Another month has come and gone, and we are a little deeper in recession. Jobs in the private sector increased by less than 200k and jobs in the manufacturing sector actually decreased. Obama continues to tell us about all the millions and millions of jobs he is responsible for creating but that is just another political lie. As we slide closer to the fiscal cliff, it has become apparent that he will not negotiate to avoid going over the cliff. (And no compromise will stop it anyway, but that is another story) His supposed compromise solution had hidden in it that he could spend as much as he wants, whenever he wants, and for whatever he wants.
Yeah Right.
Tax levies are almost irrelevant in this (fiscal cliff) deal. They are a symbolic gesture, and increasing them will give the government an excuse to be even more irresponsible, but cutting them won't solve the problem either.It makes little difference if a dollar is taxed out of the economy, or if it is borrowed and never returned.
And that is where the US is. The budget will never again be balanced. That is a cliff we have already gone over (years ago, to be truthful). Now the question is only: how soon will it get bad, and how bad will it get? (and I don't really know the answers)
Spending cuts and changes to "entitlement" programs will slow the descent , but they won't stop it. Now we are only concerned with how will America look on the way down.
Will we retain our Freedoms, our Rights as given by God, our Constitutional Government? Or will we be transformed into a communist dictatorship harkening to the liberals who want to destroy us and the Islamists that want to enslave us? Will the rule o f law rule our land, or will international bankers and multinational corporations and unions run our government as a puppet as they steal all we have while operating above the law?
Fasten your seatbelts, hold on tight, keep your Bible handy and your powder dry.
It is going to be a terrifying ride down.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Saturday, February 27, 2010
A Lot Happening
A lot has been happening the past few days.
Most of the people reading this will be aware of the Earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the South Pacific. As I was watching the news coverage on Fox News, I was appalled at the ignorance of those reporting. Many referring to Mother Nature, and none giving credit to God. Many questions about earthquakes and tsunamis that should have been known by those reporting on it. I mean come on folks, pick up an encyclopedia and read up on the phenomenon before you go on the air. And one cameraman and reporter, covering the story seemed to have more interest in video shots of the reporter's shirt than anything else.
I was quite surprised to hear that even as the tsunami came to shore on Hawaii, that they couldn't say when it would actually arrive and did not yet (12 hours after the quake) know how many waves there would be. I would have thought there would be sensors about 100 miles out from the shore line, announcing the arrival, and there are certainly many sensors throughout the Pacific to count how many waves occurred.
On a more local front, Combat Effective was attacked and effectively shut down for now. Rebuilding will take a while, but the web site is not the owners highest priority, so it may be down for weeks. I guess we should take that as meaning we were on the right track, and became a threat to America's enemies.
In the mean time, I intend to get this blog back on track, after neglecting it for the past three weeks, and will begin tracking the approach of the elections this fall.
Most of the people reading this will be aware of the Earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the South Pacific. As I was watching the news coverage on Fox News, I was appalled at the ignorance of those reporting. Many referring to Mother Nature, and none giving credit to God. Many questions about earthquakes and tsunamis that should have been known by those reporting on it. I mean come on folks, pick up an encyclopedia and read up on the phenomenon before you go on the air. And one cameraman and reporter, covering the story seemed to have more interest in video shots of the reporter's shirt than anything else.
I was quite surprised to hear that even as the tsunami came to shore on Hawaii, that they couldn't say when it would actually arrive and did not yet (12 hours after the quake) know how many waves there would be. I would have thought there would be sensors about 100 miles out from the shore line, announcing the arrival, and there are certainly many sensors throughout the Pacific to count how many waves occurred.
On a more local front, Combat Effective was attacked and effectively shut down for now. Rebuilding will take a while, but the web site is not the owners highest priority, so it may be down for weeks. I guess we should take that as meaning we were on the right track, and became a threat to America's enemies.
In the mean time, I intend to get this blog back on track, after neglecting it for the past three weeks, and will begin tracking the approach of the elections this fall.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Border Fence - the cause is right
With this being an election year, the status of the border fence (and other border security issues) should be one of the more visible issues presented to our candidates. Especially those going to Washington. And let's not forget, every single Representative (along with a third of the Senate and quite a few Governors) is up for re-election (or replacement).
Those who wish to destroy us have managed to promote a myth so far and wide that even a lot of otherwise reasonable and rational people have come to believe it. That a fence does not work, because it can be breached or bypassed. Look at any auto salvage or auto repair business and what do you see? A fence. Look at any military installation and what do you see? A fence. There is also a similar myth that a fence only keeps us in. Where does this come from? Law abiding people don't sneak across a border or jump the fence. They come and go through the gate. This, of course comes from our enemies, and is aimed at those who have not given this much thought.
And there is some proof that the fence, only about 20% (or less) complete, is already providing some protection. And, of course, it is the same evidence that our enemies would point to, trying to persuade us to stop defending ourselves. As an example:
Incomplete Border Tunnel Found In San Diego (Dec 2009)
But, it is not like people have completely forgotten the subject. A recent (Nov 2009) Washington Post Poll showed 61 Percent of Republicans and Republican Leaning Independents Say GOP Puts ‘Too Little’ Emphasis on Illegal Immigration, (The poll asked respondents their opinion about the degree of emphasis the Republican Party puts on eight issues: gun rights, same-sex marriage, abortion, federal spending, taxes, the environment, illegal immigration, and the economy and jobs.)
Meanwhile, the news page for the Border Patrol is choked with trivial stuff, causing articles to scroll off of the page quickly. However, a periodic update link was helpful.
I discovered this article (5 Jan 2010), showing that attention given the border provides a good return on investment, among the many listed. Excerpt:
Just a note, on that last line: "other nationals."
Smugglers? or Terrorists?
The article doesn't say.
But without the fence, absolutely no one would know.
We must remain steadfast.
.
Those who wish to destroy us have managed to promote a myth so far and wide that even a lot of otherwise reasonable and rational people have come to believe it. That a fence does not work, because it can be breached or bypassed. Look at any auto salvage or auto repair business and what do you see? A fence. Look at any military installation and what do you see? A fence. There is also a similar myth that a fence only keeps us in. Where does this come from? Law abiding people don't sneak across a border or jump the fence. They come and go through the gate. This, of course comes from our enemies, and is aimed at those who have not given this much thought.
And there is some proof that the fence, only about 20% (or less) complete, is already providing some protection. And, of course, it is the same evidence that our enemies would point to, trying to persuade us to stop defending ourselves. As an example:
Incomplete Border Tunnel Found In San Diego (Dec 2009)
DEA said Mexican authorities discovered an incomplete tunnel from Tijuana, Mexico running across the border. It was over 1800 feet and as much as 90 feet deep. This took a great deal of effort (two years) and expense (millions of dollars) to build, and would not be necessary were it not for an effective border fencing system they had to bypass.From time to time, there are stories of checkpoint personnel or other Border Patrol personnel taking bribes to help smuggle people or contraband across the border. Again, if the fence were not providing any protection, these bribes would not be necessary, and again, this provides proof that the fence is beginning to work.
