All the News That's Fit to be Tied

I have an axe to grind, but unlike the New York Times, I freely admit it.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Taking Notice

After the month-long hiatus needed to recover from a bruising Presidential campaign, the presumptuousness of our new President, the auto-bailout failure and the Blagojevich mess in Illinois is forcing me back to the written word to express by frustration that the American people cannot see who their real enemies are. The most outstanding thing about the Obama Presidency so far is the presumptuousness of our new President. He is the first to create "The Office of the President Elect." This has never been done before. It goes to his own perception of his importance. For most Presidents’ it is the office that is important not the person in it. We can only hope that a President Obama can learn this lesson. The lust for his Presidency is so great that the political left is ready to discard the entire transition period so their chosen one could take over before Inauguration Day. The auto bailout of GM and Chrysler is an animal of another sort. Despite the protestations by the Democrats, especially the Senate Majority leader, that Republicans killed the bill, Harry Reid voted against it. For all his talk about supporting unions and being a regular guy he voted against the bailout and then tried to put it at the foot of the opposition. Why has the media overlooked that the most powerful Democrat in Congress voted against a bill his party was supposedly for. After Governor Rob Blagojevich's Gary Hart-like challenge to the media about his pubic and private ranting, the unsinkable Patrick Fitzgerald obliged him by releasing a 74-page complaint charging him with bribery and solicitation in trying to sell Obama's US Senate seat. And like all those before Blagojevich, Obama dropped him like a stone and never had any idea about the depth of the corruption of Blagojevich despite his efforts to elect Blagojevich twice and the incestousness of their staffs. David Axlerod, for example, worked for both. Rom Emmanuel also had a relationship with Blagojevich. Both have tried to cover their tracks to Blagojevich, but the media and the Justice Department are going to help lighten that path and Jesse Jackson Jr., may get dragged into the mess before being being selected to replace Obama in the Senate. This episode reflects two realities of modern political life. The first is that political corruption in Chicago is undeniable and the second is that the President-elect went 20 years in Chicago and never knew about Reverend Wright's anti-American ravings, Bill Ayers terrorist activities, Tony Rezko's influence peddling and now Blagojevich's corruption. Considering that these things are so painfully obvious to most people, even some Big D Democrats, how can we have confidence that Obama will know what's going on in the world when he occupies the White House?

Sunday, November 9, 2008

A Touch Of Class

You can tell the Democrats won the election because there has not been a single complaint about disenfranchised voters or voting machines. Despite their army of lawyers throughout the nation they did not file a single complaint after almost a year's worth of creating the environment to make such a contention possible. After two tumultuous elections in which democrats filed hundreds of complaints and used those to declare George W. Bush an illegitimate President, this year's elections did not elicit a single one. Over the last eight years the constant refrain about the stolen elections of 2000 and 2004 permitted the press to pound the President almost every day until his popularity was driven so low that he was never able to recover. Either the Democrats now have cheating down to an art form or these issues never really existed or both. You be the judge. You can also tell the Democrats won by the class shown by Republicans who despite their opposition to Obama are willing to give him a chance. Something the Democrats never gave to George Bush. Republicans seem willing to wait on his action to make any judgments about his policies. Even the President showed a great deal of class when he acknowledged Obama's victory and promised a smooth transition. Let's hope some of it rubs off.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Obama the First

The pretensions of the man that has ascended to the Presidency cannot be overstated. He began his victory clothed in the colors of black power. Like the ersatz presidential seal he used in his campaign, his latest attempt at shallow symbolism was yet another seal that reads Office of the President Elect. In his first press conference he was surrounded by adoring, fawning white men who are so over the hill it puts the lie to his entire hip and new campaign. Among the things he promised to address as President is the conflict concerning Iran's nuclear program. To be precise he said he would begin a new intense diplomatic effort with Iran. Where has he been? The world, as represented by the UN, as well as individual nations including the United States have been having an intense dialogue with Iran for more than a decade on this very topic. Something the press failed to point out during the entire election season. However, Iran's intransigence on the matter of nuclear might is unambiguous. It has lead to recriminations by many nations including sanctions, but every effort has so far failed to deter Iran’s belligerence. The other thing he promised to address immediately upon taking office in January is the economic crisis. In case he hasn't heard the government has already promised over a billion dollars to deal with the current situation. Actually if you include the $300 billion that the Congress appropriated for troubled mortgages in July of 2008 it’s almost $1.3 billion. He voted for both. Oh, on second thought he missed the July vote. He was too busy running for President. Now that he will take of the oath of office in January he will have to do the work. There will no voting present or not showing up. There will be no blaming the other guy. There will be no excuses. Unlike the Democrats who never accepted George Bush as President, Republicans for the most part will accept Barack Obama and give him a chance to get it right. And while he may continue to escape the scrutiny of the press he will not escape the scrutiny of citizens, both Democratic and Republican.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

An Inconvenient Formality

If you've been watching the election coverage you already know that your vote on Tuesday is just an inconvenient exercise for a media that has picked Barack Obama to win the Presidency by a landslide with as many as 370 electoral votes. They have also given the Senate a virtually filibuster-proof majority and the House another 30 seats making the Democrats very close to a two-thirds majority in the House. At the same time they are attempting to cover themselves by saying that the polls have great variability in the event the unthinkable happens. That is, if the Republicans have any success at all in the Presidency, the Senate or the House. It is quite stunning that such an overwhelming victory is being predicted in a country that the media readily admits is basically a 50/50 country. This merely proves that the media is in the tank and they hope to convince you to vote for Obama or stay home. If they succeed we will be treated to a self-fulfilling prophecy, but if we act as Americans normally do the media will be surprised. Americans are being asked to overlook many things to choose Obama and give the Democrats bigger majorities in the House and Senate. In the case of Obama you are being asked to overlook his questionable ties to Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, Tony Rezko, Bill Ayres, Rashid Khalidi and others. You are also being asked to overlook his failure to provide little more than a doctor's note for a medical record, the lock down of his academic records at Columbia and Harvard and his questionable birth documents. When you raise these issues they are treated as old news or racism. Will this persist if he is President? In the case of the House and Senate you are being asked to overlook an economy that has tanked since the Democrats came into power two years ago, as well as their opposition to the emerging victory in the war in Iraq. In addition, it is widely acknowledged that the current financial meltdown is the direct result of social engineering by the Democrats, as well as questionable accounting procedures by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to keep the bonuses rolling. It shouldn't be overlooked that George Bush was one of the first to voice his concerns about this as was John McCain and former Treasury Secretary John Snow. Democrats obstructed reform and the result was the mortgage meltdown. Readers of this blog know that John McCain is far from a perfect choice from my perspective. His willingness to betray his party for good media coverage is the mark of a people-pleaser, which is not always the best choice for a President. However, given the choices a vote for McCain is a vote that will give us breathing space until the next election when we may have some better choices.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

The Truth About Mortgage Foreclosures

It may come as a surprise to most people, but there is no national database of mortgage foreclosures that permit you to ascertain what the national rate of foreclosure is at any given time. There are a variety of county and state listings but they only reflect local variations in the economic substrate. Looking at the websites of firms such as RealtyTrac, the National Mortgage Association and others the following seems to emerge. Historically the home foreclosure rate has been about 1-percent per year. The delinquency rate has been about 5-percent per year. In 2008, despite all the hype, the financial meltdown and the sub-prime dilemma those rates have not changed significantly. Aside from local jumps in certain regions it is impossible to extrapolate those foreclosures into a national trend. It has been widely reported that 95-pecent of all homeowners are paying their mortgage on time. That is in keeping with what has been a historic trend. It is expected that one million homes will go into foreclosure this year. In a nation where there are 160 millions homes owned by individuals that is less than one percent. So why all the crisis-mongering? Could it be there is money to be made? Examining the websites of credit counselors and bankruptcy lawyers I found the following data. One out of every 114 homes face foreclosure; One out of every 445 homes face foreclosure; One out of every 775 homes face foreclosure. So who's right? If one million homes are foreclosed on in 2008 the percentage will be .00625 of all homes. That is 625 ten-thousandths; a very small number that is just over six-tenths of one percent, and is just over half the national average for the past few decades. I’m not sure on the math here but I think this comes out to 1 out of every 6,250 homes face foreclosure. This is not to say there is not a crisis. There is. Our government is both directly and indirectly responsible for the financial meltdown. There is no doubt that it had many willing partners in the brokerage, banking and mortgage industries, but the social engineering championed by both parties is the root cause. The willingness of those we elect to squander our tax dollars by providing mortgages to people who were not qualified and then to make it worse by permitting bankers to sell them in packages that could not be evaluated has lead us to the situation we are in. Throw the bums out has never had more meaning that it does today. It’s time for American voters to clean House, Senate and the Executive branch.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Don't Let the Mainstream Media Vote for You

