This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Economy

  • I don’t need you to fight for me

    If you want to see the real difference between the Democrats and Republican presidential candidates, I guess you can find it in one phrase that Mike from Flopping Aces reports from Hillary Clinton;

    In another of those interminable Democrat debates, Hillary was asked at a Sunday Iowa debate how she intended to counter the Republicans: ” I have been fighting against these people for longer than anybody else up here.” So apparently, “fighting” is a better way to address the concerns of the “invisible” than working with Republicans?

    I remember Bill Clinton, Al Gore and John Kerry all offering to “fight for” me. Against Whom? Against the people that want me to have more money in my pocket from my own earnings? Why is it that Democrats are always so ready to “fight” a political opponent but they can’t summon the gumption or the wherewithall to challenge and fight actual enemies? They weren’t willing to fight the communists, they weren’t willing, even, to fight Saddam Hussein in 1991. And now, of course, they refuse to fight an even greater threat – radical Islam.

    But who will they fight? “These people”. The people who stood in the way of her Stalinist healthcare plan, the people who beat her party by legitimate votes from the people to blunt her ambitions. I wish, for once, just one of them would fight for my right to defend myself. Fight the bureaucracy that stands in the way of our children’s education. Fight the wasteful spending of government agencies BESIDES the Pentagon for a change. Fight for my right to solve my own problems. Fight for my right to have an opinion different from theirs without have to endure the venomous and profane response I usually get.

    The Republicans don’t offer to “fight for” me – they offer me the opportunity to exist peacefully and to enjoy the fruits of my labor. In fact, I can’t remember any Republican declaring that he’d fight for me – except against our country’s enemies. I guess I’d fall over dead if a Democrat ever offered to fight our enemies.

  • Edwards profited from Katrina forclosures

    Oddly enough, I’d just finished reading Dadmanly‘s excellent post critiquing John Edwards’ article in Foreign Policy when I happened across this Page One story from Christopher Cooper from the Wall Street Journal;

    As a presidential candidate, Democrat John Edwards has regularly attacked subprime lenders, particularly those that have filed foreclosure suits against victims of Hurricane Katrina. But as an investor, Mr. Edwards has ties to lenders foreclosing on Katrina victims.

    The Wall Street Journal has identified 34 New Orleans homes whose owners have faced foreclosure suits from subprime-lending units of Fortress Investment Group LLC. Mr. Edwards has about $16 million invested in Fortress funds, according to a campaign aide who confirmed a more general Federal Election Commission report. Mr. Edwards worked for Fortress, a publicly held private-equity fund, from late 2005 through 2006.

    Asked about the matter, Mr. Edwards yesterday pledged that he would personally provide financial assistance to New Orleanians who are facing foreclosure by Fortress-affiliated businesses or have lost their homes already. “I intend to help these people,” the former North Carolina senator said.

    He also promised to cleanse his portfolio of any investments that may be profiting from their losses. “I am going to divest” from any Fortress funds that have a stake in the subprime lenders that filed the foreclosures, he said in a telephone interview. “I will not have my family’s money invested in these firms.”

    Mr. Edwards didn’t give details on how or when he was going to proceed, either to alter his holdings or to aid borrowers. He said he plans to begin making amends to New Orleans homeowners first by contacting them and “seeing where they are in the process.” He said his help may come from his own cash or in collaboration with a charity that specializes in repairing homes.

    Seems to me, Edwards, the prettiest girl running for President, is such a great humanitarian, he would have already been aware of the money he’d made in conjuction with foreclosures on Katrina victims and he’d have already made amends – it was nearly two years ago, afterall – and while he was an advisor for Fortress Funds. But then again, the entire $16 million he has invested in Fortress is somehow tainted, wouldn’t you say?

    But, if he really wanted to make things right, he’d just hand each of those victims of the evil hedgefund 1/2 million bucks each out of his $16-large. I mean that’s what he’d do if he’s meant what he said all along.

    Ack! I just noticed that Michele Malkin has the same story on her front page – and as usual she does a much better job.

