Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Where Do The Dems Go From Here?

Barack Obama seems to be the fecal version of King Midas. Arguably, everything he touches turns to dung.

The world at large was made worse by Obama. The Middle East has always been chaotic but the proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia has claimed about a million lives and shows no sign of slowing down.

America is much worse off post-Obama. $10 trillion of additional debt that will take decades to repay. Good insurance policies were driven off by bad ones. Pension disasters loom. He left our military in a state of decline. He sowed the seeds of rancor and vitriol and social discord.

Like radioactive waste, the closer you get to BO, the worse the damage. The news media took big hits to their credibility in the Obama years. Their loyalty came at a steep price.

The biggest loser in the Obama years is the Democrat Party. Obama was given a donkey utopia. In 8 years he managed to jettison over 1,000 offices including both houses of Congress, and numerous state legislatures and governorships. The damage is not generally acknowledged, but it is real.

The Dems will continue to use voter fraud as their bread and butter. Reforms might already be underway, but do not underestimate the Jacksonians' duplicity and resilience and resourcefulness. Where there is a will to cheat, the Dems will find a way.

The Party of the Klan still has a stranglehold on the news media.They elected a nobody to the White House in 2008 and they have made sure that we know almost nothing about this shadowy figure ten years later. That is clout! No, the Cooperistas are not what they were last decade, but they can still ruin a Roy Moore if they have to. Don't count out the dinosaurs just yet.

The future impact of voter fraud and media corruption is hard to calculate. But even with both weapons on overdrive, the Dems lost badly in 2016. Discounting the one singular sensation that is Donald Trump, we remind the reader that 2016 was yet one more decisive Demo bloodbath. Across the country they managed to shed even more seats as they even lost both houses in blue blue Minnesota and the governor's seat in even bluer Vermont. Clearly, a new strategy is in order. Let us examine some possibilities.

1. The Charlie Crist Strategy:

A Demo/RINO/Anti-Trumpo coalition now pervades newsrooms and could provide the blueprint for the Democratic Party's future. Much has been made of the D-Team's depleted bench. Why not recruit from disaffected Republicans?

Charlie Crist is Exhibit A. He was a "moderate" Republican governor who predictabally supported John McCain early on. Then there was this Tea Party movement and Crist fell out of favor. He ran for the Senate in 2010 but was upended by a new kid on the block named Marco Rubio.

Undeterred, Crist would release a book entitled "The Party's Over: How the Extreme Right Hijacked the GOP and I Became a Democrat" in 2014. Later that year, he challenged and almost defeated the Florida incumbent governor, Rick Scott.

In 2016, the inextinguishable Crist bucked a Republican wave and won the 13th Congressional District of Florida for the Democrats, defeating Republican incumbent, David Jolly.

If Crist can mount a comeback, how about Jeb Bush? The Bushes run as Republicans but govern like Democrats. They would have been loved and revered by the news media had they had a giant D after their names. Always the black sheep of the ruling class, the Bush clan yearn to be loved like the Kennedys and respected like the Rockefellers. But, there is that pesky Republican moniker that ruins everything.

Donald Trump might have spit in Jeb'b's punch bowl in 2016 but he could have opened a portal for Jeb to enter the Democratic Party. RINO's like John Kasich might follow suit. We might see Jeff Flake come out of retirement. Pundits like Glenn Beck and William Kristol might also wage comebacks in the climate of radical nothingness.

Bush/Booker 2020! Unify America! Let us not rule out the possibility just yet.

2. The Celebrity Uber Alles Strategy:

Maybe the Dems would project a clearer image if they did not try to be all things to all people. Maybe they should dispense with any pretense of populism and embrace their elitist instincts. "We are the party of the rich and famous and the people who suck up to us!"

And so, they spread out across Flyoverya, leaving behind--at least to the degree to satisfy resident status at their new homes--the utopic confines of New York and California. Billionaires and celebrities would challenge Republican incumbents in Congress, the Senate and the governor's mansions.

A Tom Steyer moves to sunny Arizona and runs for Senator. Bruce Springsteen buys a second home in Pennsylvania to defeat Pat Toomey in 2022. Chris Cuomo challenges for the Georgia Senate seat in 2020. Mark Zuckerberg could carpetbag a Senate seat in North Carolina and lay the groundwork for his presidential run. Ben Affleck gropes his way across the Golden State to challenge Kevin McCarthy or Duncan D. Hunter on their home turf.

The barriers are obvious. Wisconsin might be too cold for George Clooney. Michigan might be too dangerous for Jay-Z. And what if Mr. Z actually won the governor's office? He would be on a leash until he could get himself appointed Ambassador to Cuba. Matt Damon might not want to settle for a Congressional seat. Oprah might not want to part with her hard-earned dollars to buy a seat in Obscuria. Some candidates might even lose.

