Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The Obama Youth

Here is a video of Obama Youth Singing for "change".  Is this an innocent little get together or just today's version of Hitler Youth singing Deutschland Über Alles.


What do you think?


Thank you for reading this blog. 

Bush the Globalist?

In today's press conference, Bush uttered words that seemed prescient to his world view. When he addressed us, not only did he say citizens of America, but "citizens around the world". Does Bush envision himself as president of the world, or is it that he sees the context of this bailout beyond the US? This problem was created by politicians trying to seem as though they were doing something, something that felt good, which was affirmative action in lending. Intentions mean everything to these people. For the purpose of intellectual honesty, if the CRA had never happened, we would not be in the mess we are now. Bush's appeal to citizen's around the world almost seems like a freudian slip. I can't help but wonder what he and his democrat cronies will try next. By the way, Paulson is a democrat. What do you think?

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Monday, September 29, 2008

Bush + Democrats = NAU?

Some believe (Steve Deace) that this latest economic problem is being taken advantage of by the globalists Bush, Wall Street, Paulson  and the feckless congressional lackeys to devalue the dollar to the point that our only option is to go global. Welcome to the North American Union. What do you think? It's an interesting theory. The bottom line is we need a correction to cool things down and cull the heard of people whose wisdom is in question. Wall Street needs to return to a being a Market, not a casino. watch the power point @ http://www.therightguyshw.com/SHOTINTHEFANNIEMAE.ppt.pps

Thank you for reading this blog.

Comeuppance: A freak gets his cosmic justice

A 64 year old father found a naked man in his house in his daughter's bedroom. The father, fearing for his daughter's life, choked the guy to death. It turns out the perp had served 10 years in prison as a sexual predator. Click on link: What do you think?

Meyers is already in the running for IotW (Idiot of the Week) award. 

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Obama's Marxist Re-education Camp: A tribute to Saul Alinsky

It just gets worse. The indoctrination of our youth into this miasma of marxist ideology continues. It's not enough that Her Fuhrer Obama uses law enforcement to go after ads that paint an unkind picture of his majesty, but now he wants the heart and soul of our youth. Comments welcome.


Thank you for reading this blog. 

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Paul Newman

Paul Newman passed away today at the age of 83. There are few things that we would have agreed upon politically, but I give my props to Mr. Newman for one, putting his money where his mouth was and created a non-profit that gave money to charity. Instead of looking for government for a solution, he created one. We need more people in Hollyweird and everywhere else like Mr. Newman that walk the talk, live their lives with dignity, and left something behind greater than themselves. Godspeed Paul, we'll meet you down the road. 

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Barack Obama: A Pro-Sedition Act Candidate



All the lefties that think George Bush is a fascist, take a look at your boy. He is now using Missouri law enforcement to go after  people that he thinks run ads that are untruthful or misleading. Calling it his truth squads, this is reminiscent of the brownshirts in Germany and Fidel Castro urging children to turn in their own parents for speaking out against him. This is nothing more than a fascist socialist running under the Democrat banner. Governor Blunt of Missouri refutes Obama. Imagine what this phony, fraudulent, obfuscating marxist will do once he is in. It will make the fairness doctrine look like the first amendment. Where do you stand? 

Here is an ad that Obama wants to ban and thank you for reading this blog.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Who is to blame?

This might settle it.  What do you think? Comments welcome.

Who is acting in OUR best interests? Bush et al are the judas goats


Currently, the White House and Congress are working together to solve the financial crisis we are in because of the mortgage debacle. More time has been spent on policy that is based on politics, meaning, how can the politicians get the most benefit out of whatever they do in terms of popularity, votes, and ultimately money and of course power. The Vampiress Bella Pelosi, Howdy Doody George Bush and Uncle Fester Paulson are playing the part of the Judas Goat, leading us to the metaphorical slaughterhouse of socialism. It is no different than Al Gore preaching the world is coming to an end because of man caused global warming. He too is the Judas Goat that wants to lead us into the depths of socialism and global government. These characters are not acting in our best interests, they are not representing the American people in good faith, and they certainly do not have the fortitude to do what is right if they know what that is. A lot of people feel that the average american is getting screwed because the banks are getting bailed out and citizens are not, as with Wall Street vis a vis Mail Street. This is off the mark. People that are irresponsible, need to be accountable, and they have to demonstrate some form of trust. Just as someone seeks forgiveness and does not demonstrate true reconciliation through acknowledgment of their sins and living in way that shows they are not making those same mistakes, If banks and individuals continually have their hand out and make the decisions and mistakes we have witnessed time and time again, then we must not bail them out. Wall Street has not earned our trust, individuals that are looking for a hand out have not earned our trust and the politicians have not earned our trust, not only by their actions here in writing a check that our collective asses will have to cover, but in creating regulation and legislation that helped bring this about. None of the bad actors here are stepping forward with any type of mea culpa, and earnestness in making it right. They just want to make it look like they are doing something, take credit for it and leave us the bill. This just sucks. Thank you comrades Bush, Pelosi, Paulson et al. Please go to central committee and pick up your red berets.

Thank you for reading this blog. 


Obama can't take the heat when he's under the gun

Obama's latest foray into obfuscation and bullying is his latest action against the NRA. He's trying to get ads pulled because he says they are false. We know this is not true. Here are his cease and desist letters:




Documents are courtesy of John Lott's website. Here is a man desperately trying to cover up his true record, whether it is abortion, guns, taxes, and foreign policy. What it comes down to is that he doesn't want people to know and what he is: A radical socialist cultivated by those that fomented the destruction of the US in the 60's and brought up through the Chicago political machine. While he portrays himself one that will work with everyone and bring people together, like a true fascist leader, he quietly stamps out dissent, opposition, and political threats behind the scenes to promulgate his vision of a new socialist order. Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright are not an accident. This man does everything for a purpose. Witness his obfuscation here. 

