John McCain Launches PAC to 'Better Define the Republican Ideals and Message'

The time for the better definition of Republican ideals and message should have preceded the McCain candidacy for the Presidency of the United States.

I, among many others, was willing to hold my nose and vote for John McCain simply to stave off a democrat winning the White House; and a toxic democrat at that.

I often regarded John McCain as I regard California’s Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a RINO (Republican In Name Only). A person who will say or do anything to get elected – and one who claims that they are “post partisan” politicians who are above the fray of party politics as the “verk for da people” 

Wrong, wrong, wrong …

He was massively wrong on McCain-Feingold campaign financing which led to empowering George Soros and 527 advertisements. More money is washing through the system than ever before. And there are suspicions that there is also a significant amount of illegal foreign contributions which have been laundered through lawyers, lobbyists, corporations and American nationals at play in the political system.

He was massively wrong on McCain-Kennedy immigration reform which was a sham amnesty program offered to illegal aliens in return for the Hispanic votes. The reform was bogus as was the idea that Hispanics were going to overwhelmingly vote for McCain.

He is massively wrong on global warming which is based on unsupported scientific supposition and less-than accurate computer models.

John McCain’s struggle to remain relevant and engaged …

The sad fact is that tales of his POW hardships cannot overcome his negatives into propelling him onward to the leadership of the Republican party. A party which is as need of reform as our current financial regulatory system.

Financing John’s  “Hillary Clinton-style” listening tour …

From CNSNews …

John McCain Launches PAC to 'Better Define the Republican Ideals and Message'

“Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has registered a political action committee (PAC) with the Federal Election Commission and is circulating e-mails asking for donations.”

“The e-mail announcing ‘Country First PAC’ says it ‘will allow us to strengthen our Party, better define the Republican ideals and message, recruit and back strong, dedicated candidates and continue our efforts to bring real reform to government by always putting our country and the noble ideals she stands for first.’”

“E-mail recipients are asked to make a ‘generous contribution’ to help the PAC to elect governors, state and federal lawmakers, and ‘to continue fighting for the worthy cause of revitalizing both our democracy and our Party.”

McCain is no Newt …

In my mind, nobody has put forth an agenda, backed by poll-tested concepts, like that of Newt Gingrich and his American Solutions organization. And there is absolutely no chance that McCain can bring the equivalent of Newt’s historical knowledge and political abilities to the table. The only similarity that I can find between both men, outside of being politicians, is that both have notably “testy” behaviors when agitated.

I am not the only one questioning the futility of McCain’s project …

“Some conservatives, however, are questioning the influence McCain’s new PAC will wield, given his failed bid to win the presidency and Democratic President-elect Barack Obama’s victory.”

“ ‘McCain is a general without an army, a leader without followers,’ conservative activist Richard Viguerie told CNSNews.com. “’He never found his voice during the campaign, and he’s not likely to find it with his PAC.’”

“Viguerie added that McCain’s own reforms – carbon caps, comprehensive immigration reform and campaign finance reform – are partly responsible for the Republican Party’s downward spiral in recent years.”

For those who point to his remarkable political comeback in the campaign …

For those who believe that McCain once again can stage a comeback to relevance, need only consider the complicity of the media who wanted John McCain as an opponent for Hillary Clinton – Barack Obama was still an afterthought at this point in time.

Unless McCain is supported by the democrats, perhaps led by Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, and the media in an effort to produce a “Judas Goat” to lead Republicans astray, there seems to be little hope for McCain’s efforts.

A secondary consideration …

Cynic that I am, perhaps this is just a method to retire any remaining McCain campaign debt without reaching into his own pockets – after all, that is the way of politics and politicians.

What can YOU do?

Rethink your political contributions. It is far better to keep your money in your own pocket and pursue your own opportunities than it is to support politicians who have learned not much more than how to lose.

Before giving another dime to the Republican party, wait until it selects its leadership and posts a preliminary statement of principles. Until then, any contribution will be for naught.

Consider Obama’s inauguration as the start of a countdown to a 2010 victory in the House and Senate and a prelude to a 2012 run at the presidency. While we wish Obama well in governing our country, time and breeding will tell. A man borne of political corruption and who is without core values is likely to revert to type as he attempts to govern using polls and focus groups as a poor third-rate substitute for vision, guts and core values.

Be well and be safe.

-- steve

Quote of the Day: “If we find a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.” --Ralph Waldo Emerson

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

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Reference Links:

CNSNews.com - John McCain Launches PAC to 'Better Define the Republican Ideals and Message'

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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OBAMA IS WRONG: GOVERNMENT IS NOT THE SOLUTION

Legislators are not part of the solution, they are often the problem …

It seems that every legislator believes that legislation is the answer to the world’s problems. But, unfortunately, most legislators lack the native intelligence, understanding of history, critical thinking ability and subject matter expertise to put forth real solutions to problems which might be unsolvable by fiat. In addition, most legislators lack the guts to buck the political system and/or their party to create such solutions or even speak the unvarnished truth before the media. They are so busy raising campaign funding and courting the special interests that they have little time to even read the legislation that is being proposed.

What President-elect Obama fails to understand is that the marketplace will develop alternative solutions to the problems facing commercial problems. Think of the underground black market – or simply the growing use of barter between individuals. These are solutions. As for greater social problems, the answer still lies in “people helping people.”

It is when charities become institutionalized with a highly-rewarded leadership do things start going wonky. It is when the government steps in to institute special procedures and reporting requirements do the market participants start looking for loopholes and workarounds. Such is human nature.

Legislators do not understand …

The single most important thing that legislators do not understand is that you cannot legislate human nature, you can not legislate morality and most certainly you can not legislate freedom.

Before listening to Obama’s message …

There are those who are convinced the President-elect Obama can solve all of the world’s ills with his philosophy of hope and change. People are desperate to believe his message. That things can get better, that things will get better.

Unfortunately, reality intrudes. Like Bill Clinton who boldly announced that his Administration would be the most ethical administration in the history of the United States, the sad fact that President-elect Obama comes to office with only a thin margin of support, nearly half the country, or at least the voting citizens, opted for another candidate, and with corruption and controversy swirling about him and his designated functionaries. People who, in many cases, are Clintonistas, beholden to another President and another time. Democrats whose fundamental philosophy is based on special interest promises to cobble together a coalition of marginal elements to achieve their electoral goals.

New beginnings?

And there are those who loudly demand that we give this new president a chance to succeed, to fulfill his vision of America. Well, for one, I am not sure what that vision might be; although I am sure it involves larger government, more government control, more taxpayer funds and more control for the corrupt unions. I am sure that it involves paying political debts to fringe elements of our society and empowering those groups which have been thoroughly infiltrated by people hostile to the United States and our way of life.

Cynical, you bet …

Your right if you pointed out my cynicism. But I would take comfort in the fact that I can point to recent history – both the Clinton and the Bush Administrations – and claim that the political parties and their candidates are bereft of any real ideas and that they exist only to plunder the United States Treasury on behalf of their political friends while they play this game of power politics on the world stage. In a world where all of the participants are competing for scarce resources, we seem to be hobbled by the laws, rules and regulations that are crafted by those who do not have our best interests at heart. It is these very people who are using our own laws against us – for their own evil and nefarious purposes. If you think that significant amounts of foreign money were not used to influence this election, think again. Although no party or candidate will either admit it or seek to root out those instances of illegal campaign contributions. If caught, they give the money to a charity of their choice, file amended returns and pay a small price. No real penalty for wrongdoing. Self-pardoning their activities.

Beware the crisis …

Using a real or imagined crisis to generate public support, or at least tolerance, of increased government activities has always worked in the past. And, considering the number of mushy-headed dumbed down citizens who have been failed by an educational system which has destroyed the teaching of history and critical thinking, the “chicken little” approach to politics attracts hoards of people who have no idea that they are simply parroting a “big lie.”

Obama hold forth …

“For years, too many Wall Street executives made imprudent and dangerous decisions, seeking profits with too little regard for risk, too little regulatory scrutiny, and too little accountability. Banks made loans without concern for whether borrowers could repay them, and some borrowers took advantage of cheap credit to take on debt they couldn't afford.”

True enough, especially when you consider that democrat Congressmen like Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, did everything in their  power to derail attempts at mortgage reform at the GSEs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae. The democrats with their Community Housing programs and prosecution of financial institutions for not making loans in impoverished areas – where people cold not afford homes using standard underwriting criteria.

“Politicians spent taxpayer money without wisdom or discipline, and too often focused on scoring political points instead of the problems they were sent here to solve. The result has been a devastating loss of trust and confidence in our economy, our financial markets, and our government.”

Again, true enough. Both democrats and republicans are to blame for the spending.

“To finally spark the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double the production of alternative energy in the next three years. We will modernize more than 75% of federal buildings and improve the energy efficiency of two million American homes, saving consumers and taxpayers billions on our energy bills. In the process, we will put Americans to work in new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced - jobs building solar panels and wind turbines; constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings; and developing the new energy technologies that will lead to even more jobs, more savings, and a cleaner, safer planet in the bargain.”

What, no mention of nuclear energy which actually has the power to solve the current energy importation problem? Or hydroelectric energy production using dams? He only mentions the kooky stuff that is uneconomical and unreliable over long time periods.

“To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its cost, we will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years, all of America's medical records are computerized. This will cut waste, eliminate red tape, and reduce the need to repeat expensive medical tests. But it just won't save billions of dollars and thousands of jobs - it will save lives by reducing the deadly but preventable medical errors that pervade our health care system.”

Even with the computerization of medical records, costs will not significantly change in the initial years and may even increase. Since most doctors do not actually have the time to read extensive records, it is unlikely that they will be of a significant advantage in providing superior healthcare. However, by controlling access to medical care, the government secures a powerful advantage in controlling the citizens of the United States. There are a number of privacy and other issues of personal freedom which must be addressed before the world’s largest database of medical information is compiled and accessed by insurance companies to set your rates. 