The Celebrity Uber Alles Strategy might work but it might be as difficult as herding cats plus the felines' agents, entourage, and their "people." But it could happen.

3. The Political Gypsy Strategy:

Again, we have to put aside the subject of voter fraud. Let us just briefly assume that the 2016 tallies are correct and Hillary won the popular vote. If that is the case, all the Dems need to do is redistribute their flock to battleground states. If done with precision, the Dems could capture the White House, both houses of  Congress as well as most state houses.

First, we should discuss the legality, logistics and expense of relocating vast numbers of people. It would be illegal, of course, to pay citizens to vote in a certain way. It would not be illegal to hire them as employees of the Democratic Party and put them to work, registering voters for 40 hours a week. Think Occupy Wall Street with clipboards.

Yes, but wouldn't the employment of hundreds of thousands of people be difficult for anyone, much less a political party that is hovering close to broke? Consider the blockchain. The Dems could issue their own cryptocurrency or currencies. Don't dismiss this tactic just yet. The blockchain will change everything. Everything!

To win the presidency, the Dems need 37 more electoral votes than they collected in 2016.

Michigan, with its 17 electoral points, was decided by 13,080 votes.

Pennsylvania, with its 21 electoral points, was decided by 68,236 votes.

North Carolina, with its 15 electoral points, was decided by 177, 009 votes.

Arizona, with its 10 electoral points, was decided by 91, 682 votes.

Note: This 4-state strategy only concerns itself with capturing the White House. To win other elections as well, would involve more sophistication.

Those above states were selected for the close results in 2016 as well as their geography. They are spread out far enough to not compete with one another for migrant voters.

In a presidential election, the Dems would share some of their excess voters in places like New York, Illinois and Maryland without losing elections in those states.

In a presidential election (it might be different if close Senate, Congressional or gubernatorial elections were being held in the home states) the Dems might consider temporarily abandoning their red state homes to work for their presidential choice in one of the four identified battleground states.

District of Columbia has over 600,000 residents and they vote overwhelmingly Democrat. They could lend a few voters to say, nearby Pennsylvania.

Puerto Rico has 3.6 million people and they mostly vote Democrat. They could contribute mightily to the vote totals in any of the four designated battleground states.

The four-state strategy might work something like this: Pennsylvania would be flooded with excess voters from New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and other Northeast states not named Maine or New Hampshire. Delaware and Maryland might also provide some driftwood as might the DC Reservoir.

The Dems would concede the South except for Virginia, which they already hold, and North Carolina. (Maryland is technically a southern state but it is really just a suburb of DC.) Troglodytes and cellar dwellers and SJW's from Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, etc., could migrate to North Carolina to tip the scales for the Hope and Change Party.

Michigan could play host to Chicago radicals as well as bums from Indianapolis and Cleveland. The Wolverine State might be a tough sell for anyone but they only need 13,081 more voters. DC? Puerto Rico? If only for a few months?

Arizona is vulnerable to Blue capture. California could spare about a million or so voters but it might be wiser if they relocated them to red Congressional districts in their home state. Washington and Oregon might fortify Nevada or Colorado, or possible enjoy the cactus state for a season. Texas and Utah are going to go red, so the Antifa and other Democrats from those places might consider the Grand Canyon State for a change of scenery. Ditto North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas...Only 91,683 needed.

So far, we have only discussed presidential elections. Mississippi holds state elections the year before presidential elections. If Dems master the blockchain, they could easily conquer the Magnolia State.

New Jersey and Virginia hold state elections the year after presidential elections. Last year, both states went blue but that could change. Why would the Dems play it safe?

The other 47 states hold state elections in even-numbered years, either presidential, off-year, or both. The Dems could corral their snowflakes so that they participate in elections in four different states in four different years. Might be more glamorous than living in Mom's basement.

The Democrats might adopt one or all of the above strategies. Time will tell. In the meantime, what are the Dems up to?

An extraordinary number of former intelligence and military operatives from the CIA, Pentagon, National Security Council and State Department are seeking nomination as Democratic candidates for Congress in the 2018 midterm elections. The potential influx of military-intelligence personnel into the legislature has no precedent in US political history.
If the Democrats capture a majority in the House of Representatives on November 6, as widely predicted, candidates drawn from the military-intelligence apparatus will comprise as many as half of the new Democratic members of Congress. They will hold the balance of power in the lower chamber of Congress.
Both push and pull are at work here. Democratic Party leaders are actively recruiting candidates with a military or intelligence background for competitive seats where there is the best chance of ousting an incumbent Republican or filling a vacancy, frequently clearing the field for a favored “star” recruit.

