Arnold Schwarzenegger: failing upward to the Senate or, heaven forbid, the Presidency

Schwarzenegger is still posing for the crowd … do little other than flexing his mouth as he assumes a pose as the Governor of California – using Hollywood smoke and mirrors to hide the fact that he has done very little of note for the citizens of California and that playing tough guy with your own party is often a losing proposition.

According to the Los Angeles Times … 

“Governor reveals tricks of the trade on '60 Minutes'”

Unfortunately the tricks that were played on the public by the governor and the legislature have led California from the Golden State to potential ruin.

The people elected Arnold Schwarzenegger to eliminate the waste, fraud and corruption in California government. To help hold the legislature’s profligate spending in check before the State was forced into bankruptcy.

They did not expect that Schwarzenegger would all but ignore his own party and spend more time courting liberal democrats, thus earning him the sobriquet: “RINO” (Republican In Name Only). That he would quickly learn to surpass his predecessor, Gray Davis, who was widely acknowledged as a master 24/7 fund-raiser. That he would learn how to manipulate private foundations to finance his travel and expenses – while initially hiding their contributors.  That he would learn the tricks of papering over budgetary deficits using borrowed money from Wall Street and intra-account borrowing.  And worst of all, using Hollywood smoke and mirrors to pretend he is a post-partisan politician: working for the people.

“Schwarzenegger says that without his acting experience, his job in Sacramento would have been much more difficult. He also says he'd be interested in becoming president if it were possible.”

Reporting from Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn't said whether he would pursue another job in politics after his final term ends in two years. But there's at least one position he might be interested in, if he were eligible for it: president.
"Yeah, absolutely," Schwarzenegger said in an interview airing tonight on "60 Minutes" on CBS, when asked by correspondent Scott Pelley if he would like to be president. ‘I think that I am always a person that looks for the next big goal. And I love challenges. I always set goals that are so high, that are almost impossible to achieve.’"

Is this a diversionary ploy to allow him to continue his fundraising activities with an eye to becoming a Senator in 2010?

“At the moment, becoming president would be impossible. Schwarzenegger, who was born in Austria and became a U.S. citizen in 1983, is not a ‘natural born citizen’ of the United States, as required by the Constitution.”

“Talk of amending the Constitution was a hot topic in California and Washington during Schwarzenegger's first couple of years in office, when some of his backers waged an "Amend for Arnold" campaign and members of Congress proposed changing the rule. Schwarzenegger has said he would welcome such a move but has mostly joked about running when asked about it publicly.”

Many a truth is spoken in jest. Personally, I think that the possibility of a foreign born President, especially one with a Eurocentric background, might expose America to great danger.

Matt David, his spokesman, noted that on "60 Minutes," the governor was responding to a theoretical question.

In the interview, the governor also lifted the veil on some of his tricks of the trade, both in his cinematic and political careers. With Pelley lifting weights as they spoke, Schwarzenegger said that when he played a muscle man in the movies, he just pretended to lift 300 pounds.
"I mean, when you do it for the cameras you only do 50, so you take it easy," he said. "You don't kill yourself."
He described a scene in the movie "Stay Hungry" with actress Sally Field in which he had to lift 225 pounds over and over.
"I learned very quickly: Put on wooden plates," Schwarzenegger said.
His governing style apparently involves some acting as well.

"People think show business was in Hollywood, but I think [ Ronald] Reagan was absolutely right," Schwarzenegger said, referring to the former California governor and president. "If he wouldn't have the training in acting, this would have been a very difficult job."

It angers me that Schwarzenegger even mentions Ronald Reagan. Yes, Reagan was an actor that became the California Governor and then went on to the presidency. But where Reagan had a core fundamental values and honed his political philosophy of conservatism, Schwarzenegger seems to be a pragmatic opportunist. Using what ever tools are at his disposal for his own self-interests.

A review of Schwarzenegger’s past performance as governor reveals numerous opportunities to appoint qualified Republicans to positions of power – and yet, it appears that he would appoint democrats to the positions to achieve some unknown political benefit to himself.

Global Warming …

And now it appears that Schwarzenegger has adopted the religion of global warming as his new vehicle to propel him upward on the political food chain.  Knowing full well that no results might be measurable until long after he has played the celestial stage. Which may be indicative of his current philosophy of trying to kick the budgetary can once more beyond 2010.

60 minutes interview …

One interesting item is how Schwarzenegger sets almost impossible goals and then having achieved them, moves on to the next goal. It seems to me that, having achieved the position of Governor of the State of California, he would make a success out of the position before even thinking about moving on.

Another interesting fact that nobody mentioned is that the $40 billion dollar deficit that is mentioned is the projected deficit in the next 18 months – long after Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the current budget into law. Either he signed a bogus budget or something is going radically wrong on his watch. Or perhaps a little bit of both. For more on Schwarzenegger and the California budget, see my previous blog entry.

“Schwarzenegger and the Legislature: Tiptoeing thru the tulips while California plunges into a deeper recession ...”

The Schwarzenegger solution …

“Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is asking state employees to take time off work- without pay - as he looks to solve the state's budget crisis.”

“The governor issued an executive order Friday. It calls for a state hiring freeze, asks state agencies to cut payrolls by 10 percent, and orders state employees to take two days off a month without pay.” <Source>

Like every other organization caught up in the current economic crisis, Schwarzenegger should be eliminating thousands of state employees who serve little or no real purpose other than to satisfy the bureaucratic need to shuffle paper. Consider everyone who does not fulfill a critical public safety position and then start cutting. Start with the political appointees in high paying positions. Eliminate the media spokesmen and public relations counsel first.

Of course, being somewhat a left-leaning liberal democrat in Republican clothing, Schwarzenegger is afraid to anger the unions in cutting back infrastructure jobs -- as he has threatened the citizens while he stands by the 405 freeway which is under construction -- as he will require their support in his 2010 bid for the Senate. Imagine that: the tough guy turns out to be a girly man when it comes to making the hard decisions and acting like a man.

What can YOU do?

Keep Schwarzenegger out of the Senate. We do not need another phony politician to pose as “a man of the people” and do nothing except fundraise and court the media.

Demand that Schwarzenegger clean up the mess he has made in the State by curtailing waste, fraud and corruption as well as rein in legislative spending using his veto pen.

Demand that Schwarzenegger give up the Republican designation and stop taking money under false pretenses unless he attempts to re-build the party he has so often turned his back on. 

Realize that if someone should prove that Barack Obama was not a natural citizen, then Schwarzenegger might have an actual chance at the presidency via a “backdoor” electoral process. Heaven forbid.

Elect a conservative Republican to serve as our next governor – one that does not come out of the San Francisco/Silicon Valley sphere of influence.

-- 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:

Governor reveals tricks of the trade on '60 Minutes' - Los Angeles Times

The Times Modifies its story on Schwarzenegger

“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 and the Legislature: Tiptoeing thru the tulips while California plunges into a deeper recession ...

What Governor?

First, where is the leadership that the Governor promised years ago in his first term: I am so rich, I can’t be bought. I will cut legislative spending. I will balance the budget. I will sign a budget on schedule. I am for the people of California.

Turns out that Arnold Schwarzenegger is more of a narcissistic movie star than an able administrator. A liberal democrat posing as a Republican. A man who is wealthy and intends to stay that way by creating special entitites to fund his jet-set lifestyle while acting out the part of “a man of the people.” Well it is crunch time and the Governor has run out of answers, out of cute little tricks to paper over the budget.

What Legislature …

When confronted with their profligate spending, these democrat liberals simply claimed that it wasn’t a spending problem, but a revenue problem and we all needed to pay more.

This group of liberal aging hippies who are more interested in demonstrating their humanitarianism by attracting more illegal aliens to a state whose crumbling healthcare, educational, judicial, retirement, social and cultural infrastructure is almost beyond repair. A group of GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered) activists who want to insert sexual politics in a state in sore need of leadership, prudence, discretion and budgetary. Leftists who want to cede a major portion of the state’s budget and rulemaking power to the unions who support them.

A corrupt group which continues to campaign 24/7 and more beholden to the special interests that funnel votes and campaign contributions to their special charities and various campaign funds than the people of the State of California.

And in some cases, a thoroughly rotten group who has the audacity to pontificate on social and economic issues while they are under current investigation for political corruption.

Did I miss something?

I was under the impression that our budgetary shortfall was somewhere in the range of 12 – 24 billion dollars depending on who was adding up the numbers.

Now I am being told that the budget deficit will balloon to $42 billion dollars in the next eighteen months.

Is someone lying? Or is this some form of “shock and awe” pronouncement to raise our already sky-high taxes while covering their tracks while they continue to spend-spend-spend?

More accounting games?

We are talking about a budget. Where one would think that a reduction in spending actually meant that you spend less money than you spent previously.

