Why Richard Nixon Is By Far, The Worst President In US History By Far

OK, the blueprint for this column has been collecting dust on a mental shelf for months.

Why Richard Nixon Is By Far, The Worst President In US History By Far:

1. Wage and Price Controls. On August 15, 1971 President Nixon imposed a wage and price freeze in a naive effort to control inflation. We often talk about the journalistic double standard but it does cut both ways. If a Democrat did something similar, cries of Marxist, Socialist and Communist would dominate public discourse. But Nixon did it and such names were never tossed about. At any rate, the results were disastrous.

Short of declaring martial law or suspending habeas corpus, the imposition of wage and price controls is probably the most far-reaching act of authoritarianism a president can inflict on his populace. It is purely and simply an abuse of power. But it is not just an academic exercise. Real people (and real animals) suffered from Nixon's arrogance.

Government mandated price controls always, always, always, always, always, always bring forth unintended consequenses. Always. Yes, some thumbs are dirtier than others but it is never good to stick one's thumb in the soup. One memorable result of Nixon's hubris was a large scale slaughter of livestock.

Farmers calculated that they could not afford to feed their animals. Not unless prices were allowed to rise (and they would not be allowed to rise)could they possibly recover the costs associated with feeding their critters. So the nightly news featured farmers and ranchers shooting calves and piglets (In some ways it was a less sensitive era.)

Wage and price controls were followed by widespread shortages. There were beef shortages, pork shortages, and food shortages of all sorts. There were even toilet paper shortages.

Commodity producers were screwed. A hog is a hog is a hog. But manufacturers were able to thumb their noses at the president by introducing new products. The price of a Quarter Pounder was frozen by executive order. So McDonalds slapped on a piece of cheese, called it appropriately enough, the Quarter Pounder With Cheese and charged 20 cents more for their new product.

Lots and lots of old products were discontinued and very similar but pricier products were introduced in their place. But farmers and ranchers and miners could not exercise such flexibility (genetic modification was just getting started.) They got hurt bad.

Nixon's economic policies were so bad that they also contributed to the downfall of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. We cannot let those last two off the hook but Governor Carter inherited a royal mess when he was inaugurated. Nixon is the gift that keeps on giving.

2. The End of The Gold Standard.

We are keenly aware that the cost of living is always increasing. In the 1960's auto mechanics and factory workers supported families of six or seven children with one paycheck. They kept their wife and children in houses and it was not unusual for blue collar workers with large families to buy expensive toys like boats and motorcycles and firearms. Now, yuppy couples work long hours to buy condos and they skimp and scrape to afford one or two children. What happened?

There were a lot of influences but one factor eclipses all others. The US Dollar is not worth what it used to be. We can thank Richard Nixon for that. He closed the "gold window" that allowed holders of dollars to convert their greenbacks to gold if they wanted to. The result is fiat money that ripples through every social institution we hold dear including the family.

The effects of fiat money on society are mostly negative. It erodes our very culture. More than anyone else, we have Richard Nixon to thank for our ruination.

Note: Almost everyone agrees the turning point for American prosperity was in the 1970's. Not everyone agrees that the decline is due more to the retreat from gold but most economists agree that this is when the American middle class started its slide. The habitually dishonest Robert Reich moves the date to 1980 so that he can blame Ronald Reagan for all that went wrong. But let's remove that compulsive liar from our radar for the time being.


3. Vietnam/Middle East.

Man, oh man. Nixon was so atrocious, Vietnam is the third worst disaster of his administration. That is saying something. You have to work hard to screw things up the way Nixon screwed things up.

A lot of Americans would have been content with an isolationist policy in Southeast Asia. A lot of Americans could get behind a war of annihilation waged against the Ho Chi Minh Regime and the North Vietnamese. We could have supported a policy of "Vietnamization" which said in effect,"we will supply South Vietnam the arms but they will supply the soldiers." But we could never support a muddled policy with unclear objectives that resorted in us abandoning our allies and subjecting millions of our friends to the killing fields. Sadly, that is what we did.

I used to think of Nixon as an amoral opinion poll president. He was gung ho military action while the polls supported military action. He was turn tail and run when the polls started to shift. That was how I saw him.

However, the poll-watching president was probably not accurate. Years later, Henry Kissinger would provide insight into President Nixon's mercurial nature. It was not the opinion polls that prompted Nixon to retreat. It was OPEC.

Nixon and Kissinger bungled Mideast diplomacy so badly that America faced the real possibility of being deprived of oil for years and even decades. That would mean that tens of thousands of military and civilian personnel could be stranded in Southeast Asia for who knows how long? They might have even faced starvation. Nixon had little choice but to evacuate.

Still, the evacuation did not have to be so abrupt as to abandon our former allies in South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Richard Nixon went to his grave with blood on his hands. In two theaters of diplomacy, Nixon blew it in a big, big way.

Note: One could argue that Nixon's economic disasters should not precede the ultimate killing of millions of our allies. Point taken. But Nixon did indeed inherit a couple of Asian messes. He had to play those hands whether he wanted to or not. As for his economic decisions, Tricky Dick did not have to apply his ham fisted surgery to a patient who was extremely healthy. Nixon's ego

4. Drug Enforcement Administration

Social conservatism is incompatible with fiscal conservatism. A social conservative is someone who is willing to fund futility and/or counterproductivity to affect a tone of moral superiority. Since the 1930's the US Government has fleeced the taxpayer to prosecute drug users and drug distributors. The gods of futility are smiling.

By just about every measure, the so called war on drugs is a failure. In 2011, heroin is more abundant than ever and cheaper than 1973 (in real dollars or unreal dollars.) Same with cocaine. Meth is also cheap and plentiful. But meth control is not mere futility, it rises to the level of counterproductivity. Meth labs would be as rare as they were in the Fonz's day had the DEA not tightened controls on pharmaceutical amphetamine. The DEA invented the meth epidemic.

The Drug Enforcement Administration was founded in 1973 as the Watergate scandal was starting to spill over. The timing could not be more appropriate. The DEA has been scandal-ridden from its inception and has failed at every aspect of its mission except to provide cushy jobs for privileged bureaucrats. They have been extremely successful in this department. In many ways, it is the most Nixonian creation this country has ever produced.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has fleeced the taxpayer for tens of billions of dollars over the years and has never slowed down the drug trade. But they do have a sympathetic press and bipartisan support. They will be cashing checks for a long time to come.


5. Environmental Protection Agency

OK. I probably would have founded the EPA myself. Ranchers and farmers and exterminators practiced their trade with casual recklessness way back when. The air and water was much dirtier when Nixon proposed the EPA. Fishermen were for it. Everyone was for it.

But EPA morphed into a monster. A monster with an extensive political agenda. If anyone in 1970 knew the EPA would try to regulate CO2, they would never have received the backing of a single congressman.

We can cut Nixon some slack on this one but the fact remains, he opened Pandora's Box.

6. 55 Mile Per Hour Speed Limit.

Giant groan. Once more, it was the president's diplomatic ineptitude that lead to this poorly thought out mandate. OPEC flexed its muscles and Nixon flinched. Speeding tickets rained down on our highways and insurance companies were able to adjust their rates upward to accommodate their enhanced risk of covering reprobates.

There was no evidence that the 55 mph limit saved gas but it cost the country a fortune. Time is money and time was wasted at 55 mph. The economic recovery of then 80's and later the 90's was in part fueled by the piecemeal repeal of the 55 mph limit.

7. Watergate/Corruption/Abuse of Power/Fallout

Maybe this should be in more than one category. At any rate, Nixon's Administration was a continuum of shady deals, enemies lists, dirty tricks, kickbacks and intimidation. From the suspicious pardon of Jimmy Hoffa to a convicted vice president, the Watergate break-in and the resulting cover-up, Nixon became synonymous with political corruption as well as abuse of power.

Some revisionists claim that Nixon's crimes were not really all that substantial. He was a victim of an overzealous press and a poorly handled public relations campaign. Nonetheless, Tricky Dick created an aura of mistrust and suspicion.

The fallout of perceived corruption included the destruction of the Republican brand. Nixon turned red states blue. Hard to believe that not that long ago places like Vermont and New York produced Republican Senators and New York was served by a Senator from the Conservative Party. Until Ronald Reagan arrived on the scene in 1980, the GOP suffered under the long shadow of a dirty president. Some of the sleaziest carpetbaggers ever produced by the Democratic Party got their foot in the door in the mid to late 1970's. Hello Patrick Leahy.

Note: This might be one area where Obama can give Nixon a run for his money.


8. Chemical and Biological Weapons Ban

Look. War is nasty. Get used to it. Richard Nixon destroyed our nation's chemical and biological weapons program starting in 1969 and concluding in 1972. Where were all the patriots and hard liners when this stellar program was being dismantled?

