I'm very seriously contemplating a letter to Al Gore at this moment, asking for his advice on what products available to consumers are the worst emitters of greenhouse gases . . . so I can go buy them. Seriously, we are seeing places in the U.S. hitting lows not seen since the 1930's (maybe the weather is also getting nostalgic for FDR and the New Deal!). Seriously, I think we can kill two birds with one stone here - why don't we provide vouchers to people to go buy more SUV's to pump more carbon into the atmosphere. In doing that, we will get global warming back on track from its decade vacation, thus restoring some credibility to the climate change lobby and validating Al Gore's Nobel "Peace" prize, and we can also make our beloved American automakers solvent again. Win-win.
Seems like the only area in the nation currently experiencing warming is Washington, D.C., where the extensive hot air emanating from committee chambers - where supposed "confirmation hearings" - are being held, should warm the cold hearts of our elected betters - I mean leaders. It is amusing to watch Democrats pretend to be giving tough hearings to these nominees. Today it is Eric Holder. He wants to be the Attorney General. There is much talk about how this office should be an independent body, not subject to political machinations. Keep in mind that this is the same Eric Holder who, while the number 2 at the Justice Department during the closing days of the Clinton administration - helped to push through the pardons of Marc Rich and the FALN terrorists. The FALN terrorist pardon, as is widely believed, helped to secure Puerto Rican votes in New York for Hillary Clinton's Senate election. The Marc Rich pardon followed closely on the heels of a very sizable donation from Rich's wife to President Clinton. Both pardons were a huge shock to pretty much everybody - completely sidestepping the usual practice of conferring with other justice department officials over pardons. This guy practically has "political hack" tattooed across his forehead.
Soon we will also have hearings regarding Geithner for Treasury Secretary. I discussed him in my last post. Surprisingly little is made of his delinquency in paying taxes for 4 years of income. Many explain it away as an honest mistake. Excuse me? Nearly $40,000 over 4 years? An honest mistake? No, an honest mistake is not knowing whether a particular purchase is qualified as an exemption. An honest mistake is forgetting to attach your W2 to your 1040. Forgetting that the U.S. government taxes the income of its citizens making over a certain amount of money each year? That is hardly a mistake. This guy has a large enough income to hire illegals to clean his house - I doubt there was any confusion as to whether he made enough money to have to pay taxes. I also seriously doubt that 2001 was the first year he made enough to pay taxes, so it would not have been a new thing for him. Surely his accountant brought it to his attention that he needed to write a big check in April. Give me a break. And this guy should be put in charge of the Treasury and the IRS? Isn't this what they nabbed Capone for? Where is Elliot Ness when you need him? Oh yeah, this guy would be his boss!
One more bit of hypocrisy for the day. Think back to 2005, and the second Bush inauguration. The price tag for that event was in the $40-50 million range - lower than that of his predecessor, Bill Clinton. Yet, at the time, reporters, particularly from Reuters and the AP, were heavy with their criticism of the high price tag. How much armor for Humvees could that money buy? How many homeless could be housed? How many uninsured could receive healthcare? On and on. How could the president spend that much money at a time of war? Fast forward to today - the current price tag for the Obama coronation is estimate at around $150 million, or 3 times that of the 2005 event. Obama has increased the maximum donation by almost double that which was allowed by Bush (up to $500,000). A state of emergency is being declared for the D.C. area for this thing - the city is being shut down. Fighting is still going on in the Middle East - I can only assume Humvees can still use some more armor. Obama continue to talk about the dire situation that our economy faces - the worst since the Great Depression! What do the media say? We need to have a world class celebration! It is a time for rejoicing! Let them eat cake!