However, I am now learning that in California, a reduction in spending is often a reduction in the amount of money that you are proposing to spend in the upcoming fiscal period. That is: if you spent $1 billion actual dollars last year and budgeted the next year at $2 billion dollars; our woefully inept leaders slash 1/2 billion from the proposed two billion budget and call that a “spending cut.” When the truth is that they plan to spend $1-1/2 billion dollars – a spending increase of 50% over the actual dollars previously spent.

You can hardly trust anyone in California government to provide the real truth …

Only scant months ago, you could trust the non-partisan Legislative Analyst to provide some estimate of the real numbers. Unfortunately, our legislators have borrowed money from this fund and that fund and have replaced the actual money with the state version of a promissory note. A note which is totally worthless unless funded by additional money from the taxpayer.  In addition to this bait-and-switch scam, we also find that billions of dollars are squirreled away in special interest funds such as the $2 billion in a pre-school treasure chest funded by the tobacco industry. A fund that the teacher’s unions are desperately trying to tap to extend their influence and membership by operating pre-schools to serve as daycare centers for the children of illegal aliens who are accepted with open arms into union-controlled positions.

We have voted to provide a set portion of the state’s income for education – an ever growing sinkhole of leftist learning theories and mediocre performance. The only thing that seems to be rising is the ratio of administrators to teachers.

In a time when we are being told that teachers must pay for school supplies out of their own pockets, we see state supervised school systems like the Los Angeles Unified School System waste $100 million or more on a failed payroll system, $500,000 to buy out an ethnic school superintendent who was unable to perform his job in a manner suitable for the school board, a $1 billion dollar high school project – for a single high school. Or a $230 million dollar modern art high school to stroke the ego of a billionaire who seems to have a lock on the school board politics.

We see union employees lollygagging on the job, only to perform the real work after hours at double and triple time.

Nobody, including Governor Schwarzenegger is watching out for the average Californian – Californians who are migrating out of the state in increasing numbers. An action that is not lost on the socialists in Mexico who are steadily gaining influence in the state and want people to move out  of their “land.”

Taxation without representation …

We are heading for a recreation of the Boston Tea Party. A taxpayer revolt over the imperialistic actions of the petty dictators that we somehow were persuaded to elect. Whether by a complicit media, who has abandoned any semblance of journalistic ethics and has moved to crass commercialism, or the cult of celebrity – charlatans and incompetent people are now running our government.

And now we are being told that we are not being taxed – we are merely paying fees. Even when the dumbest among us knows that a tax is charged to the general public and a fee is something someone pays to defray the cost of a service which they receive.

From the Associated Press …

“California lawmakers have approved an $18 billion Democratic plan to address the state deficit.”

“They passed several pieces of legislation with a simple majority Thursday, avoiding the two-thirds requirement typically needed to approve tax increases.”

“Republicans voted for some of the bills that made sweeping cuts to California programs. In all, the legislation trims more than $7 billion from schools, health programs and prisons.”

But you need to ask yourself – are these sweeping cuts actual reductions in relationship to money that was previously spent or merely sham reductions of proposed budgetary spending. If our state government was serious, we could come up with a budget in less than 30 minutes. We simply say that the spending for the next fiscal period is the same as the actual dollars spent last year minus 20%. All of the public safety functions would be funded first – less a 10% reduction; education would be next with a full 20% reduction and all of the other services would have to fight it out to obtain the rest of the money – eliminating commissions, boards, bureaus which no longer serve a public purpose.

And, above all forcing the government employees to suffer in direct proportion as those suffering in private industry by reducing the number of part-time and full-time employees in government in the same proportion as the job loss in private industry. No more tenured teachers. No more lifetime jobs. No nepotism. And no more overtime when it appears that employees are drifting through their days pushing paper from one department to another.

“Democrats and Republicans have been at odds since the beginning of November over how to solve the state's ballooning deficit. It is expected to hit $42 billion in the next 18 months.”

I ask again, how the hell did a budget deficit balloon from $12-24 billion months ago to $42 billion when the legislature is telling us they are cutting spending? Someone is lying – perhaps they are all lying.

The liberal democrat answer …

“The Democratic proposal would address $18 billion of the state's shortfall over the next 18 months through a scheme that would cut some taxes, raise others, impose a new fee on gasoline and slash more than $7 billion in spending on health, education and prisons.”

If they say that the deficit will hit $42 billion dollars in the next 18 months and then say their democrat proposal will address $18 billion over the next 18 months – what is it that they are doing wrong. Ask me and I will tell you that they are planning to spend more than ever.

Is their proposal constitutional and legal?

“Taxpayer groups threatened to sue if taxes pass without a two-thirds majority, but Democrats claim their proposals are constructed in such a way that only a simple majority is required.”

“Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Temecula, said Democrats were disregarding the will of the people, noting that the two-thirds requirement to raise taxes is in the state Constitution.”

What the hell is this “constructed in such a way?” Financial legerdemain worthy of Penn and Teller? More hocus pocus based on legal interpretations? Or a criminal conspiracy of legislators who know that the legislation is legal and that the collected funds must be returned to the taxpayers sometime in the indeterminate future? It’s happened before – but the state got to use the funds for years before they grudgingly returned the money – not the real cash – but by using a reduction in certain taxes and fees.

Deepening the depression …

Out socialistic friends who are more interested in the extending citizenship to illegal aliens – in essence importing more poverty and illiteracy into California and those fretting over gay rights seem to be oblivious of the fact that raising taxes at this critical juncture in California’s history my deepen the recession into a long-lasting depression. At least they will have achieved one of their primary goals: wealth redistribution – everybody will be equally poor except for the ruling elites like Schwarzenegger and his legislative democrat friends.

"’Make no mistake, it is indeed an increase in taxes right at a time when people are trying to keep their jobs, hoping to be able to hang on to their mortgage and their homes, hoping and fighting to pay bills, to make ends meet,’ Hollingsworth said.”

Enter Schwarzenegger the RINO …

“’Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn't taken a position on the Democrats' proposal. Much of his criticism of legislators' inability to approve a budget plan has been leveled at members of his own party.’”

Schwarzenegger was so out of touch with his own party, that as a joke they wore name tags to one of their negotiation sessions.

The most egregious example of a far-left liberal democrat …

"’Merry Christmas Californians, indeed, because we're going to save the economy of this state. We're going to jump-start the economy,’ said Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.”

The deal they propose …

“The Democratic proposal would generate another $9.3 billion in general fund revenue by replacing gasoline taxes with a variety of fees.”

“The plan would raise the taxes Californians pay on gas by about 13 cents, replacing an 18-cent-a-gallon excise tax and a fluctuating sales tax with a 39-cent-per-gallon fee; raise the state sales tax by 3/4 of a cent; boost personal income taxes by 2.5 percent; tax oil produced in California; and collect taxes from independent contractors upfront.”

As for the gas tax, it is still a tax and not a fee. Perhaps if we label Mark Leno a heterosexual, he would no longer be gay. A cruel example, but one deserved by this asshat politician.

The 2.5% increase on state sales taxes is being billed as a surcharge. A tax on a tax? Or a fee for paying your taxes? Don’t ask, don’t tell seems to be the operative democrat legislative credo.

As for collecting taxes from independent contractors upfront, this is aimed squarely at the small businessman or entrepreneur who is being asked to bankroll big government. Since these taxes must be paid in the future (or the excess refunded), it amounts to a no-interest loan to the California legislature to continue their wayward ways.

“Republican lawmakers warned the plan would hit Californians hard during an already difficult recession. They have called for deeper cuts to education and social services instead of raising taxes.”

"’We're talking about substantially raising taxes on the people of this state,’ said Senate Minority Leader Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto. "’This proposal before us today will raise the gas tax, it will raise the car tax, will raise the personal income tax, and it will raise the sales tax to the tune of about $1,000 a year for an average family making about $50,000.’"

What the hell are they telling us?

“The shortfall for the fiscal year that ends in June is nearly $14 billion, about 10 percent of the state's $144.5 billion budget. But that hole is expected to grow in the next fiscal year unless lawmakers cut spending, raise revenue or do a combination of the two.”

We are back to a deficit of $14 billion dollars – somewhat the same number floated months ago. You know, the number between $12-$24 billion. So how do they manage to project a budget deficit of $42 million without spending another $28 billion that they obviously do not have.

Someone is playing games. Someone is not telling the truth. And someone is planning to continue to rob the State of California taxpayer. And there appears to be nobody willing to stop them.

Scare tactics …

“In a sign that the impasse was taking a toll, a state panel on Wednesday voted to stop lending money for an estimated 2,000 infrastructure projects statewide through June, an unprecedented move that the board said was necessary because California can no longer afford the work.”

Once again, the legislators and public officials are threatening to let criminals out of jail to cut costs – never considering for a moment that their priority task is to protect the public safety and that everything else – including education – is secondary. If any official increases the risk to Californians, let them be tried for dereliction of duty and tossed out on the behinds – if not criminally prosecuted for aiding and abetting criminal activity.