This should make all of us cynical about defense spending. The cost to inflict a casualty with a biological weapon is roughly 1/600th that of the cost to inflict a casualty with conventional weapons. With chemical weapons, casualties are only 1/2000th as expensive. Nice numbers for tax payers but ugly numbers for defense contractors.

More important that dollars, Nixon compromised our national security by terminating our biochemical weapons program. Let us hope we do not pay a price in human life for our president's fluffy decision.

There you have it. Nixon was the worst. We could pile on and throw in the gutting of NASA (he squashed an ambitious moon colony and a manned trip to Mars.) Some would say he was soft on Communism. He was as bad as every other president when it came to spending taxpayer's money. But Nixon is the worst without the addition of fine print and finer points.

We should reconsider the trumpeted flaws of President Ford and especially President Carter. Some people regard Carter as the worst president but I have some sympathy for the guy. Nixon's disastrous economic measures coupled with his antagonism of OPEC contributed to the downfall or the two succeeding administrations. He almost made Reagan's re-election an impossibility. It was a malaise that lasted a decade and a half.

So be heartened, President Obama. Unless you get elected to a second term (shiver) you will only be the second worst president in US History. Fortunately, we still have Richard Nixon to kick around some more.

Gary Johnson Jumps To The Libertarian Party

Giant moan of despair for two reasons. 1. Gary Johnson could have been one of the GOP's brightest stars in 2016 or 2020 or 2024. 2. Johnson would have made a great candidate for the Senate seat from New Mexico.

It bothers me less that Johnson has made a bad career move than that he will not be running for and serving in the Senate. As mentioned elsewhere on this site, the GOP has an outside chance capturing a super majority in 2012. If you gave me the choice between the White House and a Senate super majority I would take the latter. It could have happened. It could have happened.

Gary Johnson would have fit in well with the Class of 2010. The GOP ranks would have swelled but more importantly, the Tea Party Caucus would have gained steam. This guy would give Harry Reid nightmares.

Gary. Gary. Gary. Who the hell is advising you?

In Defense of Ron Paul

I am not voting for Ron Paul (my 2008 choice) but I still feel the need to rush to his defense when he is slandered. Ron Paul is not and has never been a racist. He has delivered black babies and has spoken frankly about racism being the true motive behind our nation's drug laws. He supports the rights of unborn black children to be born. The term racist just does not fit.

Ron Paul mused that the American Civil War should never have been fought. In no way did Paul suggest that the institution of slavery should be preserved in perpetuity. But he rightly points out that every other country that once institutionalized slavery emancipated their slaves without resorting to a Civil War that would result in more casualties than all other American wars combined one hundred and forty six years after the stillness at Appomattox. If Brazil (and every other New World country) could free their slaves without bloodshed, why couldn't we?

I heard some "New Republic" employee connect the Civil War dots to form a Klansman hood. Once more, the MSM resorts to serpentine logic to assassinate the character of a good human being. The MSM really are evil. They really are.

Ron Paul is an isolationist. In no way does that make him anti-Semitic. And if you listen to Ron Paul, his position on Israel is more thoughtful and than one would think from listening to the talking heads. The US gives more cumulative dollars to the enemies of Israel than they give to Israel. So if the US cut off all foreign aid, Israel would be a net beneficiary. Point taken.

I know of Jewish people who have met Ron Paul and who hold him in high regard. I know of one Jewish man who traveled a great distance to meet his hero long before he became a household name. I think most people who meet this chap would easily discern the religion of his ancestors. This guy reported that Ron Paul was friendly and gracious and cordial. Go figure.

I have read Lew Rockwell for over twenty years and I don't recall him ever printing anything racist. Walter Williams writes for his website and I bet Rockwell knows from whence Williams' ancestors hailed. Predicting a race war based on Washington's policies is not to advocate for a race war. To state that gay advocates influenced what was reported about AIDS is not an act homophobia, it is a statement of truth that can be verified. Rockwell was and is guilty of failure to practice political correctness. I won't contest those charges.

The media once more display their contempt for truth, at least when truth does not support political correctness (which happens to be fairly frequently.) There are plenty of reasons to not vote for Ron Paul without inventing fairy tales to make one's case. Ron Paul first and foremost is a good man.

Kumbaya Ron Paul, Kumbaya

The independent variable in American politics is Ron Paul. If he goes third party, Obama will be re-elected and America as we knew her and loved her, is dead and gone. Bye bye exceptionalism.

If this happens, Ron Paul supporters will be pummelled and scapegoated but the fingers should be pointed elsewhere. Ron Paul has brought in hundreds of thousands of fiscal conservatives to the Republican Party. It is a strained relationship, but this is politics. You embrace the newbies and co-opt their movement if you have to, but you never alienate them.

Ron Paul was instrumental in restoring fiscal conservatism to the Republican Party. His supporters also played a role in starting the Tea Party movement. Does any sane person believe 2010 would have happened without the Tea Party? Apparently, old line Republicans believe just that. They learned nothing from 2006, 2008, or even 2010.

If the third party run happens, I blame Romney, Gingrich, talk radio, Dick Morris, Karl Rove, Fox News and all of the usual suspects. This can be avoided though. When Gingrich or Bachmann or Santorum is asked about Ron Paul, they should reflexively reply: "Ron Paul is a great man and I think he would make an excellent Federal Reserve Chairman."

I don't think Ron Paul could walk away from a Fed Chairmanship. He could audit to his heart's content and he could torture sacred cows. Not everyone would be happy but mostly bad things would happen to bad people and good things would happen to good people. Hope and change would arrive at last.

Yes we can!

Is Obama Still Smoking Crack?

So Obama rated himself #4 on the all-time great presidents list? And CBS covered it up? Which is the bigger story?

Lincoln, FDR, LBJ. I'll take Lincoln. The other two were disasters. FDR never brought us out of the Great Depression. But he did lead us through World War II so he wasn't a total flop.

$6 trillion in new debt, the highest unemployment since The Great Depression, energy policies OPEC could only dream of, a battered dollar, an expensive and potentially disastrous health care overhaul bill and much, much more.

We knew this guy was not lacking in the self esteem department but fourth best? Just what is he smoking?

I Guess I Picked The Wrong Year To Jump Off The Ron Paul Band Wagon

Yes, if there were no rogue nuclear nations and possibly millions of jihadists, I would still be a Ron Paul supporter. I agree with Mitt Romney that we will be Greece writ large with no one to bail us out. But I do not trust the GOP establishment to usher in an age of fiscal responsibility.

Ron Paul proposes a $1 trillion/year decrease in spending. Action of this scale is essential if America is to recover from the destruction of extreme debt. Will the GOP establishment acknowledge the obvious? Probably not.

Watching Fox News last night, I saw Fred Thompson throw his hands up in the air (figuratively) and ask his guests why in the world would someone support Ron Paul. None of the jerks replied "because he is the only candidate who recognizes the severity of our fiscal problems." For all their Bama-bashing the GOP does not seem to have learned any lessons of the past six years. They are not proposing bold distinctions from Obama. What did Reagan say about pastels?

On the same program Dick Morris slammed Ron Paul for his economic policies, specifically his advocacy of the gold standard. Morris went on to state that the gold standard prolonged the Great Depression. Uh oh!!! Morris embraces fiat currency? He buys into the Keynesian model much like Paul Krugman? GFM (Giant Moan.) With friends like Dick Morris, who needs Obama?

BTW, I do not necessarily advocate for the gold standard but it would be better than what we now have.

More disturbing GOP blather. Mitt Romney has joined the chorus of "China manipulates their currency." So Mitt, do you prefer a strong dollar or a weak dollar? I prefer "King Dollar" policies but we seem to be sailing on different ships. Is it too late for Kudlow to get in the race?

Ron Paul has not ruled out a third party run should he lose the GOP nomination. If this happens, we will have at least four more years of Obama. My opinion is that Paul is holding out support for other candidates until they show respect for his voting base and respect for their concerns. If Paul helps Obama get elected, do not blame Paul or the Paulists. Blame the mushy Obama Lite, lesser of two evils, reach across the aisle, compromise is strength Republican base.

Four more years?

Sunday Worship: The Obama Halo

I am still amazed that a prissy ass community organizer with no resume (not a thin resume, a resume so lacking in essential elements, like transcripts for instance, to disqualify the use of the noun as it is normally employed) won the 2008 presidential election. There were a lot of reasons to expect an Obama backlash before election day but one Obama facet lead the pack: THE CHEESE FACTOR!

Yes, THE CHEESE FACTOR! At some point I expected a hyperstylish America to reject Obama for the campaign's unbridled pandering. Yes, I expected a backlash of substance, such as it is, but I also expected a backlash of style. The first "American Idol" candidate would be rejected by the people who would never admit to watching such a cheesy show. The cooler than thou folks would distance themselves from The Cheese Makers. HA!