During this election cycle things that defy the imagination happen every day in a way that demonstrates the depths to which the mainstream media would like to choose the next President and that man is Barack Obama. If you have any doubt about that you either have not been listening to the news or you have decided that you cannot face the truth. For example if your Chris Matthews of MS-NBC and you keep on insisting your fair, which is clear denial of what has transpired on the Philadelphia-hooker inspired Hardball, you cannot face the truth. If your Campbell Brown of CNN's No Bias, No Bull, and you think you can be fair after having exposed your preference for the Democratic ticket to all but the most dull-witted of human beings, you cannot face the truth either. If you think the line of inquiry to the candidates is equal and probing obviously you can be fooled pretty easy. If you think that ABC, NBC, CBS, The New York Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times, Newsweek and Time are not in the tank for Obama or covering the election fairly you are living in a fantasy world. I like Democrats that recognize the mainstream media ia an ally. They are at least honest, if nothing else. Over the past few days a few things have stood out. There is a rabid inquiry about how much money Sara Palin's clothes cost, but there is no analysis of her executive experience in relation to other candidates in the race. So the media has proved its tendency for its male reporters to be sexist and its female reporters to engage in cheap green-eyed cat fights. The media also showed their preference when it decided that Joe the Plumber was more dangerous to Barack Obama than Bill Ayres was to the Capitol and the Pentagon. So they tried to discredit Joe. They surrounded his house, ran a background check and tried to paint him a fool, so their light-skinned, nappy-headed pied piper could continue to lead the fools in his sham appearances that are programmed to look spontaneous, but are really staged like a Woodstock concert. Obama supporters are bussed to the rally site. They are given signs and assigned to congregate in groups around news cameras so their orchestrated applause and cheering sounds like a huge cheering crowd. Obama's rallies are not the only thing that is orchestrated. His failure to provide his medical, education and employment data is a serious obstacle that under normal circumstances the media would be demanding full disclosure as they have for John McCain and Sara Palin. Obama's ability to get this far without having provided such information has been orchestrated by a media establishment that is neither interested or even curious about investigating his background, his associations, his activities or even his life. They are content because he is new, shiny and black and they enjoy the possibility of sticking it in your face. They believe you are an antediluvian slug who managed to get the next step of evolution but lack the intellect of real human beings like them. Don’t stay home: Vote.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Powell to the People

Was anybody really surprised that Colin Powell came out in support of Barack Obama? After years of being called a "Tom" and a "house negro" Powell has finally made it back to the Promised Land. Maybe he's angling for a job as Obama's Secretary of State, where he could put into the practice the type of foreign policy he really believes in. After all, when he was Bush's Secretary of State he spent most of his time trying to sabotage the Bush foreign policy, with the exception of the UN speech that ruined Powell in the eyes of the liberals he so admired. Powell proved that Bush's attempt to bring a new bi-partisan tone to Washington was nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of Bush and a sign of weakness to the Democrats who used Bush's naiveté to savage him for eight years running. I hope that if McCain is elected he will not be foolish enough to think that the Democrats will partner with him unless he approves their legislation in total. As was noted in a previous post on all bills in which McCain partnered with Democrats he accepted their legislation in total, while rejecting the views of the Republican Party. Whether you choose McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy or McCain-Lieberman, they were complete concessions to the Democratic view of the world. Colin Powell cemented his betrayal of Bush when Powell's aid Richard Armitage leaked the name of Valerie Plame to the press and stood by while US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, whose desire to get Vice-President Dick Cheney outweighed his sense of justice, continued the prosecution of Scooter Libbey despite knowing the source of the leak. Fitzgerald knew Armitage leaked Valarie Plame's name to the press and Powell's failure to make Armitage go public was the ultimate betrayal of the President by someone he admired and trusted. Despite Powell's view of Obama as a "transitional" candidate the truth is Powell is endorsing Obama simply because he is black and Powell would like to again be in the good graces of the black political structure in America.

Monday, October 13, 2008

ACORN Registrations Must Be Disallowed

Today's decision by the Sixth Circuit, which overturned a decision requiring the Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Bruner to cooperate with local election boards to discover voter fraud, is a slap in the face to all Americans who rely on the legitimacy of the vote on Election Day. If we cannot be sure that the results of an election are honest how can we trust who wins? If government officials condone voter fraud because it is in favor their party we are in trouble. Americans must trust that election officials are honest. We must trust that they will not permit voter fraud or cheating of any kind. The decision of the Sixth Circuit and the actions of the Ohio Secretary of State do not engender the type of trust required, especially since ACORN is being investigated in 13 states for voter fraud. Today in Ohio one witness said ACORN registered him 73 times. The first step required to assure Americans that this election's vote count will be honest is to disallow every single voter registration submitted by ACORN is all fifty states. People who have a legitimate right to vote and registered with ACORN should be able to go to their local precincts and register.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The Acorn Don't Fall Too Far

Barack Obama's Freudian slip last week may have exposed an unforeseen vulnerability that could potentially cost him the election. That is if you believe the conventional wisdom that he has already won and your vote is just an inconvenient formality. ACORN, a radical socialist group that has been around since I was in college, has been active in many states registering primarily minority voters and primarily Democrats. They are now being investigated by the FBI and Justice Department in 13 states and the list is likely to get bigger before Election Day. The voter fraud is so obvious and rampant that you have to ask yourself is it possible our polls are so open to voter fraud? How many dead people do vote? How many people with fake names and addresses nullify the vote of legitimate voters? How many people vote who do not have the right to vote and how many vote more than once? In one voting precinct in Ohio 2100 of the 5000 applications submitted by ACORN were so obviously phony that all 5000 were put aside. When Barack Obama said "the acorn doesn't fall too far from the tree," at a rally last week he provided a glimpse into his psyche. First of all the expression is "the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree," which is reference to the behavior of a child being like their parent. Obama's substitution of acorn for apple tells us two things. First, his lack of familiarity with American colloquialisms gives credence to the idea that he a citizen of the world first and a citizen of America second. Secondly, his association with ACORN is a dangerous tie that can do more harm than Bill Ayres, Jeremiah Wright and Louis Farrakhan combined. There are many Americans that feel we may be a better country if we vote for a black man. There are many who think we won’t because our racism is so deep and wide. But there are only a few that will think it’s okay for a black man to win if he has engaged in or supported voter fraud. There are those for whom winning at any cost is the goal even if cheating to win is required. Voting is not a sport where playing close to the edge of the rules is acceptable. An illegal voting application is not pass interference and subject to interpretation. An illegal voting application is not some subjective standard. An illegal voting application is an affront to every legal voter because it nullifies their voice. ACORN has demonstrated that it is totally untrustworthy and has engaged in widespread voter fraud. Some ACORN members have already gone to jail in previous elections for voter fraud activities. It has been reported that Barack Obama has a longstanding relationship with ACORN in both their housing and voter registration activities. In the current election cycle he has paid an ACORN-related organization $800,000 to provide voter registration activities. It has been claimed that this was done in the primaries, but consider that the Clinton/Obama race was very close and if Obama took a state based on fraudulent applications it means the result could have been different. In addition any fraudulent applications registered in the primary can vote in the upcoming election. America is a fair county and most of its citizens are fair too. If Obama wins the election fairly most Americans will accept the result. This is of course in stark contrast to many Obama supporters who believe if he doesn’t win it’s because we are a racist country, which defies almost every rule of logic given the number of prominent and wealthy minorities in this country. Many Obama supporters have tried to use scare tactics. James Carville is reported to have implied there might be riots if Obama loses. Others have voiced the same sentiment in both more and less obvious ways, but the implications are the same. In this case you might say the “acorn don't fall too far from the tree.”

Saturday, October 11, 2008

One Way Logic

What amazes me is the forgone nature of the election if you just listen to the media and the constant parade of talking heads that are called upon for their opinions even though their thought patterns are almost totally illogical. For example one of my favorites is the claim that this is a 'democratic" year because President George Bush is so unpopular with ratings between 25 and 30-percent. Following that logic it would seem to me you would have to say with the approval rating of Congress at 15-percent it should be a Republican year in the House and Senate. Still, Democrats are saying they will widen their majority in both houses. If I understand their logic they win the Presidency because Bush is unpopular and they increase their seats in Congress because they are unpopular. Does that make sense to you too? Okay let's move on. Since the primary season the Democrats have tried to play the race card. Following their logic if Barack Obama doesn't win it's because everyone who doesn't vote for him is a racist. Even if you disagree with Obama on the issues not voting for him makes you a racist because if you are a Caucasian you cannot help being racist and if you are black and don't vote for Obama you’re just a Tom. Just today US House member and intellectual giant John Lewis (Georgia-D), who must have gotten hit in the head a few times too many, said John McCain's supporters were like now-deceased Governor George Wallace, raising the old images of segregation, race riots and police dogs as if they are relevant to this election. The Obama campaign said this was appropriate condemnation of McCain supporters but references to Obama buddy terrorist Bill Ayres were "baseless and profoundly irresponsible." The flawless one way logic of the Obama crowd strikes again. John McCain has been careful to not use race in any way, although he has been accused of doing so. McCain has been careful to take the high road to his own detriment. McCain must be careful to listen to the counsel of his allies and not be swayed by Democratic platitudes for a kinder and gentler election designed to engineer an Obama victory.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Handling The Truth

As we close in on Election Day the mainstream media is trying harder and harder to convince you that Obama's election is inevitable, that McCain can't win unless there is a terrorist attack and that you may as well accept it and vote for Obama or don't bother to vote at all. These are, for the most part, the same people who said the dot.com and housing bubbles would never burst, healthcare and homeownership are a right, Al Gore really won in 2000 and John Kerry was up by 11 points a month before the election in 2004. Wake up. You are being told that Obama's friendship with Bill Ayres, a man still dedicated to the overthrow of America and a devout socialist revolutionary is irrelevant. You are being asked to believe that Obama's ties to ACORN, the most notorious voter fraud organization in the nation, are an unimportant matter. You are being asked to overlook his 20-year relationship with black revolutionary theologist and separatist Jeremiah Wright. You are being asked to believe his Certification of Birth from Hawaii, which does not look like the type of birth certificate authored by any hospital in America that normally feature a baby's footprint and other unique characteristics, is sufficient. You are being asked to support him without knowing any specifics about his education other than his own statements. He has not provided degrees, transcripts, or any of the normal paper that such achievements normally produce. In contrast to the hundreds of pages of medical records provided by John McCain, Obama has submitted a one-page doctor’s note to certify his health. You are being asked to believe that a man with these questionable associations who refuses to provide the full array of information voters really need to make up their minds is an acceptable choice to lead the country. If you read my blog you know I am not exactly thrilled with the prospect of John McCain as President either, but at least I can be sure he not a socialist revolutionary that perceives capitalism as the culprit rather than the individuals who lied, cheated and stole from our government and our uniformed citizens who ignored the old adage that “if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.” America may well be at a crossroad once traveled by Russia in 1917. Prior to the Russian revolution the gap between the haves and the have-nots was wide. After the revolution the Socialist’s looted the country, killed those who did not agree with the movement and drove the country into financial ruin and civil disorder in 73 years. Essentially they left their grandchildren a poor, corrupt country that never recovered until capitalism was allowed to flourish in the 1990’s. Which future do you want to leave to your grandchildren?