Whoops, Wall Street has dried up …

“California has not been able to borrow money for months and faces a cash shortage in February.”

Imagine, the state can’t simply borrow money to paper over the deficit and continue to kick the can down the road. They need to step up to the plate and take responsibility for the mess they and their predecessors have caused. And those asshat legislators who just named fellow politicians to $132,178 positions on the Integrated Waste Management Board, cut their salaries to $65,o00 and extend the same cuts to all of the other unimportant positions.

And, oh by the way, stuff the global warming initiative which promises to add billions in energy costs to California residents – all based on feel good dodgy science where results will not even be measurable in the next 200 years.

What can YOU do?

Call your elected officials and demand budgetary reform.

If the bums will not reduce the amount of actual dollars spent by 20-25%, do not re-elect them and where appropriate recall them or charge them with a crime.

Send Arnold Schwarzenegger back to Hollywood to star in The Terminator XIX: The Revolt of the Geriatric Legislators

Consider the formation of a citizens watchdog group: let’s call it Citizens Audit Program. Our motto: Put a CAP on spending in California.

Demand transparency in government operations. Perhaps putting the actual expenditures of each governmental entity – with full check detail – in a searchable database on the Internet. The Sacramento Bee built an interactive database of state worker’s salaries – now it is time for the state to do it with payments to individuals and corporations.

Be well. Be safe. And this too shall pass.

-- steve

Quote of the day:  “There are no wise few. Every aristocracy that has ever existed has behaved, in all essential points, exactly like a small mob.” -- G. K. Chesterton

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:

GCI.net - News

“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: OMNIBUS REASON FOR SCREWING THE AMERICAN CITIZEN?

EPA: Government Agency Abuses Authority for Meaningless Global Warming Gesture?

I cannot believe that the EPA would abuse their rule-making powers to impose a global climate tax on animals without a Congressional mandate. I wonder if they have ever heard of taxation without representation?

According to the Associated Press …

“Proposed fee on smelly cows, hogs angers farmers”

“For farmers, this stinks: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if a federal proposal to charge fees for air-polluting animals becomes law.”

“Farmers so far are turning their noses up at the notion, which is one of several put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases emitted by belching and flatulence amounts to air pollution.”

" ‘This is one of the most ridiculous things the federal government has tried to do,’ said Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, an outspoken opponent of the proposal.”

Welcome to the animal version of carbon caps … can emissions credits be far behind?

“It would require farms or ranches with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs to pay an annual fee of about $175 for each dairy cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and $20 for each hog.”

“The executive vice president of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, Ken Hamilton, estimated the fee would cost owners of a modest-sized cattle ranch $30,000 to $40,000 a year. He said he has talked to a number of livestock owners about the proposals, and ‘all have said if the fees were carried out, it would bankrupt them.’"

This is an unauthorized indirect tax on the population as all costs will eventually be passed on to the public. This is the same type of indirect taxation that is being imposed by those who use the utility companies to collect local, state and federal taxes promulgated by agencies – rather than the lawmakers themselves; who would then become accountable to the public.

Which nation is likely to be the Saudi Arabia of meat production? Mexico? Argentina?

“Sparks said Wednesday he's worried the fee could be extended to chickens and other farm animals and cause more meat to be imported.”

" ‘We'll let other countries put food on our tables like they are putting gas in our cars. Other countries don't have the health standards we have,’ Sparks said.”

Another bogus feel good measure …

There is no way to measure the effectiveness of this proposal and it amounts to little more than a “feel good” measure for angst-ridden liberals and a source of additional income to the cash-strapped government.

“EPA spokesman Nick Butterfield said the fee was proposed for farms with livestock operations that emit more than 100 tons of carbon emissions in a year and fall under federal Clean Air Act provisions.”

It’s not a TAX: it’s a FEE!

“The fee would cover the cost of a permit for the livestock operations. While farmers say it would drive them out of business, an organization supporting the proposal hopes it forces the farms and ranches to switch to healthier crops.”

Since when did man need a permit to raise livestock – other than those permits required to insure the safety of the commercial food supply?

Enter the far-left liberal vegetarians …

" ‘It makes perfect sense if you are looking for ways to cut down on meat consumption and recoup environmental losses,’ said Bruce Friedrich, a spokesman in Washington for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.”

" ‘We certainly support making factory farms pay their fair share,’ he said.”

Wonderful comment by the “perfect people for a perfect planet” crowd that is led by radical socialists, communists and others who are subverting the environmental cause for their own political agenda.

“Butterfield said the EPA is reviewing the public comments and didn't have a timetable for the next steps.”

How can any government agency be involved in this idiocy while acting in the people’s name? Time to take back our government by curtailing the activities of agencies which are not producing tangible results and are spinning their wheels proposing non-productive measures which do little or nothing to solve America’s current problems.

Global warming’s inconvenient scientific truth: weather is variable …

According to the U.K. Guardian …

“2008 will be coolest year of the decade”

“Global average for 2008 should come in close to 14.3C, but cooler temperature is not evidence that global warming is slowing, say climate scientists.”

“This year is set to be the coolest since 2000, according to a preliminary estimate of global average temperature that is due to be released next week by the Met Office. The global average for 2008 should come in close to 14.3C, which is 0.14C below the average temperature for 2001-07.”

Which really doesn’t prove anything other than the climate is cyclical and that we do not know the actual periodicity and amplitude of the cycles – or even where we are positioned in respect to the cycle itself.

What is really important …

However, what is important is to note is the very small numbers (.14C =  0.252F) which are well within the systemic measurement error rate of our current thermometers.

“In March, a team of climate scientists at Kiel University predicted that natural variation would mask the 0.3C (0.54F) warming predicted by the Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change over the next decade. They said that global temperatures would remain constant until 2015 but would then begin to accelerate.” <Source>

Natural variation is the key to understanding the global weather change phenomenon. Rather than spend inordinate amounts of money and cede political control to people who don’t have a clue to anything other than their self-interested manipulation of the system, might it not be more prudent to spend the money developing more efficient structures to protect us from nature’s vagaries. To build desalination plants to help with potential water shortages in the future. To improve our food growing methods to deal with potential food shortages.

Wait a minute: these water and food shortages exist now – so why are we playing around with carbon cap and trade systems when we should be funding nuclear energy, pollution reduction, improving water and food sources? Why are people starving around the world while we diddle with nature – something that man’s puny power cannot control on a global scale.

Perhaps the Emperor has no clothes and what we are looking at is a massive diversion of resources to benefit those already in power and who have already bought and paid for their own politicians on the installment plan. And perhaps, Representative Randy Cunningham will turn out to be the most ethical politician of the decade: he has a price list which was available to all and did not change in relation to who you might be.

The perfect cause for politicians, charlatans, scam artists and profiteers …

Imagine a cause which generates considerable media attention at little or no cost, can serve as the basis for raising taxes, enlarging the scope and size of government, curtailing personal freedoms and expectations, allowing surcharges to be added for using the word “green,” and most of all, is based on a speculative computer-generated theory that can never be proven one way or another in your lifetime – or possibly in many hundreds of years. What an opportunity for exploitation of the world’s population by those who seize the initiative.

Politicians: acting in their own ego-centric self-interest …

It is amazing how quickly malevolent members of the far-left, many held over from the cold-war, have commandeered the environmental movement as a vehicle for the promotion of their socialistic agenda. These are our former enemies who have found that they can use our own gullibility and environmental laws against us to promote their own purposes of weakening both our military and our economy so as to reduce our world influence. And it is no surprise that they continue to rail against the use of modern nuclear energy to achieve the very goals they are trying to promote.

Exploitation of global warming for political purposes -- the Schwarzenegger effect: because I say so …

And then there are the political opportunists like California Governor Schwarzenegger, an ego-centric movie star who dreams of greater glory, recognition and adulation on the world state … and sees the environment as his prime mover towards his goal.

Truth be told, Schwarzenegger is a famous political failure: the triumph of artificially generated style over substance. He was elected by the people of California to curb the legislature’s profligate spending, cut down on the waste, fraud, corruption and burgeoning size of the state’s government, and repair or replace much of the state’s crumbling infrastructure. And over his two terms, he has sat idly by while the spending continued. Preferring instead to prove that he was a more prolific fundraiser than the man the people voted out of office, Gray Davis, for proposing the very programs that are  now being considered by Schwarzenegger. Our debt and deficit has been artificially manipulated during his watch and the state has devolved into a financial crisis. For a “post partisan” politician, it was amazing that he couldn’t even get his own Republican party to sign off on a budget that was not only constitutionally late, but was so filled by manipulation and misrepresentation as to be invalid when signed.

So why should be be surprised when Schwarzenegger gloms onto the global warming scheme as another path to promote his own personal agenda? As the management guru Tom Peters defined, “failing upward.”