A quick disclaimer. These images are copyrighted but this is an example of a fair use exclusion.

THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG:

DAVID AXELROD MIGHT BE MORE EVIL THAN SATAN, BUT HIS IS ONE OF THE FINEST MINDS OF OF OUR ERA

ADVERTISING DOESN'T INFLUENCE ME. I DRINK BUD LIGHT BECAUSE I PREFER A WATER-DOWNED, FLAVORLESS LAGER THAT SAVES THE BREWER 30% IN PRODUCTION COSTS.

I NEVER BOUGHT INTO THAT COWBOY MALARKY. I SMOKED MARLBOROS BECAUSE OF THE FULL FLAVOR EXPERIENCE

INTERLUDE: TOP 100 ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS (adage.com)

1. Volkswagen, "Think Small", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1959
2. Coca-Cola, "The pause that refreshes", D'Arcy Co., 1929
3. Marlboro, The Marlboro Man, Leo Burnett Co., 1955
4. Nike, "Just do it", Wieden & Kennedy, 1988
5. McDonald's, "You deserve a break today", Needham, Harper & Steers, 1971
6. DeBeers, "A diamond is forever", N.W. Ayer & Son, 1948
7. Absolut Vodka, The Absolut Bottle, TBWA, 1981
8. Miller Lite beer, "Tastes great, less filling", McCann-Erickson Worldwide, 1974
9. Clairol, Does she...or doesn't she?", Foote, Cone & Belding, 1957
10. Avis, "We try harder", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1963
11. Federal Express, "Fast talker", Ally & Gargano, 1982
12. Apple Computer, "1984", Chiat/Day, 1984
13. Alka-Seltzer, Various ads, Jack Tinker & Partners; Doyle Dane Bernbach; Wells Rich, Greene, 1960s, 1970s
14. Pepsi-Cola, "Pepsi-Cola hits the spot", Newell-Emmett Co., 1940s
15. Maxwell House, "Good to the last drop", Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, 1959
16. Ivory Soap, "99 and 44/100% Pure", Proctor & Gamble Co., 1882
17. American Express, "Do you know me?", Ogilvy & Mather, 1975
18. U.S. Army, "Be all that you can be", N.W. Ayer & Son, 1981
19. Anacin, "Fast, fast, fast relief", Ted Bates & Co., 1952
20. Rolling Stone, "Perception. Reality.", Fallon McElligott Rice, 1985
21. Pepsi-Cola, "The Pepsi generation", Batton, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, 1964
22. Hathaway Shirts, "The man in the Hathaway shirt", Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, 1951
23. Burma-Shave, Roadside signs in verse, Allen Odell, 1925
24. Burger King, "Have it your way", BBDO, 1973
25. Campbell Soup, "Mmm mm good", BBDO, 1930s
26. U.S. Forest Service, Smokey the Bear/"Only you can prevent forest fires", Advertising Council/Foote, Cone & Belding
27. Budweiser, "This Bud's for you", D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, 1970s
28. Maidenform, "I dreamed I went shopping in my Maidenform bra", Norman, Craig & Kunnel, 1949
29. Victor Talking Machine Co., "His master's voice", Francis Barraud, 1901
30. Jordan Motor Car Co., "Somewhere west of Laramie", Edward S. (Ned) Jordan, 1923
31. Woodbury Soap, "The skin you love to touch", J. Walter Thompson Co., 1911
32. Benson & Hedges 100s, "The disadvantages", Wells, Rich, Greene, 1960s
33. National Biscuit Co., Uneeda Biscuits' Boy in Boots, N.W. Ayer & Son, 1899
34. Energizer, The Energizer Bunny, Chiat/Day, 1989
35. Morton Salt, "When it rains it pours", N.W. Ayer & Son, 1912
36. Chanel, "Share the fantasy", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1979
37. Saturn, "A different kind of company, A different kind of car.", Hal Riney & Partners, 1989
38. Crest toothpaste, "Look, Ma! No cavities!", Benton & Bowles, 1958
39. M&Ms, "Melts in your mouth, not in your hands", Ted Bates & Co., 1954
40. Timex, "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking", W.B. Doner & Co & predecessor agencies, 1950s
41. Chevrolet, "See the USA in your Chevrolet", Campbell-Ewald, 1950s
42. Calvin Klein, "Know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing!
43. Reagan for President, "It's morning again in America" Tuesday Team, 1984
44. Winston cigarettes, "Winston tastes good--like a cigarette should" 1954
45. U.S. School of Music, "They laughed when I sat down at the piano, but when I started to play!" Ruthrauff & Ryan, 1925
46. Camel cigarettes, "I'd walk a mile for a Camel", N. W. Ayer & Son, 1921
47. Wendy's, "Where's the beef?", Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample, 1984
48. Listerine, "Always a bridesmaid, but never a bride", Lambert & Feasley, 1923
49. Cadillac, "The penalty of leadership", MacManus, John & Adams, 1915
50. Keep America Beautiful, "Crying Indian", Advertising Council/Marstellar Inc., 1971
51. Charmin, "Please don't squeeze the Charmin", Benton & Bowles, 1964
52. Wheaties, "Breakfast of champions", Blackett-Sample-Hummert, 1930s
53. Coca-Cola, "It's the real thing", McCann-Erickson, 1970
54. Greyhound, "It's such a comfort to take the bus and leave the driving to us", Grey Advertising, 1957
55. Kellogg's Rice Krispies, "Snap! Crackle! and Pop!", Leo Burnett Co., 1940s
56. Polaroid, "It's so simple", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1977
57. Gillette, "Look sharp, feel sharp", BBDO, 1940s
58. Levy's Rye Bread, "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's Rye Bread", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1949
59. Pepsodent, "You'll wonder where the yellow went", Foote, Cone & Belding, 1956
60. Lucky Strike cigarettes, "Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet", Lord & Thomas, 1920s
61. 7 UP, "The Uncola", J. Walter Thompson, 1970s
62. Wisk detergent, "Ring around the collar", BBDO, 1968
63. Sunsweet Prunes, "Today the pits, tomorrow the wrinkles", Freberg Ltd., 1970s
64. Life cereal, "Hey, Mikey", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1972
65. Hertz, "Let Hertz put you in the driver's seat", Norman, Craig & Kummel, 1961
66. Foster Grant, "Who's that behind those Foster Grants?", Geer, Dubois, 1965
67. Perdue chicken, "It takes a tough man to make tender chicken" Scali, McCabe, Sloves, 1971
68. Hallmark, "When you care enough to send the very best", Foote, Cone & Belding, 1930s
69. Springmaid sheets, "A buck well spent", In-house, 1948
70. Queensboro Corp., Jackson Heights Apartment Homes, WEAF, NYC, 1920s
71. Steinway & Sons, "The instrument of the immortals", N.W. Ayer & Sons, 1919
72. Levi's jeans, "501 Blues", Foote, Cone & Belding, 1984
73. Blackglama-Great Lakes Mink, "What becomes a legend most?", Jane Trahey Associates, 1960s
74. Blue Nun wine, Stiller & Meara campaign, Della Famina, Travisano & Partners, 1970s
75. Hamm's beer, "From the Land of Sky Blue Waters", Campbell-Mithun, 1950s
76. Quaker Puffed Wheat, "Shot from guns", Lord & Thomas, 1920s
77. ESPN Sports, "This is SportsCenter", Wieden & Kennedy, 1995
78. Molson Beer, Laughing Couple, Moving & Talking Picture Co., 1980s
79. California Milk Processor Board, "Got Milk?", 1993
80. AT&T, "Reach out and touch someone", N.W. Ayer, 1979
81. Brylcreem, "A little dab'll do ya", Kenyon & Eckhardt, 1950s
82. Carling Black Label beer, "Hey Mabel, Black Label!", Lang, Fisher & Stashower, 1940s
83. Isuzu, "Lying Joe Isuzu", Della Famina, Travisano & Partners, 1980s
84. BMW, "The ultimate driving machine", Ammirati & Puris, 1975
85. Texaco, "You can trust your car to the men who wear the star", Benton & Bowles, 1940s
86. Coca-Cola, "Always", Creative Artists Agency, 1993
87. Xerox, "It's a miracle", Needham, Harper & Steers, 1975
88. Bartles & Jaymes, "Frank and Ed", Hal Riney & Partners, 1985
89. Dannon Yogurt, Old People in Russia, Marstellar Inc., 1970s
90. Volvo, Average life of a car in Sweden, Scali, McCabe, Sloves, 1960s
91. Motel 6, "We'll leave a light on for you", Richards Group, 1988
92. Jell-O, Bill Cosby with kids, Young & Rubicam, 1975
93. IBM, Chaplin's Little Tramp character, Lord, Geller, Federico, Einstein, 1982
94. American Tourister, The Gorilla, Doyle, Dane Bernbach, late 1960s
95. Right Guard, "Medicine Cabinet", BBDO, 1960s
96. Maypo, "I want my Maypo", Fletcher, Calkins & Holden, 1960s
97. Bufferin, Pounding heartbeat, Young & Rubicam, 1960
98. Arrow Shirts, "My friend, Joe Holmes, is now a horse", Young & Rubicam, 1938
99. Young & Rubicam, "Impact", Young & Rubicam, 1930
100. Lyndon Johnson for President, "Daisy", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1964

Read complete article below:

http://adage.com/century/campaigns.html


DAVID OGILVY SOLD A LOT OF HATHAWAY SHIRTS BUT DAVID AXELROD SOLD A STUFFED SHIRT TO 63 MILLION AMERICANS

THE HITS KEEP RIGHT ON COMING

And on and on and on. I tried to weed out the parodies but in the case of Barack Hussein Obama, the bullshit is so blatant that the original material could pass as spoofery. As far as I know these are all productions of either the Obama Campaign or the mainstream media (yes, that probably is a redundancy.)

