Tag Archives: Politics

Economy, Europe, Politics

Ireland Asks EU For Bailout

What happens when markets are interferred with? Like when ‘too big to fail’ becomes the excuse to fake a ‘market correction?’ In our case, we see how well that worked out. It hasn’t. Instead, what it has done is cripple the markets, paralyze investement and economic growth.

Ireland has been brought to the brink of bankruptcy by its fateful 2008 decision to insure its banks against all losses – a bill that is swelling beyond euro50 billion ($69 billion) and driving Ireland’s deficit into uncharted territory.

Economists question whether the economies of Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Greece will grow sufficiently to build their tax bases and permit them to keep financing, never mind paying down, their debts.

Unfortuanetly for Ireland, they bought in to that same excuse. Problem for them is, with their much smaller economy, the consequence is more severe. Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Greece are all in the same boat. Hit with the financial perfect storm of unsustainable social welfare economies and handicapped free-markets, the European dominos are all in line to fall.

Link: Ireland swallows bitter pill, asks EU for loan

UPDATE: 11/23/2010 In European Debt Crisis, Some Call Default Better Option

Politics, Venezuela

Chavez Prepares For 2012 Coup

In what critics are calling a “major insult to democracy” in Venezuela, (the hemisphere’s idiot) President Hugo Chavez  has promoted to his nation’s highest military level a controversial general who has vowed not to cooperate with opposition leaders if they win the presidential election in 2012.
Henry Rangel Silva will take over as General-in-Chief, Chavez said on state television. The military won’t tolerate an opposition government because it would try to “sell” the country, the general said in a November 8 interview published in Caracas Ultimas Noticias.
Chavez is getting his military coup in place for when he gets defeated in the 2012 elections. That is, if he is not completely successful in fixing them.
Economy, Politics

Members of Congress Get Richer Despite Sour Economy

‘The most popular investment among congressional members reads as a who’s who list of the most powerful corporate political forces in Washington, D.C. — companies that each spend millions, if not tens of millions of dollars each year lobbying federal officials,’ states the CRP report. In addition to Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup were popular holdings. All of them received funding under the TARP.

Ahh yes. Now there’s change we can believe in.

Link:  Members of Congress Get Richer Despite Sour Economy

Economy, Politics

Ben Bernanke’s Quantitative Easing Explained

This entertaining and informative video that explains what Fed. Chairman Ben Bernanke has done under ‘quantitative easing.’

I think it is time for the same congressional committee that on June 3, 2009 heard Bernanke testify, under oath, that the Fed is not and would not monetize the debt to call him back on this one. Forget the small stuff with baseball players lying to congress under oath. It’s time to start at the horse’s mouth.  Or, depending on your perspective, the other end.

After impeachment, sentence him to Club Gitmo for a term determined by the length of time it takes to have a Conservative (not Republican, but Conservative) majority in the House, Senate, and The White House for having caused more damage to America’s future than 19 terrorists did on 9/11/2001.

h/t The Market Ticker

Economy, Politics, Uncategorized, War On Terror

aSide Order

A random act of culture happened in Macy’s (formerly John Wanamaker’s) in Philadelphia last week, perpetrated by the Opera Company of Philadelphia. See if you can watch this video without tearing up. This brought about a union of people from all walks of life like no other. Only in America? Maybe so.

Another example of how stimulus money is being spent. How about $700,000 to study cow burps? Remember this, candidate, then President, Obama said he would not rest until every one that wanted a job could get one.

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a little shock and awe. Here is a new Israeli hand fired tank buster. Shown here destroying the ordinance in the tank and its crew. The four other Syrian tanks following this one turned around.

Want to see the reason that this global war on terror will be a long one? Maybe a generation or two? Can’t wait to see what C.A.I.R. has to say about this child preacher. Nothing Islamophobic about this. Sad thing about it is, this isn’t the first child raised with the terrorist mindset, and won’t be the last.

Child-Preacher Ammar: “A Child Must Be Raised on the Love of Jihad and on the Desire to Be Martyred for the Sake of Allah”


Economy, Organized Labor, Politics

Is High Unemployment The ‘New Normal?’

The unemployment model in Europe is taking shape in the United States. When you look at historical unemployment rates across the pond you will understand why President Obama ‘fears’ the U.S. economy could enter a ‘new normal.’

The dirty little secret here is that this isn’t his fear. High unemployment is incidental to his goal. It is the community organizer’s way of moving forward with his agenda to ‘transform America.’