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

We Need Another Choice

Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, Capitalist or Socialist, Fascist or Libertarian, you can only be disappointed by tonight's debate. Both candidates showed why neither should be allowed anywhere near the White House. On healthcare Obama said that if you like your current policy you can keep it, but did not say how he would cover those without it. Assuming that he would subsidize healthcare for those who can't afford it, why would those who pay full price keep theirs when they could have cheaper healthcare under Obama? On mortgage support John McCain said he would use taxpayer money to buy foreclosed mortgages and renegotiate the mortgage as well as the price of the home. Seems a little unfair to the ninety percent of Americans who have paid their mortgages on time, did not fall for the sub-prime bait and did without the extras that those who refinanced themselves into a tremendous hole acquired. In both cases these men are saying that if you have worked hard, kept your commitments and acted responsibly your reward is to see those who have acted the opposite subsidized with the taxes you send to the government. On foreign policy both want to send troops, only the places are different. After eight years of criticizing George Bush for acting preemptively in Iraq, Obama stated policy is to act preemptively by analyzing and reacting to threats before they occur. The irony of all this is that the financial crisis, which was made possible by the US Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission, escaped real scrutiny. On the whole McCain provided more substantive answers, while Obama tended to talk around the questions. However, McCain's constant use of the phrase "my friend" was very annoying, while at the same time Obama's feeling that the debate rules did not apply to him was also annoying. I am extremely disgusted with both men since in my view they think of taxpayers as some sort of host that they can suck dry. What is even worse is that pundits, commentators and partisan spinners think we're stupid. I’m sure I’ll vote on election day, but I will not be happy with the outcome no matter who wins.

Any Questions?

If your one of those people who has some questions for the Commission on Presidential Debates you might as well forget it. They answer to no one. Their website does not feature an address, a phone number or an email address for contacting them. The Commission of Presidential Debates is two men and a few secretaries. The fact that they self identify as one Repubican and one Democrat provides little comfort considering their choices of partners, moderators and questioners. Their partners have included CNN and the MSN crew, both of whom are so in tank they'll need crying towels if Obama loses. This year the moderators have included Jim Leher, Gwen Ifill, Tom Browkaw and Bob Schieffer, bonfide liberals all. There has been no effort to choose a more centrist moderator like Chris Wallace or an equally conservative moderator like Brit Hume, who would at least provide some balance to what have clearly been liberal presentations of questions. We will see just how undecided their audience and myspace questioners are tonight. Watch and be your own judge.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Obama's Millstones

There is talk that John McCain is going to turn up the temperature in tomorrow's Presidential Debate. Reports are that he will go after Obama's associations with anti-American types like the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayres. His unsavory connections to indicted real estate developer Tony Rezko and the widely discredited voting organization ACORN should also be put under the microscope. These are all juicy and legitimate targets because it paints a picture of Barack that the mainstream media has failed to present to the public. However, McCain must be careful to not make this the entire spectrum of his attack. He must connect Obama to the current financial crises in a way that demonstrates how his failure to demand or support reform is a direct cause of the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. McCain must point out that President Bush, former Treasury Secretary John Snow and McCain himself called for reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage standards for several years before the crisis became critical to the nation's economy. During Obama's two years as a US Senator he was the second largest beneficiary of campaign contributions, second only to Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Obama received over $125,000. Obama's alliance with Dodd, Barney Frank and other Democrats successfully stifled any reform of the giant GSE's. This is the millstone that can be used to end the Obama candidacy. At the same time McCain must present his own financial plan that includes lower taxes, a thorough investigation of mortgage lenders and Wall Street bankers, reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the creation of a Resolution Trust type organization to manage the bailout.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Palin Rides Again

The dust from the Ifill-tainted Vice Presidential Debate has settled and Palin proved her mettle to many who thought she was out of her depth and in deep trouble. For the time being, at least, she has risen to the occasion. Now the Republicans, especially John McCain, must take off the gloves now and go in for the kill. He must connect Obama to losing the war against terror, the financial crisis created by the mismanagement of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in which Obama is inextricably linked, and Obama's association with disreputable characters whose dislike for the country is apparent. If you watched you already know that Biden fumbled his way through and Palin deftly moved the discussion to her advantage at every turn. Conservatives can only hope that McCain finally gets it. He will not get a break from a press that is in the tank for Obama. They do not like him and they will not be fair. The Democrats, who used to love McCain, hate him too. If you carefully examine McCain's bi-partisan efforts (McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy) you will see that he merely conceded 90-percent of his conservative principles to sign a liberal bill. Liberals gave up very little in those two bills as evidenced by the democratic 527 movement and the continued obstruction of immigration reform and the border fence. At any rate I hope someone on McCain’s staff can get through to him. He must press Obama on Tuesday. He must highlight Obama’s anti-American comments and ask for an explanation. He must explore Obama’s relationship with the Chris Dodd, Barney Frank and Franklin Raines, and their complicity in blocking reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And last but not least, McCain must make Obama explain how he will change what he has called the “failed financial system of the last eight years.” In case you missed it that system is capitalism and it has made America the most prosperous and innovative nation in the world. Despite our current financial woes the poorest people in America live better than 75 percent of all the people in the world. McCain can not afford to think that Obama and his supporters will be fair. They will cut his throat if they get the chance. He must do the same.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

John McCain's White Horse

With some minor exceptions media pundits tended to play down the importance of McCain's ride to Washington and try to portray it as grandstanding and politicizing the situation. On Tuesday Senate Leader Harry Reid said the bill would not pass unless McCain provided support. On Wednesday, when McCain said he would return to the Capital to work on the bill Reid said he would just get in the way. On Thursday, the Democrats called a news conference to say they had a bill and McCain's efforts would not be helpful. However, in truth there was no deal and it became clear all too quickly. McCain arrived; the President called Obama to the White House, and once everyone was in the same room the truth emerged. There was no deal. House Republicans were not included in the discussion and the bill did not have enough Republican support in the Senate to survive a cloture vote. One thing is clear. The Democrats could have passed this bill without the House Republicans, but quite frankly, they didn't and still don't have the guts. Even as late as tonight the Speaker of the House is saying she must have a substantial number of House Republicans on board or else. Why you may ask? It's because despite the necessity of this bill the public's perception of it is piss poor and no one, it seems, has really made an effort to explain it. I will probably continue with the fine points of the bill for most of the week, but I want to return to McCain's white horse. Despite the way McCain's efforts were slammed by a liberal-leaning press, his effort to force the Democrats to include the House Republicans in the discussion was very successful and has given the American people an opportunity to see this bill in its entirety on the internet. Conservative Republicans have much angst with the bill, Democrats do as well. There is every indication that the bill will work in so far as the market is concerned if the Congress would stop fooling around and pass it. McCain’s foray forced this bill into the light. A place it would not have ever seen if left to the Administration or the Democrats.

Musings from W314

When your stuck in a hospital bed in the middle of what some are calling a massive financial meltdown and you don’t have a connection to the internet so you can’t update your blog or communicate to the external media it permits you to pick-up on some details that fall victim to partisan politics, presidential politics and just divisive politics in general. What follows here are observations that have been brought to light in the past few days. They have been given short shrift by the mainstream and cable media, and shrill shrift by politicians. It’s Thursday night. The White House Meeting ended badly with both Republicans and Democrats showing their true colors. Both are choosing to ignore the real solution to the current problem and instead are trying to use the situation to fast-forward their own political philosophies. Republicans want less government intervention and Democrats want more. The President wants the money with few ties. Unfortunately he only spent a minute telling the American people what will happen if the deal collapses. So I want to take a little bit of time to tell you how this will effect your everyday life if it fails or is turned into a lightless Christmas tree and empty cupboard by December. When you walk into the supermarket there are thousands of products in high quantities. You pick what you want, you pay and go home. You don’t wonder how it got there and quite frankly that is the beauty of our economy. The same is true for most large, medium and even small retailers who must use credit to finance inventory and it is true for most. Unfortunately most people won’t get it until the shelves are not being refilled as fast as they use to be. On the other hand, the Treasury and Democratic solutions seemed okay at first, but that was because they never included the Republicans. When the Republicans forwarded their own plan the meeting ended with Democrat House Member Barney Frank (D-Mass) apparently blowing his top and saying that everything was okay until the Republicans stuck their noses in. Hello Mr. Frank. They may be in the minority, but the do have a voice. The saga continues….
Other Notes:
John McCain suspended his campaign events to perform his duties as a sitting senator and de facto leader to voice the view his party. Barack Obama invited his colleagues to call him if they needed him, until the President forced his hand and invited him to Washington.
This week all charges against disgraced representative Mark Foley (R-Florida) were dismissed. He was forced to resign because of sexually-tinged emails allegedly sent to House Pages. He was never accused of having sex with young pages like former and deceased Massachusetts Senator Gerry Studds, who was greeted with a standing ovation by the Democratic Caucus when he returned after an ethics investigation in which it was determined he had sex with young men but did not violate the spirit of the house rules. This week also NY Representative and Chairman of Ways and Means Charley Rangel has admitted to several income tax violations, illegal use of the House Garage and falsifying his annual ethics filings. The Democratic caucus voted he should not give up his chairmanship.
Florida Representative Al C. Hastings said that any one who would support toting guns and skinning moose don’t care too much about blacks and Jews. (If you capitalize Jews must you capitalize Black?)
CBS’s Katy Couric took out the long nails today asking McCain’s VP choice for specific examples of government regulation he supported besides reform of Fannie Mae and Freedie Mac. Obviously this demonstrates why she in longer the anchor of CBS news. Katy, Katy, pull in your claws.
Marc Lamont Hill, a PH.D from Temple University is a pro-black, pro-black rasict who puts every problem in the black community on the foot of white people, white government and the white world. Hill is just another emerging dull-minded luminary like the aging Cornell West whose intellectual chicanery had the academic elite on their knees for years.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Expert, Schmexpert, we need a solution.