Complete story at World Socialist Web Site:

That's right! The Dems are recruiting from the deep state. This certainly confirms the validity of Q Anon. For the uniformed, Q Anon advances the idea that we are in the midst of a proxy civil war fought between CIA and Military Intelligence. I think I already used the term resourceful to describe the Democrats, didn't I?

I thought the blue wave was about as likely as the Hillary Landslide we heard so much about. Maybe the Demoncrats will surprise us in 2018 after all.

If we can just get Obama to get involved. Maybe he still has that fecal touch.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Obama Conducted Official Business With Private Email

Here’s yet another major development in the Podesta E-mail chain from Wikileaks. It seems that while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, she exchanged e-mails with Obama, but without using the legally required state.gov e-mail address.


More

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Noam Chomsky States The Obvious About Palin And Obama

Professional America-basher Noam Chomsky takes a break from verbal flag-burning to state the obvious about the marketing of Barack Hussein Obama.

ASSESSING THAT HOPEY CHANGEY STUFF

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Toto Must Be A Racist!

This blog has used "Wizard of Oz" references on several occassions and we will probably milk the timeless themes in the future. The juxtaposition of the magical wizard and the man behind the curtain brings to mind a contemporary public figure. Life imitates art.

Supposedly "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was written as an allegory for the populist movement of the late 19th Century. The populists wanted to convert America from a gold standard to a silver standard. Although I recognize the problems of tight money as it was applied at the time and I recognize that the populists wanted to inflate the currency (fie) I marvel at the two possibilities. I would gladly settle for a silver standard over a policy of funny money.

According to the allegorists, the Yellow Brick Road represents the gold standard. Its terminus is in the Emerald City, aka Washington. In the book, Dorothy wore silver slippers, not ruby slippers as were used in the movie. Dorothy is Everyamerican in all of her innocence and naivete. The Scarecrow is the farmer. The Tin Man is the industrial worker whose heart is lost to his brutal existence. The Cowardly Lion is a composite politician in general and William Jennings Bryan in particular. The Wicked Witch hails from The West. Although the American West has been romanticized, it happened to be an absurdly harsh environment. The Wizard represents the Washington Establishment.

We know how the story ends. Toto pulls back the curtain and reveals the soul of delusion. There is a moment of deflated spirit and then the phony Wizard reveals that he is not all bad. The man behind the curtain reveals himself to be a wise teacher.

The outed Wizard teaches each character that they already possess that which they seek. Their strength lies within their own psyches. This is a theme trumpeted by Christianity and Buddhism and echoed by New Age gurus. A line from a cheesy song by America sums it up pretty well:

"But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn't, didn't already have"

We then go to bed with warm feelings for all of humanity. Life lessons learned. Even bad people have their redeeming qualities.

Then we wake up to Obama's America and we wonder how life diverged from art. The real life wizard insists he has magical properties long after he has been outed. If he has any wisdom, he is keeping it to himself. You can reassign symbols for the other characters but Dorothy is still Everyamerican and Toto...Toto is the blogger.

Toto is small, loyal and seemingly harmless. He seems almost superfluous but at key junctures he is the pivotal character. The whole fuss was started over Toto. Later, Toto escapes the Wicked Witch's capture, he pulls back the curtain and he jumps out of the balloon that will be piloted by a discredited wizard (perfect metaphor!)

In Obama's America, Toto pulls back the curtain. The Tin Man kicks the mutt in the head and the Scarecrow points his straw hand at the fallen beast and screams "Racist!" at the top of his lungs. The Cowardly Lion promptly secures the curtain in its proper place and Dorothy apologizes and promises to neuter the little bastard just as soon as they get back to Kansas. The fearless foursome then listen intently to the awesome wizard's instructions. They later marvel at his unending compassion and note that this wizard can relate to them as no one else can. Roll the credits.

Again, the divergence. When, the original characters are shown the true nature of the Wizard of Oz, they feel duped. When the real life wizard is revealed, he gets re-elected. Could it be that Baum never possessed a keen insight into human nature? That his characters should have continued adoring the imagery long after the trickery had been exposed? Maybe.

But we should consider another possibility. Maybe we should consider that Baum's characters were perfectly sketched but that human nature has changed since 1900. We live in a post-fact era. Academia, the news media, the entertainment industry--especially online character games--have parroted the message that there is no objective reality. Everything is a matter of opinion and preference. Everything. Entire generations have been taught to not just fear reality but to avoid it when it might be disturbing. The man behind the curtain has been revealed but we prefer to focus our attention on the wizard.