“To give our children the chance to live out their dreams in a world that's never been more competitive, we will equip tens of thousands of schools, community colleges, and public universities with 21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries. We'll provide new computers, new technology, and new training for teachers so that students in Chicago and Boston can compete with kids in Beijing for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future.”

This is sheer stupidity and union rhetoric. Its not the amount of money you spend on computers and infrastructure or the number of teachers that really counts. It’s the quality of the curriculum and the desire of the student to lean that makes a difference. And unless your children plan to learn Chinese and move to Beijing, the idea of competing with their labor pool for jobs is almost nonsensical. Especially when the unions demand that the curriculum continually be dumbed down and teachers (like those recruited by the unrepentant terrorist William Ayers and his wife Bernadine Dohrn) teach liberal democrat social activism instead of the basics needed to survive in today’s world.

“To build an economy that can lead this future, we will begin to rebuild America. Yes, we'll put people to work repairing crumbling roads, bridges, and schools by eliminating the backlog of well-planned, worthy and needed infrastructure projects.”

Again, this is suspect. Local and state governments use these infrastructure contracts to provide sweetheart deals to the developers, contractors, unions and other special interests – and they are, by definition, filled with waste, mismanagement and corruption. Many of these projects are not shovel-ready and are awaiting environmental impact reports or have other impediments. The money to be paid to the contractors for phase completion will slowly work its way into the economy – perhaps after the recession is over; thus adding to inflationary pressures.

“But we'll also do more to retrofit America for a global economy. That means updating the way we get our electricity by starting to build a new smart grid that will save us money, protect our power sources from blackout or attack, and deliver clean, alternative forms of energy to every corner of our nation.”

Let me get this right. We use the taxpayers money to build out a commercial grid and then turn it over to private interests to run it on behalf of a government that uses energy as a method of raising money – in the form of fees rather than taxes which require a vote of the people? What is the net benefit for the people for supplying the financing for what heretofore has been a private enterprise?

“Finally, this recovery and reinvestment plan will provide immediate relief to states, workers, and families who are bearing the brunt of this recession. To get people spending again, 95% of working families will receive a $1,000 tax cut - the first stage of a middle-class tax cut that I promised during the campaign and will include in our next budget.”

Perhaps we need to allocate these funds only to American citizens and provide them to those who actually pay federal income taxes? As for who is bearing the brunt of this recession, it certainly isn’t the government and some union workers who seem to be humming along quite nicely while the private sector downsizes and suffers.

“No longer can we allow Wall Street wrongdoers to slip through regulatory cracks. No longer can we allow special interests to put their thumbs on the economic scales. No longer can we allow the unscrupulous lending and borrowing that leads only to destructive cycles of bubble and bust.”

I can not believe Obama said this with a straight face coming from an environment of Chicago Machine politics and being the recipient of the third largest campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while have little or no real influence in the Senate.

“It is time to set a new course for this economy, and that change must begin now. We should have an open and honest discussion about this recovery plan in the days ahead, but I urge Congress to move as quickly as possible on behalf of the American people. For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs. More families will lose their savings. More dreams will be deferred and denied. And our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.”

Somebody should inform Pelosi about Obama’s open and honest discussion program as she has just made it more difficult for House Democrats to offer their own versions of democrat bills or submit amendments. The thought that we may not be able to reverse the course of the present crisis is ludicrous given the tremendous resiliency of the American people.

I am not going to continue as there are not enough details to complete a competent analysis. But you may bet your last dollar that the devil will be in the details. 

Capture1-8-2009-9.03.37 PM

Standing before his phony “I’m official and important ‘The Office of the President Elect’ sign, Obama holds forth on Obamanomics … which coincidently looks just like a giant Congressional earmarks program with all of the special interest pork and union involvement. And with no guarantees that it will work.

Creating 600,000 government jobs to be paid by the taxpayers does not count for job creation in my book. This is an artificial enlargement of the government where waste, fraud, mismanagement and corruption already abounds.

Bottom line …

In the final analysis, government can provide equal opportunities, not guarantee equal outcomes. For to do so would be to deny some their freedom and benefits of their labor, only to reward those who do nothing more than support a political party based on providing entitlements for people who think they have been historically wronged or who do not want to face life’s reality on an equal basis with their fellow citizens.

Perhaps Obama’s greatest contribution is to reduce the size of the government, cut back on taxes and let American business work its way out of this fiscal mess.

What can YOU do?

Remember, a leopard does not change his spots. The political process if fraught with special dealing and corruption and Obama’s democrats have a track record in manipulating the system for their personal and professional benefit.

Quit drinking the Kool-Aid and realize that even the President of the United States, no matter which party he represents, is often powerless to do more than set policy and hope than Congress agrees.

Look out for your own interests first – and everything else will eventually work out.

Be safe and be well.

-- steve

Quote of the day:  “Think of what would happen to us in America if there were no humorists; life would be one long Congressional Record.”  - Tom Masson

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

CNSNews.com - Obama: ‘Only Government’ Can Fix What Ails Us…

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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Financial engineering or financial foolishness: mimicking below-zero federal interest rates?

It’s one thing for the government simply to lend  money at or near zero interest rates – but what is up with a “below zero” rate? 

It’s one thing for the Federal Reserve to lend money freely – at zero interest rates; but it seems quite another to pay borrowers to take the money. Is this really what a below-zero interest rate is really about or is the Federal Reserve planning something altogether different?

According to Reuters …

“Evans says Fed needs to mimic below-zero rates”

“A grim economic outlook highlights the need for the Federal Reserve to step up quantitative measures to boost growth, with official interest rates already effectively at zero, Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Fed, said on Saturday.

“Evans said that based on the outlook for rising unemployment, falling industrial production and a wider output gap, economic models suggest rates should be below zero.”

I know this is a deadly serious situation, but I can’t stop from thinking that the same type of intelligence who built the derivative pricing models, the securities ratings systems models – and yes, the global warming models – might be the ones that are “suggesting” that interest rates should be below zero.

GeekSpeak: “constrained by zero?”

"If it were not constrained by zero, those models would want to push it below zero, but that's not possible," Evans told reporters after a panel at the American Economic Association's meeting in San Francisco.”

Enter Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s Buzz-word: Quantitative Easing …

“Quantitative easing, a way to flood the banking system with large amounts of money, ‘is a way to mimic below-zero rates and provide support to the economy,’ he said.”

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn’t flooding the banking system with money without creating a corresponding increase of value lead to inflation: too much money chasing too few goods? Is this the real government plan: use inflation to drive up the values of everything, including housing, to achieve the appearance of stability and growth – and then hope someone in subsequent Administrations will be able to return our currency to some semblance of value? Or do they think that it really matters anymore since everyone will be using the same money?

I am sure it matters to those who are using this inflated value money to buy up tangible assets that will have lasting value when the rest of the world reacts to the consequences of this financial Ponzi scheme.

It’s always about the process …

“The process often involves buying up large quantities of assets from banks, such as the Fed's latest programs to buy mortgage-backed securities.”

And therein lies the answer: you really can mimic below-zero interest rates if you purchase worthless or near worthless securities with real dollars!

“In December, the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed's policy-setting body, took the surprising step of lowering the federal funds rate to a range of zero to 0.25 percent. Cash fed funds had been trading below the previous 1 percent target rate for several weeks.”

So now it’s a recession?

“In his remarks, Evans, who is a voting member of the FOMC in 2009, said the Fed's various lending programs should help cushion the impact of the year-old U.S. recession but a large traditional fiscal stimulus plan is also needed, even with the problems it could create over the longer term.”

Isn’t it amazing that the economists employed by the Federal Reserve and its leadership wouldn’t even acknowledge a recession until the NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) looked back on the numbers and said, “Yes, I do believe we have been in a recession.”?

It is amazing to me that they keep talking about a “stimulus”

" ‘I believe a big stimulus is appropriate,’ Evans said. ‘But it is sobering to be deploying large amounts of taxpayer funds at a time when our fiscal balance sheet is already coming under significant stress.’"

Sobering?

You mean someone actually seriously thinks about this stuff? Especially when Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pulled the $700 BILLION number out of his (Al, I was going to say something else here, but I remember what you said) HAT as being sufficiently large to connote seriousness, but less than that scary “trillion” dollar number. What may be sobering is the fear that our leadership and their advisors may be held criminally responsible for their actions and still do not have the answers to the biggest questions facing the financial community.

1.  How do you recognize the true value of derivatives which may be built on shifting sand?

2.  How can you de-leverage the financial effects of purchasing these derivatives with massively leveraged borrowed money from other financial institutions without cratering everyone’s balance sheet?

3.  How can you repatriate those “off balance sheet” accounts without wiping out all of your institution’s equity?

4.  How can you stop the downward spiral of housing prices and stabilize the housing market to provide some “floor value” for now-dubious securities?

5.  How can you unwind the credit default swap pseudo-insurance debacle without creating some certifiable authority for registering, valuing and trading these instruments?

So, in my humble opinion, it comes down to a shell game to protect our financial institutions. Transfer the results of all of their bad decisions across a larger base of taxpayers while convincing them you are saving the nation. To this I would add a sixth question.

6.  How do you avoid sending some prominent bankers, politicians and bureaucrats to jail for their complicity in a loosely-coupled scheme to create wealth from nothing more than manipulating paper with computers? Especially when the financial damage to the aging American population is really tallied? To my way of thinking, this includes those individuals who falsified their creditworthiness, inflated appraisals, prevented regulatory agencies from doing their work, prevented the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – and, most grievously, created legislation for special interests which adversely affected the American people.

Unfreeze? 

“Without the Fed's programs to help unfreeze credit markets and to-the-bone rate cuts, ‘the downturn -- and its costs to society -- would be even more severe than what we are currently facing,’ said Evans.”

