Monthly Archives: March 2009
Don’t know about some of you, but *I* feel like a Browncoat these days.
Firefly — If Youre Going Through Hell –
My fave Joss Whedon TV series followed by the excellent movie, married with a relatively recent song. It was on YouTube for quite awhile early last year, but for now this is just about the only place you can find it.
Quote Of The Day
Has clarifying the distinction between fascism and socialism really added to most peoples’ understanding of what the Obama administration is doing? All this does is drag the specter of Hitler into the conversation. And the problem with Hitler was not his industrial policy–I mean, okay, fine, Hitler’s industrial policy bad, right, but I could forgive him for that, you know? The thing that really bothers me about Hitler was the genocide. And I’m about as sure as I can be that Obama has no plans to round up millions of people, put them in camps, and find various creative ways to torture them to death.
If he does, look, I take it all back. Use the F-word freely. Hell, I’ll hide you in our spare bedroom when the state police squads come looking for you. But until then, can we stick to less inflammatory terms? Surely creative and intelligent adults can find ways to critique Obama without pointing out that Hitler was also a very effective speaker.
Megan McArdle, The Atlantic, who uses it strictly about fascism, but I think it applies to a lot of the Obama comparisons. They’re histrionic, but more importantly, they make light work of some serious monsters. I’m sure there are at least a few kids who don’t understand the difference.
Hypocrisy Test
If you think that getting rid of Rick Wagoner is dangerous socialism and that Obama should have renegotiated the agreement with the UAW… you might be a hypocrite.
If you are pissed about people attacking Rush Limbaugh but called Michael Moore a traitor… you might be a hypocrite.
If you are call yourself anti-deficit and pro-tax cuts… you might be a hypocrite.
If you think the cost of American labor is too high but that company-provided healthcare is the best system… you might be a hypocrite.
If you think Keith Olbermann is a blowhard but Glenn Beck is a breath of fresh air… you might be a hypocrite. (and vice versa, to be fair)
If you are outraged by people defaulting on their mortgages but pointed to the housing market as a positive economic indicator two years ago… you might be a hypocrite.
If you bitched about the GM bailout while driving around in your Hummer/GMC truck… you might be a hypocrite.
If you are outraged by Bernie Madoff but still think Allen Stanford deserves a fair shake… you might be a hypocrite.
And just one to be fair, cause I’m sure this is total Beast bait at the very least…
If you complained of the iconic symbols and backdrops used by the Bush administration but love the idea of the stimulus logo (guilty)… you might be a hypocrite.
All this being said, political discourse is often nothing but hypocrisy in this country. The policy differences are all real, but the political battles are just two sides of a double-headed coin.
UPDATE: Mo’s mention of the “porkulus” bill made me remember another one:
If you want us to be energy independent but are against funding mass transit… you might be a hypocrite.
Liberty and Tyranny
“The Modern Liberal believes in the supremacy of the state, thereby rejecting the principles of the Declaration and the order of the civil society, in whole or part. For the Modern Liberal, the individual’s imperfection and personal pursuits impede the objective of a utopian state. In this, Modern Liberalism promotes what French historian Alexis de Tocqueville described as a soft tyranny, which becomes increasingly more oppressive, potentially leading to a hard tyranny (some form of totalitarianism). As the word ‘liberal’ is, in its classical meaning, the opposite of authoritarian, it is more accurate, therefore, to characterize the Modern Liberal as a Statist. … The Statist … knows that despite his successful usurpations, enough citizens are still skeptical and even distrustful of politicians and government that he cannot force his will all at once. Thus he marches in incremental steps, adjusting his pace as circumstances dictate. Today his pace is more rapid, for resistance has slowed. … The Conservative does not despise government. He despises tyranny. This is precisely why the Conservative reveres the Constitution and insists on adherence to it. An ‘effective’ government that operates outside its constitutional limitations is a dangerous government. … The Conservative is alarmed by the ascent of a soft tyranny…. He knows that liberty once lost is rarely recovered. He knows of the decline and eventual failure of past republics. And he knows that the best prescription for addressing society’s real and perceived ailments is not to further empower an already enormous federal government beyond its constitutional limits, but to return to the founding principles. A free people living in a civil society, working in self-interested cooperation, and a government operating within the limits of its authority promote more prosperity, opportunity, and happiness for more people than any alternative. Conservatism is the antidote to tyranny precisely because its principles are the founding principles.”