And we must consider one more reason for divergence. By his own admission, the storybook wizard was not a very good wizard. The real life cult leader will never make such a candid confession. Nope. He saw the storybook wizard's mistakes. He should have vilified The Munchkins and blame all of life's problems on their success. He should have plied the travelers with cell phones and EBT cards. Hell yes he was a crappy wizard!

Baum's novel, for all of its truths and insight into humanity, is ultimately hopeful and optimistic. It is a children's book for crying out loud. Reality is more gloomy. Whereas the Wizard of Oz ultimately "comes clean" our wizard never will. Never. Whereas the Wizard of Oz ultimately reveals his good side, our wizard has no good side to reveal. Truth can be ugly. Barack Hussein Obama is not just a bad president, he is a rotten human being. Rotten to his very core.

Meanwhile, Toto blogs. He will try to remain loyal to dumbass Dorothy and he will mostly be a forgotten character. But when the audience least expects it, Toto might just twist the plot in an unforeseen manner. Toto is small in size but there are millions of Totos out there. Every dog has his day. Even Toto.

We're off to see the Wizard...












Friday, January 20, 2012

Obama's Political High Water Mark






The most underrated TV show in history might be "SCTV." One of the best story lines is when network owner Guy Caballero creates his own awards show and then rigs the outcomes. SCTV third bananas beat show biz luminaries for every award. When SCTV cleaning lady, Perini Scleroso, is given The Best Foreign Personality Award, Caballero (Joe Flaherty) realizes he has overplayed his hand.

Life imitates art. David Axelrod is Guy Caballero and Barack Obama is Perini Scleroso. For reasons never well articulated, Barack Obama was declared the Nobel Peace Prize winner on October 9, 2009.

If the Scleroso comparison sounds too harsh, let us remind ourselves that the Peace Prize nominations were sealed twelve days after Obama's inauguration. Twelve days of briefings and photo ops and unpacking moving crates. Perhaps Soros and the Ax Man should have waited a year before performing their magic trick.

The Kool-Aiders cannot understand the fuss. What's wrong with recognizing Barack's divine essence? Actions are overrated. Fundamentalism can be mighty ugly.

But not everyone who voted for the O Man is a fundamentalist. Some of his supporters were independents who for some reason thought that Obama was smart and untarnished by a dirty system. When Obama was awarded the coveted Nobel Prize, a lot of independent voters re-examined their choice.

If the Peacemaker did not deserve his latest honor, did he deserve the presidency? Was it possible that he received some preferential treatment in that contest as well? Could it be that Obama was all hype and millions were played as suckers? A lot of people quietly asked themselves that question. Without the Peace Prize, they might not have introspected.

October 9, 2009 might be Obama's political high water mark. Maybe if the puppeteers had waited a year or two, or three, the maneuver would have been perceived differently. But the smart guys did indeed overplay their hand. And as they say, the rest is history.

THE PEOPLE'S GLOBAL GOLDEN CHOICE AWARDS

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

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?

Friday, September 9, 2011

Tea And Sympathy

Watching bits and pieces of Obama's speech last night, I once more find myself feeling sorry for the might mite. Yes, I am partisan but I can also be a coldly objective political commentator. No matter the situation, that coldly objective analyst screams (silently in my head) whenever Obama does anything. "Isn't anyone advising this guy? Isn't anyone offering him some common sense guidance?"

I used to be a fan of prize fighting. I liked to watch young fighters work their way up the ladder. In 1976 both Ray Leonard and Howard Davis won gold medals for the US Olympic team (as did the Brothers Spinks.) At the time of the Olympics Davis and Leonard were of comparable ability even though Leonard was a weight class up from Davis.

The two fighters found different management and as they say, the rest is history. Davis's people padded their fighter's record with unworthy opponents. He ascended quickly but the Peter Principle set in early. He was unprepared when he finally met up with real fighters.

Ray Leonard's people meanwhile, played him like a Stradivarius. Each opponent was a little bit better than the next and each foe was different. Leonard found himself matched against diffferent physical prototypes and boxers with every style imaginable. He was a welterweight but his people matched him against journeymen middleweights. The result: A career that some writers still use words like "legend" and "legendary" to describe. When he is discussed today, it is often to compare him to the greats of other eras.

Obama is Howard Davis. He always had someone pulling strings for him. The Illinois Senate race, the US Senate Race, the 2008 campaign and general election. To go back to Sugar Ray once more, his handlers sometimes fought him in front of crowds that could be gently described as partisan.