  • Chavez is suddenly news

    Apparently the newswires finally noticed that Chavez is working to rewrite Venezuelan Constitution this morning;

    President Hugo Chavez called for changes to Venezuela’s constitution Wednesday night, delivering a key address pitching reforms that are expected to allow him to be re-elected indefinitely.
     
    Chavez, speaking to the National Assembly, said the changes affect “less than 10 percent” of the constitution but would bring Venezuela “new horizons for the new era.” Chavez, who is seeking to transform Venezuelan society along socialist lines, denied he wants lifelong power as his opponents allege.

    “They accuse me of making plans to be in power forever or to concentrate power. We know it isn’t like that. It’s power of the people,” Chavez said. “So many lies in the world. I doubt there is any country on this planet with a democracy more alive than the one we enjoy in Venezuela today.

    Since we already know that Chavez rigged his last election and he had Jimmy Carter certify it for him, there’s nothing that can stop him from rigging the next several elections, too. And since he silences his opposition (as he did RCTV) and he has the unerring support of Hollywood’s biggest spaztards, and military support of Iran, we can be sure he’ll continue in perpetuity as the leader of Venezuela como su Tio Fidel. The Devil’s Excrement writes that the government is cracking down even more on the press, accusing them of terrorism against the State.

    Poor Daniel of Venezuela News and Views wrote last night that Chavez’ latest rant (Chavez calls them a cadena which means chain) lasted for hours and since he commands the television stations now, each carried his hours-long cadena – and Venezuelans were forced to go to the internet for news about the earthquake in Peru. Daniel links to Bruni of Cuentos Intrascendentes, who in turn summarizes Chavez’ reform plan;

    The two articles of reform;

    Article 1: All of the power belongs to the People

    Article 2: Hugo Chavez changes his name. He is now called Hugo People

    Somewhere this morning I read that Chavez proposed a mandatory six-hour work day be added to the Constitution. I can’t find the link again (so if anyone else sees it, let me know). It’s just more populist drivel from the little socialist goofball. It’ll give the impression that the unemployment rate in Venezuela has gone down, but there’ll be less money in Venezuelans’ pockets as a result. But more time for them to protest, he’ll find out eventually.

    And of course, no matter how anti-American a foreign dictator gets, you can always find a Democrat to cuddle with them. From Kate at A Columbo-Americana’s Perspective;

    Macon, GA mayor C. Jack Ellis has become enamored with the robolución bolibanana to the point where he sent Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez a letter expressing his solidarity with him. Ellis defends his praise of Chávez citing his “humanitarian efforts.” Humanitarian efforts, eh? I do wonder to what Mayor Ellis might be referring. Is silencing opposing opinions now considered to be a humanitarian act? Or maybe he means putting people on a political blacklist because of the way they voted in the 2004 recall referendum.

    Don’t be surprised when I tell you that C. Jack Ellis is awaiting a legal name change to Hakin Mansour Ellis. From Wikipedia;

    In February 2007, Ellis made headlines by announcing his December 2006 conversion to Islam, including plans to legally change his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis. Ellis, who had previously been a practicing Christian, became a Sunni Muslim during a trip to the west African country of Senegal, saying it was like going “back to [his] roots” — claiming that some West Africans brought to America as slaves practiced Islam.

    Um, C. Jack, buddy, Muslims were the folks who sold African slaves to the Europeans. And now, you want to honor them by claiming that becoming a Muslim is getting back to your roots? Dumbass. More on Ellis from The Foxhole and Right Truth.

    That’s the type of folks that Chavez attracts – the intellectually lazy with a superficial understanding of the world around them. That’s why Chavez’ empty promises have made him so popular – empty promises to empty heads.

    Empty promises like oil to the Caribe for the next century and beyond;

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pledged on Saturday to meet Caribbean nations’ oil needs for years to come, and urged the region to unite and seek greater independence from the U.S.

    Mr. Chavez deepened past pledges to share his country’s oil wealth as he addressed a summit of nations taking part in Venezuela’s Petrocaribe oil initiative, which supplies fuel under preferential terms.