SchwarzeneggerNewsweek.jpg

California liberals, once again leading the way into sham legislation and controls …

According to the Sacramento Bee …

“A team of top California environmental officials are heading off to Poland this weekend.”

“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has increasingly fashioned himself as a worldwide environmental figure, is dispatching the team to the United Nations conference on climate change.”

“Schwarzenegger hosted his own, pre-UN climate change conference last month (where President-elect Barack Obama made a surprise video-appearance.)”

There are those who believed that Schwarzenegger was angling for a prominent environmental position in the Obama Administration even though he is nominally a Republican. I say nominally, because a closer observation of Schwarzenegger’s activities over the past years has proven that he is a RINO (Republican In Name Only) who acts more like a liberal democrat than as a conservative Republican.

All with the lame explanation (or excuse) that  he is a “post partisan” politician who is acting in the best interests of the people. I am sure that Schwarzenegger is dreaming of the title of “Climate Czar” where he can continue to promote his own self-interests as well as continuing the public acclaim of his celebrity.

See-and-be-seen junket or fact-finding mission?

Continuing from the Sacramento Bee …

“In any case, Linda Adams, secretary for environmental protection, Mike Chrisman, secretary for resources, Margret Kim, international climate advisor, Tony Brunello, deputy secretary for resources and Anthony Eggert, senior advisor, are off to the week-long UN summit.”

More bad news?

“Who's not on that list? Mary Nichols, the chair of California's Air Resources Board and a rumored top contender to be Obama's administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Which should surprise no one as she is a well-credentialed member of the liberal democratic left. (Heaven forbid that Schwarzenegger should have appointed a similarly qualified Republican to the position.)

“Mary D. Nichols was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as Chairman of the California Air Resources Board in July 2007. She returns to the Air Board 30 years after serving as the Chairman under Governor Jerry Brown from 1978 to 1983.”

“Nichols has devoted her entire career in public and private, not-for-profit service to advocating for the environment and public health. In addition to her work at the Air Board, she has held a number of positions, including: assistant administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air and Radiation program under the Clinton Administration, Secretary for California's Resources Agency from 1999 to 2003, and Director of the University of California, Los Angeles Institute of the Environment.”

“As one of California's first environmental lawyers, she initiated precedent-setting test cases under the Federal Clean Air Act and California air quality laws while practicing as a staff attorney for the Center for Law in the Public Interest. Nichols holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Yale Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University.” <Source>

“Inconsistent and incomplete:” like most politically- inspired plans that purport to deal with global climate change…

According to the Sacramento Bee …

“ …Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, is demanding that Nichols push back approval of California's roadmap to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.”

“That roadmap, known in Capitol parlance as the ‘AB 32 scoping plan,’ was criticized by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office as ‘inconsistent and incomplete’ in a report requested by Niello and Assembly GOP leader Mike Villines.

“AB 32 requires California to limit greenhouse-gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, a roughly 20 percent reduction when the was passed in 2006. The scoping plan is the guideline to achieve the goal.”

“Niello, who voted against AB 32 in 2006, cited the LAO report in a letter to Nichols on Thursday asking her to reschedule next week's air board meeting, where members are expected to adopt the plan.”

The letter …

Specifically, the LAO letter suggests ‘the plan's evaluation of the costs and savings of some recommended measures is inconsistent and incomplete’ and that the plan ‘fails to
layout an investment pathway ... to attain the AB 32 GHG emission reduction goals.’”

“Unfortunately, the LAO was not able to complete some elements of their analysis as they were not provided with some written responses from CARB even though, ‘it had been provided ample time to do so.’"

“The peer review critique of the Scoping Plan goes even further in suggesting that the cost
of the AB 32 Scoping Plan would be significant, and that CARB drastically underestimated these costs. Additionally, peer review comments suggest that there is some underlying manipulation of data in the Scoping Plan by stating that, ‘The economic
analysis selectively includes or excludes various existing non-AB 32 policies in its
baseline precisely in ways that lead systematically to under-estimating the costs of the Scoping Plan.’"

Bottom line …

“AB 32 granted the ARB broad, unprecedented regulatory authority with minimal legislative oversight.”

Seems like the Paulson plan for the bailout of the financial industry. We’re not sure of the amount or the details of the program, but we need unprecedented authority with little or no regulatory oversight to accomplish our mission.

Unfortunately, these people have no clue on how man can begin to affect global weather patterns other than the promotion of policies which lead to higher taxes, larger government, reduced personal freedoms and windfall profits for the Wall Street Wizards who game the emissions credit trading scheme.

What can YOU do?

Before any politician or political entity goes off on a flight of fantasy to curb “global” climate change, force them back to reality of dealing with an omnipresent situation which can drastically affect your health … local pollution.

Demand that your local, state and federal environmental protection agencies fulfill their stated mission: reducing environmental pollution of the the ground, water and air by imposing curbs on local gross polluters instead of allowing them to mitigate their pollution with emissions credits purchased at the public’s expense. Pollution at this level is measurable and containable.

Do not elect or re-elect politicians who spout global warming nonsense without a specific plan that provides measurable results and capitated costs. There should be no blank checks for fantasy programs which convey benefits to the special interests over the wants and needs of the public. It’s OUR government and they are acting in OUR name. Something they often forget.

Whether or not you believe the manipulated science that is being promoted by the malevolent United Nations, you owe it to yourself to research the subject of global climate change and pollution before draining your personal resources and curtailing your personal activities to provide more money and support to politicians and their latest self-serving schemes.

And consider the almost unthinkable: that what we are really measuring is the “urbanization” of the landscape

-- steve

Quote of the Day: “The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it.” --Patrick Young

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:

Proposed fee on smelly cows, hogs angers farmers|Associated Press

Climate scientists say 2008 will be coolest year of the decade| guardian.co.uk

Nichols Letter|Roger Niello

“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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Fellow Republicans: when Schwarzenegger pleads for YOUR help with the California deficit: tell him to shove it ...

Schwarzenegger presides over a fiscal emergency ...

Bloomberg News Reports ...

"Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger warned that the state may issue the warrants, which are a promise to pay with interest, to suppliers and contractors as the seizure in credit markets may make it too costly to borrow. "

“ 'It’s getting worse very quickly,' Schwarzenegger, a 61- year-old Republican, told reporters Dec. 1 after declaring a fiscal emergency and ordering the Legislature into a special session to find ways to close the deficit. 'It’s like an avalanche in that it gains momentum. And that’s what we’re in right now, so it’s a real crisis.'”

"California is reeling more than any other state from budget woes that pushed the nation’s governors to seek help from Congress. States say federal money is needed toease the pain from spending cuts and tax increases that would be a further blow to an economy in the throes of a recession." <Source>

which he helped to create with his lack of leadership ...

I was upset that our RINO (Republican In Name Only) governor would name a hyper-partisan, liberal democratic hack to a high-paying board – over that of a well-qualified Republican – but then again, we all knew Schwarzenegger was a Ted Kennedy-style liberal democrat with his balls firmly locked in his wife Maria Kennedy Shriver’s purse.

But the thought that he may have named Migden as a favor to the Senate President, liberal democrat Darrell Steinberg, to gain some political advantage is even worse.

Or perhaps this was done as a favor to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Chief of Staff, a long-term lesbian democrat who served the previous California governor, Gray Davis.

“Kennedy has served on the California Public Utilities Commission since 2003, where she focused on regulatory consistency and broadband, infrastructure investment and promoting economic development. In addition, she has been a member of the California Bay-Delta Authority, the statewide body responsible for overseeing the restoration of the San Francisco Bay Delta ecosystem to increase storage, promote efficiency and protect California's extensive levee system since 2003. Previously, Kennedy served as cabinet secretary and deputy chief of staff for Governor Gray Davis where she was principal liaison to the cabinet and state agencies, departments, boards and commissions. Prior to joining the Davis Administration, Kennedy served as communications director for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.”

Something is going on, possibly as Arnold curries favor with the Gay lobby to secure their backing for a future political position? This would make sense as the Integrated Waste Management Board’s democrat majority also are  members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGTB) caucus who now can continue their their liberal advocacy agenda from within powerful positions within the state government.

Why else would a Republican Schwarzenegger turn down a qualified Republican to name a democrat of questionable repute who:

  • paid a state record $350,000 fine for campaign finance violations;
  • illegally pressed the voting button of a fellow Assembly Republican legislator for her own legislation;
  • pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless driving after a 30-mile drive in her state-owned SUV ended in a collision;
  • was so openly abusive of her staff that Senate officials sent her staff members home after she was heard berating them from the hallway?

From the Sacramento Bee…

“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger officially named San Francisco Democrat Carole Migden to a high-paying seat on the state's waste board on Friday”.

The job pays $132,178 per year.

So much for Schwarzenegger’s promise of fiscal restraint.

“The appointment was announced Friday afternoon by the Schwarzenegger administration along with a slew of other, largely unpaid board posts, such as members of the board of directors of the Grand National Rodeo, Horse and Stock Show.”