Obama never faced any opposition in life and when he finally ran into resistance he was not prepared for it. The media stacked the deck for their guy and in the long run, they might not have done him any favors. I don't know who lobbied for The Pampered One's Nobel Prize but they might have done more harm than good. Now, as their guy faces slings and arrows and atrocious poll numbers, they scream for him to fight. Fact is, Obama has never learned skills like negotiation and leadership. He was thrown into the limelight without ever paying his dues. The results are pathetic.

Thirty one or so years ago P. J. O'Rourke wrote that he wanted Ted Kennedy to defeat Jimmy Carter as he did not feel guilty making fun of Ted Kennedy because he could probably give it right back. Jimmy Carter, on the other hand, was just pathetic. Barack Obama is the new frontier of pathos. I won't be sad to see him go but part of me feels sympathy for his ineptitude and contempt for the people around him.

Barack Obama: Sad But True.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Sexism Exists And We Have To Acknowledge It

As much as I love Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann I am not sure I can wholeheartedly support either one of them. We live in a sexist world and we have to come to grips with it if we want to defeat a man who is either the biggest buffoon in American History or the Manchurian President. Obama has got to go and if it means holding my nose for Perry or Romney, I will do so.

At this time we should recognize two truths that are self evident. 1. People are inherently sexist. 2. Women are more sexist than men.

Why are there fewer women than men in elected offices? Because women do not vote for women. In the 2006 Massachusetts Gubernatorial election, Deval Patrick beat Kerry Healey by 20 points. Among male voters, it was a tight race. But the suffragettes turned out in force to put their sister back in the kitchen where she belongs. This pattern is usually repeated when women run male opponents.

If Sarah Palin could run on her record, she would probably win the GOP nomination. She removed unsavory elements from her own party. She negotiated some tough deals with the big, bad oil companies. Perhaps most importantly, she left her state with one of the largest budget surpluses in US History. On a per capita basis, the surplus was Secretariat at a turtle race. There are no close seconds.

The Dems are possibly more sexist than the GOP. Hillary wss infinitely more qualified than the sophomoric community organizer but the latter was more "presidential" (insert laugh track here.) But the NeoCons/Republicans, etc., are even more hostile to women. Rove, Babbin, Krauthammer, et al, hate women candidates in general and Sarah Palin in particular. It's the lay of the land.

Tonight, Jed Babbin was hosting a "Jerry Doyle Show." Doyle is usually unlistenable but he had a guest host tonight so I listened to Babbin bash Palin mercilessly. He hates her to such a degree that I suspect he has a closet crush on Obama. He started the hour bashing Rove and Palin. He then played a clip of Rove bashing Palin. It was MSNBC grade material.

Babbin then blathered on that if Palin was smart she should have studied under historian Paul Johnson or Ambassador Bolton to elevate her intellect. He then praised Perry and Rubio (the Rubio praise is really wearing thin with me.) OK, did Perry trapise off to England to be tutored by Paul Johnson? Did Rubio? Did either of these geniuses have a private office with John Bolton? I kind of doubt it.

When Babbin talks about Rubio he reminds the listener of Chris Matthews discussing his biological reaction to Barack Obama. It is nauseating and he isn't the only one. I used to like Rubio but all this balderdash about Rubio being a VP candidate gives me the chills. He is possibly less experienced than Obama was when he ran for president. He might be qualified to be the president in waiting in a few years but for now, he is too green.

The Rubio fan club sound a lot like Obots. He's so good looking and he's so smart and he would be the first Hispanic...Take a cold shower, boys. America got an inexperienced HISTORICAL FIRST in 2008 and are we better off because of it?

Rubio, Christie, Perry and every other Y-Chromosone political figure will be viewed more favorably than Palin or Bachmann or Brewer. I'm not sure there's anything we can do about that. But America is on the road to Hasbeensville and if Obama wins another election, there will be no turning back. We will join Portugal and Spain and the Dutch on the shelf of once-powerful nations and we will remind passersby that we used to matter. We used to be somebody. Somebody important. We used to be.

If the choice is so stark that we must decide to defeat sexism or to defeat Obama, I will choose the latter. Sexism is sometimes a drag but truth is, we get used to it. But can we get used to Mr. Smug and his legions of destroyers?

Not me!

Not ever!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Happy Birthday, President Fat Cat

The Campaigner-In-Chief conducted a $35K/couple fundraiser on his bithday. Happy Birthday, indeed, Mr. President!

In years past we saluted the presient on his birthday. We had another bash planned but we heard we was snubbing us to hobnob with the rich and famous. Oh well.

The following vid is sort of birthday related. Sort of. Happy Birthday, Mr. President.