Thank you John Lott for your vigilance and thank you to those who read this blog. 

Since when is a minority a majority? Ask the vampiress yourself

It seems that house democrats are blaming the latest impasse with the bailout bill on the house republicans. Yes, you heard that correctly, the house minority republicans. Since when can a majority not pass a bill? How lame is it for the sanguineness one on the capitol hill? Perhaps she needs to take another bite to find blood? May be she should start with her own. So now what we have here is an economic problem that is in search of a political solution. Good luck. Shakespeare only got it half right with his admonition against lawyers: he should have included politicians. But then again, the majority of politicians seem to be lawyers anyway. 

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Locus of Control: Socialism vs. Individualism Part I


Locus of control is a psychology term which refers to a person's belief about what causes the good or bad results in their life. An internal locus means that a person sees themselves as responsible for good or bad things that happen in their life because they control their own lives. Socialists focus on an external locus where people are not in control of their lives and the results, good or bad do not come from the individual, but that the control in there lives came from outside forces and in the case of socialism, from a collective. This comparison may seem facile to some, but it is direct, relevant and correlative. This external locus of control was prominent in past cultures and society when the church had much more influence in people's lives and most countries were monarchies. People had little or no say in the lives, were poorly if at all educated, and  where at the mercy of authoritarian whim. 

In the last 200 or so years, we have seen that democracy has replaced monarchies and people have become more independent, educated, and more importantly, informed. In the case of the United States, a rugged individualism replaced feudal and ecclesiastical supplication, peonage and darkness. We had the resources for man to expand his horizons and define his boundaries through sheer will, hard work, and risk. With this came the responsibility for success or failure. The locus of control turned inward. 

We now find ourselves at a point in time where there is transition again. Socialism promulgates the external locus of control, therefore responsibility, and affects to people's lives. Whenever you hear a socialist, or as I call them in today's instance, Neo-Coms, it is always someone or something outside the individual that is responsible for the bad things that may happen to them, and the good things as well. Everyone is a victim. For instance, the wealthy take a beating in socialist circles. They have been blamed for just about everything from the latest credit and financial crunch, to why people do not have healthcare, which is not the issue, but rather who will pay your healthcare bills. Conversely, when good things happen, it's the community that did it, as in it takes a village. 

The layer beneath this mechanism is that socialism and or better put, agents of socialism are dealing with an increasingly ignorant population, in spite of the overload of information, a society that has forgotten and is ignorant about themselves, how they got there, and what made and makes them great. Call it the death of American Exceptionalism. Steve Deace would say we lost our vision. We are both correct. Are socialism and it's agents responsible for this or are they just taking advantage of it? You could argue both. The point is that people are becoming less self-sufficient, self-reliant, have more information available, but cannot discern truth. The rugged individual is becoming extinct and socialism in all it's collective glory is on the rise. I will continue this thread on Friday in Part II of this article subtitled, "Political and Social Entropy". 

Thank You for reading this blog

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Heartless: The Church of Ann Coulter


If I am guilty of anything it is guerilla or viral marketing. In order to promote my blog, I post to a lot of news and editorial articles on the web, leaving my URL http://www.therightguyshow.com in my signature. I don't do it to all my posts, but 90% of them. I don't do them where I can put my URL in and the link is in my name on the post. Most newspapers don't have this feature. Still, I do what I can, to promote this site, and today I got called on it in the Ann Coulter chat room. It seems it is against their policies. I guess their moderator took time off from playing Doom, and noticed or may be one of the miscreants in the forum complained. It wouldn't surprise me. Some of the forum members are downright anachronistic and it wouldn't surprise me if they were militia members. When you see confederate flags as avatars, you have to wonder, but I am digressing here. I find it interesting that a conservative like Coulter would be against a free marketer like myself, but it is her sandbox. So while I never was baptized in the church of Ann Coulter, That's fine with me. I don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon. It's not that I am an elitist, I am not, but the level of repartee there falls somewhere between Deliverance and All in the Family, but without the humor. So Ann, I am guilty as charged. It's a good thing I never got baptized in your church as I can't imagine what reconciliation would be like. 

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Idiot of the Week

As part of my continuous improvement of my blog, I will now have a weekly post entitled " Idiot(s) of the Week" or IotW. Since all of us are DMFs, this honor is truly special and it has to go to someone who hits all the right notes and is truly representative of the title. While the week isn't over yet, I already have a candidate: Joe Biden. O'Stymie has done well in choosing the chia pet from the great little state of Delaware and Joe's propensity for foot in mouth disease hasn't let us down this time. I quote: "When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed,"..."He said, 'Look, here's what happened.'" Dear Joe, what planet do you come from? Planet Biden must be a far, far away place where men with doll like hair follicles live. First off, no one had a TV in 1929, and if they did, there wouldn't be any programming. What makes this doubly funny, and sad at the same time is that Herbert Hoover was president at the time of the crash and FDR was governor of New York. While we have a lot of time left in the week, this is truly idiotic. 