–author and radio talk-show host Mark Levin in his book “Liberty and Tyranny”
Saturday Night Cover Songs: Jeff Buckley-Hallelujah
Right now there is a version of this Leonard Cohen classic handled quite nicely by British Pop Idol Alexandra Burke. I don’t think it holds a candle to the Jeff Buckley version. What do you think?
I am extremely angry with Obama
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a plan to set up a new “volunteer corps” and consider whether “a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people” should be developed.
The legislation also refers to “uniforms” that would be worn by the “volunteers” and the “need” for a “public service academy, a 4-year institution” to “focus on training” future “public sector leaders.” The training, apparently, would occur at “campuses.” – WND
This is unacceptable. My wife and I have already discussed this and there is no way we will cooperate and turn over our children for indoctrination by the state. This is really an attempt for the state to get their hands on the millions of children who are (wisely) home schooled or sent to private schools and an attempt by progressives to further the concept of the de facto one party state. The parents of these children have already managed to bypass the open ideological indoctrination of multiculturalism, diversity, tolerance and inclusiveness that already nearly completely permeates the public education system from kindergarten through graduate school. We are not servants to the state and mandatory service to the state is not “volunteerism” no matter how much you want to sugar coat it. I’m disgusted and appalled by the whole concept and it is a widening stain on the concepts of freedom and liberty.
On Congressional hypocrisy
I’ve always enjoyed reading many of the Conclubbers here but I especially enjoy the nuanced and dynamic views of PG, DFV and Jeff. They are generally tolerant people that are intolerant of political corruption on both sides of the aisle. I don’t always agree with them, but at least they are not so firmly entrenched in their ideology that they refuse to see the corruption in the guys that they vote for. Contrast that with Wes or Phoenecian. Their guys can generally do no wrong and are bastions of light in a dark and cloudy world.
I’m reminded of this because I believe that for the Republicans to rise again, they must be willing to completely clean house and return to their core ideology of lower taxes and less spending. They must also stand firm against the overwhelming tide of special interest, earmarks, kickbacks, double standards and big government. And it’s clear that the current crop is just not up to the task:
The U.S. Senate last month passed a measure limiting “luxury” spending for corporate travel by recipients of federal bailout funds. Two weeks later, about two dozen senators of both parties left town for political meetings on the Florida coast.
Hotel-industry leaders are seizing on those trips as ammunition in a campaign to get lawmakers and Obama administration to tone down the rhetoric against business travel, which they say is adding to their economic difficulties.
“It’s just the hypocrisy,” said Frank Fahrenkopf, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee who is president of the Washington-based American Gaming Association, one of the groups urging politicians to moderate the criticism. “We’ve got to have Washington stop beating up on us.”
If both Republicans and Democrats want to enact their agenda through a legitimate process that involves debate, brokering and the formation of coalitions, then have at it. If the Dems want to raise taxes, raise spending, and create more reliance of government, then so be it. I don’t like it, but that is the spoils of victory for them. But for Congressmen to engage in public relations campaigns intent on destroying the images and structures of corporations that largely followed policies put in place by Congress, that is a problem. For representatives from both sides of the aisle to rail against corruption while engaging in those same behaviors rubs me wrong.
And at this point, there are only a few people willing to criticize members of their chosen ideology for such hypocrisy.
AIG bonuses show just how stupid some really are
Sometimes the populist rhetoric of the morons sinks so low that one has to wonder how much longer our country can sustain itself. Such is the case of the AIG execs who are now being hounded in their own homes by busloads of jackasses hellbent on making life more equal for all.
A busload of activists representing working-class and middle-class families paid visits Saturday to the lavish homes of American International Group executives to protest the tens of millions of dollars in bonuses awarded by the struggling insurance company after it received a massive federal bailout.
First, to say these idiots “represent working-class and middle-class families” is laughable. They sure as hell don’t represent me. And while I’m not thrilled with the bonus situation, I would like those self-annointed representatives to find their way over to the homes of congressional Democrats that failed to write provisions into the bailout that prevented such bonuses. At least direct your anger at the appropriate party! But what is really indicative of the entire scenario are these words from Emeline Bravo-Blackport:
We think $165 million could be used in a more appropriate way to keep people in their homes, create more jobs and health care,” said Emeline Bravo-Blackport, a gardener.
She marveled at AIG executive James Haas’ colonial house, which has stunning views of a golf course and the Long Island Sound. The Fairfield house is “another part of the world” from her life in nearby Bridgeport, which flirted with bankruptcy in the 1990s and still struggles with foreclosures and unemployment.