How can we be sure? Treasury Secretary Paulson testifies that the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) allocated and/or disbursed  $350 BILLION dollars of the taxpayers hard-earned money with less success than imagined – and then had the chutzpa (nerve) to say that he would like more funding for a few additional ideas he might have. If I remember correctly, Paulson was quoted as saying some of the money was used to purchase other institutions while the rest of the money was used to bolster the recipient's balance sheets or used for unknown purposes.

So much for the Congressional mandate of transactional transparency.

And speaking of transparency, the Federal Reserve refuses (even under the Freedom of Information Act) to reveal who has gotten Fed money and to what purpose this money was used. This is legal because one should remember that the Federal Reserve is a private  and unregulated financial institution owned by its member banks – and has been chartered to act as our nation’s central banking authority.

“Since the financial market crisis erupted, the Fed has created several new programs aimed at bypassing the traditional banking system and smashing through the credit-market logjam, including the direct purchase of mortgage-backed securities.”

I wouldn’t use the term “bypassing” as much as I would use the term “bolstering.”

“Even so, the U.S. jobless rate appears on pace to exceed 8 percent in 2009, from the most recent reading of 6.7 percent in November, Evans said.”

Lest we not forget, the triple mission of the Federal Reserve is to create and execute  a monetary policy which encourages the intertwined objectives of encouraging economic growth, holding inflation in check and creating employment opportunities.

But there is no doubt in my mind that they serve their Wall Street masters first …

The term “Greenspan Put” or “Helicopter Ben” seems to be a colloquial way of stating that the Federal Reserve often acts first to benefit Wall Street and the financial community before tackling the problems facing ordinary Americans.'

“The ‘Greenspan Put’ refers to the monetary policy that Alan Greenspan, the former Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve Board, and the Fed members fostered from the late 1980s to the middle of 2000. During this period, when a crisis arose, the Fed came to the rescue by significantly lowering the Fed Funds rate, often resulting in a negative real yield. In essence, the Fed pumped liquidity back into the market to avert further deterioration.” <Source>

“In 2002, when the word ‘deflation’ began appearing in the business news, Bernanke gave a speech about deflation. In that speech, he mentioned that the government in a fiat money system owns the physical means of creating money. Control of the means of production for money implies that the government can always avoid deflation by simply issuing more money. (He referred to a statement made by Milton Friedman about using a ‘helicopter drop’ of money into the economy to fight deflation.) Bernanke's critics have since referred to him as ‘Helicopter Ben’ or to his ‘helicopter printing press’. In a footnote to his speech, Bernanke noted that ‘people know that inflation erodes the real value of the government's debt and, therefore, that it is in the interest of the government to create some inflation.’” <Source>

The spreading contagion …

“Although the current recession started with the collapse of the U.S. housing market, Evans said many non-financial industries now face the risk of ‘long-term structural impairment.’"

In a large part, access to capital markets and being able to borrow funds at a fair rate is critical to the survival of American commerce. However, there are those who are attempting to capitalize on the current economic crisis to overcome their failed business models which no longer make sense in today’s technological age or who have been so stymied by union and governmental intrusion into their affairs that they are unable to compete in a global marketplace.

“Evans said fiscal programs to support growth ‘must be large in order to be effective and to instill badly needed confidence’ given the severity of the downturn.”

Confidence?

What confidence? Does he mean the appearance of investor confidence to continue investing in Madoff-style Ponzi schemes where the leadership and the earlier investors of large companies are paid off from funds supplied by later investors? Does he mean the confidence that Americans have in their government? Does he mean the confidence to stand on your own and avoid creating massive government entitlement schemes which reward those who can game the system disproportionately over those who struggle to just get by?

Suck-up …

“President-elect Barack Obama has said that signing a major economic stimulus package will be his first priority when he takes office on Jan. 20, with a goal of creating 3 million jobs over two years.”

We do not see that the TARP stimulus package is working. There is no transparency in the current financial system. And he notes that the Obama Administration will be throwing  even more money at the problem. As one who is extremely skeptical of politicians who make grandiose pronouncement without revealing the details, I cannot help but think that Obama’s plan may mean the further socialization of America by insuring that the great majority of those jobs might be related to a unionized infrastructure effort – and thus handing over substantial control of our nation to socialistic unions in the European mold.

“Evans also said the market crisis that erupted in 2007 showed huge holes in financial regulation.”

"’Significant weaknesses have been revealed in our system of financial regulation. ... These failures call for a reassessment of the roles of market discipline and our regulatory structures,’ he said”

What he did not say is that the Federal Reserve, under the powers granted under Regulation Z (Truth-in-Lending) and HOEPA (Homeowner Equity Protection Act) could have stopped much of the fraud that seemed to empower the Wall Street GREED MACHINE … as well as putting forth more oversight on the creation of derivatives using sophisticated computer modeling.

Bottom line …

The politicians and their special interests are capitalizing (pardon the pun) on the current financial crisis to bail out the financial institutions which leveraged themselves out of their equity ownership of the the financial institution and are now financially and morally bankrupt. It appears that no person or institution has  much more than a theory of what it might take to stabilize the crumbling institutions other than letting them fail and their assets purchased by others.

This is playing directly into the hands of our enemies and those who do not wish us well as it allows them to cheaply purchase a piece of the United States and further interfere in our affairs. In essence the politicians and their lawyer/lobbyists have sold out the American people for nothing more than a few pieces of silver. Yes, the Bush Administration may have kept us safe from actual attack, but both the Administration and Congress have wreaked havoc on America.

What can YOU do?

End the political polarization of America that empowers the crazies as they cobble together marginal and toxic elements to achieve an electable margin. Elect honorable people without the taint of corruption or the silliness of celebrity.

Do not vote for politicians who pander to those who will destroy America’s healthcare, educational, judicial, retirement, social and cultural infrastructure in order to secure the votes which will someday vote us out of our own homes in favor of an alien culture run by mysterious proxies from abroad.

Quit playing at politics as if it were some type of sport and that political gatherings were little more than social events.

Quit treating celebrity as modern-day royalty and put them back in their place of entertaining and informing Americans. Most entertainers, by nature or training are liars who are able to convincingly fake sincerity – consider Arnold Schwarzenegger as the prototype narcissistic celebrity. He has failed to lead California out of excessive budgetary spending, enabled the special interests, spends an inordinate amount of time fundraising and looks good only when he is posturing and telling us what we should do – to continue to make him look good. This is not what we need. Lest someone compare Schwarzenegger to Ronald Reagan, let them remember, in addition to being an actor, Reagan was a student of history and spent many years putting forth his political philosophy before being elected to office. An exceptional man in an exceptional time.

Avoid the Administration’s encouragement of profligate spending as your patriotic duty. Spend wisely and purchase value.

Avoid falling for political demands that you surrender your money, your vote and, in some cases, suffer a reduction in your personal freedoms – based on a real or imagined crisis. I am rapidly approaching the point where I believe that the Administration and their sycophants and special interests are busy cooking up the next major crisis to obscure the fact that they haven’t been able to solve the current financial crisis.

It is time to take back our government from the politicians who have conveniently manipulated the justice system to look large-scale wrong doing and avoid punishing those individuals who have stolen a major portion of America’s wealth and conveyed it to people who produce little or nothing as they serve as facilitators greasing the wheels of politics and commerce.

Get involved. In the final analysis, it will be the ordinary citizens who rise up to save America.

-- steve

Quote of the day: “The only thing worse than a man you can't control is a man you can.”  - Margo Kaufman

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

Evans says Fed needs to mimic below-zero rates | Reuters

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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Schwarzenegger: I can be bought!

I am rich and powerful ...

For a man who said he was t0o rich and independent to be bought or be required to cater to the special interests, it's ironic that Governor Schwarzenegger has exceeded the fundraising prowess of his predecessor Gray Davis and caved in to liberal democrats and their special interest  spending whenever possible.

According to the Sacramento Bee ...

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he has a price."

"If he is going to give up the no-new-taxes stance on which he staked his 2006 re-election campaign, he says, Democrats must agree to shove aside environmental rules for 11 highway projects and let private investors and builders play a larger role in state construction."

The triple whammy ...

Like a RINO (Republican In Name Only), Schwarzenegger is abandoning his so-called "conservative" principles and talking about raising taxes in a time of universally acknowledged recession.

Like a committed environmentalist and the  spearhead of California's efforts to fight global warming, Schwarzenegger seems all to ready to abandon environmental rules -- especially as they may apply to concrete production.

And as one who is too rich to pander to the special interests, he is openly advocating to let private investors play a larger role in state construction.

But what do you expect from a man who declares himself to be no longer the candidate the people elected, but a post-partisan politician who is above party politics. A convenient cover for a political turncoat who is willing to turn his back on the party who elected him and do deals with the profligate spenders he was elected to rein in.

It's a role to be played and it's only an writer's words ...

"Schwarzenegger has long believed that higher taxes damage the economy; he said in 2006 it would be the 'worst thing' to do."

Notice how he is looking ahead to 2010 -- to clear his record before facing a Senate run?

"Now, facing a $40 billion budget deficit over the next 18 months, he says he is willing to bend if the state can offset the impact of raising taxes by making regulations friendlier to businesses."

Switch hitter?

Only months ago, the budget deficit was said to be somewhere between $12 BILLION and $24 BILLION -- with $14 BILLION mentioned as a likely number.

So how did we suddenly get to $40 BILLION or his Schwarzenegger trying to clear the whole deficit before his Senate run? Or his he trying to pull a Pete Ueberroth? Ueberroth, as you may well remember was the head of the Los Angeles Olympic effort and overstated all costs in order to have a major surplus at the end of his watch.

Switching subjects: it is no longer about taxes or spending, it's about jobs and infrastructure...

Parroting the Obama line, Schwarzenegger has apparently turned into a liberal democrat.

