President Obama's budget spends more than it takes in by $1.75 trillion. He shouldn't stand for that and cut at least $1.8 trillion out of his spending proposals.
Yes, that's trillion with a "t." He can start by cutting out the big bailouts and let the system self-adjust, as painful as it will be. All they have to do is protect the value of the U.S. currency, as is Constitutionally required. That will leave him about $800 billion to cut in spending.
He should make these cuts now, and inject the system with a bit of self-discipline, which will help us more in the long run, rather than loaning billions to companies that will fail, unless they learn how to take in more than they spend.
But the socialists won't allow that to happen. They'll keep throwing other people's money at the problem until we are teetering on the brink. How many more problems are they going to create in trying to solve the current ones?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Further Proof that Bailouts Just Delayed the Inevitable: GM Exploring Bankruptcy & AIG Needs Billions More Too
I had written a while back about my opposition to the bailouts and how the companies that were on the receiving end were responsible for their own problems, that the bailouts were pushing their failures a little further around the road.
I had also said that the auto industry was already bankrupt but didn't have the guts to admit it.
Trillions of dollars and a few short months later, we begin to see the danger signs that I predicted back in October. CITI Group is about to be nationalized due to their continued massive losses; GM is exploring three bankruptcy options, in addition to their seeking an additional $16 billion on top of the $13 billion they've already received, and AIG needs billions more on top of the $150 billion it's already gotten from taxpayers.
And they're STILL paying out their multi-million dollar bonuses to their executives. Tactless.
The bailouts were a mistake from day one. The companies should not have been nationalized; government shouldn't have put taxpayers on the line for NEARLY as much as they have. I can see some interventions, but only to prevent crippling the national currency against other markets. I'd rather have been on the hook for $200-$250 billion instead of nearly $5 trillion.
Government's running wild and needs to get a grip. Knee-jerk reactions haven't helped; they've only made matters much much worse. GM needs to get under bankruptcy protection this week. Would CITI's collapse weaken the dollar? What about AIG's?
There are some very stark decisions that will have to be made shortly. I hope everyone's up to it, because the writing's on the wall, and decision time is nearly at hand.
I had also said that the auto industry was already bankrupt but didn't have the guts to admit it.
Trillions of dollars and a few short months later, we begin to see the danger signs that I predicted back in October. CITI Group is about to be nationalized due to their continued massive losses; GM is exploring three bankruptcy options, in addition to their seeking an additional $16 billion on top of the $13 billion they've already received, and AIG needs billions more on top of the $150 billion it's already gotten from taxpayers.
And they're STILL paying out their multi-million dollar bonuses to their executives. Tactless.
The bailouts were a mistake from day one. The companies should not have been nationalized; government shouldn't have put taxpayers on the line for NEARLY as much as they have. I can see some interventions, but only to prevent crippling the national currency against other markets. I'd rather have been on the hook for $200-$250 billion instead of nearly $5 trillion.
Government's running wild and needs to get a grip. Knee-jerk reactions haven't helped; they've only made matters much much worse. GM needs to get under bankruptcy protection this week. Would CITI's collapse weaken the dollar? What about AIG's?
There are some very stark decisions that will have to be made shortly. I hope everyone's up to it, because the writing's on the wall, and decision time is nearly at hand.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Obama Administration Back-Pedals on Habeus Corpus at Guantanamo and Human Rights in China: MAJOR Disappointments
In the space of one week, the Obama Administration decided that the writ of Habeas Corpus doesn't apply to the prisoners being at Guantanamo Bay, and abandoned challenging China to improve it's domestic human rights policies.
These are MAJOR let-downs as far as I'm concerned.
I had hoped that the Obama Administration would turn things around quit feeding the Constitution to the shredding machine, but sadly, it isn't going to happen.
When are defenders of this Bush-era doctrine going to realize that if we do that kind of crap to foreigners, that the same treatment is only a few steps away from being carried out on American citizens as well? Invoking national security to hold onto someone we don't like will prove to be too tempting for a government to resist. It's only a matter of time now.
Secretary Sniper-Fire announced during her first visit to China as Secretary of State that she's had these discussions with Chinese leaders for the last decade, and both sides know what the other's position is. That's NO reason for backing down from China. And I don't care how much we need China's money either. We need to keep the pressure up on China.
Habeas corpus is NOT optional either. Setting our own Constitution aside for the moment, we agreed to it in the United Nations charter, having pushed the organization to adopt it over the objections of the Soviet Union. We need to live up to our international obligations NOW, not when it's more convenient.
If Obama wants to clean up America's image, he needs to get with the program and start DOING it.