Schwarzenegger apparently admits the appointment was to curry favor with Senate President Darrell Steinberg.

“Schwarzenegger's office, in a written statement, said the idea for the appointment was from newly sworn-in Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.”

" ‘Senator Steinberg recommended Senator Migden to serve on the Integrated Waste Management Board because she has held several elected positions throughout local and state government for nearly 20 years and her background will serve well in this new role to promote zero waste in California in partnership with local governments, industry officials and the public,’ Schwarzenegger spokesman Rachel Cameron e-mailed in a statement.”

It is believed that the Integrated Waste Management Board will play a significant role in pushing Schwarzenegger’s global warming agenda onto the backs of a reluctant industry.

But was it a deliberate slap in the face to the Republicans who refused to vote for the democrat proposal of higher taxes?

According to long-time political columnist Dan Walters …

“He was holding it [the appointment] open as a possible reward to a Republican legislator who would break GOP ranks and vote for new taxes to balance the budget, along with one or two other high-paying board positions.” <Source>

Which only goes to show you how despicable Arnold Schwarzenegger really is: how is it that you need to bribe members of your own party who stand up for fiscal responsibility in the face of a legislature who wants to continue funding their special interest projects on the backs of California taxpayers?

What can YOU do?

Do not vote for any more celebrity politicians lest they turn out to use Hollywood Smoke and Mirrors to bamboozle the public into confusing them with the characters they portrayed.

Consider that Schwarzenegger is a poseur who has failed to deliver on his campaign promises: curtailing waste, fraud, mismanagement and malfeasance as well as restricting legislative spending to bring the return of fiscal responsibility to the State of California. He should be permanently barred from using the Ronald Reagan Library as a political backdrop for life.

End Arnold Schwarzenegger’s political career lest he becomes the honest liberal democrat he appears to be and runs to replace Teddy Kennedy Senate Seat in ultra-liberal Massachusetts. A perfect position for Schwarzenegger which will improve the political prospects of both States.

Consider electing a conservative Republican as the next governor over the democrat hacks that are said to be considering the position: ex-Governor Jerry Brown, Diane Feinstein, Los Angeles Mayor Tony Villar (his real name), San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom or any of the other liberal spend-every-dollar democrats.

Considering the amount of money that needs to be spent on repairing and replacing California’s infrastructure, we cannot afford more liberal global warming and illegal immigration nonsense.

-- steve

Quote of the Day: “You have freedom of choice, but not freedom from choice.” --Wendell Jones

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:

Capitol Alert: It's official: Migden named to waste board

Schwarzenegger: Pay attention -- this is why California has got a massive deficit!|OneCitizenSpeaking

“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: Ceding control to lawyers, lobbyists and evildoers?

International corruption and impotence …

One of my biggest pet peeves involving the United Nations is that they ONLY pretend to be a democratic representation of the world’s nations. Like all other political organizations, it is a hotbed of self-interest corruption, power brokering and public relations activity which mask its true impotency and promotes a dangerous reliance on an organization that lacks the guts to stand up for what is right over what is wrong.

How else can you explain their feigned ignorance of genocide? How else can you explain the cut-and-run behavior of so-called United Nations “Blue Hat” enforcement details? How else could you explain a non-governmental body that cedes the leadership of a committee on human rights to some of the worst violators of human rights in history? And how do they reconcile the wishes of those to live in a repressive 12th-century manner that openly promotes violence against non-believers?

This is the type of international panel, comprised mainly of lawyers and failed politicians that is being proposed.

Handing our enemies a loaded gun?

Against this type of international background, why would we even consider any extra-legal commission, court or panel which usurps the sovereignty of the United States in favor of a world filled with nations and leaders who do not wish us well – and are openly using our own Constitution and freedoms against us as they promote their malevolent agenda.

Lawyers do what lawyers do: first insure their survival and continuing income stream …

“Lawyers call for international court for the environment” 

“A former chairman of the Bar Council is calling for an international court for the environment to punish states that fail to protect wildlife and prevent climate change.”

First mistake …

The first assumption that man is responsible for global weather change is highly speculative and quite presumptive of the part of lawyers. Especially since the world’s scientists are not in agreement about the measurements, the causes or the remedies.

Second mistake …

There are some species which will die as a matter of the workings of nature. Shall we be forced to suspend human progress, cede control over our lives to politicians and spend inordinate amounts of money to save every last species? We have seen the great cost of allowing the snail darters of this world to halt development. Do we want to extend this power over our society to a bunch of pointy head theoreticians or, even worse, those malevolent interests that have infiltrated the environmental movement for the sole purpose of promoting their own radical political agenda on the world. An agenda which can often be described as enviro-Marxism.

“Stephen Hockman QC is proposing a body similar to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to be the supreme legal authority on issues regarding the environment.”

“The first role of the new body would be to enforce international agreements on cutting greenhouse gas emissions set to be agreed next year.”

“But the court would also fine countries or companies that fail to protect endangered species or degrade the natural environment and enforce the ‘right to a healthy environment.’”

Where does the money go, if not to the self-serving interest of the court? And by what enforcement mechanism will they fine nations like Russia, Syria, North Korea and others who traditionally do not respond well to fines and penalties imposed by extra-jurisdictional groups.

Neither new, nor innovative … just dangerous!

“The innovative idea is being presented to an audience of politicians, scientists and public figures for the first time at a symposium at the British Library.”

Usurpation of legislative rights …

Unfortunately, we have seen activist judges hand down rulings which create law which clearly usurps the rights of the legislature as the sole body that is constitutionally empowered to create such regulations. In many cases, we have seen the activists turn to the judiciary to secure what they cannot obtain at the ballot box … and even worse, thwart the will of the people who have already expressed their opinion by voting.

“Mr Hockman, a deputy High Court judge, said that the threat of climate change means it is more important than ever for the law to protect the environment.”

Enter the United Nations …

Why should we believe anything that emanates from this hotbed of corruption and hidden agendas. Especially since they have admitted fudging the Aids numbers in Africa in order to generate media attention, public support and contributions to their cause. The UN’s population projects which are at the basis of many of their assumptions has been dead wrong as population growth has been proven to be non-linear. In addition, many of their energy projections are based on the typical power profile of those in the United States, which upon even a cursory examination proves to not be the power mode of the majority of the world’s populated nations.

Likewise, the United Nations has locked into the matter of global warming to allow them to increase their influence and funding by promoting nothing more concrete than computer models which project a rise in global temperature. So lopsided is this projection, that the UN fails to consider the beneficial effects of such projected climate change – preferring the global gloom and doom scenario to raise awareness and funding.

Creating an economic crisis where one already exists …

“The UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland this month is set to begin negotiations that will lead to a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol in Copenhagen next year. Developed countries are expected to commit to cutting emissions drastically, while developing countries agree to halt deforestation.”

Did anyone notice that the last UN proposals had the developed nations paying tribute to the developing nations as compensation for not clear-cutting forests or taking other actions? Massive wealth distributions to corrupt governments who sequester their wealth for use by the ruling class and their friends.

Can’t promote good works without actors …

“Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, has agreed the concept of an international court will be taken into account when considering how to make these international agreements on climate change binding. The court is also backed by a number of MPs, climate change experts and public figures including the actress Judi Dench.” '

Dame Judy Dench may be a fine actress, but the farthest thing from a climate scientist. So why even cite her name?

“Mr Hockman said an international court will be needed to enforce and regulate any agreement.”

"The time is now ripe to set this up and get it going," he said. "Its remit will be overall climate change and the need for better regulation of carbon emissions but at the same time the implementation and enforcement of international environmental agreements and instruments."

Imagine the consequences …

Can you imagine some foreign power demanding that the coal-fired energy producers that feed power to Los Angeles cut back their energy production so that some global carbon credit bookkeeper can balance the atmospheric carbon content over Upper Wazooistan? Ludicrous!

“As well as providing resolution between states, the court will also be useful for multinational businesses in ensuring environmental laws are kept to in every country.”

Enter the Marxists, socialists, communists and other nutso-activists …

“The court would include a convention on the right to a healthy environment and provide a higher body for individuals or non-governmental organizations to protest against an environmental injustice.”

Climate justice?

Isn’t that what the Marxist-style activists in Chicago called their initiative when discussing racial, ethnic and class-warfare politics? All based on the theory that global weather mitigation will unduly impact the poor and disadvantaged who should receive some form of compensation for their suffering and misery. Can you say climate reparations?

“Mr Hockman said the court may be able to fine businesses or states but its main role will be in making ‘declaratory rulings’ that influence and embarrass countries into upholding the law.”

I declare that the Earth is warming. I declare that you need to reduce your lifestyle based on your energy consuming. I declare you need to pay higher taxes and a tribute to the court. I declare that this is all speculative bullshit and should be ignored in favor of cleaning up local pollution which is affecting our current health status.

What, it won’t provide a solution?