“Lord, I wonder what it’s like to live in a house that size,” she said.
Golly! I wonder what it’s like to attend an Ivy League school, get the best education in the world, and then magically end up with a high paying job! Where is the justice? I just wish those rich folks would invest their salaries and bonuses into money-making ventures like government run health care and keeping people who can’t afford their homes from going into foreclosure! And there certainly are no Democratic politicians that live in colonial homes with golf course views.
At the end of the day, there is nothing more pathetic than those who seek to cut into the successes of the rich just to satisfy their Freudian Id, “workers of the world unite” mentality. It doesn’t work. Just ask Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Cuba, and now Fairfield, Connecticut.
Saturday Night Cover Songs: JMT-Wait Until Tommorow
Guess I’ve been on a blues kick recently. Here is the John Mayer Trio covering Jimi’s Wait Until Tommorow. Is it ok to say I like John Mayer? at least this incarnation.
“Progressivism”
A view on “Progressivism” and Liberalism by Michael P. Federici:
The philosophical fathers of progressivism include Francis Bacon, Hegel, Marx, Comte, Rousseau, Condoret, Bentham, Mill and Edward Bellamy… One of the main characteristics of these thinkers’ progressivism was its pseudo spirituality, or relation of humanity. In this substitute religion, faith in a transcendent moral order is replaced by faith in nature, science, technology, and reason, This faith also involves a sort of humanitarian sentimentalism that attempts to satisfy an inner desire to serve mankind and the world by engaging in reforms meant to uplift the less fortunate. Yet these reforms are not intended to effect inner spiritual reform but rather to change institutions and thus improve society through outer reform. Conservatives argue that progressive humanitarianism is both a diversion and escape from individual moral responsibility.
Progressivism also includes the idea that human perfectibility is possible in history. This doctrine hold that it is unnecessary to wait for the afterlife for human perfection; the fulfillment of human nature can take place in earthly life. Scientific progressives, like Bacon, believe that progress is a predicate of scientific knowledge and technological developments. Social progressives, like Croly, believe that human nature can be transformed through political reform
Progressivism is intimately tied to modern liberalism and the politics of the welfare state, which holds that the transformation of society can only be achieved by a centralized government that has sufficient power to remake society…
…Finally, progressivism has in it a gnostic element. That is, progressives believe that they possess the knowledge needed to transform society and human nature. They are greatly dissatisfied with the world as it is and are impatient with life and the very structure of reality because these fall short of perfection or the the progressive ideal. These gnostic attributes are part of an existential disposition that fails to accept the permanence of evil in earthly life – in theological terms, original sin. By contrast, most conservatives believe that the structure of reality, including human nature, is permanent. Attempts to transform the human condition end up in disaster, as Huxley and Orwell suggest in their dystopias Brave New World (1932) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).
…Here again lies the underlying assumption of progressivism: evil is the result of a poorly organized world. Reorganization of the world in accordance with progressive ideas will usher in a new age of freedom, equality, and peace.
-from American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia
I pledge allegiance to….The United States of Ponzi
This sobering analysis comes to us today from Dr. Doom (Nouriel Roubini) in Forbes. When asked if Bernie Madoff would become the face of this crisis, much like Bernie Ebbers and Ken Lay became the faces of the most recent past corporate scandal, Roubini surmises that Madoff is just a symbol for the real face of this crisis….everybody in the U.S.
The bursting of the housing bubble, the equity bubble, the hedge funds bubble and the private equity bubble showed that most of the “wealth” that supported the massive leverage and overspending of agents in the economy was a fake bubble-driven wealth. Now that these bubble have burst, it is clear that the emperor had no clothes, and that we are the naked emperor. A rising bubble tide was hiding the fact that most Americans and their banks were swimming naked; and the bursting of the bubble is the low tide that shows who was naked.
Americans, let us look at ourselves in the mirror: Madoff is us and Mr. Ponzi is us!
Dave’s Quote of the Day
“I do not choose to be a common man, it is my right to be uncommon … if I can, I seek opportunity … not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the State look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I will not trade freedom for beneficence or my dignity for a handout. It is my heritage to stand erect; proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, to enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say: This, with God’s help, I have done. All this is what it means to be an Entrepreneur.” ~ Common Sense, written in 1776 by Thomas Paine
We Shall Not Go Quietly Into The Night
After the schelacking of the Republican party by the Democrats on November 4th many people are asking themselves “what happened” and “what do we do next”. The “what happened” was eight years of a lackluster president who enacted the Surge about two and half years too late, surrendered on the public relations front, and abandoned the conservative principle of small government and instead joined with the Republican controlled Congress in a frenzy of unprecedented deficit spending.