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Sunday, September 21, 2008

The New Socialist Dictatorship

There is a new socialist dictator and his name is Henry Paulson. The secretary treasurer is behind the bank bailouts, which will raise the national debt and saddle americans in order to pay for the golden parachutes and lifestyles of the plutocrats that run the financial institutions that are failing. Henry Paulson was head of Goldman Sachs and appears to be protecting his own at our expense. We now hear that he wants to extend the bailouts to foreign banks that have operations in this country. This dictator will saddle us potentially with 1 trillion in debt, and yet, he has to call Warren Buffet for advice, a robber baron that makes his bones in downturns and through other people's misfortunes, not to mention it is unethical if not illegal for Paulson to be discussing what is in essence insider information. Didn't Martha Stewart go to jail over that? To add insult to injury, Paulson is pushing congress to pass this buyout without knowing what it entails and the consequences. To understand how much power this guy wants, a quote from the bailout bill: “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency”...“The Secretary’s authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time.” There is an old saying that the fish stinks from the head and this one does. These plutocrats have screwed up with the subprime debacle. Bailing them out is analogous to a co-dependent parent or spouse that keeps bailing out, covering for and making excuses for a spouse or child that has a bad drug problem and commits crimes. Right now we are at a point where tough love is called for, and it's times for the banks to eat the shit sandwich. The problem is we have a new dictator in Henry Paulson that wants to bail out his buddies. Bush is showing poor leadership in backing this ill conceived plan. What do you think? Paulson is not an elected official, and Bush is a lame duck, but their plan will affect us for decades to come. Who do you blame? We have an election coming up and Barack Obama's solution is more regulation and bureaucracies, definitely a step in the wrong direction. Right now I am waiting to hear from John McCain and the silence is deafening. 

Thank you for reading this blog. 

The Week in Review

Well, socialists have been quite busy this week bailing out financial institutions and now we have Paulson, The secretary of the infinitely stupid, calling for a $700 Billion bailout package. If that isn't good enough, the bald headed Keynesian pillow biter wants to bail out foreign banks that have operations in the US. Enough. I wonder why the banks get bailed out, but the DMFs that borrowed beyond their means do not? Not that I believe either side should be bailed out, but if it is our money, shouldn't we at least benefit directly by this latest exercise in corporate welfare? I also find it highly problematic that Paulson calls Warren Buffet for advice. Wouldn't that be giving a trader inside information? The incestuous relationship between the Federal Reserve, the treasury and financial industry should be enough to send anyone screaming from the room.

Caryn Elaine Johnson or Whoopi Goldberg is still an idiot. I still haven't hear or seen apostasy on her part, and I imagine none will be forthcoming. If ignorance is bliss, then she must be the happiest person in the world.

All the eco-terrorists and other neo-com lemmings must be ecstatic about the CERN collider being shutdown for repairs. I am quite certain they will be happy that the Gluon footprint will not increase in the short term. It seems a transformer needed work. These devices use a lot of energy you know.

Everyone seems to be waiting for Joe Biden to stick his foot in his mouth again. We didn't have to wait long, as referenced by his latest speech in Virginia. I wonder if Joe will ever find his coal-mining ancestors.

What's all the hubbub with HRC, Saracuda, and the Stop Iran Rally? It seems that HRC didn't want to share the stage with Palin, and in an effort to actually try to help Obama, not only pulled out of the rally, but had the organizers disinvite Palin, and HRC & Co. gave them cover with three lawyers writing letters on how having only one side represented may interfere with their tax exempt status. What rubbish. Score one for Palin with the Jewish community on this one.

Charles Rangel, the Democrat representative from Harlem seems to be having tax issues. It seems that in addition to owning four apartments in Manhattan, at least two of which are rent controlled, it seems the chairman of the ways and means committee failed to report income. Can you imagine renting an apartment in Manhattan for less than $500 a month? If not, Ask Charlie.

The story that seems to be lying low right now is the affects of hurricane Ike. Many people in Houston are still without power and other utilities. This does not seem to be getting the same play as Katrina. One reason is that Texas is a red state. There is no political capital there for Obama and his de facto public relations firm, the lamestream media.

Lastly, I will be changing the programming of my blog to some extent. I will be publishing commentary on a regular basis, MWF, and now I will produce a podcast that will be published every Sunday. To all of those who have supported my blog by reading it, I give my eternal thanks. The best is yet to come.

Thank you as always for reading this blog.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Hysteria from the left: Why they don't trust you, even with your own life

I was reading an article today about Google's proposed datacenters at sea. Google is mulling over putting it's datacenters on barges 3-7 miles off the coast in order to save on taxes, and energy costs. What caught my attention was a comment left by a reader who was concerned about the carbon footprint left by these datacenters and ecological damage. I swear, someone could come up with a non-carbon based zero carbon foot print cold fusion costs nothing to produce source of energy and some eco-terrorist living in a redwood tree in California because he doesn't want UC Berkley to cut it down to make way for a sports complex complains that this particular process is no good because it puts unnecessary burden on Quarks and it's Gluon foot print might cause massive destruction if it accumulated enough to form a black hole, which shall from now on be know as a dark energy matter compactor because black hole is racist and insensitive. The reason these ninnies are spouting crap all the time is that one, they live in fear. They are so risk averse that driving through Lloyd Harbor in a Volvo XC 90 while wearing a class IIIA bullet proof vest is too risky. The other reason is that they are fairly intelligent, know it, and they have an elitist attitude where they believe they are smarter than anyone else. Top this off with a healthy dose of having never been tested under trial and tribulation, and you have the start of something special (This is for humor effect. More on this in later posts. ed.). Send these people to the finest communist re-education camps for 4 years, and you'll have some of the most hysterically left wing eco-weanie nanny-staters that money can buy. What it comes down is that they don't trust you with your own life is that they believe they are smarter than you. Of course I could be totally wrong, but the fact remains that our colleges are turning out more and more of these people every year to lead the charge against free market economics, classical liberal philosophy, and conservative values. Joseph Stalin could not do this in all his cold war wet dreams. Still, the best thing to do when presented with such false propriety is to keep on walking. Arguing with these people is like wrestling with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it, and if you must, cut them down quickly.