As the administration, the Congress and other kibitzers try to seal the deal on the trillion dollar bailout there are two items of importance missing from the so-far proposed solutions; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The solution, which is being danced around, is to dissolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Create an organization like the Resolution Trust, which was created for the Savings and Loan debacle, to sell the good Freddie and Fannie holdings to investment firms or banks at a small discount and buy up the poor holdings at a greater discount. This will help the housing market find a bottom and at least open up the possibility of a housing recovery. More importantly it will take the Federal Government out of the mortgage business. The Congressional Chairman of the House and Senate Banking Committees should be forced to resign as should their Republican predecessors. The Banking Committees battled and defeated every effort to reform Fannie and Freddie when wiser heads saw the writing on the wall. They should not “Pass Go,” but “Go Directly to Jail.” As noted in a previous column and agreed with by most experts, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the U.S. Congress have led us to this disastrous moment and their only response so far is to bicker over how to spend the taxpayer money that must be injected to save the system. The problems with Fannie and Freddie did not begin last week. Some may argue that the problems started with the inception of the organizations, which were started with taxpayer money and permitted to operate as quasi-government mortgage agencies. Later when there was lots of money in the till the Congress turned Fannie and Freddie loose on the mortgage market by making them "private" companies with stock, chief executives, boards of directors and shareholders. I would say it was more recent. Truth is Fannie and Freddie operated okay for while. Having more money than anybody else they held over 40-percent of all the mortgages in America. At some point along the way the goals of Fannie and Freddie were modified. It has become a cesspool of influence peddling and a dumping ground for administration officials after their party leaves the White House. In fact, we could see Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson emerge as a major player in both organizations when President Bush leaves the White House next year. Jamie Gorelick and Franklin Raines of the Clinton Administration were paid over $100 million to lead Fannie and Freddie, and Raines was president of Fannie Mae when Barack Obama became the largest second largest receiver of contributions from the mortgage giant. Raines has gone on to become a stealth economic advisor to the candidate, as his public presence is no longer of any value. Like other Barack advisors and friends (Ayres, Rezco, Pastor Wright, Louis Farrakhan and others) those who get caught in the media light must be thrown under the bus or made silent and invisible for the good of the candidate. In the 90’s it was decided that removing racism from the mortgage market would be the new goal and Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac were perfectly happy to participate. Through Congressional regulation and financial pressure banks began to provide mortgages in neighborhoods that had been previously locked out through the process of “redlining.” It was an honest enough mistake. Most banks thought they would never see their money from these redlined districts and the Congress felt it was guaranteeing these mortgages so the banks should comply anyway. So they did. The result was an increase in foreclosures, but it was not enough to ring the alarm bells yet. The something more drastic occurred. In order to provide the home-ownership component of the American dream Congressional leaders encouraged to Fannie and Freddie to finance the no-money down, no-income check adjustable rate mortgage and constructed regulations with the help of HUD to package these sub-prime mortgages and sell them to investors in the form of mortgage bundles. This action encouraged mercenary and legitimate real estate and mortgage brokers to sell homes to people who would not have been previously qualified giving rise to the late-nineties housing bubble that pushed up housing prices around the nation. The bubble has now burst because of that old axiom: If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. However American citizens may still have a say if they call their Congressman fast enough.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

You took the ride, now take the slide

Peel away the layers of the current economic onion. Deep in the center of this Wall Street bailout you find the foul stench of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These two entities, which are controlled and protected by the U.S. Congress, are almost the sole cause of the collapse of Merrill-Lynch, Bear Sterns, AIG and the additional dominoes that will fall in the near term. These two former government agencies permitted to operate like private companies on taxpayer money peddled the dream of home ownership like a heroin dealer to people who lacked the means to pay for the long term. But like a typical government bureaucracy they were not forced to be responsible for their poor decisions. Through the miraculous procedure of federal regulation they were permitted to sell these poor-quality mortgages in bundles to investors flush with cash from the demand for savings and planning financial instruments like IRA's, Keogh's and pension funds. And naturally since Fannie and Freddie were government backed buyers knew in advance that when, not if, it went bad the government would have to come to rescue or be exposed as the culprit. It is well known that every effort to reform Fannie and Freddie was stymied by the Congress. It is also well known that Fannie and Freddie were political repositories for the loyal allies of Presidents, Representatives and Senators. One of its latest members, Franklin Raines, a former Bill Clinton budget director, was paid almost $90 million over six years. He is a major economic policy advisor to Barack Obama, who was second only to Chris Dodd of Connecticut, in political contributions from Fannie and Freddie. I think that if most Americans knew the complete story of Fannie and Freddie they would be truly outraged. The behavior of our Congress is far worse than any of the offenses for which they assail Wall Street. Their attempt to regulate the stock and bond market, as well as the banking and mortgage markets demonstrates the same heavy-handedness as their attempts to control the behavior of American citizens through the tax code. Don't be fooled by the diatribes of the political class. The current crisis falls directly at the feet of Congress. Hold them to account when its your turn to pull the lever. The action, or lack thereof, that has caused the value of your house to slide is the responsibility of the U.S. Congress, its support of Fannie and Freddie and its failure to be good stewards of taxpayer money. The $200 billion for Fannie and Freddie, the $85 billion for AIG is chump change compared to the $3 trillion of your money they spend every year. To quote Hilary Clinton, "it's time to wake up and smell the coffee."

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Okay, Everybody Back to Work

The conventions are over. Enough has been said about them to fill a hundred books so let's move on to the important stuff. Both parties have laid it out for the voters and now its time for the voters to decide. The Democrats selected Obama and Biden. The Republicans selected McCain and Palin. Both are dissatisfied. With less than two months to go this is the time when most people start to pay serious attention to the Presidential election. In that regard ABC news may have blundered when it turned Charlie Gibson loose on Sarah Palin. His obvious attempts to paint her as not "ready for prime time" were more than obvious. Apparently Gibson wanted to let McCain know he was much more knowledgeable about U.S. foreign policy and heads of state than Palin. With his glasses low on his nose, in the fashion of FOX's Brit Hume, Gibson looked down sympathetically at the young thing near the tip of his nose. On the other hand, NBC news may have made a self-saving gesture in the demotion of Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann. Insiders (other reporters) were saying it was Brian Williams, Tom Brokaw and Andrea Mitchell that complained to upper management, but the truth is that they are just as biased as Olbermann and Matthews, and just slightly more subtle, but obvious never-the-less. The conservatives have an uphill battle against the liberal-leaning, mainstream media and the PR machine of the Academic and Hollywood elite, but the task is not hopeless, just daunting,

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Joe Biden Passes Bayh

You won't hear it anywhere else, but Indiana Senator Evan (Birch Evans) Bayh was Obama's real first choice. His mistake was to assume Bayh would serve. As a result he, once again, spoke too soon and announced his plans to name his VP choice. When Bayh turned him down, Obama had to punt and picked US Senator Joe Biden (Delaware-D). His other choices (Tim Kaine or Chet Edwards) would have never cut the mustard with the voting public. When this news came it was just another rumor, but the passing of time has given credence to this chain of events. The night prior to the announcement news crew's had staked out the homes of the two most obvious candidates, Biden and Bayh. In the early evening Joe Biden told a news crew that he was not the nominee and it sounded pretty final. The camera out front showed there were lights on and some activity inside. In contrast Bayh's house was dark. Only the entrance lights were on. He is not a stupid man. He knew he was in the VP mix and like Joe Biden he would have been home waiting for the call if he did not know he had been picked. However, Barack's self-assuredness about a November victory can be downright scary to some people and Evan Bayh probably started looking for the door when he found himself in the same room alone with the man. Obama really believes he was chosen and that was enough of a reason for Bayh to pass. He'll wait until 2012 when he can team up with Hilary or run himself. Biden, being the faithful Democrat that he is, stepped into the breach like a good soldier should and saved Barack from an embarrassment that would have meant the end of his campaign. If it became known that his personal choice for VP refused to serve with him, the super-delegates at the convention would not be very far behind and Obama could lose the nomination to the only other candidate entered in the convention; Hilary Clinton. Most people don't expect this can happen, but there is little doubt that such an event would create plenty of buzz and excitement for the Democratic Party. The coverage would be 24/7 until the election and the cable industry would start new shows just to cover the story. There are many in the “big tent” that want a Democratic sweep no matter who is at the top and there is a bad feeling that Barack may not be able to get them there. How long will it remain a secret?