" 'Really, the whole idea was that we help the people as much as possible in these very terrible times,' Schwarzenegger said last month as he rejected a Democratic plan to reduce the deficit by $18 billion because he said it didn't do enough to promote job growth."

" 'This proposal that they have sent down … does really only one thing, and this is punish the people of California,' he said."

Truth be told, Schwarzenegger is complicit in "punishing the people" as he signed off on every budget since he was elected. There is no "they!" It Schwarzenegger and the legislature who have spent the last five years spending California into an abyss -- and with little or nothing to show for all of that massive spending except nice new freeway sound walls which are graffiti magnets.

It's not his lifestyle that he is gambling with ...

"Schwarzenegger's action was risky; continued stalemate means the state will run out of cash in February, unable to pay tax refunds or state vendors."

He can move out of state to another one of his homes at a moment's notice. Not that he was even in the state when the new budget proposal was revealed during the New Year break. He was enjoying life in Sun Valley, Idaho -- at one of his other homes.

Diversionary tactic: look over there ...

"Democrats say the Republican governor is holding up the budget over a stimulus package they consider largely irrelevant to closing the state's massive deficit."

" 'Economic stimulus is extremely important, and we need to get Californians back to work,' Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, said Wednesday. 'However, economic stimulus proposals will not address the (cash) situation that the state controller has indicated we will be facing in February. So it is our belief the governor should sign the proposal we put forward to address the immediate cash crisis.'"

More smoke and mirrors: seeking a position of plausible deniability?

Is the governor's goal to set the stage, so to speak, so that he can claim he fought hard against the democrat's dastardly budgetary plans?

"Despite issuing a separate budget proposal last week, the governor continues to negotiate with Democrats over their $18 billion package with the possibility he could sign it before February."

I can be bought; and I don't mind selling out my own party in the process ...

"The governor said last month that if Democrats give him what he wants, he'd sign the package even though it skirts the state's two-thirds vote requirement for taxes, making opposition by lawmakers of his own party irrelevant in a way they say is illegal."

What environmental impact?

Schwarzenegger is primarily asking to waive environmental restrictions so that $1.2 billion in road projects can begin as soon as this year, which he estimates would establish 21,600 jobs, including those created in other sectors by worker spending.

Can you say "special interests?"

"The governor is also asking to change construction guidelines to make it easier for private firms to build state projects, which he suggests would allow California to take advantage of even more federal and private capital."

Hollywood Lesson One: Looking Good ...

"Schwarzenegger's demands, if met, would allow the governor to say he scored some wins for business interests, even as he capitulated on taxes. It's a strategy likely to reappear during summer budget talks, when the governor is expected to ask Democrats to loosen rules over meal and rest breaks in exchange for further tax increases."

Looking tough by threatening the union or would the meal and rest breaks only apply to non-classified workers?

It doesn't matter if the results are mostly symbolic and can be exploited in the media for maximum advantage ...

"In the meantime, the governor's list of $1.2 billion in road projects likely won't have a game-changing effect in a $1.7 trillion statewide economy, though the administration believes it would help the recovery."

"The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office said the proposal has some merit in a down economy, such as taking advantage of lower prices for materials and highly competitive bids as more firms are desperate for work. But it faces numerous challenges, principally the need for federal waivers."

"The analyst also noted that the plan would only accelerate construction by a few months, since several projects are already on track to begin in early 2010, not creating as immediate an impact as advertised. And the analyst report noted that stimulus would be confined to those areas where highway projects are located."

Special interests?

"But with the state desperate for new jobs, the governor likely believes there is no greater political opportunity than now to press the Democratic-controlled Legislature to make concessions that enable more long-term private involvement in state construction."

"Democrats oppose the governor's plan because they want the 11 specified road projects to undergo environmental review, whereas Schwarzenegger wants to eliminate that hurdle. Democrats also want more oversight over a procedure that incorporates the design and construction sequences into one, a change that Schwarzenegger wants because it is more favorable to private builders."

Only "acting" like a Republican?

"The governor's proposals would require Democrats to give up protections that environmentalists and state employee labor unions hold dear. Steinberg said there is room for agreement but that the governor shouldn't expect to get everything he wants."

The political way?

Do or say anything to pursue your own agenda has always been the way of politics, regardless of political party -- no matter whether or not you style yourself as a  post partisan politician.

"In 2006, Schwarzenegger focused heavily on two messages – his opposition to taxes and his environmental credentials. Faced with far different economic circumstances in 2009, Schwarzenegger's message has shifted to creating jobs.

"While he once promoted his ability to balance environmental concerns with economic ones, he says the economic ones win out for now."

" 'What we want to do is strip away some of the rules and regulations that are holding us back now to do infrastructure in the first place," Schwarzenegger said last month. 'So we need jobs right now. For me the people are the most important thing, then we can worry about all the other regulations.'"

Bottom line ...

Schwarzenegger has abandoned the conservative principles of the Republican party and has joined the ranks of those politicians who will do or say anything to pursue their own personal agenda: in this case moving  Schwarzenegger beyond Hollywood into a well-respected statesman.

-- steve

Reference Links:

Analysis: Schwarzenegger shifts budget focus from opposing taxes to creating jobs - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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ECONOMIC STIMULUS: RUSHING FORWARD TO DISASTER

Wrong from day one?

I do not even know what is contained in President-elect Barack Obama’s stimulus package and I know that we are rushing toward another Bush-style fiscal disaster.

One, according to Nancy Pelosi, every effort will be made to get the broad guidelines from Obama’s economic advisers so that the democrats can begin crafting the language of the bill as soon as possible. According to Pelosi and members of the Obama contingent, it is desired that this legislation be signed into law as soon as practical after Obama’s swearing in ceremony.

Two, it is unlikely that this bill is going to be crafted with a bi-partisan team and will most likely be drafted in secret.

Three, it is unlikely that this bill will go through the committee process as does most other legislation. This shortens the time that legislators have to re-think and re-work the actual language of the legislation.

Four, it is likely to be presented to the Senate and the House as a fait accompli, with little time for legislators to read and really study the impact of the legislation. 

Five, the legislation is likely to contain broad-brush concepts and ideas rather than specific details regarding implementation, including financial controls,  reporting methods and deadlines.  But most of all, I am willing to bet that there are no significant penalties for missing reporting deadlines and actually conforming to the legislative guidelines.

Six, it is likely that there will be “special interest” accommodations for the unions and others who have supported the democrat push towards the presidency. These accommodations may not be blatant, but they will be in the form of requiring “union wage scales” rather than “prevailing wages” when letting contracts. It is likely that these conditions will come in the second round of implementing legislation, technical corrections or the rules and regulations promoted by democrat-led Agencies.

And seven, any outcome will be hailed as a great success as the politicos will claim to have “averted a financial major crisis,” or moderated the “Bush-caused” financial crisis.

“Trust me” legislation …

How do I know what will happen before it happens? Rest assured, I am not a psychic with a crystal ball, just someone who has observed over the years what politicians tend to produce under “emergency” conditions.

Or more recently, watching the Republicans completely cave in to a so-called recovery package that was larded with democrat pork to insure passage, had absolutely no controls or penalties for non-compliance; and worst of all, ceded enormous power to the Treasury Secretary with little or no accountability. The very essence of “trust me” legislation. Only to subsequently find that the Treasury Secretary admitted that the program, as originally envisioned, did not work and was seeking to re-purpose the remaining available funds.

Even the amount of the recovery bill, $700 BILLION, was a wild-eyed estimate with absolutely no basis in fact. And if one really counts the monies disbursed by the Treasury Department and other government agencies, added to those funds disbursed by the Federal Reserve and guaranteed by the government –- we are already in the TRILLIONS.  Or as they say on Wall Street where so much of the money went – BILLIONS are the new MILLIONS.

Why I am not comfortable with an unchallenged democrat proposal …

Considering the corruption and malfeasance that has swirled around democrat-controlled cities and states, I am worried that the pervasive culture of corruption and special interest deals will override any public interest.

One need only look at the current scandals involving democrat fundraising, possibly even that linked to Barack Obama, to know that democrats and money do not mix without stringent oversight – and even then they often manage to corrupt the system.

Too little time …

According to the Washington Post …

Sources said Obama and Pelosi will discuss the scope and timing of the economic recovery package, which Obama has said will be his first priority upon being sworn into office. Pelosi has said her goal is to have the legislation on the new president's desk and ready to be signed on Jan. 20.

Assuming work starts on legislation when the Congress convenes on January 5th, there is not enough time to correctly draft, debate and codify such massive legislation. 

Too much money …

“But that schedule appears increasingly likely to slip, as Republicans and conservative Democrats are raising concerns about the impact on the federal deficit of spending hundreds of billions on an array of projects with little vetting by Congress. Lawmakers now expect a spending package of between $675 billion and $775 billion.”

One must ask, another number pulled out of thin air – with a tolerance of $100 BILLION dollars? These are the type guesstimates which produce very rich special interests and corrupt politicians. 

'The timeline is even worse than previously thought …

“And a top congressional aide said yesterday that Democratic leaders in the House are still waiting for a detailed proposal to be delivered by Obama's economic advisers before lawmakers can begin the process of turning it into legislation.”

“Even so, congressional Democrats are anxious to get the process started so that a vote can take place in the House as early as the week of Jan. 12. Pelosi announced yesterday that the first hearing on the plan will take place Wednesday.”

We feel the need for speed …

“In a letter to Democratic House members, she wrote that the hearing will focus on ‘the need to act with deliberate speed to safeguard as many as three million jobs by making needed investments in infrastructure, alternative energy, science and other emerging sectors and providing middle-class tax cuts to help make work pay.’"

It’s not what it seems …

“Among those scheduled to testify at a series of hearings involving several committees are Mark Zandi of Moodys.com, Harvard University professor and former labor secretary Robert Reich, Harvard economist Martin Feldstein, MIT professor Maria T. Zuber and others.”