Thank you for reading this blog.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Caryn Elaine Johnson, Super Colliders, and other idiots

Caryn Elaine Johnson, AKA Whoopi Goldberg, demonstrated today just how stupid she is by posing the question to John McCain “Should I be worried about being a slave” in the context of McCain saying he supports strict constructionalists in appointing judges. First off, Judges do not make law, or should I say, they aren’t supposed to make law. The congress does. I cannot imagine under any circumstances how the congress would pass a law allowing slavery, at least in the context of owning black people, although they have no problem keeping us in peonage by taxing us to death, but I digress. I also cannot imagine how any panel of supreme court judges could or would interpret any law to allow slavery, at least in the context of owning black people, as that is what Caryn, I mean Whoopi is concerned about. If Whoopi is truly worried about being a slave, I have news for her, she already is a slave. She is a slave to an extreme liberal philosophy that triumphs emotion over reason, of sensation over facts.

What’s all the hubbub about the CERN Hadron collider in Switzerland? All the FUD about the world coming to an end because they might create a black hole that will swallow the earth. What non-sense. More stupid fear promulgated by people that have no idea what the hell is going on or how these things work. We do not have the energy necessary to create such a problem. If we did, travelling to other galaxies would not be a issue. Of course, this type of hysteria is fomented by the same idiots that camp themselves in redwood trees to prevent private entities from cutting them down. I say cut the trees down with them in the trees and let them contribute their own carbon credits towards the man made global warming religion. This religion exists as any other to control people’s behavior and remove capital from people’s pockets, although it is more reminiscent of the Mayans sacrificing people to ensure the sun rises the following day. Anyway, the collider fired off without a hitch and now they will crunch the numbers to see what is what. All’s well that end’s well.

And the idiot of the week is a posthumous award. It seems that John Lennon wanted to hold more than his mom’s hand. The Oedipus Rex of Rock and Roll got a handful of his mother’s...

Thank you for reading this blog.


--
I am a Republican, a black, dyed in the wool Republican, and I never intend to belong to any other party than the party of freedom and progress.
 Frederick Douglass

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Rights

A reader, LCranston, along with Hector, has brought to my attention what a libertarian is, but not necessarily what it is not. I had been looking at some wikipedia stuff and came across this in wiki article about Thomas Jefferson:

"Jefferson believed that each individual has "certain inalienable rights." That is, these rights exist with or without government; man cannot create, take, or give them away. It is the right of "liberty" on which Jefferson is most notable for expounding. He defines it by saying "rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law,' because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual."

This is where I stand. If you think I have crossed the line, let me know.

Thank you for reading this blog.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program

September 11 is more than a day that will live in infamy. It is a somber day for me. You see, I am from NY, and I lived there when 9/11 occurred. At the time I was working on Long Island, for a confections manufacturing company and my wife worked in Manhattan for a small private investing company. The CFO of the company I worked for was married to Pat Lyons. Pat was a fireman with the NYFD, working at the 252 squad in Bushwick Brooklyn. I remember Irene saying it was his day off and he didn't have to go in...Irene was eight months pregnant with their first child. Prokopios Paul Zois worked at Marsh and McLennan. He took the Long Island Rail Road to work every day. My wife used to sit in the same group on the way to work, and Paul was part of that group. Before that day was out, these men would be taken from their loved ones, but they were going home. Irene had the baby, a boy whose name is Patrick Mate Lyons, who is almost 7 years old. The sad thing is that they never found Pat Lyons remains. From what I understand he was with his crew ascending the north tower in the stairway when it collapsed. At the time, I have to admit now, I was pissed beyond measure. I would have advocated ridding the world of Islam. While I do not feel that way now, I still believe it is an incorrect religion that preaches death, and it is not a religion of peace. We are still at war with these 8th century throwbacks, and we haven't brought the piece of shit that planned this genocide to justice. So much for the war on terror, but what do you expect when politicians run the military, but I am really digressing here. All I ask of those out there is to pray for the souls of those that passed this day in 2001 and pray for the peace and grace that only god can give for their families. I would also ask that if you could give to the Pat Lyons Foundation. They do a lot of good in the memory of Pat.