Saturday, July 9, 2011

Sellebrity Saturday: Wilco Sells Out

Reflecting on the times I have either gotten tongue-tied or angry when discussing a subject, I realize there is a common denominator. They were all times when I could counter a statement with a dozen or two worthy counterpoints but I could not decide which argument to use. Those are the times I lost my cool and shouted or insulted my friendly adversery. At other times, I just stammered.

Wilco supporting Obama is just plain WRONG. It is wrong for dozens of reasons. Dozens. Dozens. Dozens.

Where do we begin?

1. Wilco, the artists with supreme integrity, pledge their support to the sleaziest politician this country has ever seen.

2. Wilco, the artists with supreme integrity, pledge their support to the cheesiest politician this country has ever seen.

What is more offensive about Obama? The sleeze or the cheese? We can discuss that for a long time but what is worse is that Obama's supporters willingly put on blinders to block out evidence of sleaze and cheese. Yes, that is more disturbing.

3. Wilco, the artists with supreme integrity, pledge their support to a sleazy and cheesy politician about whom they know very little.

Oh, they got to chat with their leader, did they? Did their messiah tell them who financed his education and to whom he might forever be indebted? Hint: He apparently lied about taking out college loans. Did the chosen one tell these perceptive artists extraordinare, these lofty, exalted artists, did they discuss what their cult leader studied at Columbia? Did they ask the embodiment of hope and change if he ever took a single solitary economics class? Did they ask their fellow celebrity what sort of papers he wrote? No! These are perceptive, distinguished artists with truckloads of integrity. They grokked Barack Obama's divine essence through chit chat. Oh to command such powers of perception!

4. Wilco, the artists with supreme integrity, pledge their support to the most authoritarian president since Richard Nixon.

Imagine Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young vintage 1972 endorsing Richard Nixon. Their careers would be instantly terminated. Not because Nixon was not sufficiently leftist--he imposed wage and price controls, he opened the door to Mao, he would ultimately abandon Southeast Asia at the price of millions of lives in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, he destroyed America's chemical and biological weapons, he inflicted us with the EPA, etc., etc., etc. He is probably the most leftist president this country has ever seen. Nixon was rightly viewed with suspicion because he was radically authoritarian. Obama is the most authoritarian president since RN and there seems to be no stigma whatsoever for leading cheers for the exulted one.

5. Wilco, the artists with supreme integrity, pledge their support to the masters of mind contol.

No, I am not saying Obama is a master of mind control. In fact, I think time will expose him as a bit of a dim bulb. But his handlers were able to shepherd the human driftwood Eric Hoffer identified as "true believers." Would we hold The Velvet Underground in high regard if they had shilled for Jim Jones? Would we hold Nirvana in high esteem had they sung the praises for David Koresh? I think not.

6. Wilco, the artists with supreme integrity, might as well cut out the middle man and conduct fundraisers for Goldman Sachs.

Or SEIU. Or General Electric for that matter. GE might be the most blatant quid pro quo relationship. In return for billions in government contracts, the non-paymnent of corporate taxes and preferential regulation (light bulbs) General Electric serves up a media conglomerate devoted to 24/7 Obama support and 24/7 slandering of his political rivals.

Would Wilco fans continue to pat themselves on the back and tell themselves how noble and enlightened they happen to be if their boys did fundraisers for Citigroup ($701,290 donated to Obama in 2008)? I don't know but they tell me reefer is a LOT stronger than it used to be. Maybe that explains Wilco fans.

Wilco leading cheers for the chosen one. This is a subject we can return to over and over and over. And we will.



THE ROAD TO JONESTOWN HAD A GREAT SOUNDTRACK

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Retro Thursday: A Concise Summary of Obamanomics And The Politics Of Envy

Certain economists have devoted their lives to the addressing one question: How do governments maximize revenue? Art Laffer is the best known but there are others. Laffer pointed out what would later be obvious. That optimum taxation is not always higher taxation.

Zero taxation will produce zero government revenue. But 100% taxation will produce only slightly more revenue because people will stop working. What then, is the optimum level of taxation (for yielding government revenue. The optimum revenue for the individual is zero.)

Art Laffer invented the Laffer Curve. He discovered that when we tax beyond a certain level (roughly 28%,) government revenue declines. Technically 28% is not a magic number but optimum taxation is certainly in that neighborhood. In some years and some places 27% might yield higher revenue. In other places and times, 30% might yield more revenue. Laffer's enemies have tried to discredit his work by disputing minutiae.

But rest assured that a 28% tax rate will yield more government revenue than a 39.6% rate of taxation. Obama knows this but he does not care. What he calls "fairness" is a seething hostility towards all who have and will prosper. When we raise tax rates beyond the optimum rate of return, almost everyone loses. The taxpayer certainly loses but so does our national defense, our welfare state, our schools, etc., etc., etc. Who wins?