But, it is not like people have completely forgotten the subject. A recent (Nov 2009) Washington Post Poll showed 61 Percent of Republicans and Republican Leaning Independents Say GOP Puts ‘Too Little’ Emphasis on Illegal Immigration, (The poll asked respondents their opinion about the degree of emphasis the Republican Party puts on eight issues: gun rights, same-sex marriage, abortion, federal spending, taxes, the environment, illegal immigration, and the economy and jobs.)
Meanwhile, the news page for the Border Patrol is choked with trivial stuff, causing articles to scroll off of the page quickly. However, a periodic update link was helpful.
I discovered this article (5 Jan 2010), showing that attention given the border provides a good return on investment, among the many listed. Excerpt:
The statistics of the Yuma Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol do not tell the entire story but the go a long way to explain the significant improvements in security over the last five years.
Back in 2005, there were 138,000 arrests along the Yuma Sector's 126 miles of border they are responsible for, Beeson noted. But in 2009, those arrests were down to just 7,356. That is a 94 percent decrease in illegal activity.
The Yuma Station was the busiest of all 146 Border Patrol stations in 2005, Beeson reminded his hushed audience. "Vehicle drive throughs" (failure to stop) at the border was 2,700 five years ago while last year it dropped to 109.
"We've made a significant impact on illegal activity all along our sector. We say, we have 'operational control' over all 126 miles. So that's the ability to protect, classify, respond, and resolve all cross border threats."
But Beeson gives credit where it is due and praises the efforts of the National Guard who were temporarily stationed at the border in 2006. The Guard helped significantly with the Border Patrol's tactical infrastructure which included vehicle and pedestrian fencing, lighting, and all weather patrol roads, Beeson said.
"From the time the Guard showed up illegal traffic dropped precipitously. The Guard gave us a big leg up with our infrastructure."
Coupled with that beefed up infrastructure was a substantial increase in personnel, jumping from 358 agents in 2005 to 977 agents last year, Beeson noted. They also have a very strong air branch now, including helicopters and fixed wing aircraft deployed on a regular basis to support their ground surveillance.
They also received mobile surveillance systems, trucks with radar and cameras that can scan the whole area and greatly helped the Yuma Sector gain control of the border, he added.
The border is a very remote, harsh desert climate, Beeson said. Along with arrests they performed 19 rescues. In addition, they had 6,951 apprehensions of Mexican Nationals crossing illegally and 405 apprehensions of other nationals in 2009.
Just a note, on that last line: "other nationals."
Smugglers? or Terrorists?
The article doesn't say.
But without the fence, absolutely no one would know.
We must remain steadfast.
.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The Future Of Blogging
In the past, the science of blogging has been mostly benefited the liberals. There are a number of reasons for this, but some very important ones include less work ethic means they have more time for blogging and other social interaction, and they have fewer morals and less restraint on techniques for attracting attention.
This is a volume, as well as quality game, and if we are to make headway in this culture war, we must learn the lessons they have given us to improve our visibility to others.
I think I have learned some lessons over the past couple of years. First, I have a pretty limited amount of time to contribute, and second is that traffic is driven to a blog through two means. One is the number of posts, and the second is the number of other blogs that link to it.
The liberals have for the past several years used that second criteria to their advantage. Posting many comments on other peoples blogs, each with a link to their own blog. This is a sort of spam attack that allows even conservative blogs to unwittingly lend credibility to liberal blogs.
One thing I intend to do over the next year is to attract attention to one political blog that I mostly agree with (not my own, I am far too obscure). I will do that by registering with, and regularly posting comments to, several well balanced blogs that have fairly high traffic, located around the country and around the cyberscape. Each comment will have a link to the target blog. Note that I won't be spamming. If I have nothing worth saying, I won't just post garbage. That is one of the moral limitations we conservatives must keep.
This is a volume, as well as quality game, and if we are to make headway in this culture war, we must learn the lessons they have given us to improve our visibility to others.
I think I have learned some lessons over the past couple of years. First, I have a pretty limited amount of time to contribute, and second is that traffic is driven to a blog through two means. One is the number of posts, and the second is the number of other blogs that link to it.
The liberals have for the past several years used that second criteria to their advantage. Posting many comments on other peoples blogs, each with a link to their own blog. This is a sort of spam attack that allows even conservative blogs to unwittingly lend credibility to liberal blogs.
One thing I intend to do over the next year is to attract attention to one political blog that I mostly agree with (not my own, I am far too obscure). I will do that by registering with, and regularly posting comments to, several well balanced blogs that have fairly high traffic, located around the country and around the cyberscape. Each comment will have a link to the target blog. Note that I won't be spamming. If I have nothing worth saying, I won't just post garbage. That is one of the moral limitations we conservatives must keep.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
The Aproaching Primary Elections
This is an "off year" election season. What does that mean to an intelligent citizen? Our vote counts double. And counts triple in the Primary Election coming up in a couple months. Here in Texas, the primaries are the 2nd of March. In years past, I advocated telling everyone you knew that the primary season is a good time to vote and try to get everyone to the ballot boxes for every election.
NO MORE.
Now I have seen that too many of our citizenry are seduced with the modern drugs of socialism and liberalism, political correctness and post modernism. And, of course, celebrity worship. And too many of them have no idea what government's true purpose is, or what the Constitution says about our government and our nation. Too many of them, "educated" by the liberal government schools, do not know the true foundations of our nation, and do not know the true underpinnings of our society.
Today I advocate discernment. Find out which of your friends and acquaintances have been seduced with the drugs above, and which have not. And tell those, which have not been seduced, how important it is to get out and vote.
Of course, this being an election year, many of the projects that were pretending to be "shovel ready" for last year's stimulus will actually be worked on this year. This will provide some temporary work for some of the people seeking jobs. And make it look, temporarily, like the current liberal administration is actually helping the country get back on its feet. In reality, it was the liberal policies of the current and past political machine that got us into the mess our economy is in, and the programs that were put into place last year will ultimately make things worse. This will make our job harder.
Listening to conservative talk radio, one might get an idea that the next elections are all wrapped up. I estimate that, at least 8 times an hour, I hear how the public is so peeved that the Democrats cannot hope to win the next election, and that any Republican with any sense will embrace conservative values. Get real. About half of the public has no idea what is good for the country and will only vote for which ever candidate is a pretty boy.