Thank you for reading this blog.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Now for something completely different



Chevrolet will be reintroducing the Camaro in the beginning of next year. This is a good thing for those that love muscle cars and Camaro's in general. I have owned two Camaro's, a 1983 and a 1984. The 1984 was a stock 2.8l v-6 with 5 speed manual. I bought it from one of my brother -in-laws, Joe, and I only had it for several months. I ended up giving it to our baby sitter. I bought the 1983 Camaro in 1991. I saw it in front of someone's house: worn out silver paint, and a 2.8l v-6 with a rod knock. I had a 1977 Monte Carlo with a 305, so I transplanted the engine and transmission into the Camaro. I then had the car painted white at Maaco. I took the rally wheels from the Monte Carlo, referbed them and put some 3rd generation BF Goodrich Comp T/A's on the wheels. They were 255/50/zr15s, and they helped the car handle like a slot car. The 305 developed a rod knock, probably from high mileage and a heavy foot. One of my nieces had a Caprice with a 400 small block in it. She was junking the car, so I took the engine and rebuilt it. .040 over, 9.9:1 compression pistons, a 214/224/442/465 cam, recurved distributor, Weiand dual plane intake, rebuilt Rochester QuadraJet, true roller timing chain, headers and true dual exhausts with flowmaster mufflers. I even fabricated a cold air induction. I never took it to a track, but quarter mile speeds were around 105, with top speeds around 130-135. It didn't have overdrive. Yes it was very quick, loud, and didn't get better than 12 mpg. It was fun as hell too. I miss that car at times. I drive a VW Jetta now, which gets 2.5x the gas mileage, but doesn't have the personality and soul the Camaro did. I don't think I will be buying the new Camaro, as they will probably cost well in excess of 30K and with 5 kids, I can hardly justify it, but I might just get a project car sometime. A man has to dream, otherwise he is already dead.

Thank you for reading this blog.

Monday, September 08, 2008

George Bush the Communist

Today, the government bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They basically took them over and now they are run by the government. When Chavez does this, he is a rotten communist, when Putin does this, he's considered evil. On top of this, the board of directors for these corporations and their executives aren’t being prosecuted, investigated or even castigated. When Enron screwed up, they hung them out to dry and went after the management. That was the right thing to do. Now we have a situation that cries out, duplicity. Now the big three automakers are making noise that they want preferential loans to bail them out. Now why did Bush and the government do this? They will say that with our economy in the state that it is, we can’t afford this instability. I think there are two additional reasons that need to be examined One, the world is moving towards a more socialist political economy, with government more involved with business. America is sliding towards this. Additionally, the 2008 presidential election looms and an economic failure during the Bush administration would make a McCain/Palin victory impossible. As much as I’d rather see them get elected than the Neo-Com socialist O’Stymie and his boy blunder Biden, I think it bears some truth. All Bush needs to do now is don the red beret.

Thank you for reading this blog.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Hysteria from the left

Just a short note: The left is really racheting up the hysteria regarding Palin. I have to wonder if they know what they are doing. At this point, all they are doing is galvanizing the right and solidifying the base. There is a saying that dogs don’t chase parked cars. I think that applies here. I think Sarah Palin scared the left so much after her speech that they are almost apoplectic. If they really wanted her to go away and McCain to lose, they would have been better off to ignore her. I guess they took the bait. :)

Thank you for reading this blog.

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Is credit indentured servitude? A look at modern American peonage

I was reading a blog today about the economy and one of the commenters mentioned that americans were over extended with credit. In fact, I found out that they average credit card debt for a household is around $8600. The average mortgage debt is $192,000. That's probably between $800-900 billion in credit card debt and somewhere around $17 trillion in mortgage debt in this country. These numbers may be conservative as there are over 116 million households in the US. Can you say over extended? 

Even with an annual foreclosure rate of 1%, that would mean around $178 billion disappears from the economy, mostly from mortgage debt. That's not small. But the real reason for this post is to illustrate how are economy is propped up by personal debt. I don't believe this is an accident. Credit cards were non-existent 25-30 years ago. Most people I knew did not have one. If you wanted to buy something, you'd pay cash for the most part, excluding cars, and homes. Mortgages tended to be 15-20 years, and car loans were 2-3 years. Today, we have mortgages out to 40 years and car loans beyond 6 years. The average car loan debt is now between $12-13,000. 

Sometime after the last inflationary bubble at the end of the Carter administration, some economists must have figured that if banks loan more money out to people, and extend the terms of the loans, they could pump money into the economy causing it to grow. A different kind of trickle down economics. On the income side, salaries would be kept at a pace such that an equilibrium is kept between consumers ability to pay and the money lent out. There have been a couple instances where there were hiccups, and then the resultant bailouts, but it has enabled corporations to flourish at the expense of the debt incurred by the average household. Look at the growth of the stock market since 1980. Even with the ups and downs, you'd have to agree that is has grown tremendously, but now we are at another hiccup. 

The problem is that we are having difficulty maintaining an equilibrium between this debt, income and economic growth. In the last several years, banks have really gone too far in extending credit, particularly with mortgages. This in turn pushed housing prices higher and people borrowed even more. It's not enough that people buy what they want, but also be able to buy things beyond their dreams. Call it greed. Now that the housing market is collapsing, people that over extended themselves are looking for relief as are some of the lending institutions. Personally, I say let them rot, it's the only way they will learn. 

At this point I'd like to consider the political economy if you will of this situation. Jefferson was afraid of situations like this, particularly with the government borrowing money. He feared corruption through financiers and industrialists. In many ways Jefferson may have been clairvoyant. Much of the shell game economics we see started with Alexander Hamilton, who believed in assuming debt and pushing out the time in which to pay it, where as Jefferson was more agrarian in his approach, pay as you go. On one hand, Jefferson wanted America to be unique in that we did not have a society divided by political, social or economic classes. In Hamilton's approach, I believe he sought to find a solution to problems of paying debt after the Revolutionary War without causing a depression or succession of states. I also think his risk tolerance was quite a bit higher than Jefferson's. My point here is that there is a historical philosophical approach in our democracy regarding economics and this argument is nothing new. What is different in the present is that the common man is given access to capital so easily without earning it as he receives it. Capital obtained in such fashion presents itself for abuse. 