Seriously, how quickly would Obama be sainted were he to come out and say that, in light of the financial crisis facing our nation, and the huge burden he is seeking to add to our national debt, he will forego the spectacle of the inauguration and instead use the $150 million for something actually useful - buying healthcare for uninsured children, paying for infrastructure he wants to update, bail out imperiled homeowners from mortgages they can't pay off, shore up failing financial institutions! Seriously, $150 million would provide almost 5 times the amount of the last chunk of money Citigroup got in this bailout - which has resulted in them on the verge of collapsing with shares trading at $4, down from $54 not too long ago. Were he to do that, the combined Democratic party would trudge through the hell-freezing-over temperatures to the Dakotas and collectively remake Mt. Rushmore with only one likeness - the Chosen One, His Holiness, Saint Barack Obama, the healer of planets and savior of nations.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
On the Transition
Recently, while working out at my local YMCA, I was reading the captions on the TV in front of me, which was tuned to CNN. Not my usual choice for news, but my options were non-existent. The commentators were discussing the recent meeting between President Bush, Senator Obama (I've chosen to follow the lead of my Democratic counterparts in 2001, and not call him President-elect), and a few other living presidents. What they found so refreshing was what they referred to as the era of "nice." It was so nice, how gentlemanly Pres. Bush was treating Obama, graciously hosting, even acting as Obama's chief-of-staff in getting the next $350 billion in TARP money to put in Obama's petty cash box. Imagine that, Bush acting nice. I realize that is a novel concept for those on the left who have spent most (if not all) of the last 8 years portraying Bush as anything from an incompetent spoiled rich kid, to a bloodthirsty tyrant in the mold of Adolf Hitler. It must also be novel to them, given the picture we had during the last transition in 2001. At that time, President Clinton was too busy signing a slew of last minute pardons for unrepentant terrorists, convicted profiteers who did business with Iran, and whoever else Hugh Rodham lined up, to notice his staff prying all of the W's off of computer keyboards like a bunch of high school pranksters. Perhaps he couldn't trouble himself with such details while trying to determine which items in the White House he would abscond with.
At any rate, now the liberal media seems quite shocked that Bush is, well, nice. Of course, one individual felt the need to suggest that Obama should not be too nice, as now it is time for him to start the investigations, and that he should be downright mean in punishing anybody from the outgoing Bush administration that they can possibly subpoena. Good to know civility is not dead. Ignore the fact that Bush chose to overlook a myriad of issues with the Clinton administration in their final days. Democrats don't need to be nice.
More entertainment with Obama appointments. His pick for Treasury Secretary (you know, the person who oversees the IRS), Timothy Geithner, seems to have problems with filing taxes. That's right - the potential new taxmaster for all of us can't seem to pay his taxes on time. In 2006, he was audited for tax years 2003 and 2004, and ended up having to pay over $16,000 in back taxes and penalties. Then, AFTER Obama picked him as his Treasury Secretary, he "amended" his 2001 and 2002 returns, paying nearly $26,000 more. The man who will make sure you and I are paying our taxes can't seem to do it properly himself. That's comforting. Will we be given similar grace periods, should we be 7 years delinquent? Nevermind the fact that he also had a housekeeper working for him who had an expired work visa - why is it Democrats have the hardest time with that? And I thought it was the GOP that was the party of the rich elite - why is it that we are always hearing about these housekeepers for Democrats? Honestly, how many does he have on staff, that he can't keep track of things? I'm sure he is in touch with the middle class.
Poor John Kerry - he just can't catch a break. In opening statements for Hillary Clinton's confirmation hearing as Secretary of State, he had to make a point about how dire a situation global warming is. He has about as good of timing on this issue as does Al Gore. The nation was being rocked with frigid temperatures, actual global warming is entering the 10th year of its hiatus, and arctic sea ice has swelled to levels not seen in 3 decades. Does he even pretend to know what he is talking about? He'd better watch out - any more of this global warming, and he might not be able to do any windsurfing out there at Martha's Vineyard.
It looks like the Keynesiacs that are in charge of running our country are drooling at the mouth to drive us further into debt. How many companies have we now bailed out, and how much money has been shoveled in to the economy? What do we have to show for it? And the only answer seems to be, "Well, let's toss in the other $350 billion, then add close to $1 trillion more." It amazes me how many people hear the same tune from Democrats (and, sadly, so many misguided Republicans), and think it is the new hit tune. More money, more money, more money. Democrats have no other answer to solving problems. Kids are failing in schools? Give schools/teachers more money. Not enough people have health insurance? Pour more money in. Social Security is failing? More money. Not enough people have houses? More money. That is their only answer. That and more talks. Talking and shoveling money onto something - that is the sum total of their playbook. Sometimes the two go hand in hand. Consider how the Clinton administration handled North Korea - more talks, and more money, in the form of grain shipments and nuclear reactors. What was the result? Nuclear weapons being tested in North Korea.