In answer to the nest question, “what do we do next?,” I believe some are beginning to outline a strategy for the coming years. My friend and fellow blogger Dana at www.commonsensepoliticalthought.com had this to say:
On Scott Martin’s Live Blogging, one commenter suggested that the proper response is Newt Gingrich-style guerrilla conservatism. That sounds about right to me!
Our friends on the left gave President Bush no peace, no room, made no attempt to give the man a chance. They hated him for his win in 2000, and hated him even more in 2004. In the end, they got him in the 2006 elections, and finished the job tonight. While we ought to be politer than the left, we should still follow their lead, and give Mr Obama no peace, and no room to maneuver, as little freedom of action as possible.
We won’t win all of the battles, and probably will lose far more than we win. But when Bill Clinton, who ran as a moderate, took a hard left turn in 1993 and 1994, guerrilla conservatism spanked him hard in 1994; that’s what we need to try again.
When it comes to taxes, we must hound the next president on his promises, promises we already know he will break. When it comes to spending, we must hound him on busting the budget.
-Dana Pico
Lying down and playing dead is not an option. Conservatives will have to become the insurgents on this political battlefield for the next few years. The RINO’s have scattered, defected, or are actively compromising to save their own political skins, the Bushites have been routed, and the neocons are discredited. Those members of the GOP who decided to act and spend like drunken Democrats deserve no place of leadership and probably don’t have the courage to stand up to Obama to begin with. The hard work of freedom therefore by default once again falls onto the shoulders of the true conservatives to stand up for what is right; to stand up for traditional morals and values and principle without apology and regardless of criticism, personal attacks and the ebbs and flows of the political landscape and “popular opinion”.
If the Big government, principle compromising, country club types are allowed to continue to run the Republican Party it will only suffer disaster after disaster until the United States is effectively a one party state with only a token opposition. That is the ultimate goal of Obama and the Left. Those who have declared a “paradigm shift” in American politics realize that the US is not far from that now and will stay that way unless and until conservatives move quickly and decisively to reclaim the Republican Party and the moral high ground.
The Democratic Party has successfully purged themselves of moderates and true centrists and perhaps the Republican Party should purge itself of the squishy, rudderless elements who have governed so poorly in the past. The Republican Party disintegrates and loses elections when it wanders from the straight and narrow path of free enterprise, traditional morals and values, small government, lower taxes, and personal restraint and responsibility. The temptations of power seems to have an amazingly corrosive effect on the political party in power, and during the first six years of the Bush administration the Republicans could not resist gorging themselves at the public trough and overplaying their hand both domestically and internationally.
The Republican party is far more successful as an opposition party as the most driven, the most committed and most conservative of their ranks rise to the occasion and rally to the defense of the Shining City on the Hill. The Left has now elected a President that has deep ties to cultural and ethnocentric radicalism and it would be irresponsible, and nothing but self-destructive appeasement, to not vigorously oppose any and every forthcoming policy that violates the fundamental principles of Conservatism, traditional values and common sense. The current occupant of the white house believes that he needs to “break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution.” It would be irresponsible for the political opposition to appease that demand.
The choice and duty here is clear and the Republic needs its defenders now more than ever. Defeatism is already raising its ugly head among certain elements of the Right and the Republican party but such knee jerk, defeatist reactions accomplish nothing constructive and only serve to undermine the common sense conservative/ leave me alone movement. One can blindly acquiesce and surrender to the coming Liberal Nanny State or a campaign of sabotage can be launched before it gets off the ground.
The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States should not be seen as the end of the ideological and cultural wars for the heart and soul of America, but as the beginning. The 2008 election may have been a victory on one hand, but it should not be construed as surrender on the other. It is always darkest before the dawn, but if conservatives don’t fight now the conservative movement, and a meaningful Republican party, will indeed be condemned to the ashbin of history. The Left will not be content to relish their victory but will instead embark on a program of “perpetual revolution” socially, economically and ideologically. We are witnessing the fruition of the nearly complete Liberal domination of education and academia, the media, and Hollywood. It was inevitable that given enough time they would eventually completely conquer the state as well.
You can’t be a nice guy when your enemy has no scruples. The Founders explicitly warned against turning the Republic into a mob-ruled Democracy yet that is how the US is now being governed.