He said: "Of course regulations and sanctions alone cannot deliver a global solution to problems of climate change, but without such components the incentive for individual countries to address those problems – and to achieve solutions that are politically acceptable within their own jurisdictions – will be much reduced."

Just like the proponents of global warming initiatives cannot possible guarantee that any climate progress will be measurable for at least one hundred, and more likely, one thousand years, this is just another scheme without any provable results.

“The court would be led by retired judges, climate change experts and public figures. It would include a scientific body to consider evidence and provide access to any data on the environment.”

Public figures – you mean like Al Gore, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney? Retired judges – you mean the old codgers who have lapsed into senility? And of course, you mean those climate scientists who have already signed on to the UN-centric view of climate change?

“Most importantly, Mr Hockman said an international court on the environment would influence public opinion which in turn would force Governments to take the environment seriously. He said: ‘If there are bodies around that can give definitive legal rulings that are accepted as fair and reasonable that has its own impact on public opinion.’"

There is no such thing as a definitive legal ruling where matters of science are concerned. And isn’t that what we are basing this entire speculative scheme upon? Can a definitive ruling stop the Earth’s precessive motion, reverse the tides, change cloud patterns? No! And neither can today’s scientists. And neither will a fraud like carbon cap and trade policy!

“Friends of the Earth welcomed the idea.”

You mean the “perfect people for a perfect planet” based on Marxist philosophies which only create a ruling class and the rest of humanity? 

“A spokesman said: ‘We think any institution that is going to promote and help people enforce their right to a clean and healthy environment is a good thing.’"

If you believe this, then the best thing is a local court with jurisdiction over local polluters along with state agencies who can actually measure pollutants and assess fines. The answer to controlling pollution is, and always has been, local, not global. The only ones pushing for a global solution are those seeking extra-judicial control over sovereign nation-states for their own political power agendas.

What can YOU do?

The Brits are a curious sort. Regimented and all that. But in matters of consequence, they are followers, not leaders. Much of the Churchillian resolve has been bred away over the years as they have allowed malevolent foreigners to invade their country to the point of even considering Sharia law to be co-existent with British jurisprudence. Hardly the type of people to listen to in matters of forming extra-legal control structures. Consider that the Brits screwed up when they created the modern Middle East, why allow them to screw up the world?

Consider that, no matter what the United Nations claims: it’s all about power, money and self-interest. Theirs, not ours!

Consider that there is the real possibility that those who create global climate models are actually modeling the effects of localized urbanization, not global climate.

Consider that the matter that should be debated is not global weather control, but control over the world’s population based on dodgy science and the pipedreams of lawyers, politicians and those who add nothing to society as they buy-and-sell pollution credits.

Do not cede United States sovereignty to any foreign entity, especially one that contains a preponderance of people who do not wish the citizens of the United States well. After all, we are the country.

-- steve

Quote of the Day: “Behavior is a mirror in which every one displays his own image.” -- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

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:

Lawyers call for international court for the environment|London  Telegraph

“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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American traitor, Jane Fonda, worried about Republican dirty tricks? (Updated)

UPDATE: 09-04-2009 JANE FONDA ACCUSES FILM FESTIVAL OF CREATING PROPAGANDA ...

The New York Post's famous Page Six is reporting ...

HOLLYWOOD studios love to use the Toronto Film Festival as a launching pad for Oscar contenders, but this year there's a different buzz. In an online letter to event chiefs, an array of notables -- Jane Fonda, Naomi Klein, Danny Glover and David Byrne among them -- have protested the festival's choice to spotlight the city of Tel Aviv and 10 Israeli moviemakers, Post film editor V.A. Musetto reports. 'Intentionally or not,' the letter says, '[the festival] has become complicit in the Israeli propaganda machine.' A week earlier, a Canadian filmmaker pulled his short from the event in protest. But the festival, which opens Thursday, refused to back down, insisting it would continue to show "the best films we can find."

You must admit, the traitorous bitch Jane Fonda does know something about propaganda. And often creates it herself with her stupid braying. This overly-spoiled useful idiot, as usual, has apparently allied herself with the wrong side and seems to much rather stand up for those corrupt religious fanatics who oppress women and condone state-supported murder, rape and mutilation -- as well as terrorism -- as a normal daily occurance. For those who pretend to care, Fonda was once married to radical Marxist/activist Tom Hayden. Seems she never left the 60's and the people who actually thought she was an actress.  

Original blog entry ...  

Liberal elites continue to slime America with their hysterical braying …

I was particularly incensed when a well-known author provided a foreign paper with an incendiary interview containing newsworthy quotes.

According to the New York Observer …

“Erica Jong Tells Italians Obama Loss 'Will Spark the Second American Civil War. Blood Will Run in the Streets”

“It seems that the final days of the presidential campaign have made Erica Jong and her friends more than a little anxious.”

“A few days ago, Jong, the author and self-described feminist, gave an interview to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, the choicest bits of which were brought to my attention by the reliably sharp-eyed Christian Rocca, the U.S. correspondent of Il Foglio, who published excerpts on his Camillo blog.”

“Basically, Jong says her fear that Obama might lose the election has developed into an "obsession. A paralyzing terror. An anxious fever that keeps you awake at night." She also says that her friends Jane Fonda and Naomi Wolf are extremely worried that Obama will be sabotaged by Republican dirty tricks, and that if an Obama loss indeed comes to pass, the result will be a second American Civil War.”

Second American Civil War?

First, Erica Jong is not only playing the race card, she is fear-mongering and apparently threatening America with her interpretation of the consequences of not voting for Obama.

I wonder if she realizes that she is describing a behavior is characteristic of the radical far-left and crazies who think violence and mayhem are the appropriate reaction to every perceived slight. The wrong candidate is elected: riot, loot and burn your neighborhood. Someone publishes a cartoon: riot, loot and burn your neighborhood. A wrong judicial decision: riot, loot and burn your neighborhood.

By feeding into her tortured liberal fears, she is not only promoting a racial stereotype of a community, but she is also encouraging crazies on the other side to further prepare for what they regard is an enviable race war.

So, once again, we have a politically ignorant person making pronouncements to a foreign press which only serves to provide aid and comfort to our enemies, both foreign and domestic – reinforcing the concept that America is a bad actor on the world stage and that the democratic passing of power in an election is a rigged sham.

And speaking of our enemies …

Jane Fonda is at the top of my list as an unindicted traitor: a person who, in time of war, gave aid and comfort to our enemies. A person who mockingly sat on an anti-aircraft gun in Viet Nam while downed pilot John McCain was being tortured in a nearby prison. It is hard for me to write anything about Jane Fonda without using the words “traitorous bitch.”

Capture10-31-2008-10.44.40 AM

The most prominent example of a clash between
private citizen protest and governmental military policy in recent history occurred in July 1972, when actress Jane Fonda arrived in Hanoi, North Vietnam, and began a two-week tour of the country conducted by uniformed military hosts.

Aside from visiting villages, hospitals, schools, and factories, Fonda also posed for pictures in which she was shown applauding North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gunners, was photographed peering into the sights of an NVA anti-aircraft artillery launcher, and made ten propagandistic Tokyo Rose-like radio broadcasts in which she denounced American political and military
leaders as "war criminals." She also spoke with eight American POWs at a carefully arranged "press conference," POWs who had been tortured by their North Vietnamese captors to force them to meet with Fonda, deny they had been tortured, and decry the
American war effort.

Fonda apparently didn't notice (or care) that the POWs were delivering their lines under duress or find it unusual the she was not allowed to visit the prisoner-of-war camp (commonly known as the "Hanoi Hilton") itself.

She merely went home and told the world that "[the POWs] assured me they were in good health. When I asked them if they were brainwashed, they all laughed. Without exception, they expressed shame at what they had done."

She did, however, charge that North Vietnamese POWs were systematically tortured in American prison-of-war camps. <Source>

Capture10-31-2008-10.44.54 AM

The far-left …

The choice could not be clearer in the upcoming election:

On one hand you have Barack Obama, representing the far-left liberals, whose only accomplishments seem to be having been born bright, telegenic and with an actor’s skill at becoming a scripted character. A person who has openly and knowingly associated with terrorists, both foreign and domestic, for years. A man without a record of accomplishment. A man who speaks of change but has no record of ever exerting the type of leadership it takes to bring about change in a hyper-partisan environment.

And the other hand, you have John McCain, a decorated war hero who was tortured unmercifully while far-left liberals cavorted with our sworn enemies and declared America to be the despicably bad actor on the world stage. And while you may not share all of John McCain’s political ideas (and I don’t), you know that this is a man who will defend America from her enemies while others are content to “discuss the issues” while toasting them with Champaign.

Who is Erica Jong?