I was by no means the first person to notice the halo. There are some other historians who explored the assorted hagiographies in more detail. We might return to them when we revisit this subject in the future. For now, this post serves as a worthy introduction to the sleaziest and cheesiest (but oh so effective) undeclared advertising campaigns in the history of Planet Earth.

Hope and Change.

Email from John H 12/12/11

Here is my order today. I would vote for ANY of these folks over Obama!

1. Rick Santorum
2. Michele Bachmann
3. Ron Paul
4. Rick Perry
5. Mitt Romney
6. Newt Gingrich
7. Jon Huntsman

What is you list?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


My list would be:

1. Gary Johnson (If he is still in the race)
2. Newt.
3. Bachmann.
4. Ron Paul.
5. Mitt
6. Santorum.
7. Perry.
8. Huntsman.

New Jersey's Loss is MF Global's Loss

That darn Chris Christie. Had he not knocked Jon Corzine out of the Governor's mansion, the investors would be $1.2 billion richer.

I am hesitant to comment on any financial scandal for a couple of reasons. One, the public and the press cannot distinguish between fraud and violation of SEC regulations. Two, the press and the public cannot distinguish between fraud and violation of laws of extremely dubious merit. The broad brush of financial scandal is applied with vigor. And of course, the public relations machines are prepared to grind their political axes even before the scandal materializes. The Corzine hearings commence and immediately a Democrat (Peterson from Minnesota) bandstands for Dodd/Frank. The 2008 fiasco had not even materialized when the press had blamed a mythical deregulation that unfortunately, never took place.

So it is with caution that I bash Jon Corzine. But make no mistake about it: If a firm misplaces their client's funds, that firm is guilty of either negligence or fraud. No exceptions. If one can account for a client's loss, one is guilty of ineptitude. You are not assigned a dunce cap, not orange coveralls. Conversely, if you cannot account for a client's funds you might still be assigned a dunce cap but you might also be deemed a threat to society.

To summarize:

Insider trading does not equal fraud.

Parking stocks does not equal fraud.

Losing a client's funds through unwise investments does not equal fraud.

Losing--as in to lose track of or account of--a client's funds is either fraud or gross negligence. No exceptions.

If an investment firm cannot account for one cent of a client's funds, corrective action is required. Accounting perfection is the industry standard. MF Global cannot account for $1.2 billion. This folks, is a genuine scandal!

Jon Corzine will be remembered as either a doofus, a crook or both. The silver lining to this sordid tale is that the good people of New Jersey now have a governor with integrity. MF Global clients are not so fortunate.

Generic Republican Now Leads Obama By Eight Points.

This according to Rasmussen. No, I am not linking you to the most accurate pollster in America, the king of all polling, the man who transformer a bogus industry into a field now dotted with oracles. you should already be linked to Rasmussen.

Now, if we can just get Mr. Generic to step forward...

We Had No Idea How Bad The Problem Was or The Inherited Mess Fairy Tale

I won't go into the minutia that prompted this blurb but it still blows my mind that three years after the presidential election, we are still hearing fairy tales about The Anointed One. The Inherited Mess Fairy Tale is easily so easily discredited but pundits rarely bother to do so. The Dems took contro of both Houses of Congress in 2006. From 2007 to 2009 Bush was declawed, defanged and constantly defamed. The Dems were given the reins. Bush was given the blame. Nice deal if you can get it.

The fable continues. Shortly after inauguration Barack and his advisors were given access to the sacred ledger that George Bush hid away under his bed in the White House. Only then could the magi make an informed decision.

Cut the crap! Here comes a reality check.

1. Barack Obama was elected to the Senate in 2004.

2. The Dems took control of both houses in 2006.

3. As such, Obama did not "inherit" anything. He was a co-creator of whatever happened to the USA from January 2005 until January 2009. US Senators wield a great deal of power (with little or no accountability in Obama's case.)

4. President Obama was not privy to financial information unavailable to Senator Obama. Nada. US Senators are not just allowed to look at the books, they are the ones who "write" the books. If President Obama faced any surprises, it was only because Senator Obama was not paying attention. No other explanations are credible.

Still, we have one more Poor Barack tale that just will not go away. Poor, Poor Barack. Thirty years from now the loyalists will still recite this fairy tale.

Is George Soros Behind The Ongoing Attacks On Peter Schiff?

Wonder what George Soros' Open Society Funds? Here is a nice overview.

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/viewSubCategory.asp?id=1237

Certain characteristics run through Soros' creations like thread through a tapestry.

1. Astroturf surface: Open Society does want to reveal itself as an 800 pound octopus. They fund smaller organizations that try real, real hard to look like a warm and cuddly grass roots organization.

2. Routine misinformation. We examined the Robert Reich falsehoods advanced by moveon.org in a previous post. That is par for the course with most things Soros.

3. A high degree of personal attacks, insults and character assassination. The Left applies the Alinsky Model routinely because the facts are rarely on their side. Thus, they cannot argue substance. Attack. Attack. Attack. Truth be damned.

Do the ongoing series of attacks on Peter Schiff lead back to George Soros? I don't know. There is no smoking gun but there is definitely some astroturf getting installed. The following youtube site is called the SchittReport in honor of TheSchiffReport.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SchittReport#p/u

The site posts dozens upon dozens of videos bashing Peter Schiff. Under "Other Channels" they list SchiffNemesis that has uploaded 10 videos. They also list AntiSchiff, a channel with 120 uploads and "The Schitt Report Too" that has uploaded 60 videos.

The channels pretend to be run by individuals but this seems to be a group effort. A lot of similar "style" is consistent throughout the channels. Their collective output suggests a group effort. Most lefties are, what is the right term? Willfully blind? Deliberately ignorant? Most of the OWS crowd have no idea who Peter Schiff is and they don't care to be enlightened.

It is suspicious that unrelated individuals who have no political agenda comb through every word of Peter Schiff, as well as every word of anyone who disagrees with Peter Schiff, spend a hell of a lot of time splicing and producing youtube videos loaded with off the shelf insults that do not necessarily fit the subject at hand and they do it all for recreational purposes. Something is wrong with the picture.

When Sheriff Joe Arpaio Becomes A Spokesman For The Tea Party, The Tea Party is Over.

Understand, I am fascinated by self-promoters. I begrudgingly respect a leg-spreading, husband-stealing, Dr. Laura Schlessinger who invented a persona of professional prude and retired in luxury. I am amazed that always flabby Richard Simmons could wear loose fitting clothes and ascend to the lofty status of fitness guru. I marvel at the nails-on-chalkboard delivery of Curtis Sliwa could somehow secure an annoyingly inarticulate man a cozy niche in the forgiving world of talk radio.

And as an avoidant personality, I am interested in professional narcissists in much the same way that an anorexic might find gluttons and gluttony intriguing. And yes, I respect Sheriff Joe Arpaio for the cheesy publicity stunts that have always garnered him the Sinclair treatment from the buffoons in both the mainstream and the conservative media. And yes, I am a hopeless opportunist wannabe who seethes with envy when I witness a carpetbagger extraordinaire work his magic. But there is nothing Tea Party about Joe Arpaio.

Joe Arpaio does not support, advocate for or advance the cause of fiscal conservatism. He is not a deregulator, a minarchist or a proponent of the "small is beautiful" school of governance. But in his unending quest for the spotlight, Sheriff Joe has crashed our party.

I was proud when a Wisconsin Tea Party group extended a "Not Welcome" mat to GOP hack Tommy Thompson. But you hammer one lump out of the carpet and it rises somewhere else. Some of us suspected that the Tea Party would eventually be co-opted by a smooth operator. But I did not think the hijacking would occur so soon and I did not think we would be so easily duped.