We cannot be complacent. Nor can we simply concede defeat. Nor can we just sit idly by and wait for the return of Jesus (if He returns today, we lose nothing by espousing Christian values of liberty and economy, if He tarries long, we lose much by allowing tyranny and despotism to destroy possibly the last remaining place on Earth we can be assured of our freedom to practice Christianity in Peace.
We must be harmless as sheep, but we must never forget that the Bible tells us to be as wise as serpents.
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. - Edward R. Murrow
NO MORE.
Now I have seen that too many of our citizenry are seduced with the modern drugs of socialism and liberalism, political correctness and post modernism. And, of course, celebrity worship. And too many of them have no idea what government's true purpose is, or what the Constitution says about our government and our nation. Too many of them, "educated" by the liberal government schools, do not know the true foundations of our nation, and do not know the true underpinnings of our society.
Today I advocate discernment. Find out which of your friends and acquaintances have been seduced with the drugs above, and which have not. And tell those, which have not been seduced, how important it is to get out and vote.
Of course, this being an election year, many of the projects that were pretending to be "shovel ready" for last year's stimulus will actually be worked on this year. This will provide some temporary work for some of the people seeking jobs. And make it look, temporarily, like the current liberal administration is actually helping the country get back on its feet. In reality, it was the liberal policies of the current and past political machine that got us into the mess our economy is in, and the programs that were put into place last year will ultimately make things worse. This will make our job harder.
Listening to conservative talk radio, one might get an idea that the next elections are all wrapped up. I estimate that, at least 8 times an hour, I hear how the public is so peeved that the Democrats cannot hope to win the next election, and that any Republican with any sense will embrace conservative values. Get real. About half of the public has no idea what is good for the country and will only vote for which ever candidate is a pretty boy.
We cannot be complacent. Nor can we simply concede defeat. Nor can we just sit idly by and wait for the return of Jesus (if He returns today, we lose nothing by espousing Christian values of liberty and economy, if He tarries long, we lose much by allowing tyranny and despotism to destroy possibly the last remaining place on Earth we can be assured of our freedom to practice Christianity in Peace.
We must be harmless as sheep, but we must never forget that the Bible tells us to be as wise as serpents.
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. - Edward R. Murrow
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
End of Quarter Roundup
I started doing quarterly roundups, instead of monthly, because I don't do enough blog entries on my blog to justify a monthly roundup. This quarter I started out strong, with a series of book reviews on Christianity in Crisis and followed with some stuff on economics and politics. In fact, for some months now, I have been doing a monthly economic article. Good Start.
But ultimately, between paying too much attention to national politics and some health problems (nothing I haven't had before), I have been neglecting what I should be doing with this blog. So, in the next three months, I hope to do more with Bible Studies and book reviews. And be seen less on other peoples blogs, talking about politics. If you look at my November Chronicles articles, you might see why.
Now, as in the past reviews, here are links to some articles that generated comments, followed by some stuff I got involved in on a couple other blogs, and lastly, a list of article numbers on Combat Effective that are of interest.
Sotomayor Unqualified
Bottoming out in the Recession
Other people's Blogs
Judges tend to evolve - badly.
Young people leaving their Churches
Pilgrim's Political Link
Biker Bubba's Thoughts On Palin Leaving the Governorship
Calvinism's author turns 500
Chiggers and other insects
Business Climate in Michigan is Icy
Unemployment in Michigan is growth business
List of article numbers of interest on Combat Effective.
I am too lazy to do full links to them, but
if you are really interested, I will coach on
how to get to the referenced pages.
3298 Blue Ray DVD players
3301 We now have two liberal parties
(republicans sent me a survey - w/ donation request)
3303 Can Blogs be killed by outlawing linking?
3304 Honduras, Clinton, Castro, and then Sotomayor
3305 on twitter and blogs (DW anti communist blog)
3306 the US has voted to be enslaved and impoverished
3309 bankrupting farmers, and corporate psychopaths
3310 Jury sees Rep. Jefferson taking a bribe
3312 Obama's pick for surgeon general
3313 Taxes and healthcare (and my little rant about it)
morphed into international finance
3314 Moon landing anniversary
3315 the coming war of gog and magog
3316 various topics
3317 On the demise of News Papers
and rise of "free" media detailed discussions
3318 various topics
3293 Late breaking updates to:
Note to GOP - don't compare Obama to Putin
As a nation, we are hanging in the balance
Two bills, should they pass, will bankrupt us
3321 Fannie Mae Needs more money
3322 Long detailed discussion of Cash for Clunkers
including some comparison to Unabomber predictions
3323 Combat Rob and Wife Expecting a little one
3324 Consumer bankruptcies and Credit card defaults
3325 don't let news of economic recovery lure you into spending
3330 Are we bitter, or offended, at the corruption of the system
this was moved to forums
3331 will we, or our grandchildren, pick up the tab for this mess
3333 A Josef Goebbel's recovery
3340 Ghost Fleet of the Recession - ships parked near Singapore
3348 (administrative action) User Databases scrubbed
3349 Liberals want civility
3351 Criminally Insane escapes while on field trip
But ultimately, between paying too much attention to national politics and some health problems (nothing I haven't had before), I have been neglecting what I should be doing with this blog. So, in the next three months, I hope to do more with Bible Studies and book reviews. And be seen less on other peoples blogs, talking about politics. If you look at my November Chronicles articles, you might see why.
Now, as in the past reviews, here are links to some articles that generated comments, followed by some stuff I got involved in on a couple other blogs, and lastly, a list of article numbers on Combat Effective that are of interest.
Sotomayor Unqualified
Bottoming out in the Recession
Other people's Blogs
Judges tend to evolve - badly.
Young people leaving their Churches
Pilgrim's Political Link
Biker Bubba's Thoughts On Palin Leaving the Governorship
Calvinism's author turns 500
Chiggers and other insects
Business Climate in Michigan is Icy
Unemployment in Michigan is growth business
List of article numbers of interest on Combat Effective.
I am too lazy to do full links to them, but
if you are really interested, I will coach on
how to get to the referenced pages.
