out of the bondage and irrelevance and victim-hood forced on them by an unfair nation. Obama has "adopted himself" into to the leadership of the victims of American Slavery.
Of course he is looking to the future and this is not to be interpreted as being a backward looking strategy, since slavery was abolished over a hundred years ago by the dogged determination of Republicans. Add to that the fact that major Civil Rights legislation of the last century was largely the result of Republican efforts. Meanwhile, in maintaining his own FREE African heritage, Obama made trips to Kenya to support his cousin's corrupted and bloody reach for power. A Foreign Policy Feather in his cap? From his actions (and specific non-actions to halt Republican plans of oversight) with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac he (and his Democrat allies) has pulled the rug out from under the most vulnerable people among us (many of them black).
He supports a corrupt regime in Kenya while supporting policy in America to undermine the people he claims to help. Add to that his posturing because of weak foreign policy so that he even says in a debate that he will attack an ally (Pakistan -- a nuclear power) if they cannot control their own enemies within. This stands in contrast to his assertion that he will talk to any enemy of the United States without precondition to negotiate for peace ( Iran in particular). What is that again? He will bomb our friends, but he will talk with our enemies??? This is a dangerous man.
Plus - he has no clue about energy independence. He is opposed to two major requirements of a multi-pronged strategy - Nuclear Power and Expanded Domestic Oil Access.
You want a black president? There are at least SIX moderate and conservative African Americans on the radar that would be superb choices. It is stifling liberal policies of the man, Hussein Obama that are troubling.
Of course he is looking to the future and this is not to be interpreted as being a backward looking strategy, since slavery was abolished over a hundred years ago by the dogged determination of Republicans. Add to that the fact that major Civil Rights legislation of the last century was largely the result of Republican efforts. Meanwhile, in maintaining his own FREE African heritage, Obama made trips to Kenya to support his cousin's corrupted and bloody reach for power. A Foreign Policy Feather in his cap? From his actions (and specific non-actions to halt Republican plans of oversight) with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac he (and his Democrat allies) has pulled the rug out from under the most vulnerable people among us (many of them black).
He supports a corrupt regime in Kenya while supporting policy in America to undermine the people he claims to help. Add to that his posturing because of weak foreign policy so that he even says in a debate that he will attack an ally (Pakistan -- a nuclear power) if they cannot control their own enemies within. This stands in contrast to his assertion that he will talk to any enemy of the United States without precondition to negotiate for peace ( Iran in particular). What is that again? He will bomb our friends, but he will talk with our enemies??? This is a dangerous man.
Plus - he has no clue about energy independence. He is opposed to two major requirements of a multi-pronged strategy - Nuclear Power and Expanded Domestic Oil Access.
You want a black president? There are at least SIX moderate and conservative African Americans on the radar that would be superb choices. It is stifling liberal policies of the man, Hussein Obama that are troubling.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Catholic Vote 2008
Also, see THIS -- Latest Worry for the Liberal Left -- Obama Documentary from FOX NEWS
MESSAGE TO John S. McCain - The WORLD WONDERS !!
THE WORST PRESIDENT in American History. (Who do you think?)
REDLEGS POST ON OBAMA New Orleans Best
Obama Birth Certificate Forgery Confirmed
So... how did he get THIS FAR? Certainly the Clintons were onto this??
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Obama Will Win !!
OH, YES, he is the WRONG guy ... but...
1. 8 years of tiny cuts and bleeding in the Bush Camp has killed confidence in the Republicans. Yes, we can say we agree with Bush on most things, but if he can't talk his way out of a paper bag - his leadership is (and was) doomed. READ ALL OF THIS HERE - 10 POINTS
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Fannie Mae CEO
Pretty much shows where the problem came from. Hello? see the other vids on this topic. Is his name "MUDD??" or what?? "his name is MUDD" comes from the accidental association of his great great grandfather with the assassin of President Lincoln.
Bush, McCain warn of financial mess
At last - clearly reported showing Dems failing entirely to react to warnings from Bush and the increasingly irrelevant Republican members of congress.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Five Years Ago! Financial Reform Killed
The following quotes are from the New York Times FIVE YEARS AGO.
Republicans proposed increased oversight and regulation of Fannie and
Freddie, but Democrats fought it.
"The Bush administration today ( FIVE YEARS AGO) recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago. Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry.
The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business. And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the risks of their ballooning portfolios." Democrats pushed back. "Among the groups enouncing the proposal today were the National Association of Home Builders and Congressional Democrats who fear that tighter regulation of the companies could sharply reduce their commitment to financing low-income and affordable housing".
"These two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis", said Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. "The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing."
Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed. "I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing," Mr. Watt said.
