Commander in Hope Reassures America

The president in a speech from Hawaii yesterday announced his faith based security plan. Obama said,

We will be guarded by our hope, unity, and the values that binds us

What?!?!?!?    Hope? Are you kidding me? I heard this clip on a talk radio show yesterday, and I am stunned that it's not being played, replayed, and replayed again on any of the news outlets! When George W Bush made his famous/infamous "Wanted dead or alive" remarks in response to 9/11 the state run media crushed the guy and criticized his remarks as 'too jingoistic'.

Well? maybe so? But my question is, where is the critique or support for Obama's first verbal response to the latest attempted terror attack? There isn't any! Obama's response is so feeble, weak, inadequate, ineffective, poor, unconvincing, unpersuasive, unsatisfactory, unsuitable that even Fox News won't air it for fear that it will only emboldened more terrorist attacks by signaling to them that we will do nothing.

Obama is too busy dismantling the safeguards that kept us safe for the 8 tears after 9/11 to announce a response, except hope. Hope they don't attack again. Pray they don't attack again. By not being jingoistic, by not doing the things the Bush did, Obama thinks we will be safe. His priorities? Prosecuting Navy SEALS who gave a top Al Queda leader a fat lip. Closing Gitmo and moving prisoners onto U.S. soil where our jackpot justice system could possibly release war criminals, enemy combatants, and prisoners of war.

So egregious was his statement that today he refused to speak in front of reporters but he released a video statement where he tried to sound tougher than he did the previous day. State run Media helped him rewrite history and perhaps it is just as well, for all of our sakes.

Obama says 'systemic failure' allowed airline plot

In further evidence of a clueless administration...

Napolitano Says No Evidence of Wider Terrorist Plot -NYT

So Al Queda corrected in her by issuing a press release the next day, saving her from an investigation

We are soooo...screwed!

Merry Christmas. Go into that light, and to all a good night.

Here is wishing you a merry Christmas.

No matter your political or religious inclinations I hope you are able to take advantage of the holiday season to spend time with those that are meaningful to you.

In Hoc Anno Domini - WSJ.com

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Welcome back to bondage. The health care takeover enslaves all of us, and delivers us to the same fate as those who served unto Caesar.

The Health Care Paradox

It looks as though the Obama administration will get the debacle of a health care bill that they wanted over our dead bodies....litterally.

This legislation is so flawed that it guarantees an accelerated increase in premiums over the dire projections of how costs would have increased if "we did nothing".

The contradictions of what they said they were going to do, and what thry are doing are just not insulting to one's intelligence, but diamettrically opposed to logic.

Suddenly, too much insurance is an evil thing! Too much insurance you say? There is no such thing as too much insurance! Too much insurance is called 'preventative care'! And everybody should have preventative care in order to bring down the costs of health care! Right?

Not so fast pilgrim!

Obama in Late Push on Health

The administration is sensitive to criticism the legislation does too little to trim growth of costs. White House Budget Director Peter Orszag says the 40% tax on high-cost, or "Cadillac," plans will encourage employers to look for more thrifty coverage and discourage unnecessary procedures. Cost is the reason for favoring this as well as the Medicare commission.

Mr. Obama said in an NPR interview Wednesday that Cadillac plans "don't make people healthier but just take more money out of their pockets because they're paying more for insurance than they need to."

What?!?!?! Too much insurance is bad? Too much access to health care is bad? What means "thrifty" coverage!?!?

Can somebody please explain to me when a procedure is considered unnecessary and when a procedure is considered preventative care? Are you really falling for the lie about preventative care reducing costs? Where is that in this bill? I can't find it!

And, if the tax on those cadilac plans are such a moral imperative, then why give all the unions a pass on the tax? Should the government really encourage the unions to waste their money on those plans that don't make them any healthier and that just raise costs for the rest of us?

ObamaCare's Longshoremen Rules

Start with the special tax carve-outs included in the "manager's amendment" that Harry Reid dropped Saturday morning. White House budget director Peter Orszag has claimed that the bill's 40% excise tax on high-cost insurance plans is key to reducing health costs. Yet the Senate Majority Leader's new version specifically exempts "individuals whose primary work is longshore work." That would be the longshoremen's union, which has negotiated very costly insurance benefits. The well-connected dock workers join other union interests such as miners, electrical linemen, EMTs, construction workers, some farmers, fishermen, foresters, early retirees and others who are absolved from this tax.