3298 Blue Ray DVD players
3301 We now have two liberal parties
(republicans sent me a survey - w/ donation request)
3303 Can Blogs be killed by outlawing linking?
3304 Honduras, Clinton, Castro, and then Sotomayor
3305 on twitter and blogs (DW anti communist blog)
3306 the US has voted to be enslaved and impoverished
3309 bankrupting farmers, and corporate psychopaths
3310 Jury sees Rep. Jefferson taking a bribe
3312 Obama's pick for surgeon general
3313 Taxes and healthcare (and my little rant about it)
morphed into international finance
3314 Moon landing anniversary
3315 the coming war of gog and magog
3316 various topics
3317 On the demise of News Papers
and rise of "free" media detailed discussions
3318 various topics
3293 Late breaking updates to:
Note to GOP - don't compare Obama to Putin
As a nation, we are hanging in the balance
Two bills, should they pass, will bankrupt us
3321 Fannie Mae Needs more money
3322 Long detailed discussion of Cash for Clunkers
including some comparison to Unabomber predictions
3323 Combat Rob and Wife Expecting a little one
3324 Consumer bankruptcies and Credit card defaults
3325 don't let news of economic recovery lure you into spending
3330 Are we bitter, or offended, at the corruption of the system
this was moved to forums
3331 will we, or our grandchildren, pick up the tab for this mess
3333 A Josef Goebbel's recovery
3340 Ghost Fleet of the Recession - ships parked near Singapore
3348 (administrative action) User Databases scrubbed
3349 Liberals want civility
3351 Criminally Insane escapes while on field trip
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
End of Quarter Roundup
The big stories (but not the only stories) here this past quarter have been the Swine Flu outbreak and the economy.
For some personal notes, we have been having some record breaking heat here in the middle of Texas, and this may go down as one of the hottest summers on record. South and west of me, the ranchers are in dire straights and the cities have begun to restrict water use because of drought conditions, but it really hasn't affected me personally, yet. I have been reading a book on the heresies of the "prosperity preachers" and will be doing an initial review of the book shortly. (I still plan to do one more article on the "Year of Biblical Living")
GEEK ALERT: Despite being written for a general audience the next two paragraphs are quite technical in nature. If you are a non-geek, simply ignore the terms you don't understand, and you will still get three quarters of it.
My search for new software goes on, but I have decided to use an Open Office spreadsheet for my check book register. If you are looking for good FREE office software, Open Office is my recommendation. Not yet perfect, but getting there. And so many offices now use Excel or some other spreadsheet for a general purpose tool that I recommend almost everyone learn to use it. (More on that later.)
For a Personal Information Manager, I have settled on EPIM, which has version 3.02 out. Support for Win2K is not expected to go on much longer, but the authors patched it for Win2K compatibility for this version. Now to find some good journal keeping software.
Now for some notes on my writings for the past three months: I have managed not to publish and then update any posts, but one of my political posts generated some worthwhile remarks.
I do a lot of my writing by commenting on other peoples blog entries, here are some of the more significant comments.
Home Prices May Be Lost for a Generation
The linked to story here is worth reading
Economy to Shrink for "Some Time"
or "Obama's pep talker gives dismal review"
While I did not comment on this one,
it is a real good read about how some
big banks are gaming the mortgage mess.
I think I actually do more writing as comments
on Combat Effective than anywhere else.
Automakers, Bailouts, and Greed
Cowards and Sheepdogs
Dead Pirates
Daily Bad News - Should we freak out?
Mortgages Cramdowns and Contracts
Recovery, or Bear Market Rally
The Conflict between good and Evil,
the Bible and the Scammers
Conservatives don't Make Themselves Heard
Inflation, and Where does Money Come From
The People of the CombatEffective Crowd
Long winded Discussion of Political Wind shifts
The ongoing Economic Crisis
Just some political BS here
Just some economic BS here
Blue-Ray - the expensive
new toy - will people eventually buy it?
Opening up a discussion on the Happenings in Iran
A contrast on possible TARP bailouts
And there you have it. If there is any doubt, not only does this let people who use blog following and blog reading software keep up with stuff that doesn't show up on those tools, but it also ups my "update count" by one, with a lot of links. Kinda cheating, but kinda useful.
For some personal notes, we have been having some record breaking heat here in the middle of Texas, and this may go down as one of the hottest summers on record. South and west of me, the ranchers are in dire straights and the cities have begun to restrict water use because of drought conditions, but it really hasn't affected me personally, yet. I have been reading a book on the heresies of the "prosperity preachers" and will be doing an initial review of the book shortly. (I still plan to do one more article on the "Year of Biblical Living")
GEEK ALERT: Despite being written for a general audience the next two paragraphs are quite technical in nature. If you are a non-geek, simply ignore the terms you don't understand, and you will still get three quarters of it.
My search for new software goes on, but I have decided to use an Open Office spreadsheet for my check book register. If you are looking for good FREE office software, Open Office is my recommendation. Not yet perfect, but getting there. And so many offices now use Excel or some other spreadsheet for a general purpose tool that I recommend almost everyone learn to use it. (More on that later.)
For a Personal Information Manager, I have settled on EPIM, which has version 3.02 out. Support for Win2K is not expected to go on much longer, but the authors patched it for Win2K compatibility for this version. Now to find some good journal keeping software.
Now for some notes on my writings for the past three months: I have managed not to publish and then update any posts, but one of my political posts generated some worthwhile remarks.
I do a lot of my writing by commenting on other peoples blog entries, here are some of the more significant comments.
Home Prices May Be Lost for a Generation
The linked to story here is worth reading
Economy to Shrink for "Some Time"
or "Obama's pep talker gives dismal review"
While I did not comment on this one,
it is a real good read about how some
big banks are gaming the mortgage mess.
I think I actually do more writing as comments
on Combat Effective than anywhere else.
Automakers, Bailouts, and Greed
Cowards and Sheepdogs
Dead Pirates
Daily Bad News - Should we freak out?
Mortgages Cramdowns and Contracts
Recovery, or Bear Market Rally
The Conflict between good and Evil,
the Bible and the Scammers
Conservatives don't Make Themselves Heard
Inflation, and Where does Money Come From
The People of the CombatEffective Crowd
Long winded Discussion of Political Wind shifts
The ongoing Economic Crisis
Just some political BS here
Just some economic BS here
Blue-Ray - the expensive
new toy - will people eventually buy it?
Opening up a discussion on the Happenings in Iran
A contrast on possible TARP bailouts
And there you have it. If there is any doubt, not only does this let people who use blog following and blog reading software keep up with stuff that doesn't show up on those tools, but it also ups my "update count" by one, with a lot of links. Kinda cheating, but kinda useful.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
remember Tiananmen
Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the massacre.
For 15years I tried to find stuff made in the USA, or at least, not made in China. It seems we may have lost the war. They own our debt, and they are our main manufacturing base. I have determined that I cannot change this by myself, and don't try too hard any more to find non chinese made items.
Let us not forget, however that China has not changed. The still attack, and fund others who attack our military, they still use prison labor. They still persecute Christians. They still export poisoned food and baby toys to the US on a regular basis. They still support N.K. They are still the biggest exporters of pirated music, games, and movies (leading to our own government taking draconian measures against its own citizens).
But it is the US government's policy - with support of virtually every congressional district in the US - to support and befriend the chinese government. Under these conditions, I can no longer afford to worry about the trade imbalance or any other hostile acts against the US. I will continue to speak up, and if the US someday wants to elect leaders who actually support their own citizens against the China threat, I will still be here.