Already the Left is beginning to prepare for the conservative backlash. And I believe that conservatives must make every effort to not disappoint them. Norman Lear has warned about “an invigorated right-wing grassroots, media and organizational infrastructure”. It remains to be seen if he is right and if his fear will be viewed as a call to action by those who still believe in fighting for the Republic. The Left thinks it has managed to create a paradigm shift in American politics. Whether that is true remains to be seen.
As for the Republican Party, if it doesn’t end cross-over voting in the early primaries then it doesn’t matter what else happens. Having Democrats and liberals have a role in picking your presidential nominee is ridiculous and must never be allowed to happen again. Diluting Conservatism is a continued recipe for disaster.
Conservatives must seize control of the Republican Party, not just be one of the factions. The pundits call the Right “the base” of the Republican Party but “the base” doesn’t control the party. Conservatives are intent on rectifying that now. Those who have sold the party and its principles out have led that same party into the twilight land of the “loyal opposition” that controls little and exerts even less influence that it did during the dark days following the fall of Nixon. Those responsible for the political disaster of the last few years should be held accountable for their actions, or lack thereof, and themselves condemned to the ashbin of history.
Unless the Republican Party can rediscover its conservative soul, it may effectively be doomed to extinction.
“Conservatism always has been and always will be a force to reckon with because it most closely approximates the reality of the human condition, based, as it is, on the cumulative judgment and experience of a people. It is the heir, not the apostate, to the accumulated wisdom, morality and faith of the people. … Our challenge is not to retreat to the comfort of self-congratulatory exile but to sweat and bleed – and be victorious – in the arena of public opinion.”
–Tony Blankley
What If McCain Had Won?
It’s starting to look like the Democrats won the Booby Prize last November. Yes, they cemented their control of Congress, and yes, they got their guy into the White House, but they also inherited one whopper of an economic crisis. A crisis that confounded their plans and plays to their political weaknesses. And thanks to their primacy in the politicosphere, the crisis is all theirs. They have the juice to push through pretty much any plan they can dream up. The feckless Republican minority can only yell about it, but they can’t do much to stop it. In short, the Dems have more than enough rope to hang themselves with.
Imagine if it had been the other way round. Imagine Obama had lost last November and John McCain had managed to just squeak through. How might things stand today?
McCain would have slunk into office with no mandate, his own party fortunes at the lowest ebb since Watergate, and an angry, hostile Congress ruled by the opposition. You think we’re seeing obstructionism today? Just imagine what Pelosi/Reid would be doing if it was McCain’s butt in the hot seat. They would hang the Economic Albatross around his neck with glee and swing from it like kids at a playground. Condemnation would pile upon condemnation. Just enough legislation to mitigate the worst effects of the crisis would be squeezed out, but only if the Administration agreed to massive concessions on the back side. Meanwhile, everything bad would accrete to McCain as the next incarnation of eight years of Republican malfeasance. The recession would still be here and it would be just as bad, if not worse, because all the blame could be pinned on the G.O.P. and Congress could reap the political rewards (provided they did just enough to keep from looking bad).
McCain would be toast. The G.O.P. would be a cinder. Four years later the Dems would win the White House with huge majorities in Congress and by then the recession would have run its course anyway leaving them to reap the political bounty for the next thirty years or so.
The GOP were lucky to have lost. Let the Dems have their catastrophic success, we wish them joy of it.
A time capsule birthday?
“I had an assignment the other day. Someone asked me to write a letter for a time capsule that is going to be opened in Los Angeles a hundred years from now, on our tercentennial. It sounded like an easy assignment. They suggested I write something about the problems and issues of the day, and I set out to do so, riding down the coast in an automobile looking at the blue Pacific out on one side and the Santa Ynez Mountains on the other, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was going to be that beautiful a hundred years from now as it was on that summer day.
“And then, as I tried to write … let your own minds turn to that task. You’re going to write for people a hundred years from now who know all about us. We know nothing about them. We don’t know what kind of a world they’ll be living in.” – Ronald Reagan
I am now employed with a historical and artist oriented company and spend exactly one half of my day as a historical researcher for the company (the other half is product development and assorted other things for a new start up division providing unique historical items for museums, historical societies and genealogical groups). In my hours of endless journey around the worldwide web you come across some interesting things including the International Time Capsule Society. After researching the idea a bit I thought it might be interesting to hold a time capsule event at my upcoming birthday bash in August. I figured it would be something most people have never done and maybe kind of fun as well. It would be a month long event with all my friends asked to contribute something that is labeled with their name to be opened at my birthday party when I am exactly double the age of this one. If you think about how much and how fast society and technology has changed in just a few decades it will be quite the look back in time in the year 2047.