Puhlease!. Unless you are in a union, or unless you currently have no health care coverage, you are so screwed that you will rue this day!




x

Global Comedy

Excellent Cartoon over at reason.com. It is very apropos given that the president gave a speech today on global warming.

Go see it.

So, $100 Billion annually from the United States? That figure doubles the amount of foreign aid that the United States already provides to countries around the world.

Where are we going to get this money? Borrow it from China? Then give it back to them and other countries? China won't even agree to a verification frame work, which would verify compliance to a non binding treaty!

I wonder what Hugo Chavez will do with his slice of U.S. Foreign aid? Mine some more uranium for Iran? Hey! It's all in the name of clean nuclear energy! Muahahahaha

How stupid are we? Sheesh!

Kiss My Hamas: Part IV

Q: How long does foreign policy on-the-job training take? 

A: Almost one year.


After giving Iran another year to build it's nuclear bomb, and to quell what was a real and nascent democratic movement, it has dawned on the Obama administration that 'reaching out and talking with our enemies' might not be working.

File this one under "No shit Sherlock"!

The beautiful irony here is that then presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had taunted then Candidate Obama about the naivete of extending direct talks to Iran and now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has to announce to the world that diplomacy is not working. Boy, does she look annoyed! What I want to know is who is she annoyed at? Iran? or Obama? (tee hee hee hee)

I have made this prediction before, and this latest development only reinforces my intuition that Hillary will quit her post in late 2010 or early 2011, and then oppose Obama in a primary for the 2012 election. a la Kennedy vs Carter.

Good Times!

Reason.com: She’s Back!

Good read.

She’s Back! - Reason.com

Tea Party protests have been chock-a-block with signs such as “Atlas Is Shrugging” and “The name is Galt. John Galt.” Sales of Rand’s classic Atlas Shrugged have soared in 2009, 

Ed Hudgins, director of advocacy with the Atlas Society, an organization that promotes Rand’s philosophy, says that when he looks at House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and federally owned mortgage lender Freddie Mac, he thinks of another Atlas Shrugged character: banker Eugene Lawson, who in Hudgins’ words “destroys his bank and a good part of the state of Wisconsin because he’s making loans based not on sound business practice but on the basis of need.”  


Many political bloggers this year have preferred to invoke one of Rand’s heroes by spreading the idea that more and more people may soon be “going Galt”

Ahem, yes....they have.(Going Galt)

More than ever, Rand’s uncompromising and unconservative (though hyper-free-market) vision rubs violently against the realities of contemporary American politics of both right and left. 

I have the same problem. If you are truly a conservative libertine, then both the right and the left hate you.
As for the movie......

With Rand fan Angelina Jolie, long rumored to star as railroad heroine Dagny Taggart, begging off the project, the producers are now preparing to turn Atlas Shrugged into a mini-series on the new cable channel Epix, possibly starring Charlize Theron. (In Hollywood, nothing is fact until the cameras roll—or until after they finish rolling. Atlas Shrugged is not yet at that stage and may never come to fruition.) 

I doubt that liberal Hollywood would ever let this movie get made. Too many careers would be ruined. Or, they would intentionally screw it up and cast it in the light of Wall Street 'fat-cats' walking around like they deserved everything because of their sheer arrogance, a la Marie Antoinette "Let them Eat Cake".

recognition of certain Randian truths. These include “asking in the face of new taxes and government controls, ‘Why work at all?’ ‘For whom am I working?’ ” The Atlas Society also suggests that Rand lovers should start by “recognizing that you’re being punished not for your vices but for your virtues,” “recognizing that you do not need to justify your life or wealth to your neighbors, ‘society,’ or politicians, or bureaucrats,” and “taking the moral high ground by explicitly rejecting as evil the premise of ‘self-sacrifice’ that they sell to you as a virtue.”  