The next great new idea for Democrats, as represented by Obama, is to use a failed idea from over 70 years ago to solve our current financial problems. Obama wants a new New Deal. If its all the same, I'd rather not. Remember, the New Deal didn't actually get us out of the Great Depression. In fact, increased spending on infrastructure, as well as isolationism in the form of increased tariffs (similar to Obama's rhetoric) almost certainly drove the depression to be bigger than it needed to be. The New Deal programs, then, served to prolong it. Although it isn't discussed much, there was actually a further recession within the Great Depression, several years into the FDR administration. His New Deal programs were actually discouraging economic recovery by funneling money into government projects that were inefficient and punitive to private companies. It took over a decade to recover - how exactly were those programs effective? One needs only look at the TVA. The areas immediately around TVA controlled areas actually saw a greater increase in prosperity than those supposedly benefited by the TVA. To this day, the TVA is still a money-losing venture. Were it not for the fact that they enjoy greater liberties than any private utilities company is afforded, they would have been driven out of existence long ago.
Wonderful things on the horizon. I just can't wait to see how the next year will unfold.
At any rate, now the liberal media seems quite shocked that Bush is, well, nice. Of course, one individual felt the need to suggest that Obama should not be too nice, as now it is time for him to start the investigations, and that he should be downright mean in punishing anybody from the outgoing Bush administration that they can possibly subpoena. Good to know civility is not dead. Ignore the fact that Bush chose to overlook a myriad of issues with the Clinton administration in their final days. Democrats don't need to be nice.
More entertainment with Obama appointments. His pick for Treasury Secretary (you know, the person who oversees the IRS), Timothy Geithner, seems to have problems with filing taxes. That's right - the potential new taxmaster for all of us can't seem to pay his taxes on time. In 2006, he was audited for tax years 2003 and 2004, and ended up having to pay over $16,000 in back taxes and penalties. Then, AFTER Obama picked him as his Treasury Secretary, he "amended" his 2001 and 2002 returns, paying nearly $26,000 more. The man who will make sure you and I are paying our taxes can't seem to do it properly himself. That's comforting. Will we be given similar grace periods, should we be 7 years delinquent? Nevermind the fact that he also had a housekeeper working for him who had an expired work visa - why is it Democrats have the hardest time with that? And I thought it was the GOP that was the party of the rich elite - why is it that we are always hearing about these housekeepers for Democrats? Honestly, how many does he have on staff, that he can't keep track of things? I'm sure he is in touch with the middle class.
Poor John Kerry - he just can't catch a break. In opening statements for Hillary Clinton's confirmation hearing as Secretary of State, he had to make a point about how dire a situation global warming is. He has about as good of timing on this issue as does Al Gore. The nation was being rocked with frigid temperatures, actual global warming is entering the 10th year of its hiatus, and arctic sea ice has swelled to levels not seen in 3 decades. Does he even pretend to know what he is talking about? He'd better watch out - any more of this global warming, and he might not be able to do any windsurfing out there at Martha's Vineyard.
It looks like the Keynesiacs that are in charge of running our country are drooling at the mouth to drive us further into debt. How many companies have we now bailed out, and how much money has been shoveled in to the economy? What do we have to show for it? And the only answer seems to be, "Well, let's toss in the other $350 billion, then add close to $1 trillion more." It amazes me how many people hear the same tune from Democrats (and, sadly, so many misguided Republicans), and think it is the new hit tune. More money, more money, more money. Democrats have no other answer to solving problems. Kids are failing in schools? Give schools/teachers more money. Not enough people have health insurance? Pour more money in. Social Security is failing? More money. Not enough people have houses? More money. That is their only answer. That and more talks. Talking and shoveling money onto something - that is the sum total of their playbook. Sometimes the two go hand in hand. Consider how the Clinton administration handled North Korea - more talks, and more money, in the form of grain shipments and nuclear reactors. What was the result? Nuclear weapons being tested in North Korea.