First, the people set to testify are all well-credentialed with a liberal leftist bent.

Let’s see what Martin Feldstein had to say in the Wall Street Journal on November 8, 2008 …

“More than 12 million homeowners now have mortgage debt that exceeds the value of their homes. These negative-equity homeowners have an incentive to default because mortgages are generally ‘no recourse’ loans. That means creditors can take the property if the individual defaults, but cannot take other assets or income to make up the difference between the unpaid loan balance and the lower value of the house. As a result, mortgage default rates are now rising rapidly and are expected to go much higher.”

“The no-recourse mortgage is virtually unique to the United States. That's why falling house prices in Europe do not trigger defaults. The creditors' ability to go beyond the house to other assets or even future salary is a deterrent.”

“In an earlier article on this page I proposed a plan to prevent declines of house prices back to the pre-bubble level from pushing current positive-equity homeowners into the negative-equity group. The essential feature of that plan is to replace 20% of the homeowner's existing mortgage with a separate, full-recourse loan from the government. That ‘mortgage replacement loan’ would have a very attractive, low interest rate. Because it would be separate from the mortgage and would have full recourse, it would establish an important firewall. Even if house prices fall another 20%, all mortgages would still have positive equity. The mortgage-replacement loan would involve no actual government spending and therefore no increase in the budget deficit.”

“The key to preventing further defaults and foreclosures among current negative-equity homeowners is to shift those mortgages into loans with full recourse, allowing the creditor to take other property or a fraction of wages. But the offer of a low-interest-rate loan is not enough to induce a homeowner with substantial negative equity to forego the opportunity to default and escape the existing debt. Substituting a full-recourse loan requires the inducement of a substantial write-down in the outstanding loan balance. Creditors have an incentive to accept some write-down in exchange for the much greater security of a full-recourse loan. The government can bridge the gap between the maximum write-down that the creditor would accept and the minimum write-down that the homeowner requires to give up his current right to walk away from his debt.” <Source>

Danger, Danger

You do not need to be a genius to see that old Marty is doing a major favor for Wall Street. Precisely the same type of government favor which permits the credit card companies to change usurious rates far in excess of the cost of capital and which push consumers towards insolvency at a faster and faster rate.  The type of favor which caused the re-jiggering of the current bankruptcy law to make it harder to walk away from credit card debt. Ostensibly to prevent scofflaws from stealing from the banking system – although there is overwhelming proof that most people declaring bankruptcy were forced to do so by overwhelming medical bills, loss of employment, and let us not forget the crushing burden of usurious credit card rates.

Here Marty wants to insure that you give your current lender the right to seize your car and other assets in case of a default – even your future earnings. All for a government-sponsored loan modification program which will be designed to trap those who really do not understand the game being played.

As for Robert Reich …

Reich is an extremely bright, well-credentialed liberal leftist who never met a union he didn’t like. As Clinton’s labor secretary, he advocated and implemented  social programs such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, increasing the minimum wage (which mostly affects new entrants to the job market, the unskilled and illegal aliens), successfully lobbied to pass the Pension Protection Act and the School-to-Work Jobs Act, and launched a number of job training programs. At the same time, he lobbied Clinton to address bigger societal issues, and pushed for improvement of conditions for those in poverty. Reich is a Clintonista, even dating Hillary Clinton in College. <Source>

And the others …

Moody’s is one of the ratings agencies who allegedly got it all wrong and permitted securities which were based on subprime and fraudulent mortgages to be rated triple-A thus making them into “investment grade” securities that were gobbled up by pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds – to the detriment of the entire financial community and your savings and retirement funds.

Zuber is a well-credentialed scientist – likely to be one of the point people on global warming legislation which will produce the next set of Wall Street billionaires as they create and trade “climate-based” derivatives much as they did “mortgage-based” derivatives.

The first hearings that are likely to take place are more a media event than a substantive inquiry into legislative policies.

The first scheduled hearing on the new recovery plan is before the Steering & Policy Committee, a panel that lacks direct jurisdiction over the new spending bill. This is Nancy Pelosi’s stage – nothing less and nothing more.

Senate firewall?

Standing between the House of Representatives and President Obama is the United States Senate. As currently constituted, even with the possibility of Al Franken being the Senator from Minnesota, the democrats are 3 votes from obtaining a veto-proof majority – so that the Senate Republicans, provided they rediscover their conservative mandate and guts, can serve as a moderating force in preventing ill-crafted legislation. 

The media campaign will commence …

“Obama aides said the president-elect and his team will help make an all-out push to convince Americans that the government must spend almost $1 trillion to create jobs, provide cash for spending and shore up the finances of the state governments.”

Broad strokes for privileged folks …

“Obama aides and congressional sources have said the package under development is likely to contain three broad categories: infrastructure investment, tax breaks and direct aid to states.”

Again, we face the danger clearly demonstrated by Treasury Secretary Paulson …

“Congressional aides said all the specifics of the infrastructure spending are unlikely to be spelled out in the legislation. Instead, the goal will be to provide formulas that allow states to choose projects that fit a series of broad principles laid out by the president-elect and Congress.”

A blind man can see what is about to happen at the state level. Perhaps I should remind you that many states and municipalities used voter-designated funds to purchase infrastructure items involving transportation assets – which they then sold off to investors and leased back the assets to provide service to the public. The money they received from the sale was no longer restricted and could be used for any purpose imagined by the corrupt politicians and their pointy-head advisors. We probably would have never known about this potentially illegal maneuver (although nobody will face punishment) had it not been that the revenue stream to lease the assets back was guaranteed by the insurance giant AIG – of which the United States owns 80% or more.

Tax cuts for some …

“The tax cuts being discussed are focused on reductions in payroll taxes, a top congressional aide said.”

Small businesses run by people using sole proprietorships are unlikely to see any tax reduction as they do not have payroll taxes – they pay self-employment taxes which may be unaffected. And one can hardly wait to see what earnings caps will be placed on these so-called benefits.

The proper perspective would have you remember that they are not giving the people anything – they are simply taking less of our money to spend.

“Once adopted, workers would see more money in their paychecks every week, leading -- officials hope -- to increased consumer spending.”

It is often cited that the problem with today’s consumer is that they are not saving enough – for a rainy day or retirement. But does anybody notice the irony of a government which wants to encourage spending instead of saving. When our nation turned from an industrial economy to a consumer economy, it became inevitable that we needed to spend more-and-more to keep the economy growing. Perhaps we should encourage re-industrialization and less outsourcing to grow the economy rather than simply allowing consumers to spend their government-inflated dollars to foster the illusion of economic growth. 

“The aid to states is likely to come in the form of payments that could help meet the growing costs of Medicaid spending.”

Perhaps if we reduced the medical burden imposed by illegal aliens, we would have much lower costs. Oh, what was I thinking: the democrats want benefits to non-citizens to prove how companionate and understanding they are; as they continue to foster waste, fraud and corruption in government-run programs. 

Bottom line: as with all government legislation the devil is in the details – of which we are privy to damn few.

What can YOU do?

Demand that you elected officials implement spending caps, frequent and transparent reporting and penalties for not achieving stated objectives.

Demand that your local and state governments spend the money for projects which produce results for the smallest amount possible. Probably unlikely with inflated union wages and benefits.

Watch how politicians handle the taxpayer’s money and be prepared to vote them out of office as soon as possible.

We need to take a stand somewhere – and this is as good a time as ever.

Be well and be safe.

-- steve

Quote of the Day: “If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion.”  -- George Bernard Shaw

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

Obama, Pelosi to Discuss Scope of Economic Package - washingtonpost.com

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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They are lying about the financial crisis: it wasn't deregulation that was at fault, it was the politicians and their appointees ...

Nothing angers me more than hearing that George Bush and the Bush Administration was solely to blame for the current financial crisis because of his “laissez-faire” policy of minimal government intervention in the markets. Much of our current misery can be traced back to Jimmy Carter’s Administration, through the Clinton Administration – and even Bush 41 was complicit in setting the stage.

Other than actual criminals and those  motivated by greed, it was partly the failure of the regulators to enforce the laws currently on the books, partly the failure of Congress to write coherent and enforceable legislation, partly the regulatory agency’s failure to prosecute lesser criminal acts in their quest for high-profile cases to attract favorable media attention, partly the blindness of the media and partly the effects of interfering political lawyers and lobbyists that were behind much of our current problem.

If one need cast blame at the Administration, it certainly wasn’t so much Bush’s policies as his politics. So let’s take a fast look at who and what in our government was behind this economic catastrophe. And, unless you are blind, it isn’t limited to a single party or politician.

First, let us stipulate that there were crooks and evildoers, on Wall Street and Main Street,  who took advantage of the present situation to earn staggering amounts of money by being in the right place at the right time or simply going along with the current system.

Second, let us all agree that the stage for much of the government fraud, waste, corruption and inattention to the public welfare was based on the hyper-politicalization of the government and the necessity for 24/7 fundraising in what seems like a never-ending campaign cycle. It should be noted that the last presidential campaign was the longest political campaign in history and plunged the nation in to a frenzy of special interest fundraising and political events.

And third, let us also agree that we have just witnessed the failure of the media to uphold their tacit agreement with the American people to serve as the eyes and ears of the public and to be “truth tellers to power.” They were so lopsidedly in favor of the democrats, they overlooked almost everything on one side in order to play “gotcha” journalism. Where sex and scandal reigned supreme over malfeasance and corruption.

On to the charge that the Bush Administration was solely responsible for the debacle which now faces us …

Hyper-politicalization – You are either for us or against us applied, not only to al QAEDA, but to everyone that was in the government or doing business with the government. Many decisions were made solely on the basis of politics and their impact on the Administration. Favoritism and cronyism, while not a direct Bush mandate, were certainly the basis of many agency decisions. Had Bush selected stronger, more capable leadership, perhaps the outcome would have been different. Well-credentialed and well-meaning people were placed in positions of importance. Unfortunately, they never dealt with a counter-minded Congress, a well-entrenched bureaucracy and really lacked the leadership skills to maneuver the ship of state in choppy waters.