    “If we truly unite .. the grandchildren of our grandchildren will have no energy problems,” Mr. Chavez said. He predicted oil prices will soon hit $100 a barrel but said “the Caribbean shouldn’t have problems this century and beyond.”

    “Venezuela puts this oil wealth at the disposition of our peoples of the Caribbean,” Mr. Chavez said. “It belongs to all of us. We’re going to share it like Christ. .. It will be enough for everyone.”

    He sounds just like all of the other caudillos in Latin American – promises and no substance. 

    And fingers are flying over the $800,000 found in Buenas Aires airport a couple of days ago. According to the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board the story goes like this;

    When customs officials found $800,000 in a suitcase at the Buenos Aires airport 10 days ago, maybe they were surprised. Then again, maybe not. The plane containing the case was chartered by the state-owned Argentine energy company, Enarsa, and was carrying a high-ranking Argentine official and three amigos from the Venezuelan state-owned oil company PdVSA.
    Investigators aren’t sure where the money came from or where it was going. Claudio Uberti of the Argentine Planning Ministry had been on a trip to Caracas, and the PdVSA trio asked to hitch a ride. A Venezuelan businessman on board is said to be the owner of the bag — though even that is unclear. Maybe they’d just seen “The Godfather: Part II,” and were inspired watching Fredo carry the suitcases to Michael in Havana to invest with Hyman Roth.

    The incident has caused an uproar in Argentina, and Mr. Uberti has resigned. The suspicion is that the cash was intended to play a role in October’s presidential election, in which Cristina Fernandez, the wife of President Nestór Kirchner, is the Peronist candidate. Mr. Kirchner has lined up with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez against the U.S. and market economics, and in return Mr. Chávez has financed the Kirchner government to the tune of more than $5 billion, with $1 billion more pledged last week. Political parties in Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua and Ecuador have complained in the past about Mr. Chávez’s meddling in their presidential elections.

    And of course, it’s Bush’s fault;

    Mr. Chávez calls the episode a “U.S. plot,” naturally. But even the Argentine government concedes that it looks bad, claims to know nothing of the money, and wants Venezuela to apologize. Those dictator allies sure can be embarrassing.

    And the Left blogs rush to back Chavez.

    Blogs by Boz has a link summary and reports figuratively (so far) rolling heads.

  • So why are we still buying from Asia?

    The latest product recalls of Chinese-made products (it’s toys this time) makes me wonder how much Americans will take before we wake up and start boycotting all of that cheap plastic crap and inferior food products and rolling crap boxes (otherwise known as Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, etc…) from Asia. All of the local news shows are absolutely giddy that they report shoddy merchandise – it fills every one-hour news broadcast at 6 and 11 and the standard ads “Why your child is turning purple – details at 11”.

    I’ll grant that if your child is sucking the lead paint out of his toy cars, you probably have bigger worries than lead poisoning right now, nonetheless….

    I’ve written before that my grandfather wouldn’t buy anything that said “Made in Japan” on it – but it was more than the fact that he still remembered Pearl Harbor. Everything that came out of Japan was crap. Toys made there broke before the first day ended, tools were absolutely useless and would strip bolts before they’d loosen bolts, their cars were tin cans on wheels that stalled every time they came to a traffic light.

    If you want to see what Toyotas and Hondas used to be, go to Central America – the cars they sell there are still crap boxes. The equivalent of a Corrolla sells for about $9000 new compared to the $15,000 price tag here – but it’s little more than a thin metal shell on four wheels with indoor/outdoor carpet strips glued to bare metal floor boards and barely enough power to get up to 45 mph.

    Hardly a day goes by that I don’t read about or hear about our huge trade deficit with Asia. Mostly from people who are driving those overpriced Toyotas and Hondas (called Lexus and Infinity) in their parking spots. “But”, they tell me, “most of those are made in the US.” Oh, yeah? Then why is it when I’m at Miami Beach I see these huge cargo ships with “Honda” and “Toyota” painted on their sides pulling up to the dock with a new shipment of crap boxes? If most of the cars with those brand names are made in the US, why is it profitable to bring more by boat?