Frankly, I thought the Tea Party would meet its demise in the form of something other than a tired, tireless and tiresome publicity whore who will hog any spotlight at any cost and at any effort. Rest in peace Tea Party. You are in Sheriff Joe's custody now.

LarryPalooza

I can't claim prophecy for this one. I stated that after all of the personal attacks on Obama critics, Tea Party types as well as front running or prominent GOP candidates, Team Chicago might get a taste of its own medicine. I was unaware that just two days prior, a website posted a series of Larry Sinclair interviews. Hillbuzz shares our disgust at the preferential treatment of Barack Obama versus the treatment Herman Cain has endured.

This is not to be missed

http://hillbuzz.org/thanksgiving-marathon-the-is-barack-obama-gay-larry-sinclair-interview-is-on-youtube-now-79752

Wildcard Wednesday: Larry Sinclair in Delaware

IN THE COMMENTS SECTION THERE ARE ACCUSATIONS THAT YOUTUBE UNDERSTATES THE VIEWCOUNT AND HAS PULLED THIS VID IN THE PAST

Let Them Manipulate!

It might be a truism that roughly 40% of Americans identify themselves as conservative vs. 20% who identify themselves as liberal. This is probably a case where semantics trick our perceptions. Let's skip the misuse of two words (liberal and conservative) right now. Let's look at the grab bag called conservative.

First, social conservatism in the activist sense, is incompatible with fiscal conservatism. And there are countless schisms within the ranks of social conservatism. But let's put social conservatism on the shelf for the time being.

Among fiscal conservatives there are broad philosophical differences between free traders and protectionists. There is also a rift between strong dollar proponents vs. weak dollar proponents. I am a strong dollar proponent.

When I hear Donald Trump or Lou Dobbs or Greta Van Sustern bemoan the Chinese "manipulating" their currency. By manipulation they mean devaluing. This is looking Secretariat in the mouth. The Chinese government has decided to shaft their own people so that sneakers formerly priced at $16 can be sold for $9. China citizens lose. Consumers all over the world win.

A weak currency might benefit a few niches, a few select special interests, but a strong currency benefits every consumer and every payee. So when the Manipulation Mob raise their pitch forks to the heavens, they cheer on the devaluing of the dollar (at least against the yuan.) If they cannot grasp the advantages of a strong dollar then we have a case of "with friends like these..."

I say, "Let Them Manipulate!"

The Fork In The Road

A lot can be said for reading Hayek, Mises, and Sowell but the most important economist for our times is Milton Friedman. I cannot speak to the origins of the monetarist school of economics but I can tell you that at one point the school became one and the same with the work of Friedman.

To quote Friedman, "inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon." That simple statement has as many implications as just about any statement ever uttered. But let us narrow our focus to the matters at hand. National spending is not subject to the constraints of other spending. For-profit corporations, not-for-profit corporations, universities, municipalities, states, families and individuals cannot print their own money. Only nations can do that (we can sides step the merits of private currency for now.)

The nature of nations is such that leaders usually spend in an irresponsible manner. It's the way of the world. Nations commit economic suicide on a regular basis.

We can be a bit dramatic and say that eventually a free spending country faces a fork in the road but actually the fork is always there. Perhaps monetarism is better suited to nautical metaphor (Bill Ayers will appreciate that) than to pilgrim metaphor. But the choice is always there: Continue on a course of ever increasing spending or cease spending in a reckless manner.

What has to be emphasized and reemphasized is that both options are painful. If through some miracle Ron Paul were elected president, Rand Paul became Senate Majority Leader, Paul Ryan became Speaker of The House and Mrs. Paul replaced Ben Bernanke, the brakes would finally be applied. But it would be painful. We would have a recession that would drag on for months or even years. And yet, this would be less painful and less destructive in the long run than unbridled spending causes a Weimar situation.

But a necessary recession can be a tough sell for citizens who do no speak German or SchweizerDeutsch (not sure how Austrian speaking people would handle the situation.) The German collective memory focuses on the Weimar currency collapse that ushered in Adolf Hitler. America's collective nightmare is the Great Depression. America did not gain wisdom from The Depression but they did learn a couple of simplistic ideas. 1. Economic activity is good. 2. Economic inactivity is bad.

It is the American fear of economic inactivity that has lead to reckless spending. Washington does not distinguish between economic activity and work. Funding a Department of Education (or a Solyndra) creates jobs and generates economic activity. But does the Department of Education promote useful services and improve the education of America? You can answer that one.

Economists have used an addiction model to explain government spending. We can quit cold turkey and save our lives or we can delay a fate that will ultimately be much worse. One of the problems with this model is that withdrawal in the economic sphere lasts for months or even years. It's not a three day spin dry. No weekend cold turkey. Uh uh. This is a transformation where real people, even good people, get hurt.

A fiscal conservative will have a hard time making the case for the lesser of two evils. The media love hyperspending and Harvard students now walk out on economic courses that have "a conservative bias." Life sometimes has a conservative bias. Truth sometimes has a conservative bias. Economics does not so much have a conservative bias as conservatism has an economic bias.

A hard rain is going to fall. The best case scenario is a short, sharp recession. But I doubt if America has the political will to endure a short term period of inactivity. Our government funds a lot of waste but the beneficiaries of government waste buy automobiles and flat screens and cell phones. It won't just be the pigs who get slaughtered. Bad things will happen to good people.

Does Gingrich or Romney have the courage to discuss the necessary choices we have to make? If elected, do they have the courage to enact decisions that will be beneficial in the long run but brutal in the short term? I don't know. But it is time for the rest of us to acknowledge the difficult choices we have to make. A $15,000,000,000,000 debt cannot be painlessly erased.

The GOP Field

This will be only the second time that I will vote in a Republican Presidential Primary, 2008 being the other. The media like to bash the GOP candidates but I think it is a strong field. After all, Romney was my second choice in 2008 (after Paul.) Now he is my fifth choice after Bachmann, Newt, Cain and Johnson. I will take any of the 2012 crop over McCain, Huckabee and Guliani. And yes, I will take any of them over Obama.

"The Union Leader" Endorses Gingrich

"The Union Leader" might be the last newspaper endorsement that matters. It mattered in 2008 when they endorsed McCain and brought his campaign back from the dead. I'm not sure if it will matter this time around. Romney has the endorsement of Senator Ayotte, former Senators Gregg and Sununu and former Governor Sununu. Romney owns property on Lake Winnepesaki (I think that's how you spell it)and is an honorary Granite Head if not an official native son. I have no idea how he antagonized The UL but they don't like him.

I don't think I have even paged through "The Union Leader" since 2008. I was working on the Ron Paul campaign and the Leader "forgot" to run a full page Paul ad on the Saturday before the election. I am sure they refunded the campaign but at the time, Paul was polling second and they wanted McCain to win. They seriously offered to run the ad after the primary. They can be pretty damn sleazy.

I don't know why "The Union Leader" selects the candidates that they select. William Loeb used to call divorced men wife swappers but Reagan was OK with him and Loeb was married three times. (His Wikipedia entry, if it is to be believed, is quite colorful.) At any rate, "The Union Leader" endorsed Newt. For Romney, that is a cold slap in the face.

I Will Shed No Tears For The Pampered One When His Opponents Fight Back.

Yes, it took me a long time to dislike the puppet-in-chief. I disliked Axelrod and Emanuel but I thought the empty suit was not worthy of contempt. As the veil is slowly lifted we are seeing a monster emerge.

The vile personal attacks on first Palin, then Bachmann, then Cain, then Bachmann once more tell us a great deal about the character of Obama and his minions. In 2008, John McCain apparently took a dive. Palin bashed the Chosen One but the rest of the campaign was all about playing nice. The coronation arrived and Team Chicago never stopped attacking.

In early 2009 Obama's henchmen dredged up Levi Johnston to bash the Palins. This seemed odd because Sarah Palin was no longer a candidate and had gone back to serving as governor of Alaska. I cannot remember a time when political character assassination continued immediately after an election. Team Chicago was playing by a different set of rules.

Team Chicago continued the full court press even after Sarah Palin resigned as governor. They stalked her family and continued a relentless smear campaign culminating in Joe McInniss's discredited book. Team Chicago's attacks were vicious and nasty and frequently dishonest. There was no honor, virtue or sense of fair play. Just a long series of personal attacks. Karma has a way of manifesting itself but let's hold that thought for now.

The Palin attacks were followed up by a series of baseless personal attacks on Michele Bachmann. Bachmann's numbers fell as Herman Cain's ascended. Then we saw the Cain smear campaign. Four anonymous women from long ago. Wait. One of them has a name and a face. And she is represented by Democratic hack Gloria Allred and she lives in David Axelrod's building. The scandal never passed the smell test.