I proclaim these truths to be self evident, but it's important to point them out to the looters!

given that most of Obama’s initiatives have been driven by deficit spending, not taxation, it’s unlikely we’ll see any statistically detectable signs of tax avoidance of the sort you’d expect from a Galt-leaning culture.

Wait for it. Just wait........

That kind of smarminess of bureaucratic-speak— ‘we’re doing this for your own good’—is very much in evidence these days.” 

Amen

Fear and Loathing in Providence

Once again Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) is in Providence today, and talking about health care. To his constituents you ask? Nope! Not yet. Still no plans for a town hall with the people he represents. Today's event is called "The Best and Brightest Forum on Medical Innovation". There will probably be a good photo-op in tomorrow's Pro-Jo, and it will be made to look like he is out there talking about the critical issue of health care.

You may recall that Rep. Kennedy has said he's afraid of town hall meetings.

All Patches has to fear, is fear itself!

And Nancy Pelosi is scared of those Tea Party types too!

---

She is of course referring to the murder of Harvey Milk who was killed by Dan White a former San Fransisco Supervisor, who was a democrat!

It's funny. If you don't agree with Washington's out of control spending and you speak up in opposition then you are scary! But if you're on the left, and you want more free stuff, then go nuts!

Torch-carrying protesters storm UC Berkeley chancellor's home; 8 arrested

Those silly Tea  Party protesters don't know how to protest at all! Their protests would make you think they are all teetotallers.

Now this is how you protest!

Nearly 1000 arrested at climate change protest

---

The stark contrast of how a climate protest and a tax protest gets described is hysterical! The video above is from the Huffington Post. They basically report a peaceful protest temporarily interrupted. You know, those crazy kids. Lefties will be lefties you know. What are ya gonna do? But if you search the Huffington Post for reports on the Tax Day Tea Party protests it's a different story. Here they go out of their way to report an actually peaceful protest as an angry mob!

Tea Party Video: Right-Wing Tax Protests Caught On Tape

An angry guy off camera starts cussing up a storm

Oh no! Not cussing! Dear god! Run for the hills! Hide the woman and children! Where is the humanity! Hide Mr. Kennedy, hide!
Gotta love it!

UPDATE (5:28 PM): I just want to point out that I posted this before Glenn Beck did his Copenhagen protest shtick. His was laugh out loud funny though. I'll post video here if I can find it.

Beat the Drum Louder

There is an old adage that says:

"You learn more from those that disagree with you, than you do from those that already agree with you"

I think I would now add to that "unless you're on the left because then you think you already know everything"

They are still angry out there!

So with some free time to burn I let my curiosity get the best of me and used that wonerful "Next Blog" link to randomly take me around the  blogosphere.

One of the places I landed early on was a blog at http://somehistoricalperspective.blogspot.com/. Great! I like to think my blog is all about historical perspective too! When you arrive at this blog the title of the blog is "Make it Stop! Make it Stop!".  Interesting? It almost screams the visual of someone holding their hands over their ears and screaming "Make it Stop! Make it Stop!". moving on, the first article is interesting. It is a slam piece about that ridiculous purity test that I have really only heard people on the left talk about. I don't doubt that some silly ultra-conservative may have suggested something like this, but even if it's true that there is a push to use something like this I too think it's dumb. The last part of the post penned by 'LaPopessa' sparks my curiosity.

9 -Protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion
10 - The right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership

Where to begin, where to begin. Could it be the innate contradiction of points 9 & 10 (we care about your life only while in the womb, outside of it, run or duck & cover, 'cause we've got a right to those guns).

That's kinda cute. But it left me with a question? So I left an anonymous post. Not sure why I decide to do that? I usually don't post anonymous, but somehow I guess I did get a bad vibe from the site. Perhaps this could be one of those politics of personal destruction types! So I wrote something to the affect of

Interesting post, I do not think I would pass the purity test either........ I too have often pondered the inconsistency with 9 & 10 as well. I suppose one could pose the the contrary condition: Why is it OK to kill an innocent baby and not to be able to protect your family from killers?

I guess ultimately I am wondering which position of consistency you favor? Kill babies and go ahead kill anyone else with your gun? or don't kill babies and don't own guns?