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Insults Among Friends Go Unnoticed

If there was ever any doubt about the slant of taxpayer financed National Public Radio news it was clarified earlier this week when Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean dropped the race card in an interview on NPR. When talking about the alleged advantage minorities have in the Democratic Party he said "women and minorities do better in the Democratic Party than they do in the white, I mean Republican party." Is there anyone besides other Democrats that think this was a mistake? It is not very likely. The Democrats have been playing the race card since Obama has become a serious player in the run-up to the election. As the veneer cracks on the thin Obama topcoat his policy weaknesses and political naiveté become more obvious. Convincing America that not voting for Obama is racist, which is being done by the candidate, his supporters and the mainstream media, is the only way Obama wins the November election. His only real policy is everything President Bush supports he opposes. It is the stock Democratic Party position for the last eight years. The polls, for the little they are worth, show the race between Obama and McCain to be very close. Much closer than it should be, if past history is any guide. That’s why Dean resorted to the race card. That is why he made a “staged” mistake that only a moron could miss. It was not an accident, a slip of the tongue, Freudian or otherwise, or an attempt to be clever. It was racist pure and simple, and as is typically the case, not one major news source asked Mr. Dean why he said it or held him to account for doing so. In the event there are people who don't know. NPR is broadcast on more radio stations nationwide than Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity combined. What's more is that you pay for it even if you don't listen.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Picken up the Pieces

When Boone Pickens first aired his wind plan he was applauded as an oil man who had seen the light. However, as we learned more about his plan we discovered that Mr. Pickens has invested 40 billion in windmill power and wants the American people to bail him out via the government subsidy route. As the truth emerges about the not so pure motives of Boone Pickens other truths also emerge. Until now wind power has been considered an inferior form of power generation because there is no wind (on average across the planet) 65-percent of the time. Comparatively speaking the output of wind is incredibly inferior to oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear power. Providing wind-power generated electric for Washington D.C. would require covering the entire state of Delaware with windmills as well as a fossil fuel backup system. And that of course, is the other dirty little secret. Every currently proposed alternative energy plan uses a fossil-fuel based backup system in the event the alternative fails. (See The New Narrative, July 16, Hot Air from Boone Pickens.) There is also another dirty little secret. Speaker of The House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) recently invested a hefty amount of money in the stock of Clean Energy Fuels Corporation, a company formerly called Pickens Fuel and specializing in the development of natural gas as a fuel for cars. It is plain that people like Boone Pickens and Nancy Pelosi both rely on the mainstream press to overlook these "inconvenient" facts so the public will assume their motives to be for the public good when in fact they are for personal gain first and the public good second.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Buyers Remorse at the Democratic Convention

There's a whispering campaign in the inner sanctum of the Democratic Party. There are those that think that Obama is going down in flames and there is very little the party apparatus can do to save him. He has committed the mortal sin of politics; believing your own press. He has acted as if he was chosen by a higher power. He has already begun renovating the White House. He is already planning policy for his second term. However, there are those who are planning to derail his first term, among them Hilary Rodham Clinton. She hasn't lost track of the true delegate count, even if Obama still takes politicians at their word. In real terms Barack is only 69 committed delegates ahead of Hilary. He has 1661 and she has 1592. These are the only real votes that have been cast. Every other vote for either candidate is either projected or promised and will not occur until the convention. Since 2,118 delegates are currently needed to win the nomination neither can really be declared the winner at this point. As Ralph Carpenter once said "The opera ain't over 'til the fat lady sings." The Clinton campaign has already begun preparations for contesting the nomination. They have declared that Clinton delegates must be counted. To count them her name must be offered in nomination. She has declared that the party will be more united if this takes place. And, she is right. The U.S. Presidency is won in the Electoral College and by every analysis of the electoral map she starts and ends the election with more electoral votes than Obama. (see TheNewNarrative, June 4, May 27 and May 25). For almost a year the mainstream media has been selling the idea that 2008 will be a Democratic year. Democrats will win the Presidency, gain seats in the House, have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and generally run the Republican Party out of Washington. They have tried hard to convince Americans that if they want to be with the winner they might as well vote for Obama. To date they have failed. All the influence peddling by the liberal media has failed put Obama in the position to win. Hilary knows it and there’s blood in the water.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

It's Gonna Take a Miracle

What most Americans want now is another choice. As John McCain senior moments his way toward the election and Obama flames out like a meteor meeting the force of the atmosphere, we are all hoping that by virtue of some miracle we may have better candidates to vote for in November. Republicans can't really be happy voting for a man who seems a better fit for the Bluedog Democrats than the Republican Party, and Democrats, even Progressive ones, can't be happy with a guy whose best friends seem to hate America, but is the obvious choice if you want to push the country further to the left. As we approach the party conventions we are, as usual, hoping for miracles. Republican voters would like another shot at picking a standard bearer for the Party. Many feel that cross-party primary voters had a huge effect on the nomination process giving McCain victories in some states he did not deserve. Even when Romney dropped out of the race he was less than 100 delegates behind McCain. In Romney's case he reduced that margin right out of the box by beating McCain in primaries in which he was no longer a candidate. Some think he will inevitably get the VP slot or a shot at the Presidency in 2012 whether McCain wins this time or not. Be that as it may, many would like a better option. There are some Democrats who would like to see a rebellion at the Democratic Convention. While the nomination of Obama steam rolls its way forward and he behaves as if he has already won, if you discount the votes of the super-delegates neither Clinton nor Obama have enough elected delegates to win the nomination outright. Even though Obama can claim victory based on those who have publicly voiced their support, the actual votes have not been cast. There are some who believe that Obama's presumptuousness may be his downfall. His Messiah-like comments, along with his claim to be a citizen of the world, and the obviously transparent attempts at fooling the public are common knowledge in the electorate at large. Even Obama's supporters are not fooled. A shift in 15% of the super delegates could throw the nomination to Hilary Clinton, however unlikely that seems. It would certainly dampen the hopes of Obama’s magic circus. America needs a miracle to be saved from the new Messiah and the Old Man and the Sea.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Mainstream Media's Sin of Ommission

Nothing could be more offensive than an obvious sin of omission that is designed to achieve a deceitful result. The omission in this case is that Obama made his "citizen of the world speech" in Berlin during the break of a free concert featuring more than one of Germany's most popular bands. Any comparison between the soaring rhetoric of Kennedy or Reagan and Obama in Berlin is purely fictional. The result is that Americans are lead to believe by the mainstreamers that this was some great moment of triumph by the young and audacious Barack, when in fact it was the bands and the music that drew most of the audience. The Obama Campaign took advantage by making an appearence, which was not appreciated by all including German Chancellor Angela Merkal. To an American watching the video of the event it's clear that most of the audience is just standing or sitting and not cheering or clapping. However the actual video has not been shown that much these past few days except the sections that have American flags and sign written in English. It seemed to matter to no one. It wasn't mentioned in The New Times Op-ed section. They apparently missed it on Fox News Sunday, Meet the Press, This Week, Face the Nation, Chris Matthews, the McLaughlin Group, Late Edition or Like It Is. A few people mentioned it late last week after I wrote about it. I won’t mention who because they are already famous enough. The reason I wrote about it is because I am incensed by the idea that America has become so cynical that we permit people to sell the Presidency the way companies sell new cars. Obama is a public relations creation. He is scripted to the letter. He is the ultimate pitch man. There is no doubt he is talented, intelligent, handsome, athletic and compassionate. He is the perfect blend of all the best personality traits wrapped up in one person. He embodies the evolution of a human being. We should be in awe of his perfection and absolution and elect him President so he can help us feel better about ourselves and our country. The mainstream media is desperately trying to convince those tuned into their frequencies that the race is over. It is a Democratic year and not only will Obama be President, but the Congress will have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and almost two-thirds in the House. Obama and the Democrats will be unstoppable. With their new found power they will do all the things they have been promising for years. Americans, provided they are not too rich, will have cradle to grave care provided by the Federal government. There are some detractors from this theory, but they are few and far between. Most of the mainstream media’s editorial and pundit personalities are all in conjunction because most them vote for and financially support the Democratic Party. For them the election is already over and the vote is just a formality to make their dream a reality. They will be fooled again.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Jimmy from Brooklyn is Right

Most people wouldn't know who Jimmy from Brooklyn is, but if you live in the New York area and are a fan of talk radio Jimmy is no stranger to you. An avid talk show caller, Jimmy from Brooklyn believes there is an active, working communist, socialist party that is operating world wide with ruling the planet as its ultimate goal. His calls to talk show hosts in many stations provide background on many of today's politically active people in politics, media and academia. The tentacles to the communist, socialist movement are complex and incontrovertible. His mastery of the subject is quite extraordinary and his ability to demonstrate the connection between the "party" and many of the voices you hear reflected in our media and academia is nothing short of amazing. Jimmy has provided lots of information about the influence of the communist movement in organizations like MoveOn.Org and other so-called intellectual think tanks the Environmental Defense Fund and militant groups like Green Peace. It is clear that there are active socialist cells in every major city, as well as most colleges and universities in the United States and Europe, as well as in the developing world. If you examine the language of these various groups you can see their common origin. The socialist movement has camouflaged itself into the opposition movements of governments throughout the world trying to change them from the inside because socialism's attempt to conquer the world from the outside was foiled in the 30’s by Roosevelt, in the 50's by Joe McCarthy and in the 80's by Ronald Reagan. Since the 60’s the Socialists have successfully infiltrated its members into our government and education institutions. Saul Alinksy and Noam Chomski are the two major socialist intellectuals that have influenced many people in our country and represent the intellect behind the anti-Americanism that is so prevalent in our society today. You can see the activity of the American and world socialist movement at every protest against America here and abroad. Everyday young, naive, disenchanted people are taken in by the movement and many remain a part of the socialist movement forever. For example, Alinksy believed that organizing the poor and the powerless (the supposed goal of all socialism) could be done by “community organizing” which was started in the Chicago stockyards by Alinksy himself. Presidential race watchers need only to dwell on the fact that Barack Obama cites his experience as a “community organizer” in Chicago as experience for the Presidency. Obama is a socialist thinker through and through. A cursory examination of his goals and policy statements reflect fealty to the socialist view of the world. Jimmy from Brooklyn is right so its up to the rest of us to not be wrong.

