Sunday, September 28, 2008
Lunacy
More on this later, if I feel like bothering to correct the mindless drabble of the Left...but I just wanted to mention that every time I think Maureen Dowd of the New York Times couldn't possibly be more of an idiot, she decends even further into idiocy. The only thing that is more amazing than the depth of some people's stupidity is that there's someone else even more stupid willing to give them a place from which to put their lunacy on display. Who on Earth would actually pay good money for the New York Times? What fool is that careless with the dollars he earns? Oh yeah...Congressmen, with our tax dollars. I forgot.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Barack Obama and the victim mentality
I caught part of Barack Obama's rally speech this afternoon in North Carolina. I have about all the reason anyone would need to smack this man in the mouth, but the tripe that came spewing from his lips today made my blood boil.
I'd like to offer a clue to Barack Obama, George Bush, Hank Paulson and the Democrats in congress--PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS. Got that? Let me help you to reinforce it by repeating it. PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS!
GOD I'm sick of listening to the Democrats making everyone a victim. Today Obama called for the bailout fiasco that Congress is working on to "help keep innocent Americans in their homes".
That kind of crap makes me puke. Let's start by saying that Barry and the Dems aren't doing a damned thing to keep me in MY home, but they're going to spend MY MONEY to help a bunch of careless idiots keep homes they overextended themselves for? What, they couldn't READ? They didn't understand that if they borrowed $200,000 they were required to pay it back with interest or they'd lose the house they don't actually own until it's paid for?
Let's get something straight--there are people in this world who will take advantage of other people if they can get away with it. Those people should be prosecuted for fraud if they're caught doing such things. CONDUCTING THE BUSINESS OF SELLING AND FINANCING REAL ESTATE HASN'T BEEN CRIMINALIZED YET, and to my knowlege there's no likelihood that it will be. The fact is these people went willingly into mortgages they could not afford and it isn't MY responsibility to pay for THEIR mistake. I'm all for helping my neighbor when things beyond his control affect him...but I'm not even remotely interested in protecting people from their own stupidity and carelessness.
THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT VICTIMS. Neither are the fat cats who profited from the ballooning of the markets and are now suffering losses since those cash cows have come suddenly crashing to Earth. NONE OF THEM DESERVE TO BE BAILED OUT and I'll be damned if I'm going to have Barack Obama telling me how important it is that the government help these "poor victims". Give me a break.
Tell me truly, is THIS the world you want to live in? And if it is, what the Hell are you thinking? I pay my rent every month and the only person who helps me with it is ME. I rent a home I can afford, and I work a job that covers that expense. If the government wants to make payments to people to help keep them in their homes, I'll be happy to provide them with my mailing address. They can send a check to me. But I'm not a victim, any more than the others who will be reaping the reward of a government handout simply because they were too stupid to buy according to their ability to earn and pay.
The only victims here are the innocent taxpayers who are being duped by all involved in this EPIC federal scam. Barack Obama, Congress, George Bush and the asses who got us into this mess--the ones on MAIN STREET, not Wall Street--should all be ashamed of this joke they're perpetrating on America. Every single one of you.
I'd like to offer a clue to Barack Obama, George Bush, Hank Paulson and the Democrats in congress--PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS. Got that? Let me help you to reinforce it by repeating it. PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS!
GOD I'm sick of listening to the Democrats making everyone a victim. Today Obama called for the bailout fiasco that Congress is working on to "help keep innocent Americans in their homes".
That kind of crap makes me puke. Let's start by saying that Barry and the Dems aren't doing a damned thing to keep me in MY home, but they're going to spend MY MONEY to help a bunch of careless idiots keep homes they overextended themselves for? What, they couldn't READ? They didn't understand that if they borrowed $200,000 they were required to pay it back with interest or they'd lose the house they don't actually own until it's paid for?
Let's get something straight--there are people in this world who will take advantage of other people if they can get away with it. Those people should be prosecuted for fraud if they're caught doing such things. CONDUCTING THE BUSINESS OF SELLING AND FINANCING REAL ESTATE HASN'T BEEN CRIMINALIZED YET, and to my knowlege there's no likelihood that it will be. The fact is these people went willingly into mortgages they could not afford and it isn't MY responsibility to pay for THEIR mistake. I'm all for helping my neighbor when things beyond his control affect him...but I'm not even remotely interested in protecting people from their own stupidity and carelessness.
THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT VICTIMS. Neither are the fat cats who profited from the ballooning of the markets and are now suffering losses since those cash cows have come suddenly crashing to Earth. NONE OF THEM DESERVE TO BE BAILED OUT and I'll be damned if I'm going to have Barack Obama telling me how important it is that the government help these "poor victims". Give me a break.
Tell me truly, is THIS the world you want to live in? And if it is, what the Hell are you thinking? I pay my rent every month and the only person who helps me with it is ME. I rent a home I can afford, and I work a job that covers that expense. If the government wants to make payments to people to help keep them in their homes, I'll be happy to provide them with my mailing address. They can send a check to me. But I'm not a victim, any more than the others who will be reaping the reward of a government handout simply because they were too stupid to buy according to their ability to earn and pay.
The only victims here are the innocent taxpayers who are being duped by all involved in this EPIC federal scam. Barack Obama, Congress, George Bush and the asses who got us into this mess--the ones on MAIN STREET, not Wall Street--should all be ashamed of this joke they're perpetrating on America. Every single one of you.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Political football
I have long believed, and continue to do so, that our economy is not in near as bad a shape as the fear-mongering Democrats would like you to believe. Much as the Republicans own the issue of terrorism and national security, Democrats have (entirely through the timing of cyclical economic trends which, fortunately for the Dems, run in patterns that favor their rare ascendance to the White House) been able to successfully lay claim to economic issues. Just as the Republicans want to drive national security fears for political purposes, so do the Democrats drive economic fears. People won’t vote for Barack Obama unless things look really dire economically. The Democrats know this, which is why they clearly cheerlead the economic bad news that has been assailing us lately. When businesses fail leaders in the Democrat party go home with hard-ons. That’s a sad but incontrovertable truth. Could the same be said for the Hawks in the Republican party? Probably…but we haven’t had a grave national security threat in seven years so at the moment that’s a non-issue. Even the police action in Iraq isn’t in the American consciousness anymore, it would seem.
In any case, Democrats NEED to negatively drive the economic issue to win elections. This is why you see so many of them complaining about the next “Great Depression” every time McDonalds raises the price of a cheeseburger. This is also why you should essentially ignore these dire words at almost every utterance.
Almost.
The crisis facing us now is, quite possibly, the leadup to an economic meltdown of exactly Depression-like proportions. If you ask any Republican they (we) are going to point to the idiotic policies of the Democrats in charge, and if you ask any Democtrat they’re going to point to deregulation supported by many Republicans as the reasons for this situation. Both arguments have some merit and I would discuss the mechanics of the breakdown if the blame game would be useful at this point. Fact is, though, it wouldn’t be. More to the point, it would be counterproductive at this juncture to bother pointing fingers because, right at this moment, we’re at the mouth of the chasm and our footing is giving way underneath us. It’s time to find a solution, even a temporary one, and worry about how we got here later.
While it’s important that we make progress toward the salvation of our economic engine, and do it quickly, it’s also important that we assure ourselves that the cure doesn’t ultimately lead to greater disease. $700 billion is a pretty big bandaid, but if the wound festers underneath it will be exactly that–a covering that disguises what’s actually happening, with more and worse consequences on the horizon. Let’s be real here; this “bailout” amounts to a $2300 check from every man, woman and child in the United States, due and payable TODAY. The actual dollars will be added to the national debt, and as we all know that is a burden that could be passed down to our children. It’s also a crushing amount that could spell ruination for this country–and you should make no mistake about that. Just as these banking institutions are failing due to too much debt and not enough money, so could the U. S. Government reach a critical tipping point where our assets are not enough to cover our debts and the “value” of those assets–the value of our government itself–will plummet. Other countries have the potential to buy up the United States if that happens, and it doesn’t take a genius to understand that owning the government, literally, means owning the country. I don’t speak Chinese well enough to feel comfortable with that scenario.
So what do our Democrat friends (and, in this case, our lame duck Republican President) want to do with this money? They want to buy up all the bad debt that is out there causing the economic engine to sieze up in the first place. They want to take ownership of paper that investors have deemed WORTHLESS, and with it assume ownership of real estate assets that back those securities. They want you to believe that this will solve, at least temporarily, our problems and that those assets and securities will climb in value in the coming (what, months? years? DECADES???).
If you believe that, there’s some swampland in Florida and oceanfront property in Arizona I’d like to sell you. The deeds on that are worth about as much as the ones Congress wants to buy with your $700 BILLION today.