These are MAJOR let-downs as far as I'm concerned.
I had hoped that the Obama Administration would turn things around quit feeding the Constitution to the shredding machine, but sadly, it isn't going to happen.
When are defenders of this Bush-era doctrine going to realize that if we do that kind of crap to foreigners, that the same treatment is only a few steps away from being carried out on American citizens as well? Invoking national security to hold onto someone we don't like will prove to be too tempting for a government to resist. It's only a matter of time now.
Secretary Sniper-Fire announced during her first visit to China as Secretary of State that she's had these discussions with Chinese leaders for the last decade, and both sides know what the other's position is. That's NO reason for backing down from China. And I don't care how much we need China's money either. We need to keep the pressure up on China.
Habeas corpus is NOT optional either. Setting our own Constitution aside for the moment, we agreed to it in the United Nations charter, having pushed the organization to adopt it over the objections of the Soviet Union. We need to live up to our international obligations NOW, not when it's more convenient.
If Obama wants to clean up America's image, he needs to get with the program and start DOING it.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Can Government Be Sued By Conservative Talk Radio for Restraint of Trade if Gov't Reinstates Fairness Doctrine?
Every conservative talk-radio personality has been harping on the possibility of the Fairness Doctrine returning, in which their host radio stations will either be forced to take on liberal talk shows, or the conservative shows will be forced to present a more balanced viewpoint during their own air time.
Neither is acceptable.
The radio stations know that liberal talk-radio is a money-losing proposition. Air America's business model was so screwed up that they couldn't find enough advertisers to offset their major expenses, and Air America went under in 2006. It relaunched not long after that, fired some people and took to the air again with varying results. Their ratings remain at a fraction of the conservative talk-shows, and so does their profitability.
Their remaining stations are tempted daily to switch over to all-sports programming to turn a profit, because they definitely aren't making it with left-wing programming.
So if the government reinstates the Fairness Doctrine, are they vulnerable to lawsuits from conservative talk-radio and the stations for restraint of trade, by forcing them to air unprofitable and unpopular programming? Not to mention all the First Amendment issues that come boiling up to the surface as well.
Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, and Glenn Beck remain the top four talk-radio shows in the country. To give you an idea of how far apart the two audiences are, Air America had a 1.6 market share in Spring 2008; Limbaugh's share was a 13.5 for the same time period.
A fairness doctrine will only be fair if it also targets liberal networks CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and NBC for a more balanced viewpoint as well, but I don't see that happening. Nor do any of the talk shows.
Keep the Fairness Doctrine in the trash heap, FCC. Don't bring it back.
Neither is acceptable.
The radio stations know that liberal talk-radio is a money-losing proposition. Air America's business model was so screwed up that they couldn't find enough advertisers to offset their major expenses, and Air America went under in 2006. It relaunched not long after that, fired some people and took to the air again with varying results. Their ratings remain at a fraction of the conservative talk-shows, and so does their profitability.
Their remaining stations are tempted daily to switch over to all-sports programming to turn a profit, because they definitely aren't making it with left-wing programming.
So if the government reinstates the Fairness Doctrine, are they vulnerable to lawsuits from conservative talk-radio and the stations for restraint of trade, by forcing them to air unprofitable and unpopular programming? Not to mention all the First Amendment issues that come boiling up to the surface as well.
Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, and Glenn Beck remain the top four talk-radio shows in the country. To give you an idea of how far apart the two audiences are, Air America had a 1.6 market share in Spring 2008; Limbaugh's share was a 13.5 for the same time period.
A fairness doctrine will only be fair if it also targets liberal networks CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and NBC for a more balanced viewpoint as well, but I don't see that happening. Nor do any of the talk shows.
Keep the Fairness Doctrine in the trash heap, FCC. Don't bring it back.
U.S. Relations With Pakistan Sometimes Need Secrecy: Blabbing About It Won't Help Pakistan's Situation on the Ground
The U.S. relationship with Pakistan has always been a little tricky, especially in recent decades. And some arrangements have had to be done in secret in order to keep the various Pakistani governments out of trouble with their own people and with the wider Muslim world.
For instance, when it was decided in the 1980s that the U.S. was going to supply Afghan freedom fighters with anti-aircraft missiles and other heavy weapons to shoot down Soviet Hind gunships and hurt the Red Army, a deal was struck between Israel, the U.S. and Pakistan, which insisted upon secrecy out of fear of offending not only the Soviets, but also the Muslim world by working with the Israelis.
In the early days of the campaign, the Israelis would help provide Soviet-built or inspired weapons, and would transfer them to Pakistan, who would be in charge of getting the weapons to the mujaheddin who were killing Soviet soldiers.