Obama's Traveling Medicine Show Storms Berlin

Barack Obama's reception in Berlin, Germany proves that Germans can be as laizzes faire as Americans when it comes to analyzing the contents of a political speech. I keep asking myself and my friends why people can't see that the Obama Show is just a put-up job. The whole thing is one big fake American Idol Gong Show. It’s the little things like how could 200,000 German-speaking teenagers, Obama entourage members and young European socialists manage to know when to applaud in a speech given in English with no translation. A speech given in a German-speaking country, and filled with American colloquial phrases, which are likely to be misunderstood by people who only learn American English in books. The answer is that the rally is staged. Obama attends a free concert with two of Germany's most popular groups designed to attract lots of young people who show up to hear the music. Obama entourage members and supporters strategically plant themselves near news crew cameras and microphones. At predetermined phrases in Obama's speech, which is always written and never extemporaneous, entourage members and supporters scream, applaud and whistle loudly so it sounds as if the whole stadium is cheering, when in fact is is spread out little pockets of people in the vicinity of the cameras and microphones. The results are an impression that the place is going crazy over Obama when in fact most of them just came to hear the music. Such are the techniques of the Traveling Medicine Show. It is an art from our romantic past when a salesman could ride from town to town in search of those who could be convinced that the elixir of change would make them better only to discover that when the effects wears off they are still themselves. Being a citizen of the world sounds fine after a bottle of Obama’s Magic Change Elixir, but is that the kind of man we want as President of the United States?

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Meet the Press Stays Liberal Infomercial

NBC's Meet the Press has had a few weeks to adjust to the passing of Tim Russert. It provided them with an opportunity to adjust their coverage from partial to fair and they chose instead to continue their broadcasting of liberal talking points from the environment to politics. Today for example, the first 45 minutes featured former vice-president Al Gore continuing his battle against fossil fuels, and the last 15 minutes featured the Democratic talking points for the week, as espoused by NBC Political Director Chuck Todd and White House reporter David Gregory. Tom Brokaw has demonstrated his absolute inability to ask, not just tough, but any questions to Gore, Todd or Gregory. He let them all pontificate without a single objection and never followed up on any statement. For example when Al Gore talked about wind mill and solar energy Brokaw neglected to point out to Gore that it was reported this week that both types require fossil or nuclear backup due to the limits of how they work. The most obvious example is the absence of wind and sunlight. When he implied that California's forest fires were a result of global warming he was not challenged on the failure of clear cutting dead tress and brush from California's forests, which has been championed by environmental groups for several decades. The clearing of brush and dead tress was the main way in which the damaged caused by summer fires was controlled prior to the emergence of America's Environmental lobby. Al Gore was never pursued on his position that American's must pay the price of high gas because we must move on entirely to alternative energy. Gore offers not a single solution to the price of gas except not to use it or pay the escalating cost. He thinks we should eschew fossil fuel despite the fact that he consumes 10 times as much as the average American with his 22-room house, fleet of cars and private jets. He insists that there are firms successfully producing energy in alternative forms, failing to note that the energy is more expensive, less efficient and more difficult to distribute throughout the country. His view that Americans will be able to create enough energy in their individual homes using wind and solar, and then sell the power back his theoretical nationwide power grid is a just a pipe dream. Further more, that power grid will feature coal, oil and natural gas as its backbone for the next 50 years. Two overlooked items about the use of fossil fuel. In the past 30 years American car companies have reduced the pollution created by cars by 90 percent. In the past 20 years new technologies have emerged for environmentally-friendly oil and gas drilling techniques, clean coal scrubbing and oil-extraction from shale. All these technologies make oil, gas and coal more efficient, less expensive and more environment friendly than they were in the now distant past. Moving on to Chuck Todd and David Gregory we learn, if you can call it that, that the Republicans are shaking in their boots and for all intents and purposes the election is just a formality to the anointing of Barack Obama. Never mind that the election or even the party conventions have not taken place, Todd and Gregory think that Obama's Traveling Medicine Show (See June 28th) is well on it's way to marketing the elixir of change to America. Despite Gregory’s well-known anti-Republican views and Chuck Todd’s obvious infatuation with Obama, Brokaw demonstrated his absolute ignorance about environmental issues and politics. For example when Al Gore said he was elected (in 2000) and did not serve in a discussion about General Grant’s famous quote, “If nominated I will not run, and if elected I will not serve,” Brokaw failed to challenge that statement and treated it as humor. In regard to the environmental discussion Brokaw permitted Gore to take him by the hand and walk him down the path of least resistance. Despite the growing opposition and evidence to the contrary demonstrated just this week by the American Physical Society’s rejection of the human-caused global warming theory and other items previously mentioned Brokaw offered not one tough question, which demonstrates a failure to look outside his own researchers for evidence that was easily available on the web on major magazine, newspaper and television websites. Once again not a single challenging question was asked of any participant on Meet the Press during the entire show. It is becoming fairly obvious that NBC executives have decided they like the declining and abysmal ratings of their cable outlets (MS-NBC and CNBC) so much they want to bring them to the network as well.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

I Love You Nigga

Hey! It's N-word time again and who better to ask who can say it and who can't than another nigga. It started with Jesse Jackson in an oblique reference to Presidential aspirant Barack Obama. Only last year Jackson urged the black community to ban the word. It continued yesterday when Whoopi Goldberg claimed that by reclaiming the word black people were diminishing its power over them. Now as I understand it, being Caucasian, the epithet "nigger" has been transformed into the term of endearment "nigga," and is used by black people to express both endearment and derision depending on the context. Something like the way people use the work “fuck.” If a Caucasian uses the word it is spelled nigger. If Whoopi or another black person uses it is spelled nigga. Some blacks, and there are many who, will tell you they have heard the word all their lives. These days the word “dog” and the word “nigga” are used interchangeably as exemplified by the movie Training Day and the TV show American Idol. It is used by their friends and their families as a term of endearment and derision, and by their enemies as an insult. Ask Whoopi, she'll tell you. Richard Pryor was a champion of the word nigga and one of the first to reclaim it. His Sugar Ray Robinson routine when something like this: "If a white man and a black man are fighting, I'll always be rooting for the nigga," or "if a black man walked through my neighborhood with clothes like the ones you have on (referring to someone in the audience) saying be black and be proud, my parents would say that nigga's crazy." Yes, black people use it all the time and its okay for them, but not for others who aren’t black. Well the truth is it's not okay. And while you cannot ban words you can acculturate to a society that does not use the word. With rare exceptions it is not a word used any longer by Caucasians to describe black people in civil or public conversation. The civil rights movement and broad based Caucasian support for equality has virtually eliminated the word from the everyday vocabulary of most Caucasians. There are some exceptions, but in the grand scheme of things the word is not used very much by Caucasians. The word has not been forgotten. We just don't use it. For many it's nothing more than good manners. For Whoopi Goldberg and other black people to browbeat others into submission using the word nigger as a weapon is a poor choice. As well, using the word nigga as a term of endearment is even a poorer choice. There is nothing endearing or comforting about the word. Whether you say "I love you nigga" or "he's just a nigger with a checkbook," it's wrong. The word should be relegated to the wastebasket of history. It should be remain a remnant of a horrible past. It should not be part of a progressive future. For any black person to rationalize using the word for any purpose is shortsighted. Black people and Caucasians must remember the past, but we must not live in it.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Hot Air from Boone Pickens

Boone Pickens the wealthy, self-proclaimed "oil man" is now claiming that we must switch from oil and use natural gas and wind power in order to be free from the our addiction to fossil fuel. His TV ad that features his down-to-earth Texas drawl and the implication that he has a solution is pleasant, reassuring, dishonest and absolute hogwash. Here's why. Natural gas is a by-product of oil and coal exploration and drilling. Except for cow farts and swamp gas, neither of which can be captured or harnessed in enough quantities to create an assured energy supply, the presence of natural gas occurs where there is oil or coal. So it seems rather silly to explore for oil and coal and then only use the smallest portion of the energy that is discovered in this process. Oil and coal are far more efficient than any alternative so far developed and that includes all bio-fuels including ethanol, switch grass, and whatever other crops can be converted into fuel. And while Pickens touts wind-power as an alternative he fails to say that all wind fields must be backed up by a fossil fuel facility equal to 90-percent of its electrical output to make up for the time when there is no wind, which is 70-percent of the time in most places on the earth. And finally, aside from the fact that pure battery power is not up to the task of providing the kind of output required for all our vehicles, charging those batteries will be done on the electrical grid, which will increase the output requirement of all of our electrical plants. In almost every case the use of fossil fuel is required to backup the alternative fuel silver bullet. We will not escape our need for oil and coal no matter what kind of advances we make in alternative fuel research. We will be using oil for at least the next fifty years, so the alternative fuel, anti-oil crowd has to get over itself and let America drill and produce oil, coal, natural gas and nuclear energy or we will find ourselves as destitute as a third world nation, while China and India pass us by using the same energy we disdain. Wake up or walk and be cold.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Jesse Was Only Half Right