    Cough syrup from China killed 60 Panamanians in 2005 because they put antifreeze in the cough medicine. Anti-freeze. Toothpaste from China was found in Dollar Stores in the US with anti-freeze in it. Anti-freeze. Was there someone in China that thought anti-freeze was safe enough to put in cough syrup and toothpaste?

    Wheat imported from China killed several pets in the US this year. Wheat? Why are we importing wheat? Don’t we grow enough wheat in our country that we have to import it from a third world backwater?

    Just last month it was discovered that China was putting anti-biotics in their shell fish exports. The danger there was that taking the anti-biotics made us resistant to the anti-biotic working when we really needed the anti-biotic to defens against disease later down the line. In other words, the Chinese were making sure that a biological attack would be more successful against us. Hyperbole? Perhaps.

    Ever read “The Sum of all Fears” by Tom Clancy? The 1995 book ended with a Japanese pilot flying an airliner into the Capitol Building during a Presidential address – prophetic enough for you? But the book was about a war between the US and Japan that began with product defects – cars the Japanese were importing here were killing people – and Americans got angry that inferior products were being imported and a trade war turned into a shooting war.

    Well, that’s fairly far-fetched, however, we’re apparently numb to the thought of intentionally defective and potentially dangerous products being inflicted on the American marketplace. We’re outraged at the thought that American companies would engage in business with these economic roques, but how about if we hold entirely responsible the actual cuprits and not accept the occasional “suicide” of various Chinese CEOs as proof that they’re cracking down on quality control. How many people will die in the next defective import disaster?

    The world sees the US as a huge cash register, how about we hold them to the same standard we hold domestic companies? It’s not our government’s fault that defective merchandise makes it to the shelves – it’s the fault of the consumer for not holding manufacturers and improters accountable – with our wallets.

  • “What you are” versus “Who you are”

    Early last week I wrote about Barack Obama declaring to a conference of some racist organization that calls itself The Race that people of color are involved in some nebulous “Struggle” (apparently the “one Struggle” thing doesn’t translate well to baseball, though). This week I see the conversation is still about inconsequencial things like skin pigmentation.

    CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux asked Hillary Clinton if she is “black enough” to be the Democrat Presidential candidate;

    This campaign moment occurred Thursday before the Las Vegas convention crowd of the National Association of Black Journalists. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux pinned back the former First Lady to explain how she could “sustain black support ” while running against an African-American. Ironically, thanks to Sen. Barack Obama’s mixed white and Kenyan parentage and campaign mischief, it is he who usually gets to field the “black enough” question.

    Malveaux is one of the most racist journalists to ever have her words read. And apparently fairly shallow – since she thinks that an accident of birth is the only qualification worthy of discussion in a presidential campaign. Clinton dodged the question – completely in character, too.

    Earlier in the weekend, Obama declared that he is indeed “black enough” to be president.

    With puzzlement and a touch of humor, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama weighed in Friday on a question posed by some in the black community about whether he’s ”black enough” to represent them in the White House.

    Clinton says she’s qualified to be President because she’s a woman, Obama says he’s qualified because he’s Black, Richardson says he’s qualified because he’s Latin, the media says Romney isn’t qualified because he’s a Mormon. What the Hell is going on here?

    Article II Section 1 of the Constitution list only these qualifications;

    No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

    No where does it mention race, sex or religion. So why is the media and particularly the Democrats so interested in these superficial qualifications? 

    What a person is is more important apparently than who a person is. Obama has lied in his campign book about events he claims shaped his poitical personae, Hillary is a congenital liar as we’ve seen from those dark years she spent in the White House, and Richardson couldn’t even run the Energy Department let alone the whole country – none of that has to do with race or gender – but we’re supposed to overlook these personality disorders because they’re members of a special protected class – protected by the laws of probability and the biology of birth.

    All of the Democrats, with the possible exception of Richardson, want to raise our taxes  (they say they only want to raise taxes on the rich, but we know from the 1993 tax hike that Democrats think even retirees on Social Security are “rich”), all of the Democrats want to sacrifice our national security for purely political reasons. Hell, Obama prefers to threaten our allies instead of our enemies. Hillary wants government to take over negotiation for our mortgages.