Let's face it.. The DEMOCRATS had a chance to fix this based on proposed legislation by REPUBLICANS five years ago. Records seem to show this has been brought up many times by Republicans and shot down consistently by Democrats who disregarded all financial caution to push home ownership to people who could not afford it - a way they viewed perhaps - to better distribute America's wealth and promote a stonger base of Democrat voters. I am the first to say this is a kind hearted approach - and well meaning. But kind hearted and well meaning actions have too often trumped logic and market forces in the manipulation of the American economy. When it does - UNINTENDED results often follow in the wake. Here we are with a boatload of mortgages secured by no assets at all and poor people being thrown into the streets- their homes foreclosed. It is amazing to me how this phenomenon is being effectively sold to the public as the result of REPUBLICAN policies !! Again, my lack of faith in Republicans to communicate with people is confirmed.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
PANIC over new govt debt - a perspective
Think of the Financial Industry in America as a great big Rental Car company... Imagine the own a lot of cars of many types and ages that they make money on.
NOW ...things go sour. They have too many cars and some cars are too old to get a good price for on the market. At some point ... they can't sell the cars - they almost have to give them away to keep enough cash on hand to maintain the good cars. On top of that the word got out there are a lot of old cars in the fleet and people stop renting from them very much or the company has to charge twice as much rent as usual to keep their cash flowing. The NEWS MEDIA ADDS TO THE PANIC.
so....
THE FED first tried to save the car fleet "buying more gas" but that would go on forever. (low interest loans and etc). SO - they BOUGHT the older cars instead. The taxpayers will OWN those cars and they will be sold back over time so the "bailout" will probably cost taxpayers very little once the cycle is completed. But for now- the cost to buy those old cars is about a TRILLION DOLLARS.
" BAILOUT " is not the best term. Rather - a hard to swallow word comes into play - " NATIONALIZATION " of hard to sell properties UNTIL they can be RE-SOLD to the private market without WRECKING the system -- is more like it.
The "trillion dollar" extra debt scare is NOT very well explained either . It is not expected to be money spent outright as in the war against terrorists. We (the government) expects a return on our "investment". Even if we taxpayers do not get all our money back for the "cars we bought" the total debt will be a Lot LOWER compared to the real possibility of HUGE losses in values to our HOMES , our JOBS and our BUSINESSES . (a trillion would look pale by that number and your kids will be selling matchsticks on the corner).
It is NOT a plan most CAPITALISTS are happy with but the alternative is the end of capital flowing at all. "shades of 1929"..Globally. In 1929 the government refused to get involved in any easing of the crisis. Bad mistake. Let's not think like that.
NOTE: - the Government has taken over companies and formed conservatorships on a temporary basis in the past to solve one or another financial or political issue and to prevent a crisis. This time - it seems like a lot bigger effort than any in the past. America will NOT ALLOW this temporary measure of "nationalization" of a segment of businesses assets to become permanent. Look for a return on this investment over the next five to ten years and the government releasing its ownership back to private ownership. It is very likely you will come out NOT OWING ANY EXTRA TAX.
NOW ...things go sour. They have too many cars and some cars are too old to get a good price for on the market. At some point ... they can't sell the cars - they almost have to give them away to keep enough cash on hand to maintain the good cars. On top of that the word got out there are a lot of old cars in the fleet and people stop renting from them very much or the company has to charge twice as much rent as usual to keep their cash flowing. The NEWS MEDIA ADDS TO THE PANIC.
so....
THE FED first tried to save the car fleet "buying more gas" but that would go on forever. (low interest loans and etc). SO - they BOUGHT the older cars instead. The taxpayers will OWN those cars and they will be sold back over time so the "bailout" will probably cost taxpayers very little once the cycle is completed. But for now- the cost to buy those old cars is about a TRILLION DOLLARS.
" BAILOUT " is not the best term. Rather - a hard to swallow word comes into play - " NATIONALIZATION " of hard to sell properties UNTIL they can be RE-SOLD to the private market without WRECKING the system -- is more like it.
The "trillion dollar" extra debt scare is NOT very well explained either . It is not expected to be money spent outright as in the war against terrorists. We (the government) expects a return on our "investment". Even if we taxpayers do not get all our money back for the "cars we bought" the total debt will be a Lot LOWER compared to the real possibility of HUGE losses in values to our HOMES , our JOBS and our BUSINESSES . (a trillion would look pale by that number and your kids will be selling matchsticks on the corner).
It is NOT a plan most CAPITALISTS are happy with but the alternative is the end of capital flowing at all. "shades of 1929"..Globally. In 1929 the government refused to get involved in any easing of the crisis. Bad mistake. Let's not think like that.
NOTE: - the Government has taken over companies and formed conservatorships on a temporary basis in the past to solve one or another financial or political issue and to prevent a crisis. This time - it seems like a lot bigger effort than any in the past. America will NOT ALLOW this temporary measure of "nationalization" of a segment of businesses assets to become permanent. Look for a return on this investment over the next five to ten years and the government releasing its ownership back to private ownership. It is very likely you will come out NOT OWING ANY EXTRA TAX.
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