Oct 07 2008

Leeches are good for you. Really.

Category: economy,election 2008harmonicminer @ 9:00 am

Imagine if you took vitamins in moderation, ate a healthy diet, exercised regularly, and got enough rest.  Now, imagine you have gotten ill, due to exposure to something that has challenged your immune system, or some unexpected toxic exposure.

Imagine someone who told you that your good habits are what made you sick, that you’ve overdone all that health stuff, and you need to develop a few new vices and ease off the healthy lifestyle.  Imagine that person never mentioned the possibility of bacteria or virus as the cause of your illness, and when it was pointed out as the likely reason, simply denied that germs or toxic exposure have anything to do with being sick.

What would you think of the judgment of someone who gave you the following advice?

1)  You should stop eating a healthy diet.  Eat more fat, salt, sugar and alcohol.  And preservatives.  You need preservatives.

2)  You sleep too much.  Watch TV a couple extra hours each night, and still get up at the same time in the morning.  That’ll help.

3)  Forget the supplements.  Vitamins and minerals are overrated, and may be hurting you.  You should smoke or something.

4)  When you get well, for pity’s sake knock off the aerobic exercise and weight-lifting.  You’ll do yourself a mischief.

Is this making sense to you?  Or would you suspect that maybe your friend owned stock in a tobacco company, or had a Twinkie franchise?  Or maybe just hated you?

Continue reading “Leeches are good for you. Really.”

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Oct 05 2008

Capitalism tried and found guilty for the crimes of socialists

Category: economy,media,philosophy,politicsharmonicminer @ 9:05 am

I should probably stop quoting Mr. Bidinotto so much, but his analysis is simply dead on target. After reviewing the history of the current financial meltdown (that’s what happens when you play with something as radioactive as cheap financing for bad credit risks with a short half-life in the name of equality), he opines:

Now, what’s Congress’s answer to all of this?

To nationalize the bad loans — thus formalizing the taxpayers’ obligation to underwrite the rampant irresponsibility that led to this mess in the first place.

The welfare state established the basic moral principle we now see in all its ugliness: that responsible taxpayers are to be sacrificial servants of the irresponsible — that they are to buffer the irresponsible from the destructive consequences of their actions, by absorbing that damage themselves.

But now, we are adding the following amendment to this premise of moral cannibalism: that the greater and more destructive the irrationality caused by others, the more immediate and pressing is the taxpayers’ moral duty to absorb the harm onto themselves.

Continue reading “Capitalism tried and found guilty for the crimes of socialists”

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Oct 03 2008

Change Through Orchestrated Crisis

In a remarkable article in the American Thinker, James Simpson connects the dots between the various parts of the Left that have contributed to our current financial “crisis”.

In an earlier post, I noted the liberal record of unmitigated legislative disasters, the latest of which is now being played out in the financial markets before our eyes. Before the 1994 Republican takeover, Democrats had sixty years of virtually unbroken power in Congress – with substantial majorities most of the time. Can a group of smart people, studying issue after issue for years on end, with virtually unlimited resources at their command, not come up with a single policy that works? Why are they chronically incapable?

Continue reading “Change Through Orchestrated Crisis”

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Oct 01 2008

Why the Bubble Burst: bumped, with refreshed links

Category: Congress,corruption,economy,media,Uncategorizedharmonicminer @ 5:25 pm

As has been pointed out before, it ain’t rocket science, and here’s an unusually succinct statement of the problem, and incisive commentary on the bailout.

The bursting of the housing bubble — which in turn precipitated the collapse of the financial and credit house of cards — is entirely government-made. Point fingers where you will, but I point mine at those congressmen and administrations that sought to win popular support by turning the Federal Reserve System, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac into public reservoirs of easy credit and home loans, available even to the riskiest and most credit-unworthy of borrowers. For years, the federales have artificially lowered interest rates and opened the loan spigots for institutional borrowers which — under inducements and even statutory pressures — opened their credit spigots, in turn, for just about any and every would-be homeowner. The usual tests of credit-worthiness that typically govern lending practices in a free, competitive marketplace were recklessly abandoned — sometimes under “moral” claim that rigorously screening prospective borrowers is “discriminatory.” So, lending has become increasingly indiscriminate, especially in the sub-prime, adjustable-rate-mortgage market.

Here’s a little more history, for those who need it, on the road up to the current problems.

Continue reading “Why the Bubble Burst: bumped, with refreshed links”

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Sep 30 2008

MESS, the new economic foreign policy

Category: Congress,economy,Russiaharmonicminer @ 2:50 pm

Russia’s economic prospects were looking up when the price of oil was in continuous ascent. But it’s stock exchange has lost enormous amounts in the last year or so. Which suggests a new strategy: instead of MAD (mutually assured destruction), the old Cold War stalemate, we should try MESS (mutual economic strategic starvation). We have more food than they do. Let’s destroy their economy by merely crippling ours. Maybe that’s the reason for the inexplicable congressional inertia for the last few years regarding Fannie and Freddie. It’s all part of the conspiracy to beggar Russia.