    But I guess all of that poor judgement takes a backseat to skin pigment and genitalia.

  • Child education is a nasty business

    I swear, it’s rare when get this mad. I just got done reading this story from the Washington Post about a low-life, scum sucking, pig kisser who bilked DC taxpayers (read that; all US taxpayers) out of $647,000 in just three years;

    Belton, 61, admitted to U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina that she steered about $446,000 in seven no-bid contracts to friends and a cousin and stole $203,000 by paying school funds to a fictitious company she controlled. At the same time, she received $180,000 in illegal payments and kickbacks from friends she helped with school business. The crimes took place from March 2003 to May 2006, prosecutors said.

    Where does DC find these “public servants”? We all know the story about Marion Berry – the crack smoking whore-monger who has dodged jail for tax evasion for the last two years.

    Well, a couple of years ago, they had a fire chief whom they hired while he was being investigated in Augusta, Georgia for skimming funds – and surprise! – funds were missing when DC government finally decided to let him go.

    The manager of the teachers’ pension fund got caught stealing about a million bucks to buy herself a new car, fur coats, and such – and she gave some of the money to friends and her fricken chauffeur. See, that’s what happens when you give a public employee a fricken chauffeur.

    One of the charter school principals they hired turns out to be a sex offender.

    The list goes on. It seems that every week I get to read about how some public employee in the District is caught with his/her hand in the till. And they get a little handslap and sent to the corner to think about what they’ve done.

    What fate awaits Brenda Belton, thieving bitch? She gets a whooping 3 years in jail;

    During sentencing in November, Belton will face a likely term of 30 to 37 months in prison for theft and tax evasion charges. She has agreed to pay restitution of $383,000, most of which will go back to the school system.

    See, that’s why they keep being criminals. She doesn’t have to pay the District all of the money she cost them, or even all of the money she bilked – just the portion that she kept. I call bullshit! If I’d robbed a damn bank without a gun, I’d get at least 10 years – how is this different from robbing a bank?

    And what the Hell is this bullshit about “most of [the money] will go back to the school system”. Where else is that money going? Lemme guess – to pay lawyers and the court system. Every damn penny should go back to the schools. If the lawyers and judges want some damn money, get it from the bitch who robbed the taxpayers, ya fricken blood sucking leaches. 

    I swear, it’s like living in a third world country.

  • Undermining our allies in the War Against Terror

    We all heard Barack Obama flex his puny foreign policy muscles while threatening to attack Pakistan for not killing enough al Qaeda operatives to suit Obama, and, of course the Pakistanis criticized Obama for his indiscretion, and brave Obama stands by his comments. if only he could be that resolute over Iran and the support they give opposing forces in Iraq.

    Well, I was reading my favorite writer on Latin American politics, Mary Anastasia O’Grady of the Wall Street Journal, and I’m starting to see a pattern here. O’Grady writes in her The Real Uribe Record;

    Congressional Democrats out to quash the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement argue that the terror-torn South American country doesn’t adequately protect human rights and thus doesn’t deserve FTA status. In the Democrats’ book, the way to make Colombia more just is to deny it the chance to deepen its commercial relations with the U.S.

    This is curious thinking, and all the more so coming from a party that also argues that the U.S. ought to lift its trade embargo on the Cuban dictatorship as a way to help the Cuban people. Given Cuba’s dismal track record on human rights and the hard work Colombia has done over the past six years to defend human life, it is hard to square that circle.

    O’Grady goes on to recount that Uribe’s tactics in countering communist guerillas and terrorists in Columbia have driven their numbers down;

    Mr. Uribe’s government has demobilized 43,000 illegal armed combatants. Some 33,000 were paramilitary members and 10,000 were guerrillas. But the president notes that the country started with some 60,000 “terrorists,” so there is still work to be done.