 I went back a few times because I was truly interested in what the reply might be. After the post sat there for a few days I went back and it was gone! So I left another post that said something to the affect of:

Not into the whole free exhange of ideas thing?

I went back again. Sure enough, deleted. But this time there was a reply (2 comments).

Comment deleted

This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

3:03 PM

LaPopessa said...

Yes anonymous I have. Beat your chest all you like, but until you man up enough to actually leave your name, don't expect me to take you seriously.

9:59 PM

 Wow! So she would never take an anonymous piece like the Federalist Papers seriously? I mean, just for some historical perspective. So I determine this probably isn't the place for me.

Moving on again I stumble upon http://www.drumsnwhistles.com/. The Title of this blog is "Odd Time Signatures". Indeed! I find a post that elicits my curiosity .

Tell me again: What was the public option supposed to do? 

In this case, I leave a comment, and I get a reply from the author Karoli . In the reply I am posed a question in what comes across as an angry tone. So I answer the question. You can read the thread here. No reply. OK fine.

Then I find another interesting post.

True health care reform: Puzzle it out

I leave another post. You can go here and read it, but you won't see it on the site. Basically it said

True health care reform

 The concept of pre-existing conditions came about the same time congress rolled out medicare medicaid. The idea was backed by the government then because they thought it would incentivize people to maintain insurance policies. They were talking the same mantra then that they are talking today. If everybody, including the young and health have insurance then the large pool will insure enough money is available for all. It didn't work out that though.

So, without the threat of being denied insurance for a pre-existing condition; explain to me again why I should carry health insurance? My choices are to continue to pay the monthly premiums as I do today, or I can drop my coverage and pay a tax that is roughly equivalent to one months premium? And then, if I get sick? Just sign up for insurance then! Brilliant!

http://conservativelibertine.blogspot.com/2009/...

In short, the left does not like well thought out well reasoned ideas or questions. The only way they know to combat cold calculated logic is to hold their hands over their ears, scream "La La La I can't hear you!", and beat the drum louder.

Death & Taxes

Now they get you coming and going.........

A while back I lamented that the diktat to have health care insurance was the equivalent to an existence tax.

The Existance Tax

 

I should probably post the lyrics to the Beatle's "Tax Man" here. They wan't to tax you for being here, and then they want to tax you when you leave.

The Tax That Won't Die

Both concepts are abhorrent to anyone that believes in a free society.

Making (up) History......

Now this is spin you can believe in!

Harry Reid recently tried to capture the moral high ground in the well of the Senate by "equating opposition to Medicare cuts and tax increases with support for human bondage that it took a bloody civil war to end, "

Olympia Snowe Is Right

Mr. Reid made his case with his usual intellectual nuance this week: 

"Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, 'Slow down, stop everything, let's start over.' If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said, 'Slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough.'"

Does Harry Reid know any history? I mean, he knows that it was the newly formed Republican party that was the Anti-Slavery party and that it was the democrats that were fighting for slavery, right?  We know from history that the Whig Party basically dissolved over the issue of slavery. The protest movement against slavery became the Republican Party, right?

But, no no, this time, they (the democrats) are on the right side of history. umm...brotha puhlease! 

The irony of the analogy is staggering. What democrats are currently trying to do with health care reform will actually enslave all Americans regardless of their race! They still believe that Massa knows best, and that they can take care of us better than we can take care of ourselves! But don't worry, they will be benevolent masters (this time). As the government continues to take over large segments of the economy, as they move to rule our lives and everything we do in the name of reducing the costs of health care, the United States will be come one big sharecropping plantation.

It's even more ironic that the President who claims Lincoln as his all time political hero will be the president that could sign into law the legislation that shackles and enslaves an entire country.

Harry, thanks for reminding everybody that when it come to moral issues the Republicans are right (literally), and that you guys are just selfish, power hungry control freaks.

Don't Count Your Chickens.........

While just a few days ago, Obama was taking bows (as opposed to performing bows) because the November unemployment numbers fell to a mere 11,000 and the overall unemployment rate fell to 10% from 10.2%. HE proclaimed that the economy was at least signaling that it was starting to move in the right direction.