The hard part is not actually putting the thing together, but finding a secure location for its deposit. Most time capsules get lost or forgotten so that is an important consideration. I am considering asking the current owners of the grand old church building in Fort Collins my grandfather used to own if I could deposit it there. I grew up in it and know many a crook, cranny and hiding place that most people don’t even know about. It would be registered with the International Time Capsule Society and therefore not “lost” if I happen to find my way to an early grave.
Any ideas or comments?
I think I like this kid.
This is one smart kid. They should have given him at least five minutes instead of two. He made some good points even though he was nervous and on a time crunch… And yes I did sound this way when I was but a mere stripling. My parents still like to tell embarassing tales about me and my lifelong obsession with politics, history and current events.
It’s about time
Republican wants WH candidates to prove citizenship
Once again it is refreshing to see the powers that be following the advice layed out by members of Conclub. This should be a bill every single member of congress should support. If not, they should be asked why wouldn’t they want the Constitutional requirements for the presidency enforced. Why would anyone even consider objecting to such a simple and straightforward idea?
FNP: The Airborne Toxic Event-Papillion
One of my all time favorite movies is Papillion. Let us not be guilty of the same crime.
Have a great weekend everybody!
Fart breaks up council meeting
Time for some levity. And who better to post this one than the female of the group.
You know how kids crack up when they hear a fart. Well, so do adults — at least they did at the Medina City Council meeting in Ohio earlier this week.
In fact, they just couldn’t keep it together, so they had to call a recess.Watch the video and see for yourself.
Yeah, so it’s likely from a cellphone/iPhone/whoopie cushion.
Whatever.
Dave’s Quote of the Day
“Chairman Steele needs to reread the Bible, the U.S. Constitution and the 2008 GOP Platform. He then needs to get to work or get out of the way.”
- Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell
Cramer vs Stewart tonight at 11.
Believe it or not I kind of like both of these guys. Yeah Jon Stewart is a flaming liberal but he’s funny and I just love watching politicans getting made fun of. He gives a pretty good skewering to the Dems too on occasion. I’ve read one of Cramer’s books and watch his show just about every day. Despite Stewart’s accusations to the contrary Cramer also has a better understanding of the economy than just about anyone in elected office.
All that being said these two have been in the midst of a war of words for the past couple of weeks and let’s be honest Stewart’s really talking above his depth here. Sure Cramer may have recommended Bear Stearns right before they went down the tubes but the man can’t be expected to be right 100% of the time. Moreove despite Jon’s accusations to the contrary Cramer advised people to get out of the market when it was 35% higher than it is now or as he puts it “That was a call that should have wrecked my career. And it would have, if the market had gone up. But I stuck my neck out and did it and saved a lot of people money.”
Furthermore Cramer didn’t used to be such a darling of the Republican party. He was brutally critical of the Bush administration’s economic policies and the lack of regulation of short sellers and hedge funds. He has only attracted the ire of Stewart and his cohorts in my opinion because right wing pundits like Rush Limbaugh have jumped to his defense.
Jon the guy just gives financial advice. Those who are best suited for finance are not political because thier opinions are aimed toward what is good for the economuy and the average investor no matter which side of the aisle they happen to agree with. Let’s face it that’s probably why politicians repeatedly make such a mess of the economy. Because they have an agenda.
Stayed tuned for this one folks. I have the feeling that barring some clever editing Stewart is going to come out of this looking rather sheepish.
The ugly double standard continues
I’ve said before that I really despise the corruption and lack of ethics generally displayed by both parties (particularly in Congress). The most recent example is the omnibus spending bill which was laden with billions of dollars in pork (&7.7 billion to be exact). Republicans accounted for about 45% of that pork thereby taking away any ability to say that they are the party against wasteful spending. The joke in Washington is that there are actually three parties in Washington; Democrats, Republicans, and Appropriators.
Ethical spending dilemmas aside, what I really detest is the policy-makers and spin doctors that say one thing while doing something entirely different. And while Republicans are not immune to the double standard, it is the left that seems to consistently tread in the murky swamps of duplicity. Here are a few of my favorites. Add more if you feel so compelled:
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just minutes before learning of the terrorist attacks on America, Democratic strategist James Carville was hoping for President Bush to fail, telling a group of Washington reporters: “I certainly hope he doesn’t succeed.”