That story was not publicly known until well after the Soviet Red Army withdrew from Afghanistan.
The Soviets were aware of Pakistan's involvement in the Soviet-Afghan War later on; they took enough prisoners during the war to confirm that the Pakistanis were arming the Afghan rebels; the KGB and their Afghan allies struck at a munitions depot outside of Islamabad in 1988, and carried out more than one hundred attacks on targets inside of Pakistan throughout the duration of the war.
Fast forward to earlier this week. The British news story that showed American aircraft at a Pakistani base in 2006 hasn't helped the Pakistani government. They're surrendering territory to the Taliban even now, and this story will only destabilize the Pakistani government even more.
Pakistan will continue to help us, but not if the press and our Congress blab about everything.
The press should be a little more sensitive to the situation in Pakistan and understand that their reporting will have a severe impact on the government there. Do we really want a Taliban government in Islamabad? We don't, but the way that the press has been acting, they might.
For instance, when it was decided in the 1980s that the U.S. was going to supply Afghan freedom fighters with anti-aircraft missiles and other heavy weapons to shoot down Soviet Hind gunships and hurt the Red Army, a deal was struck between Israel, the U.S. and Pakistan, which insisted upon secrecy out of fear of offending not only the Soviets, but also the Muslim world by working with the Israelis.
In the early days of the campaign, the Israelis would help provide Soviet-built or inspired weapons, and would transfer them to Pakistan, who would be in charge of getting the weapons to the mujaheddin who were killing Soviet soldiers.
That story was not publicly known until well after the Soviet Red Army withdrew from Afghanistan.
The Soviets were aware of Pakistan's involvement in the Soviet-Afghan War later on; they took enough prisoners during the war to confirm that the Pakistanis were arming the Afghan rebels; the KGB and their Afghan allies struck at a munitions depot outside of Islamabad in 1988, and carried out more than one hundred attacks on targets inside of Pakistan throughout the duration of the war.
Fast forward to earlier this week. The British news story that showed American aircraft at a Pakistani base in 2006 hasn't helped the Pakistani government. They're surrendering territory to the Taliban even now, and this story will only destabilize the Pakistani government even more.
Pakistan will continue to help us, but not if the press and our Congress blab about everything.
The press should be a little more sensitive to the situation in Pakistan and understand that their reporting will have a severe impact on the government there. Do we really want a Taliban government in Islamabad? We don't, but the way that the press has been acting, they might.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monkey from Hell Shot While Attempting to EAT a Police Officer: What Was Owner Thinking?
Monkeys are not pets.
And a monkey that is kept as one will eventually go NUTS. And someone will get HURT. It's only a matter of time, according to experts.
Such was the case with a 200 pound monkey that went nuts and attacked a friend of it's owner, partially EATING HER ALIVE before escaping and going after Connecticut police officers who came to put a stop to the carnage.
The enraged monkey pursued the police officers; one officer dove inside a patrol car and slammed the door shut. The monkey tried to open the passenger side door, broke off the mirror and then went around to the driver's side, which was unlocked and entered the vehicle. The officer drew his sidearm and opened fire, fatally wounding the monkey.
The victim remains in critical condition.
What on earth was this person thinking, having a wild animal like that outside of a zoo? This is sheer stupidity and a disaster waiting to happen, which DID.
I suppose PETA's going to protest the fact that the monkey didn't get to EAT the police officer too and got shot for his troubles. LUNACY!
And a monkey that is kept as one will eventually go NUTS. And someone will get HURT. It's only a matter of time, according to experts.
Such was the case with a 200 pound monkey that went nuts and attacked a friend of it's owner, partially EATING HER ALIVE before escaping and going after Connecticut police officers who came to put a stop to the carnage.
The enraged monkey pursued the police officers; one officer dove inside a patrol car and slammed the door shut. The monkey tried to open the passenger side door, broke off the mirror and then went around to the driver's side, which was unlocked and entered the vehicle. The officer drew his sidearm and opened fire, fatally wounding the monkey.
The victim remains in critical condition.
What on earth was this person thinking, having a wild animal like that outside of a zoo? This is sheer stupidity and a disaster waiting to happen, which DID.
I suppose PETA's going to protest the fact that the monkey didn't get to EAT the police officer too and got shot for his troubles. LUNACY!
Pakistan Knuckles Under to Taliban: If Pakistan Continues Down This Road, They Should Turn Their Nuclear Weapons Program Over to International Control
Pakistan agreed to impose Islamic law on a section of their country that is under the control of the Taliban, in a very troubling move that is a portent of things to come.