Russian stock indexes sank Tuesday despite the federal market regulator ordering a two-hour trading halt in anticipation of massive fallout from the rejection of a bank bailout in the U.S. Congress.

It sort of gives a new meaning to starving your enemy into submission.

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Sep 30 2008

Change you can believe in, because it’s all you’ll have

Category: economy,election 2008,Obama,politicsharmonicminer @ 2:29 pm

I still have not heard Obama suggest that he is willing to drop his planned tax hikes in the face of the economic downturn. I doubt you have, either.  Obama claims his planned tax hikes will only affect the rich.  It’s hard to tell if he’s simply lying, or simply ignorant, but no rational, honest person can believe that.  Check this out.

10 Things You Need to Know About Senator Obama’s Tax Proposals

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Sep 30 2008

The Sky Is Falling, The Sky Is Falling!

Category: capitalism,Congress,constitution,economy,housing,liberty,politicsamuzikman @ 9:41 am

Once upon a time….

Be it myth, legend, tale or fable we all know these four words and understand them to be a preamble to the telling of a make-believe story (though possibly based on fact).  Such stories serve many purposes, not the least of which is to teach an object lesson to the very young, a meaningful and memorable way to instruct children about great and noble virtues such as loyalty, honor, courage and truth.

Chicken Little is one such story. The diminuitive foul who determines Armageddon is at hand after being struck on the head by an acorn.  The story proceeds with Chicken Little determining the best course of action is to tell the king whereupon a journey commences and various encounters with other creatures ensue.  Depending on which version of the story is told, a final encounter with a deceitful fox who manipulates the circumstances brings about a close call or bad ending to the story.

I find several interesting parallels to current events.

Continue reading “The Sky Is Falling, The Sky Is Falling!”

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Sep 29 2008

House of Ill Repute: Meet Madame Pelosi

Category: Congress,economyharmonicminer @ 5:22 pm

Townhall.com::Blog

Elections have consequences, and one of those is that Pelosi bears responsibility for the financial bill’s defeat

Read it all.

And then there’s this extra commentary.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the number two House Democrat in authority (behind only Speaker Nancy Pelosi), in defending his party from responsibility for the defeat of the financial stability bill today, delivered the all-time lamest excuse I’ve ever heard (my transcription from video on the PBS NewsHour; boldface mine):

“No Democrat that we could get to vote for the bill didn’t vote for the bill.”

Behind that tortured double-negative is a tautology. This is empty double-talk, delivered by the dishonest, intended for the gullible.

More here.

UPDATE following here:

Continue reading “House of Ill Repute: Meet Madame Pelosi”

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Sep 28 2008

Private Space Flight gets closer

Category: economy,energy,science,space,technologyharmonicminer @ 6:09 pm

Unless I am mistaken, this is the first time a non-governmental organization or business has managed to put anything in orbit.

An Internet entrepreneur’s latest effort to make space launch more affordable paid off Sunday when his commercial rocket carrying a dummy payload was lofted into orbit.

It was the fourth attempt by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, to launch its two-stage Falcon 1 rocket into orbit.

The Hawthorne, California-based rocket maker was started by multimillionaire Elon Musk, who made his fortune as co-founder of the PayPal Inc. electronic payment system.

The rocket carried a 364-pound (165-kilogram) dummy payload designed and built by SpaceX for the launch.

Wow. Harbinger of things to come, I hope.

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Sep 27 2008

The threats our new President will face for us

Thnk the ability to debate is seriously important?  Think it matters more than good judgment, clear understanding of the world, and commitment to the welfare of America above party?

The threats, and some unfortunate connections, are made clear here.  These are serious people, with seriously bad intentions, who aren’t impressed by debate tactics, smooth talk or stage presence.  They will not be “negotiated with” in the normal sense of the term, because we have nothing they want that they aren’t going to get from us anyway.  We cannot give them enough to remove their bad intentions, and they have the capabilities, by and large, to act on those intentions, if we give them time and opportunity.  All of them have proved that.

Who is the very serious person you want as President of the USA to deal with these people?  Who, among the candidates we have, has sufficient wisdom, experience, clarity and toughness to represent us, and make decisions critical to our security?  Who has proved that he will put us first, regardless of his own self-interest, regardless of political fallout?   Who, among the candidates we have, will these people take seriously?   I think you know.

The old standbys, also hip deep in bad plans for the USA, and freedom around the world.

And then, there are our “friends”.

Whose vested interest is keeping us waiting in line for their largess.

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