Obama has enjoyed unending praise from his minions in the press. His critcs have mostly offered criticism of his performance and not his person and his family has been rightfully spared. Part of this fair play is practical. Obama's job performance is so awful, there is no need to take a cheap shot.

But the opposition to Obama has grown personal. Yes, he is a presidential failure and trumpetiing his ineptitude will serve his opponents well. Do remember that a hell of a lot of people love Sarah Palin. A hell of a lot of people love Michele Bachmann. A hell of a lot of people respect Herman Cain and not many people think he deserves public humiliation and baseless attacks.

Let us return to that Karmic Wheel which is now completing a four year cycle. This time around, the gloves will come off and I don't think Team Chicago will like it. Even if the GOP nominates a play nice candidate in the image of John McCain, third parties will pick up the slack. Third party messages were missing in 2008. They will hit full force in 2012.

Obama has a lot to be concerned about. There are impersonal stories that got overlooked. His relationship with Tony Rezko. His wife's $379k no show job that was created shortly afte he became senator and was not filled when she went to Washington. Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright might also return to the spotlight. Oh and who financed Obama's education?

Then there are those matters that we might call sordid. There are a lot of rumors about Obama that have not been highlighted because his opponents have taken the high road. Hillary is credited with recruiting Larry Sinclair while the Republicans have stuck to the issues. But if Team Chicago is going to destroy the reputations of good people, I see more Sinclairs in Obama's future. Lots of Larrys this time around.

Is Obama a Muslim? My opinion is that a man is entitled to his own beliefs and some of my friendliest acquaiantances are Muslim. And I will continue my politically correct speech and state that we should always distinugish between Islam the religion and Islam the political force. It is the latter that should concern us. Jihad, terrorism, anti-semitism and the slaying of Christians. It is not the religion of peace that Obama has embraced. It is an ugly, dangerous political cartel that the president has befriended. He might pay a heavy price for this friendship.

What if Obama is an affirmative action beneficiary? What if he flunked math or basic economics? What if he wrote college papers that could be construed as anti-semitic? What if he advanced theses that were pro-Marxist or otherwise anti-American? There is a reason why Obama refuses to release his transcripts. What is that reason?

And let us never forget Obama's Marxist-sympathizing family, his "Uncle Frank" and "the little red church." This area is ripe for exploitation even if one minimizes speculation. Obama might well be the real life Manchurian Candidate.

I don't like public humiliation and I don't enjoy the downfall of public figures. But is this case I am willing to make an exception. Team Chicago are a bunch of thugs. There is nothing noble, good or virtuous about these slobs. Nothing. Truth means nothing to them. Nothing at all.

While Obama's opponents took the high road (Hillary notwithstanding) Team Chicago always went low. The instincts of the bottom feeder. Every legitimate criticism was met with a charge of racism. Every political rival (and their families)was trashed, truth be damned. But anyone can play the Alinsky game. And if one resides in a glass house and happens to have an Achilles Epidermis, one might consider the merits of tossing beanbags.

Do I believe in karma? Short answer: "Not exactly." But I believe in something like karma. And that something like karma can be a real bitch. Team Chicago might just get a dose of her own medicine. It could be a bitter pill to swallow.

Happy Thanksgiving and Welcome to The Twilight Zone

My life is wound so tight that if one thing goes wrong--car trouble, computer problem, power outage, lost item--everything seems to unravel. It's been twenty two days since I last blogged. In that time I had a lot of comments but I have kept them to myself.

Frustration is at its peak when I want to say a dozen things at once. I continue to fall behind in my commentary and I have to toss a few subjects overboard. At a time like this, it is best to state the most important issue first.

We live in "The Twilight Zone." Some things I have figured out and other things have gotten so damn weird that I am willing to consider time travel or aliens or Masonic mind control or the new and improved Illuminati as influences. America has become part George Orwell, part Rod Serling, part George Noory. It's not liberal vs. conservative, or left vs. right and it might transcend insider vs. outsider.

In some ways I was right about Obama. I thought we would have a significantly higher debt, higher unemployment, a weaker dollar, a stagnant if not weakened stock market, higher prices in general and higher energy prices in particular. My fears materialized. What I did not foresee is that three years into his presidency, we still have not vetted Barack Hussein Obama. Strange days have found us.

Truthfully, I thought the press would turn on the the chosen one. His Humpty Dumpty moment would sell as many copies as Obama's meteoric rise to stardom. They always betrayed their creations. Always. Build them up and tear them down. Two stories in one. For the first time in my life the press has chosen to refrain from massive profit and greater circulation and increased viewership. We are witnessing a massive conspiracy of silence.

One reason to dismiss a conspiracy theory is too many conspirators. If everyone is a participant, it is not much of a conspiracy. It is just human nature. The press loved Bill Clinton but they are who they are and they exposed his intimate secrets as predictably as Larry Flynt exposed Jackie Onassis. News is, or was, their meal ticket. No one is breaking from the pack.

We would learn more about Joe the Plumber twenty four hours after his inadvertent media baptism than we would learn about Barack Hussein Obama three years after he was elected president. Yes folks, that is weird. Bizarre. Unreal.

Has the press been hijacked by a sinister organization who practice covert rituals and secret handshakes? I don't know. But something has happened. Please excuse me if I am a bit skeptical of biographies called either "The Bridge..." or "The Promise..." No, the flood gates have not opened.

Weirder than the mercenary press harnessing its own voracious greed is the lack of curiosity of tens of millions of Americans. We have to ask ourselves, "Did the gray aliens put something in the water?" Whatever else one might say about Bill Clinton or Ted Kennedy, the public had a good idea who these men happened to be. Their elections were a series of informed choices.

Not so, Obama supporters. Don't ask, don't tell still reigns in Obamaland. You can skip over the birther stuff and he is still an international man of mystery. The White House refused to answer questions about his umm, irregular social security number. Obama has never released any of his transcripts. The ultimate narcissist refuses to flaunt his glowing achievements? Come on.

The press ignores the eccentric Dunham family and their relationship with Franklin Marshall Davis and their attendance at the little red church. An unusual interest in Marxism is present on both sides of Obama's family. The only friend from Occidental to go public was John Drew, a college Marxist who would denounce his ideology (to the disapproval of a young Barack Obama) before graduation.

We know almost nothing about Obama's Columbia classmates. Factcheck.org gets testy about this issue http://www.factcheck.org/2010/02/obama-at-columbia-university/ and then identifies Phil Boerner and one anonymous woman who recalls playing soccer with him. In fairness, he did contribute to a leftist newspaper called "Sundial."
Snopes located a Sohale Siddiqi who seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. They also located exactly one teacher, Michael L. Baron. When Obama said he chose his friends carefully, he really meant it.


Obama supporters are not curious as to who financed Obama's education (he did not disclose any student loans in any of his election filings.) Obama supporters don't want to know who wrote the massive stimulus bill that was just sitting on a shelf when Congress was in recess or the 2,700 page monstrosity that would become known as Obamacare. Can't be bothered.

The media and Obama followers don't seem to care just what Obama did as a community organizer. Spreading hope and change I guess. We make jokes about drinking the Kool-Aid but something happened. Something weirder than weird happened. Something inspired the loyal masses to faithfully install their mental blinders and to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Welcome to "The Twilight Zone."

Remember the old days when we blogged by candle light?

After two days of wrestling with Broadband2go, Virgin Mobile tech support has concluded that they sold me a defective product and they will provide another product in 3-5 business days. If they want to sell defective merchandise, the least they can do is sell products that never work. I do resent the two days I jumped from computer to computer, location to location, and tinkered with this and that. I could get a connection established (some of the time) and then I would get bumped off.

Meanwhile, I still have tw months on my Verizon mifi that has never worked the way it has supposed to but can provide a better than dial up experience most of the time. I am glad I did not wait till the last minute to explore other Internet options even if it means paying for two providers in the short term. I just knew the baton would not pass gracefully.

Now if the local utility company can keep the juice flowing...

Playing Nostradamus Once More

I believe the latest assault on Herman Cain--vague sexual harassment complaints from long ago--will revitalize his campaign. Remember, Cain was an also ran until about a month ago when Lawrence O'Donnell attacked him for not being authentically black. His numbers shot through the roof, he was the flavor of the month and the tide started to subside. Then, the non-scandal broke. Cain is once more, the man to beat.

Look out, Mitt. I predict that in two weeks, you will be breathing Cain's exhaust. I could be wrong but I m usually right about these things.

Twofer Tuesday: Michael Moore:You Can Tell By His Hat That He Is A Man Of The People

TOP .2 PER CENT IS MORE ACCURATE

A LIMOUSINE LIBERAL AND HIS 1,000 PARROTS

Media Monday: Robert Reich is a Chronically Dishonest Human Being.