For 15years I tried to find stuff made in the USA, or at least, not made in China. It seems we may have lost the war. They own our debt, and they are our main manufacturing base. I have determined that I cannot change this by myself, and don't try too hard any more to find non chinese made items.
Let us not forget, however that China has not changed. The still attack, and fund others who attack our military, they still use prison labor. They still persecute Christians. They still export poisoned food and baby toys to the US on a regular basis. They still support N.K. They are still the biggest exporters of pirated music, games, and movies (leading to our own government taking draconian measures against its own citizens).
But it is the US government's policy - with support of virtually every congressional district in the US - to support and befriend the chinese government. Under these conditions, I can no longer afford to worry about the trade imbalance or any other hostile acts against the US. I will continue to speak up, and if the US someday wants to elect leaders who actually support their own citizens against the China threat, I will still be here.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Democrats - Lies, Corruption, and FlipFlops
I find it seriously annoying that I spend so much time on this subject, but the corruption and damage to our nation has just been breathtaking.
One of the leading figures in the Democratic party, Nancy Pelosi has been lying about knowing that the CIA's aggressive interrogations were going on. And what a shame, those interrogations , while bordering on torture, may have saved thousands of lives.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/05/nancy-pelosi-is-lying.html
The Democrat controlled press has been covering up the roots of the Mortgage Meltdown
The following links are about the same.
The only good news lately is that Obama has joined the waffle house bunch as he FlipFlops on Tribunals: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=alc4wiFEM0hU&refer=home
UPDATE: A little updating on that Mexican Gun stuff.
Keeping in mind that "FactCheck" is a liberal biased org that will do anything it can get away with to undermine us, they say the numbers are somewhere in between.
Also, from Opposing Views.
One of the leading figures in the Democratic party, Nancy Pelosi has been lying about knowing that the CIA's aggressive interrogations were going on. And what a shame, those interrogations , while bordering on torture, may have saved thousands of lives.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/05/nancy-pelosi-is-lying.html
The Democrat controlled press has been covering up the roots of the Mortgage Meltdown
The following links are about the same.
Obama's Complicity1 and Obama's Complicity2
This one gives a little more detail on ACORN's Complicity
This one shows that liberals, encouraging the poor to live beyond their means by insulating the loan brokers from the risk, was a primary cause of the meltdown, and that the Bush administration warned of the impending collapse.
So, why weren't the warnings heeded? Maybe because Barny Franks prevented the Bush administration from altering Freddie Mac's course by calling it racism.
And now, after the Mexican government, the press, and Obama lied about 90% (the real number is about 17%) of drug cartel's guns coming from the US, so Obama sent hundreds of agents to find them, but of course, they didn't find very many, cause they don't exist. (sadly, this last link comes from AP, and so it will probably disappear - but I hope I can find a more permanent one later.)
The only good news lately is that Obama has joined the waffle house bunch as he FlipFlops on Tribunals: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=alc4wiFEM0hU&refer=home
UPDATE: A little updating on that Mexican Gun stuff.
Keeping in mind that "FactCheck" is a liberal biased org that will do anything it can get away with to undermine us, they say the numbers are somewhere in between.
Also, from Opposing Views.
Friday, February 27, 2009
return of the gun grabbers
The same race baiting cretian that said we should have racial "dialog" is now going about showing that the new administration is even less trustworthy.
Obama promised no gun grabbing.
But look what his Attorney General is doing already.
In case the ABC news link disappears.
This one shows Holder is even less trustworthy than Pelosi.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/pelosi-tosses-cold-water-on-reviving-assault-weapon-ban-2009-02-26.html
And this one is from Hannity
Well, I guess we will have to keep a close eye on these guys.
Obama promised no gun grabbing.
But look what his Attorney General is doing already.
In case the ABC news link disappears.
This one shows Holder is even less trustworthy than Pelosi.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/pelosi-tosses-cold-water-on-reviving-assault-weapon-ban-2009-02-26.html
And this one is from Hannity
Well, I guess we will have to keep a close eye on these guys.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
security cameras
As the crime rate rises, partly due to the recession, and partly due to the crumbling of our society, more and more there is a call for surveillance cameras. This is a particularly insidious threat in and of itself. As I have written before, corporations and governments (really the same thing) will ALWAYS abuse any power given to them. Without a framework of limits on their use, which we need yesterday, mission creep of these things will erode privacy and liberty at an ever increasing rate.
Much has already been written on this subject. Here are just a few examples:
dailymail in uk: Graffiti artist pulls audacious stunt despite CCTV
wired blog: US Surveillance
justicetalking blog: When the watchers watch themselves
Here I have nothing more than a couple of thoughts to throw in:
Security cameras can be generally lumped into 4 categories:
1. Privately owned, like residential.
2. Small business, like the neighborhood grocer or church.
3. Big Corporations, like Wal-Mart and Lockheed Martin
4. And then there is government, under which I would, of course, include any contractors engaged in business directly for the government, whether it be a highway construction crew or the shell corporations created to run "red light cameras" and "speed control cameras."
I would love to see a comprehensive plan on how to prevent the mission creep, ever extending retention dates, and ever expanding reach of these cameras, lest we someday awaken to a truly Orwellian existence.
Of course, I would favor ever increasing restrictions going from least restrictive in category 1 to most restrictive in category 4. But all of this is mostly just academic fodder. The average citizen has no power to limit the reach of government or corporations. But we can make our opinions known, and hopefully someone will stumble across them and give them some consideration.
Much has already been written on this subject. Here are just a few examples:
dailymail in uk: Graffiti artist pulls audacious stunt despite CCTV
wired blog: US Surveillance
justicetalking blog: When the watchers watch themselves
Here I have nothing more than a couple of thoughts to throw in:
Security cameras can be generally lumped into 4 categories:
1. Privately owned, like residential.
2. Small business, like the neighborhood grocer or church.
3. Big Corporations, like Wal-Mart and Lockheed Martin
4. And then there is government, under which I would, of course, include any contractors engaged in business directly for the government, whether it be a highway construction crew or the shell corporations created to run "red light cameras" and "speed control cameras."
I would love to see a comprehensive plan on how to prevent the mission creep, ever extending retention dates, and ever expanding reach of these cameras, lest we someday awaken to a truly Orwellian existence.
Of course, I would favor ever increasing restrictions going from least restrictive in category 1 to most restrictive in category 4. But all of this is mostly just academic fodder. The average citizen has no power to limit the reach of government or corporations. But we can make our opinions known, and hopefully someone will stumble across them and give them some consideration.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Obama sized future
The future, under President Obama, looks grim. After each of his major public displays this month (Feb 9 and 17th) the markets tanked. And for good reason. His economic stimulus plan is far from what the economy needs, in order for it to return to the status it had in 2006. But is that really a bad thing? Do we really want to return to overinflated housing prices and trillions in consumer debt?