A much-married feminist whose first novel, Fear of Flying, was all about women’s sexual desires. Many of her novels deal with women’s issues and she appears to be one freaky individual. She is known to be an outspoken adherent of the 9-11 conspiracy theory. All-in-all, she is your typical far-left, au courant, limousine liberal who apparently hates her country, and Republicans in particular. It is curious that a feminist would not rise to support the only woman running for office and one who apparently has succeeded in achieving the feminist dream: power and equality with men in their chosen field.

“Here's a translation of Jong's more spirited quotes to the Milan-based Corriere, as selected by Rocca.”

"The record shows that voting machines in America are rigged."

I wonder if she realizes that the democrats have a distinguished history in vote rigging and vote buying?

"My friends Ken Follett and Susan Cheever are extremely worried. Naomi Wolf calls me every day.”

“Yesterday, Jane Fonda sent me an email to tell me that she cried all night and can't cure her ailing back for all the stress that has reduces her to a bundle of nerves."

"My back is also suffering from spasms, so much so that I had to see an acupuncturist and get prescriptions for Valium." 

Compare this to the real pain that John McCain suffers each and every day while he vigorously campaigns for an America he believes in. To bring bi-partisan reform to our ailing government instead of whining about how bad the country must be or how much he really hurts.

I am tired of actors and actresses thinking that their accomplishments on the screen, where like Barack Obama, they convincingly mouth the words authored by others, entitle them to hold forth on what is ailing America and have us believe that their words should somehow be taken with more importance than an ordinary citizen.

"After having stolen the last two elections, the Republican Mafia…"

"If Obama loses it will spark the second American Civil War. Blood will run in the streets, believe me. And it's not a coincidence that President Bush recalled soldiers from Iraq for Dick Cheney to lead against American citizens in the streets."

"Bush has transformed America into a police state, from torture to the imprisonment of reporters, to the Patriot Act."

Sound familiar. Sound like another far-left liberal like Jane Fonda, John Kerry or John Murtha.

She also laments that not all of America's men of letters share her devotion to Obama.

I wonder what Hemmingway would have said were he alive?

"Tom Wolfe and John Updike are men of the right and Philip Roth is at this point a hermit who leads a monastic life in Connecticut, far from everything and everybody."

Luckily, she said there is her and Michael Chabon, who, she says, have "taken the place of Susan Sontag and Norman Mailer respectively."

They have the same political sensibilities, she said, but a better "sense of humor."

What can YOU do?

Ignore the ignorant, America-bashing politicians and the sycophantic actor/actress supporters.

Never forgive Jane Fonda and those of her ilk for their traitorous actions in a time of war.

Decide whether you want an effete, elite snob like Barack Obama who is willing to sit down with our enemies to talk about the world’s problems or a John McCain who has the courage of his convictions and will defend America against her enemies.

Imagine what Obama could say to  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he declares Israel must be wiped from the face of this Earth and only by bringing about a holocaust can the next Imam appear and purge the world of the infidels so everyone can live in an Islamic state?

Especially when he would be among the first killed for practicing his adopted Christian-faith.

Get out there and VOTE or suffer in silence when those who do not believe as you do, confiscate your property with taxes to support their promise of wealth-redistribution.

-- steve


Quote of the Day: “The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.” -- John Kenneth Galbraith

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:


Erica Jong Tells Italians Obama Loss 'Will Spark the Second American Civil War. Blood Will Run in the Streets' | The New York Observer

“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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Palin's performance on Saturday Night Live falls flatter than General Electric's yield curve

I turned into Saturday Night Live to see the Sarah Palin/Tina Fey performance … but all of the introductory sketch comedy wasn’t funny. The writing was lame, the performances not even worthy of a junior high school talent show.

See Palin performance here.

All-in-all, the show had jumped the shark years ago. Trying to convince the audience that this program is hip and relevant is probably the reason they are pushing so hard to legalize drugs. Maybe even making drug use mandatory before viewing this horrible excuse for entertainment.

In fact, the only nice thing about having an ensemble cast is that the blame can be spread around like manure in a barnyard.

Perhaps, I just don’t get the fact that this show is a satire and is really a never-ending parody of its younger days.

Josh Brolin’s performance as “W",” complete with an Oliver Stone cameo – was a wooden as the real thing.

See Amy Poehler's Palin rap performance here.

If it wasn’t for Amy Meredith Poehler ’s final rap number with Palin looking on – the entire show was as impressive as Jeffrey Immelt’s performance at NBC’s parent corporation,  General Electric.

My question for the conspiracy buffs: did the far left liberals at SNL deliberately sabotage her performance?

“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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HOLLYWOOD LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AGAINST CORPORATE WELFARE -- EXCEPT WHEN IT'S THEIR CORPORATIONS

How many Louisiana residents voted to financial Brad Pitt’s next movie to the tune of $27 MILLION dollars and change?

According to the New York Times, the bastion of liberal media reporting …

“One of the most shocking bills has come due in Louisiana, where residents are financing a hefty share of Brad Pitt’s next movie — $27,117,737, to be exact, which the producers will receive by cashing or selling off valuable tax credits.”

Corporate welfare is corporate welfare: whether it goes to Countrywide Funding or a Hollywood studio, top heaving with executives and household-name talent  …

It is no surprise that public money has been spent, often inappropriately, to support the arts without the specific permission of its citizens.

“As the number of movies made under these plans multiplied in recent years, the state money turned into a welcome rescue plan for Hollywood at a time when private investors were fleeing the movies. But the glamour business has not always been kind to those who pick up the costs, and states are moving to rein in their largess that has allowed producers to be reimbursed for all manner of expenditures, whether the salaries of stars, the rental of studio space or meals for the crew.”

While Louisiana, one of the most corrupt state governments, sees its former film commissioner off to prison …

“Louisiana, one of the most assertive players in the subsidy game, wound up covering that outsize piece of the nearly $167 million budget of Mr. Pitt’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” — the state’s biggest movie payout to date — when producers for Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers qualified the coming movie, a special-effects drama, under an incentive that has since been tightened. Separately, Louisiana’s former film commissioner is set to be sentenced in January to as much as 15 years in federal prison for taking bribes to inflate film budgets (though not that of “Button”) and, hence, pay higher subsidies.”

Michigan …

“Michigan, its own budget sagging, is in the middle of a hot political fight over a generous 40 percent rebate on expenditures to filmmakers that was carried out, with little opposition, only last April. Producers of films for studios like Warner Brothers and the Weinstein Company rushed to cash in, just as homegrown businesses were squeezed by a new business tax and surcharge. Rebellious legislators from both parties are now looking to put a cap on the state’s annual film spending, which some have estimated could quickly hit $200 million a year.”

Rhode Island …

“In Rhode Island, meanwhile, the rules have toughened considerably. That happened after The Providence Journal reported in March that producers of a straight-to-DVD picture called ‘Hard Luck,’ which starred Wesley Snipes and Cybill Shepherd, had picked up $2.65 million in state tax credits on a budget of $11 million, even though it had reported paying only $1.9 million of the total to Rhode Islanders.”

Justification?

The argument that film crews bring money into the state and community as well as create jobs is somewhat bogus. Principal photography, with the high-priced talent on-set, is always minimized to reduce costs, while the second unit, without the stars on-set” is much longer lasting.

It would make sense if the money that comes into the state was exceeded by the outflow in funds and tax credits. Or if the jobs were longer lasting.

“ ‘With this much money involved, there’s going to be a temptation to hype budgets,’ said Peter Dekom, a veteran entertainment business lawyer who is an adviser to New Mexico’s incentive program.”

“The vogue for state film subsidies appears to have started in Colorado early this decade, with a briefly financed Defense Against Canada law that was devised to win production back from Vancouver and Toronto. Louisiana and New Mexico soon came on board.”

“By this year, about 40 states were offering significant subsidies, turning the United States into what the Incentives Office, a consulting firm in Santa Monica, Calif., has called the New Bulgaria. It is a reference to what was once the film industry’s favorite low-cost production site.”

“Virtually all of the programs use a state tax system to reimburse producers for money spent on movies or TV shows shot in the state. Some, like Michigan’s, simply refund a percentage of expenditures to the producer. Others, like Louisiana’s, issue a tax credit that can reduce the taxes a production pays or be sold to someone else. Either way, the state gives up revenue that otherwise would be collected to put money in the producer’s pockets.”

“Advocates, of course, argue that these programs create jobs.”

“One of the country’s most successful programs is in New Mexico, which has backed movies like the Oscar-winning ‘No Country for Old Men’ and next year’s ‘Terminator Salvation,’ the latest sequel in the action series, with a reported budget of $200 million.”

“New Mexico officials boast of having used a 25 percent production cost rebate to build a local film industry that has attracted more than $600 million in direct spending since 2003, and an estimated $1.8 billion in total financial impact, as of last June. And in fiscal year 2008, the productions in the state generated 142,577 days of employment, up from 25,293 in 2004.”

Above the line personnel, executives, stars and major functionaries rarely live in the area where the films are produced. Key personnel are flown to the set and paid a salary, plus a per diem for expenses. Local pick-up labor and craftsmen are hardly worth the effort of sponsoring films.