The next great new idea for Democrats, as represented by Obama, is to use a failed idea from over 70 years ago to solve our current financial problems. Obama wants a new New Deal. If its all the same, I'd rather not. Remember, the New Deal didn't actually get us out of the Great Depression. In fact, increased spending on infrastructure, as well as isolationism in the form of increased tariffs (similar to Obama's rhetoric) almost certainly drove the depression to be bigger than it needed to be. The New Deal programs, then, served to prolong it. Although it isn't discussed much, there was actually a further recession within the Great Depression, several years into the FDR administration. His New Deal programs were actually discouraging economic recovery by funneling money into government projects that were inefficient and punitive to private companies. It took over a decade to recover - how exactly were those programs effective? One needs only look at the TVA. The areas immediately around TVA controlled areas actually saw a greater increase in prosperity than those supposedly benefited by the TVA. To this day, the TVA is still a money-losing venture. Were it not for the fact that they enjoy greater liberties than any private utilities company is afforded, they would have been driven out of existence long ago.
Wonderful things on the horizon. I just can't wait to see how the next year will unfold.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Life in the Opposition
Well, I can't say that I am happy to once again be in the minority, but as was learned back in '92, it definitely has its advantages. For one, playing offense is so much more enjoyable than playing defense. However, it seems the Democrats are trying to steal all of our thunder. What do I mean? Let's consider the following:
Illinois. Illinois politics is kind of like the Sopranos. Lots of corruption. Lots of foul language. Lots of shady dealings. But one heck of an entertaining show. And that is just referring to the Blago scandal. You have to empathize with the guy - but just a little bit. I mean, honestly, trying to sell Obama's senate seat could not be an original invention of this guy. Consider the on-his-way-out individual appointed by the Massachusetts governor to fill the vacated seat of then recently-elected JFK, thus making it extremely easy for brother Ted to run in the next election for that seat. Coincidence? Only a political Pollyanna believes in coincidences when it comes to politics (and Kennedys). Blago also gives us high entertainment in, once again, forcing Democrats to play defense on the race issue. These guys really don't know what to do with themselves. Usually it is the GOP that has these issues leveled at them. Dems don't know what to do when the gun is turned on them. Cases in point - Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Geraldine Ferraro having the race card played against them.
Obama. Not even coronated . . . I mean inaugurated yet, and already a cloud over his head. Most presidents don't have to perform internal investigations of their staffers until after they hang the new drapes in the Oval Office. Already Obama has had to conduct one regarding whether anything untoward occurred, from his end, regarding the Blago scandal (and wasn't it amazing how his own people found that they had done nothing improper?). Rahm Emmanuel was up to his neck in it. Now Bill Richardson is having to withdraw his name for consideration for Commerce Secretary, because, come to find out, he might be under investigation for corruption in some shady pay-to-play deals in New Mexico. Never mind that the investigation was under way before he was named for the position. Turns out that a contract was awarded to a company that did not offer the best bid, and, coincidentally, the deal went through not too long after that company had made a sizable contribution to Richardson's election coffers. Concerning coincidences in politics, please see the preceding paragraph.
Now Obama has picked Leon Panetta to head the CIA. Didn't even run that one by Dianne Feinstein, the incoming Senate Intelligence Committee Chair. Surely you all are aware of his extensive credentials for running the top intelligence position in the country at a time when we are engaged in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan, when Gaza and Israel are locked in combat, when Iran threatens to develop nuclear weapons, when Russia haphazardly runs roughshod over former Soviet republics and threatens budding democracies in Eastern Europe. Oh, wait, he has none. Well, that certainly shows Obama's intellect and wisdom. While he is at it, maybe he can quickly, after he is inaugurated, pardon ponzi schemer-extraordinaire, and former Democrat and liberal fundraiser, Berny Madoff so he can name him to be the next Treasury Secretary. That is, of course, unless he chooses to pardon first his erstwhile real estate sugar daddy, Tony Rezko, and give him that position. Perhaps he could, at the same time, appoint Bill Ayers to some worthy position - say Homeland Security?
You see, he really could do all of the above. Honestly, nobody in the dinosaur media is going to call him on it. Sure, the Code Pinkers are going to be upset that he has not yet condemned Israel for retaliating against Hamas, which has been firing rockets into Israel, and still hold Gilad Shalit, without even access to Internation Red Cross observers. Where is the outrage over those violations of Geneva Conventions?