It's widely agreed that Pakistan's government has marginal control of their country and are facing a resurgent Taliban threat. And Pakistan is also nuclear-armed. Pakistan must not allow the possibility of their nuclear weapons ending up under Taliban control.
I think they should consider asking the Americans or Russians or some international agency to come in and remove their nuclear weapons if there is even a remote possibility of the entire country falling to the Taliban. They CANNOT be trusted with nuclear weapons.
It's one thing for an elected government to control it's nuclear arms and technology, but if that government is overthrown by a terrorist force such as the Taliban, the threat couldn't be clearer. It's also clear that if the Taliban do take over Pakistan, we'll be at war with that country next.
I hope that various governments are coming up with a plan to deal with this frightening possibility of a Taliban take-over and will take multi-lateral action to seize Pakistan's nuclear arms and technology if it looks like the country will fall into Taliban hands.
What other choice is there?
It's widely agreed that Pakistan's government has marginal control of their country and are facing a resurgent Taliban threat. And Pakistan is also nuclear-armed. Pakistan must not allow the possibility of their nuclear weapons ending up under Taliban control.
I think they should consider asking the Americans or Russians or some international agency to come in and remove their nuclear weapons if there is even a remote possibility of the entire country falling to the Taliban. They CANNOT be trusted with nuclear weapons.
It's one thing for an elected government to control it's nuclear arms and technology, but if that government is overthrown by a terrorist force such as the Taliban, the threat couldn't be clearer. It's also clear that if the Taliban do take over Pakistan, we'll be at war with that country next.
I hope that various governments are coming up with a plan to deal with this frightening possibility of a Taliban take-over and will take multi-lateral action to seize Pakistan's nuclear arms and technology if it looks like the country will fall into Taliban hands.
What other choice is there?
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Blackwater Security Changes Company Name in New Public Relations Move: Will It Help?
Security outfit Blackwater is changing its name from Blackwater Worldwide to Xe to repair its badly damaged reputation, following a serious shooting in Iraq and the loss of it's State Department contract for providing diplomats protection in and around Iraq.
The shooting incident left a dozen Iraqi civilians dead and caused Iraq's government to request that they leave Iraq. It was one of several incidents that Blackwater was involved in and the straw that broke the camel's back. Five Blackwater employees were charged in the shooting, which prosecutors say was not justified.
Xe will not actively seek new security contracts and is focusing on it's other lines of business that are not under public scrutiny the way that it's security operations in Iraq were.
The State Department contract was worth $300 million to Blackwater/Xe; they took in a little over a billion dollars last year from contract work around the world.
The entire system of using mercenaries to do government work in war zones needs to be examined closely. If it is determined that the services provided are necessary, then they need to be subordinate to both the U.S. military and the Iraqi military. They seemed to ride roughshod over U.S. military units, which was a big distraction for U.S. combat forces who didn't like being told what to do by a company not in their chain of command.
I'm not sure if this name change will change much of anything. It's their actions that people will be watching, not their packaging.
The shooting incident left a dozen Iraqi civilians dead and caused Iraq's government to request that they leave Iraq. It was one of several incidents that Blackwater was involved in and the straw that broke the camel's back. Five Blackwater employees were charged in the shooting, which prosecutors say was not justified.
Xe will not actively seek new security contracts and is focusing on it's other lines of business that are not under public scrutiny the way that it's security operations in Iraq were.
The State Department contract was worth $300 million to Blackwater/Xe; they took in a little over a billion dollars last year from contract work around the world.
The entire system of using mercenaries to do government work in war zones needs to be examined closely. If it is determined that the services provided are necessary, then they need to be subordinate to both the U.S. military and the Iraqi military. They seemed to ride roughshod over U.S. military units, which was a big distraction for U.S. combat forces who didn't like being told what to do by a company not in their chain of command.
I'm not sure if this name change will change much of anything. It's their actions that people will be watching, not their packaging.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Stimulus is 100% Pork That Has Simply Been Repackaged: Same Thing CAN Be Done for $170 Billion
The entire stimulus bill needs to be scrapped; it's full of CRAP! The current plan has stuff in it that has NOTHING to do with providing jobs.
STD prevention, more funding for NASA, a federal tracking system for your health treatments, tax breaks for Hollywood to purchase movie film, Smithsonian funding, smoking cessation, providing public computer centers, alcohol and substance abuse reduction, Farm Service Agency computer upgrades, golf carts for golf courses and dozens of other pork projects totaling $124 BILLION, and that's the stuff that's the stuff we know about.