“The most influential Republican in the United States today, Mr. Rush Limbaugh, said he did not want President Obama to succeed,” Carville railed on CNN recently. “He is the daddy of this Republican Congress.”
In 2006, 51 percent of Democrats wanted Bush to fail, according to a FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll
“Earmarks is the responsibility of the Congress. We should earmark even more. We should earmark every penny. So, that’s the principle that we have to follow and the — and the responsibility of the Congress.” Ron Paul, March 10, 2009 whose earmarks totalled $79 million.
When John McCain’s economic adviser Phil Gramm said that this country is a “nation of whiners” when it comes to the economy, the Washington Post featured its 1100 word story on Gramm’s controversial remark on the front page: “Gramm Remark Adds to McCain’s Difficulty Addressing the Economy“
Workers still lack the freedom to form unions.” - UAW President Ron Gettelfinger complaining that a union organization election is only held when 30% of workers sign a union card (emphasis mine).
“they (the UAW) created a hostile work environment” through relentless pressure to sign cards. - So much for freedom
“The American people voted to restore integrity and honesty in Washington, D.C., and the Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history.” Nancy Pelosi, Nov. 2006
“It is my understanding that there are no [Gulfstream] G5s available for the House during the Memorial Day recess,” the staffer complained. “This is totally unacceptable…The Speaker will want to know where the planes are.” email from Pelosi’s office to the Pentagon.
What Members of Congress Say When They Think You’re Not Around
Holy crap.
Here I was, beating myself up for dumping my stocks back in early October when we hit an “all time low” and losing “only” $80K [in real dollars] from my retirement fund. I moved it all to bonds (which I’m now placing “hope” upon the Chinese ;-/ ).
My plan in late 2008/early 2009 was to gradually invest back into stocks. I’m just not gonna do it, not until I see things turning around. I’ve always been an “aggressive” investor. This current upheaval totally turns me upside down.
I don’t mean this like it may sound, but in some ways I’m glad we decided not to have kids. I’m also glad that I can reassure my mom that she will never have to worry. She’s invested wisely, and while she’s lost $$ too, we will be there for her. She can stay with us indefinitely if she needs to.
I can’t believe we’re actually facing this phase in our country. I mean, yeah, it’s been talked about for awhile, but now it’s at the “tangible” stage.
Received this email from one of my friends tonight:
This Is What the Members of Congress Say When You’re Not Around
Maureen — I was sent the below by a friend of mine who is a lobbyist.
I was coming out of the Congressional Credit Union in Longworth (that’s one of the House office buildings) and 2 Members of Congress, who shall remain nameless were passing, one going in, one coming out. I am dying to say who they were because it REALLY adds weight to the whole story, but they shall remain nameless … I will say they were both Democrats and ones that even the least political among my friends would recognize.
Their salutation to each other was, “I am taking my money out before it’s all gone.” I’m sorry but I COULDN’T help myself … I looked at them both and said, “HEY isn’t it your job to make sure the money doesn’t disappear? The American public would be real assured to hear YOUR comments.” Talk about silence. And yes 1 of them was a SENIOR Member…
And Obama says to NOT put your money in a mattress, HA!
Goll damn.
New Dennis Miller Rant: Harry Reid
Via The Other McCain (a newish must-read-daily-blog).
Favorite line:
“Harry, I hate to be the one to break this to you but trust me, there are many millions of people who concur with this and don’t have the opportunity that I do. You are a vague, translucent, Living Shade who barely matters, and if you really want to serve the country that affords a trifle like you the opportunity to delude himself into thinking that he matters you must never, ever, speak out loud in public again!”
Some of Miller’s rants seem a bit forced at times, but when he’s hot he’s hot.
Washington Post To Obama: Get Off Rush And Get On The Economy!
It has begun, folks. Today’s Washington Post editorial is dedicated to all of you who thought the Limbaugh attacks were pure gold, heheh. The title and four snippets should give you the gist, but the Beast urges you to read the whole thing.
The Storm
As an economic hurricane rages, Washington tunes in to Rush Limbaugh.Sunday, March 8, 2009; Page A18
Like a human body on life support, the U.S. economy cannot survive on Fed-generated liquidity indefinitely. Restarting the private financial system is the foundation of economic recovery. It is more urgent than any of the new priorities, however laudable, embodied in President Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget proposal — over which Congress, and legions of lobbyists, are preparing to battle. It is also a condition of realizing any of his long-term goals.