Bogus calculations based on employment man-days or total budget are unrealistic, even though they are commonly used to justify film commission activities. Even counting the money spent on location pales in comparison to executive and talent compensation.

And what does the taxpayer get in return? Perhaps a major pain-in-the-butt disruption of public facilities and roads while shooting? Momentary prestige of local media coverage?  In my book, it is not worth the time and trouble.

There is no reason why the taxpayers should subsidize a Hollywood which is hyper-partisan and mostly democrat. Especially since much of the money may be spent of stars which are openly hostile to the American way of life and embrace leftist dictators and thugs. Perhaps they get that way because of the pervasive influence of the unions which are mostly leftist and thuggish.

Hollywood is famous for more than films …

Hollywood is home to smoke and mirrors accounting in which a wildly profitable film at the box office never seems to recoup enough money to pay those with trailing points by using such artificial devices as rolling breakevens and adjusted gross receipts. Even major stars often need to sue or settle for a share of their purloined profits.

Hollywood is also home to a large collection of tax evaders who receive goodie gift bags containing thousands of dollars worth of products – and yet fail to pay their fair share of taxes on this free swag. It is hard to believe that these are the same people who think ordinary citizens should be hit with a tax increase.

Consider the notoriously cheap, but ultra-wealthy, Barbra Streisand … with all her snarky comments about non-liberal non-democrat politicians. This should be the poster girl for cutting out all Hollywood subsidies. The ultimate “do as I say, not as I do,” political commentator.

What can YOU do?

Demand that your local and state politicians disband their film commissions and return the money to the public treasury to repair or replace the crumbling infrastructure or to simply reduce the cost of borrowed funds used for these purposes. Hollywood will continue to spend money – mostly on expensive talent who are increasingly unable to attract the audience numbers of their youth.

Demand that the freebies handed out a “gifting suites” and major Hollywood events be taxed as income to the recipients or that the sponsor pay the retail value equivalent of the local and state sales tax.

Start demanding that special perks, not available to the ordinary citizen, be eliminated in favor of spending the public’s money in a more prudent manner.

It is time to watch the public purse. If Hollywood wants to decry corporate welfare, let the clean up being with them.

-- steve

Quote  Example of the day: “We need a president who's fluent in at least one language.”  - Buck Henry (Major writer-director)

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:

States’ Film Production Incentives Cause Jitters - NYTimes.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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Bush: An Unbelievable Embarrassment

I was extremely saddened to learn that President Bush and his Administration has dishonored America. No, I am not speaking of the war in Iraq or any of the so-called domestic spying activities which may have taken place on his watch.

I am speaking of the fact that America will become dependent on the Russians to fly American astronauts and scientists to the International Space Station. To purchase seats like a common traveler buying airline tickets. To have our people train in Russia on Russian equipment in order to achieve the necessary flight qualifications. To provide an increasingly hostile foreign nation with the taxpayer’s  hard currency to fund their defense efforts while they continue to spread a malignant influence around the world. To allow our people to be subject to loosey-goosey engineering.

It seems that NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) will cease Space Shuttle operations in 2010 and resume them in 2015 when the new spacecraft is anticipated to arrive.

I, for one, do not like to be dependent on another sovereign power who has traditionally played an adversarial role in geopolitics.

I, for one, do not like the thought of thousands of trained personnel to be allowed to dissipate in the wind – to assume other jobs and to squander our “institutional intelligence.”

President Bush has been in office for eight years. Surely some advisor told him that this was happening. Or did he nominate another incompetent crony like Alberto Gonzales, Alphonso Jackson or Harriet Miers  to that position?

How could this happen?

It is said that the Chinese may even beat us with a landing on the Moon before we return to the lunar surface.

Politics be damned. We spend a fortune on military programs that do not work. We spent a little fortune on an electronic fence that deterred not a single illegal alien because it simply didn’t work.

Our engineering work is being outsourced to India, China, Taiwan and other places which places us in the embarrassing position of having to go, hat-in-hand, to simply meet schedules. Our technology is being exposed to our enemies and those who would counterfeit it for profit. We have lost a surprising amount of technical and manufacturing capability to overseas sources.

Why? Because someone thought that it was cost effective to outsource the development, manufacturing and distribution to foreign sources. Thus weakening the United States in the process.

This is unconscionable. Our enemies don’t have to invade the United States, greedy Wall Streeters will sell it to them on the cheap in return for a paltry commission.

It was no accident that the 9/11 attack was on our financial core. And now our own leftist, democrat politicians have almost finished the job of destroying our economy. All in the name of regaining the power to plunder the public treasury and engage in their social engineering experiments based on Karl Marx’s outmoded theories.

We seem so preoccupied with Hillary’s pantsuits, McCain’s story and Obama’s association with domestic terrorists, racists and crooks that no one is asking the hard questions – refusing to accept sound-bites and brush-offs in return.

The media is preoccupied with filling the 24/7 news cycle with celebrities, happy talk and edutainment – hard news is gone – replaced by the sensationalism that is about as filling as a whipped-cream pie.

I, for one, want to know exactly what we are going to do to improve our defense posture?  How we are going to rid the State Department of its effete snobs and return to pragmatic diplomacy?  How we are going to initiate an industrial renaissance which makes us as technology independent as we should be energy independent?

I want to know when the people will wise up and throw out the corrupt politicians on both sides of the aisle and start on the rehabilitation of America. And stop listening to people with charming accents and a history of being wrong?

Enough with the phony fear, uncertainty and doubt – the contrived panics which allow the special interests to raid our treasury with impunity. Enough with the phony science to enable another Enron-like trading scheme in carbon emissions credits. If you believe in global warming, do something to insure man’s survival from the hostile elements of nature – before you try to change planetary ecology, which may well be impossible to accomplish and measure in a hundred lifetimes.

Which one of our national candidates has the guts to throw doctors and others in jail for Medicare fraud which costs us an estimated billion dollars or so a year? No more no-plea bargains for corporations accompanied by “record fines.” Crooked people need to go to jail – accompanied by the accountants and lawyers who set the stage.

You want a revenue stream, a reduction in crime, a reduction in government: simply legalize drugs and prosecute those who offend – it’s done for alcohol, why not drugs?

In today’s culture, big law enforcement, big government and big law want crime to continue – at least the manageable type that keeps them in business.

What would Obama say to throwing gang members in jail and returning communities to their residents? Removing illegal aliens if the did not register and prove gainful employment? Restricting the rights and privileges of citizenship as it is done elsewhere in the world? Who has stood up and asked the candidates what are your national goals and how would you pursue them? What resources would you need? Who do you plan to appoint to office?

All legitimate questions – set aside when an Oprah or Brad Pitt make political pronouncements. Screw the celebrities – consider them to be entertaining clowns and let us get on with the real work of rebuilding America.

We are coming to the closing days of the campaign. I do not want to hear about Reverend Wright, William Ayers, Tony Rezko, the Hanoi Hilton and the rest of the crap that goes with it.

Tell me how you are going to rebuild America. Tell me your plan. Tell me how you will fund it. Tell me your assumptions on which you base your plans and projections.

Talk to America about what you will do – and who you plan to help you do it.

We have almost destroyed America’s ground warfare capability, our economy, our healthcare system – so Sarah Palin’s bantering does not mean diddly-squat to me.

You politicians have screwed up America. It is time to step up to a leadership position or get the hell out of the way.

And about President Bush – his time has come and gone. He will be judged by History. Let him retire to a gentleman rancher’s life in Texas and fade into the background.

We have serious issues confronting us – and if we do not meet the challenge, we will become a third-world European nation that speaks ChiSpanglish.

-- steve

Quote of the day: “The folly of mistaking a paradox for a discovery, a metaphor for a proof, a torrent of verbiage for a spring of capital truths, and oneself for an oracle, is inborn in us.”  - Paul Valery

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

“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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BILL O'REILLY EXPLODES AT BARNEY FRANK ...

UPDATE: 10-03-08  DID BARNEY FRANK'S BOYFRIEND INFLUENCE LEGISLATION?

Openly gay Representative Barney Frank's boyfriend was a Fannie Mae Executive allegedly in charge of promoting affordable housing. Did this influence Frank's votes? The answer can be found at "Did Barney Frank screw the system?"

Original blog entry ...

O’Reilly appears to go crazy on television and insults Senator Barney Frank

Self-styled protector of the people Bill O'Reilly goes crazy on radio and television – goes after Senator Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee about knowingly lying about the financial health of Fannie Mae.

And this is not the first time …

Calls Barney Frank disgusting, big fat toad … threatens physical violence …

Is it a ratings stunt?

Is Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly a bloviating ratings showboat, a dangerously unhinged host who distorts the facts , bloviating showboat or someone who is actually looking out for the “people?” 

As O'Reilly is fond of saying, “We report, You decide …”

“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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