Yes, the hyper-politicalization of government agencies decimated some of the regulatory agency’s effectiveness as incompetent cronies were appointed to high public office and we so preoccupied with political matters that they failed to uphold their sworn duty to protect the public.

Off the top of my head, I can point to Alberto Gonzales at the Department of Justice and Alphonso Jackson at HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development). Two critical agencies involved with housing issues. Add to that, Christopher Cox of the Securities and Exchange Commission and you have a trifecta of impotence. I would also like to single out James Lockhart who headed OFHEO (Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight) and who now heads its successor, the FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Administration). He was the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac where open and blatant manipulation of the books resulted in multi-million dollar payouts to its politically connected leadership.

Secrecy – from the top down, people were cautioned to be closed mouthed about their agency’s activities. Secrecy was the watchword of the Bush Administration. Bush crony, Mel Martinez, while Secretary of HUD, racked up 40,000+ comment letters regarding a rewrite of predatory lending regulations because he refused to show his proposed rule to the financial industry; and even went so far as to withhold it from Congress. Needless to say, the bill met resistance as was sidetracked. Martinez failed upward and was given White House support to become the next Senator from Florida. Next up was Alphonso Jackson, who was more communicative with the industry and Congress, but resigned before the rule could be implemented. Jackson, it should be noted, was allegedly under investigation for cronyism and interference in the agency’s contracting practices – for political purposes. The President then placed Steve Preston from the Small Business Administration and the rule was issued – some provisions to take effect in 2010.  By comparison with this bunch, former President Nixon was a blabbermouth.

Media Manipulation – There is no doubt that the Administration tried hard to encourage favorable media attention in a time when much of the media was in the bag for the liberal democrats and, specifically, Hillary Clinton and then Barack Obama. Along with the promotion of the Administration’s policies came the need for the regulators to showcase their agency’s effectiveness so they courted both Congress and the media. Looking to pursue high-profile cases and overlooking the smaller ones, the simply did not do their job. Unfortunately, both Congress and the media remained rather unreceptive to their efforts.

This led to a lack of transparency which failed to highlight not only bad administrative decisions, but outright malfeasance in pursuing the agency’s objectives.

A recalcitrant congress – Not only was the Congress unwilling to act with bi-partisan accord, but there was open hostility on both sides of the aisle. It is almost unbelievable to imagine the sheer stupidity of many members of both the House and the Senate who often acted like they were royalty in pursuing their own political and self-interest projects.

Many of these representatives of the people offered up legislation that they could neither understand nor even read as special interest lawyers and “staff” crafted the language of the laws they were inflicting on the public. Somehow, these manifest morons did not realize that legislation cannot cure every financial, military or social ill – but they were still offering bills as real solutions to real problems. Unfortunately, they did not understand the problems nor the proposed solutions.

In the housing arena, they created a patchwork of laws, rules, regulations, guidelines which often were conflicting, confusing, unenforceable and, above all, ill-understood by those who needed to develop systems and procedures designed to cope with these so-called legislative solutions.

The myth of “record fines …”

Corporations that blatantly disregarded the law and were subsequently caught, simply negotiated their way out of trouble. By discharging a member or members of top management, the corporation could say that they had cleaned house and were willing to settle the matter – paying a “record” fine without admitting any wrongdoing. In many cases the “record” fine was so small in comparison to the amount of money actually involved, that it became just another cost of doing business as the corporation went about its business. The executives who were accused of wrongdoing, either paid personal fines – sometimes from company funds and insurance policies – and walked away with their millions. In some cases tens and hundreds of millions.

One need look no farther than the people at Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac who cooked their books, lied to Congress and received a slap on the wrist. Of course, these were mostly well-connected democrats who were allowed to escape being placed in jail like the thieves they appeared to be. 

Politically connected lobbyists, lawyers and venue shopping …

Lobbyists lobbied for special interest exemptions in the financial arena. Lawyers used the overlapping regulatory jurisdiction to skate under, over or between the edges of the law. In some cases choosing state bank charters, in others choosing national bank charters. Becoming a thrift or an industrial bank. Switching venues and organizational forms when necessary.  Lawyers explaining their interpretation of the law to agency lawyers who knew better but were not willing to spend the agency’s hard-won budget dollars on an “iffy” case that could turn on the interpretation of a clause or a phrase.

These were but a few of the failures and circumstances that led us to the current situation -- and it doesn’t appear to be getting better…

We have seen our emergency reserves, savings, and retirement funds decimated by those who publicly assured us of the safety and soundness of their organizations – while they took tens or hundreds of millions in unearned compensation. Yes, unearned,  as they lost billions of our dollars.

We have seen the amount $700 billion bandied about by the politicians. When, in fact, the bailout is now into multiple trillions. Even the democrats couldn’t resist adding pork to the bailout bill and watched the so-called fiscally conservative Republicans cave to their demands.

We have the Federal Reserve reducing the Federal Funds target rate to a amount between zero and one-quarter of one percent. Further cuts beyond zero are impossible and thus one of their most important primary tools has just been rendered useless.

We have Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson spending billions of the taxpayer’s money and not even asking how or when it is being spent. For all appearances, he does not know how to solve the current crisis and is flailing about. A Wall Street man to the end, he has made his and is isolated from the consequences of his actions. Openly flaunting the intent of Congress to bring transparency to the process.

We have Representative Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd trying to preserve the remaining federal funds so that the democrats can direct their usage.

We have corporations being allowed to change into bank holding companies to gain access to federal funds.

We have seen bailout funds extended to the people in the Madoff Ponzi scam when they were all sophisticated and should have known something was amiss. Some believe that the story remains untold and that tax avoidance and off-shore accounts may still surface. And yet the government appears to be willing to include these people in the bailout umbrella – when they should get nothing more than a tax deduction for their lost funds – if that.

We do not see anyone being prosecuted or asked to return their bloated bonuses based on losing their shareholders billions of dollars. Madoff remains under house arrest in his $7 million Park Avenue apartment when he should be held without bond at Riker’s Island or the Federal Detention center.

We have Barack Obama reportedly ready to spend another billion dollars on infrastructures – which seems like a gift to the unions and their workers. Along with eliminating the secrecy provision of employees voting to join a union.

We do not seem to be doing anything to bring the $55-TRILLION of outstanding credit default swaps under control.

We do not seem to be doing anything to de-leverage the loans that would cause major financial institutions to immediately fail – if the accounting was true, correct and honest.

We do not seem to be doing anything to regulate toxic derivatives – the root of all financial evil which has been done to the taxpayers and citizens of the world.

We are headed towards socialization and the demand to open all financial books to the government (For those of you who are skeptical, look up XBRL).

And we are heading for the largest scam of all, global warming, which will allow the government to cover-up postpone the responsibility for their corrupt actions until well after we are all dead.

But most damaging of all --

We have the accounting profession and the Securities and Exchange Commission about to plunge a dagger into the heart of American business … by discarding our accounting rules in favor of a European model that is already being politically manipulated to deny transparency and cover up crimes committed by well-connected financiers.

We are on a road that might lead to a revolution in this country. Possibly as soon as 2010 when we throw out those politicians who were complicit in this massive failure of government – and deny support to both parties which led us on this path to destruction.

One need only consider who both parties put forth as leaders to see the magnitude of the problem. And one need only to consider that a relatively few local yokels at the first primaries were allowed to pick the candidates that were to survive the political vetting process.

While I hope that Barack Obama will somehow rise above his party’s corrupt background and scant experience to perform a miracle of leadership, it would truly be a miracle given the people that he has already chosen for his Administration.

Tomorrow – more about this accounting scam that threatens to destroy accountability in finance.  -- steve


Quote of the day:
“There is no greater importance in all the world like knowing you are right and that the wave of the world is wrong, yet the wave crashes upon you.” -- Norman Mailer

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

| Comments (0)

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Scamming the terminally stupid ...

I could not stop laughing when I read this item in the San Francisco Chronicle, made that much more funny because it involves San Francisco liberals and the “perfect people for a perfect planet.”

According to the Chronicle …

S.F. fliers may pay their way in carbon usage

“Environmentally conscious travelers flying out of San Francisco International Airport will soon be able to assuage their guilt and minimize the impact of their air travel by buying certified carbon offsets at airport kiosks.”

“The experimental program, scheduled to start this spring, would make SFO the first airport in the nation - possibly the world - to offer fliers the opportunity to purchase carbon offsets.”

" ‘We'd like people to stop and consider the impacts of flying,’ said Steve McDougal, executive vice president for 3Degrees, a San Francisco firm that sells renewable-energy and carbon-reduction investments and is teaming up with the airport and the city on the project. ‘Obviously, people need to fly sometimes. No one expects them to stop, but they should consider taking steps to reduce their impacts.’"

Consider the impact of dumping one drop of water in the San Francisco bay … now calculate the impact of this meaningless act on raising the sea level of the Pacific Ocean.

“San Francisco's Airport Commission has authorized the program, which will involve a $163,000 investment from SFO, but is still working out the details with 3Degrees. Because of that, McDougal said, he can't yet discuss specifics, such as the cost to purchase carbon offsets and what programs would benefit from travelers' purchases.”

Are the residents of San Francisco or the State of California putting up any taxpayer money for this project? What programs will benefit – is this the latest business model for charitable giving? How much of the money earned will be used for executive salaries at 3Degrees?

“But the general idea, officials said, is that a traveler would approach a kiosk resembling the self-service check-in stations used by airlines, then punch in his or her destination. The computer would calculate the carbon footprint and the cost of an investment to offset the damage. The traveler could then swipe a credit card to help save the planet. Travelers would receive a printed receipt listing the projects benefiting from their environmental largesse.”