I still hold the opinion that the very best book written about the news media is "The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS." I sometimes wish that Michael Fumento had chosen a different title. The book was not one of the many AIDS conspiracy/alternative theory slush piles that afflicted the early 90's. "The Myth..." was an analysis of the media coverage of the AIDS epidemic.

If there is only one thing to be learned (and there is more than one thing to be learned) from reading this masterpiece, it is that the media, and people in general, can radically distort the truth without telling a single overt lie. Lies can be easily refuted. Not so half-truths and willful omissions of significant details. For instance, the media echo chamber chanted the "Heterosexuals are the fastest growing group of AIDS victims" slogan. What they deleted was the foot note that immigrants who contracted the disease abroad were automatically classified as heterosexual. An important omission of detail.

As much as I would prefer that Fumento called the book something other than "The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS" the controversy surrounding the book would ultimately confirm a point that Fumento was trying to make. Namely, that political correctness is more important than truth for the news media. I am not sure that a day goes by when the press sacrifices truth on the altar of political correctness. Social Security is a legally sanctioned and socially sanctioned pyramid scheme. But the press will not acknowledge that it is a giant Ponzi schme beacuse it is legally and socially sanctioned. Political correctness wins again.

"The Myth..." promotes a tragic flaw of human communication. Sadly, it takes more verbiage, more time, and more energy to refute a falsehood than to promote a falsehood. As compelling as Fumento's magnum opus happened to be, it did not compete with the mighty roar of Oprah, the pitter patter of the Associated Press and the mindless parroting of every talking head in the electronic news media.

Robert Reich is the embodiment of all that is wrong with the media that Fumento exposed eighteen years ago. Reich is the master of half truth and the following videos illustrate this. It bears emphasizing that the entire "the top X per cent have increased their wealth by Y..." is utter, unadulterated bullshit. That whole line of chatter is invalidated because indivuals move from one group to another. Reich omits the mobility factor. He knows he is being dishonest when he spreads this sort of part-truth. Honor means nothing to Reich. He reminds us of Falstaff:

'...honour pricks
me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I
come on? how then? Can honour set to a leg? no: or
an arm? no: or take away the grief of a wound? no.
Honour hath no skill in surgery, then? no. What is
honour? a word. What is in that word honour? what
is that honour? air. A trim reckoning! Who hath it?
he that died o' Wednesday. Doth he feel it? no.
Doth he hear it? no. 'Tis insensible, then. Yea,
to the dead. But will it not live with the living?
no. Why? detraction will not suffer it. Therefore
I'll none of it. Honour is a mere scutcheon...'

Of course Falstaff is more endearing than the King of Economic Snake Oil.

Fumento wrote about political correctness and was tormented by the PC police.Reich might be bogus, but his verbiage is always politically correct. Always. Always. Always. Thus, he will always have access to media.

And lastly, Reich confirms what Fumento illustrated long ago about the ease of promoting falsehood versus the difficulty of refuting falsehood. Last I checked Reich's vid had over 1.3 million hits on Youtube alone (and it has been distributed elsewhere.) Murphy has about 28,000 Youtube hits and Doren has about 48,000. Reich piles it high and deep in two minutes and fifteen seconds. It takes Doren over twice as long to refute and it takes Murphy over four times as long to challenge three points. Advantage false witness.

IT IS EASIER TO DISPENSE FALSEHOOD THAN TO REFUTE FALSEHOOD

ROBERT P. MURPHY VS. REICH

BONUS TRACK: THE ANTAGONISTS POINT BY POINT

THE SECRETARY HAS NO CLOTHES! EEE-GADS!

Reich is a malignant tumor on the body of truth.

Blackout

We got hit by an October storm that caused a 24 hour blackout. These things always happen when we are busy with something else and when we have a freezer and refrogerator full of food. I am still amazed at how much damage was done by a storm that did not feature excessively high winds or all that much accumulation. A lot of people are still without power. For me, the storm was an exhausting annoyance.

Occupy Blogstreet: Occupants Battle Police On The Brooklyn Bridge

WOW! JUST LIKE GANDHI!

Media Monday: 'Regulation' Becomes The New Magic Word

Try this at home. This is from Tony Robbins himself. The word "because" is a magic word. You want to cut in front of everyone standing in queue at the copy machine. If you give them a reason to let you cut in line and your reason begins with the word "because" the copy people will allow you to cut in line. Whereas, if you just say "can I cut in line?" the answer will usuually be "No!"

What is interesting is that it doesn't matter all that much what verbiage follows "because." Everyone at the copier might be late with their deadline but "...because I am late with my deadline" will probably work like a key in a padlock. "Because" is a magic word. Try it.

"Regulation" is the new magic word. You can bet that it has been focus group-tested and has outperformed words like "control," "dominate," "crush" and "obliterate." If morality aand honesty have no merit at all (and those things mean nothing to Maddow, Reich and MSNBC) then one should use the words "regulate" and "regulation" as frequently as possible. Large portions of their viewing audience will support greater regulation, better regulation, tighter regulation regardless of their knowledge of the current regulatory environment. Magic words.



IT'S FASTER THAN 'HI BOB.' EVERY TIME THEY SAY "REGULATION" WE ALL TAKE A SWIG

Occupy Blogstreet: San Francisco Protestors Close Wells Fargo

HOW DARE THEY LEND US MONEY

Occupy Blogstreet:60 Second Summary

I CONCUR

Occupy Blogstreet:The Lotion Man Returneth

AND WE'RE MISSING OUT

LOTION MAN MEETS WITH THE STARS

THE FLOURISHING OF THE AMERICAN AUTUMN

Occupy Blogstreet: A Star Is Born

INTRODUCING THE LOTION MAN

WE ARE THE WORLD, WE ARE ITS CHILDREN

Occupy Blogstreet: Portland Kicks Out The Jams

I WONDERED WHERE LEE GREENWOOD WAS THESE DAYS

Occupy Blogstreet: New Marxist Poster Child

WAS MICHAEL MOORE GIVEN A PATERNITY TEST?

Retro Thursday: Originally Posted September 6, 2009

THE SCALPERS CAN RETIRE TO ARUBA AFTER THIS SHOW COMES TO TOWN

Should Have Been Retro Thursday

I thought we had posted a different version of the Soviet flag-waving Obama supporters who celebrated outside the White House on the night Obama got elected. But it seems that was never posted. Long overdue in that case.


OBAMA SUPPORTERS TIP THEIR HAND

Wild Card Wednesday: Why Are 99% Of Trust Fund Babies Leftists?

TOMORROW'S LEADERS TODAY

Twofer Tuesday: Dr. Gary North

This guy is brilliant. Macroeconomics, microeconomics, personal finance, history, the social sciences. Subscribe to his free newsletter and it's like having your own personal oracle.

GO TO COLLEGE ON THE CHEAP

THIS IS LONG BUT IT IS WORTH EVERY SECOND OF YOUR TIME

Media Monday: Topless Protestors Censored by Mainstream Media

I HEARD HOOTERS WAS HIRING

Reaping What We Sow or The Revenge Of The Inarticulate

For decades our public schools have declined in merit. It should have set off alarms when high schools started cranking out illiterates. It should have set off shock waves when colleges started sending illiterates out into the world. America should have been shaken to the core when New Jersey teachers sent hate mail to their governor that was loaded with grammatical errors and misspelled words in every sentence.

Actually, the New Jersey slush pile is old news. There had been teacher uprisings all over the country that yielded similar results. Widespread literary deficiencies amongst public school teachers goes back at least to the 80's. By the time Chris Christie rolled around, this standing headline no longer had much shock value. We have accepted incremental ruin.

The occupants have been on the scene for over two weeks and we are still awaiting a coherent mission statement. I don't see one forthcoming. Society is in turmoil, perhaps even in ruin, because large numbers of people cannot articulate their opinions, their values and their objectives.

It is not coincidence the 2008 presidential election was won by a candidate
who was all style and no substance. It is no coincidence that the candidates' supporters were so vastly divided by demographics, specifically age demographics. The Obama Campaign did not articulate much of anything. They did not have to. They were all about iconography, photoshopped halos, Greek columns, empty slogans, teleprompters and celebrity endorsements. Facts are immaterial. Facts are boring. Hope and change.

I previously wrote of an Obama supporter with whom I conversed shortly before the 2008 general election. This guy was in his late twenties and was more or less a professional student. I thought the conversation was low key. In no way was I proselytizing. My point was that no one knew very much about Obama and no one seemed to care.

It did not matter what I said because this guy tuned me out right away. He ran off to his room and resurfaced wearing an Obama t-shirt. We are not in Kansas anymore. Arguably, we are not in America anymore.

There is a conspiracy of ignorance and I blame the American Left for the dummying down of America. Years ago, George Carlin did a bit about corporations advancing the cause of stupidity so that we would have ignorant consumers and a pool of workers who were content to perform mindless labor. Carlin could be funny even when you disagreed with him. There was seriousness behind Carlin's humor and while I enjoyed his performance I disagree with his premise.