So what does this magnanimous bit of generosity buy, exactly, besides worthless paper? Well, it greases the wheels of credit–we all know how productive credit is in this country, right?–and it “saves” a few financial institutions that played fast and loose with our money once before. What it DOESN’T do is hold anyone accountable for this mess, or take any of the money back out of the pockets of those who got rich while this crisis was simmering. It also, rightly or wrongly, offers a lifeline to the lot of us–and it’s a lifeline we absolutely must take advantage of. The collapse that would otherwise come is far worse than the one the Democrats keep harping about…this time.
So we’re left with a shitty resolution to an immediate problem that must be solved, yes?
No.
REPUBLICANS in congress have a better idea, and ironically it’s the one that is supported by the vast majority of Americans who want nothing to do with this whole bailout thing in the first place. Yes, it is the Repubs who want to protect the taxpayer (and their constituents who, like me, have called and written to express our deep opposition to this idiocy). Republicans want to halt the mass giveaway of taxpayer dollars, scuttle the idea of buying up worthless paper, and instead offer a real-dollar “crutch” to Wall Street in the form of low-interest loans and other options that still grease the wheels but without assuming ridiculous risks and iffy payback plans. Republicans want to hold banking and brokerage institutions accountable for their stupidity by making them foot the bill for their own bailout. Additionally Republicans want to create financial incentives to bring money back into the marketplace naturally, by–among other ideas–cutting the capital gains taxes that stifle economic growth to begin with.
To use the football analogy, Democrats and the President want to go with the “when all else fails, punt” philosophy. I, and (thank God) a majority of the congressional Republicans want to run the fucking offense. It may be fourth down and ten to go, but let’s remember that we have a $12 TRILLION dollar guard up front and a pretty fleet-footed jackrabbit in the backfield who has sprinted us to the goal line many times before. We just have to get the ball in his hands.
The reality is that this DOES have to be done now, and it DOES require the input of whoever our next President is because, frankly, this mess will dominate his entire administration for years to come. Once again congressional Democrats are the ones trying to play political football (except that their idea of football is to give the ball to the other team and hope nobody breaks one deep) and blame Republicans for the holdup. Republicans (and John McCain) want to make sure that, with the game on the line, we’ve got the best play called.
A resounding majority of the Americans in the stands agree with the Republicans. It’s time for the President and the Democrats to lead the charge, or get the hell out of the way. The clock is running out, we’re out of time outs, the game is on the line and I’m sorry to say to Barney Frank, but PUNTING IS NOT AN OPTION.
In any case, Democrats NEED to negatively drive the economic issue to win elections. This is why you see so many of them complaining about the next “Great Depression” every time McDonalds raises the price of a cheeseburger. This is also why you should essentially ignore these dire words at almost every utterance.
Almost.
The crisis facing us now is, quite possibly, the leadup to an economic meltdown of exactly Depression-like proportions. If you ask any Republican they (we) are going to point to the idiotic policies of the Democrats in charge, and if you ask any Democtrat they’re going to point to deregulation supported by many Republicans as the reasons for this situation. Both arguments have some merit and I would discuss the mechanics of the breakdown if the blame game would be useful at this point. Fact is, though, it wouldn’t be. More to the point, it would be counterproductive at this juncture to bother pointing fingers because, right at this moment, we’re at the mouth of the chasm and our footing is giving way underneath us. It’s time to find a solution, even a temporary one, and worry about how we got here later.
While it’s important that we make progress toward the salvation of our economic engine, and do it quickly, it’s also important that we assure ourselves that the cure doesn’t ultimately lead to greater disease. $700 billion is a pretty big bandaid, but if the wound festers underneath it will be exactly that–a covering that disguises what’s actually happening, with more and worse consequences on the horizon. Let’s be real here; this “bailout” amounts to a $2300 check from every man, woman and child in the United States, due and payable TODAY. The actual dollars will be added to the national debt, and as we all know that is a burden that could be passed down to our children. It’s also a crushing amount that could spell ruination for this country–and you should make no mistake about that. Just as these banking institutions are failing due to too much debt and not enough money, so could the U. S. Government reach a critical tipping point where our assets are not enough to cover our debts and the “value” of those assets–the value of our government itself–will plummet. Other countries have the potential to buy up the United States if that happens, and it doesn’t take a genius to understand that owning the government, literally, means owning the country. I don’t speak Chinese well enough to feel comfortable with that scenario.