Not so fast! I am shocked that I have not heard one analyst or one report that even hints or suggests that November might be an anomaly due to the Holiday effect. What's the Holiday effect? Well, in business, October is usually where next year's budget gets final approval, and you have a good idea how the fourth quarter is going to turn out. Sometimes you'll see spates of layoff's in October to adjust the bottom line and make the numbers look good or at least better at year end. But after that most companies are on cruise control and don't execute any huge new initiatives. Especially not lay-offs. Nobody wants to be the grinch that ruined Thanksgiving or Christmas. That's what you saw in 2008. Even though the sky had started to fall, and you might have noticed the rise in unemployment, but then, nothing really happened until January. Beware the ides of January! You can expect a negligible number for unemployment in December. Possibly even better looking than Novembers mild numbers.

We won't really know the direction of the economy until the January unemployment numbers come out. January will indicate if the 2010 budgets that were planned and approved in October, are suggesting that businesses are executing growth strategies or not.

However, you should not count your chickens before they are hatched! Remember that the 2010 budgets were finalized in October. Remember that businesses even today still have the question marks regarding Health Care reform, as well as Cap & Tax. With the looming uncertainty of what these government programs will mean to the bottom line, expect companies to sit on their cash or delay the execution of growth strategies until the political issues are solved and the can crunch the numbers and determine the implications to their budgets.

Meanwhile, the President went on TV today to essentially suggest "See! Spending is working! The jobless numbers are starting in the right direction, and it is because the stimulus is beging to work!".

Obama urges major new stimulus, jobs spending

Obama said the U.S. must continue to "spend our way out of this recession" as long as so many people are out of work.

Never mind that this is not what business wants to here, unless of course you own a construction business and you have a friend who happens to hold political office. Business knows that they will be paying for further transfers in wealth with taxes.

Never mind that banks do not want to hear this. Even though many of them were bailed out by the government, they know a train wreck when they see one. Was it irresponsible of them to lend to people they figured couldn't pay the loans back? Sure, but they were government backed loans and Barney Frank really liked to see low income people get homes they could not afford. But, they are not totally stupid! There is no-one to back the loans made by the government if it starts to look like they might not be able to repay loans (See Dubai).

Moody's Warns U.S. Could Lose Triple-A Rating

Losing your triple A rating is like missing a payment on your credit card and watching the interest rate go from 6% to 23%. It costs you a lot of money.

Health Care Mein Kampf

Saul Alinsky's principles directed toward a specific end. A strategy, verbalized in to tactics to achieve a specific victory. This is the equivalent of taking Rommels' "The Tank and Attack" and using it to create a specific battle plan.

Was Democrats’ Health Care Strategy Written In Federal Prison?

“We must create a national consensus that health care is a right, not a commodity; and that government must guarantee that right.”

“We must create a national consensus that the health care system is in crisis.”

“Our messaging program over the next two years should focus heavily on reducing the credibility of the health insurance industry and focusing on the failure of private health insurance.”

“We need to systematically forge relationships with large sectors of the business/employer community.”

“We need to convince political leaders that they owe their elections, at least in part, to the groundswell of support of [sic] universal health care, and that they face political peril if they fail to deliver on universal health care in 2009.”

“We need not agree in advance on the components of a plan, but we must foster a process that can ultimately yield consensus.”

“Over the next two years, we must design and organize a massive national field program.”

“We must focus especially on the mobilization of the labor movement and the faith community.”

“We must systematically leverage the connections and resources of a massive array of institutions and organizations of all types.”

“To be successful, we must put in place commitments for hundreds of millions of dollars to be used to finance paid communications and mobilization once the battle is joined.”

The real 'go get'em boys!' part of the plan is when he says:

Creamer adds: “To win we must not just generate understanding, but emotion—fear, revulsion, anger, disgust.”

Watch out Tea Party!

Picture that moment in the movie Patton. Rommel's tank division attacks Patton at Kasserine Pass. Patton drives the Fascists into retreat and says:

[Outmaneuvering Rommel]
Patton: [referring to Rommel's book, 'Infantry Attacks' or 'Infanterie greift an'] Rommel... you magnificent bastard, *I read your book*!