What we do face, in the short run(and this is completely out of Obama's control), can either be described as a long term recession or a short term depression. For the next year or two, we will not see any recovery, but instead will (hopefully, and this IS within Obama's control) see a cleaning out of our national excesses.
It is likely that we will recover from this recession in several years, but as a socialist/corporatist nation, rather than capitalist. Of course, we haven't really been capitalist since the Great Depression (which, in the future may be known as GD1, with this one known as GD2, just as we now have WW1 and WW2)
From a different point of view, we have not had real capitalism since the 1880's, when we saw the rise of the corporate states. (see 1886 Supreme Court Case, where corporations were given the same rights as persons) Corporatism has been with us for centuries, but was relatively unknown in the US when the Constitution was written. In addition, at that time, corporations were recognised to be instruments of the government. Those two facts may account for their absence from our Constitution.
There may be a silver lining to Obama's Presidency. He does seem (at least on the surface) to stand for the rolling back of some of the excesses of the corporate world. He has already come out in favor of Net Neutrality, and maybe he will be more sympathetic to the citizenry and listen less to the school of thugs on the subject of DRM.
This won't negate the facts that he is much more likely to abridge our (the citizens) Constitutional Rights in favor of increasing the power of the federal government and the power of the political parties (which are constitutionally repugnant). On these things, we will just have to wait and see.
What we do face, in the short run(and this is completely out of Obama's control), can either be described as a long term recession or a short term depression. For the next year or two, we will not see any recovery, but instead will (hopefully, and this IS within Obama's control) see a cleaning out of our national excesses.
It is likely that we will recover from this recession in several years, but as a socialist/corporatist nation, rather than capitalist. Of course, we haven't really been capitalist since the Great Depression (which, in the future may be known as GD1, with this one known as GD2, just as we now have WW1 and WW2)
From a different point of view, we have not had real capitalism since the 1880's, when we saw the rise of the corporate states. (see 1886 Supreme Court Case, where corporations were given the same rights as persons) Corporatism has been with us for centuries, but was relatively unknown in the US when the Constitution was written. In addition, at that time, corporations were recognised to be instruments of the government. Those two facts may account for their absence from our Constitution.
There may be a silver lining to Obama's Presidency. He does seem (at least on the surface) to stand for the rolling back of some of the excesses of the corporate world. He has already come out in favor of Net Neutrality, and maybe he will be more sympathetic to the citizenry and listen less to the school of thugs on the subject of DRM.
This won't negate the facts that he is much more likely to abridge our (the citizens) Constitutional Rights in favor of increasing the power of the federal government and the power of the political parties (which are constitutionally repugnant). On these things, we will just have to wait and see.
Much of what is written above is in direct conflict with my religious thoughts. I truly believe that the end times are upon us, and that Jesus will return within the next 25 years. Possibly within the next several years. This does not negate the fact that we must carry on in light of the fact that He might not return when we think He should.
Until then.
Friday, February 06, 2009
we have a new word: porkulus
The word is derived from stimulus, though at first I thought it was from fabulous. (I would put a smily there, if I could remember how. :) )
A few mentions:
Weapons of Mass Discussion
http://massdiscussion.blogspot.com/2009/01/latta-on-porkulus.html
National Taxpayers Union
http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4244
Under the Hill
http://underthehill.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/obama-got-his-porkulus-bill-passed/
Taxpayers Union says that government growth is the threat, not pork.
I would say it is both, and this bill represents both.
A few mentions:
Weapons of Mass Discussion
http://massdiscussion.blogspot.com/2009/01/latta-on-porkulus.html
National Taxpayers Union
http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4244
Under the Hill
http://underthehill.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/obama-got-his-porkulus-bill-passed/
Taxpayers Union says that government growth is the threat, not pork.
I would say it is both, and this bill represents both.
Friday, January 09, 2009
14 thugs and a coward
The UN security council voted to call a cease fire in Gaza in the midst of Israel's attempt to stop Hamas from its continued military actions - firing rocket and mortars from Gaza into Israel. Sadly, the US demonstrated cowardice, by not standing up to this despotic behavior. Despite the obviousness of Hamas's war crimes, such as using women, children, and other noncombatants as human shields, the only person I have heard state plainly that Hamas is in the wrong is President Bush. And he has failed to reign in Sec. of State Rice.
The sad fact is that a large portion of the world has chosen, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, to believe a lie. There may be some explanation of this willingness to disreguard the truth, as many of our institutions, including our government have been infiltrated.
Update on the US decision to abstain:
It seems Pres. Bush did reign in Sec. of State Rice, at least somewhat.
This post by Caroline Glick gives details.
The sad fact is that a large portion of the world has chosen, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, to believe a lie. There may be some explanation of this willingness to disreguard the truth, as many of our institutions, including our government have been infiltrated.
Update on the US decision to abstain:
It seems Pres. Bush did reign in Sec. of State Rice, at least somewhat.
This post by Caroline Glick gives details.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
death of newspapers
With the immanent bankruptcy of the tribune, some people, both outside and inside their industry have been discussing the financial in's and out's of the business. Seems no one inside the business has been willing to address the issue of bias, and how it may have played a role in their financial collapse.
Starting on Credit Slips, I traced commentary on the matter, to find out if they could be honest with each other. Beginning with the article, itself, the author (whom I know nothing about) says
I don't know if by "for better or worse," she is admitting right here that "truth" is not a reality in the newspaper business. As for the "forth branch of government" - the for profit news business of the MSM has become just a branch of the most liberal aspects of the Democratic Party. But will they get this?
I will say, right up front, that I read the local newspaper and watch the local news. It does two things that I can not yet get on line. I get local news, and I get an assortment of stories. On line, it tends to be national news, and I only get news that the sites I go to consider worthy. Of course, in the paper and on TV I get a lot of national news and only what the newspaper's editorial board feels is newsworthy, but it is a much wider variety.
The article mentions about investigative reporters and foreign bureaus. They are correct that blogging cannot replace these things. A new business model must emerge, where these people are paid a wage (or compensation) for their gathering of content. Someone must go out and gather content that corporations and governments don't want gathered, and support of those who do that is a must if we are not to slide into the Orwellian word of "1984"
Some other items in article and comments below it may be found incorrect in the future. The assembling of the news into a cohesive and eclectic (a paradox, I know) format can be done by blog editors, and even automation, just as well as an editorial board. There are already services that do this, such as The Memorandum and news.google, though at this time they still rely on the main stream news to provide the actual content. But this is an early phase.