We should always be wary of anyone who generalizes about the thousands of publicly traded corporations as well as the tens of thousands of private corporations. Exxon-Mobil does not equal Apple Computer does not equal Haliburton does not equal Google does not equal General Electric does not equal Joe's Garage does not equal Little Critters pet shop. To advance the idea of a common corporate agenda is absurd but it has become a staple of American verbiage.

Retail and food service and entertainment industries might prefer a stupid work force and an idiotic consumer base but our high tech companies want neither. They openly complain about the decline of American education. Intel used to sponsor a tech contest for school kids (maybe they still do.) They had trouble getting Americans to enter the competition but Chinese students treated the event like a Justin Bieber show. They were all over it.

The enemies of capitalism have to advance an agenda of engineered stupidiy. Marxism and its offshoots are the worst social institutions to ever inflict humanity. They bring technological decline, poverty and even famine. But socialism is fluffy. Fluffy minds and fluffy people will never resist Socialism's unique charms.

Capitalism brings prosperity every place it practiced. I know of no exception to that rule. Society will prosper to the degree that it promotes capitalism. Impede capitalism and you impede prosperity and you promote poverty. But for all of its wonders, capitalism has one enormous limitation. Capitalism cannot render itself fluffy.

Capitalism is hopelessly abrasive. What fluffmeister of good standing would promote a system that guaranteed the existence of losers? How can one call oneself fluffy if outcomes are not predetermined? How can one be true to fluffy principles if uncool people can prosper through thirft and cunning and long hours at the job? Better that we all share in collective misery.

The Left needs to destroy inquiry to advance a fluffy agenda. Illiteracy is a good start but unfortunately for our social engineers, it is not enough. Economics, if it is taught at all, cannot be treated as a science. Verifiability is prohibited. Economic policies are mere preferences. Some people like Japanese food. Others prefer Mexican cuisine. Some people actually like the ideas of that haggard Ayn Rand while other folks are attracted to the ideas of that dashing, handsome and ever-stylish Che Guevara.

Between the engineering of illiteracy and the occlusion of economics, there is much more the fluffy have done to advance their agenda. Remember that old thesis/antithesis/synthesis thingy? Good thing you can remember it because it is a vanished species. The idea of logically promoting an idea based on empirical evidence--premise, fact, fact, fact, conclusion--has sadly fallen by the wayside. That brings us back to the occupants.

Rational discourse is not part of the standard educational regimen. It spawns conflict and conflict is a bummer. Better to feel our opinions than to discuss facts. Facts are a buzz kill.

We know the occupants are angry and their feelings are hurt. Vocal inflection and body language tell us much that apparently cannot be put into words. But what specifically bothers them and how specifically can their grievances be addressed? For better or worse, they probably won't be able to tell us.

Sellebrity Saturday: Man of the (Beautiful) People

NOTHING PROJECTS SUPERIORITY LIKE ATTENDENCE AT A PRICEY OBAMA FUNDRAISER

Frivolous Friday: Sagacious Advice For The Savvy Investor

SO HOARDING OBAMA MEMORABILIA WILL ALLOW ME TO RETIRE IN COMFORT?

Retro Thursday: Originally Posted September 14, 2009....Sobbing Journalist Department

Once more, folks. Obama is descended from slave owners, not slaves. And he is not from West Africa, the homeland of America's slaves. He is from Kenya, a country that did not participate in Western slave trade.

YO CRYBABY! HE AIN'T ONE OF YOU!

Wild Card Wednesday: Hank Williams, Jr.

A little aside. A few years back ESPN fired Rush Limbaugh for interjecting politics into football. Whether or not the press wanted Donovan McNabb to succeed is immaterial. ESPN did the right thing in firing Limbaugh. Spectator sports offer escape from the daily grind. If one compromises the element of escape, the whole product suffers mightily.

I like Hank Jr., but if he loses his ESPN gig, it is his own fault. "Keep The Change" will ring just as true regardless of his fate.

KEEP THE CHANGE

Twofer Tuesday: Douglas Den Uyl

I am ashamed to admit that I only took one philosophy class my whole life. Douglas Den Uyl taught that class. He was writing a thesis on Ayn Rand but we did not discuss her work and we only scratched the surface on capitalism.

Our Organizer-In-Chief

The crumbs lead back to the Democratic Party. http://teapartyatperrysburg.blogspot.com/2011/10/democrats-organize-for-occupy-wall.html

If this leads back to the White House, and I suspect it will, it will show our president to be more clueless than we had imagined. Once you own the factory, you do not want to throw monkey wrenches in the gears. If you are inclined to such activity, you commit your acts of destruction while on the outside looking in. Do not burn down the castle you worked so hard to win. What's the point of conquering Rome if you are just going to hand it over to the barbarians?

In times of stress we fall back on habit. The president's habit is to organize people into groups devoted to inactivity. I am not trying to be snide. This was our president's chosen career. He devoted his life to uniting non-workers of the world for purposes apparently difficult to articulate.

Yes, habits prevail. But don't you sometimes wish that someone would tap our country's exulted leader on the shoulder and remind him that "Mr. President, you are now president," and he would thereafter act a little bit presidential? We can dream, can't we?

You Might Think They Would Choose A Term Other Than 'Occupy'

A classic scene from "All In The Family." Archie is sorting the mail as his freeloading son-in-law looks on. "Resident. Resident. Resident." He then arrives at the final piece of mail. "Occupant" he announces as he hands the envelope to the meat head.

Occupants indeed.

Media Monday: How Herman Cain Got Cred

If the primaries were held tomorrow, I would probably vote for Herman Cain. Prior to this interview he was number five or six on my list. But the only way for a candidate of the people to get any traction is for him to be attacked by the news media. The more they hate a candidate, the more popular that candidate becomes. I am not the only one who shares that outlook. Cain's poll numbers have gone through the roof after this attack.

HOW DARE YOU WANDER OFF THE LEFTIST PLANTATION!!!

YES WE CAIN

Apologies

I know the format of the blog chops off the right side of embedded videos. That side of the screen is not always vital but for the last video, it certainly is. I can't reformat right now, so I will link the yoube site where you can watch the vid. It is well worth viewing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfMjbS0oWrE&feature=pyv

Obama By The Numbers

a COMPARISON WITH 2006 WOULD BE MORE APT BECAUSE THAT IS WHEN THE DEMS TOOK CONTROL OF BOTH HOUSES

Sarah Palin

I am saddened but not surprised that Sarah Palin has dropped out of the presidential race. The lesson here is never underestimate the mainstream media. I view every election as the peasants vs. the ruling class media. Sarah was our Joan of Arc and I think Saint Joan might have gotten off easy in comparison. The old media still matter and they will remind us of their import from time to time.

If Palin does not defend herself in a court of law I will lose all respect for her. Even successful litigation will be not restore her reputation. The elite can afford to pay tens of millions to make Palin go away. She could collect damages and it would be but a flea bite to an elephant. So yes, lawsuits might seem futile but she has to fight that fight anyway.

Paul Krassner stated "The truth is Silly Putty." The summary has never been more accurate or more relevant.

Want to Hear Me Complain? I Thought So.

I wish I could complain about work but HIPPA prohibits me from voicing meaningful grievances. And certain other people hit every exposed nerve but I will boldly chart the course of lesser resistance and remain mute. Still, I complain.

I have always been a complainer. Usually I complain about how much people annoy me, how tired I happen to be and how busy I happen to be. All legitimate complaints.

I started this blog as a temporary measure until I got my website going. Blogs are best utilized as appendices to web sites. They can be ends unto themselves but that was not my intention. The web site never developed. It is still in development as they say.

I started posting vids as a substitute for the news and commentary I had wanted to provide. More than 90% of my posts are vids. 10/90 became 90/10. There is always a logjam so it seems.

I am finally commenting on the death of Anwar al-Awlaki. While I am in partial agreement with or perhaps sympathetic to Ron Paul and Gary Johnson concerning American citizens executed without due process of law. And I agree with the pundits and experts who bemoan the loss of an intelligence resource (as with Bin Laden.)

But the story is more complicated than that. The CIA wasted Awlaki in part because they did not trust either the FBI or the Holder Justice Department. The FBI had a Bulger-style relationship with Awlaki. There are some loose ends that never been connected. And the Holder Justice Department can always be counted on to do the wrong thing. What else could the CIA do?

I plead guilty to moral relativism. Under the circumstances the CIA acted properly in executing the choreographer of numerous terrorist plots. I, for one, will save my tears for someone more deserving. A drone strike was possibly too quick and painless but let's not pick nit.

By the way, I love the CIA. Bye bye Awlaki. You were one creepy dude.