The Tea Party needs to generate more fear, more revulsion, more anger and more disgust! I don't care how scared and whiny Nancy Peolsi and Patrick Kennedy get!

All Patches has to fear, is fear itself!

Animal Cars

Well that didn't take long. When the 'bailout' of GM happened and the company re-emerged from bankruptcy with a board of directors representing the primary stock holders, the U.S. Government and the Unions, it was the completion of the revolt. Now that the animals are in control of the farm it is amusing to watch the champions of the proletariat rapidly become capitalists. The board has made drastic changes to GM's top management in order to make the company 'into a leaner more nimble company'. Leaner, eh? Does this mean that the unions will be more accepting, heck, directing layoffs and plant shut downs?

GM Shakes Up Management

In a company meeting broadcast to employees, Napoleon, er, um I mean new Chairman Ed Whitacre told employees to 'Step up".

In an employee meeting Friday that was broadcast to GM locations around the globe, Mr. Whitacre said employees are expected to "step up" and take more responsibility, according to a person who watched the 45-minute broadcast.

That's right! The chickens need to lay more eggs, the horses need to move more rocks, and the geese need to harvest more grain. This isn't your father's union shop! Get off of your butts!

Earlier, in an employee message, Mr. Whitacre said there are no plans for further layoffs at the sharply downsized company.

Oh, I am sure they won't call anything layoffs. It will probably be something like retraining or re-education at "Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler".

Animal Farm

Years pass, and the pigs learn to walk upright, carry whips, and wear clothes. The Seven Commandments are reduced to a single phrase: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." Napoleon holds a dinner party for the pigs and the humans of the area, who congratulate Napoleon on having the hardest-working animals in the country on the least feed. Napoleon announces an alliance with the humans, against the labouring classes of both "worlds". He abolishes practices and traditions related to the Revolution, and reverts the name of the farm to "Manor Farm".

Job Summit or Just More Blame Storming?

President Obama just finished a speech in Pennsylvania. His speech was meant to inspire confidence in his economic agenda. What economic agenda? Well, we are all still waiting to hear. The illusion of a jobs summit that was attennded mostly by Union leaders, and ivory tower academics with a few company CEO's (who happen to be Obama supporters) was political theater meant to dramatically signal to the country that he is paying attention to the jobless rates and overall problem with economic growth.

It's an excellent strategy. Not only do these high profile acts project the illusion of leadership on the economic front, it also takes attention away from the sausage making happening on the floor of the Senate. The health care bill, the presidents real priority, is in the process of being butchered with amendments, favors, and the usual pork that the president promised would not plague Washington anymore. Nothing to see here.

The real disappointment in the presidents speech was his walk down memory blame. In describing how the housing bubble happened, he returned to the fairy tail about greedy Wall Street fat cats giving loans to people who just should not have received loans. He admitted that everyone was to blame, because everyone was making money. Accept he didn't mention the governments role in the mess, and those that do not learn from history are forced to repeat it. Back in May I posted about what still seems to be the pink elephant in the corner:

Prophetic Pronouncement from WSJ

And he has people in Hollywood helping to place the blame on anyone but the government.

Revisionist History

giving loans to those who they knew could never repay

Now, he's right, of course. But, by not giving you the whole story, or by not sharing the blame with bad govt policy, and lack of enforcement of existing regulations, he effectively revises history to place all of the blame on Wall Street and the Republicans.

Never mind that it was the Community Reinvestment Act signed into law by Jimmy Carter which was

designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.^[1][2][3] Congress passed the Act in 1977 to reduce discriminatory credit practices against low-income neighborhoods, a practice known as redlining.

Never mind the  Financial Services Modernization Act signed into law by President Bill Clinton

which repealed part of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, opening up the market among bankingsecurities companies and insurance companies. The Glass-Steagall Act prohibited any one institution from acting as any combination of an investment bank, a commercial bank, and/or an insurance company. companies,

 Never mind that in September of 1999

the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

 In that same New York Times article, there were those who were already sounding the alarm.

''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''

And in a further illustration of the Presidents ignorance about job creation he went on to explain how "Companies are still hesitant to hire", and talked about how we need to make them hire people.