Apparently, though, Obama's powers are already showing effect, and he hasn't even taken possession of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. As I type, the rise of global temperatures, spurred on by our excessive and willful pumping of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, is in the 10th year of its hiatus. Arctic sea ice has rebounded to levels not seen in nearly 3 decades. For crying out loud, they had to pull out the snow shovels recently in Las Vegas, as hell, literally, froze over. Its amazing. And Obama did all of that just while playing in Hawaii! Imagine the paradisiacal glory this planet will achieve once he actually enters his kingdom - scratch that, I mean, takes the oath of office!
Illinois. Illinois politics is kind of like the Sopranos. Lots of corruption. Lots of foul language. Lots of shady dealings. But one heck of an entertaining show. And that is just referring to the Blago scandal. You have to empathize with the guy - but just a little bit. I mean, honestly, trying to sell Obama's senate seat could not be an original invention of this guy. Consider the on-his-way-out individual appointed by the Massachusetts governor to fill the vacated seat of then recently-elected JFK, thus making it extremely easy for brother Ted to run in the next election for that seat. Coincidence? Only a political Pollyanna believes in coincidences when it comes to politics (and Kennedys). Blago also gives us high entertainment in, once again, forcing Democrats to play defense on the race issue. These guys really don't know what to do with themselves. Usually it is the GOP that has these issues leveled at them. Dems don't know what to do when the gun is turned on them. Cases in point - Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Geraldine Ferraro having the race card played against them.
Obama. Not even coronated . . . I mean inaugurated yet, and already a cloud over his head. Most presidents don't have to perform internal investigations of their staffers until after they hang the new drapes in the Oval Office. Already Obama has had to conduct one regarding whether anything untoward occurred, from his end, regarding the Blago scandal (and wasn't it amazing how his own people found that they had done nothing improper?). Rahm Emmanuel was up to his neck in it. Now Bill Richardson is having to withdraw his name for consideration for Commerce Secretary, because, come to find out, he might be under investigation for corruption in some shady pay-to-play deals in New Mexico. Never mind that the investigation was under way before he was named for the position. Turns out that a contract was awarded to a company that did not offer the best bid, and, coincidentally, the deal went through not too long after that company had made a sizable contribution to Richardson's election coffers. Concerning coincidences in politics, please see the preceding paragraph.
Now Obama has picked Leon Panetta to head the CIA. Didn't even run that one by Dianne Feinstein, the incoming Senate Intelligence Committee Chair. Surely you all are aware of his extensive credentials for running the top intelligence position in the country at a time when we are engaged in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan, when Gaza and Israel are locked in combat, when Iran threatens to develop nuclear weapons, when Russia haphazardly runs roughshod over former Soviet republics and threatens budding democracies in Eastern Europe. Oh, wait, he has none. Well, that certainly shows Obama's intellect and wisdom. While he is at it, maybe he can quickly, after he is inaugurated, pardon ponzi schemer-extraordinaire, and former Democrat and liberal fundraiser, Berny Madoff so he can name him to be the next Treasury Secretary. That is, of course, unless he chooses to pardon first his erstwhile real estate sugar daddy, Tony Rezko, and give him that position. Perhaps he could, at the same time, appoint Bill Ayers to some worthy position - say Homeland Security?
You see, he really could do all of the above. Honestly, nobody in the dinosaur media is going to call him on it. Sure, the Code Pinkers are going to be upset that he has not yet condemned Israel for retaliating against Hamas, which has been firing rockets into Israel, and still hold Gilad Shalit, without even access to Internation Red Cross observers. Where is the outrage over those violations of Geneva Conventions?
Apparently, though, Obama's powers are already showing effect, and he hasn't even taken possession of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. As I type, the rise of global temperatures, spurred on by our excessive and willful pumping of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, is in the 10th year of its hiatus. Arctic sea ice has rebounded to levels not seen in nearly 3 decades. For crying out loud, they had to pull out the snow shovels recently in Las Vegas, as hell, literally, froze over. Its amazing. And Obama did all of that just while playing in Hawaii! Imagine the paradisiacal glory this planet will achieve once he actually enters his kingdom - scratch that, I mean, takes the oath of office!
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