The end result here is that we have a society that in effect is in indentured servitude except that there is no debtors prison for those that refuse to pay. There are social and economic penalties for individuals, but insofar as lending institutions, they seem to get off scott free. This still leaves the vast majority of people that pay their debts on time in a condition of peonage, as they will be paying off their credit card and mortgage debt for many years to come, and in some cases, after they are gone. Unfortunately, this fiscal philosophy has found it's way to the government, which is even in worse shape. I guess you can sum it up as the free lunch mentality. The problem is that there is an end to this as the system has limits. The only way out of this, at least I think that some believe this, is to add more debtors to the system. The only way to increase this is through immigration, legal, or illegal. 

The problem with this is that illegal immigration has brought new problems that exacerbate the situation. The social costs of having people her illegally is staggering. Healthcare, schools, and crime take their toll. The answer to this part of the this new problem created is amnesty, in an effort to get them on board tax-wise. Banks have not lost step as they already offer credit to illegal aliens. The problem is, if they skip, how do you catch them? It's a total loss. The side effect of all of this is that there is now a political demographic that is more open to socialism and it is changing the expectations of our society. Of course politicians will give them what they want and are already anticipating the political clout of this newly created demographic. So much for the traditional melting pot. 

Again, this leaves us at a turning point at the 2008 presidential election. Where are we going from here? Do we adhere to Jeffersonian principles, do we continue on the same path we currently are on or do we pursue a different, yet equally dangerous approach with socialism? Our current path is to take on more and more illegal immigrants. Insofar as credit is concerned, I see no changes in approach with continuing down the same path. Today, the government announced it is going to bailout Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Detroit car makers are already squealing that they want preferential loans  to bail them out. I see this path as a steady decline fiscally, morally, and socially. With Obama's approach, government will be used to curtail wealth through taxation, with the additional burden of government mandated and managed entitlements. In our zero sum game, it's really redistribution of wealth. With the added taxation and continuation of debt among the average citizen, in essence, we will be in a peonage system, or indentured servitude that we will never get out of. Both the government and financial institutions with cooperation from industrial businesses will basically have the population by the balls. Over time, we will loose our self-sufficiency and perspective on responsibility; we will have traded our freedom for that which neither enriches us nor makes us any safer or better off individually. 

A classical liberal or Jeffersonian approach would entail fiscal responsibility. You shouldn't spend more that you earn, and you should not receive what you have not earned. What are considered entitlements should never be rights. Part of the solution would be to curtail outrageous interest rates. The government could do this. What the government should not do is bail banks out, or other corporate entities. They will never learn their lesson in greed and/or poor judgement if they are bailed out time and time again. Corporate and industrial subsidies should end. Yes, lower the tax rate for corporations to 10%, but no more subsidies. Both individuals and corporations will be responsible if it is demanded of them. The federal government should have fewer responsibilities than it currently has. I wont get into it, as you can read it in my Bona Fides, but it is not impossible to cut back the federal government 25-33% and as I have said, I would settle for the abolition of the IRS. 

Between the government and financial institutions, we have fastened a chain around our neck that has a 300 Lb steel ball at the end of the chain. We cannot blame this situation on anyone else than ourselves. We elect the corrupt individuals that indenture us to the government and we take it upon ourselves to live fiscally irresponsible. The only way out of this is through individual responsibility, self-sufficiency and a philosophy of personal liberty. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, these things can not be legislated, but are learned through education and experience, and are fomented through political, social and spiritual leadership. This is where America falls short. No matter what happens this November, even if the Obamessiah wins, people like myself will have our time again. It's the nature of revolution to come back again. 

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Hypocrisy, Abortion, and Christianity

I was thinking today, which is always a dangerous and perilous venture, about Bristol Palin and all the hubbub with the Neo-Coms over the Pro-Life values of the Palin family. A lot of people ascribe to be Christian, yet find a way to say they are pro-choice and come away thinking it is somehow compatible. I am sure you have read with wonderment of the brouhaha with the Vampiress herself, Bella Pelosi, go through convoluted logic trying to justify her pro-choice stance as Roman Catholic. Anyway, I just want you to know that while it is possible to take a pro-life position from a secular standpoint, it is impossible, as a Christian, as a Jew, or as a Muslim, to be pro-choice and be consistent with your religion. This is not a judgement, it’s a fact. At the very least, be honest and tell me you are picking and choosing what  you believe and what you do not. Of course the Neo-Coms have plenty of company in this area, some of which are even “reverends”, like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. It was their cost of entry into the temple of the Neo-Coms. So if you are pro-choice, at the very least be intellectually honest and tell the truth.

Thank you for reading this blog.

Enough

I was going to write an entry here how my support for McCain wasn’t solidified. I still needed to find out more about Palin and I still had misgivings about McCain. Then I read Drudge. It wasn’t the stuff about Bristol Palin. That stuff happens and you deal with it. Still, liberals seemed almost pissed that Bristol didn’t abort the child, thereby making her first communion in the church of socialism/feminism. Even with all the spin and non-sense, I wished to hold off and learn more. Then I went to Drudge Report. Read it yourself. At this point I will not use the word democrat. That would tarnish the traditional meaning of the word. I won’t call them liberals, because I consider myself a classical liberal. I was going to use socialist-feminists, but that is too long. The new word shall be Neo-Coms. Well, the Neo-Coms have shot themselves in the foot with this one. Families should be off limits, but disseminating private, confidential information to the public is a safety concern as well as a privacy rights concern. There should be criminal prosecution of this breech. It doesn’t matter though. It served a purpose beyond the Neo-Coms control. It galvanized the republican party and conservatives with the McCain/Palin ticket in ways that no one on the right could do. This could cost Obama the presidency. It should. I am sure he will come out and condemn it, and I don’t place this situation at his feet, but he will be the one to pay for it. John and Sarah, you have one more vote come November and damn the Neo-Coms.