    But Ms. O’Grady points out that Vermont Senator Pat Leahy is the major opponent of the the US-Columbia Free Trade Agreement;

     Funny enough, Mr. Leahy, like many of his colleagues — including New York Rep. Charles Rangel in the House — has no such qualms about trade with the despotic regime in Havana. The senator has said that the U.S. should seek engagement with Cuba by “lifting the embargo” and increasing “contact between Americans and Cubans — in other words, we should be tearing down the barriers between our countries not building them ever higher.”

    The Cuba Mr. Leahy wants to get closer to isn’t simply accused of failing to prosecute human-rights violators, as is the case of Colombia. It is a human-rights violator. It is regrettable that the senator apparently believes that the murder of thousands of Cubans, the torture and imprisonment of tens of thousands of others, the exile of millions and the denial of all human rights, including the right to organize unions, is irrelevant.

    So by these two examples, I see a pattern emerging – the Democrats are willing to throw our partners under the bus while rushing out to embrace the worst criminals the world has in it for purely political reasons. Sure Pakistan and Columbia aren’t paradise for the people living in them, but certainly those conditions were created by the criminals the governments have to deal with every day.

    And while Leahy and Rangel engage in the old political  shuck and jive, Chavez is reaching out to the terrorists – I wonder who’ll get to the Columbian people first. I think Uribe has been very tolerant seeings how his father was killed by narco-terrorists. O’Grady ends her article;

    Even if none of this progress had occurred, it would make little sense to reject the FTA. Colombia needs the free trade agreement, Mr. Uribe said in New York, because it’s how “we can generate more employment of a higher quality, send more of our products to the U.S. market and in this way we will have less illicit drugs, less terrorism, more peace, more security, more well-being for the Colombian people.” If only the government in Havana cared as much about the Cuban population.

    Indeed. And if only our government, the one in DC, cared about people as much as they like to tell us they care.

  • Window to the future; Democrats raise taxes on Big Oil

    Completly ignoring the basic laws of economics, Congressional Democrats voted yesterday to increase tax on oil companies by $16 billion. Of course this move comes at a time when oil prices reached an all time high price of $75.48 per barrel at Friday’s market close. So who can expect to pay this tax increase? Who else?

    The Washington Examiner writes about the House vote ;

    Declaring a new direction in energy policy, the House on Saturday approved $16 billion in taxes on oil companies, while providing billions of dollars in tax breaks and incentives for renewable energy and conservation efforts.

    Republican opponents said the legislation ignored the need to produce more domestic oil, natural gas and coal. One GOP lawmaker bemoaned “the pure venom … against the oil and gas industry.”

    The House passed the tax provisions by a vote of 221-189. Earlier it had approved, 241-172, a companion energy package aimed at boosting energy efficiency and expanding use of biofuels, wind power and other renewable energy sources.

    But the money quote from Nancy Pelosi is this one;

    “We are turning to the future,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

    Turning to the future, huh? By using the failed policies of the past. That’s our future, readers, more taxes and more punishment for consumer by a populist Congress who operates on one-line sound bites that sound good in your ear but bite you in the pocket.

    The Washington Times writes;

    Democrats said the energy package is a step toward weaning the nation off fossil fuels and their emissions, which many scientists blame for global warming. They also say the proposal will create jobs in the growing renewable energy industry.

    “Energy independence is a national security issue, an environmental and health issue, an economic issue and a moral issue,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat. “We must strengthen our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

    But isn’t it odd that the legislation doesn’t address our own reserves – seems drilling our own oil sources in Alaska would wean us off of foreign oil, too. Or drilling the same areas in the Gulf of Mexico that China and Cuba are drilling right off our shores.

    But, no, it’s easier to raise taxes and punish consumers than to actually create an effective energy policy. It sounds better on the evening news to those Prius-driving hippies who are still watching the evening news.

    Can anyone explain to me and my readers why forcing a windfall tax on oil companies helps the American people? Without making government into some grand charitable organization, I mean. And what does government do to justify it getting $16 billion dollars from oil companies? Those resources belong to the American people – not our government – yet no one among us, the American people, are going to see even a penny of the money. Because Democrats think all money is the government’s money.

    Seems to me that those hypocrits who are always complaining about Republicans who try to legislate-away bad behavior would criticise the Democrats for legislating behavior, too.