When Jesse Jackson sounded off on Obama today most people focused on the "I'd like to rip his nuts off" comment rather than his "talking down to black people" comment, which goes to the heart of Obama's problem in the upcoming election. That's assuming of course that the presumptive nominee gets the nomination, which to some seems more and more less likely every day. Since Jesse is black and his interest is "black" America, he has failed to notice that Obama "talks down" to everyone. He talks down to "bitter Americans who cling to their guns and religion." He talks down to "people who can only say "merci beaucoup." He talks down to people who would make English the official language of America while ignoring that French in the official language in France, Italian is the official language in Italy and Spanish is the official language in Spain and Mexico. The simple truth is that Obama is an elitist of the worst kind. He thinks that we are all so ignorant and enamored by gold and trinkets that he can tell us anything and we will be caught in his spell. His arrogance is only outweighed by his audacity. Does he think that he can dump every friend he ever had and get the American people to believe that he won’t dump them when he has to? He dumped the Reverend Wright. He dumped William Ayres. He dumped Tony Rezco. He dumped his Grandmother. He dumped his supporters when he supported FISA and the Supreme Court decision against DC's gun ban. He will betray his supporters on Iraq. What makes you think he won’t dump you when its required to be elected President.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Obama's Traveling Medicine Show

What better place to show some unity than in a place called Unity, New Hampshire? It's so simple, so comprehensible, even a child could make the connection; but is there one? When Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama met in Unity to show unity Obama supporters were mesmerized, which is not unusual for his fans that swoon, fall and faint and in his presence. They are so enamored that it doesn't really matter what he says. He need not be consistent, honest or even logical. He just needs to speak and they are entranced. In a town of just 1700, four thousand people showed up at the Unity rally so it begs the questions; who are these people? How did they all get there? A total of 214 votes were cast in Unity on Primary day: One-hundred and seven for each candidate. Obviously this is indicative of the party split between the two. The total population of Unity was 1716 in 2006. There is no reason to suspect that is has grown to 4000 since the local census was taken. So who are these 4,000 who showed up at the rally? How did they get there? Why were their signs so perfect? How come they all cheered at the same time? Why did they all boo at the same time? It was a show. A put-up job for television and radio, so Americans would think that the Democrats were united and Obama was the choice for all Democrats, so every Democrat should support him. It was a show like every other Obama rally that takes place in the country. You've seem them in little towns in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa and other places whose populations swell on Obama days. Supporters are bussed in, given signs and coached on when to clap, when the cheer, when to ooh, when to ahh, when to yell no, when to yell yes, when to say O-BA-MA, O-BA-MA. It is the Obama Traveling Medicine Show and like the medicine peddlers of the 1800's, who traveled in covered wagon caravans with entertainers, barkers, and shills, Obama is traveling America peddling the elixir of change, the promise of feeling better tomorrow and the promise of a better you. All you have to do is drink the elixir that will catapult Obama to the White House.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Haditha-Seventh Marine Exonerated

After three years of courts martials and hundreds of presumptive articles about guilt, Lt Col Jeffrey Chessani, has been exonerated of any wrongdoing in the famed Haditha Massacre, where 24 U.S. Marines were said to have killed unarmed Iraqi men, women and children. Only one Marine remains and there is little reason to expect him to be convicted based on the previous courts martials. The massacre claim was made by a "self-styled local journalist and human-rights activist, Taher Thabet al-Hadithi." His claims have all proved to be virtually false. The truth was that Iraqi militants used old men, women and children as cover to fire upon American troops and then lied to the world. When the marines approached the building, it was cleared of weapons and the civilians were left inside to serve as collateral damage for the PR war being waged in the press against America. Have we heard from the righteous and indignant U.S. Representative John Murtha (D-PA), who proclaimed the Marines committed "murder in cold blood?" Have we heard from the liberal hordes (Matthews, Schieffer, McGlaughlin, Stephenopoulis, Blizter, Cafferty, et all.) who were so quick to join in the condemnation chorus but are silent now? The answer is NO because they are wrong. They were wrong then and they are wrong now. Our soldiers are the best people America has. These young and often grown-up men and women, who love their country and understand the responsibility of freedom and vigilance, are the fruit of our nation and we should be grateful for their service. Semper Fi Marine

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Russert Followup

Many readers were not thrilled when I inadvertently teed-off on Tim Russert, when what I really wanted to do was tee-off on that Sunday morning over-the-top eulogy on NBC. I and millions of others who like to be informed watch Meet the Press nearly every week and that is a bigger compliment to him than any of the flattery-laden platitudes put forth by the panel like he could have been the Pope or the President. It’s easy to see why they admired Russert so much. He was more successful and respected than any of them and if they could say Russert was as important to them as the Pope or the President is to others, then someday, when their times comes someone will say that about them. Wishful thinking on their parts, and they know who they are. Anyway it was the fairness comments they kept making that got on my nerves. I’ll leave it at that.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Tim Russert-More than just a God

Tim Russert's many fans will miss his slant on the news, but the elevation of him from mere mortal to God was more than most could bear listening to, and the implication that there was no slant is just wishful thinking. George Stephanopoulos, Bob Schieffer, and Chris Wallace must have been insulted when Russert was described by his colleagues as the smartest, brightest and best of the lot of Sunday political show analysts. Others like Tom Brokaw and Wolf Blitzer are just too stupid to know they were being insulted. Today’s running of Meet the Press, which included the normal group of analysts (LOL) and commentators like James Carville, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Mike Barnacle, Gwen Ifill, Maria Schriver, Meet the Press producer Betsy Fischer, Mary Matalin, and the previously mentioned Tom Brokaw, was a cacophony of platitudes by a group of people who all think alike, with Matalin being the single exception. It’s not surprising that when liberals gather they all perceive themselves as fair. It was so one-sided that even the gracious Mary Matalin decided to lay off when they called Russert fair to both sides of the political isle. Anyone who really watched the show knows that Russert was not fair to both sides. His liberal leanings showed through his questions. Questions to conservatives and Republicans were always more pointed, more aggressive and politically tinged with the built-in animosity and superiority that liberals reserve for conservatives, unless that Republican or conservative is a Republican in Name Only (RINO) like John McCain, Chuck Hagel or Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was fairer when compared to others in his line of work. He was able to do it with less nastiness than say David Gregory, more finesse than George Stephanopoulos and certainly with more intellect than most of his counterparts, but to say he was equally aggressive to conservatives and liberals is dishonest. Russert was a Democrat through and through. He always made sure that any conservative panelist on his show was outnumbered three to one, so the analysis would always be dominated by the liberal perspective. The gushing of Goodwin, the brown-nosing of Barnacle and Carville, the phony reverence of Gwen Ifill was like sour milk. The continuous presence on his Sunday panel of racist Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post and NBC Political Director Chuck Todd, was a testament to his political leanings. His admirers thought so much of him that they said he could have been a Catholic Cardinal, the Pope or even President of the United States if he merely wanted to. However, his humility and desire to serve the public was so great that getting paid $15 million a year to be a TV reporter and anaylst was good enough for him. Given that I suppose he could have cured cancer, found life on Mars and united the Republicans and Democrats, if it merely paid more. Radio show talker Sean Hannity related a story to his audience in which he said that Russert once donated $10,000 to a Scholarship fund that provides financial supoport for the children of American service men and women. If you make $50,000 a year Russert's donation would be the equivalent of donating $33 to your favorite charity. I hope that readers won’t take this the wrong way, but the canonizing of Russert is over the top. He was good, but he wasn’t a God.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

A Bad Week for Bush

Today had to represent the culmination of a bad week for President Bush and a bad day for the American People. Three things took place this week that when viewed separately are bad enough, but when viewed in the context of current events represent an even more serious situation. The week the US Congress tried to end the war in Iraq and failed. The legally blind Governor of New York, David Patterson, flew flags statewide for three days because of the death of three soldiers in Iraq, never having previously flown them for the same reason. Though permissible half-mast rules dictate that flying flags at half mast is to be taken seriously (See http://www.gettysburgflag.com/FlyFlagHalfMast.php) and not used to bolster a political argument. Today the Supreme Court voted to provide illegal enemy combatants being held by the US military in other countries with the legal rights of people in America. Is liberal hatred for this President so poisonous that they would risk a bill that was doomed to fail, fly flags on NY state government buildings at half-mast for three days during the Congressional debate as a show of support of the legislation and rule by fiat that the safety of Americans is not as important as the freedom of its enemies. Sadly the answer is YES.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Clinton, Obama, the Real Count

Have you noticed that while the media is proclaiming Obama has gained "presumptive nominee" status many reports include adjectives like "effectively," or virtually assured" to describe his win. That is because in reality neither Obama nor Clinton has enough pledged delegates to win the nomination outright. Obama has 1,764 pledged delegates and Clinton has 1640. Without super-delegates, who actually do not vote until the convention, the Democrats will have a brokered convention unless Hilary resigns from the campaign and takes second best. Super-delegates can declare support, but it only matters psychologically. They still have to vote, and just because they claim to back such and such a candidate there is no reason why they cannot change their mind. If the remaining undeclared supers support Hilary and for some reason 100 of Obama’s supers change their mind Hilary can win the big prize. And, while that does not seem probable at the moment stranger things have happened. This being case it makes you ask yourself why they are telling you over and over again. Why is it such a big headline that Hilary is suspending her campaign? The primaries are finished so there's nothing to do except wait for the convention when the real action will begin, unless she quits now. So we’re guessing that Hilary will wait until at least the first ballot to see what happens no matter what she may say publicly. If another photo of Obama at a Palestinian fundraiser emerges, stronger connections to Toney Rezco are established, or questions continue to emerge about his past associations, he could be fatally flawed no matter what kind of historic breakthrough his candidacy represents.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Hilary/Obama Dilemma

Yesterday I penned an extremely long and complicated column about the Electoral College in an effort to capsulate the following:
A) Hilary won seven states in the Primary that the Democrats won in 2004.
B) Obama won seven states in the Primary that the Democrats won in 2004.
C) Hilary won 121 electoral votes, Obama won 52.
D) If you were a Super-Delegate what would you do?