Thank you for reading this blog.

Monday, September 01, 2008

Time and Tithe wait for no one

I was driving to work last week and my thoughts drifted along into taxes, income, and work, but not necessarily in that order. Mark Wurzel, a very smart businessman, once told me that he was competing for that dollar in every man's pocket. You could apply that philosophy to businesses, religious institutions, and governments (Governments take). But the more I thought about it, I realized that money isn't the main driver here. When you look at money, it is the perception of what it can buy, rather than what it is that matters. In reality, money is worthless paper. Even in coinage, what are metals really worth? The commodity that businesses, churches, and governments want to monopolize is your time. In a perfect world, your labor on whatever you do, be that tilling a field to grow corn, running a bakery, or repairing cars, brings value to your product. The market defines that value, and depending on many factors such as supply, demand, quality, etc, will affect what your labor is worth. Still, it takes time to produce value. Time is a commodity that is limited for everyone and whose true quantity is never known. If you can control a person's time, you pretty much control their lives.

The idea of giving the product of one's labor away as a form of tribute started with the church in the form of tithes. Tithes have been around since the time of Abraham. Traditionally, Tithes were 10% of income, or worth, in whatever terms or commodity you have. This was not lost on governments, as they followed suit, and taxed its population accordingly. Over time, people have become accustomed to giving tribute, tithes and taxes. In fact, in some places today, the government for the purpose of religion taxes people and it is redistributed to the religious organizations of that country. For instance, in Austria, there is a 1% compulsory church tax. If you are catholic, the church can sue you if you do not pay it. If you refuse, basically you are excommunicated and cannot receive the sacraments. Members of the Church of Denmark (Denmark has the highest tax rate in the world at 56% income tax, which would be like working until July 23 for the government) pay a church tax that amounts to about 1%. Finland also exercises a church tax that varies from 1-2.25%. To be fair to Christianity, Islam also practices such things with Jizya, Pahlavi, and Dhimmi. In fact, in some Muslim countries, non-believers have inferior rights and have to pay tribute in greater proportion than believers.

All that being said, we've come a long way in this country. We have no official religion, no official church, and the church with the threat of any law cannot tax us. This sounds like a good thing and it is. The problem I have with taxes in general is that the government takes from you time for which you can never be compensated. I heard on the radio that the average Californian has to work until sometime in May to pay all of his federal, state, local and whatever taxes that they predate on people in that state. Our federal government did not have an income tax of any kind until 1913 and for most people; federal income tax wasn’t a consequence until after WW II. Since then, we have seen a steady ramp up in taxes, many of which are buried in utility bills, local sales tax initiatives, and fuel. I would ask by what right does anyone have to take your life, even if only bit-by-bit? Owning a human being is against the law, as is indentured servitude and/or peonage. Or is it? What is the debt? When is the debt paid? Socialists and communist will say this money serves a common or greater good. If that is so, why don't we fertilize our fields with the old, sick and infirm? That would serve a common good. The problem with common or greater good is that it creates unwanted obligations on people that infringe on their natural rights. No purported right of any man, group or government should be used to obviate the rights on any individual. The other problem with common or greater good is that it opens the door to create rights that should never exist; they are entitlements. What entitlements do you say? In the words, actions and deeds of the Obama’s and other socialists, it could be food, housing, healthcare, day-care, post secondary education, basically cradle to grave socialism.

In a current context, we find some promulgating a collectivist tone. According to Michelle Obama, "Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism, that you put down your division, that you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones, that you push yourselves to be better, and that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual - uninvolved, uninformed..." (Speech in February 2008). I find this an insult. What she is trying to say is that those that believe in individual rights and responsibilities, those that believe in self reliance, those that have pride in their own accomplishments and want to strive to better themselves on their own, are somehow broken, inferior, lazy, and ignorant. This is truly the shot across the bow to libertarians and conservatives everywhere, but it is not the first time I have heard this. It is preached in my church as well and I disagree with it there as well. When people are classified as broken, inferior (victims in the political context), in this political context, and possible a religious one, I think that the wanted, or needed end-result is a group of people that are co-dependent to some persons or organizations solution to the problem they define in individuals. Basically they are creating and/or defining their own customer demographic. This is heinous, if correct. In the political context, socialists wish to create a secular church of the government where people are no longer responsible for themselves, where the government provides their social, physical and spiritual needs. What is sad in a religious context is that politicians like Mike Huckabee think that certain Christian values need to be taken on by the government in terms of duties and obligations. He sees the government as an extension of what the church itself should accomplish. This is foolhardy and has no place in a free society. It is fine if churches aspire to help the poor and in need. In fact, that is what they should do, as it is not the government's place to do these things. These obligations should be voluntary, as a free will offering. If the left is correct in their assertion that we do not do enough to help the poor and in need, then the church has failed to make it's case to its members, as they obviously haven't responded in kind. May be members feel the government does this now, why should we bother? I don't believe that it is so conscious of a decision, but rather a dilution of message, values and moral direction. This happens through enculturation. At some point someone lowered the bar, and that standard was passed on.