The winners are the envious. Not the fleeting envious. That group would include all of humanity at one time or another. No, I am referring to the bitter slobs who have adopted envy as a preferred lifestyle. These are the people who stay awake at night tormented by the fact that someone, somewhere, has prospered. Sad but true, Obama is one of those people.

Obama is willing to burn down the house to kill the mice. Then at last, we will attain "fairness." Or so it seems. The problem with hypertrophied envy is that it can never be satisfied. Never. The residents and occupants and butlers and chamber maids and the family dog flee the burning house in an unfair manner. They will be asked to make sacrifices.

Sacrifices are necessary for envy to triumph. Envy in the guise of fairness will continue to rule our day. Hope and change.

THE POLITICS OF ENVY

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Our Truculent Candidate

Yes, the birther thing is a sideshow but I confess to enjoying it as much as the main event. Actually it has become the main event. It has as many clowns in as many rings as the main event does. So forgive us if some of us are enjoying the spectacle as we crunch on our peanuts.

In which ring should we focus our attention?

Should we focus on the Obama Campaign/Obama White House keeping this issue alive for over three years? And why did all the king's horses and all the king's men keep this alive as long as they did? I think it was so the pampered one could play the victim card but I am not sure.

Should we suggest that this might be a diversionary tactic to distrsct us from Ben Bernanke's fireside chat and our new embrace of inflation (and high oil prices?)

Did anyone else see Special Ed Schultz (I didn't think so) trying his best to pin the birther thing on the GOP? Throughout his hour, a graphic was displayed in the corner that showed the GOP logo and the label "Birther Party." MSNBC has been working overtime to blame the GOP. The fact remains: HILLARY'S PEOPLE STARTED IT AND HILLARY'S PEOPLE KEPT IT ALIVE!

The president once more appears petty. Why did he not release the birth certificate three years ago? Now it is a dstraction. Distracting from what? His appearance on Oprah? His fund raising? His campaign? Those silly distractions! Ooooooo!

Can we now vet Barack Obama? All along the Obama camp has kept the birth certificate controversy alive to distract us from examining other aspects of his life. Who financed his education? Did Michelle lie when she said he took out college loans (he did not disclose such information on his earlier election forms.) Did Obama ever take a class in economics? Did he take any classes in Marxist economics? Can he do basic arithmetic (If I owe 9 trillion and I run up another 6 trillion in debts, will I owe more or less? Can I just say "Yes We Can?")

I am still curious about those other records, especially the suspicious Social Security number.

MSNBC maintains its anger throughout the fiasco. I don't usually watch Schultz (I know. Who does?) but last night he got amzingly snippy with a woman I believe was another MSNBC employee (I could be wrong about that.)

But what is the lesson we are supposed to take away from all of this? According to MSNBC, it is racism. Surprise. Surprise. Surprise.

Let the sideshows continue!!!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Overt Dishonesty, Intellectual Dishonesty, Willful Omissions and Half-Truths

I did not always dislike Barack Obama. He seemed unworthy of contempt. He's a puppet. It makes no sense to dislike the puppet. Submit your grievances to the writer of scripts and the puller of strings. Take it up with Edgar Bergen, not Mortimer Snerd.

But over time it has become easy to dislike BHO. I dislike the way he looks down his nose at the audience as he tells us how damn clever he happens to be. Yes, he is arrogant. And yes, I know MSNBC has classified the arrogant label as racist. If you want to figure out their logic be my guest.

Arrogant. Smug. Condescending. That last quality might be his most definitive trait. No one oozes the "I am better than you" affect like BHO. Not even Matt Damon can hang with Obama in the self love department.

We look for and excuse a certain level of vanity from our leaders. It goes with the territory. Donald Trump is hard for me to stomach. But sins of style are venial, even when taken to an Obama extreme. Chronic dishonesty is harder to dismiss.

I was driving through the streets of Lynn, Masschusetts when I picked up BHO's speech on the radio. The setting seemed appropriate for some reason. Howie Carr, the local radio legend, used to host an annual "Worst City in Massachusetts" contest. One year he retired Lynn so as to give other Massachusetts cities a chance. An appropriate setting indeed.

Obama did not disappoint. He immediately stated that some people (or was it some folks? I forget now.) are opposed to any tax increase "as an article of faith." The article of faith. NPR used to love to submit their audience to that sniper and I never heard it challenged. I doubt if it ever was.