Whoops, this is not a charity … but a profit making enterprise. Great shades of Al Gore!

The carbon offsets are not tax deductible, said Krista Canellakis, a 3Degrees spokeswoman.

The perfect scam: nothing more than a piece of paper …

"While the carbon offsets purchased at kiosks can't be seen or touched, they are an actual product with a specific environmental claim whose ownership is transferred at the time of purchase," she said.

I wonder if a lawsuit could be used to make them prove their claim that the purchaser’s action will actually save the planet by mitigating global warming?

“Mike McCarron, airport spokesman, said the projects offered will be chosen by the mayor's office, in conjunction with 3Degrees, from a list certified by the city's Environment Department. Airport Director John Martin told the commission that projects could include renewable energy ventures in developing countries, agriculture and organic waste capture, coal mine methane capture, and sustainable forestry.”

Considering that the people who will control the investment of this money may derive considerable financial benefits from their actions, I wonder what form of oversight might prevent misuse of funds gathered using what amounts to an automated solicitation for funds on public property?

“Nathan Ballard, a spokesman for Mayor Gavin Newsom, said a portion of each offset purchase would go to the San Francisco Carbon Fund, which supports local projects such as energy-efficiency programs and solar panel installations for low-income housing, as well as efforts to convert waste oils into biodiesel fuels.”

Of course, the city of the politically correct wants their piece of the action which could be directed by the politicians for their own benefit.

Suggests? You mean they really don’t know …

“The cost of offsets for SFO travelers is still being negotiated, McDougal said, but figures on the company's Web-based ‘carbon calculator’ suggest that a two-hour trip uses about 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per person, and the cost to offset that would be about $4. Offsetting a trip to Europe would cost $36.”

And who is doing this negotiation? Who is representing the traveler? And what factors are being built into the costs?

"’It's definitely not going to double your ticket or anything,’ he said. ‘It's going to end up being a small percentage of your total airfare.’"

Where is the competitive bidding that would insure that the consumer was getting the best deal possible for their money?

“Under the agreement, the airport will provide the kiosks and 3Degrees will supply the software and the certified carbon offsets being sold and will operate the program. Kiosks will be placed throughout the airport, with locations at the customer service desk in Terminal 3 and two wings of the International Terminal. 3Degrees will get 30 percent of each purchase, with the rest going to carbon-reduction projects. The agreement calls for a one-year program, with a possible extension.”

"’The carbon kiosks will not only reduce global warming,’ Ballard said, ‘they will serve an educational function. It's something interesting to do while you're killing time at the airport.’"

“Given the innovative nature of the venture, airport officials said they don't expect 3Degrees will turn a profit - at least not at the outset. McDougal said it's impossible to predict how many passengers will want to make what is essentially a voluntary contribution to compensate for the impacts of their air travel. But he hopes the program takes off.”

Like everything political in San Francisco …

" ‘Hopefully, it will be successful,’ he said. ‘But if we just have a lot of people stop and read the information and think about it, that's something we've accomplished.’"

What can YOU do?

Beware of pilot programs conducted in liberal democrat enclaves such as San Francisco. For it might only be a matter of time that this program morphs into a carbon tax on all travelers, the kiosks are abandoned and the tax is applied directly to all tickets; and not on a voluntary basis.

Beware of entrepreneurs capitalizing on the subject of global warming. It is the perfect scam – nobody will be able to see results for hundreds of years. In the meantime, your hard earned money may be re-distributed outside of the United States where it will, in all likelihood, be squandered or stolen by corrupt politicians and their special interest friends.

Demand proof of program efficacy before parting with your hard-earned money; that is, if you are so-inclined to support the “perfect people for a perfect planet.”

-- steve

Quote of the Day: “Global Warming: Something for nothing, money for free.”  -- steve

--CJ's US History Work

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

S.F. fliers may pay their way in carbon usage

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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GLOBAL WARMING: SCIENCE BY POLITICALLY CORRECT VOTING?

According to the Associated Press …

Thousands Negotiate New Climate Treaty

“Scientists studying the changing nature of the Earth's climate say they have completed one crucial task — proving beyond a doubt that global warming is real.”

Now they have to figure out just what to do about it.

"’It is critical for us to get a much better understanding of the impact of climate change in some parts of the world,’ Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday.”

“Scientific warnings of potential catastrophe have been the backdrop for talks among more than 10,000 delegates and environmentalists negotiating a treaty to control the emission of greenhouse gases, which have grown by 70 percent since 1970. The treaty, due to be completed in one year, would replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.”

Pachauri said he was concerned that negotiators were sparring and probing — and leaving key decisions for the last moment.

"My concern is that if we leave everything to the end, we might end up with a weak agreement that doesn't really address the problem," he said.

A conclusion based on a literature search is only the beginning …

“Last year, Pachauri's IPCC, which collected the work of more than 2,000 scientists, said climate change is ‘unequivocal, is already happening, and is caused by human activity.’"

What definitive and accepted work was produced by those who collected the work of these 2,000 scientists and then presented at unified theory of climatology which could be further examined and tested by those who doubt the assertions of the IPCC?

“It listed likely effects of global warming: arid regions will grow dryer, rising seas will flood coastal areas, melting glaciers will flood communities downstream and then dry up the source of future water supplies, and up to 30 percent of all plant and animal species may become extinct.”

Likely is not a scientific term, it is a speculative term. Where are the probability studies for each of the presented effects – and were they all based on computer models which have been thoroughly tested, assumptions checked, data reviewed and results studied and reproduced by independent third-party researchers? What is the margin of error for each of the findings? Is that the systemic error of measurement data, systemic error of the mathematical computations and the overall combination of errors?

“Since then, new evidence has emerged showing that ice caps in the Arctic and Antarctic are melting, which threatens to dramatically raise the level of the oceans and flood coastal cities and low-lying islands.”

"Small island states are living in a state of fear," he said.

It’s an emergency I tell you! Sound the alarms!

“But Pachauri said there was no conclusive evidence the world is in imminent danger.”

Not unless you realize that it might take over another 100 years to see the cyclical trend.

Ignore the man behind the curtain…

"’I don't think we should jump to conclusions if we get material that is based on the last one or two years,’ the Indian scientist said. The IPCC issues its reports every five or six years.”

Forget that cooling data that is coming to light. It is all short-term, natural variability of nature stuff. We know what we are talking about and they don’t. (For those who lack a sense of humor: this is sarcasm.)

“The 2007 report cited a scientific consensus that global warming should be limited to 2 degrees Centigrade (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) to avoid the worst scenarios. To contain global warming to that target, carbon emissions must peak by 2015, then begin a rapid decline.”

Their scientific consensus is cherry-picked people with mostly political connections; using science which is extremely limited in scope and may not be extensible over the world’s sphere. Of course, computer models have no such limitations as they are as valid everywhere that their authors claim. Yeah, right.

“Pachauri now says governments should reconsider whether even that goal goes far enough, since it would still raise sea levels from between 15 inches (40 centimeters) to 4.6 feet (1.4 meters).”

Dozens? I expected thousands!

“Dozens of scientists were among the delegations or nongovernment groups attending the Poznan conference, exhibiting some of the latest technologies and scientific studies.”

I wasn’t aware that this was a scientific conference, only a political one.

Oh My God: Deniers and Skeptics …

" ‘The skeptics are doing a good job because they are making us present ironclad proof,’" said Lawrence E. Buja, a climate change researcher for the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.”

Yes, they are doing a good job.  So where is the ironclad proof? You know, the one mentioned in the opening paragraph. “Scientists studying the changing nature of the Earth's climate say they have completed one crucial task — proving beyond a doubt that global warming is real.”

This type of assertion is tantamount to simply declaring “we won the war – mission accomplished” and walking away to your next press conference. Where is that damn report? I want to read the conclusive proof – proving beyond a doubt that there assertions are true, correct and scientifically valid. And, if such ironclad proof did exist, why are those credible scientists still speaking out against global warming. After all, it’s settled according to the United Nations’ nabobs.

The battle is far from over as science is an ongoing affair …

“But since that battle is over, he said scientists need to move on and look at the detailed impact of climate change.”

" ‘That's a much harder question,’ he said.”

“Buja, who contributed to the IPCC report, said scientists are looking at futuristic solutions to halt global warming, such as imitating the cooling effects of a massive volcanic eruption by spreading sulfur in the atmosphere, or scattering billions tiny refractors high in the air to dim the sun and lower the temperature.”

Let’s analyze this stupidity …

We know from actual research that the most prevalent greenhouse gas to be found in nature is moisture: water vapor – like that in clouds.

Now using your junior high school chemistry, let’s add sulfur (S) to water (H2O) and see what happens: H2SO4 – for the uninitiated – that’s sulfuric acid – acid rain – the stuff that corrodes statutes and our lungs.

This is a non-starter.  And should anyone care, Sulfur dioxide is the main byproduct produced when sulfur-containing fuels such as coal or oil are burned – and sent into the atmosphere where it turns to sulfuric acid and then to acid rain.

“But he said such radical solutions involve risks.”

" ‘How are you going to go up and find all those little refractors and pull them down if something bad starts to happen?’" he asked.”

The simple answer, you adjust the computer models and tell the world’s population it’s not really happening and they don’t understand the science. And for those who might be dying from the effects of this type of global experimentation, you might comfort them with the thought that they are martyrs in the great climate jihad.

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THIS SECTION ON DDT UNDER REVIEW

-- SEE COMMENTS SECTION

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The United Nations and Environmentalists have already been complicit in the deaths of millions of people. Remember their global scare tactics over DDT; based on nothing more than screaming activists touting their junk science studies. Well, millions of people have died from disease spread by insects that were handily killed by DDT. And not, to add insult to injury, the World Health Organization (WHO) just revised its opinion on DDT.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) has reversed nearly 30 years of policy and re-approved the use of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) in the fight against malaria. WHO is now recommending the use of indoor residual spraying (IRS) not only in epidemic areas but also in areas with constant and high malaria transmission.
In the announcement of the decision Director of WHO’s Global Malaria Programme Dr Arata Kochi says: "We must take a position based on the science and the data. One of the best tools we have against malaria is indoor residual house spraying. Of the dozen insecticides WHO has approved as safe for house spraying, the most effective is DDT." Full details of WHO decision on DDT...”