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Electoral Votes, Anyone?

Doing the math is one of our favorite occupations here at The New Narrative and this week we think that the math puts the lie to the mainstream media's belief that Obama will win the Democratic nomination and further that he will be the next President. We were correct in our prediction that neither Hilary nor Obama would have enough votes to win the nomination by the end of the primary season, so we should be taken seriously on this as well. Obviously the mainstreamers want to pick the President because, like the Democratic super delegates who do not completely trust the elected delegates, the mainstream media does not trust the voters to make the right choice. So they have put forth statements based on polls that they designed. For example, Hilary dominates among lower class, uneducated women voters, while Obama is the choice of the well-educated, more intelligent voters. Which would you rather be? There are also other implied attitudes. If you are a white voter and do not want to vote for Obama, it's possible that you may a have a reason that is not racist, but it’s not very likely. There have been many obvious attempts at making your mind up for you through the use of polls, surveys, etc, and The New Narrative has been talking about them for months. Our readers, at least, have an idea of who is trying to pull what strings in the upcoming election. As the Democratic nomination battle nears the end of the Primary contests and the rules committee takes on the issue of seating the Michigan and Florida delegations, the New Narrative has been looking at the Electoral Vote contest that will decide who will be President on Inauguration Day in 2009. There are 536 votes in the Electoral College and 270 are required to win the Presidency. The November election is a winner take all contest in most states. If the Democrats have more votes in a state they get all the Electoral votes of that state. The same is true for Republicans. There are one or two proportional representation states, which have so far proved to be inconsequential. We decided to look at the results of the Democratic Primary in Electoral College terms. Before we start take note our results do no reflect the South Dakota and Montana primary contests, the Florida and Michigan situation and the Texas Primary, which is confusing because it counts both voting and caucuses in a weighted manner. Obama has won 29 Primary contests including the District of Columbia. Hilary has won 17. If they won the same states in the general election Hilary would have 230 electoral votes and Obama would have 227. More importantly, if you look at the vote count of states the Democrats won in the 2004 Presidential race you will see that Hilary would have 121 electoral votes compared to Obama’s 52. In the all-important battle-ground states, which the Republicans and Democrats split with 76 electoral votes each; neither candidate gets enough electoral votes to win. Continuing this analysis we discover that although Obama has won 29 states in the primary, only 12 of those states went Democrat in the general election providing a paltry 52 electoral votes. The remaining 175 electoral votes went to George W. Bush. In Hilary’s case the Democrats won 7 of the 17 states she won in the general election, but they were high-value electoral states like California (55), New York (31), Pennsylvania (21), Ohio (20), New Jersey (15) and Massachusetts (12). Her seven victories provide 121 electoral votes in all. The other 109 went to George W. Bush. The New Narrative cannot be the only analysts looking at these numbers. If the map of the battle ground states remains the same, and there is no reason to expect it to change dramatically, and Texas, Florida, Michigan, South Dakota and Montana vote as they did on 2004, its very hard to see how Obama can win the electoral college vote nationally, whereas a contest that features Hilary as the candidate has a greater potential for a Democratic win. Either way the Democrats must hold all the states they won in 2004, plus pick up a combination of states that includes Florida, Ohio or Virginia, noting that some analysts are saying Pennsylvania will be in play for the Republicans in the upcoming election. If the Democrats hold they will have 249 votes, not counting Michigan (17), which they carried in 2004. If the Republicans hold they will have 245, not counting Florida (27). So almost any way you slice this pie the election will be close and the traditional battle ground states will make the difference. The question for the Democrats is which candidate is likely to do best in the Electoral College contest? Hilary has won all the big Democratic electoral prizes (New York-31, and California-55), with the exception of Illinois (21). In 2004, the Republicans won the Electoral College contest 286 to 252. Does choosing Obama put any state that went Democrat in 2004 at risk? If so Hilary will have to be the Democratic choice for 2008.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Hot Air About Gas

The U.S. Senate called in Oil Executives yesterday (May 21) to grill them on high oil prices, as well as embarrass and humiliate them as much as possible. The irony of course is that it should be the other way around. The oil executives should be grilling the Senators about why they choose to prevent oil exploration and production on 97% of available federal property? Why haven't they reined the regulation happy Departments of Environmental Protection and Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service? Why haven't they acted against states that pursue policies that are contrary to the national interest? How can you (the Senators) accuse oil companies that make between 5 and 10 cents a gallon of being profit hungry, while the U.S. government, through tax laws created by the House and Senate makes 60 cents a gallon? Senator Dick Durbin's bellicose attack on the oil industry, which he has tried to cripple his entire career, should have been directed at the Senate , the House and the President. It is our Congress that makes the laws that have driven up the price of gas. Their common loathing for oil, coal and nuclear power is not in the interest of the country or the people. If, as is sometimes charged, the oil companies run the country, why haven't they been able to explore, drill and exploit our own oil reserves? Fact is, they don't run the country or control the Congress. The President of Shell Oil made $12 to 15 million last year. Senator Durbin wanted to know if he felt bad because people were paying so much for gas. It made me wonder if Durbin wanted to call in Tiger Woods to find out if he felt bad that his $20-million dollar endorsement with Nike was driving up the price of Nike products. After all you could fill up twice for the price of pair of cheap Nike’s. Maybe he should call in the starting lineup of the New York Yankees or the LA Lakers. Maybe he should call in Dale Earnhardt, Jr or Jeff Gordon and find out if they feel bad about how much gas is used in car races around the country? The oil company executives all seemed to make $10-15 million a year. They run giant companies, provide jobs for millions of people, take tremendous risks and provide one of the most valuable commodities in the world. Tiger Woods plays golf. Dale and Jeff drive race cars. The Yankees play baseball and the Lakers play basketball. They all make more money than the oil executives called in by the Senate, and yet these athletes would all being doing something else if there was no oil. There would be no graphite for club shafts that help Woods hit a golf ball, which also wouldn’t exist without oil, 300 yards off the tee. There would be no fiberglass for race cars or plastic for batting helmets. There would no nylon for uniforms or Plexiglas for backboards. The list of things we would not have without oil is an index of living in what we often call the modern world. And contrary to what many people think our wealth does not make people in other countries poor. In many of the world’s poorest countries life is ruled from the end of a gun barrel. Those with biggest guns make the rules. Fortunately our Founding Fathers knew this and provided us with a set of laws to protect us against the tyranny of government and permit us to resolve our differences over a table instead of a gun barrel. The policy decisions made by our own government are what have driven up the price gas far more than any demand by China and India. The knowledge that Congress will continue to support policies that prevent exploration and drilling, will only encourage the oil-producing nations to tighten the noose. High prices in America subsidize the price of gas in these nations. In case you haven’t checked lately, gas prices are lower in North Africa, the Middle East and Iran, as well as in Venezuela. If the Congress fails to permit drilling it is turning its back on the American People and spitting on the very Constitution it is sworn to uphold.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Just Another Conspiracy Theory

Americans loves conspiracies. We love them so much that on any given day you can find a conspiracy to support almost any theory. So given the high price of gas and oil consider the following. The major oil producers in Mexico, South America, Canada, The Middle East and Russia all provide financial support to America's environmental movement, which works in conjunction with our Congress to develop regulations that make oil exploration and production impossible. They know that by keeping us out of the game the price of oil will continue to rise. They pay the environmentalist's because it helps them get richer, and the environmental groups keep the pressure on the Congress at the expense of the American people. Look at the evidence to support this theory. Despite our own financial survival we no longer explore for oil in our own country or just off our borders. We no longer build petroleum refineries, nuclear power plants or take any action to relieve the world-wide oil shortage by providing more oil, natural gas or atomic energy. It is no great secret that in a world that is continually modernizing that the demand for oil will continue to increase for several more decades. We all hope that the magic bullet of pollution-free power will emerge, but until it does, or if it doesn't, do we want the price of oil to continue to rise. Obviously there are forces at work to make sure America is not part of the solution. Our government, both federal and state, has worked for more than two decades to make us totally dependent on foreign oil and now they expect us to believe they want to make us independent by talking about pollution free power. We rely on this hope of pollution free power, as espoused by environmental groups, at five times the price of oil and a lot less efficient. We would, it seems, rather cover a state in high-priced wind turbines that will take hundreds of years to pay for themselves rather than build a 25-acre nuclear power plant that will provide more energy at a cheaper cost. It seems our government is intent on helping the world become poorer by not exploiting the oil resources in our own country. And all the while the oil-producing countries, the market speculators and the environmental movement are laughing all the way to the bank. As I noted in a previous column, if America's industrial might was permitted to solve this problem the oil-producers that pay the environmentalists to keep us out of the game would be running for cover and the price of gas would drop like a stone.