Mr. President, you will not see any significant burst in job growth until you put health care and the cap & tax bills behind you. Comapnies are sitting on any cash that theyhave until they know how much you plan to take from them. If both initiatives fail, then you will see an immediate increase in job growth. If both pass, well, there just won't be that much money left for companies to spend on new employees. It's pretty simple.

oh yeah, and will somebody tell the President that Barney Frank is still trying to give loans to people who don't deserve them?

You got to Roll Me......

Back to the Future

Not surprising really, when you think about it. Since Obama stated to the world that the U.S. has no intention of beating the Taliban and will begin retreating 18 months after staging a surge, Karzai is looking down the road to his new stark reality.

AP Interview: Karzai willing to talk to Taliban

White House spokesperson Gibbs and other had defended the disastrous speech at West Point by saying that the 18 month withdrawal time-line was just 'a goal', and that conditions on the ground would dictate what really happens, and that the 18 month time-line was intended to tell the Afghan government that we would not be there forever so they better get on top of defending themselves.

Karzai has clearly received the message. He and the Taliban now realize that Obama is pulling out and it is not even a matter of time. We all now know the time-line.

Real-estate value in Tora-Bora just went back up again.

Obamastan or Osamastan?

I guess we know now.

Going Galt

Is it starting to happen? Is Atlas beginning to shrug? As government inflicts itself and imposes it's political desires on big business and critical industries, are the captains of industry giving up?

Mostly I want to know if it was John Galt or Francisco d'Anconia that showed up and convinced ex-GM CEO "Fritz" Henderson of the futility of it all. Which one of them convinced Fritz that the looters have arrived and they intend to take what others produce? Were they the ones who got him to embrace his Sanction of the victim?

U.S.'s Role Expands in the Boardroom - WSJ

Boards crammed with government appointees have prompted the departure announcements of three CEOs in the past two months: Mr. Henderson, Kenneth D. Lewis at Bank of America Corp. and Alvaro de Molina at GMAC Financial Services.


The departures, and friction at other government-backed companies, raise a sticky question: Whose interests are these boards serving?

Is there a destroyer loose in the world? Some evil creature that is deliberately luring away the brains of the world for a purpose we cannot understand?

Is Hank Greenberg, the former CEO at AIG, the contemporary Hank Reardon? Both Hanks were chased away by the government because it wanted their riches. Eventually the government run businesses wants Hank to come back and take the wheel.

All very interesting parallels.

My last question is; who is John Galt?

Kiss My Hamas: Part III

Talking to your enemies: What a difference a year makes; or not

So, after convincing the American electorate that then President Bush's policy of pushing the U.N. for sanctions on Iran because of their efforts towards obtaining nuclear weapons was wrong, jingoistic, mean, and just not the right strategy in a world where diplomacy can solve everything; President Obama just may have learned his first on-the-job lesson. Too bad Iran is another whole year closer to having a nuclear bomb.

The Iranians have played Obama for the fool that he is. The presidents displays of weakness, deference, and his Pollyanna approach to diplomacy has made the situation worse, not better.

Iran to Build 10 More Nuclear Sites, State News Agency Says

The Iranian's have concluded that Obama is weaker and meeker than Jimmy Carter. 

So the chess game continues

Kiss My Hamas: Part Deux

The announcement of plans to build 10 more Uranium enrichment facilities is an interesting move. Is this just a hostile threat meant to scare Obama into backing off any efforts to have the U.N. impose more sanctions? Obama clearly communicated that he didn't think sanctions were the way to go, so the threat of making things worse could be an effective attempt to reinforce that idea.

Or is it worse than that? Could Iran have obtained nuclear weapons already? Spreading out the production of your Uranium enrichment production is a smart military move. They know that right now they are completely vulnerable to a military strike that could completely eliminate their enrichment capabilities, so creating more targets to make that happen makes sense. But, why would you announce it to the world? Why wouldn't you just quietly go ahead and do it? Are they trying to provoke the military option? Are they hoping Israel will freak out and bomb their Nanantz nuclear facility, so that they can retaliate with their brand new nuclear missile and remove Israel from the face of the map as they have promised?

Once again, Your move Mr. President.





Iran