It is what happens when the government leans socialist and labor is pretty much owned by unions rather than a free market. It is no coincidence that Andy Stern, the president of the SEIU, is the most frequent guest at The White House. And they are nowhere near finished. The end-game where SEIU is concerned is to have taxpayers bail out the union’s underfunded retirement programs. Next up, Card Check. One step at a time.

Link: Obama says he fears economy could enter ‘new normal’ of low job growth.

Economy, Politics

It’s Deja Vu All Over Again

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Guess who said the following: “We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work.” Was it Sarah Palin? Rush Limbaugh? Karl Rove?

Not even close. It was Henry Morgenthau, Secretary of the Treasury under Franklin D. Roosevelt and one of FDR’s closest advisers. He added, “after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started. . . And an enormous debt to boot!”

Read the rest of ‘Guess Who?’ by Thomas Sowell

It was Yogi Berra who said It’s Deja Vu All Over Again. It was Edmund Burke (1729-1797) who said ‘Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.’ It’s been 80 years since The Great Depression. Apparently our leaders in Washington have not studied American history.

Economy, Europe, Politics

Obama Leaves Country, Currency War Looms

It was two weeks ago when the G20 met to pretend that global inflation or a currency war was not going to happen. The media was pre-occupied with helping Democrats get elected so they didn’t make a big deal of it. As it turns out, they weren’t too successful. Neither was the G20.

It was only yesterday that The Lunch Counter called your attention to the consequences of the Federal Reserve (Ben Bernake) fiscal action of monetizing the country’s debt. All done as a last-ditch effort to save an economy that isn’t being saved by President Obama’s economic policies.

If today’s headlines don’t give you cause to worry, then I don’t know. How about not voting in a federal election ever again until you figure it out?

2010 Election, Media, Politics

MSNBC Supends Olbermann

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Right on the heels of the lowest viewer ratings in their category, pMSNBC suspends Kieth Olbermann indefinitely and without pay.

Keith Olbermann, MSNBC’s primetime firebrand host, has been suspended indefinitely for violating the ethics policies of his employer earlier this year when he donated to three Democrats seeking federal office, MSNBC announced Friday.

The offense being a violation of NBC’s ethics policy. Ethics policy? There’s a joke there somewhere . . .

The offense was donating $2400 each to three Democrat(ic) candidates. The network policy requires the news division employees to get permission before making political donations because (here’s the funny part) it ‘could be deemed as a conflict of interest.’ CNN says that they have a similar provision in their rules of engagement.

Were it not in the network’s ‘ethics policy’ I wouldn’t have a problem with him wasting his money on anyone trying to run for office. But to think that it took this little incident to call their attention to a potential conflict of interest issue has me ROTFL. Don’t they ever listen to what he says on the air? I would expect that he had a payroll deduction arrangement going to the DNC for crying out loud.

Where MSNBC is concerned, it is too little too late. Between Olbermann and Chris Matthews, it is no surprise that their ratings are down to employees, friends, and relatives.

Link: CNN; Olbermann suspended for Dem contributions

UPDATE 11/7/2010: Indefinite = 2 days. Olbermann back on Tuesday.

UPDATE 11/8/2010: Chris Hayes, editor of The Nation, a liberal magazine, tapped Friday by MSNBC to fill in for Keith Olebermann as host of the prime-time political show “Countdown.” Turns out, he gave money to two Democratic campaigns in recent years. Now, following that disclosure, MSNBC says Mr. Hayes won’t get the gig after all.

2010 Election, Florida, Politics

Alan Grayson’s Representation Died Quickly

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), the man who made a fool of himself and his party when he said on the House floor that the Republican health care plan
 was for sick people to die quickly, was voted out of office on Tuesday. Voters in his district decided it was his representation that they wanted to die quickly. They elected Daniel Webster, a Republican 56% to 38%.

He has an explanation as to why he lost so big. He said it was because Democrats were too appeasing to Republicans over the last two years. What? I guess that if by appeasement where Obama’s signature legislation is concerned, Obamacare, you mean that you shut out Republicans from any input in the creation of the bill and not allow any amendments, then yes, they were appeasing.

I’m not a doctor, but I’ve seen doctor shows on TV. And it seems to me that Alan Grayson needs some counseling for Post Election Stress Disorder.

Link: Rep. Grayson: Dems lost because of ‘appeasement’