The solution to this is laissez-faire capitalism. A further definition of what I like to call small c capitalism. Every man is his own free agent and the benefactor of his labor. He is not a slave, not a slave owner. He acts in his own rational self-interest without the violation of others. He trades with others with mutual self-interest in mind. The government's only relationship in this is that is acts as a force to protect people's natural rights to participate in this exchange. No one has the right of force through any means to take from one for himself or take from others. The final piece to this trinity is economics. As much as there must be a separation of church and state, to a great extent, there must be a separation of economics and state. In the context of today, capitalism has become institutionalized. It is as much a power like a government and at times as much a spiritual mover and fealty inspiring as a religion. There are corporations out there whose very purpose is to become involved in every part of your life, to infiltrate every aspect. Others just want your money, which uses up your time. Big C capitalism or Institutional Capitalism is just as dangerous as anything else with power, whether it is religion or government. According to Thomas Jefferson, "I hope we shall crush ... in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations
, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country". Even in that time, institutional capitalism was feared. Power may corrupt, but it also wants to perpetuate, in any guise.  With religion, you can stop participating, at least in this country. With government in this country, you have some redress of grievances, and franchisement, but ultimately, it counts for very little on a larger scale. With the economy, you have even less control. So, at this point, someone may be asking, what's all the bother with tithing, taxes, government, religion and the economy? Ultimately, my goal is to stir the pot and get people thinking. People take their time on this planet for granted. They also take their freedom for granted. The most regrettable thing is to see people willing to trade their natural rights for security, or the perception of security. Humans have become so feckless that they will be bought and sold with their own capital, labor and time. I am here to tell you that there is no free lunch. Everything has a cost, in terms of capital and liberty. If you want to be free, you will incur costs of responsibility, vigilance, and self-sufficiency. Freedom may not be for those without courage. If you want to be taken care of, your freedoms will be curtailed, as will your capital, and you will be controlled. This is egregious, as those that would prescribe and proscribe every facet of people’s lives, as if they had the right. That is truly corruption and hubris. Problems all facets of power (Government, religion, and business if you will) fear are an independent, free, knowledgeable and enlightened populace.

I believe that the United States is now at a turning point. Once founded on the principles of natural rights and freedom, we broke away from our mother country, England to form our own country. The force behind this was the taxation from England and the lack of representation before the crown. I think we find ourselves at a point where we have taken much for granted and in the process have become less responsible. In this vacuum, politicians have rushed in to bribe us with our own money, and labor. This in turn becomes De Rigueur and we slide towards total incompetence and inevitable socialism. Will Americans take the bait? I hope not.
 
Thank you for reading this blog.

Obama or McCain: Clarity

O'Stymie or McSame?
Partisan politics reminds me of brand loyalty. What car do you drive, beer do you drink, laundry detergent do you use, or political party do you belong? The problem with brand loyalty is that you form a belief in something that sooner or later will transcend rationale behavior and thought and get to a place where you either have to defend the indefensible, or justify something you do not believe. It becomes a religion, and you know how that goes. Unfortunately in this country, if you want to vote for a candidate that has even a remote possibility of winning, you have only two choices. This makes it impossible to find a candidate that may align with even 75% of your values and positions. With only two candidates, this further exacerbates things and creates a sort of metaphor of good vs. evil. At some point you have to want to leave it alone and walk away. Don't you get tired of carrying water, no matter the side? Still, for myself, I have found myself joining in the fun, and getting down on Obama, using parodies of his name such as O'Stymie, Ovomit, Obamessiah, etc. It's nothing personal, really. I am pretty sure Barack is a very intelligent guy, has a great sense of humor, and a lot of ambition. The problem is we disagree on 95% of the issues, at a minimum. With McCain, I haven't used some of the parodies, such as McSame, McLame, McOld, Popeye, or McCrazy. Even with McCain, I differ with his positions 35-40%. If I don't get on his case, then why? To be honest, and I am sure some people out there will admit this as well, I feel sorry for the guy. I come from a generation that respects military service. My dad flew 35 missions over Germany in a B-17. I get the feeling Barack isn't that type of guy. Anyway, McCain got the crap beat of him and worse for five and a half years by some of the most brutal folks out there. The inmates at Gitmo are in Beverly Hills by comparison. I think to be objective, at some point I need to put his service  in perspective. I give him all props for it, but it shouldn't be the defining or decisive factor. It reminds me of the republican primaries where Rudy was always falling back to 9/11. Shit, I lived in New York at the time, and I understand it in a way that people outside of New York do not, but, it was not enough for me to support Rudy. After awhile it becomes both a crutch and an over used expletive that loses its meaning. In the end, hopefully we vote for the person whose values, beliefs, and character we agree with and find most appealing on a rational level. That is the best you can hope for. Most people will retort that vision is most import. Vision is important, but without the tools I mentioned, vision is just another meaningless campaign slogan or pretty idea inside someone's head. May the man with the better tools win. 

Bristol Palin
A lot of people are making hay with the announcement of Bristol Palin's pregnancy. The pro-choice crowd is having a field day with this. I don't think Sarah Palin's position is holier than thou. She lives her life consistent with her values.At least that would it would appear like that so far. That's more than I can say for a lot of people and most politicians. Unless you put someone under lock and key 24 hours a day, you cannot control what they do, and unfortunately, kids don't always make the best choices. Ultimately, Bristol chose a path of responsibility. In O'Stymie's world, it is viewed as a punishment to have a baby, so I guess to be responsible is to be punished in his world view. Whatever the case, I'll give her a pass on this. 

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