Why no one seems to want to call them on the fact that one of the things MSM is killing itself with is their leftist views and political entanglements is beyond me. It may be that the Internet is killing the revenue stream for the newspapers, but it is their own lack of integrity that will assure their death. We can only hope that ultimately a day will come that a new version of news agency will emerge to fill the void.
Starting on Credit Slips, I traced commentary on the matter, to find out if they could be honest with each other. Beginning with the article, itself, the author (whom I know nothing about) says
Truth-seeking (for better or worse) has never been a for-profit
activity.. [and] If we as a country want to continue having a written representative in the “fourth branch” of government, we’re going to have to come up with another one.
I don't know if by "for better or worse," she is admitting right here that "truth" is not a reality in the newspaper business. As for the "forth branch of government" - the for profit news business of the MSM has become just a branch of the most liberal aspects of the Democratic Party. But will they get this?
I will say, right up front, that I read the local newspaper and watch the local news. It does two things that I can not yet get on line. I get local news, and I get an assortment of stories. On line, it tends to be national news, and I only get news that the sites I go to consider worthy. Of course, in the paper and on TV I get a lot of national news and only what the newspaper's editorial board feels is newsworthy, but it is a much wider variety.
The article mentions about investigative reporters and foreign bureaus. They are correct that blogging cannot replace these things. A new business model must emerge, where these people are paid a wage (or compensation) for their gathering of content. Someone must go out and gather content that corporations and governments don't want gathered, and support of those who do that is a must if we are not to slide into the Orwellian word of "1984"
Some other items in article and comments below it may be found incorrect in the future. The assembling of the news into a cohesive and eclectic (a paradox, I know) format can be done by blog editors, and even automation, just as well as an editorial board. There are already services that do this, such as The Memorandum and news.google, though at this time they still rely on the main stream news to provide the actual content. But this is an early phase.
Why no one seems to want to call them on the fact that one of the things MSM is killing itself with is their leftist views and political entanglements is beyond me. It may be that the Internet is killing the revenue stream for the newspapers, but it is their own lack of integrity that will assure their death. We can only hope that ultimately a day will come that a new version of news agency will emerge to fill the void.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Interesting artical
About the terrorist incident in India, and how the mainstream press tried to cover it up.
The press in this country, in colusion with the leftist elements in control of our government, continue to cover up who is really behind the destruction of America.
The press has also downplayed the likelyhood that terrorists will strike here in the next seveal months. In concert with this downplaying of the threat, the terror alert level has not changed in over 4 years. This will lead the public into complacency, and make things worse when things do happen.
The press in this country, in colusion with the leftist elements in control of our government, continue to cover up who is really behind the destruction of America.
The press has also downplayed the likelyhood that terrorists will strike here in the next seveal months. In concert with this downplaying of the threat, the terror alert level has not changed in over 4 years. This will lead the public into complacency, and make things worse when things do happen.
Monday, November 17, 2008
future economics watch
As anybody who reads my writings (and rants) knows, I can see the future through mathematics, but that sight is obviously not perfect. I knew there was a downturn coming from quite some time ago (there were some hints as long as three years ago), but the suddenness and severity of it caught me off guard. I though we might get down to $3.50 a gallon for gas. I thought housing prices might drop 20%. I thought it might affect others as well as us.
I never expected $2 a gallon gas or housing prices dropping 40%. But here we are, looking at a global economic melt down. Global. Meltdown. Big stuff.
Now What?
Well, looking at the bond market can give a guess how long this is going to go on. From it I see that we are near (but everyone says "not at") the bottom. It also looks like this will go on for a couple of years. That is when "recovery" will begin. Most of the forecasters are saying it will take 10 years or so for people to get back to where they were two years ago. I concur.
(note: In re-reading this post, I notice I didn't link to anything. That is because most of my "hard data" is just listening to CNBC and looking at the bond rates as the go by on the ticker.)
In the short run, if you are in the position to buy into markets, now is the time to begin doing that. It doesn't matter whether you are interested in mutual funds, bond funds or gold coins. But I would advise doing it slowly, and planning to stay wherever you put your money for at least 10 years. And diversify. Always diversify.
TRex
Another afterthought: Of course, when I saw some of this coming, I didn't realise that some in Congress and HUD actually had demanded the banks (and especially Fannie and Freddie) continue and expand the lending practices that created this fiasco. Capitolism is no better than any other "ism" without some moral underpinning to keep it in check.
I never expected $2 a gallon gas or housing prices dropping 40%. But here we are, looking at a global economic melt down. Global. Meltdown. Big stuff.
Now What?
Well, looking at the bond market can give a guess how long this is going to go on. From it I see that we are near (but everyone says "not at") the bottom. It also looks like this will go on for a couple of years. That is when "recovery" will begin. Most of the forecasters are saying it will take 10 years or so for people to get back to where they were two years ago. I concur.
(note: In re-reading this post, I notice I didn't link to anything. That is because most of my "hard data" is just listening to CNBC and looking at the bond rates as the go by on the ticker.)
In the short run, if you are in the position to buy into markets, now is the time to begin doing that. It doesn't matter whether you are interested in mutual funds, bond funds or gold coins. But I would advise doing it slowly, and planning to stay wherever you put your money for at least 10 years. And diversify. Always diversify.
TRex
Another afterthought: Of course, when I saw some of this coming, I didn't realise that some in Congress and HUD actually had demanded the banks (and especially Fannie and Freddie) continue and expand the lending practices that created this fiasco. Capitolism is no better than any other "ism" without some moral underpinning to keep it in check.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
after the election
As the dust settles on this election, I have been thinking on what I should write next. Certainly, things will not be as bad as we fear. Or will they? Only God knows.
There are some things I do like about President (elect) Obama's platform, though I was reluctant to speak of them during the race. There are some things about corporations that turn my stomach, and there is a (remote) chance that he will work to fix those. He believes in compulsory volunteering, and that is something I have come to embrace. (although the devil is in the details, and the programs could cause as much harm as good, if not done right)
I don't think he is a Christian. No, I don't think he is trying to decieve us, but rather that he does not have an understanding of what it means to be a Christian (which in my writings, would make him a christian).
There were many breakdowns in the polling equipment, but overall, it does not appear on the surface to be catastrophic. Of course, that is on the surface. In many places, paper ballots are no longer used (and in some, they have not been used for years), making it impossible to know how people really voted. Fortunately, my own districts allow the use of paper. Unfortunately, my own district also allows the use of unverifiable electronic voting.
The possibility exists that Al-Qaeda (or other wahhabists) may use the next few months to launch attacks, believing (an probably correctly) that we will be quite chaotic and indecisive in our response. I wrote about this a few days ago.
I will likely be looking for a different party affiliation in the next few years, unless much changes in the republican party. If the libertarians and constitutionalists could get their act together - and if they would understand that corporations are just another form of government - I might join up with them. Born-Again Democrats hold some promise, but I havent looked into their organization much yet. As always, the devil is in the details. I guess I might become a true independant.