We understand that these initiatives won’t bear fruit immediately. Yet the president cannot relax his focus in the meantime. Nor can he dismiss the market’s negative reaction, justified or not, to his financial rescue plans. For better or worse, stocks are crucial to the well-being of tens of millions of Americans via pension plans, 401(k)s and IRAs.
To restate: America’s economy faces disaster; averting it depends on financial rehabilitation. That is government’s most urgent task — as urgent, in its way, as responding to Pearl Harbor or Sept. 11, 2001. For the president, this does not mean abandoning all other tasks and priorities. It does mean subordinating them to the task that matters most: ensuring that his understaffed team is putting as many resources as possible toward financial recovery and being ready to adjust his plans if, as seems likely, his budget forecasts soon prove overly rosy. For his opposition, it does not mean abandoning principle. It does mean working with the president for the good of the nation, even at the expense of partisan gain.
And yet for the past several days, Washington has been consumed by the point-scoring possibilities of a flap over commentator Rush Limbaugh. It is almost unbelievable that grown men and women in government, of either party, are spending time and energy on this. The whole world is watching, counting on Washington for leadership. The president and lawmakers of both parties must provide it.
The Beast seldom agrees with the WaPo but he does this time. Don’t miss Rush tomorrow – he’s going to have a field day.
Zo’s been CPACing
Dang, wish I could have gotten to DC for this event to shake his hand. It was fun being at CPAC a few years ago. I just generally dislike going into D.C. (too many people!) and usually avoid it if I can.
Rock on, Zo!
Glenn Beck Interviews Chair of the Communist Party, USA
This Wednesday, Glenn interviewed Sam Webb, Chairman of the Communist Party USA.
Love the water and Peeps analogies.
Death of a Retailer
The Tragic Last Days of Circuit City
This is good blogging and pretty interesting. Well worth the read. I need to get me one of those Circuit City half filled cans of pledge…
TALF…The Treasury Acronym of the Day
Willie: Some people are so blinded by the thirst for money, that it causes them to lose their values and do things they shouldn’t do.
ALF: Well, that explains Ghostbusters II.
And it also explains the current incarnation of “the rescue package” brought to us by the Obama administration. Paul Krugman sums it up today in the NY Times.
And the insistence on offering the same plan over and over again, with only cosmetic changes, is itself deeply disturbing. Does Treasury not realize that all these proposals amount to the same thing? Or does it realize that, but hope that the rest of us won’t notice? That is, are they stupid, or do they think we’re stupid?
I don’t know which possibility is worse.
All of these so called plans have one thing in common, socializing the losses while privatizing the gains. John Q. Taxpayer had his money siphoned away by corporations at the front end of this fiasco and is being asked to pony up again to keep the whole scheme afloat. Something really stinks here.
Paul Harvey – “Good Day”
Are there any among us who didn’t grow to love the tales woven by Paul Harvey? I can say that I never turned the radio off when I heard the words “Hello Americans. . .” If I was in the car and I arrived before the story was over I would sit in the car until I heard the signature sign off (Paul Harvey. . . Good day!) and then I would feel like it was okay to turn off the car. The stories that involved the famous and the infamous always had the effect of making me feel like the extraordinary was possible by the ordinary. As his stories wound to their inevitable ‘feel-good’ conclusion, I was often able to guess who he was talking about. But far from being let down, I always found the story to continue to be captivating. I still found the tales of Abraham Lincoln or FDR or John Lennon or Thomas Edison great even when I knew who he was talking about. And his rundown of daily news and jargon with the trademark declarations of the pages that he was reading from was always entertaining. And although his voice was still strong, it was easy to tell that he was beginning to fade. You can almost hear the signature sign off as he passes to the ages.
Paul Harvey - 1918 – 2009
Chahlay Bet May — hiphop remix
There are so many parodies of it since the original post, but most of them are pretty lame.
Anyhoo…here’s a hiphop remix.
Oh, but if you are one of the few who haven’t seen the original, you must watch it first.
The Sage
Steve
E the Wise
DFV the Scribe
hairybeast
Mo K.
Sting the Away
Rudy
Voice of Reason
Anthony Rogers
Vérité
Isaiah's Cry
danagall
Hal Jordan
The Rat
Aquinas Shrugged
jackcurtis
a west texas view
pino
Cultural Limits
Regalo Di Spine
Tokyo Tengu
Short Little Rebel
AWOL Civilization
SeePamBlog
rogueoperator
provider4many
jimmullen1
thomaspaine2nd
badoracle
ljponders
weeicemon
Daniella Nicole