This is intellectual dishonesty in the extreme. The merits of low taxation can be demonstrated empirically. What example do you want to use? Eastern Europe vs. Western Europe post Iron Curtain? Eastern Europe post Iron Curtain vs. Iron Curtain Europe? Texas vs. Californiain the 21st Century? There are dozens of models we can use but the results seem to always be the same. The people with the lower taxes prosper more than their neighbors or predecessors or descendents who pay higher taxes. I am still waiting for just one instance where higher taxes brought prosperity.

This is the perfect illustration of leftist intellectual dishonesty. Free market advocates with all of their data and all of their evidence are dismissed as fundamentalists. But it is the leftists who are the fundamentalists and they are fearful of holding up economics to the light of reason because they fear the truth. The truth scares them more than anything in the whole world.

We could pick apart Obama's inaccuries (I feel a sudden wave of polite understatement)in his early bird campaign speech. 50 million people lose their health insurance in a tsunami of service denials. Autistic kids suffer. People die. On and on and on. And his numbers are pure rubber. But why even bother to point out his falsehoods at this point? BHO might be the least honest politician we have ever seen. Bar none.

Yes, it is sad that our president cannot speak honestly about anything. And it is sadder still that the lap dog media will stop at nothing to portray this buffoon in a favorable light. But saddest of all are the vast legions of Kool Aid drinkers who celebrate self-deception and practice it as their chosen lifestyle.

They are not as vocal or as numerous as they used to be but there are still tens of millions of Americans who accept and even respect chronic dishonesty. I suppose if one adopts delusion as a way of life then one might celebrate the masters of deception and submit to public liars as one's rightful overlords. We are all Jonestown now.

It's raining Kool Aid.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Obama In The Room

I did not want to speculate about what the Dems might do in 2012 until after 11/2. Now we can faintly hear the cauldron bubble and it's only a matter of time until Obama is pushed aside. The damage he has done to our country can be dismissed by Democratic operatives. But leading their political party over a cliff? That wil not be forgiven.

There is blood in the water and the sharks are in a frenzy. The sardines will be scarfed up and the big fish will take a little break. They will then turn their attention to one another. Who's bleeding now? (How's that for nautical metaphor, Mr. Ayers?)

Inconvenient truth #2097. Obama cannot get on the Arizona ballot in 2012 without a valid birth certificate. Maybe the courts will overturn this legislation. Given the mood in Arizona, I doubt very much that it will be repealed. Meanwhile, the GOP has taken control of most state houses. Remember the slogan "We are all Arizona?" That might be reprised.

As bad as 11/2 was for the Dems, 2012 could be much worse. With a favorable name at the top of the GOP ticket and Bozo the Clown heading up the Dems, another sixty seats is possible. The Senate will be either a majority or a super majority.

The Dems are going to fish and cut bait. If you suffer from a festering woundyou might not want to hover near Howard Dean. Those knives are as sharp as ever.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

All We Need To Know About Obamanomics

Certain economists have devoted their lives to the addressing one question: How do governments maximize revenue? Art Laffer is the best known but there are others. Laffer pointed out what would later be obvious. That optimum taxation is not always higher taxation.

Zero taxation will produce zero government revenue. But 100% taxation will produce only slightly more revenue because people will stop working. What then, is the optimum level of taxation (for yielding government revenue. The optimum revenue for the individual is zero.)

Art Laffer invented the Laffer Curve. He discovered that when we tax beyond a certain level (roughly 28%,) government revenue declines. Technically 28% is not a magic number but optimum taxation is certainly in that neighborhood. In some years and some places 27% might yield higher revenue. In other places and times, 30% might yield more revenue. Laffer's enemies have tried to discredit his work by disputing minutiae.

But rest assured that a 28% tax rate will yield more government revenue than a 39.6% rate of taxation. Obama knows this but he does not care. What he calls "fairness" is a seething hostility towards all who have and will prosper. When we raise tax rates beyond the optimum rate of return, almost everyone loses. The taxpayer certainly loses but so does our national defense, our welfare state, our schools, etc., etc., etc. Who wins?

The winners are the envious. Not the fleeting envious. That group would include all of humanity at one time or another. No, I am referring to the bitter slobs who have adopted envy as a preferred lifestyle. These are the people who stay awake at night tormented by the fact that someone, somewhere, has prospered. Sad but true, Obama is one of those people.

Obama is willing to burn down the house to kill the mice. Then at last, we will attain "fairness." Or so it seems. The problem with hypertrophied envy is that it can never be satisfied. Never. The residents and occupants and butlers and chamber maids and the family dog flee the burning house in an unfair manner. They will be asked to make sacrifices.

Sacrifices are necessary for envy to triumph. Envy in the guise of fairness will continue to rule our day. Hope and change.

THE POLITICS OF ENVY