Much remains to be thought out.
Much remains to be seen.
In the end, God is in charge.
In the mean time,
I feel I must try to make sense of it all.
There are some things I do like about President (elect) Obama's platform, though I was reluctant to speak of them during the race. There are some things about corporations that turn my stomach, and there is a (remote) chance that he will work to fix those. He believes in compulsory volunteering, and that is something I have come to embrace. (although the devil is in the details, and the programs could cause as much harm as good, if not done right)
I don't think he is a Christian. No, I don't think he is trying to decieve us, but rather that he does not have an understanding of what it means to be a Christian (which in my writings, would make him a christian).
There were many breakdowns in the polling equipment, but overall, it does not appear on the surface to be catastrophic. Of course, that is on the surface. In many places, paper ballots are no longer used (and in some, they have not been used for years), making it impossible to know how people really voted. Fortunately, my own districts allow the use of paper. Unfortunately, my own district also allows the use of unverifiable electronic voting.
The possibility exists that Al-Qaeda (or other wahhabists) may use the next few months to launch attacks, believing (an probably correctly) that we will be quite chaotic and indecisive in our response. I wrote about this a few days ago.
I will likely be looking for a different party affiliation in the next few years, unless much changes in the republican party. If the libertarians and constitutionalists could get their act together - and if they would understand that corporations are just another form of government - I might join up with them. Born-Again Democrats hold some promise, but I havent looked into their organization much yet. As always, the devil is in the details. I guess I might become a true independant.
Much remains to be thought out.
Much remains to be seen.
In the end, God is in charge.
In the mean time,
I feel I must try to make sense of it all.
Monday, October 13, 2008
paying for voters
Seems I need to make another one of my "off the cuff" rants, this morning. I just got through reading a couple pieces about ACORN, and a light popped on in my mind. Something rotten hit me that maybe should have dawned on me long ago.
Reading this piece from Fox News, I noticed two small, insignificant attempts to stop using federal dollars to fund ACORN . (I say small cause they totaled less than a dozen congressional voices)
Using federal dollars to fund ACORN? Yes, we seem to be using federal dollars to sign up voters - mostly liberal voters, of course. (Wonder if we are using federal dollars to fund get out the vote drives for conservative voters, too?)
In a statement defending itself ACORN all but admits that it actually pays workers to get filled out voter registration cards to the registrars. Of course, its aim was to keep us from seeing that, by saying they pay by the hour, but it seems they have a criteria that so many cards need to be filled out in each hour. ACORN is "proud of this unprecedented success" (their own words) at using taxpayer moneys to back liberal interests.
The mere fact that we are spending taxpayer money to sign up voters should be very disturbing. It is only one small step from using taxpayer money to pay for votes.
Reading this piece from Fox News, I noticed two small, insignificant attempts to stop using federal dollars to fund ACORN . (I say small cause they totaled less than a dozen congressional voices)
Using federal dollars to fund ACORN? Yes, we seem to be using federal dollars to sign up voters - mostly liberal voters, of course. (Wonder if we are using federal dollars to fund get out the vote drives for conservative voters, too?)
In a statement defending itself ACORN all but admits that it actually pays workers to get filled out voter registration cards to the registrars. Of course, its aim was to keep us from seeing that, by saying they pay by the hour, but it seems they have a criteria that so many cards need to be filled out in each hour. ACORN is "proud of this unprecedented success" (their own words) at using taxpayer moneys to back liberal interests.
The mere fact that we are spending taxpayer money to sign up voters should be very disturbing. It is only one small step from using taxpayer money to pay for votes.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
End of July round up
Well, July came and went. In some ways it went by pretty fast, but the five days when my Air Conditioning was out didn't go too fast. (Remember, I live in central Texas)
Late last month, the Supreme Court finally got around to issuing a landmark opinion in a straightforward guns vs gungrabber case. They, in a 5-4 decision decided that the word people means people. Only took them about 99 days.
There was a swift reaction in Georgia and many other places, actually it is obvious they anticipated the ruling in several of those places, and they immediately began allowing people their 2nd amendment rights. Just goes to show that, in addition to having legitimacy, we have to fight to maintain our freedom.
I published two pieces this month, one on Grace vs The Law that I wrote over the past couple months, and one on recent history of the Bible, I wrote a few years ago, but never really published. I got a few lively questions from a friend on Grace vs The Law, and I must remember to thank him for the feedback.
I have begun a series on representative government, by asking if anyone knows which party they would belong to if they really had a choice and who represents them in our government. So far, no one has raised a question or an answer to that.
In my monthly Heroes and Slimeballs section, for the first time, the hero is post humus. For the non military out there, it means he was killed in the process of becoming a hero. I usually point out civilians (non police) who make us safer in our day to day life for this item, so while it does require courage (there must be some risk, and the action must be by choice) to get my attention, the hero doesn't usually pay with his life. But from time to time they do, making them all the more heroic.
My next energy forecast should be out within a couple days, and while the price of gas should drop off another 10 cents or so, I am looking at $5.70, give or take some next spring.
I am thinking of making several of these reoccurring items into regular monthly items, but I don't know if I am up to that. Promising to do something, even monthly is a big thing for me.
Maybe. We shall see.
Late last month, the Supreme Court finally got around to issuing a landmark opinion in a straightforward guns vs gungrabber case. They, in a 5-4 decision decided that the word people means people. Only took them about 99 days.
There was a swift reaction in Georgia and many other places, actually it is obvious they anticipated the ruling in several of those places, and they immediately began allowing people their 2nd amendment rights. Just goes to show that, in addition to having legitimacy, we have to fight to maintain our freedom.
I published two pieces this month, one on Grace vs The Law that I wrote over the past couple months, and one on recent history of the Bible, I wrote a few years ago, but never really published. I got a few lively questions from a friend on Grace vs The Law, and I must remember to thank him for the feedback.
I have begun a series on representative government, by asking if anyone knows which party they would belong to if they really had a choice and who represents them in our government. So far, no one has raised a question or an answer to that.
In my monthly Heroes and Slimeballs section, for the first time, the hero is post humus. For the non military out there, it means he was killed in the process of becoming a hero. I usually point out civilians (non police) who make us safer in our day to day life for this item, so while it does require courage (there must be some risk, and the action must be by choice) to get my attention, the hero doesn't usually pay with his life. But from time to time they do, making them all the more heroic.
My next energy forecast should be out within a couple days, and while the price of gas should drop off another 10 cents or so, I am looking at $5.70, give or take some next spring.
I am thinking of making several of these reoccurring items into regular monthly items, but I don't know if I am up to that. Promising to do something, even monthly is a big thing for me.
Maybe. We shall see.
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