Pelosi & company are keeping REAL quiet about what's actually in the bill. As of 10:38pm Thursday, Congress hasn't even seen the 780 page bill that they're voting on Friday morning, and they're out securing votes for a plan that no one has even seen in it's entirety. Congress should be ashamed of itself!
Welcome to the Democratic change that President Obama was promising.
What else is in this piece of crap bill?
On a side note, I found it very interesting to read about a Congressional Blue Dog (Conservative Democrat) alternative that does what the current monstrosity of a stimulus rescue plan does, except it does it a lot cheaper and wiser.
Instead of spending nearly $800 billion on pork, which the Democratic Congress is ram-rodding through, the Blue Dogs came up with a $170 billion plan that accomplishes the intended effect of stimulating the economy and implements controls that are missing in Pelosi & Company's $800 billion stimulus plan.
And the Blue Dog plan self-terminates when the economy recovers. The Blue Dogs call it their "Strategic Targeted American Recovery and Transition Act" or START Act.
It's an interesting read.
STD prevention, more funding for NASA, a federal tracking system for your health treatments, tax breaks for Hollywood to purchase movie film, Smithsonian funding, smoking cessation, providing public computer centers, alcohol and substance abuse reduction, Farm Service Agency computer upgrades, golf carts for golf courses and dozens of other pork projects totaling $124 BILLION, and that's the stuff that's the stuff we know about.
Pelosi & company are keeping REAL quiet about what's actually in the bill. As of 10:38pm Thursday, Congress hasn't even seen the 780 page bill that they're voting on Friday morning, and they're out securing votes for a plan that no one has even seen in it's entirety. Congress should be ashamed of itself!
Welcome to the Democratic change that President Obama was promising.
What else is in this piece of crap bill?
On a side note, I found it very interesting to read about a Congressional Blue Dog (Conservative Democrat) alternative that does what the current monstrosity of a stimulus rescue plan does, except it does it a lot cheaper and wiser.
Instead of spending nearly $800 billion on pork, which the Democratic Congress is ram-rodding through, the Blue Dogs came up with a $170 billion plan that accomplishes the intended effect of stimulating the economy and implements controls that are missing in Pelosi & Company's $800 billion stimulus plan.
And the Blue Dog plan self-terminates when the economy recovers. The Blue Dogs call it their "Strategic Targeted American Recovery and Transition Act" or START Act.
It's an interesting read.
Monday, February 09, 2009
CNN's Nancy Grace is Spending FAR Too Much Time on Caylee Anthony Murder: Yes, It Was a Horrible Crime, But That's Not the Only Thing That's Happened
Every time I'm flipping through the news channels and see Nancy Grace on CNN Headline News, she's doing EXHAUSTIVE reporting and commentary on the murder of baby Caylee Anthony.
I'm not trying to dimimish the horror of that particular case, but her nonstop coverage has sensationalized it to a point that I can't stand it anymore. If the word "Anthony" is anywhere on the screen, I flip the channel.
She really needs to vary her programming, while monitoring the situation. I do wish she'd devote some time to the issues that she covers on her web site, which proves that there are other kinds of cases going on every day around us.
I'm not completely sure why she's devoted this kind of airtime (over a month, daily) to one particular topic.
We had a similar type of case in the Lansing area a couple of years ago, where the parent/parents claimed that their little boy had gone missing, but had in fact murdered him by beating him to death with a hammer. I'm still angry over that situation and get reminded of it every so often when the parents try to weasle their way out of their sentences.
I also don't like to be reminded of it every time I turn on CNN Headline News at 10pm. Both situations ARE ugly reminders of the evil that is present in our society, but Nancy, PLEASE vary your programs a little more! The world is still going on.
I'm not trying to dimimish the horror of that particular case, but her nonstop coverage has sensationalized it to a point that I can't stand it anymore. If the word "Anthony" is anywhere on the screen, I flip the channel.
She really needs to vary her programming, while monitoring the situation. I do wish she'd devote some time to the issues that she covers on her web site, which proves that there are other kinds of cases going on every day around us.
I'm not completely sure why she's devoted this kind of airtime (over a month, daily) to one particular topic.
We had a similar type of case in the Lansing area a couple of years ago, where the parent/parents claimed that their little boy had gone missing, but had in fact murdered him by beating him to death with a hammer. I'm still angry over that situation and get reminded of it every so often when the parents try to weasle their way out of their sentences.
I also don't like to be reminded of it every time I turn on CNN Headline News at 10pm. Both situations ARE ugly reminders of the evil that is present in our society, but Nancy, PLEASE vary your programs a little more! The world is still going on.
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