Unrestrained by reality

The administration, joined by a sycophant congress, continues to plan unprecedented spending in the face of headlines like this one from My Way News:

"Budget deficit tops $1 trillion for first time"

That would be bad enough under any economic circumstances, but it's appalling when you consider that the recession is no where near bottoming out. Consider this point of view from the Wall Street Journal:

"The Economy Is Even Worse Than You Think"

"The recent unemployment numbers have undermined confidence that we might be nearing the bottom of the recession. What we can see on the surface is disconcerting enough, but the inside numbers are just as bad.

"The Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminary estimate for job losses for June is 467,000, which means 7.2 million people have lost their jobs since the start of the recession. The cumulative job losses over the last six months have been greater than for any other half year period since World War II, including the military demobilization after the war. The job losses are also now equal to the net job gains over the previous nine years, making this the only recession since the Great Depression to wipe out all job growth from the previous expansion."

My own anecdotal evidence confirms what I'm reading in the news. I hear from well established quarry operators and contractors that they are considering shutting down because the business climate is so bad.

The president has made it pretty clear that he intends to punish business for whatever real or perceived wrongs they may have committed in the past. For him I have one simple question--who the bloody Hell does he think is going to hire all these unemployed people? Chrysler? GM? The government?

This is getting way beyond petty partisan bickering, people. If we continue on the current trajectory, things are going to get ugly in ways that we've never seen in America.

Tell me this isn't cool...

To see what this is a photo of, click here. Don't worry--it's safe for all audiences.

Science rocks!

Psssst. Nicolas. Check it out!

Men are pigs

All of us

There are no exceptions

Projecting weakness

No, I'm not talking about the president's foreign policy, though I can understand why a person might jump to that conclusion. I'm talking about would-be power brokers in the Republican establishment rushing to the microphone to criticize Sarah Palin's resignation as governor of Alaska.

Governor Mike Huckabee surely trampled a number of innocent bystanders in his rush to the camera. As is typical of Baptist preachers, he speaks as one who is without sin of his own and is incapable of human error. But he violated Reagan's first commandment-- "Thou shalt not criticize another Republican." For that I send him to the back of the line.

The others were not much better, and that is why they will continue to languish in obscurity. They ridicule a clear voice of Conservatism but only tepidly challenge the most liberal president in the history of America as he runs roughshod over the economy. What a bunch of candy-asses.

I have no clue what Governor Palin has in mind. If I were her, I would sell books, hit the speaking circuit and make a ton of money for her family's security. That's what being a wife and mother is all about, isn't it? What I do know is that she alone can pack a stadium with enthused Conservatives. More important, she can get them to open their wallets. At the very least she has cast herself in the role of king maker. Huckabee, Romney et al will line up to kiss her shapely butt before you know it. They cannot win in 2012 without her endorsement.

For my part, I kinda hope Sarah gets out of politics. She's got class and her kids deserve better than the media shit-storm that national candidates must live with in the current environment. History will decide if her decision was shrewd or inept, but at least she lives her life on her own terms. I wish her well.

GE the new Haliburton?

It looks like our friends at GE continue to make out like a bandit. From Washington Post:

How a Loophole Benefits GE in Bank Rescue

"General Electric, the world's largest industrial company, has quietly become the biggest beneficiary of one of the government's key rescue programs for banks.

"At the same time, GE has avoided many of the restrictions facing other financial giants getting help from the government.

"The company did not initially qualify for the program, under which the government sought to unfreeze credit markets by guaranteeing debt sold by banking firms. But regulators soon loosened the eligibility requirements, in part because of behind-the-scenes appeals from GE."

Isn't that special?

It's also worth noting that if the carbon-tax bill makes it into law in anything like its current form, GE will likely be the largest single corporate beneficiary. They make wind turbines you'll recall. Meanwhile the widget factory down the street from your house will move it's operation to the Philippines to avoid the tax.

It's good to have friends in high places...

The House of Representatives thinks you are stupid

That's the only conclusion I can draw. In passing the "Climate Bill," by a razor thin margin, they are trying to spin it as a "Jobs Bill."

Horse shit! (pardon my French)

It is neither a climate bill nor a jobs bill. It is an energy tax that my electric co-op estimates will add $2000 per year to my electric bill. Granted my electric co-op hasn't read the actual legislation--but then neither has any of the representatives who voted for the abomination.

The United States already has the second highest corporate taxes in the industrialized world. With this tax added on, American manufacturing will find it even harder to compete on the world stage. Don't come crying to me when more and more businesses move to China or the Philippines.

Even if I accept the premise of man-made global warming, (which I do not) This piece of crap legislation isn't going to do a bloody thing about it. Whatever minuscule effect we might have at great sacrifice to our standard of living, China and India are going to cancel out one hundred fold.

Finally, I note that even as the vote was being taken, the switchboard at the House was shut down with calls from constituents begging their representative to vote against the bill.

You people work for us. We're tired of you ignoring us. We're tired of "emergency" legislation that you haven't even read before voting for it. We are getting pissed at the back-room deals.

A day of reckoning is coming. We'll only let you screw with us for so long...

Another one bites the dust...

I generally try to temper my expectations about politicians, but I'll have to admit that this one disappoints me. I thought the guy had potential. Clearly, now, he has feet of clay.

I do believe, however, that there is a teaching point here about one of the key differences between Conservatives and Liberals. Conservatives have their philanderers just like the libs, but we throw ours under the bus when we find out about them. If Sanford had been a rising star in the Democrat party, Carville and Begalla would have already tracked down the mistress and begun destroying her personally as a means of making their guy look like a victim.

And on a personal note I'll point out there are not a lot of advantages to being pudgy, near sighted, unattractive, middle aged and disagreeable in disposition. One of the few advantages is that I'm not put in the way of the type of temptation that keeps getting these pols in trouble. Many a life has been ruined when the little guy starts doing the thinking.