Perhaps there should be a joint United Nations’ and Environmental Activist Apology …

Sorry about all your dead relatives and those of you who are feeling pain.

-– the global consortium of activist assholes who rallied around Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and junk science to bring death, suffering and misery to your lives. 

(PRO DDT USE)  http://www.junkscience.com/ddtfaq.htm

(CAUTIOUS DDT USE)  http://membracid.wordpress.com/2007/06/13/ddt-malaria-insecticide-resistance/

WHY?

The biggest question: “why would the United Nations adopt a policy based on junk science?” is relatively easy to answer.

First, the United Nations is not an impartial arbiter of the world’s internecine disputes. It is a bureaucratic collection of self-interested individuals who are pursuing their own agenda of prestige, power and profits. The majority of the membership of the United Nations does not wish the United States well.

Second, as in the AIDS controversy when the United Nations openly admitted that they fudged the numbers to increase media attention and attract funding, they do virtually the same thing to achieve the same result for every major issue they encounter.

Third, almost all of the dire predictions made by the United Nations are based on an increase in population. It should be noted that for years the United Nations used a linear progression estimate of population. Something which is demonstrably and laughingly wrong. Populations are limited, like plants and animals, by the resources needed to sustain life, the surrounding hospitality of the environment and the prevailing socio-political culture.

Perhaps this gives rise to the ignoble reason why the United Nations bought into the DDT controversy – and as ugly as it sounds, the answer of “population control” may be closer to the truth than you might imagine. Especially in the rapidly growing African areas where disease and the lack of decent food and water kept the population in check. With the use of DDT, disease was reduced and food production was increased – undesirable outcomes according to the United Nations’ “population as a threat” crowd.

And most of all, fourth, it would allow the United Nations to achieve some of its most treasured goals:

  • become the arbiter of what is correct and proper on the world stage;
  • breach international sovereignty in order to tax/fine nation’s that did not adhere to their trumped-up mandates;
  • engage in a form of socialistic wealth distribution (ostensibly to compensate the less developed nations for the pollution produced by the developed nations) and
  • inflict great damage on the United States economy and military.

All-in-all, while there is a phenomenon such as global warming and a phenomenon such as global cooling, both are part and parcel of the natural variability of global climate change. It is doubtful that man’s effects on the climate are even measurable against the background of this natural cyclic function. To allow anyone to manipulate the population based on computer models is not only unconscionable, it is criminal.

What can YOU do?

Demand to see the proof, the single, peer-reviewed, written report, accepted by reputable independent scientists and talented amateurs (who are making an increasing number of important observations) before ceding political control of your money and freedoms.

Wait for the release of a report (scheduled in 24+ hours) to list a number of climate scientists who do not agree with the IPCC position. Remember there was only 52 scientists who authored the 2007 IPCC report.

Common sense dictates that politicians cannot manage our current economy and therefore should not be allowed to proceed on any major project without a specific purpose, plan and projected cost.

-- steve

Quote of the day: “It’s not my science, it’s not your science – it’s science” -- steve

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

Thousands Negotiate New Climate Treaty | LiveScience

U.N. to Cut Estimate Of AIDS Epidemic

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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Global warming: a classic case of the blind men examining an elephant and determining the nature of the beast

Once again the media appears to be spinning a scientific finding -- merely to add another impression to the public consciousness of the so-called scientific underpinning of the subject of global climate change. Of course, nothing is mentioned on the likelihood that the fall of certain empires were political in nature rather than nature itself.

“Climate history may explain empires' fall”

“An analysis of rings on a stalagmite from a cave near Jerusalem reveals a drier climate in the region at a time in history when the Roman and Byzantine empires were in decline, scientists reported on Thursday.”

While it is extremely popular, and can’t hurt your funding in these politically correct times, to link scientific findings to global warming, it is a classic case of supposition – possibly based on nothing more than a coincidental finding.

It might be far more plausible to assume that the downfall of empires was more the result of poor governance and misallocation of resources by political leaders (mostly despots) than the climate.

“University of Wisconsin geologists analyzed the chemical composition of individual rings as small as one-hundredth of a millimeter across that formed the stalagmite growing up from the floor of the Soreq Cave near Jerusalem between 200 B.C. and 1100 A.D..”

“Geologists John Valley and Ian Orland concluded the climate was drier in the eastern Mediterranean between 100 A.D. and 700 A.D., with steep drops in rainfall around 100 A.D. and 400 A.D. -- a period of waning Roman and Byzantine power in the region.”

" ‘Whether this is what weakened the Byzantines or not isn't known, but it is an interesting correlation,’ Valley said in a statement.”

Interesting correlation? 

Or can we simply chalk it up to a coincidental finding. To even consider that weather was a causal  factor in the decline of these empires based on this skimpy evidence is beyond science – more like science fiction. 

“The team is now applying the same geochemical technique to examine older samples from the cave from the time of the last glacial retreat roughly 19,000 years ago, to help understand how weather patterns respond to fast-warming temperatures.”

Is this a solid excuse to raise taxes, enlarge government and require ceding personal freedoms?

Again, we are considering basing extremely disruptive public policy on a collection of scientific findings which, while interesting, may not be an acceptable proxy for temperature measurement over long periods of time.

“Researchers from the Geological Survey of Israel and Hebrew University in Jerusalem helped with the study, which was to appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Quaternary Research.”

With all due respect to the individual scientists involved, I am sure that the media reports covering their research were possibly slanted to attract media attention and may not even be representative of their work. It is suggested that you read the original paper to develop a contextual understanding of the science.

What can YOU do?

Common sense dictates that one does not introduce massive disruptions to the nation’s economy and welfare based on a collection of inconclusive musings of scientists.

Common sense dictates that you do not cede the political power to raise taxes and enlarge government to arrogant politicians who have no historical record of managing major projects or even our current economy.

Do your own research and come to your own conclusions.

-- steve

Quote of the day:  “The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand.” -- Frank Herbert

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

Climate history may explain empires' fall | Science | Reuters

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

| Comments (0)

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In retrospect: was the current financial crisis foreseeable?

With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, we now take a look at the media talking heads, Ron Paul on the Federal Reserve and John Crudele on the government’s employment figures.

This is a worthwhile ten-minute clip that will explain why the financial media is so screwed up… and can not be believed. *The time frame of most segments is 2006-2007)

Someone knew we were heading toward trouble … and the talking heads laughed at him. Now he looks like a financial genius and we assume that the current crop of talking heads know what they are saying as they continue to explain things they know little or nothing about.

Can we trust the Federal Reserve to resolve our financial crisis?

Can we trust the governments statistics?’

From columnist John Crudele …

IT'S TIME TO END MONTHLY EMPLOYMENT REPORT FRAUD - New York Post

The nation's monthly employment report will be horrible when it is released tomorrow morning. But this much is certain, the Labor Department will contend - defying common sense - that there is a healthy number of new companies being formed that are creating large amounts of jobs.

It is time to end this fraud.

Officially this game is called the Current Employment Statistics Net Birth/Death Model and I've been writing about it for a long time.

This calculation is supposed to pick up jobs being created by new companies so small that they can't possibly be surveyed.

In reality, the Birth/Death model is nothing more than a way for the politicians and bureaucrats in Washington to try to make us feel a little bit better about the economy - and them.

So tell me, is this charade making you feel any better?

Except for the January employment report, the Labor Department always includes a hefty amount of jobs in its monthly count that it can't prove really exist.

In all, 800,000 of these phony positions have been added this year.

Now that the obvious has been officially recognized and we now know the country has been in a recession since last December, the government should stop playing games with our economic statistics!

The experts believe the unemployment rate that will be announced tomorrow will jump to 6.8 percent from October's 6.5 percent.

And the experts also think the government will announce that an astounding 325,000 jobs disappeared in November, compared with a merely shocking 240,000 lost jobs reported in October.

But with hardly anyone noticing it, the department will also add around 17,000 non-existent jobs to its count for these supposedly invisible new companies.

It's time for these shenanigans to end.

It was this sort of opaqueness - specifically related to mortgages and bank accounting - that caused our current problems.

Hard questions, even harder answers …

Is the Obama Administration that much different from the Bush Administration and the Clinton Administration?

Considering the nature of Obama’s financial advisors, as well as the performance of the Bush Administration’s advisors  -- what are the possibilities that these so-called learned people will actually be able to overcome the trillions of dollars that have been artificially pumped into our economy to stem the tide of inflationary expansion – or in times of slower growth, a deflationary spiral?

What is it that Henry Paulson’s team bought with 300 BILLION dollars and why has Henry Paulson and the Treasury Department not met the oversight and reporting requirements demanded by Congress? Did the Federal Reserve or the Treasury Department ever support any company by purchasing stock futures in the open market?

What are the possibilities that an artificial crisis like that of global warming or some remote military conflict can be used to justify governmental actions which would never be allowed by the citizens in more normal times?

But most importantly, is there a way out of this mess for the ordinary American citizen? To preserve their job, their home, their car, their purchasing power and secure their retirement … now that much of their savings is earning a negative interest rate (when adjusted for real inflation) and much of their retirement savings has been wiped out by those to whom they entrusted their financial future?

There is no doubt that consumer confidence in their government has dramatically declined. Especially after learning that the person who offered change and hope has appointed the same old people from past Administrations who represent more of the same.

Over the coming months, each person needs to assess their own status and develop their own survival plan. The days when you could count on governmental honesty and fair dealing seems to be rapidly receding into the past.

-- steve

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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