So what do our Democrat friends (and, in this case, our lame duck Republican President) want to do with this money? They want to buy up all the bad debt that is out there causing the economic engine to sieze up in the first place. They want to take ownership of paper that investors have deemed WORTHLESS, and with it assume ownership of real estate assets that back those securities. They want you to believe that this will solve, at least temporarily, our problems and that those assets and securities will climb in value in the coming (what, months? years? DECADES???).
If you believe that, there’s some swampland in Florida and oceanfront property in Arizona I’d like to sell you. The deeds on that are worth about as much as the ones Congress wants to buy with your $700 BILLION today.
So what does this magnanimous bit of generosity buy, exactly, besides worthless paper? Well, it greases the wheels of credit–we all know how productive credit is in this country, right?–and it “saves” a few financial institutions that played fast and loose with our money once before. What it DOESN’T do is hold anyone accountable for this mess, or take any of the money back out of the pockets of those who got rich while this crisis was simmering. It also, rightly or wrongly, offers a lifeline to the lot of us–and it’s a lifeline we absolutely must take advantage of. The collapse that would otherwise come is far worse than the one the Democrats keep harping about…this time.
So we’re left with a shitty resolution to an immediate problem that must be solved, yes?
No.
REPUBLICANS in congress have a better idea, and ironically it’s the one that is supported by the vast majority of Americans who want nothing to do with this whole bailout thing in the first place. Yes, it is the Repubs who want to protect the taxpayer (and their constituents who, like me, have called and written to express our deep opposition to this idiocy). Republicans want to halt the mass giveaway of taxpayer dollars, scuttle the idea of buying up worthless paper, and instead offer a real-dollar “crutch” to Wall Street in the form of low-interest loans and other options that still grease the wheels but without assuming ridiculous risks and iffy payback plans. Republicans want to hold banking and brokerage institutions accountable for their stupidity by making them foot the bill for their own bailout. Additionally Republicans want to create financial incentives to bring money back into the marketplace naturally, by–among other ideas–cutting the capital gains taxes that stifle economic growth to begin with.
To use the football analogy, Democrats and the President want to go with the “when all else fails, punt” philosophy. I, and (thank God) a majority of the congressional Republicans want to run the fucking offense. It may be fourth down and ten to go, but let’s remember that we have a $12 TRILLION dollar guard up front and a pretty fleet-footed jackrabbit in the backfield who has sprinted us to the goal line many times before. We just have to get the ball in his hands.
The reality is that this DOES have to be done now, and it DOES require the input of whoever our next President is because, frankly, this mess will dominate his entire administration for years to come. Once again congressional Democrats are the ones trying to play political football (except that their idea of football is to give the ball to the other team and hope nobody breaks one deep) and blame Republicans for the holdup. Republicans (and John McCain) want to make sure that, with the game on the line, we’ve got the best play called.
A resounding majority of the Americans in the stands agree with the Republicans. It’s time for the President and the Democrats to lead the charge, or get the hell out of the way. The clock is running out, we’re out of time outs, the game is on the line and I’m sorry to say to Barney Frank, but PUNTING IS NOT AN OPTION.
Welcome to the NEW Old Age and Treachery blog spot!
Welcome to my new home. I had to vacate my old home at WordPress.com because they were not willing to enforce their own Terms of Service, allowing bloggers there who posed as real people (a violation) to post racial, ethnic and sexist slurs (repeatedly using words like "nigger" and "greek gay motherf***er") (also a violation) even when these blogs were brought to their attention over and over. If you object to such things, and you believe WordPress should enforce their Terms of Service which CLEARLY prohibit this sort of thing, I encourage you to email them (support@wordpress.com) and make your feelings known. This sort of trash is offensive, injurious and irresponsible and should not be allowed to stand. Contact me if you'd like more information about the specifics of this situation.
So here I am in my new "digs". It may take a few days for the fun and fireworks to start back up again (not that I don't have plenty to aggravate the Liberals about, just that most of them are used to finding me at WordPress) but I'll be up and running as soon as I can reasonably do so.
Thanks for tuning in!
So here I am in my new "digs". It may take a few days for the fun and fireworks to start back up again (not that I don't have plenty to aggravate the Liberals about, just that most of them are used to finding me at WordPress) but I'll be up and running as soon as I can reasonably do so.
Thanks for tuning in!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)